Secret Admirer
Written by Donald E. Fleming II
Story concept by Donald E. Fleming II
Disclaimer: All Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Studios and are being used without their consent or permission. Other Gargoyle characters are the property of The Gargoyle Saga (TGS) writing staff and also are being used without their permission. I am receiving no reward for this story other than the satisfaction of being able to share it with others as it is intended solely for my own entertainment and the entertainment of Gargoyle fandom everywhere.
Note: The idea for this story was somewhat inspired by an idea by fellow fanfic writer StorySeeker, so additional credit goes to him for the inspiration.
January 31, 1997
Manhattan
It all started with a box of fudge.
Dominique Destine arrived home from a long, and very stressful, day at Nightstone Unlimited to find a box on her doorstep. Unsure about the nondescript package, she had her chauffeur inspect the package to make certain that it didn't contain any nasty surprises inside. She waited by the car while he carefully opened the box and checked the contents.
"It looks like someone likes you, Ms. Destine," he said as he approached her with the box. He held it out to her.
Dominique looked at the contents. The box was filled with chocolate fudge. Dominique carefully picked up the small card that lay on top of the fudge and opened it.
"'From a secret admirer'," she said aloud. "Hmm, curious."
"Do you want me to get rid of it, Ms. Destine?" he asked. "Just in case it might be…"
Dominique picked up one of the pieces of fudge and carefully sniffed it. "No," she said. "I have something inside that I can use to test it. But somehow I doubt that it is dangerous."
"If you say so, ma'am," he said, then handed the box to her.
"I will see you Monday morning, Gregory," she said. She waited until her driver left before heading inside with the box. She set the box on her desk, then opened it and took out a piece of fudge, looking at the piece carefully. There was a layer of a light brown fudge between the two layers of chocolate; she sniffed it carefully before taking a small bite to test it, knowing that if it should prove to be tainted with poison, a small amount will make her sick without actually killing her. After biting off a portion, she held it in her mouth momentarily before swallowing it, savoring the taste of the chocolate, and smiling at the additional taste of peanut butter. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make this, she thought. After several minutes, she realized that she wasn't going to suffer any ill effects from what was obviously untainted fudge, so she popped the rest of the piece in her mouth, savoring the taste as before. She smiled as she picked up the card.
"Whoever you are," she said as she swallowed the rich confection and reached for a second one. "I'm going to have to find out who you are so I can properly thank you before I punish you for trespassing onto my property."
February 10, 1997
Nightstone Unlimited
Candice knocked on Dominique's open office door to catch her boss's attention before entering. "Ms. Destine?"
"Yes, Candice," she said, looking up. She saw a long box in her secretary's hands. "Let me guess."
"From your secret admirer," she said as she walked into the office. She set the box on the desk and stepped back as Dominique opened the box. Inside were a dozen long-stemmed roses.
"I'm jealous," Candice said as Dominique lifted the roses and brought them to her face, inhaling the fragrance. She then set them back in the box and closed the lid before setting it aside. "You're not going to put them in a vase or something?" she asked.
"I don't have one handy," Dominique said. "Besides, this is starting to get tiresome."
"How can you say that?" her secretary asked in utter disbelief. "I wish I had a secret admirer who liked me enough to send me flowers and candy and all that other stuff every day." She smiled. "If you ask me, I think it's kinda romantic. Especially with Valentine's Day coming up."
"Just another senseless holiday," Dominique muttered. "And I did not ask you your opinion, Candice," she added huffily. "If you want the roses," she then said. "They're yours. I hadn't planned on keeping them anyway."
"Aren't you the least bit curious about who sent them?" Candice asked.
"Not in the slightest," Dominique said. "I figure that whomever is sending me these gifts will make himself known to me sooner or later. And when he does, I can tell him just how big a fool he is for doing all this."
"What makes you think it's a 'he'?" Candice asked. When Dominique looked up at her in surprise, she added, "It could very well be a 'she'."
Dominique frowned. "Well then," she said after a moment's hesitation. "I will have to tell 'her' just how big a fool she is for doing this."
Candice frowned, wondering why her boss was being so indifferent about the possibility that someone was interested in pursuing a relationship with her. But she knew better than to try to pry into Dominique Destine's personal affairs. The CEO of Nightstone Unlimited didn't take to kindly to those who did.
"So you're not the least bit interested in who sent you the flowers?" she asked. "Or the other stuff?"
