Moral Choices
By King Cobra3 (kingcobra49036@yahoo.com)

Note: This fic is part 3 of my "New Beginning" trilogy. Don't worry, though. It's not the end of my "Shadows Of The Past" series. Only the beginning of it. I have a lot of plans for this series and I want to keep it going. So don't get agitated.

2nd Note: Demona, Thailog, and MacBeth are the property of Disney/Buena Vista. Ethan Mueller is my own creation, and shouldn't be used without permission. Unless anyone would like a lawsuit on their hands.

Warning: This fic contains swearing, violence, and sex. Lots of sex. If you are uncomfortable with the thought of reading about two consenting adults engaged in sexual actions, then turn back now. You have no business being here.

Manhattan, New York.

Ethan Mueller's apartment.

April 1st, 2002

8:27 AM.

In the darkest section of town, the area that was furthest turned from the sun during the day, the eastern half of Manhattan and the most crime filled, lived a former quarryman turned Gargoyle sympathizer. His river front condo towering high above the street, which was fine with his guest; an azure gargess named Demona. The height made it easy for her to glide without being spotted.

However, since it was morning, Ethan's guest was not a female gargess with a lot of repressed hostility, but a successful businesswoman who was fairly civil. Ethan thanked the lord that his companion no longer had designs for his demise.

"Good morning, my friend," Dominique Destine greeted forlornly as Ethan entered the kitchen in his pajamas, yawning. The human male nodded his response, a yawn still on his face. Dominique smiled. "Long night?"

Ethan flicked a fly off his shoulder absently. "One could say that."

Dominique turned back to the stove, humming. Ethan gazed at her, still intrigued by her change in mood. When he had met her a week ago, the creature was a fury-driven force of nature, with all the power and strength of a fierce hurricane. Now she was acting like she had been happy for a hundred years. She had not been contemptuous with him since the night he had aided in her escape from that Quarryman trap.

It was almost as if she was warming up to him.

"Want some breakfast?"

Ethan had been so lost in his collective thoughts that Dominique's question caught him off guard. "Huh?"

For an instant, the look of a thousand screaming tantrums flashed on Dominique's face, then the darkness on her expression faded and she smiled calmly. "I asked if you wanted some breakfast? I owe you for saving me."

"Uh, no thanks, Demona. I'm not hungry."

Dominique would not be swayed. "Au Contraire, human. Your strength will be essential. You have a busy workday ahead. The last thing you want to do is not eat."

Ethan frowned. "I, uh, I appreciate the motherly love, but this is...kind of extreme." He avoided all eye contact. He felt if he looked up and saw the unseeded fury that must be apparent on Dominique's face, he would start blubbering and begging for his life. As a man, he had to keep a hold of his dignity.

Dominique frowned, feeling that long suppressed urge to kill, that familiar rage that had nearly destroyed everything she loved, bubbling back in her system. She found herself longing to kill this human.

`NO` her mind screamed. ~Not again!~

Her temper could not be rekindling. She would not allow it to. To do so would condemn her new existence back to the murderous routine that had ruled her personality for centuries. For so long, she herself had been a victim to her uncontrollable rage, that unquenchable fire that had torched her soul. But in the long run, her lifestyle had robbed her of all she loved and desired, including the respect of her daughter, Angela. When Angela entered Dominique's thoughts, her hate-filled heart, turned soulless and non-caring from her generations of loneliness and emotional anguish, would always begin to beat with a new sensation. The feeling was unrecognizable. Her love for her daughter was like a stranger to her. She hadn't felt anything like this in over a millennium, and the emotion was alien. Then Dominique's perspective looked to the future. COULD Angela's love for her be the key to salvaging her soul and saving her sanity? Demona had known she was crazy; there were no doubts about that. But was it possible that her affection for her seed, her only child, outweighed her fury? These were serious, soul-changing insights that had never belittled Demona before.

"Miss Destine?"

"Hmmm?" The Gargoyle/human impersonator had been so deep in conscious pondering that for a second, her attention to her surroundings had blanked out, and now she suddenly remembered where she was. Dominique blinked several times rapidly, forcing her attention on the young man in the gray robe sitting at the table staring at her...

