DC:9Decisions to live, decisions to diePart2

by Hardwing

Reynard is dying and the struggle for his legacy erupts while Hudson learns of the first consequences of his decision. Meanwhile Lana finds something she hadn't expected.

I just want to thank the creators of DARK AGES for creating such a great background and Storyseeker for correcting my fics and helping me with great ideas and for the characters of his ficverse.

9.Decisions to live, decisions to die(Part2)

"I'm here to inform you that the health of Mr. Reynard has rapidly decreased today," the servant explained in his usual moderate tone. "Mr. Xanatos and his family have already gone to see him."

"How bad is it?" Goliath asked, remembering how he had seen his friend last time and how he had been shocked that he seemed even more... decaying.

"He had been brought to the hospital, but he has recovered again and is on his ship, but nobody knows how long for." Owen explained. "But the doctors don't give him long anymore, a week, maybe more."

"What's up?" His second asked, coming to his side, along with Deborah and some others who were very interested in this conversation.

"She is trying to steal Reynard's company." Goliath explained, not taking his eyes from his former mate.

"Brother?" Agamemnon screamed. "Brother, can you hear me?"

"What has he done?" His mate asked him, landing on the perch herself and starring down on the seemingly unconscious Hudson.

"I don't know." Agamemnon noticed, seeing his brother's body trembling more than if he had fever. "We have to bring him to Dr. Moore."

Deborah and Hudson who sat on the bed, and Moore who stood in front of them, looked to the pair.

A moment later, Deborah and Hudson exchanged a look before the old gargoyle turned his look to his leader.

"We spoke about getting a mechanical leg, lad." Hudson explained, totally surprising the newly arrived couple.

8.Decisions to live, decisions to die(Part1)

22.08.98; 06:25; Castle Wyvern, outside:

Thersities leaned on the parapet, and looked out at the courtyard in front of him. He sighed, enjoying the fullness of his stomach, as well as the fact that he had escaped just when some of the clan had come together to clean up.

Yet it felt hollow, and didn't bring him the usual joy of having avoided a senseless duty, which his clan-mates could do so much better.

It felt hollow because his heart and his mind were on a special gargoyle, in another place of this town.

He had never felt such devotion for anything before and had never believed that anything could capture him this way. Indeed he had always laughed over the way his brothers worked to get the attention of their sisters, and now he realized that maybe he should have paid more attention to it.

His rookery had a large surplus of males, such that one of his brothers even mated to a female of the prior rookery, something that was not common, but seldom.

So he and his brothers had stayed mateless… and his clever sister as well, who seemingly had no interest in mating at all. At least, she had rejected the courting of her brothers when she was the only female of their rookery left, and had even thrown one of them out of her tower when he had become too pressing.

Thersities still remembered his sister's face when he had seen her doing so, and never believed to have ever seen her so angry. He had tried to find out what his brother had said, but Asrial, as well as his large brother, had been quiet about this. The only thing he knew was that she had been completely reserved for any tries of courting after this incident.

Thersities sighed. He hadn't taken part at this courting, on the one claw because he hadn't believed that it would have success on his clever sister, and on the other claw since he always held the hope that maybe a clanless female would knock at Wyvern's gate.

He even had kept saying to himself that he didn't need to have a mate for the first breeding season of his life.

But now, Thersities's heart told him that something was amiss, and seeing the happy mates embracing each other at the top of the castle's towers, or gliding with each other, he didn't have to be clever to know what.

Months ago, the leader had suggested that the clan should reach out for other clans to find those who had an surplus of females, and were willing for an exchange in order to ensure the well beings of the clan.

Thersities had at first laughed about the idea to travel around the world, just to find a female who may be willing to mate, but as the weeks passed, he slowly realized that this might be his only chance in his life to get a mate.

One night, he had decided to ask Goliath about this, when he heard one of his brothers's talking about his numerous fights and deeds in battle, and realized that questions from females about this part of his life might become a problem.

But now there was Darlene, the gargess whose qualities, besides being the only available gargess in reach, was an unbelievable beauty, which was only rivaled by Desdemona, in some eyes. And that she seemingly didn't talk much about war stories, and most of all, the fact that she was mateless herself.

Yet there was the question 'how could he impress her'?

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted when he began to overhear the talk of four young warriors in the courtyard.

"The leader allowed it!" one of them, who had just arrived, said.

"Finally." the smallest of the quartet said.

"Do they even have the same deer as back in Wyvern?" the third one asked.

"I heard the humans brought over many sorts of animals from Europe." the fourth noticed.

"I read so, too," the newcomer said. "But Goliath made the pretense that we should hunt in pairs."

The four males looked at each other in a sudden uneasiness.

"Well, as long as you don't chase away my game…" the smallest one told the other four

This caused a wild discussion between them, to which Thersities didn't bother to listen, since an idea flushed through his head.

Love goes through the stomach, he thought. At least the humans say so.

As fast as if he had just spotted the leader searching for a scout group, the gargoyle turned around, racing in the direction of the great hall.

Arriving there, Thersities saw four gargoyles putting the tables aside, while a male and a female had started to mop up the floor.

"Sister?" he began while approaching the one female mopping the floor "I need your help."

His sister propped her mop and looked on him.

"If you're asking me to mop the floor so that you can flee even faster the next time your help is needed," she began "forget it."

This brought some laughter from the other gargoyles in the room, while Thersities just grinned.

"No." he said, suddenly thinking about this possibility. "You know there was the cake you and the others ate while you were with egg."

"The egg-cake?" the female remembered, wondering why her brother wanted to know about this. "Yes, why?"

"Well, I need the recipe." Thersities said.

His sister looked on him a moment longer before she realized.

"So you want to make Darlene a little present?" she began.

Thersities gave her a weak smile, and nodded.

"Well, I can give you the recipe." his sister said with a smile. "If you mop my half of the room in return."

With this, she held the mop out to him.

After a second of thinking, Thersities took the mop and began moping the floor, under the amused look of the gargoyles around him.

Well, he thought to himself, at least it's better than going hunting.

22.08.98; 7:12; Castle Wyvern; kitchen1:

"No." the clan's chief-cook stated.

"Why!" Thersities asked the heavy weighed gargoyle. "There should be room enough for me to make a small cake."

"You need a table to prepare the ingredients, as well as an oven to bake it." Broadway noted, looking over the three pigs, lying on the central kitchen table, and scratching his head under the cook hut. "But for now, I need to prepare ten of these for tomorrow, and I have promised my mate to be with her before sunrise."

Thersities stared at the cook, while Broadway daubed on one of the pig's torsos with a well smelling sauce.

"Well," he began, as he did an act that was against his very nature. "If I were to help you, would this give you enough time to help me?"

Broadway looked up, just to make sure he had heard this of his older brother.

The clan's cook thought about it for a moment, not knowing if this really weighed out the additional work, but then it hit him that for Angela, Darlene was clan, so cooking something for her to help her with the egg shouldn't be so bad after all.

"Okay," Broadway agreed.

Despite the upcoming work, Thersities had to grin.

22.08.98; 13:07; Cyberbiotics Tower:

"I'm sorry, but he isn't ready right now." Preston Vogel explained in a wooden, calm tone.

The person in front of him was neither wooden nor calm.

"I didn't come here to wait." Dominique Destine said angrily.

"As you know, Mr. Reynard's health has seriously dwindled over the last week…" Vogel noticed, but was cut off by the CEO.

"He is dying." Dominique cut him off sharply. "I know this, but he assured me he would be able to meet me ten minutes ago."

Preston Vogel's normally unmoved face shortly showed a scowl. Whatever this business arrangement might bring to the company, he definitely did not like this woman.

The door behind Dominique then opened.

"She has a right to be angry, Preston," a voice said. "Being unpunctual is a bad habit."

Turning around, Dominique discovered Halcyon Reynard sitting in his hover chair, which floated before the door. He had an oxygen mask on his face, and his daughter standing behind.

Dominique rose from her chair.

"It's good that you see this so, too," she noticed.

While going to him, she extended her hand.

Normally, she would have avoided touching a human as much as possible, but she knew that in the business world, she had to hold a little charade, especially in front of humans that she needed something from, and this man in whose face she could already see death, still could be such a human.

"Finally we meet face to face," she noted, feeling the bones in his thin hand.

I could crush them even in this form. Dominique thought, and somehow this made her feel better.

"Indeed," Reynard agreed with an intelligent smile "I would have wished this sooner, but my health didn't allow me this."