"Absolutely not," Dominique said. She pushed the box towards her secretary. "Take them if you want."
Candice hesitantly picked up the box. "Well, when you do find out who it is, can you at least let the rest of us know?" she asked.
"Why should I?" she asked. "It's not as if…" She stopped when she realized why Candice was interested. "How much are you in for?" she asked.
"Ms. Destine!" Candice said in protest. ""How could you think such a thing? Just because the rest of the secretarial staff has a pool going on about who it might be doesn't mean I would…"
"How much?" Dominique asked flatly.
Candice hesitated for a moment. "Twenty bucks," she finally admitted. "It wasn't my fault, Ms. Destine. They talked me into it. They said that if anyone could find out from you who it was, it would be me, since I am your personal assistant. I just couldn't pass it up."
"I see," Dominique said, almost ominously, which made Candice slightly nervous.
"Well…uh," she started. "I guess I'd better…get back to work, and…"
"Leave the roses," Dominique said.
"Ms. Destine?"
"The roses," she said. "Leave them here. And the box."
Candice quickly set the box back on the desk. "But I thought you said…"
"If I am to find out the identity of my 'secret admirer'," she said. "I think the best way will be to find out which florist these roses originated from and work my way back from there." When she looked up into the face of her secretary, she saw a look of confusion. "You did say you had twenty dollars riding on this, didn't you?" she added.
"Uh, yes," Candice said.
"Now, unless I miss my guess," she then said. "You have a desk to get back to. Correct?"
"Of course, Ms. Destine," she said. "Right away."
Dominique waited until her secretary left the office before turning her attention towards the box of roses. She opened the box and lifted out the flowers, looking for any indication as to which florist they had come from. Under the flowers, she found a small business card. She picked it up and looked it over.
"Carson's Florists," she said aloud before looking at the phone number at the bottom of the card. "Well, my 'secret admirer'," she said. "You won't be a secret for much longer." She smiled as she picked up the phone and dialed the number, pulling one of the roses out of the bouquet and twirling it absently between her fingers as she listened for an answer.
"Carson's Florists," she heard someone say. "Your place to go for your Valentine's…"
"This is Dominique Destine," she quickly said, not really interested in hearing the rest of the store's slogan for the upcoming holiday.
"Y…yes, Ms. Destine," the woman on the other end said, clearly flustered, but Dominique couldn't tell if it was because of being cut off, or the fact that she was now speaking to one of the most powerful women in the city. "Wh…what can I do for you?"
"I received a dozen roses today," she said. "Your business card was in the box, and I was calling to ask you a question."
"Of course, Ms. Destine," the woman said. "Anything I can do to help."
"I am curious as to the exact identity of the individual who made the purchase and had them sent to me," she said.
"Oh," the woman said, almost regretfully, and Dominique suddenly had the feeling that she was about to hit a dead end. "I really wish I could help you with that, Ms. Destine," she said. "But…"
"You can't tell me who it was, right?" she said.
"I really wish I could," the florist said. "But the fact of the matter is I don't know who it was."
"No way you can tell me by looking at the sales receipt?" Dominique asked. "If the person paid by credit card or check, you should be able to…"
"It was all in cash, Ms. Destine," the florist said.
"I see," Dominique reply. Very clever, she thought. A payment in hard currency meant no paper trail to follow. "Well, can you at least describe the person who purchased them?"
"I wish I could," she said. "No one saw the person who placed the order."
"I don't understand," Dominique said. "Surely, someone must have seen him…"
"The money and the order was slipped under the door after the shop closed last night," she said. "No one saw who did it."
"I see," Dominique said in understanding. Very clever indeed. You are going to a lot of trouble to keep yourself anonymous, my friend. It will make finding out just who you are that much more satisfying. "Well, thank you anyway."
"Do you want me to let you know if another anonymous order comes in for you?" the florist asked.
Dominique looked at her desk calendar. "Somehow, I doubt that one will," she said. "But I would appreciate it nonetheless."
"All right, Ms. Destine," the florist said. "I really wish I could have been more help."
"That's all right," she said. "You were more help than you can imagine." She hung up the phone after giving the florist a number where she could be reached, then sat back and looked at the roses. "Well, Mr. 'Secret Admirer'," she said. "It appears that if I am to find out just who you are, I'm going to have to do it the old-fashioned way."
