All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of NotreDame. I consider The Goliath Chronicles as invalid in the continuity.

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Four

Night Research

Author: NotreDame Building, November 1996

Lexington. So now we are back in the castle. It's weird. Kind of cool, but weird. Xanatos and Fox live in this very building… I can hardly get used to it.

With the Quarrymen threat, we don't go out very much. Hudson and Bronx spend all their time in front of the television, as usual (Bronx always sitting on my magazines when I want to read them). Angela and Broadway are generally in the library or sometimes in the kitchen. I saw them kissing once, I was just happy for them. And perhaps a bit envious as I still haven't found somebody. Goliath is the only one who regularly goes out, generally to visit Elisa. I spend my time with my new computer (a very cool one, a welcome gift from Xanatos) or I play with baby Alex. Great little kid. I think I will adapt to this new life.

The only one who doesn't adapt is Brooklyn. He keeps telling we can't trust the man who betrayed us the day we awakened. He can't stand being cooped up in the castle (and it is true that we are all getting a bit claustrophobic). He behaves strangely every time he is alone with Angela or Broadway. Last night he told us that he was going for a short glide and he was away for two hours. Nobody knows where he has been. Goliath doesn't know about it. These two have been arguing regularly lately so we thought we had better not tell Goliath anything.

Alex is sleeping now, I am watching websites. Gay websites, I hope no one will find out. I am always checking that I am alone in the room. On a forum, there is a girl who says 'I told my mother that I am a lesbian and she threw me out. What to do? I am only 17.' Poor girl, I don't know what to say to her. Apparently, she is not the only one in that case. A boy wrote 'I told my best friend I was gay and he insulted me he said I was never to fuck him.' Sometimes humans are appalling. But what about gargoyles? Are they all straight? Do they tolerate gay people?

And would Fox and Xanatos let me play with their baby if they suspected that I… Oh, I am sure I am no paedophile. One must be MAD to do that to a child, an innocent thing. I will never harm this little baby. But on the forum, they say some people think all homosexuals are perverts and paedophiles. Is it possible…

I hope I am not gay.

Demona. I finally went back to work. I fired a few humans, it made me feel better. Tanya is unable to make good coffee. Or is her name Tina? Can't remember. They all look alike to me. Thailog is still nowhere to be seen but I am not sure that he is really dead. When we fell from that roller coaster, I think I saw him crawling away. I must stay vigilant. He may harm Angela. NOBODY will attack my child.

I read strange things in the newspapers. Some maniacs have been found destroying a statue. When they were asked why, all that they could say was that they were sure they had seen it moving. Stupid. They had to pay a fine for vandalism. Only a fine? I would have killed them.

One of my research team has found a new chemical. They think their formula could cure some kinds of cancer. Interesting. I know a lot of people would pay astronomical amounts of money to get this kind of things. But it hasn't been tested yet. They want to make some tests tonight. It will last the whole night. Normally, I shouldn't be able to watch the tests. But I will, from my secret room in the Nightstone building. In this room, I have screens that allow me to watch everything. If the scientists react positively, I will be able to take advantage of it at the soonest…

Nightstone Unlimited, evening

Dr. Bonnot. My name is Charles Henry Bonnot. I have been a biologist and chemist for thirty-five years. I currently work for a company named Nightstone Unlimited, a new one. It's a good job. We are well-paid and it's a good thing, with my wife who doesn't work and my youngest kid at the college. Tomorrow, we will work on a new product that still has to be tested.

I have everything at the ready. I just hope leagues for the defense of animals won't knock at our door. They don't know what we are about to do, after all. And tests on rats are allowed if it is for a medical purpose. Still, the test is about to begin and we are only five in this room. I inject the different products to the different rats, George and Helen take notes, and Josh and Valeria prepare all that we'll need to do next. And then, there is nothing more to do. Just waiting.

It's funny, now I could do anything else. I could be at home, have dinner, watch a movie. I could be in bed with my wife. But I am sitting on an uncomfortable chair, watching white mice and drinking bad coffee. And I wouldn't exchange my place against anything. Tonight we could discover something that would revolutionize medical science. And this is priceless.

Nothing happens first but it is probably normal. Helen goes and makes more coffee. George tells us about Japanese science. Valeria tells us about her brother Vinnie who is away in Japan and who claims to have seen dozens of gargoyles. Josh wonders about gargoyle biology, he thinks they must be aliens. Helen comes back with the coffee and wonders aloud if her children are safe with the gargoyles in town. Valeria protests: her brother doesn't mind about gargoyles. I protest: we should be working and we are only chatting.