"Are you all right?"

The flame-haired billionairess smiled coyly at her new friend warmly, yet bitterly, as she looked at him. "I'm fine. Just doing some...reminiscing..." A far away look appeared in her eyes, and Ethan felt a chill shoot up his spine like a bullet.

He frowned again. Dominique was a lovely woman. A VERY lovely lady, in fact. She was so beautiful, so...appealing...Ethan realized he was falling in love with her. Unfortunately, he knew it would be impossible. What chance did he, a weak, sad human male, have with an immortal female warrior whose rage was infinite? Ethan feared if he asked her to a pleasant dinner or an incredible movie, that she would mock him. Scorn him. And where would that leave him? He would have as much as will to live as a man who was committing suicide by jumping in front of a semi speeding at 75 miles per hour.

No.

He had feelings, but he would not act on them.

A few minutes later, after he had showered and stepped out to his car to go to work, Ethan's attention span reverted back to Demona again. Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? It was as though she was lurking in his mind, which she practically was.

When Ethan first met her only recently, he had never surmised how much he and the demon had in common. From what Demona/Dominique had told him, as well as her often hostile manner of speaking, he deduced that she had suffered a lot of pain over the years. Just as he himself had, watching helplessly as his fiancé, Marie, had been gunned down in an attempted purse snatching in 1994. For the two years that had followed the incident, Ethan had become angry, withdrawn, and reclusive. Which in turn had driven off all of his friends, and leaving Ethan all alone, which in turn had made him angrier. Part of the reason that Ethan had joined the quarrymen. Unleash the anger. Release his hatred unto those filthy gargoyles that were the criminals in the wild stories that Castaway had created. In time, though, his fury had diminished, and he doubted Castaway's motives. Now he had a gargoyle LIVING with him. He had no doubts that if Castaway was here to see this, he would have proclaimed Ethan a traitor and sentence him to a major gangland style ass kicking, possibly even death.

Thank god he had abandoned his former group.

Staring at his guest, his friend, Ethan was filled with rational questions. Why was Dominique so filled with pain? It seemed to him almost as though she was...SAD, like she had done things in her past that she now regretted. Maybe she had. If that was true, then Ethan's presence in her life was quite erratically the best thing for her. Whatever her problems were, the ex Quarryman was certain he had what it took to aid her in ridding herself of them. She had obviously been alone for a long time, with no real friend to go to.

Which brought another puzzle to the surface: Where was her clan?

In his days as Quarryman, when he had still been a threat, Ethan had done research on these "monsters", watching all the news reports and magazine articles intently, like a man possessed. That episode of "Nightwatch" with Margot Yale and the college theater professor Lennox MacDuff had proven useful, with all the information that had been formulated. It seemed that Lennox had had some experience with the gargoyles, from the way he talked.

~You're letting your mind wander~ Ethan scolded himself, watching the red light impatiently, and then he returned to his previous thought. He'd known that gargoyles stayed in a family group, also known to them as a clan. If Demona had been captured, why hadn't her clan gone to her rescue? Where had THEY been?

Was it possible that she didn't have a clan?

~One endless question after another~ Ethan mused inwardly, as he pulled his corolla into the parking lot of Blockbuster Video. Too many questions, but the answers would have to wait another eight hours.
***********************************************************************

After the human had left, Demona spent the day by herself, watching some TV on HBO, then enjoyed the afternoon with a soothing period of time in Ethan's hot tub, eyes closed in peacefulness as the warm water tanned her flesh. She was supposed to be at NightStone Unlimited right now, but she was the boss. She could come and go as she pleased. Her associates would handle the business today.

After her soothing bath, Demona, clad in a green bathrobe borrowed from Ethan's closet, returned to the living room, and after much channel surfing, discovered a romantic movie on HBO. It was about two humans, both of whom owned a bookstore, who met online, feel in love, and got together. Demona checked the TV Guide and discovered that the film was entitled "You've Got Mail".