February 12, 1997
Demona sat on the rooftop across the street from the florist's shop, waiting. She was acutely aware of just how close to sunrise it was, but she was bound and determined to discover the identity of her mysterious paramour, no matter how long it took.
For nearly two weeks, her 'secret admirer' had sent her gifts; flowers, candy, a stuffed toy tiger on one occasion, and several well-written poems that almost tugged at her heartstrings. Almost. And each gift made her desire to know just who it was that was sending her these things even more, to the point where she was now casing probable florists and gift shops, hoping to catch the scoundrel and teach him a good lesson.
She tensed as she saw a car slow to a stop in front of the store, then sighed as she saw a bundle being tossed out of the passenger side window. The morning paper delivery, she realized as she relaxed. She considered retrieving the paper and searching through it to see if perhaps an envelope with an order for her was inside, but she quickly tossed the idea out. The florist had said that the order and payment was slipped under the door, she reminded herself. Not rolled up in the New York Times. I just need to be a little more patient. Eventually, my mystery man will make an appearance.
It was a half an hour before sunrise when her mysterious admirer finally made an appearance. She had just killed a pigeon and was debating whether or not to eat it to alleviate her hunger when her ears picked up the sound of a manhole cover being moved. She tossed aside the dead bird and hurried to the edge of the roof. Looking down on the street below, she watched as the manhole cover in front of the store was lifted and moved aside, and then a cloaked figure stuck its head up out of the open manhole. It seemed to look up and down the street for a moment before climbing out of the manhole and headed for the front of the store.
Got you! Demona thought triumphantly as she watched the figure move towards the store. Now we'll see just who you are. She placed her foot on the edge of the roof and then launched herself downward.
The mysterious figure had just begun to reach for something under his cloak when Demona landed behind him. He jumped as she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around, causing him to lose his grip on the manila envelope he was planning to slip under the door. It fell to the ground as Demona grabbed him by the front of his cloak and shook him.
"All right," she snarled, her eyes blazing red. "Who are you?"
The figure gulped soundly; he hadn't expected her to be lying in wait for him, and now he realized that he was going to have to reveal who he was far sooner than he had planned.
"Well?" Demona snarled.
The figure reached up hesitantly. Demona's eyes went wide slightly as a fur-covered arm came out from underneath the cloak, and she watched wordlessly as the hood was pulled back.
"Claw?" she gasped in surprise.
Claw smiled sheepishly at her, then lifted up his hand and finger-waved at her. Hello, he mouthed.
Demona frowned, then pushed the Mutate away from her. "What is this?" she snarled heatedly. "Some kind of sick joke?" She ignored Claw's shaking his head to say 'No'. "Did Fang come up with this idea? Is that it?"
No! he mouthed frantically, his hands moving quickly to try to explain.
"Save it!" she said through clenched teeth. "I do not know what you are trying to say, nor do I have any interest in learning. I only know that I have no interest in any of your games."
This isn't a game, he said with his hands, even though he knew Demona wouldn't understand the frantic gestures. He bent down and picked up the envelope he had dropped, hoping that the contents would help explain things.
Demona quickly snatched it out of his hand, then proceeded to tear it up. "Whatever you have planned, Claw," she snarled. "I have no interest in it. Or you." She then tossed the scraps back at him. "Leave me alone, Claw," she said. "Or next time, I'll turn you into a rug!"
Claw watched as Demona leapt over him and began scaling the wall. As she reached the roof, she looked back down at him, seeing the sad expression on his face, but not particularly caring. She spread her wings and took off across the sky, leaving him to pick up the pieces of the torn envelope and his broken heart.
Nightstone Unlimited
Dominique sat at her desk, going over the financial reports from that day, when her secretary knocked on the door to her office.
"Well?" she asked.
"What?" Dominique asked.
"Who was it?" Candice asked.
"Who…" she started, but then she realized what Candice was asking. "Oh," she said. "That." She sat back in her chair and rubbed her temple slightly, feeling the beginnings of a migraine forming.
"Well?" she asked again. "Did you find out who he was?"
Dominique looked up at her secretary. She started to tell the young woman to mind her own business, but she hesitated. "No," she finally said. "Not yet. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing came for you today," Candice said. "I thought that maybe you found out who it was and told him off. You did say that's what you were going to do."
"Well, I haven't," she lied. "I had other more important things to worry about last night than the identity of some lovesick idiot." She turned her attention back to the reports on her desk. "Now if you'll excuse me..."