Dominique nodded, noticing that her spies were right, and this old human might have less than a week. Not that she cared anyway.

"You know my daughter, Janine Reynard Xanatos." Reynard explained, indicating up to Fox.

Dominique gave Fox a studying look, while the ex-mercenary returned this with a look of hot hatred.

"We met once before, shortly." she explained, remembering the night of Xanatos's wedding, where she had to play Fox's so called maid of honor. "But we had no time to talk."

"I don't think there is anything we could talk about." Fox shot back, making clear that she had no sympathy for this immortal.

"Janine, please." Reynard said in a mild tone. "She is a guest and…"

He stopped in the middle of the sentence, when coughs emitted from his throat, coughs which did not stop, but which seemed to be too much for his gaunt body.

With a fast movement, Reynard put the oxygen mask before his face, and took some deep breaths, seemingly enough to make the coughing stop.

"Father, you should lie down." Fox suggested, laying a hand on her father's shoulder.

"I can do so soon enough." Reynard replied mildly, touching his daughter's hand. "But right now, I and Miss Destine have to talk, and I think we could do this best by walking around a bit."

Dominique returned the look that Reynard gave her by these last words, and nodded, even when she had no interest in a sight seeing tour, like the old man seemingly had in mind.

Fox stepped aside when her father made the hover-chair move backwards, to allow Dominique to step into the corridor, but during the whole time, both women didn't leave the eyes off of each other.

"Janine, please leave us alone." Reynard asked his daughter, while bringing his hover-chair in a position to face her.

"Father, you can't…" Fox began, shocked by the thought of leaving her defenseless father alone with this genocidal monster.

"I'm still the president of this company." her father replied in a hard, but not sharp voice, which showed all the strength and authority a man needed to lead such a company. "And now I have an important business meeting."

Fox stared at her father a moment longer, knowing he was serious, standing as hard as he could for his principles.

"I will be near," the half-fey explained to him.

Then she gave Dominique a look, in which was everything she would do to her, if the immortal dared to touch just one hair on the old man's head. After a second of staring, which the CEO returned unmoved, Xanatos wife turned around and left the room.

"Mr. Vogel," Reynard told his personal servant. "Would you please go after her?"

Preston, having risen from his chair even so, nodded and followed his chief's daughter.

"I'm sorry for this." Reynard said, giving Dominique a look, and slowly moving his hover-chair forwards down the corridor. "Children can be too worried about their parents sometimes."

Dominique nodded, as she followed the chair, finding this was all too true, even when she had no desire to go into small talk.

"I came here to make you an offer for your parts of Cyberbiotics." she said, walking beside him.

"I thought you preferred to take my company part by part?" Reynard noticed, yet he wasn't really surprised.

"I always try to make the best deal for us both." the immortal lied

"You want to get in now, before the prices go high after you bought the majority." the old man noticed, knowing the tricks of his business all too well.

"You are bankrupt and have nothing, but these stocks, which are worthless for you when you die." Dominique replied.

"You are direct, I appreciate this." Reynard noticed. "Even when politeness is sometimes the better trait."

"This would give you the money to secure the funds and organizations," his opponent said, without going into the old man's words. "At least for five years."

Reynard studied her for a second, then he looked forward, their way had led them to the sluice, leading to Fortress 2, which had docked on the fortress.

With a nod, he signaled the guards to step aside, and drove in.

"I always liked being here." Reynard noted. "This ship gives me a mobility I come to miss sometimes."

Dominique followed in, deciding to say nothing.

"When you and Goliath destroyed the first ship, it wasn't just a business thing for me." the old man added, as if it was irrelevant.

The immortal stopped.

"I don't know what you are talking about." she replied in a cool tone, making her eyes to slits while looking up to the camera in the floor, finding it hard to stop her eyes from glowing.

Reynard laughed a bit, forcing him to put the oxygen mask back on his face.

"I told my security to shut down the recording." Reynard said.

Dominique's eyes stayed at the camera for a moment, having believed to see a movement, then she looked back to the old man.

"Who told you this?" she asked, without really admitting the truth.

"This isn't important." Reynard replied.

For Dominique it was, of the ones who knew her secret, it could either be Goliath or the couple Xanatos, and she definitely favored her former mate… something she had to talk with him for their next meeting.

"And?" she asked suspiciously.

"I want to hear on what you say on this." Reynard said. "Nothing more."

Dominique looked on the old man a moment longer. After all she knew this was man had a strong code of honor, but then again, so had Macbeth, and he had betrayed her, too.

"It was the price Xanatos wanted for the reviving of Goliath and his clan." she began cautiously, suspiciously looking on the camera.

"Yet by law it was a crime." Reynard replied.

"And?" the immortal asked with an arrogant look on her face which showed how much she cared for the human law. "What do you want to do? Arrest me!"

The old man looked up on the immortal, and shook his head. Goliath had been right, speaking with this woman about responsibilities was useless, as she seemingly did not care for the consequences of her deeds.

"Then I don't know why we should discuss this further." Dominique explained. "I'll find my way out alone."

She had walked three steps, when Reynard began to talk.

"Do you care for your clan?" he asked.

Dominique stopped, and snarled, as she looked back to him. Reynard clearly could see the red in her eyes.

"Are you trying to blackmail me, Human?" she asked furiously.

The human looked on the young CEO with somewhat of anger himself, just to shake his head a second later.

"Of all you know of me," Reynard began, "I never lowered myself to blackmail anyone, Miss Destine, especially not with their family."

The immortal's look stayed on him, even when the red light left for an icy glare.

"Over the years, my company became more than an instrument of power, and not just my legacy," he continued, " but because of its honorability, responsibility, worker-rights, an standard wages in all countries. Its employees stand as community for values dwindling rapidly from this society."

Reynard coughed.

"It is in my responsibility to make sure that all this exists further." he explained. "All the existences, which you plan to dismantle, endanger all this company stands for. I…"

Reynard didn't speak any further, since he coughed again, but heavier this time, and when he tried to grab the oxygen mask, he fell out of his chair and landed on the door, with the mask far outside his reach.

More and more panicked, the old man tried to catch air.

Dominique watched.

22.08.98; 13:11; Cyberbiotics tower, Reynard's quarter:

"I must remind you that this is against Mr. Reynard's strict orders." Mr. Vogel said.

"You did already." Fox replied more and more irritated. "And I say to you, I won't leave my father alone with that woman, without protection."

While saying this, she never left her eyes from the monitor, showing her father sitting in his hover chair, moving down the floor at the side of the other CEO.

A dangerous gargoyle to be sure. Fox thought, and again asked how her father could take such a risk.

"Harming your father in any way would bring her nothing." Vogel tried again.

He felt uncomfortable since he had followed Fox into her father's room, where she had activated a private security system, allowing her to follow her father, until it was deactivated by Reynard's personal order.

"This gargoyle isn't rational." Fox replied, again without looking up. "She is a mad killer and now be quiet, or I'll be forced to silence you myself!"

Vogel raised an eyebrow, knowing that the ex-mercenary was very well capable of this. After a second, he decided to follow her wishes for now, especially since he felt worried about his employer and friend, too.

Yet this seemed to be unnecessary, since the CEO's talked rather normally, until the point where Dominique seemingly wanted to go.

Mr. Vogel wanted to once again express his opinion about this being unnecessary, when Reynard dropped his oxygen mask, while trying to grab it.

Vogel counted, one, two, three seconds, four fi…. and Reynard's coughing got worse.

"Damn!" Fox shouted, and jumped up. "Call security."

She was already in the door, when Mr. Vogel called her.

"Wait." he stopped her. "Look."

Nearly against her will, Fox looked back, seeing Dominique holding the mask on her father's face.

Barely, she thought while returning to the monitor, much too barely.

22.08.98; 13:22; a floor in Fortress2:

Dominique watched the old man slowly regaining breath, taking deep doses of the gas in the mask.

"Thank you." Reynard said, after getting enough breath to talk.

"Dead, you are worthless to me." the immortal replied icily.

Again, Reynard studied the other CEO, and then decided to drop the topic.

"Have you thought about what I said?" he asked.

The gargoyle in human form looked on the old man, thinking a second.

"Full severance pay for the employees I dismiss," she said. "The parts of your company I hold will stay under the leadership of your managers, if they aren't too incompetent."

Reynard shook his head.

"I must refuse." he replied.

"Then you have wasted both of our times." Dominique said without emotion. "I'll find my own way out alone."