~I'll have to rent this sometime,~ Demona mused. The thought made her chuckle slightly as her eyes trained on the screen. In the end, when the two mismatched yet compatible humans finally got together, Demona's eyes watered. She tried convincing herself that it was only from the dusty air, but her heart knew better?

With a sigh, when the movie had ended, Demona had switched off the TV and went out onto Ethan's balcony, depressed thoughts flooding her brain. Why couldn't she have the same kind of love she had seen only moments ago? True, she knew that that had just been a movie, but still...She'd had that same kind of peaceful existence before, in her younger days, when Goliath was still her loving mate, back before she had declared war on humanity.

Then, in a line of love interests, came Thailog and MacBeth. But Thailog had tried to kill her, as had MacBeth. Even she knew she was not safe around Thailog, she also knew he was incapable of killing her. However, with MacBeth, it was a different story. The old Scottish King was as immortal as she was, and thus bound under the rule of sorcery: "Only they can kill each other. When one dies, both die."

Demona's heart grieved at the possibility of remaining alone, unloved, until the end of time. Now, more then ever, she wished, as she often did, that her life had gone differently. If it had, if she had made different choices, she might have had the opportunity of happiness. Now it was too late for her.

Or was it?

As Demona stared blankly down at the streets below, her wings hidden in her robe, so as not to be spotted, she found herself thinking about Ethan. The human had saved her life, and given her a home, a place to stay. He had treated her with kindness and respect. Never once had he insinuated posing any threat to her, which in her eyes was unusual.

Was it possible that Goliath and the others had been right about humans all this time?

Demona had no idea. She used to know that humans were evil, that they were dangerous creatures that had to be hunted down and annihilated. Her life's mission was once the desire to wipe out humanity. Now she didn't know what she wanted.

Except for one thing.

But the person she wanted most would be home later...
***********************************************************************
Later that night, when Ethan came home, winded after a lengthy night of renting out videos, signing in new members, and basically running the store by himself, he didn't know that he is for a surprise.

Dominique, still in her intricate human form, smiled suggestively at Ethan from her seat on his couch. Ethan had to swallow hard to keep from gasping in surprise. Demona was completely naked, her vivacious curves enticing sinful temptations into the young man's thoughts.

Collecting himself, Ethan tried to get his perspective back on track. Yes, she was lovely, but why was she waiting for him completely nude? Did she want to have sex with him? Was she just teasing him? Ethan didn't know, but he suddenly realized that the image of Demona looking at him tauntingly, her unspoken smirk almost seeming to say "take me" had just fulfilled all of his deepest sexual fantasies.

Yet, even in the back of his mind, Ethan had doubts. Lovely or not, she was still a GARGOYLE. Being a human, how could he even fathom making love to her?

"You look a little chilly, human," Demona's voice rang out suavely. "Why don't you sit by me and... get warmed up?" That did it. Ethan knew right then she was not simply teasing him.

~To hell if she's a gargoyle!~ Ethan's mind cried. ~I'm going for it!~

Ripping off his work shirt, not really caring that it would cost $6.50 for a new shirt, Ethan staggered over to where Demona sat waiting, and plopped down next to her. Demona's smile got so big, Ethan thought her face would get stuck. And then that thought vanished as Demona grabbed him by the neck gently, pulling him to her, and kissed him. Ethan returned the affectionate move, sliding his tongue into her mouth, and then almost groaning as Demona's hand slid into his unbuttoned jeans, stroking his member firmly.

Ethan pulled away and sat up, struggling to remove his pants as Demona kept nibbling his neck, licking his skin with her saccharine tongue. When that was done, Ethan picked the sexy gargoyle up in his arms, and, still kissing her, carried her into his bedroom, nudging the door closed behind them with his foot.

Beyond the door, in the gloomy darkness, Ethan had begun to flick on the light, but Demona's hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Don't."

"Why not?"

Demona smiled coyly at her new partner. "It's more fun in the dark."

Ethan ignored the light, concentrating instead on falling back onto his bed with her in his tight embrace. Demona chuckled morosely as his hand slipped into her...special areas. Giggling delightfully, the owner of NightStone Unlimited consented in allowing Ethan the pleasure of massaging her firmly toned breasts, kissing his neck and smiling seductively. This was a very fun thing to do, for the both of them. Ethan paused suddenly, as if unsure what to do next, and Demona took charge, running her through his hair, whispering arousing sayings in the human's ear. Ethan suddenly realized she was making him horny again. Time to do something about that.

