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 Storyseeker.

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Previously on Gargoyles: -

Elisa sighed and looked into his eyes, her eyes sad. "Goliath, you seem so intent on killing these new enemies. I remember when we were fighting Demona. You kept trying and trying to talk to her, to see if you could save her from herself. It was only until much later when you started leaning towards… "She fidgeted a little.

Goliath stared at her in a way she did not like.

"Are you saying that I am becoming like Demona?" he asked his wife.

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You will tell me, now!" he demanded, but all he got was a cold look from the child.

Goliath finally had enough and inputted the security code to the cell, opening the barred cell and storming right in.

"Tell me, now!" he snarled and grabbed the girl by the shoulders, nearly crushing them in the process.

"GOLIATH!" a voice that he barely heard called out to him. When he didn't immediately respond, he felt old rough hands grab his arms and forced them to drop the girl.

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"In the name of Adro, god of snakes, the darkness of Adroa… Awaken!"

Almost immediately, a bubbling sound reached his sensitive ears and he leaned in to observe the water, where a dark shape swerved beneath the water's surface.

"An Adroanzi," Cecile said smugly and watched, as the dark shape came to the surface and lifted itself out of the water.

Thailog blanched at the sight, for it was the most hideous and frightening snake he had ever seen. It was pure black, eyes like dark opals, spikes running down its scaly hide and long twisted sharp fangs prodding out of its mouth.

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Griff smiled, as he walked up to the mother and baby. "Now what's all this then?" he cooed at the little infant. "Big girls don't cry, do they?"

Gem stopped crying and looked curiously at Griff, before reaching out her podgy little claws and stroked the English gargoyle's beak.

"I think she remembers you," Darlene laughed and cuddled Gem one more time before placing her back down in her playpen.

"She's a sweet thing," he observed.

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And now, the continuation: -

The Labyrinth:

"Can't catch me! Can't catch me!" a chirpy voice sounded through the Labyrinth tunnels, as Maggie made her way through them.

Maggie frowned, but with a wave of humour. She sometimes wondered if it had been a good idea to start a nursery in the Labyrinth. Playing with the children was fun, but it was trying to keep up with them that were the problem.

Suddenly, there was a scream, but... That had been no scream of pleasure.

"Toby!" she called.

Toby's scream of terror echoed back, enforcing Maggie's agile legs to speed down the tunnels to its source. Toby was one of the homeless children, living in the Labyrinth with them. His parents were both up topside, looking for work, so they had left him with her to take care of until they returned.

Maggie searched desperately through every corner of each tunnel she passed, vainly to find the child, until at last she succeeded, although part of her wished that she hadn't.

Toby Wallis, a 6 year old boy with dirty brown hair and blue eyes, stood scared stiff, as a long black snake with dozens of sharp spikes prodding up from its skin, slithered across the concrete ground towards him.

"Maggie," Toby whimpered helplessly, "Help."

Maggie stood frozen for a second, but quickly overcame her shock. "Toby, stay where you are," she ordered. "Don't move until I tell you to."

She quickly looked around and upon seeing an old broken pipe; she grabbed it and poked it towards the snake, hoping to scare it off.

The snake hissed and suddenly sprang up at her, grabbing the end of the pipe with its fangs and snapped it off in a single crunch.

Maggie blanched at the sight of it chewing up the bits of pipe in its mouth, hissing and spitting. Whatever this creature was, one thing was for certain... Nature had never created it.

Feeling panicky for a second, she shot an electric blast at it, hoping to fry the creature. Unfortunately, she soon learned one thing and that was the snake was anything but slow.

The snake slid faster than lightning, its spikes acting like several pairs of legs, carrying it away from her firing range and into one of the many dark holes in the sewers.

Maggie cursed, but grabbed Toby's hand and practically dragged him, as they rushed back to the Labyrinth.

"Talon!" she cried out, calling for her mate.

Talon, upon hearing the cries of his wife, came out of the Labyrinth and noticed them running straight to the entrance, their faces a mixture of terror and shock.

"Maggie, what's wrong?" Talon asked urgently.

Maggie gasped for breath, clutching Toby's hand. "There was... something in the sewers. I don't know what it was exactly, but it looked like a snake. It was black and had some kind of spikes all down its back! And its fangs, I've never seen fangs as big as it had. It literally took a pipe between them and crunched it into little pieces."

Talon frowned. "Where did you see it?"

Maggie pointed down the way she had come from, while trying to calm Toby.

Talon gently touched Maggie's shoulder and half-guided, half-rushed her back into the Labyrinth, fearful for her safety. "I'll go check it out," he promised.

Maggie looked hysterical. "Talon, no! I don't know what that thing was, but whatever it was, it was fast and dangerous!"

"I won't go alone," Talon assured her. "I'll get Claw to come with me and we'll see what we can do about subduing it."

Maggie however did not look convinced.

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From somewhere lower in the sewers, the snake in question moved silently and quickly through the pipes, its fangs gnashing and fork-like tongue hissing.

It had no hearing, but it could sense all things around it. Like right now, it could sense the presence of multiple creatures roaming around in this underground city. Most of them were simple vermin rats, but it could also sense humanoid creatures.

'Humans,' its brain registered quickly, recognising the scent and aura of the ape-like creature. However, there were four beings that it could not identify.

If the Adroanzi had been capable of such a thing, it would be frowning in confusion. For the things it was dictating had the aura of humans, but it could sense that these beings resembled Gargoyles if nothing else.

Its curiosity peeked; the Adroanzi slithered and swam through the now water-filled pipes, heading towards its goal.

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Eyrie Building; Same Time:

Elisa paced the floor of her second bedroom, and former bride suite, waiting for her supposedly beloved husband. He had gone to 'interrogate' their prisoner, the little girl in the castle cell.

Elisa shuddered, wondering what Goliath was doing. She knew that there could be more to that child that meets the eye, but even so... She was still only a child, barely a baby.

The door suddenly opened, making Elisa twirl in surprise and relief when she saw that it was Goliath.

"Goliath," she began uncertainly. "Are you alright?"

Goliath's face looked ashen, as though he was very tired. He blinked a couple of times and then straightened up, his face taking on a broad expression.

"I'm fine," he said confidently. "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

Elisa eyed him strangely, but didn't pursue the matter. "Have you managed to get anything out of our little guest?" she asked him.

Goliath shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately no, she must be very well trained to resist questioning."

Elisa resisted the urge to snort and say, "Yeah, sure."