With this, the woman left, walking through the doors of the ship, past two guards and a robot, until she came to the sluice where she had met Fox.

"If you hurt him, I'll make you wish you were mortal." Xanatos's wife snarled at the immortal, and pushed her aside, while rushing down the corridor.

Fox walked as fast as she could. She had seen her father moving his hover chair on the monitor, when she had left his room and could guess where he had headed for.

Reaching the bridge of the air-ship, Fox slowed her steps, seeing her father in place at the other end of the room, where he looked out of the window.

While walking to him, she looked over the bridge where three humans and two robots were on duty.

All in all, it seemed empty, surely because of the lack of work while being docked on the tower. From the looks in the faces of the humans, now again part of the airship's crew, she knew how they thought of the future of the company, and their own.

"Father?" she asked while approaching him from behind.

The old man opened his eyes, seeing the mirror image of his daughter in the window.

"How did it go?" Fox asked, kneeling by her father's side, even when she had a very good idea about it.

"Better than I thought, but worse than I hoped." her father replied with a sigh. "But maybe I should have taken her offer, if just for my employees."

Fox remained silent, as she had seldom seen her father so depressed.

"Father, David and I spoke about it." she began. "When you… when I get your holdings, we will try to get the stocks of the other companies. So we could leave the company intact, as you wish."

Reynard thought about it, not missing the irony of his son-in-law trying to save his company, but then he shook his head.

"The holders will not believe you," he noticed. "And Mrs. Destine's plan of cutting the company up brings them more profit."

Silently, she grabbed her father's thin hand.

"David and I will find a way," she promised. "Now let us go back to your quarters."

Her father nodded weakly, moving the controller of his hover-chair.

22.08.98; 16:52; Eyrie Tower, Xanatos's working room:

"What do you mean you don't see a way?" Fox asked furiously.

"What I said." her husband replied in a calm tone. "I spoke with the larger share-holders, and no one was willing to sell it to me."

"I won't accept this." Fox screamed, hitting the working board with her fists, and making the computer jump a bit.

"Well, I could use more promising methods." Xanatos said, still staying calm. "But your father would hardly approve of them."

Knowing this, and feeling too tired, Fox sank in the chair behind her, and closed her eyes.

Xanatos saw this with a worried look, standing up from his chair and walking to his wife. He slowly began massaging her shoulders.

"Have you ever really hurt your father?" Fox asked, as her eyes were still closed, while slowly feeling relaxed.

"Aside from the day I told him I was going to New York, and not become a fisherman?" David asked his wife. "Yes."

The ex-mercenary opened her eyes, and gave her husband a sad look.

"I know three times I hurt him so deeply that he seemed to loose a part of himself." she admitted. "The first when I said I wouldn't become part of his company, or even his successor, the next when he learned that I had become a mercenary, the third when…"

"When you told him you would marry a good looking business man." David ended the sentence.

Fox gave him a small smile, a smile for what the billionaire could and would kill for, if necessary.

"I never thought much about this, until his health became worse over the last year." she noticed. "Now he is dying, and I can do nothing to repay anything to him, or just to stop Demona from hurting him further."

Fox didn't cry, as she seldom did, but when she moved her hands to her eyes and yawned, David believed she was close to it.

"I think I'll go check if Alex is sleeping already, and then go to bed myself." she explained. "I will stay tonight by my father, and should be rested."

David nodded, removing his hands from her shoulders, watching her rise.

"Maybe there is a way?" he noticed.

"Maybe." Fox replied, and gave her husband a hug and a deep kiss, which David replied with passion.

After a second, they released each other, and Fox walked down the corridor in the direction of her son's room.

David looked after her for a second with a thoughtful look, and then he walked to the computer, opening a new file.

22.08.98; 21:22; Castle Wyvern:

Darlene's family landed on the castle, with Demona as the last, being watched by some eyes in the castle.

Demona still didn't think this was a good idea, and began to ask herself how Darlene had convinced her to come with her.

"It was a good glide." Thersities noticed.

Looking to her brother, Demona noticed that he spoke exclusively to her daughter, which he did with very eager eyes. The immortal asked herself if they were not too eager, shortly imagining him becoming her daughter's next mate, and shuddering.

Behind her, Lana was approached by the male of the trio's generation, who had accompanied them, and groaned while Jarred walked away.

"Grandma." Lana said behind her. "I need your help."

Demona turned around, giving Lana, and then the male beside her, a questioning look on which he took a step back.

"About what?" she asked, knowing that this was indeed a premier.

"Well, I know you are a good warrior." she began. "So you must have been good during your training way back."

Demona was going to answer, but someone was faster.

"Oh, that's funny." Thersities laughed from behind his sister's back, having overheard the conversation, and made one step to them, with a wide smile on his beak. "I could tell you stories about my dear sister, which…"

He was interrupted by Demona's snarl, and the look in her partly red eyes, with which she revealed much of her fangs.

"Or I could just keep my beak shut." Thersities said cleverly, as he was taking one step back to Darlene, who watched the scene somewhat unhappily.

Demona shot a longer warning look on her brother, before looking back to her granddaughter.

"And?" she asked the partly terrified gargoyle

"Well…" Lana continued, uneasy over her grandmother's outburst. "How do I best come over the training?"

Demona thought about this for a second.

"Hold your breath," she began, "don't argue with the teacher, and follow the orders."

"Ah." Lana replied unsatisfied, after she knew that there was nothing more to come.

"I'll be in the courtyard." Jarred told his mother.

"Remember the meal." Darlene replied, before remembering that this was unnecessary by her son.

Jarred nodded and rushed off to the courtyard. In Darlene's arms, Gem extended her arms after her vanishing brother, squirming in her mother's arms, definitely wanting to follow and have fun with him.

"Not yet, little one." Darlene whispered in Gem's ears, "first, we have to greet your aunts."

Gem however did not become calm. Indeed, Darlene was about to set her down when she heard a deep voice.

"Demona." someone called from inside, making everybody look to the door.

Everyone, except for one immortal who demonstratively looked in the other direction, until she heard heavy steps beside her.

"Goliath." she noticed while turning around. "Are you now greeting every arrival?"

While Darlene suppressed a groan, and some of the gargoyles around her scowled by this offense, Goliath stayed calm.

"We have to talk." he replied, his voice having a hint of irritation.

"We talked already." Demona noted.

"Then we'll talk again." Goliath told her. "I will not allow Reynard…"

"OH, STOP IT, GOLIATH!" Demona yelled at him, making her voice echo over the whole courtyard, while fire shone through her eyes "The human is already deceasing. Why can't you let it go?"

Demona breathed heavily after this attack, the red in her eyes slowly fading away, while she noticed that practically everybody outside the castle was looking at them, both the hatchlings in the courtyard, and the ones in the air included.

In Darlene's arms, Demona's granddaughter began to cry.

She had enough of talking about this human.

"He is a friend, and we don't abandon friends, Demona." Goliath replied, and she could see him near an outburst, too, yet better controlling it.

While her former mate talked, she could see his eyes, nearly unseen, wander to the hatchlings who landed near them, as she could see the unspoken bit about not to make the scene larger.

"Where?" she spoke quietly, near a snarl, barely able to drown out Gem's cries.

"I'll show you." Her former mate said, going ahead and leading her somewhere in the castle.

Darlene, slowly rocking Gem, waited a second and then followed both gargoyles.

"Hey," Thersities said, laying a claw on her shoulder. "Better let them discuss this alone."

Darlene looked worried on the beaked male.

"They'll kill each other." she expressed her fears.

"No, our sister will be there to prevent this." Thersities expressed with a grin. "She always had a good wire to your mother."

"Desdemona?" Darlene asked, without thinking about this.

"Yep," Thersities noted. "She should be cool enough for them both."

Darlene still looked worriedly to the door, where her mother and Goliath had vanished, while behind her the young warrior was trying to impress Lana with a scar on his arm, allegedly given by a Viking.

Suddenly, three hatchlings half ran, half walked out of the door.

"I told you she wouldn't come two times running." Connor said to Eve.

"But we heard her." A delicate pink skinned female with black hair, and two strong eye-ridges said, sounding more than a bit disappointed.

Eve's body showed her disappointment, when she let her shoulder's hang down, while looking over the castle.

"Your rookery mother was here." Darlene explained, having carefully listened to the conversation. "IS here, she just has to have a talk with Goliath."

The body language of the three hatchlings at once changed, and all three looked at her with glittering eyes.