There is a rise of temperature with half of the mice. We take notes. Apparently one of them suffers from spasms. Fascinating. Really fascinating…

Valeria Gregarino. This is too horrible to watch. Poor little things… I should be prepared to this kind of sights. But it is the first time for me. I try to think that they are only mice and that this experiment may lead to find medical treatments, this is not like cosmetics test. But I think I am going to be sick. I have to leave the room. I run in the corridors. I find the ladies' room. And I vomit, as sick as a dog.

I really should get a grip on myself. I will never make a good lab assistant if I react this way. I will go back to the lab and everything will be all right.

I come back. But Helen looks worried. She says maybe I should go back home, I look sick. She whispers 'are you pregnant, maybe?' No, I'm not, I can't be pregnant. The problem is, everyone insists that I go back home. I just have to obey. Now I feel really sick. It's my first day and I am not even able to finish it.

I still have my white coat on my when I enter my car. I wonder what time it is in Japan now. Maybe I could phone Vinnie when I am back home.

Demona. The youngest human left early (pitiful). She didn't even notice that she still had a small bottle of test product in the pocket of her coat (pitiful). The other scientists stayed and watched the experiment. Nothing happened. Boring. Really boring.

I listened to their taped conversation again. And I started to feel worried. Virginia (or Valeria, can't remember) had said she had a brother who had been a Quarryman. She may be a Quarrywoman, too. And she had gone with a bottle of test product. Maybe it was part of one of their plans? How could I have been stupid enough to let her go? I found her address and went to her.

I landed on her balcony. Her window was lighted and half-closed. I could see her making a deca, wearing a nightgown. The white coat was on a chair. She left the room. I entered it and started searching the pockets. They were empty. The sound of water warns me that she was having a shower. I searched the room. Nothing. Damn human! I was thirsty so I drank a whole cup of her coffee. I tasted worse than Tanya's: there was more sugar than coffee! I opened all the cupboards. Then I felt dizzy. Someone shouted just behind me. I turned around but…

Elisa. The night had been very calm at the beginning. And I was quite… dreamy. I kept thinking of the night the clan had come back to the castle. I kept thinking of that kiss, that very brief kiss, just before the sun. The contact of his lips, the smell of his skin… And then the sun came and he turned into stone. I keep imagining what would have happened if…

Matt is patting my arm and I jump in surprise. 'Come', he says, 'a woman claims there is a gargoyle in her kitchen.' I laugh. 'Another one! Do we have to visit every freak in this town?' He shook his head. 'She says it is a blue female. I prefer...' Hardly had he finished his sentence that I had already jumped into my car, forgetting to put on my jacket. I preferred, not to take risks, too. A few minutes later, we were at Valeria Gregarino's home.

She lived in an apartment that was smaller than mine. She apologized herself for welcoming us in a dressing gown and pyjamas and asked us if we wanted some coffee or some banana cream pie… no? The gargoyle? She was in the other room, watching television. A very nice little thing but she didn't know what to do with her.

I had heard enough. This woman was completely nuts. I wanted to leave but we still had to take her statement, that was the procedure. So we asked for her name and age. Valeria Gregarino, twenty-seven. Job? Laboratory assistant at… she dropped her cup of coffee and started coughing.

She had gotten very pale. We carried on with the questions anyway. Yes, she had found a blue gargoyle in her kitchen. The gargoyle had gotten angry first, then had asked her who and where she was. And then she had started shrinking. And… then Miss Gregarino fainted.

Matt and I get worried. He goes to the bathroom but he doesn't find any specific medicine, only basics like aspirin. Apparently, she didn't follow any treatment. I notice a strange smell. The coffee? What did she put in it? In the waste basket, I find a small bottle, empty. Jalapeño, has she just committed suicide in front of us? Was it an accident? I call a doctor. I enter the bedroom.

The television is on. There is someone sitting on the bed, watching it. Someone turns her head and looks at me. Someone says 'Hello' happily. I recognize this someone.

It must be a dream. I'm gonna wake up.

Wyvern Castle

Angela. We just got a call from Elisa. She wanted two gargoyles to come to a place as soon as possible and didn't have time to explain. Father was not at the castle so Brooklyn decided that he and I were to do that. Broadway protested and I had to take him aside and to remind him that I did not belong to him and that Elisa was probably in danger. I shouldn't have said that: he became very worried about Elisa. I was, too, so Brooklyn and I glided to that street as fast as possible.