"Goliath," she began. "I know about this girl's family's history and that alone has given us more than enough reason to doubt her, but... She could still just be an ordinary girl for all we know."

Goliath exhaled. "Not you too," he said in almost frustration. "What is it with this clan?" He paced the room, looking like a caged animal. "How many times do we have to go through this? Do you remember what this girl's family is?"

Elisa gritted her teeth. "Goliath," she began warningly. "Don't start that again! We all know who and what the Venes are. We all know what Cecile and her brothers can do and heaven knows what the rest of their family can do, but... Before you attacked their home, how many times did any of us meet the girl that we now have locked up in our dungeon?"

Goliath growled.

"But this isn't really about the Venes, is it?" Elisa suddenly said, looking him square in the eye.

"What do you mean?"

Elisa sighed. "You've become obsessed with getting the Venes, not just because of the danger that they represent, but... But because they hurt this city, a city that you and your clan swore to protect, and failed."

Goliath looked as though she had struck him on the face. "How can you say that?" he retorted.

Elisa looked at him sadly. "Because it's true, isn't it? You've dedicated all your lives to protecting the people in this city, and in one night, 20 people were lost."

Goliath snarled. "You don't know what you're talking about!"

"Hey!" Elisa said indignantly. "There's no need to get all grouchy, Goliath. But either way, you can't expect a toddler to be... "

"You don't have to animate yourself as a parrot, my Elisa," Goliath shot back. "I've heard you and Hudson all the first times. This girl may be a child, but she's the only lead we have on her family so far. I won't rest until we have something off of her!"

Elisa's eyes glared at him. "So what are you going to do? Torture her until she confesses, like in the Spanish Inquisition!"

Goliath bit his lip, not wanting her to find out about his earlier interrogation with the young Vene.

"I'll do what I have to," he simply said.

Elisa stared at him for a while, her face unreadable, until finally she just shot her arms up in the air, giving a heavy sigh and left the room quickly, leaving Goliath starring at her retreating footsteps.

Goliath watched her leave, but did nothing, knowing better to leave her be until she had a chance to calm down.

'Why can't they understand?' he thought to himself. 'I'm only doing what's best for them... and the rest of the city. These Venes killed 20 people without remorse and would do worse if they were not stopped. They have to be stopped. They must be stopped.'

Goliath kept repeating these words over and over in his head, whether it was because he thoroughly believed in them, or if he was trying to believe in them himself, was anyone's guess.

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Elisa passed by several of the clan, as she made her way to the elevator to leave the Eyrie, they all said hello to her, but she did not respond. She was too stressed with Goliath to talk with anyone at the moment.

She swore quietly to herself a few times, as the elevator descended down to the parking lot in the building.

"Damn him," she whispered. She loved Goliath with all her heart and soul, but sometimes he could be real thickheaded.

The elevator halted and the doors opened, revealing the car parking lot and Elisa's car.

Elisa walked toward her car, still fuming over her husband's rash actions that she didn't hear the low hissing noise.

Elisa stopped before her car and proceeded to fetch her keys out of her pocket. Once she stopped walking, she heard a distinct hiss close by her.

She turned around unexpectedly, expecting the sound to be that of a burst windpipe or something, but what she saw made her stop and stare.

From one of the drains at the far wall, a long black snake with terribly long spikes running all along its back and even longer and sharper fangs procuring from its mouth, gazed at her. It hissed and spat, as its body moved forward.

Elisa blinked at the unusual serpent. She had never heard of one with spikes before?

'20 bucks say that this thing isn't natural,' she thought.

The snake suddenly arched its back and hissed one final time before it started moving towards Elisa at an incredible speed, going faster than a cheetah.

Elisa gasped and hurried to fish her keys out and into the lock.

The snake easily reached her in almost no time at all, so Elisa sprang up onto the bonnet of her car, away from the creature's fangs. Thankfully, the snake couldn't jump, but it could still slither.

The snake went over to the wheel of the car and slid up it and making its way onto the bonnet, where Elisa was.

Elisa panicked for a second, but succeeded in fishing out her keys, just as the snake's head poked up at her from the car's side.

Before it could lash out at her, she jumped off of the other side, opened the door and slammed it shut behind her. The snake hissed and spat at her through the window, its black opal eyes staring right into her.

Elisa breathed heavily, as the creature's head seemed to float around the windscreen, its eyes never leaving her.

Suddenly, the snake began beating its head against the window repeatedly. Elisa does not seem concerned at first, until that is when the window started to crack and the snake's hisses grew louder.

The glass split and the cracks grew with each head-butt. Elisa began to panic slightly again. What kind of a snake was this thing?

Elisa placed her key into the lock to start the engine. She thanked God that the engine was working when she heard its loud purr and threw it into ignition.

The serpent hissed one more time before Elisa swerved the car around, throwing the snake off her hood and into the road. Elisa sighed with relief and began to reach for her mobile phone. If the clan ever needed to be told about something then this was definitely one of those times.

She reached into her glove compartment... and screamed.

Elisa snatched her hand back, now bleeding fiercely, and lost control of the car. The car swerved around until it hit a lamppost. Elisa's head smashed into her driving wheel, breaking her nose and knocking her unconscious.

From out of her glove compartment, another dark snake, shorter than the other but with just as long fangs and spikes, slithered out of the compartment and onto the passenger's seat. It hissed at Elisa, but seemed uninterested in her since she was unconscious and slowly departed from the car and the scene.

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Eyrie; Same Time:

Goliath was brooding silently in his room, thinking about the things that Elisa and everyone else had said.

Goliath sighed, as he knew deep down that Elisa was right about him wanting vengeance on the Venes. His clan had always protected this city and had come to the rescue of any innocent in danger. But in one night, while they had been fighting for their lives, 20 innocents had lost theirs, all because of 4 seemingly children.

Goliath bared his fangs in anger. The very name of the Venes sent waves of rage through his veins, making him want to punch something. He only wished that Elisa hadn't left.

He sighed again, knowing that he had lost his temper with her and she would be angry with him for a while. It was best that he left her alone for now, wait until she calmed down so that he could go and try talking to her.

In the meantime though, there was still the little Vene to see to.

Goliath took a deep breath and made his way back to the dungeon to try speaking to the seemingly little girl again.

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Destine Manor:

"So what did you do?" Jarred asked excitedly.

Griff grinned, as he described in full detail of how he once took down a Nazi bomber and deposited the pilot right in the town centre by hanging him upside down from a lamppost in his underwear.