"Really?" Eve asked.

"Where is she?" Connor asked at the same time.

"Has she time to tell us a story?" the third hatchling, which Darlene believed to be of the Wyvern clan, named Victoria, asked in addition.

"Oh, she said she wanted to stay longer tonight." Darlene said with a smile. "Maybe she can tell an even longer story."

"Cool." the delicate female said with a cherished smile.

"Let's go." Eve said to them, and ran on all fours to the door.

The other hatchlings followed.

Darlene wanted to ask them where they wanted to go, but then she remembered that maybe it was better not to know.

"They are cute." Thersities noticed. "When they aren't around you 12 hours a night."

"Yes. I know what you mean." Darlene agreed. "Shall we go in?"

Thersities nodded.

"I have a surprise for you," he promised.

Darlene looked surprised on the beaked male, who just gave her a broad smile.

22.08.98; 21:37; Castle Wyvern, a floor deep down:

Three hatchlings stood at the corner of the corridor, near the door to the information room, and listened… They had done so often already, together with other rookery siblings who were interested in what the grown up warriors spoke about with the leader.

Normally, even their good ears caught just a few of the words of the isolated room, but now they caught even more, since the discussion was definitely louder, even when they didn't understand most of them.

"What is the 'Salvation Army'?" Victoria asked, raising her strong eye ridges to her black hair. "A special unit?"

"Maybe a…" Connor began, not really understanding these words of Demona himself.

"Psst." Eve ordered them.

Not looking around, their sister stood closest to the corner, trying to grab every scrap of words passing through the wood of the door.

Connor grew frustrated at this. Even when he wasn't really comfortable with spying on the elders, he wished to hear more, and would have suggested to listen in closer, if he did not remember all too clearly what had happened last time they were discovered doing this.

They had didn't have to wait long before they heard another word, coming from Goliath this time.

"Why should he call her a thief?" Eve asked surprised, turning around to her comrades.

Connor just shook his head, but Victoria thought about it for a second.

"You told me your elders stole food from the humans, before you moved to Moray." she remembered her sibling's conversation.

Eve shot an angry glare on her younger sister, which made them feel somewhat younger.

"That was different." She said in a tone, which allowed no contradiction. "We would have starved otherwise since there was no game in the woods, and we couldn't go elsewhere because we were hunted."

"The elder with the bad leg said we should never steal." Victoria noticed.

"I don't believe she ever had to wait to the sun with a empty stomach." Eve replied angrily "We had and…"

A further argument was stopped by the sound of something very large falling on the floor, and a snarl, making the hatchlings silent at once.

They stared at each other for a second, their faces showing a slight shock, and then all three turned their head around the corner, seeking to know what just happened.

Their curiosity proofed to be nearly fatal, when the door was pushed open and a very angry Demona stormed out, her eyes shining red.

The three pulled their heads back behind the corner, as fast as they could, pressing their small bodies against the wall, holding their breath.

A second later, there was nothing but silence, then there were claw steps slowly coming nearer, making the hatchlings look on each other in fear.

The claw steps stopped and it became silent once more, while the hatchlings got grave difficulties to hold their breaths.

"Come here!" a voice ordered with controlled anger. "Don't make me come to you."

The three released their breaths, and gave each other a look of fear before Eve took the first step in front of their rookery mother.

Demona watched all three hatchlings step in front of her, having a not so happy expression on her face.

To herself, she wondered why Jarred and Duncan where nowhere to be seen, but for now she did not bother to ask.

"How often have I told you not to eavesdrop?" Demona asked them, looking in three eyes-pairs, which did not dare to look away.

"We did not want to eavesdrop." Eve replied unsure, earning a somewhat unbelieving look from her rookery mother.

"We wanted to meet you before you leave." Victoria agreed.

Demona's hard look melted, and she gave them a sigh.

"I didn't want to leave now," she told them with her tone becoming softer, not knowing this for sure, herself. "I just wanted to catch some air."

The immortal took a look around her shoulder, seeing her sister step out of the information room.

"Why did the leader call you a thief?" Victoria asked in a mix of curiosity and shyness.

Demona looked on her for a second, which made the hatchling's face turn red.

"I guess you heard about this already," she noticed, knowing her children.

"The elder with the lame leg said you would rob Mr. Reynard." Eve said, having the hint of doubt in her voice.

Demona bit her lip, so as not to let out a curse.

"I don't steal anything from him." she began, looking serious on them. "I buy parts of his company that he has sold when he needed money." the immortal turned her head a bit to look on Goliath who had just left the information room. "This is legal."

The leader didn't say anything on this, even when he returned his sister's look, but stood by Desdemona, seemingly deciding to continue the argument in a more private atmosphere.

"But Mr. Reynard is our friend." Connor expressed.

"He is?" Demona asked, unhappy to hear Goliath's words out of her son's beak.

"He showed us his air-ship." Victoria said. "That was cool."

Her rookery mother didn't know what she could say on this.

"Ah, there you are." she heard a voice, making her night perfect.

Looking up, Demona found Xanatos going to them with his brat, walking in front of him.

"Nice night." her rival greeted.

"It is getting better and better," the immortal noticed sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Alex greeted his three friends.

"Oh, Alex wanted to look after his friends." Xanatos replied with a slight grin. "And I thought we could have a talk between CEOs."

"Call my secretary." Demona replied icily.

"Oh, I think you would prefer to speak about this now." Xanatos insisted, pointing in the direction of his office.

Demona first looked on her rival, and then on her children, of whom Connor seemingly enjoyed talking with Alex.

"I hope this is worth it?" she said to the billionaire, moving in his direction.

As she did, she felt something touching her claw and holding her back. Looking at it, she saw that the small claw belonged to Victoria.

"Will you later tell us a story?" she asked Demona with pleading in her eyes.

Her rookery mother recognized the fear in her daughter's voice, and nodded while placing a claw on her shoulder.

"I will." she promised, before raising and following Xanatos.

Some meters away, two bystanders watched this scene with mixed feelings.

"I don't like this." Goliath noted, watching the two CEOs departing.

"I thought you trusted Xanatos?" Desdemona asked while leaning on the wall.

"Not when he and Demona are working together," her brother said, watching how the hatchlings spoke with Alex, seemingly making a plan. "Especially not when they both seek to steal Reynard's company."

Brother and sister stayed silent for a moment, while watching the four children run away, surely to seek mischief in another place of the castle.

"Maybe we should give up." Desdemona said after a while.

"Never." Goliath replied seriously. "I will speak with Demona again."

"And let our sister ruin more furniture by this?" Desdemona asked.

"He protected us from the public when we needed help." her leader said "The clan owes it to him."

Desdemona looked on her brother for a second, knowing him well enough that this wasn't just about what Reynard had done for the clan, but what her brother had done to Reynard by helping to destroy his airship, and so indirectly helping to damage his company.

"I will speak with our sister." Desdemona told him, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder to ease the conflict she could sense in him.

22.08.98; 21:44; Castle Wyvern, kitchen1:

"What do you mean it is gone?" Thersities asked.

"What I said." the clan's cook said. "I just turned my back for a short time, to look after the roast, but some hatchlings must have come in for something to eat."

"I put the cake in the highest cupboard." Thersities said unbelieving, and walked to the cupboard, opening and looking through it.

"When they're searching for something to eat, they are worse than raiding Vikings." Broadway noticed, his voice full of sympathy.

"I guess I'll have to ask Jarred about this." Darlene said to herself, placing Gem on the kitchen's table.

"You don't know if he took part in this." Broadway asked surprised.

"I know." Darlene replied knowingly.

"I'm sorry." Thersities said, turning to her.

"Don't be." Darlene said, placing a claw on the smaller gargoyle's shoulder "The thought is what matters."

With this, she gave Thersities a long hug, which made the gargoyle's green skin turn red, while Broadway and Gem looked at the scene in surprise.

"Well, your mother seems to be happy?" the clan's cook said, leaning on the table, with his elbow on it.

Gem laughed, taking the cook's hat from Broadway's head, and biting in it.

22.08.98; 21:52; Castle Wyvern, Xanatos's office:

"Aren't children wonderful?" Xanatos asked while entering his office. "They play together, not caring if they have wings or not, and understand each other without a lawyer."

"I hope you didn't call me for small talk." Demona said angrily

She stood in front of his desk, while her rival took place on his chair.

"No," Xanatos revealed, opening the drawer of his desk, taking out a map and handing it over to Demona. "I came to make you an offer."