"Of course, Ms. Destine," Candice said. She quickly retreated out of the office.
Dominique waited until the door closed before she pushed herself away from the desk and stood up, fuming. She quickly walked over to the door and locked it so that she wouldn't have any more interruptions.
That stupid stuffed tiger should have been a dead giveaway, she thought angrily as she walked back to her desk, pausing to look out the window. Well, whatever sick little game Claw intends to play, he'll find his efforts wasted. I have no intention of becoming someone else's puppet. Not again, not ever. She turned away from the window and sat down at her desk, intending on finishing the financial reports, but finding her mind not willing to focus on the task. When she paused to look at the clock, she realized that she wouldn't have enough time to finish what she had started. Sunset was not far off, and she had to leave if she intended to get home before her nightly change. She quickly shoved the reports into her briefcase and stalked towards the door.
Destine Manor
Demona leaned back in her chair and breathed a sigh of relief as she tossed the last of the financial reports onto the desk. I thought I would never get through those, she thought tiredly. Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother with the trivialities of running a business when my only goal is to rid this planet of the wretched humans. She sat up and then pushed the chair back, then got up and went over to her liquor cabinet. Taking out a bottle of Cognac, she poured a small amount into a glass before returning to the desk. After taking a sip, she picked up the report she had just finished going over, intending to file it away with the rest, when she thought about what it represented.
Millions of dollars worth of investments, she thought. A thousand years ago, she would have scoffed at the idea that the world of finance would become such an integral part of her life. But that was another lifetime, another eternity ago. And it wasn't just the dollars she saw reflected in the numbers. She saw lives in the numbers. Human lives. Lives that she herself now controlled. Lives she could alter with just a single stroke of the pen. Suddenly, she smiled as she realized the control she now had, and somehow that satisfied her far more than the thought of wiping out humanity in one single stroke. Why destroy them? she thought as she took another sip of Cognac. Especially when making them miserable for all eternity would be so much more...
A sharp pounding on the balcony door broke her chain of thought. Frowning, she set the glass on the desk and turned towards the doors, curious as to who could gain access to the balcony this easily without setting off the perimeter alarms. She carefully eased her way around the desk and opened the top drawer of her desk, reaching for the blaster she kept for occasions such as this. She didn't really need it; as a gargoyle, she could handle most kinds of intruders, but the power of the weapon would give her an added measure of protection, especially if the intruder turned out to be Goliath, or...
"I know you're in there, Demona!" she heard an angry voice shout. A voice that was all too painfully familiar. "Open this door, or so help me, I'll smash it open!"
Demona let her hand linger on the weapon for just a second as she heard her daughter resume pounding on the balcony doors before she finally pull her hand away and shove the drawer closed. She then turned and went to the balcony doors, unlocking the doors and then stepping back quickly as Angela shoved them open.
"I hope you have a good explanation..." she started, even as she saw the enraged look in her daughter's eyes.
"What did you do to him?" Angela snapped angrily.
"I have no idea who you are talking..." Demona started.
"You know exactly who, Demona!" Angela said.
"Honestly, I don't..." she started, but then it suddenly dawned on him. "Oh," she said flatly. "Him."
"Yes," Angela snapped. "Claw. What did you say to him?"
Demona frowned at her daughter, surprised by Angela's anger. "Nothing that need concern you, Angela," she said flatly. "I simply told him that I wasn't interested in any of his sick games."
"Sick games?" Angela gasped in disbelief. "How can you say something like that? Don't you even know or care what you've done to him?"
"Not in the least," Demona said. "Too many times, I've let males play games with my heart, and it's time I put an end to it. As far as I'm concerned, Claw can rot in that sewer he calls a home. I have no interest in anything any human has to say to me."
"Even if he says he's in love with you?" Angela asked.
"Even if..." Demona started, but then she hesitated when she realized just what it was Angela had said. "If he claims that he has feelings for me. I truly have no interest in him. And besides, humanity will never accept us, Angela. What makes you think that one of those wretched creatures would be so willing to gives his heart to one of us?"
"Father was right," Angela growled. "There's no use talking to you. I should never have come here." She started to turn away from her. "When Claw told me that he had feelings for you, I should have tried harder to convince him that it was hopeless." She turned and looked at her mother, and Demona could already see the first trace of tears in Angela's eyes. "That it was useless trying to love someone who had no soul left in them. Now he's down in the Labyrinth, heartbroken because of you. Well, I hope that you can live with yourself, mother. You've caused more pain today than you could have with any weapon you can possibly dream of." She turned towards the open balcony doors.