Demona had to smile at his tale. It seemed to be a very popular joke among her kind lately, as nearly every gargoyle she had ever met who had fought and subdued a criminal had ended up tying them up in that 'unique' position. Her late mate, Darlene's father, had even done it once.

Darlene came in, carrying Gem as she suckled on her bottle, and listened with interested to Griff's story.

"Interesting way of taking a plane down," she observed. "I dread to think what you would have done if you had met Hitler."

Griff smirked. "Let's just say that he'd have been missing a lot more than just his pants, if I had," he said.

Demona rolled her eyes. "How's Lana?" she asked Darlene.

"She's awake now," Darlene replied, as she gave Gem to Griff who tickled and cuddled her youngest one. "I think she's still being terrified by the dreams, but... she seems to be improving. I don't suppose you know any spells that could help with this, do you?"

Demona chewed on her lower lip. "I believe there maybe a spell somewhere that helps cleanse dreams." she said. "That would help her to sleep, but it won't help her to deal with her real problems, like Thailog."

Darlene sighed. "Anything you can do, would be much appreciated, mother."

Demona nodded. "Very well," she stood up. "I'll get straight to work on the spell. It should be ready to administer before sunrise. We still have a couple of hours to go before then."

Griff looked up surprised. "A couple of hours to sunrise?" he exclaimed and looked out the window, seeing the slight brightening of the early morning sky. "My word, doesn't time fly when you're having fun."

Darlene laughed, while Jarred pouted.

"Aww," Jarred whined. "You don't have to go yet, do you? I mean, you could always spend the day here if you want?"

Griff looked a little uncomfortable. "Well, I wouldn't want to put any of you out."

"Nonsense," Darlene admonished him. "After all you've done for us in fighting those dreadful Venes and helping to take care of Gem and Jarred, it would be the least we could do. I insist on you staying the day with us."

Griff blushed. "Well... Yes, if you don't mind then... that would be terrific."

Darlene smiled. "Well, we've still got two hours to go, so who's up for another mug of tea?"

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Eyrie Building:

"Where are your brothers and sister?" Goliath hissed again.

Sarah Vene said nothing and just sat in the centre of her cell, drawing something. Her cell walls were covered with crude drawings that she had drawn. Goliath noticed briefly that one of them looked a little like Arthur with Excalibur, but he was too focused on speaking with her to pay any attention to them.

Since the last time he had spoken with her, Goliath was making a supreme effort not to loose his temper, as before. In fact, he was starting to accept that maybe the others were right about their prisoner. She could be in fact just a simple girl who happened to be born into a magical family.

But, Goliath frowned deeply. He didn't know what, but there was something about her that just didn't seem right, something almost mystical.

Goliath sighed and left the room, but not without looking one final time at the crude drawings on the wall.

'Maybe I have been too hard on the Vene?' he thought to himself, though he didn't quite believe it. If the Vene child was indeed more than she appeared to be, then she was putting on a remarkable act.

'But if not, then how do I coax it out of her?' he thought frowning.

"Goliath!" Brooklyn's frantic voice pulled him out of his reverie.

"Yes, Brooklyn?" Goliath said, not really paying any attention, as he was still concerning himself over the young Vene.

"Goliath," Brooklyn not only sounded, but looked frantic also. "You've got to hurry! It's Elisa!"

Goliath then did fully awaken. "What?"

Brooklyn breathed deeply. "We had a call from Matt. There was... some kind of accident with Elisa and her car. Apparently she lost control and there was a crash and... She's at Manhattan General."

Goliath wasted no time and raced past Brooklyn. On the way he heard Brooklyn mutter, "Why was she even going out? She didn't have duty on tonight, so she didn't have an excuse to leave the castle."

Goliath felt a cold dread come into him, but shook it off, more concerned with getting to the hospital.

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Manhattan General Hospital;

Half An Hour Later:

Doctor Goldblum administered a small sedative to calm the detective. She had been waking up occasionally with hysterics, screaming about a black snake that was after her.

Goldblum frowned, as he looked at her young pretty face. He remembered this woman from a few years ago when she had come in with a bullet wound. He knew she was a detective, so it wasn't exactly a surprise that she would often get wounded, but... These wounds were bizarre.

A lot of the injuries were caused by the car accident, but there was an unusual bite mark on her hand. At first he thought that maybe there had been some kind of rat that had managed to get into her car and bite her, but the bite-marks were far too large to be a rodent.

In fact, the lady was largely lucky that she still even had her hand, as the bite from whatever it was had nearly taken her whole hand off. There was still a slight chance that she may loose one of her fingers, but so far her hand had been stitched together and should heal quite nicely in time and hope.

He had contacted the immediate family, but had been told that her parents were out of town on vacation, so he had contacted her workplace instead. He had spoken with someone called Matt Bluestone, her partner, who assured him that he would get in contact with her family as soon as possible.

Goldblum finished Miss Maza's chart, placing it back in the holder and left, never noticing the pair of concerned eyes that were spying on the room through the window.

Once the doctor was gone, Goliath silently opened the window and crept inside into the hospital room. He remembered the first time he had seen Elisa in hospital, when Broadway had shot her. He remembered the utmost pain he had felt upon seeing her near death. He had felt weak and helpless, unable to do anything to help her, and it had angered him. He thought... hoped that he would never have to go through that feeling again, but fate it seemed had other plans.

Goliath cautiously approached his mate's bedside and whispered into her ear. "Elisa?"

Elisa stirred slightly, but did not open her eyes.

"They must have given her some morphine," Goliath deduced. That and the loss of blood would have been more than enough to knock her out.

Goliath took her delicate small hand in his own giant paw and stroked it. Elisa seemed so helpless now, more than he had ever seen her, and it frightened him.

"Elisa, my love," Goliath spoke soothingly. "I wish you were awake to tell me what happened, but do not fear. The clan and I will always be here to watch over you, now and forever. When you are awake and ready to come home, we will be waiting, as will I."

Goliath knew he couldn't stay there for long, what with the hospital staff making their rounds. He was about to leave when he noticed Elisa's other hand, completely bandaged like a mummy. The rest of her body was also bandaged, but only in some parts, unlike her hand.

Curious, Goliath took Elisa's other hand and carefully unwrapped the bandages from it, taking care not to disturb the wound. What he saw made him gasp, as her hand was terribly scarred and mutilated. It looked as though it had been through a shredder.

Goliath stared at it for a while, wondering what kind of a creature could make such a wound. He could see that the injuries were bite-marks, but there were so many of them that the creature, if it had only been one, must have had dozens of sharp fangs.