Cupping her tits in his hand again, Ethan kissed Demona's mouth and moved down, until he found himself staring at Demona's delicate opening. "May I?" He whispered mischievously, mainly to himself, but she had heard him. "Oh, please do!" Ethan smiled and stretched out his tongue as far into her as it would go. Demona moaned in rhythm as he ate her out.

Rolling Ethan onto his back, Demona paused to catch her breath. Unlike her past relationships, she knew falling in love with this human was not a mistake. He was so gentle with her, not at all brutally natured, as her last two loves had been. Not since Goliath had Demona felt the simple joys of true love. This was apparent in her actions in the next 5 minutes. She finished undressing the human, and when that feat had been accomplished, the gargress rolled onto her back, allowing the human youth to push her legs apart and enter her.

Jalapena!

Demona moaned in lust and pleasure as the human's organ found it's way into her, and Ethan rocked his hips gently, trying not to hurt her. What bliss this moment was! Demona could hardly believe it. A few years ago, she would have loathed the idea of mating with a human. Now she craved it.

When, a half-hour later, they were finally finished, Demona exhaled a sigh of relief, and looked at Ethan. "You know you're incredible, right?" Ethan grinned and flexed his arms playfully. "Ethan Mueller, the Felatio King of Manhattan." Demona laughed and rolled onto her side, where they spent the rest of the evening asleep. That is, until the sun went down and Demona swapped back to her old body.

3 DAYS LATER

Demona sighed happily. Everything had been going so perfectly since she and the human had first met. Her life had been a complete turn-around, and she felt she owed it to a Mr. Ethan Mueller. Her personal life had made a change for the better, and she secretly hoped it would continue that way. Her personality, the angry, kill-everyone-in-her-path part of it, had died, only to be replaced with a new positive outlook on life, and a strong desire to atone for her past actions.

Her work life had made improvements as well. Once known as the bitchy boss, now Demona spent her time treating her employees with rejuvenated kindness. In fact, she was so appreciative of her employees that she raised their pay for the tiniest accomplishments, such as getting her some coffee or filing a report. The change in this woman was incredible. It was on the verge of being a miracle. In fact, Demona had gone into the ladies' room to relieve herself when she heard two of her associates, both standing by the sinks, talking.

"It's really incredible, isn't it? She has never been so nice before."

"What do you think it is? I mean, do you suppose she's on her monthly or something?" Demona's smile faded slightly at that comment, but she kept quiet and listened.

"I don't know. It's just that in the last couple of days, she's shown a agreeable work attitude. Personally, I hope it keeps on this way. I like her better now then I did before."

"Do you think she got laid? I heard that could do wonders on one's personality."

~You're getting warm,~ was Demona's sardonic thought, and she bit her cheek to keep from bursting into laughter.

"I don't think it's just that. She's been SMILING and acting FRIENDLY nonstop for the last three days. Whatever it is, it's affected her life in a major way."

"I know. It's almost like she quit and we're working for a different boss now. What happened to the old bitchy boss lady we used to have?"

"I don't know. It's kind of creepy, but it's also kind of cool."

Demona smiled at this. How nice it was to be complimented!

She would have to give those two a bonus later.
********************************************************************************
Belvedere Castle
The same time

Stepping out through the entrance door, MacBeth frowned as his gaze swung around the terrace. Someone had just knocked on his door, and he had gone to investigate. He didn't have any visitors today. Or at least, he hadn't planned to.

"Hello?"

There was no answer except the sound of approaching feet.

"Hello, Lennox." A deeply morose voice pierced the empty air.

MacBeth spun to his left sharply, just in time to see the cloth, laced with alcohol, shove itself into his mouth. He struggled feverishly, and then slumped, unconscious.

His attacker laughed. The plan was set in motion now.
********************************************************************************
The two workers left the bathroom, and Demona came out of her bathroom stall, smiling atrociously at her reflection in the mirror. She HAD changed in the last several weeks. But it was a change for the better.