Demona took the map and went through it, at first surprised, then with a scorn on her face.

"Why should I accept this?" she asked after a minute, throwing the map back on the desk.

"It would be a peace offering between our two companies." Xanatos said.

"Nightstone will be overgrowing your Xanacorps soon." Demona noted with a sarcastic grin.

"Maybe." Xanatos replied cool.

"This is useless." the immortal said, angry over the wasted time, and turned around.

"You still owe me something, Demona." Xanatos reminded her, making the immortal stop in the middle of her turn.

Demona eyed the other CEO distrustfully, still finding the thought that she owed this man the life of her youngest daughter, uncomfortable.

"You could ask for everything," she noticed. "Why this?"

"He is family." Xanatos explained, as if this was the most natural thing in the world. "Clan."

"That didn't stop you from trying to hurt him before." Demona noticed.

Xanatos gave him one of his most false smiles.

"Things change, Demona." he said. "Don't they?"

The immortal looked on her rival with unhidden mistrust, then she took up the map again and sat on the chair, in front of Xanatos's table.

"I will look through it," she said with a hard look on her opponent.

"Sure." Xanatos replied, watching with a genuine smile how Demona searched the contract for hidden traps. "I hope the fact that Thailog still holds parts of Nightstone doesn't endanger this?"

The immortal looked up, growling a bit by the mention of her former love's name.

"It won't." she replied icily, after having seen no sign of sarcasm in the human's eyes.

Without waiting for further answers, she continued studying the contract.

22.08.98; 22:01; Castle Wyvern, infirmary:

"It's ready." the African-American-human, with a somewhat too large stomach, said, deactivating the laser with which he had scanned Hudson's stump.

"It feels cold." the old warrior commented, moving a bit on the bed, and looking on the remnants of his leg.

The human, who had introduced himself as Dr. Leicester of Xanacorp's mechanical department, nodded and laid the laser on the table, beside him.

"This'll give us a form so we can connect your artificial limb, according to your specifications." he explained. "And the model of your remaining leg shows us what it has to look like."

While Dr. Moore was on his right, Deborah and Asrial stood on Hudson's left side, and followed what he said. The older gargoyle had a bit of unease in her eyes, while the clever sister just seemed very interested.

Curiously, she took the laser, which seemed like the prototype for a very good rail-gun.

"And this laser can go through flesh and bones?" she asked, studying the instrument from all sides. "Does it work as an X-RAY, too?"

Leicester laughed a bit, wiping sweat from his forehead, not being comfortable with the fact that this creature understood so much of modern technique.

"It is a mix of both…" he began, but stopped, seeing the hunger in the female's eyes. "And it is a secret of the company, so you have to ask Xanatos about this to learn more."

Turning around, he pulled closer a box, which seemed to be made half out of hundreds of needles, which were connected to a computer, by lines coming out of everything.

To Hudson, it seemed like something out of the torture chamber, back in Wyvern.

"This thing will test the capability of the nerves in your leg, to transport electronic signals, at the correct speed." he explained to Hudson, while putting it over the end of his stump. "This may hurt a bit."

With this, he pushed a button, making hundreds of needles dive into the old warrior's skin.

Hudson winced, and Asrial laid the sensor away, to give her rookery father a worried look.

"Is this really necessary?" Deborah asked angrily, seeing her mate suppress the pain.

"It is, if you want the new leg to work perfectly." Dr. Leicester said, as he took a chair and sat down in front of the PC. "My first patients had to endure even more trouble than this."

"You mean like taking the healthy limbs first." Moore noticed in an icy tone.

Leicester looked up to him. He had been waiting since they had had their first meeting, before the infirmary.

"The Pack weren't my first patients," he noted. "And I never did something against their own will."

Looking around, and seeing that the eyes of the two elder gargoyles had become harder, on the mention of the name of their enemy, he sighed and pressed a button on the keyboard.

"This may be a bit uncomfortable." he informed Hudson. "Don't let it irritate you."

A second later, Hudson winced, moving a bit uncomfortable on his bed.

"It feels as if my leg is back." he noticed, surprised.

Leicester just nodded.

"The needles are simulating it with a bit of electrical power," he explained, staring at the PC-screen, watched by Asrial on his left, and Moore on the right. "Please move the foot, as if it were still there. The more data we get, the more realistic it will be."

"Must this be so strong?" Moore asked, tipping on the part of the monitor showing the electrical power.

"We want the leg functioning in difficult situations, don't we?" Leicester replied, tipping it a bit more.

Moore scorned on this, but stayed silent.

"Ready." Leicester said after roughly thirty seconds, looking to his patient at whose side Deborah had taken place.

He stood up, and walked over to Hudson.

"Will you insert the data in the new limb?" Asrial asked, when Leicester leaned over the sensor.

"Partly," the doctor explained, looking up and stopping in his movement to deactivate the sensor. "But first, we will use them to write a program that's accurate to the wanted functions."

"Why?" Asrial wanted to know, not noticing how Deborah and Hudson exchanged a look. "Wouldn't simple reflexes do it faster?"

"This will be part of it." Leicester replied, "But if the contact between the nerves breaks, we need something to keep it working."

"But if…" Asrial began.

"Lass, PLEASE." Hudson urged, having his eyes closed. "Can't ye talk with this man after he has taken this thing of my body?"

Asrial blushed a bit, and lowered her head, murmuring a sorry while Leicester pressed a button on the machine, on which the needles left the remnants of the leg, leaving an area where a bit of blood was flooding.

"We are ready." he explained to everyone in the room, and returned to the PC, pushing a reluctant Moore from it. "In a week, you'll hear more."

Hudson gave him a surprised look.

"That fast?" the old warrior asked.

Leicester pressed a few keys, and then took a disk out of the PC.

"My team will need this time to design the replacement," he explained, as a matter of fact, while placing the disk in his breast pocket. "And we will have to see how much of your still existing leg we have to amputate."

This made Hudson emit a growl, and his eyes turn red, while he clutched the bed.

"You will amputate nothing of this," he growled.

Leicester looked up.

"We have to, if you want a working leg?" he said. "Do you have a problem with this?"

Hudson closed his eyes for a moment, holding his mate's claw with his own, and then he shook his head.

"Believe me, it will be minimal after what I have seen." Leicester said, rising from his chair. "You even might get artificial skin, so that no one notices it on the first look."

The old warrior thought about this for a while, then he nodded.

"I would like this." he replied.

"Good." Leicester said, gathering his instruments in a bag, and taking it. "You'll hear from me then."

With this, he turned around, walking out of the infirmary, leaving a still unsure group alone.

22.08.98; 22:24 Castle Wyvern, Floor before Xanatos's office:

Desdemona looked on the wall in front of her, having given up to count the minutes that she was standing there. The surface of this particular stone block had been destroyed, as had that of the other stone blocks in the castle, which had been magical gates that the Archmage had created so long ago.

Gates that her sister had known long before Wyvern's downfall.

Sighing, she looked to Shade. The gargbeast had placed her on the other side of the door, dozing a bit after having followed her friend's scent here, and Desdemona wished she could do so, too.

She couldn't understand how her sister could be so pigheaded, in regard of Reynard's company. Desdemona remembered how she and her siblings had always wondered about the human's thirst for gold. What they saw as wealth, her kind saw as mostly just useless jewelry, and now her own rookery sister risked her friendship with the clan just for such things.

Desdemona wondered if her sister actually realized how human she had become?

Suddenly, she noticed Shade looking up in the direction of the door, and her own senses became sharp again, sensing the talk in the room having stopped, and footsteps coming nearer to her. Desdemona rose from the wall, eyeing the door.

At this moment, the door opened, and Demona walked out of it.

"Sister…?" Desdemona began, but her sister cut her off.

"You can tell Goliath his human friend's company is safe," the immortal stated, standing in front of her.

"What?" She asked, unbelieving.

"Xanatos and I share the stock between us, making Cyberbiotics a joint-adventure between his company and mine." Demona explained to her sister. "We will choose the manager, but the company will work independently."

Desdemona stared at her, her mouth hanging open.

Evading further questions, Demona walked down the corridor, followed by Shade, leaving a startled gargess behind.

"Sister!" Desdemona exclaimed, running after the immortal.

When finally reaching her, she found her sister standing by one of the castle's towers, watching the hatchlings doing their training in the air.

"You are fast when you want to flee from a talk." Desdemona noticed, taking a look at Shade, who had sat down on the parapet to watch the lights from the streets far below.