Goliath slowly rewound the bandage around Elisa's hand and started to make his way back to the castle.

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Eyrie Building:

"So you think something attacked Elisa to make her loose control of her car?" Broadway asked in concern after Goliath explained the situation.

Goliath nodded. "It makes sense, as I've never known Elisa to ever loose control of her car, especially considering the amount of driving and car chases she does during the night."

Hudson scratched his baldhead. "So what do ye think attacked her then, like maybe a rat perhaps?"

Goliath shook his head. "No," he answered. "The bite wounds on her hand were far too severe to be that of any rodent. Whatever this beast was, it had fangs and more importantly, a lot of them."

"Fangs?" Lexington confirmed. "It couldn't have been a snake, do you think?"

Goliath frowned for a second. "The bite-marks certainly were certainly deep enough to have been done by a snake," he mused. "But I've never heard of any snake having so many fangs before."

"So?" Broadway interjected. "It might be some kind of new breed, or maybe one of Sevarius's latest creations, or... "

"Or..." Goliath concluded, "... the Venes!"

Everyone held their breath, as Goliath's eyes flared white at the mention of their enemies.

"Wait, lad!" Hudson held out his claw on Goliath's shoulder. "I know how ye feel, but ye can't go blaming those devils children until we have proof."

"Yeah," Lexington said. "For all we know, it could be Sevarius. He might have engineered whatever it was that attacked Elisa?"

Goliath pondered that for a second. "If it was Sevarius, then why?" he asked them.

At their inquisitive looks, he continued. "Sevarius has never been the kind of man to go after vengeance, unless there was a profit involved, if someone hired him to do so."

"Yeah, so?" Brooklyn asked confused.

"There are only a few people who would have the money, or have a vendetta against us, to hire Sevarius to do such a thing. Xanatos has told me that genetic engineering is not cheap." Goliath looked at them.

"The only few people we know are Xanatos, Reynard, Demona and Castaway. Xanatos would not betray us now, Reynard is too honourable, Castaway has neither the money nor the dignity to do anything, and Demona... Although I do find myself doubting her sincerity at times, I doubt she would risk losing everything she has now to bother attacking us. If she were to do so then she would risk ruining the relationship she has made with Angela, not to mention Darlene and her grandchildren."

Brooklyn scowled a little. He was more than happy to believe that Demona could be responsible, but even he had to admit that Goliath's logic was true.

"So that leaves only two other suspects," Goliath's face darkened, "The Venes and Thailog, both of whom are now in-league with one another."

The clan heaved a long sigh.

"Very well," Hudson said gravely. "But if so, then what are we to do?"

Goliath slammed his fist into his claw, frustrated beyond imagination. "We should attack and have Arthur and Excalibur with us! They are our only defence against the Vene's magic!"

"But Arthur has already made his feelings clear about that matter, Goliath!" Broadway said fearfully, afraid of what his leader was planning.

"I will speak with him again" Goliath said adamantly, "and this time, he will listen!"

"Goliath!" Xanatos's voice called to him.

Goliath turned to the sound of the billionaire's voice. "What is it, Xanatos?"

Xanatos looked worried. "We've just had a call from the Labyrinth from Maggie," he replied. "She sounds most worried and afraid. I thought you ought to know."

Goliath waved his claw at him. "Xanatos," he answered, "tell Maggie that I'm sorry, but we're far too busy to... "

"She says that Talon and Claw are missing!" Xanatos interrupted.

Goliath paused and for one frightening moment, Angela actually thought that he might still dismiss Xanatos's news. Fortunately though, she was soon relieved.

"Missing," Goliath asked. "How? And when?"

Xanatos shrugged. "It seems that the labyrinth has had some kind of an infestation problem," he reported.

"An infestation?" Lexington said, "Not the rats again?"

Xanatos shook his head. "No, apparently what Maggie had to describe seemed to be some sort of snake, blank in colour with multiple horns or spikes along its hide and an enormous row of... "

"Teeth?" Goliath suddenly said, now intrigued.

"Fangs, actually," Xanatos corrected. "I'm assuming that this creature, whatever it is, must be the one that attacked Miss Maza."

Goliath growled hatefully, his claws eager for the hunt.

"Wait a moment," Lexington blinked, "When did this snake creature attack the Labyrinth?"

"About an hour ago."

Lexington frowned. "That would be about the same time that Elisa was attacked then," a distressing look of fear overcame him. "Goliath, what if there's more than one of them? For all we know, there could be a whole swarm of them slithering about the city!"

Goliath's eyes thinned in concentration. "Brooklyn," he commanded, "You, me and Lexington will go to the Labyrinth and help all we can there. Hudson, you will go to the hospital and keep watch over Elisa. The Venes might take the opportunity to attack her again, or worse. Broadway, you, Bronx and Angela will remain here and check the castle for any signs of these creatures. Bronx should be able to track them if they are indeed here."

The clan nodded in agreement.

"Be careful," Goliath warned them. "These things might simply be snakes, but Elisa is a resourceful and clever woman. Yet she was attacked and nearly killed by one of these creatures. Be on your guard, always."

The clan nodded once more and departed from the room, never noticing the pair of dark eyes following their every move.

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Maggie watched the main entrance to the Labyrinth closely, never taking her eyes off it for a second. Talon and Claw had left about an hour and a half ago to try and capture the snake thing, and so far they had yet to return.

Maggie turned and observed the Labyrinth dwellers, homeless people who had come here because they had nowhere else to go except the streets. Maggie sometimes wondered if they would have been better off staying on the streets. Since coming here, the dwellers had been forced to deal with Fang nearly taking over the Labyrinth, Demona and Thailog, the clones and now this... This place, for all its good intentions, was a nightmare at times.

Speaking of Fang, Maggie wondered if perhaps she should let him out of his cell and get him to help her locate the others... No! No matter what happened, she would never be that desperate.

Still, if the worst should happen, she may not have any choice?

A loud banging suddenly sounded on the door, startling Maggie out of her reverie. She glanced at it nervously, and slowly approached the thick metal barrier. She punched in the keys to activate the access code.

The door slid open revealing a pair of white-silvery eyes glaring at her from the dark.

Maggie gasped and stepped back in fright.

"Whoa, Maggie," Brooklyn's voice sounded and the red gargoyle came into the light. "Chill, it's just us."

Maggie sighed. She still could not get used to the sight of the gargoyles, even if she did resemble their race. Nevertheless, she was glad to see them now.