"Kind of creepy..." she murmured. "...kind of cool."

Leaving the bathroom, Demona strode into her office and sat down at her desk to catch up on paperwork. She'd been keeping herself pre-occupied with business related matters to keep from thinking about her new love. The paperwork had been piling and they certainly weren't going to do themselves. Besides, she was the boss and it was her duty to make an example for her employees. No point in lounging about while everyone else worked their asses off for her. Flipping to a state medical form for her company's health insurance, Demona was interrupted by her secretary's voice on the phone. Instead of getting testy, however, Dominique simply pressed a button on her speaker phone and answered in her sweet serene voice.

"Hello?"

"Miss Destine, I have a call for you on line two."

"Patch it through," Dominique requested and pressed the line two button. "Hello?" There was no answer except for a bit of demented laughter. Dominique frowned, but decided to try again. "Hello?!" The woman spat in a pissed-off tone.

"Hello...my ex-love."

Demona suddenly recognized the caller's voice.

"What do you want...Thailog?" At this moment, her voice could kill.

"Not much, Dominique. Simply your uninterrupted attention. I have a bit of a...business deal for you. Two business deals in all honesty. One goes by the name of MacBeth, the other Ethan Mueller."

Demona's breath caught in her throat.

"If you harm Ethan...I'll kill you."

"You very well might," Thailog admitted. "But do not allow your pathetic feelings for the human to intercede your understanding. If you co-operate with me in the right manner, I will allow the human to live. Refuse me, and the last thing you will hear from him will be his dying breath. Do I have your co-operation?"

"You bastard." Demona hissed.

"Do...I...have...your co-operation?"

"Yes."

"Do you believe that I will kill him if required?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good. You have one hour. I will be at the burned out clock tower above the old police station. I look forward to our little...rendezvous, my ex-love."

The line went dead.

An hour later, Dominique's limo screeched to a halt in the street in front of the hollowed shell, allowing the woman to vacate the vehicle. "You can leave, Rhodes. I'll see you in the morning."

Watching the limo drive off, Demona sighed in relief. Right after the phone call, Demona had left her work to her employees, explaining that she had "personal business" to attend to, and that she would return tomorrow. It was almost dawn. No point in going back to work after this was settled. Now here she was, ready to face what was quite possibly the most important moment in her life. Thailog would not do any damage to her or anyone else after today. She would make sure of it.

Somehow she would kill him.

In all truth, it would be easy. Thailog was not immortal like her or MacBeth. Not to mention that she had spent several months of her time with him, so she knew most of his weaknesses. Killing Thailog would be no more than a chore, a routine thing that had to be done. It would be quick.

No. Not quick.

She didn't want him to simply keel over and die. She wished for him to suffer, as he had made her suffer so excruciatingly. She would make his pain extensive, long, and merciless. She would show him no apathy. The chance for his fast demise had expired long ago, after he had betrayed her for Delilah, the night her former clan had met their clones.

Suddenly blanketed in darkness, Demona gazed skywards to see the sun sink behind the clouds, and screamed. A petrified pain-wracked sound of agony, as her human flesh gave way to the gargoyle form that made the real her. As the usual pain faded, Demona regained her senses and staggered limply into the tower. A few years ago, this place was lively and well attended to. Now it was like walking into an abandoned building, the kind that would appear in a common horror movie. Despite her fierce rage, Demona shuddered at the thought.

But where was Thailog, along with her love and her life-long immortal enemy? Probably on the upper-most level of the structure. Demona knew she was running out of time so she began to scale the wall, a loud CRUNCH sound filling Demona's ears with each indent her claws made in the charred bricks.

Upon reaching the top level at long last, Demona pulled herself to her feet and gazed around the annihilated room attentively. There was no one here. No Thailog. No Ethan. Nobody.

Which was unusual. Could it be that this was a trap?

WHUMPFFF!

Apparently.

Demona, groaning from the pain and nursing her wounded shoulder, turned to look behind her at Thailog, who was towering over her, his maniacal laughter bringing Demona's familiar yet long dormant rage back to the surface.

