I realized recently that I REALLY wanted to do a Gargoyles fanfic. And the moment I started fighting it, I knew I would end up doing it. So, this one starts out in Ancient times. While Demona (as the others aren't born yet) is up in Scotland, another adventure starts in Greece! Hopefully, this will be as good as I imagined it to be.

Almost Paradise

Prologue

"Rae'el! Rae'el, please, hurry! We have to move, now!"

"Charon! Charon, where ARE you!?"

"My love, I'm here."

"Charon."

"Hurry! If Hades finds out--!"

"I'm following you!"

Two pairs of footsteps rushed the corridors of the Temple of the Gods, where only the Gods themselves and the current prophetess could enter. However, at the time, the current prophetess, Rae'el, wanted most to get OUT.

The ancient city of Athens was beautiful, but she had had enough of it. She hated the city for all it was, for all it held her to be: a simple messenger for the Gods. One to deliver anything the Gods themselves desired, and to die there, in that temple. Such was to be her life, but she couldn't stand it! It was droll, dull, trite! Nothing more than an over-glorified delivery girl. And she surely felt the part for the better part of her life.

Until, that is, she met Charon.

He charmed her the instant they began talking, but that was long ago, and such things would best be remembered when they were safely across the large body of water that separated the city from the rest of the world... They would very much like to be in Rome... He would give up his immortality for her there, he knew he could persuade the Gods such a feat... and they would live together in a nice house, with some children, and grow old and die together, without the Gods dictating their every move. They would be normal.

Normal... It was something Rae'el had never been, ever since she was born, she was considered... different. It wasn't her fault; her skin was the color of granite, eyes the color of a piglet and her hair was that of pus. Her father, a priest, had shunned her for the most part, and never thought she was anything special to pay attention to. After all, she was a daughter, a girl: girls couldn't learn, or fight, or do much more than house work and have children. On top of all that, her appearance left a lot to be desired. So when she heard she had a gift, a talent to talk to the Gods through her "dreams", she was ecstatic. Rae'el could finally be useful.

She didn't realize what she had really gotten herself into.

"Rae'el? Are you alright?" Charon, her lover, peered into her face with concern, She smiled sheepishly, and pushed him away. "We'll be there soon. Just stay close to me."

They were finally stowed away on a ship, the captain had been paid for his silence. She would be missed by the city's people, but she felt her happiness was far above that of all the people of Athens'. She wanted her father to love and respect her, not to use her, not like this. Rae'el had to leave. It was the only way.

"Charon... is it getting colder?" Rae'el was wrapped tightly in a blanket, but was still shivering. Charon shrugged and looked around him. The other passengers were sound asleep, save for three young women, huddled together and sharing warmth, though, not shivering. Their eyes were what was fairly disturbing, however. It was unusual to see such blue eyes...

He shuddered, and ushered his beloved upstairs to have a talk to the captain. On deck, it was foggy, and they could barely see. "Captain! Captain... what ho?" He looked about him. There was nothing... nobody. It was abandoned. He held Rae'el closer to him, fearing the worst.

A short but strong gust of wind blew around them, and out of mist emerged the same three young women from before, now looking furious. "Rae'el... you should NOT have left." The one with blond hair spoke first. The other two watched on.

"Neither should you, Charon." A second, ebony haired, spoke quietly. Rae'el shivered harder, but stepped forward, challenging the trio.

"Who are you? Who sent you!?" Rae'el was angry as well, and didn't like to be teased and tested. The three turned, and out from the fog emerged their master... and Charon's as well. "H-Hades! H-how--?" The God of Death merely scoffed at her lack of words.

"I didn't have to be sent, child. I know. The Fates are also very well informed." He gestured to the three young girls, who had transformed to floating spirits before the couple's eyes. The God of Death was horrifying, the main reason so many were afraid of dying was because of seeing Hades' angry red eyes. And now, Rae'el knew what made them so terrifying. They were like boiling pits of fire, but cold, and passionless. It made her shiver that much more. Charon sensed her distress, and wrapped his arms around her, preparing to bargain with the evil God. But he seemed to have other plans.