"Brooklyn," she greeted him and ran up to him. "Thank heaven you're here! Talon and Claw went out to try and catch some kind of snake that I and one of the children saw a while ago, they haven't been back since!"

Brooklyn patted her back affectionately. "It's alright," he said. "Xanatos told us everything. Now where did Talon and Claw go exactly?"

"Umm, Talon said they were going to try the place where we first saw it," Maggie answered.

"Where was that?"

Maggie pointed behind him. "Down that tunnel and into the fourth one on the left," she said. "It was at the very end, Talon said they wouldn't be long and it's not all that far and it's been... "

"It's alright, Maggie," Goliath deep rumbling voice sounded, trying to calm her. "We will find them, of that you can be assured."

Maggie paused for a few moments, but then sighed and slowly nodded her head in appreciation.

"Come!" Goliath ordered. "The trail grows colder with every passing second." With that, he turned and made his way to the tunnel that Maggie had pointed out, with Lexington and Brooklyn close behind him.

Maggie watched them go for a few seconds and then pressed the locking key, initiating the locking of the door.

Goliath, Brooklyn and Lexington made their way to and through the tunnel in question.

"Talon!" Goliath called out. "Claw!"

But alas, there was no answer.

"Where the hell could they have gone?" Brooklyn wondered out loud.

"You don't suppose," Lex began, "that whatever got Elisa, could have... "

"No!" Goliath said forcefully. "Do not even think it, Lexington. They're both down here, someplace. We will find them." He said the last part adamantly, making it clear that all other thoughts were not open to discussion.

They reached the end of the tunnel and looked around. They had moved into a small room that smelt clearly of garbage and other waste that they did not want to identify. The room also had three other tunnels leading to whoever knew where; Talon or Claw could have gone down any of them.

"Goliath!" Lex gasped. "Look!" He pointed to the middle of the room where there was a small piece of cloth, the same colour as Talon's clothing.

Goliath knelt down and examined the cloth, sniffing it for Talon's scent to confirm whether or not it was Talons, which it was.

"We should split up," Goliath directed, "each go in a different direction and search for Derek and Claw."

"But, Goliath," Brooklyn said unsure, "if these snake things really are as dangerous as we believe them to be, then wouldn't it be best if we stayed together?"

Goliath nodded. "Normally I would agree," he agreed, "but Talon and Claw's lives might be in danger, so we cannot risk the time. We will each go down one of the tunnels and if any of us find anything then they will contact the others on our communicators."

"Goliath," Lexington interjected, "I can't say for sure whether or not our communicators will work down here. We've never tested them so far below ground before. The radio waves might not be able to make it."

Goliath frowned a little, as he tried to understand Lex's words about radio waves, but nodded in understanding at what he was trying to say. "If the communicators don't work," he responded, "then we will just have to do it the old fashioned way and come back to get the rest of us, when and if we find anything."

The others agreed and carefully approached each of the tunnels, seeking out their missing friends.

Goliath went down the first tunnel to his right, his keen eyes searching through the darkness. He took particular care to watch where he was stepping, not only because of the disgusting waste that was piled on the ground, but also for anything that was moving, like a snake.

He walked cautiously through the eerie darkness, his eyes glowing to shed some light.

"Talon!" he called out, but to no avail. "Talon, are you down here?"

There was still no sound to be heard, as he continued wandering through the damp sewers.

'Where could they be?' Goliath thought frustrated.

"GOLIATH!" a scream from Brooklyn startled him out of his thoughts for one second, and pummelled him to race to his second in command.

0000000000

Brooklyn made his way cautiously down the dark and seemingly unending tunnel. The floor was damp and stank worse than Broadway after a 4-course meal.

Suddenly, Brooklyn could hear something from up ahead. He stopped and listened keenly. It was a low gurgling kind of sound, the kind that a man made when in pain and having trouble breathing.

"Talon?" Brooklyn crouched and moved forward to the sound. "Talon, is that you?"

He walked further down until he came closer to the source.

"Claw!" Brooklyn exclaimed in shock. The poor tiger mutate was lying in terrible pain on the ground with multiple wounds on him. He looked as though he himself had been put through a shredder, as patches of his fur were gone and there were horrible gnashes and ripped flesh all over him. He was having enough trouble just trying to keep standing up, and even worse trouble to breathe.

Brooklyn raced to him, taking care not to anger his burning wounds even further.

"Claw," Brooklyn repeated his friend's name, "what happened? Where's Talon?"

Claw looked up at him with tear-filled eyes and made some desperate hand signals, trying to explain.

"Okay, okay, Claw," Brooklyn tried to soothe him. "Just calm down and tell me, or better yet, point to where Talon is. Can you do that?"

Calm nodded nimbly and pointed with his gnarled paw down the tunnel, right into the darkness.

'Swell,' Brooklyn thought almost despairing. 'Just once, I'd like to face an enemy somewhere where there's plenty of light.'

"GOLIATH!" Brooklyn called out to his leader and then made sure that Claw was comfortable before getting up to leave. "Wait here, okay?" he assured his friend. "Goliath will be here soon, so tell him where I've gone when he does. I'm gonna go get Talon."

At his last few words, Claw's eyes went wide with terror and he gripped Brooklyn's arm in his large hand, ignoring the agonising pain it caused.

"Claw?" Brooklyn tried to gently pry the Mutates paw off him. "Hey, let go will ya? I'll only be gone a few minutes at most."

Claw couldn't hold onto Brooklyn's arm any longer, as the pain was too much for him. He was also beginning to feel light-headed, the first sign of loosing conscious with the amount of blood lost. He made some more last minute sign language, as he waved his arm about, slowly and gracefully, like when a person swam, or a snake.

Unfortunately, Brooklyn didn't know what the hell he was on about and before he could even ask, Claws arm dropped down and the Mutate fell unconscious.

"Damn it," Brooklyn swore and gently laid Claw back down, making him as comfortable as possible.

"Hope you don't mind me leaving you here in the muck, Claw," Brooklyn joked to the unconscious tiger, and continued on his way through the tunnel.

"Talon!" Brooklyn called out to Elisa's brother. "Talon, say something if you're near?"

He strained his ears, but heard nothing. He hoped that nothing had happened to the brother of the clan's best friend.

Suddenly, there was something like a loud clash of lightening from up ahead, followed by a cry of pain.

"Talon!" Brooklyn hurried into a run. He rushed through the darkness and finally reached his friend.