"Hello, my former angel."

Demona snarled and her eyes burned like hot coals as she flung herself at him, catching Thailog around the waist and spilling the deranged clone onto his back. Thailog growled and, getting his left foot free, kicked his adversary in the ribs. Demona gasped as the breath was knocked out of her, and she rolled off of him, gasping for air.

"Hardly a challenge." Thailog sneered. "I expected better from you."

Catching her breath, Demona looked up at him slowly.

"Why are you doing this, Thailog?" She spat. Her ribs were bruised, and she was in pain, but the pain was nothing compared to her newfound fury. This monster had first betrayed her, and now he was endangering what little she had to love. The thought filled her with more rage.

"My dear, do you not recall Paris? That night you married MacBeth for his exclusive wealth?" Thailog smirked. He had her right where he wanted her.

"Yes."

"That evening, you tried to kill each other, and you would have, if not for that accursed human female. She stopped you from doing each other in. Well..." Thailog chuckled without any humor in his voice. "...look behind you."

Demona looked, and saw Ethan and MacBeth chained together, both unconscious. Demona looked at her foe, not comprehending. She understood why MacBeth was here, but what did Ethan have to do with it?

Seeing the question on her face, Thailog answered it.

"You will kill MacBeth, and thus yourself."

"Or else?"

"Or else what?" Demona responded, fearing the answer.

"Or else the human mortal will die."

"NO!"

Thailog sighed in contempt, and kneeled down, picking up a long spear-like splinter of wood from the floor, and tossed it to her. "Impale the immortal one. Take your own life and his. Do it or I will claim what you truly care about." To emphasize his point, Thailog trained his laser gun at Ethan's head.

"NO! No, no. I'll do it." Demona's shoulders slumped. Facing her true love, the last thing she had to live for in this world, Demona sighed and looked at MacBeth, doubts running in her head.

Thailog wanted her to kill herself and MacBeth. Linked through a long existent magic spell, killing him would kill her as well, and there was no escape from it. But to kill herself, would rob Angela of her mother, and Ethan of his love. Sure, she could NOT kill MacBeth and they would both survive. Thailog couldn't kill MacBeth.

He could kill Ethan, though. And Demona did not want to abandon her newest mate, to leave him in the hands of a dangerous creature where he would most definitely be killed. To do such an act would be cowardly.

Then again, why should she die, anyway? So Ethan would be all alone? So Angela would be alone? Where was the bright side in that?

No.

Turning away from MacBeth, Demona chucked the wooden spear at Thailog, catching him in the chest. Thailog roared in agony, and sank to his knees. Demona howled her soul-chilling battle cry and slashed, leaving three bloody scratches across her former love's chest. Thailog flopped onto his back like a fish out of water, giving Demona the opportunity to plunge her claws into his throat. Thailog, helpless to do otherwise, gagged, death coming for him rapidly.

"I'll see you in hell," the dying clone gasped. Even fading into the onrushing eternity sleep, there was no mistaking the hatred in Thailog's voice. Demona snarled in disdain.

Thailog relaxed, and his breath stopped. He was dead.

Breathing heavily, Demona staggered backwards, moving away from the corpse before her, and looked at the two humans. Her love and her foe. One loved her, the other wanted to destroy her. But there would not be any more killing on her part tonight. The violence and bloodshed, at least for her, was over for all eternity.

Demona ripped the chain off them as they were coming to.

"...What happened?" Ethan whispered, too dazed to speak very well.

"A long nightmare," Demona answered. "But it's over now."

Ethan smiled, and Demona pulled him to his feet. "Ready to go home?"

"I'm always ready." Ethan answered. Demona, laughing, picked Ethan up in her arms, and glided off in the direction of Ethan's building, headed for home, completely ignoring MacBeth. It had been a long night, and she was exhausted, but she felt things would be fine now. After centuries of falling prey to her jealousy and her un-cooled fury, Demona knew that it was finally gone. That her rage would be forever dormant.

For one Gargoyle, and her human lover, things had changed for the better.

Forever.

The End.

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