"If Claw is so interested in screwing a gargoyle, why doesn't he try his luck with that freak Delilah?" Demona said coldly. "I'm sure she'd be more than willing to spread her legs for him."
Angela paused, as if she had been slapped. She turned and glared at her mother in utter disbelief, as if she couldn't believe that Demona had uttered those hateful words. Before she could think twice about it, she reached up and slapped Demona angrily across the face, surprising the immortal gargess. The sound of Angela's hand striking her cheek seemed to echo off the walls of the room, and Demona found herself momentarily unable to turn her head to face her daughter.
"I never want to see you ever again, mother!" Angela said angrily. "Never!"
Demona flinched at the last word, then finally turned and watched as Angela raced through the open balcony doors, launching herself into the night. Demona turned and numbly walked up the stairs, seemingly in a daze, not even registering the stinging sensation on her cheek where Angela had slapped her. When she got to the top of the stairs, she paused for a moment as her sense of reality began to reassert itself. She reached up and gently touched her cheek, still surprised that Angela had struck her, and then looked at her hand away when her fingertips registered an odd wetness on her cheek. Tears? she thought in disbelief when she saw what it was. No, it can't be. It must be...something else. Still, the sensation of wetness rolling down her cheeks persisted as she walked down the hallway to her bedroom. When she pushed open the door, the first thing she saw was the toy stuffed tiger sitting on the bedside table. She had intended to get rid of it when she got home, but she had gotten distracted by the financial reports. With a heavy sob, she raced across the bedroom and snatched it up, and then proceeded to tear the toy to pieces. When she was finished, she sank to her knees, buried her head in her hands, and began to cry.
She just couldn't figure out why.
February 13, 1997
Dominique Destine looked up as she heard the phone ring. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was, or why the floor around her was covered in cotton. Then she saw the shell of the toy tiger lying on the floor, and the events of the previous night came crashing back.
The phone rang again. She quickly got up and answered it. "Hello?"
"Ms. Destine?" she heard the voice of her secretary say. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," she said, even as she sniffled. "Why?"
"It's almost noon," Candice said. "We've been trying to reach you all morning."
"Noon?" she gasped in disbelief, even as she snatched up the alarm clock and looked at the time. "Why didn't anyone call me..."
"We did," Candice said. "Gregory waited for you for almost three hours this morning. When you didn't answer..."
Dominique took a deep breath to steady herself. "It's all right, Candice," she said. "I guess that I overslept because of...what happened...last night."
"Oh?" Candice queried.
Dominique could almost hear the question forming in her secretary's mind. "It wasn't that," she said bluntly. "My daughter and I had an...argument...last night, and some rather harsh words were said."
"Oh, I'm sorry, Ms. Destine," Candice said. "Is everything okay?"
Dominique sighed. "No," she said. "And to tell the truth, I don't know if they ever will be again." She paused for a long moment. "I won't be in today, Candice. Or probably tomorrow, either. Tell the board I will meet with them on Monday, after I get some other things sorted out first."
"All right, Ms. Destine," Candice said. "I'll see you Monday."
Dominique waited until she heard her secretary break the connection before hanging up the phone and heading into the bathroom. She winced when she saw the red-eyed and puffy face staring back at her in the mirror. How long was I crying? she wondered. She realized that she had obviously been crying most of the night, but she couldn't believe that it had been all night. She turned on the water and started to wash her face off, wincing as she touched the spot where Angela had slapped her. The pain had subsided hours ago, but the memory lingered. When she was satisfied that she had managed to restore some semblance of dignity to herself, she walked back into the bedroom and stopped when she saw the remains of the stuffed tiger sitting on the floor. Reaching down, she picked up the tattered toy and for some reason tried to fix it. After several minutes, she became aware of the fact that she was crying again.
The Labyrinth
"Talon!" one of the regular Labyrinth dwellers shouted as he came racing down the tunnel. "You'll never guess who I just saw!"
"Elvis?" Talon replied, trying to make a joke despite the somber mood he was in.
"Nah," the man said. "It's her. The redhead you guys had locked up down here a few months ago. She's back!"
Talon growled. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," he said. "I mean, her clothes are different, but I never forget a face. Especially one like hers."