"Talon?" Brooklyn slowed down and cautiously approached the figure lying on the ground.

The clothing on the winged figure certainly suggested that it was indeed his leader's mate's brother, but experience had taught him to never assume anything and never ever be fooled by appearances.

"Talon?" he repeated. "If you can hear me then turn over, or grunt or something."

The winged figure groaned and slowly turned over, nearly making Brooklyn scream in the process.

Talon's left eye was gone, leaving an empty socket with blood oozing out. His clothing had been ripped, as had most of his flesh. He was in even worse shape than Claw had been.

"Talon!" Brooklyn recovered, shaking his head in disbelief. "Hang on, Goliath will be here soon. He'll… " He never got the chance to finish what he was about to say.

A loud hissing suddenly sounded behind him, shocking him for a moment. He turned just in time to see a long black snake with countless spikes along its hide, and many rows of long sharp fangs protruding from its mouth.

"Jeezus," Brooklyn whispered unbelieving, his eyes never leaving the clearly unnatural beast.

The hideous snake hissed and spat at him, its dark eyes staring at him intensely.

"Okay," Brooklyn stuttered a little, "I'm guessing that you're not from the local zoo?"

The snake suddenly sprang forward, its spikes acting almost like legs, guiding it forward faster than a mouse.

"Yipes!" Brooklyn cried and side-stepped away from the slithering menace, only for it to gracefully slid in his direction, cutting him off. "Geez, you don't quit, do you?" he swore.

The snake spat and held itself up on its back-hide, trying to spring up at him

"HA!" Brooklyn laughed mockingly. "Missed… AAARRRGGHH!" he screamed, as the snake leaped again, this time successfully slashing him with its spikes, into his flesh.

"Brooklyn!" Goliath's booming voice reached his ears, as he banged the snake's head against the wall, hoping to kill it.

"I'm here!" Brooklyn shouted to his leader. The snake finally released him and he flung it over to the other side of the room. The snake was quick and began to make its way back to him.

"Hell!" Brooklyn swore and prepared to meet his enemy full on.

The snake hissed and sped towards him at full speed… Right before a sharp-edged sheet of metal came slicing through it.

Brooklyn stared at the creature, now sliced cleanly in half, wriggling about on the floor for about a minute before it finally died. He gulped a couple of times before looking up into Goliath's concerned eyes.

"Brooklyn," Goliath asked concerned, as he dropped the sheet of metal he had found and had used on the serpent, "are you alright?"

Brooklyn took a couple of deep breaths, as he steadied his nerves. "Yeah," he replied. "I'm fine, just… just a little shaken up.

Goliath nodded and bent to inspect the now still creature. He frowned. "I've never seen or heard of a creature like this before," he said, as he cautiously poked at it with his talon. "Whatever it is, nature definitely did not make it."

Brooklyn nodded in agreement. "How's Talon and Claw?"

Goliath didn't take his eyes off the snake. "They're… fine, at least reasonably," he replied. "Lexington is with them. Both of them have been severely injured by this thing, but Talon is the worst off, as his eye is lost."

Brooklyn sighed. "Yeah," he nodded. "Pretty hard not to notice that."

Goliath turned the creature's head over to inspect it closer and grimaced at its repulsive appearance. Brooklyn wasn't too keen either.

"Not a handsome fellow, was he?" Brooklyn twisted his beak in disgust at the rows of sharp fangs.

"GET OFF!" Lexington's cry sounded.

"Oh crud, now what?" Brooklyn said almost exasperatedly.

The two of them rushed back into the tunnel, expecting to see another snake attacking their little friend. They were however soon stunned to find no snakes, but their two allies attacking Lexington.

"GET OFF ME!" Lexington cried again, as he struggled against Claw, as he raked his talons across Lex's chest.

Talon growled fiercely, despite his terrible wounds, as he punched Lex in the stomach, laughing as he heard the green gargoyle wheeze and struggle to breathe.

Goliath and Brooklyn snarled in rage, rushing the two injured mutates, tackling them to the ground.

"What is this?" Goliath demanded enraged.

Talon spun at the sound of Goliath's roar, and roared back at him, charging him with his claws hooked.

Goliath tackled the panther mutate, throwing him over his shoulder and slamming him into the floor. He ignored the gapping hole where his brother-in-law's eye used to be, focusing on the battle. Goliath stared into the former Derek Maza's one good eye, and saw only madness in it.

Talon roared again, struggling to his feet to attack, but Goliath never gave him the chance and knocked him out with a swift punch to his face.

Brooklyn and Claw were also tackling one another, snarling and eyes glowing. For Brooklyn, it was only gargoyle nature to do so, but the look on Claw's face was that of the same madness that his leader had possessed.

"OOF!" Brooklyn wheezed, as Claw punched the breath out of his stomach. Claw wasn't an experienced fighter, as Brooklyn was, but his greater stature gave him an advantage.

Lexington was lying on the floor, broken and bleeding fiercely, struggling to maintain his own breath.

Goliath growled and grabbed both Brooklyn and Claw's head in a vice-like grip, and banged them together, hard, wincing as he heard the loud cracking sound their two heads made when they collided.

Claw made a small moaning sound and went down, while Brooklyn stood standing for a little while, his eyes rolling about in his head, before falling backwards onto his back, unconscious.

Goliath stepped mover his second-in-command, over to Claw and Talon to ensure that they wouldn't be able to attack them again.

"Sorry, Brooklyn," he said to his stunned warrior, "but it seemed like a good idea at the time."

0000000000

Maggie chewed his talons nervously, as the minutes ticked by slowly. They had been gone almost 25 minutes, yet it seemed like hours to her.

A loud shrill-like scream echoed from behind her, one she recognised immediately as Toby, again.

She raced through the growing crowd of alarmed citizens, and nearly banged right into Toby, as he ran straight into her path.

"Toby!" she cried. "Whatever's the matter?"

Toby cried, as he hugged her tightly. Maggie tried her best to calm him.

"Was it more of those snake thingies?" she asked fearfully, frightened of what the answer would be.

Despite his head being buried in her embrace, Maggie could feel Toby nod his head and her fears increase.

"The man said he'd deal with them," Toby blubbered.

Maggie blinked. "Man? What man?" she asked.

"The new man," Toby wiped his eyes, "the one who came in a few hours ago. He said he'd deal with the snakes and make them go away."

Maggie was growing more and more nervous by the second, for as far as she knew, there had been no new members to the Labyrinth for at least 2 days now.