When we entered through the window, Matt Bluestone was bending over something we couldn't see. He hardly said hello to us. Elisa ushered us into a bedroom. And I got the shock of my life.

There was a hatchling sitting on the bed. A very cute little girl with red hair and blue skin, wrapped in a blanket. She was about four years old (no, eight, I still count in human age). She smiled at us and said 'Hello'. I felt troubled: what did a gargoyle that young do in New York? Why wasn't the clan aware of it? And why did I have the feeling I had already seen her somewhere?

Brooklyn was petrified too. He showed me a golden armband the little girl was playing with. It belonged to mother. And there was her usual clothes at the foot of the bed, as well as her other pieces of jewellery. 'Mother?' I asked cautiously.

'You my mother?' asked the hatchling. And she stretched out her arms to me, as if she was waiting for me. Slowly, I walked to the bed and I hugged her. It was probably the thing to do but I couldn't feel anything. I just had the feeling I was having a nightmare. How was this possible? Matt came into the room, holding a human child hardly older than my hatchling mother in his arms. 'The medical service will be there soon to examine this lady', he said. 'She was twenty-seven only one hour ago. Go away with the… hatchling and her things. And don't touch anything!' So we put mother's clothes in a bag and we left the apartment, the little girl cuddled in my arms, giggling and commenting everything she saw.

Brooklyn. I expected anything but this! Demona as a hatchling. She is one of the only persons in the world I couldn't imagine as an innocent little thing.

Wait a minute… is she really innocent? Isn't the dangerous creature I know still in this tiny body? I tell Angela to stop on a rooftop. We both land, little Demona runs to the edge of the roof and starts cooing at the cars. And I explain Angela that we must be cautious: it may be one of her mother's plots to enter the castle.

She opens wide eyes. 'Look at her', she says, gesturing at baby Demona who is watching the street below as if it was the most extraordinary thing in the world. 'She's a kid. It may be a miscast spell but we can't let a hatchling alone in a town like New York City, the Quarrymen could find her. And she can't take care of herself alone. Don't you have a heart? I know you don't like her but if you like me, please let me get her back to the castle.'

Of course, I have a heart. She has broken it. But why? 'Angela, is there something wrong with me?' She seems surprised. 'Not particularly. Why?' I've got to know. 'Have you chosen between the three of us?'

I tell her about the kiss I surprised. She smiles apologetically. Yes, she and my brother have sort of started a relationship. She didn't mean to hurt me but things are what they are. She hopes I will find someone as soon as possible. And I deserve someone great.

I ask her: what did he do? Nothing in particular. It's just that I love him. Every word is like a stab in my heart. And I need to know something else. One last thing.

She seems to be really surprised by the question. But she answers me anyway. Little Demona shows signs of impatience and we glide back to the castle. Now I just have to forget Angela. I just hope there's someone waiting for me, somewhere…

Wyvern Castle

Fox. I woke up early and I went to the gargoyles wing. I wanted to ask Lexington if he didn't mind taking care of Alex next night: David and I will go to the opera and Owen will have his night off. I think Lexington must be the best baby-sitter in New York and it's nice to see how well he and my baby get together. Sometimes I really wonder why I wanted to hunt gargoyles with the Pack last year.

The gargoyles were arguing. All looked either upset, or worried, or ready to laugh nervously. In the middle of the room, Bronx was licking the cheek of a little gargoyle girl who was wrapped in a blanket. She waved at me, giggling, saying 'Hello Madam'. I was surprised: where did she come from? Why haven't I seen her before? Suddenly, Goliath looked at the window and said: 'we'll discuss it tonight'. And they all froze into stone.

But the little girl didn't freeze. She started wriggling in pain instead. Her skin turned white, her wings and tail disappeared. Then it stopped and there was a redheaded human little girl in the middle of the room. A little girl who looked really terrified and who started to cry desperately.

I could hardly believe my eyes. But I knew one thing: there was a child in distress in front of me, so I did what every mother in the world would have done. I embraced her and tried to comfort her. 'It will be all right, sweetheart. Don't worry, it's over. It's all right.' She cuddled in my arms, crying again and again. Then she stopped crying. She looked at her five-fingered hands with a puzzled look. 'Amazing…' she said before jumping on the floor and running to Angela. 'Mother! Look, look at this!' She stopped and touched Angela's stone leg. 'Mother? Mother, what's happened to you? Why is your skin so cold? Mother, please answer me, don't leave me alone! Mother!' And she started crying again.

To be continued…