"Show me."
Dominique walked down the tunnel, heading straight for the Labyrinth, the remains of the stuffed toy clutched tightly in her hand. She wasn't entirely sure why she was down here. After the grief she had put the Mutates through the last time she was here, she knew that she wasn't going to be greeted with open arms, but something deep down told her that this was something she had to do.
A low growling told her that she had reached the outer boundary of the Mutates' territory.
"That's far enough, Demona," Talon growled heatedly. Dominique watched as twin balls of energy began to surround the Mutate leader's hands.
"I didn't come down here to fight, Talon," she said. "I came...I came to see Claw."
"Why?" she heard another voice snap. She watched as Talon's mate Maggie stepped out from behind her husband. "So you can finish what you started? Haven't you hurt him enough already? Or do you want to twist the knife in even deeper?"
Dominique knew that she shouldn't have been surprised by Maggie's angry words, but they still caught her off guard. "N...no," she said hesitantly. "I just...I need to talk to him."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't toast you right here and now, Demona," Talon snarled.
"I...I can't," she said. "Talon, I came down here at great personal risk to talk to Claw. I know that there is nothing I can do to keep you from killing me or locking me back up in the cell you had me in before." She paused when she saw Talon frown. "But I will tell you that if you do, you will only cause trouble for yourself, your sister and the clan."
"That sounds like a threat," Talon snarled.
"It's not," she said. "Talon..."
"Save it," he snapped. "Whatever you've got to say, tell it to someone else. I'm not interested." He then walked up to her and looked her square in the eye. "Just be thankful I'm going to let you walk out of here, Demona. I should toss your sorry ass back in that cell, but I can't afford the kind of trouble locking you up would cause, and I sure as hell don't want you anywhere near Claw, not after the pain you've put him through."
"I only want..."
"I don't give a damn about what you want, Demona!" Talon snapped. "What I want is for you to take your sorry ass out of here right now and not come back!" He started to turn.
"You...miserable..." Dominique started, taking a quick step towards him.
"Derek!" Maggie cried out as she saw Dominique bring her hand up.
Talon turned, firing a blast that caught Dominique square in the chest. The force of the blast tossed her back several feet, and she landed lifeless on the tunnel floor. Talon took a cautious step towards her when he saw no sign of movement, then he looked back at his mate.
"I...I thought she had a weapon..." Maggie said.
Talon quickly walked over to where Dominique lay. He reached down and picked up the tattered toy that lay next to her hand.
"Not quite," Talon said.
"Is...is she..." Maggie stammered.
Talon reached down and checked for a pulse. "Nothing," he said. Then he stood up. "We should leave, seal up this tunnel."
"We can't just leave her here..." Maggie protested.
"She'll be all right in a little while," Talon said. "Elisa told me that this has happened to her before. If we leave Demona alone, she'll come to on her own." He looked at the tattered toy and then dropped it by Dominique's side. But when he turned back towards Maggie, he spotted someone else coming down the tunnel. "Claw..."
Claw pushed his way past Talon and looked down at Dominique's lifeless form. Then he looked at Talon. Why? he mouthed.
"I told her to leave," Talon said. "She wanted to be difficult."
Why was she here? he signed with his hands.
"It's not..." Talon started, but then Maggie quickly cut in.
"She came down to see you, Claw," she said, which earned her an angry glance from Talon.
Claw turned his attention back to Dominique. He reached down and picked up the toy, then held it out to Talon.
"That was like that when she came down here," Talon said. Then he watched as Claw knelt down to pick the lifeless woman up. "Leave her be, Claw!"
No! he mouthed. He then turned his full attention back to Dominique, lifting her gently in his arms. He then turned and started back towards the Labyrinth. He stopped when he saw Talon blocking his way.
The two of them faced each other, growling. Maggie could already sense a fight coming and quickly stepped between them. "We can keep her in the cell, Talon," she said. "At least until she wakes up. Then we can call Elisa and have her escort Demona out of the Labyrinth."
"Fine," Talon snapped. He turned and stalked back towards the Labyrinth, leaving Maggie and Claw alone in the tunnel with Dominique's lifeless body.
She awoke to the sensation of coolness on her brow. She started to sit up, but gave that up when she felt a sharp pain race through her body. Moaning, she opened her eyes and looked around.
She was back in the cell, the same one she had been in before. Only there was something different this time. Sitting next to her, with a worried look on his face, was Claw. He moved back slightly as she tried to sit up again.