"You sought to desert me, Charon? I am displeased. To go off with this one," He gestured to the girl, who was flung from Charon with only Hades' will, and thrown to the floor in front of him. "Leaving me without a master for the boat of the River Styx? As pretty as she may be, Charon, you agreed to an eternity of servitude. You vowed your life, and soul, to ME, Charon! To be bound to this girl in marriage goes against that agreement, and we can't have that, now... can we, Charon!?" He spat out the boy's name in disgust, as if each time he said it it left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. And each time he said it, just for emphasis, he would slap the boy, harder and harder, until he was panting, blood running from his mouth and nose onto the deck of the frozen ship.

Rae'el screamed, and tried to run and comfort Charon, but before she could reach him, he was swept away from her grasp, and levitated high above her head. "I shall deal with YOU later, boy." And with that, he was tossed overboard, into the freezing depths of the ocean below. Hades could hear the young prophetess' cry as his body hit the waves, and went to handle her punishment. As he made a step towards her, she instantly turned, her blanket falling with her beloved into the ocean. Her eyes with wet with tears, and before he could say anything, she was on her knees in front of him, her hands clasped.

"Please... please... send me to him. Kill me, have your vengeance, and let us be together, please!" Hades considered the girl for a second, before turning to the three spirits behind him. Their eyes were soulless, emotionless, and cold. Three after his own... well, not heart, he didn't have one. The girl was shivering yet again, it must be rather cold out here for her, Hades thought.

"I cannot. Charon has given himself to me, which means that he cannot love. Not now," He turned to leave. "Not ever. May Zeus have mercy on your soul."

She cried out again, reaching for the hem of his cloak. "Please! Zeus and Athena have already forsaken my soul for serving you! They no longer allow me to visit them with dreams, and the people of Athens would have found out, they would sooner have me locked in the dungeons and find another than kill me! Please... If not my life, then my soul, my eternal humanity, sentence me to exile, but please, PLEASE, do not send me back!"

He chuckled and she looked up, finally realizing she was bargaining with death itself. He was amused, however, at her hatred for the people who had made her practically a Goddess. "You do hate them, don't you child?" She nodded her head, placing it onto her clasped hands. A final tear dropped from her eyes, as Hades worked the air around them to seal her fate. "Even if you should DIE," The word echoed around her like a forceful gale, causing her to shiver more, every pore on her body clinching and scaling with ice. "I would never allow you even past the gates of Hell, to be with your beloved oar boy. Forever, you would reside beneath the river Styx, your own prison, alone." She was about to protest again, before he held up a hand. "However, you amuse me, young prophetess... So be it. Let it be known, child, that you shall awaken... when daylight no longer touches your skin!"

Rae'el wanted to look up, but her head felt so heavy, her eyes were caked with sleep... or was it stone? She was so tired anyway, it wouldn't have mattered. The tear on her cheek hardened to almost crystal, and her skin, a color she absolutely abhorred, hardened. The last thing she knew, she was falling into a deep sleep, her body tingling all over.

The Fates watched her transformation silently. She wasn't just turning to stone. Maybe this would work out to their advantage. The last sister, one with moon-colored hair, bowed to the God of the Dead. "Hades, allow us to take her far from here. She will rest there forever, never to disturb you again." The god bowed to them, and vanished, leaving to find his vassal. The Fates, sometimes also called The Weird Sisters, picked up the sleeping girl, and transported her, just for now, to the top of the world, where daylight was always shining down on her, leaving her in a transfixed state for all eternity.

Or at least... what should have been all eternity.

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Please review, let me know what you think so far. Don't worry, the gargoyles, Elisa, Xanatos, Fox, Owen, and the fates will all appear in the next chapter! Some will even have speaking parts! Soooo... Hooray for that!