Demona didn't respond. Instead, she took a closer look at the sky, over the castle where six grown-up gargoyles held, in pairs, three very large rings, being held parallel so that the hatchlings could fly through them, as the practice demanded.

"Why did you do this?" Desdemona asked. "Why were you willing to make the deal with Xanatos, but refused to let Reynard have his company, when our brother asked you for it, and preferred to crush our furniture?"

Her sister didn't react at once, but instead stared at the sky, seeing the first of the hatchlings gliding through all three rings. Just as Desdemona thought, her sister wouldn't answer. Demona turned her head around, looking directly into her rookery sister's eyes.

"Because Xanatos offered me neutrality between our companies, so that we won't rival in the important markets anymore," she replied. "This is profitable."

With this, she turned her head back to watching the sky.

Desdemona didn't know what she could say on this.

"I…" she began after a few seconds. "I better inform the leader."

Demona just nodded, not watching her sister leave, and didn't see the camera in the door move a bit.

22.08.98; 23:41 Castle Wyvern, Great Hall:

The meal had taken place, and members of the clan had already left the hall to go after their business, but groups stayed, gathered around the tables, talking amongst themselves.

Darlene sat at the table, two of her sisters, a brother, her oldest daughter and her mother by her side, and a dozing gargbeast by her feet.

Somehow, she felt the atmosphere to be a bit cold.

"So, Goliath plans to extend the patrols?" Darlene asked, continuing her conversation with Angela.

Her sister nodded.

"We want to watch over as much of New York as possible." Angela explained with a smile, having sensed this coldness as well, and hoping to overcome it. "The police still don't allow us to protect the city against thieves, but maybe we'll find a trail leading to Lucifia."

"You won't," Demona replied, sounding disinterested by this. "The best thing you'll manage is to let yourself be killed."

The immortal's response made her daughters share an unhappy look.

"It is better than anything you did to find her..." Othello accused, feeling insulted, while removing his claw from his mate's shoulder. "…Sister."

"I let my employees check the city for strange buildings." Demona replied. "I tried to locate her with magic, and flew over the city, by myself, for some time, but if you think you can better by gliding around and looking in the night, then it is not my problem… Brother."

Othello stiffened, not happy with his sister insulting his tracking and hunting skills, even when his mate's claw on his leg tried to calm him down.

Darlene exchanged a further look with Angela, wishing she had tried another topic, but then again, was there a topic her mother couldn't turn into a confrontation. Somehow, she doubted it heavily.

Demona held the eye contact with her brother for a moment longer, and then she switched her attention to her glass of water on the table, and took a swallow, leaving the table in uncomfortable silence.

Before any of the other gargoyles could say a word to break the silence, a young female warrior stepped nearer.

"Hi?" she addressed Lana.

Lana, who had been rather bored by this typical evening, looked up surprised. In front of her stood a beautiful girl… This means, she was beautiful if you could oversee the two horns growing along her head, and the brownish-orange tone of her skin. For a gargoyle, these definitely were further points on her scale, rounded up by her stray hair.

"Uh…" Lana replied surprised. "Hello?"

"My sisters and I were wondering if you were interested in joining us?" she asked, pointing to two other females. One was roughly as large as Lana, her skin dark blue and her hair red, somehow reminding Lana of someone. The other gargess was somewhat shorter, having the same wing structure like Lexington, yet a bit larger than him, her skin yellow and her hair, being formed in a mob, was brown.

Lana took a look on the table, where the temperature had dropped under zero, and then to her mother who gave her a hopeful look.

"Sure." Lana said, rising from her place.

The young warrior smiled.

"I'm Mary," she introduced herself while they walked to the other two females. "This is Ruth," she pointed on the red-haired one, "and my sister here has no name." she ended her sentence, pointing on the web-winged gargess, who extended a claw to Lana.

"Hi?" Lana greeted them, shaking their claws. "I'm Lana."

"Hello?" Ruth replied politely.

"Hi?" the unnamed yellow female said.

A second of silence followed, in which Lana asked herself what she was going to say.

"So," she began, "does the teacher torture you even so, or does she just like me?"

The unnamed female laughed up, while Ruth just chuckled, and Mary just smiled.

"You're not alone, Lana." Mary noted.

Back at the table, Darlene watched the scene with a wide smile, as it had been about time that her daughter made some friends here.

Looking back to her sisters, she could see the same thought written in their eyes. When she looked to her mother, her smile faded a bit, seeing her taking another swallow.

Now we'll just have to find some friends for you, Darlene thought a little sad.

Demona suddenly turned her head, spotting four hatchlings in the hall looking to them, Connor and Veronica among them.

"I think I'll tell them their story now." the immortal stated, rising from her place, and casting a short look at the beast by her side, which was stretching and yawning. "After this, I'll have to go out with Shade. Do you want to stay here longer?"

Darlene thought about it a moment, throwing a look on Lana, still talking with her new friends.

"I'll stay a bit longer," she answered.

Demona nodded, and left the table in direction of the hatchlings, with Shade following her.

"I'm sorry about this." Darlene said in the direction of Othello. "My mother is strenuous sometimes."

Othello nodded, without giving a sign that he accepted this excuse.

"I've been thinking." Darlene began after a few seconds, looking to Angela and Desdemona. "Do you think Goliath would allow me to take part in the patrols?"

The other female gargoyles looked surprised on her.

"Are you serious?" Angela asked.

"Yes I am." Darlene said seriously, placing a restless Gem from her lap on the table "See, mother trained me to be a warrior, and even though my fighting skills might be a bit rusty, I want to help make this city safe for us all."

"You're with egg." Othello reminded her.

"…That maybe." Darlene added. "But there is no reason for me to be just sitting around."

"At least in the first half of it." Desdemona commented. "In the second, it is a reason for lying around eating."

Both females looked on each other for a moment, as it was the look of two females having held new live under their hearts already, and knew how unromantic it could be sometimes.

They both burst out into giggles.

"Which is a further reason for me to help make the city safe," she added, when she got herself back in control, stroking her stomach and looking on the table where her youngest daughter tried to stand up. "I want my children to grow up in a world where they aren't threatened by Lucifia, or people going mad on us or… anything else."

On the table, Gem had managed to stand up to the watchful eyes of four grownups, and suddenly stretched herself, making movements with her little wings, instinctively training and strengthening them.

Suddenly, the little hatchling made a jump on her mother, who had been watching this with awe, and was caught securely through Darlene's good reflexes and strong arms.

"What do you think?" Darlene asked, after having cuddled her giggling daughter.

"It sounds wonderful." Angela commented, liking the thought of spending more time with her sister.

"Yes," Desdemona agreed. "But it's best you ask the leader first."

Othello just nodded, liking the fact that Darlene seemed so eager in this.

Suddenly, Darlene grabbed her stomach.

"Sister?" Angela asked worried, rushing nearer to her side.

Her sister looked worried for a moment, then she laughed a bit, easing the worries.

"I feel hungry again," she explained, a bit ashamed by the fact that they had just eaten.

"Then we should get you something from the kitchen." Desdemona suggested, remembering her own hunger-attacks from the time she had been carrying an egg.

Some meters away, Lana had actually found a reason to smile.

"I never had more than the clothes I wear." Mary replied.

"Well," Lana noticed politely, "time changes. These aren't the middle-ages anymore."

Mary looked a bit offended.

"They weren't so bad." Mary replied. "Besides, the clan tailor's made us some nice pieces, didn't they?"

Lana took a look on them, and then she nodded. She had to admit that for something not store-bought, they looked surprisingly well tailored. While Ruth's and the unnamed one had simple white loincloths formed by two parts, Mary wore a top and a loincloth of black leather.

"Sure," she admitted, "but wearing just this one garment makes me mad sometimes."

She pointed down on what was left of her garment, which was a very narrow t-shirt and jeans.

"I grew out of the other things from one second to the other." she noted.

"We could change this." Ruth explained after thinking about it for a second.

"Right," the unnamed one took it up, "this should work."

Lana gave them a surprised look.

"Our tailors like to stay in practice." Mary explained. "After making clothes for the eggs, they still have much material."

"And our sister here is making very fine clothes." Ruth said, lying a claw on the unnamed one's shoulder.

"I'm still learning," the yellow female said with a slight blush in her face. "Even though the elders think I have potential."

"I'm for it." Ruth said. "If we hurry, we might get the material tonight."