"Well, Sleeping Beauty finally decided to wake up," she heard a sarcastic voice say. She turned and found Fang sitting in the cell next to hers.
"Shut up, Fang," she said before turning her attention back to Claw. "I figured Talon would have left me where I was," she said.
Claw reached over and picked up a pad and paper from the table next to the bed. 'He wanted to,' he wrote. 'I brought you here.'
"So now I'm a prisoner here," she said. "Again."
'No. As soon as you are able, Talon wants you to leave and never come back.'
"That suits me fine," she said as she managed to push herself up. "I shouldn't have come down here in the first place."
'Why did you come?' he wrote.
The question caught her by surprise. What was more of a surprise was that she couldn't come up with an answer. "I...I don't know," she admitted. "I just...I felt I had to talk to you."
'Why? About what?'
"I don't know," she said, and this time her voice wavered.
Claw reached down and picked up the tattered toy from the floor. 'To return this?' came the question.
Dominique had a hard time meeting his gaze. "I'm sorry about that," she said. "I was angry last night. Angela came by my home and we argued."
'About how I feel about you?' he wrote.
Dominique swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yes," she said. Then she looked at him. "I have to wonder why, though," she said. "I'm not exactly an ideal...person."
'No,' Claw wrote. 'But you have been alone for a long time. I know what that's like. It is something that no one should wish on another soul.'
"Is that the only reason?" she asked.
Claw hesitantly shook his head, 'No'. Then he stood up and extended his hand. Dominique could already tell that he wanted her to come with him. She hesitated for a moment, then stood up and followed him out of the cell.
She followed him across the Sanctuary, drawing a few icy stares from some of the residents who remembered her from the last time she was down here, until they reached the door that marked Claw's sleeping quarters. She stopped short, not having any intention of following him in. Claw took the hint and went inside alone. He came out a few seconds later, a folded piece of paper in his hand, which he offered to her.
"What is this?" she asked as she took it from him.
Open it, he indicated with his hands.
Dominique hesitantly unfolded the paper, taking a moment to note that it had been ripped apart and taped together. She grimaced when she realized that it was probably the same sheet of paper that she herself had ripped apart a few days earlier. As soon as she had the paper unfolded, her eyes went wide in surprise.
It was a sketching of her lying on her side in her usual nightwear, no doubt done by Claw the last time she was here. It was an excellent rendering of her, and it surprised her that Claw would take the time to sketch someone who had sworn to wipe out humanity at the first chance she got.
She looked at Claw. "Why?" she asked.
'You are beautiful,' he wrote on the pad he had brought with him. 'And it pains me to see someone as lovely as you wanting to cause so much misery. I know that deep down, you are not as evil as others say you are, and I know that you are capable of so much love. Goliath said that the two of you were very happy once, and I would like very much to see you the way he saw you once.'
Dominique stepped back after reading what he had written. "I'm not the person I once was, Claw. The female that Goliath was in love with a long time ago no longer exists. She hasn't existed for a long time."
'Are you sure about that?' he wrote.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
'Someone who has given up on love the way you think you have would not have defied Thailog to save her daughter the way you did,' he wrote. 'I know that there is still love in you somewhere, and I would like the chance to find it.'
Dominique sighed heavily. "It is a sweet sentiment, Claw," she admitted. "But believe me, I am simply not worth the effort."
'Can you at least give me the chance?'
"I...I don't know," she stammered. "I...I'll have to think about it."
'That is all that I ask,' he wrote.
February 14, 1997
Destine Manor
Demona sat alone for a long time, thinking about what had happened. It had surprised her that Claw had been genuinely interested in her, and she had felt a bit of a stirring in the pit of her stomach when he made his admission.
It can't last, she told herself. A part of her told her that he would eventually turn on her, the same way that Goliath, Macbeth and Thailog had, but as much as she wanted to listen to that nagging voice, she tried to ignore it. What Claw had said to her had opened a part of her soul that she had long suppressed, and there was no way she could close it up again. She shoved the nagging doubt out of her mind and went to the balcony doors. Somehow, she knew that Claw would be there, waiting for her to let him in. The tiger-striped Mutate stepped across the threshold with his pad and pen in his hand, but somehow he knew that he wasn't going to need it this night.
Whatever it took, Demona vowed that she would make it last this time around.
The End