"Where is he?" she asked urgently.

Toby pointed down to one of the adjoining tunnels and Maggie gently pulled him away from her and left him in the care of one of the other Labyrinth women, cautiously making her way down them.

That particular tunnel lead to one of the Labyrinth's kitchens. There was usually a lot of noise and people in there, due to the large number of people in the Labyrinth, most of them hungry. Today however, there wasn't even a squeak.

Maggie tiptoed around the corner at the tunnel's end, peeking her head around to see.

Her first reaction was to jump back and run, as most of the kitchen floor seemed to be covered by one of those spiked snakes. It was at least 5 times the size of the first one she had seen… But then, as she inspected closer, she noticed that it wasn't any bigger than the last one. The reason why it was so big was because there were more of them.

Maggie gasped, as the kitchen floor was almost literally covered by at least a dozen of the dangerous black reptiles. However, they were all lying quite still and seemed to take no notice of her.

Maggie took a deep breath and inched herself forward to investigate.

As she entered the kitchen, she noticed a strong smell of smoke. Her first initial thought was that someone had been baking something when the snakes attacked, but then she saw that the gas stoves weren't turned on.

She sniffed about and realised that the smell was coming from the snakes. She walked up to one and knelt down to inspect it further.

The creature was dead, for sure. It had literally been fried to death. The smoke was still rising from its burnt corpse.

With the threat apparently dealt with before she had even got there, Maggie regained some of her courage and touched the snake… and yelped.

The moment she had touched it, Maggie had been met with a small electric shock. It didn't hurt her, but it did make her wonder.

'These things must have been electrocuted,' she thought. 'But how? There's no wires or anything that could have been used for such. And even so, who could have done it?'

It couldn't have been one of the Mutates, as Fang was still in his prison, Talon and Claw were missing, and she had most certainly not done it.

She suddenly remembered what Toby had said about 'the new man' who had said that he would deal with the threat.

"Hello?" she called out. "Is there anyone here?"

No answer.

There wasn't anyway out of this room, except the way she had come. If there had been someone here then she would have surely seen him coming.

Maggie frowned, her thoughts a jumble, when…

"Maggie!" someone yelled for her, from back in the Labyrinth. "The gargoyles are back, they've found Talon and Claw!"

Maggie instantly forgot all about the kitchen mystery, and raced to go meet her lover and friend.

She never noticed the dark silhouette of a man, as he held onto one of the ceiling pipes all the while, as she had gone through the room. The moment she was gone, he dropped from the ceiling and landed gracefully on his feet.

He made a quick sweep of the room, as if checking something, and then proceeded to leave.

Just as he was about to turn the corner and exit, he suddenly spun around faster than the eye could see, and a bolt of lightning electricity burst out from his hand and struck one of the kitchen's gas stoves.

There was a loud hissing sound and the door to the stove fell open, revealing another long and smouldering snake, as it hissed once more before quickly dying.

The man didn't make a comment, as he simply just turned back and walked away.

0000000000

"Well, lookee here!" Fang's obnoxious voice sounded from his cell, as he observed Goliath and the others busy loading Talon and Claw into the next two cells.

Considering how they had acted when they first awoke, it was decided that they would be better off being kept in containment until they could figure out what was wrong with them. So after Maggie had helped dress their wounds, they had brought them to the prison cells, as they were the only place where they would be safe and not cause any damage.

"Looks like I got company," Fang sneered.

Maggie clenched her fangs at him. "He's only here temporarily, Fang," she said simply, "unlike you. Remember that."

Fang smirked and replied, "We'll see, Nala."

Maggie sighed. Nala was Fang's newest nickname for her, because she was part lioness and the name Nala was obviously from The Lion King.

"Can it, Fang!" Brooklyn growled at him, while holding an ice pack to his head. When Maggie had asked him about it, he just went quiet and shot an almost murderous glare at Goliath.

Maggie looked at her husband, her eyes filling with tears, as she observed the eye-patch that covered his now empty eye-socket. He and Claw both looked as though they had been thrown into a pit of lions and torn to shreds.

"Did you get all of them?" she asked suddenly afraid.

Goliath lowered Talon onto the bed in the first cell. "As far as we know," he answered, "but we didn't even know about the ones in here in the Labyrinth. If you hadn't contained them, then who knows how much damage they could have done."

"How did you deal with them anyway?" Lex asked, nursing his aching cuts.

"I didn't," she shrugged. "One of the kids says that a man came to the Labyrinth earlier today, and when the snakes showed up in the Kitchen, he went to go after them. Then, when I went into the kitchen, the horrible things were all dead, but there was no sign of anyone being there."

Goliath frowned for a moment. "Very curious," he finally said. "You said that all the snakes had been burnt up?"

Maggie nodded. "I checked them and got a small electric shock when I touched them." She said. "That probably means that they were electrocuted, but… There were no wires or anything that could have been used to destroy them. And only Fang and me were here, and since Fang has been in his cell all this time, I doubt he could have done it. Not that I'd ever expect him to do anything to help us anyway."

Lexington chewed his lower lip in concentration. "Could it have been one of the Venes?" he said.

Goliath bristled a little at their name, but remained calm. "Doubtful," he said. "If so, then why would they summon these creatures in the first place, only to help us destroy them?"

The others frowned too.

"Maggie!" a small rugged boy, about thirteen, ran up to them, ignoring the other gargoyles. "Maggie, we just got a call from mister Xanatos at the Eyrie!"

Suddenly, something struck Goliath in his mind, causing his eyes to widen in horror. "By the Dragon!" he cried. "We have to get back to the Eyrie, at once!"

"Huh?" Brooklyn moaned, as he cradled his head.

"Lexington!" Goliath glanced at the clan's brightest member. "You are too injured to return with us, so you will remain here and help out with talon and Claw as much as you can. Brooklyn… " He turned to his second. "You're with me, come!"

Without another word, and ignoring Brooklyn's dismayed look, Goliath strode out of the prison cells with Brooklyn valiantly trying to keep up, and with everyone's curious looks staring after him.

0000000000

Eyrie; Same Time:

Owen placed the phone back on its cradle and turned to his employer. "I'm afraid that Goliath is currently unavailable, mister Xanatos," he said.

Xanatos cocked his head at him. "Are things really that bad at the Labyrinth?" he asked.

Owen shook his head. "No," he replied. "Apparently, Goliath had just rushed out of the Labyrinth the moment after we phoned, but they said he was on his way back here."