"Looking for more than one change, sister?" Mary noticed, laughing on this.

Ruth didn't laugh, and instead she turned her head a bit away, and Lana noticed that she fought hard to hold control over her face.

"I'm sorry," Mary began. "That was…"

Suddenly, the doors to the courtyard opened, revealing a crowd of gargoyles entering.

The crowd parted, revealing four male gargoyles, all going in Lana's direction while responding to comments of their clan mates.

Oh no, Lana thought. Please no!

The males didn't come alone, as there were two of them, a light brown one with stray hair and something like a shark's fin parting it, and one with dark brown skin and four wings (Lana believed his name was Tom), who was carrying a boar that was hanging on a spear, serving as spit between them. Their loincloths were also partly smeared with blood.

The two behind them both had a deer over their shoulders. The first male, whose name was Queens, a green-skinned one with black hair and extremely long spikes on his shoulders and knees, also had two rabbits. His other clan-mate, a red skinned one with a short beak, called Edward, had three.

All of them looked in pride to an unbelieving Lana.

"What do you think of it?" Tom asked.

All Lana could do was just stare on what the four males had brought her. The guts had apparently already been removed from all the kills, judging from their opened stomachs, but it was the eyes of the wild boar that captured her.

"They are… nice?" Lana commented helplessly, watching how the hunters' preys were put out before her.

"Aye," a gray-skinned elder noticed, kneeing in front of the kills. "Ye have caught some nice brats, lads."

"It was not so easy to hunt down," the gargoyle with the shark's fin said, rising his chest in pride. "But my spear hit its heart."

"Only because my spear held it still long enough." Tom noted, elbowing his brother a bit.

His brother was going to defy this, when the other two brothers, having been quiet until then, intervened. It then became an argument between the four gargoyles about hunting glory.

Meanwhile, Lana groaned, rubbing her forehead and asking herself what she could have done to earn this.

Deciding to ask her new friends about this, the gargess looked around, finding that the other three had left already, and the rest of the clan instead surrounded her.

Lana felt as if she would cry.

23.08.98; 00:32 Castle Wyvern, Xanatos's office:

Xanatos yawned and shut off his PC.

Taking preparations to keep his contract with Demona had been more difficult than he had expected.

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door to his office, and Owen entered.

"Owen, what…" Xanatos began, surprised that his major-domo came so late, but then he realized. "Reynard?"

Owen nodded.

"I was informed by Mr. Vogel that Mr. Reynard's health is dwindling," he explained in an unmoved tone. "He's dying."

Xanatos did not loose time with asking more questions, but jumped out of his chair and walked to the door.

"Call my helicopter," the billionaire ordered. "And inform Goliath."

"Already done." Owen informed him, walking with his boss down the corridor. "The helicopter should be here in five minutes, and Goliath..."

In this moment, the leader of the Manhattan clan down the corridor, together with an even so muscular gargoyle who was brown skinned, black haired, and had two large horns growing out of his skull.

"Xanatos?" the called one gave him an earnest nod.

"Goliath, you can come with me in my helicopter. There is enough space, and it is faster." the billionaire explained.

"Thank you for your offer." Goliath replied, giving him a nod.

"Owen, look after Alex," Xanatos ordered. "If he wakes up, tell him Fox and I are with Reynard… but nothing more."

Owen nodded, as he hadn't planned to do otherwise, but the Fey in him knew that if Alexander would wake up this night, he would indeed know what had happened with his grandfather.

Naturally, there was no reason to say this now.

23.08.98; 00:41 Castle Wyvern, wall at the courtyard:

Jarred sat unhappy at the parapet to the courtyard, and looked at how the other hatchlings were playing.

This was so unfair! He thought.

Not only had his mother somehow learned that he had taken some food, and promised him some chores when they got back home, but now they were to return hours earlier than they had planned.

His mother hadn't said why, but looking to Lana who stood near the entrance of the hall, he knew that it was because of his big sister.

Just because she had no fun here, why did he have to leave so early?

Meanwhile, Shade came through the door, followed by Demona.

"Good," Lana exclaimed directed to her grandmother. "Can we go now?"

"There is someone who wants to talk to you first," the immortal explained, walking past her.

Lana was at first puzzled, when the immortal walked to Darlene, and was even more surprised when she found Mary coming out of the door.

Meanwhile, Demona had reached her daughter who had a squirming Gem in her arms.

"You want to go?" she noticed.

Darlene nodded, noticing how her mother was suspiciously eyeing four young males near them. They were laughing amongst themselves, and carrying heavy backs.

"Lana wanted to." she explained, giving her daughter, who was talking with Mary, an earnest look "I'll have to speak with her about this later. Besides, we have something for the storage room."

Demona looked on her surprised, and was going to ask something, when her sensitive ears caught a noise coming nearer. Looking up, she and several other surprised gargoyles noticed a red helicopter coming in very fast.

"What does this mean?" Darlene asked surprised, watching the helicopter landing in the courtyard.

"Reynard is dead…" Demona explained coldly, "…or dying right now."

A shiver ran through Darlene's body up to the lace of her tail.

"It doesn't bother you, mother." she noticed, happy that Gem and Jarred were too distracted by the helicopter to notice her tone.

"Oh, it does." the immortal explained with a sarcastic smile, while leaning over the parapet and looking down on Xanatos, Goliath, and one of her brothers entering the helicopter. "I'll have to call my managers so that everything runs according to my deal with Xanatos now… I don't break contracts."

Darlene just stared at her mother.

Meanwhile, Mary had greeted a surprised Lana.

"You want to go already?" the gargess asked.

"I didn't think you and your sisters would miss me." Lana responded.

Mary sighed, as she had had to listen to the hurt feelings of the other gargesses.

"Yes, I know this wasn't nice," Mary admitted "but my sisters didn't feel well there, seeing all our mateless brothers wanting you."

"I can't do anything about it." Lana replied angrily, pointing on the four males standing meters away from them. "I even said to them that I didn't want anything from them."

"I know." the gargess replied, looking to the four males, and Lana noticed that her eyes lasted on the male with the shark's fin on his head, who held her look for a second.

"Some males are this way, therefore females should hold together." Mary concluded, looking back to Lana. "So, are you interested in getting some new clothes with us tomorrow?"

Lana's eyes grew big, and instead of saying something, she just hugged her new friend long and firm.

23.08.98; 01:06 Fortress one, medical wing:

Fox saw how his nurse checked the drip that her father was on. The doctor had gone already, some minutes ago, since there had been nothing he could have done. Those minutes seemed like an eternity to her.

Naturally it was always this way when someone had nothing to do but to wait.

Yet she had something to do, but watching her sleeping father breathe short breathes under the blanket, and waiting if he would either wake up one last time, or if he would die while he slept, was torture for her.

Suddenly, Fox noticed that the nurse was gone, or maybe she had been gone for already some minutes, but it could also be hours. The ex mercenary couldn't even see the color of the nurse's skin, or of her hair. It didn't matter, as all what mattered was the movements of her father's eyes behind his eyelids.

Was he dreaming? Was his life flashing before him as some people who had been dead had reported?

Fox wanted to know the answer on this, but even more she wanted to see those eyes one more time, and see her father in them.

"Father?" she asked, leaning forward and touching her father's thin hand. "Can you hear me?"

There was no response; just the warmth of her father's hand in her own, and even thus seemed to dwindle.

Instead, after hours or maybe just minutes had passed, Fox could hear someone coming through the door, and looking around she saw her husband entering the room, followed by Goliath.

David didn't say anything when he approached his wife, but laid a hand on her shoulder while Goliath maintained a respectful distance from the pair.

"The doctor said he would die within one hour." Fox told her husband. "He won't wake up until then."

David knelt down by her side, looking in her blue eyes he had come to love so much. Fox hadn't cried, as she cried seldom, and the tears for her father's death she had already shed before.

The billionaire spared the useless words, and instead laid his hand right hand on that of his wife.

"So I came at the right time," a female voice noticed.

Three eye pairs looked to the woman entering the room.

"What are you doing here!" Fox asked angrily.

"I'm visiting your father." her mother replied, going in the direction of the bed. "Which is my right."

"You aren't his wife anymore." Fox noted, rising from her chair.

"No," Anastasia replied, stopping by her daughter and looking into her eyes, "but the years with your father gave me the right to be here."

Mother and daughter shared a long look, Anastasia alone, Fox with her husband by her side, and a gargoyle away from this confrontation and forgotten. Then, as if nothing had happened, Anastasia walked over to her dying former husband.

"The doctor said he wouldn't wake up before he dies." Fox explained.

Anastasia stopped, giving her daughter a short look with an unreadable expression on her face, before looking down on the man she had shared many years with.

"The doctor's science isn't the answer on everything, child." she said.

While Anastasia did so, her whole body was covered in a green light, and from one second to the next, there stood no more a human woman, but Titania, queen of the Third Race.

Before anyone could recover from this, she knelt down by Reynard's side and whispered something in his ear.

"What are you doing?" Fox demanded to know, rushing to the Fey's side, barely controlling herself not to pull her back from her father.

"See?" Titania demanded, and rose from her position.

At first, Fox didn't understand, but then she saw her father opening his eyes, which were bright and clear.

"Anastasia." he said, seeing his former wife standing beside him. "I dreamed of you."

"I said I would come when your time would come." she reminded him, laying her hand on his right one.

Reynard gave her a smile, a smile not polluted by signs of pain, as Fox noticed. She neither noticed that her father seemingly didn't mind the Fey's appearance.

"Yes, you did." Reynard noticed. "I always valued our time together, Anastasia."

The queen of the Fey nodded, and gave her former husband a slight smile.

"As did I." she explained, and removed her hand from his. "And I always will."

Titania stepped aside, giving her daughter an earnest look, which showed her that they didn't have much time anymore.

"Janine." Reynard called his daughter, now looking in her face.

"Father." Fox said, kneeing down before him. "There is so much I have to tell you."

Reynard smiled, touching his daughter's face and stroking it softly.

"I love you, too." he explained.

Fox opened her mouth, trying to say something, but then she closed it, holding her father's thin hand and emitting a single tear.

"I'm so tired." Reynard said, closing his eyes.

"Then rest, my friend." Goliath said, having stepped forward and now laying a claw on the old man's shoulder "Know that you are surrounded by people who love and respect you."

Reynard looked up to his friend, and then back over the room to his daughter, his ex-wife and his son in law. He gave them all one last smile, and then closed his eyes.

Seconds later, he stopped breathing.

23.08.98; 01:12 Castle Wyvern, Infirmary:

Deborah listened to her mate's breathing, long and deep, and found it was the most wonderful sound in the world. They lay on two beds pulled together, their wings encircled around them, and showed the world their inner connection.

The doctor had left hours ago, and even when they didn't feel tired, they had decided to lie together, finding comfort in the presence of their other half.

"Ye are thinking." she noticed.

"Aye," he replied. "I think about the world we live in."

Deborah opened her wings, as did Hudson, and a second later they lay on their sides, seeing each other face to face.

"It is brighter than back then." Hudson noticed. "And faster… everything changes from one day to the other."

Deborah nodded.

"Ye know back when we had our first winters?" Deborah asked.

"Aye," Hudson chuckled. "We and our siblings played in the snow and threw snowballs on each other until we were white."

His mate nodded.

"And then we threw snowballs on our elders when they told us to go back to the caves." she reminded him, a smile on her lips, which let her seem truly young..

"It wasn't always happy," Hudson reminded her. "We were often hungry."

Deborah nodded, her face becoming thoughtful again.

"Aye, but we knew it was winter, but here…" she sighed. "It has been winter, it has been spring, it was summer, and now it becomes fall again… and nothing changes."

Deborah closed her eyes and remembered.

"At least not really, since we go in the warm castle, see TV and know it doesn't matter." she concluded.

"Aye," Hudson agreed. "The times of the year dilute, and they feel less real."

"Yes. And the hatchlings?" Deborah began. "They grow up here. The older ones may remember what winter truly meant, but the ones just hatched will never know it. They will believe that winter means that snow lies outside, or that the night has always been so bright as the humans made them."

"I heard some of our generation speak this way." Hudson noticed. "And some of the younger ones, too."

They remained silent for some seconds, both trying to sort their thoughts.

"When I arrived here, when I truly began to understand what here meant, I felt somehow lost…" she admitted, looking in her mate's eyes, "displaced…. and robbed."

Deborah began to softly stroke her mate's face.

"I thought this feeling would go away when I would adapt, but it didn't. I guess it never truly will." she revealed. "And the only time when I really feel that I belong here, is when I'm with you…. when I feel you by my side."

Hudson nodded, as he hadn't had to say anything, since he knew his mate knew that he felt the same.

"When Xanatos first offered me a mechanical leg, I believed I refused for simply the idea of it, or the idea of becoming like one of the Pack… but this wasn't true. It was the idea to change, which scared me." He thought about it for a second. "And it still does."

He remained silent a second longer.

"In this world, we have to make decisions every night, decisions on whether to adapt or to stay behind, decisions to live or decisions to die." Hudson looked deep in his mate's eyes. "I decide to live, and I always will, as long as I have you by my side, my angel of the sea."

Deborah looked at her mate, but did not say anything since it wasn't needed; instead she wrapped her wings around him and let him do the same, and both reveling in the strength and warmness they brought each other.

23.08.98; 01:25 New York, Docks:

Darlene held the sleeping Gem in her arms, and looked after her other children. Jarred stood a bit away from her, studying the buildings and ships, without finding anything interesting. Lana on the other claw tried her best to ignore the four males lingering around her, trying to impress her with war and hunting-stories.

Her daughter was visibly annoyed by the male's behavior, which seemed clear to everyone except the love-blind males trying to court her, but Darlene noticed that it didn't seem to mind Lana, as it had nights before. Lana seemed to be more light-hearted than her mother had seen her for months. She had even made a looping in the air, much to the joy of the males accompanying them.

Darlene's heart became lighter by the thought that her daughter finally had made some friends in the clan.

Suddenly, she could hear the sound of wild barking coming out of the dark alley that her mother had vanished in with Shade. Worried, Darlene looked to her four protectors, but the males seemingly were too busy trying to impress her daughter than to notice the sound.

"Mother?" she called into the alley.

No response, except that Jarred and Lana looked surprised on her, then on the alley, and Gem woke up in her arms.

Now, even the love-sickest male noticed that something was wrong, and in half a second they dropped their bags and approached the alley in a line, shielding Darlene and her children from anything that would come out of it.

A further second passed, when a shadow came closer, revealing to be Shade, followed by Demona a second later.

"She discovered a rat." the immortal explained while passing the four stunned males.

Without any further explanations, Demona jumped on the nearest wall, climbing up to the roof.

Darlene emitted a sigh, and the other gargoyles relaxed too, deciding to follow the immortal's example.

They had left three minutes later, when a further figure emitted from the shadow of the alley, letting the light of the street lamps reveal dark blue feet-claws protected by black leather.

23.08.98; 01:27 Fortress one, medical wing:

Fox looked at her dead father with a thoughtful and sad expression. Somehow the old man had gained a bit of his youth back from his death, even when this was just because his face didn't show the expression of pain anymore.

Goliath had left, shortly after her father's death, taking with him his rookery brother who had stood guard outside. At the same time, Mr. Vogel had entered showing just a brief flash of pain on his face when he learned of his boss's death.

In this moment, he was talking with Titania, now back in her human disguise. Fox had no idea what the two could possibly talk about, but she swore to ask Vogel later.

The conversation ended, and Titania began to leave the room.

"Mother!" Fox called.

Anastasia stopped at the door.

"Yes, child." she asked.

The ex-mercenary bit her lip.

"I can't forget or forgive what you put me through, mother." Fox began. "But I would like it if we could meet in the next few days and… talk."

Anastasia gave her daughter a slight smile.

"I would like so too." she explained, and walked through the door, disappearing as she did so.

Fox looked at the place where her mother had vanished, and sighed, feeling unsure about her decisions.

Her husband approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder, and she looked on him, nodding. Fox gave her father one last look before standing up, kissing him on his cold forehead, and pulling the blanket over him.

There was a ring.

"Sorry." David Xanatos said, removing his cell-phone from his breast pocket.

"Yes, Owen?" he asked, knowing that his servant was the only person, besides his wife, who had access to this phone.

The billionaire listened, and instantly his face darkened.

"I understand," he said, "inform me when you learn more."

"David, what happened?" Fox asked, not liking the expression in her husband's face, while he put his handy back in his pocket.

"Owen informed me that someone has freed Jackal, Wolf and Hyena out of the jail. At the same time, someone has broken into one of my warehouses and stolen the newest model of Coyote." he explained. "The Pack is back out there."

To Be Continued…