Xanatos nodded. "Hmmm, he couldn't have found out what we know already, could he?" he asked his assistant.

Owen shook his head again. "Unlikely, sir."

Xanatos sighed. "Very well. I guess we'll just have to wait until he returns. I only hope this bit of information doesn't make Goliath want to interrogate the young lady anymore."

Owen shrugged. "Probably, sir."

Xanatos was about to answer, when the clan's communicator system began to beep, indicating a signal was being received. Owen bent to answer it.

"Hello? Owen Burnett speaking."

There were a few moments of conversation before Owen finally hung up and turned to Xanatos, almost gravely.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, sir. That was from Hudson, it's about… "

Before he could say anymore, there was a loud scream from the Great Hall. The scream sounded like Angela.

"What the…?" Xanatos said and ran to the hall, with Owen close behind him.

They made their way to the Great Hall, rushed in… and ducked, when a large snake whizzed through the air at them and crashed into the wall.

Xanatos stared at the snake creature in bewilderment for a moment, when he heard a loud roar that could only come from Broadway, and turned to see the beefy warrior, as he swung one of the antique swords, in the hall, at yet another snake, slicing the creature in half.

Angela was close by him, also armed with a sword, slicing and dicing at a number of black snakes with long fangs and countless spikes across their hides.

Owen's eyes thinned, as he stared at the snake things.

"Adroanzi!" he swore, unlike his usual self. He stepped back a notch, and began to glow an eerie green. As Xanatos observed, Owen's body began to shrink, his hair grew and turned white, his ears grew pointy and his glasses disappeared. Within a few seconds, Owen Burnett was gone, and Puck was reborn once more.

"Adroanzi!" the trickster called out. "Filthy creatures of the night, bringers of madness and pain. I banish thee from the world of light, to the darkness from which thou came!"

There was a loud screeching noise that sounded almost like screaming, which came from the snakes themselves. As Xanatos looked, the snakes twisted and turned on the floor, writhing as if in agony, before their bodies began to smoke, as though they were burning in fire.

Broadway and Angela backed away from the hissing snakes, just as they gave their last hiss. The nightmare creatures bodies then began to sort of melt away. It was like watching slugs' melt, when they were sprinkled with salt, only in fast-forward.

Puck glared at the dissolving menaces. "Well," he finally said, "if there ever was any doubt that the Venes weren't involved in this, then there isn't anymore."

"Puck?" Xanatos began slowly. "Just what the Hell was that thing?"

"An Adroanzi," Puck floated over to the now fully disintegrated things, now just blackened marks on the floor. "They're sort of like demon snakes. They cower in the darkness, waiting for any likely victim to come along, then they snatch at you and don't stop until you're nothing but a bloody mess."

"Father!" Angela said suddenly, remembering that he had gone to face the ones in the Labyrinth.

"It's alright, Angela," Xanatos reassured her. "Owen talked to someone at the Labyrinth just previously. He said that Goliath was alright and that he and Brooklyn are on their way home now."

"He and Brooklyn?" Broadway asked fearfully. "What about Lex?"

Puck held up his hand. "Lex was wounded, but he's gonna be okay. He'll have to stay with the Mutates for the day, but should be back tomorrow once he's healed."

"What happened?" Xanatos asked the two gargoyles.

Broadway wiped his forehead, exhausted. "Me and Angela were just gonna go out and check the courtyard, when these things just came out of nowhere and freaking attacked us! Every time that we threw one of them down, another would jump in and take its place!"

Puck sighed. "These things are as fearsome, as they are ugly. They've been known to take down whole tribes, starting with just one of them."

"But how did so many get here?" Angela dabbed Broadway forehead with a damp cloth.

Puck was about to answer, but then he recoiled, as he noticed Angela tending to Broadway, "Wait a sec! Neither of you got bit or scratched or anything from these things, did you?"

Angela and Broadway both inspected themselves and shook their heads.

"No," Angela replied, "why?"

"These things also have a poisonous venom that make you go crazy," Puck answered. "Just one little bite from these things is enough to make you wanna kill each other."

"Is it permanent?" Broadway asked concerned.

"No, its effects don't usually last long, depending on how big a chuck the snakes got out of you…" Puck paused for a second and frowned. "Actually, that probably explains Miss Maza."

"Elisa?" Angela and Broadway both said concerned.

Xanatos answered for Puck. "We had a call from Hudson, who said that Elisa kept waking up with loud fits and hysterical attacks. The doctors had to give at least 3 shots of morphine just to calm her down."

"Will she be okay?" Angela asked the Fey.

Puck shrugged. "Eventually, she should be. The beast got quite a huge chunk out of her hand, so who knows how much of its venom got in her. But if the doctors keep her sedated, then once the poison has run its course, she should be fine."

Broadway and Angela didn't seem fully relieved, but at least they had some reassurance. Puck however wasn't in the mood for sympathy, as he had other problems to deal with now.

"But never mind about that now," he said. "I suggest we all gather in Davey's office and wait for big G, because boy is he gonna spew when he hears what we've got to tell him!"

They all blinked.

0000000000

Half An Hour Later:

Goliath soared through the skies, with Brooklyn valiantly trying to keep up.

"Goliath!" he called to his leader. "Wait up, will ya? You haven't even said what all the rush is?"

Goliath barely glanced over his shoulder at him. "Those demon snakes attacked Talon and Claw, causing them to go insane," he explained. "Worse yet, they multiplied at an astounding rate. If, whoever it was that helped the labyrinth, hadn't been there to subdue them, then chances are, things could have gone a whole lot worse."

Brooklyn shrugged. "Yeah… so? The snakes are all dead, so what's the problem?"

Goliath sought to go even faster to reach the Eyrie. "Elisa wasn't attacked by these demons at the Labyrinth, remember? She was attacked at the Eyrie, which means that the creature is most likely still there. And if they are just like the ones in the Mutates lair, then who knows how many there are of them now."

Brooklyn suddenly realised why his leader was in such a rush to get home.

"Ohh… crap." he simply said and hurried to keep up.

They soon reached the Eyrie Building and strode into the Great Hall, and stopped.

"Yeesh!" Brooklyn exclaimed in disgust, at the smell that met his nostrils. It smelt like someone had had a barbecue with garbage.

Goliath twisted his nose in revulsion, and then noticed the blackened marks on the floor. "Brooklyn?" he pointed to the marks.

They took one look at one another and then continued their rush to find their clanmates.

"Angela?" Broadway?" they both cried out, fearing the worst.

"Father!" Angela's pleasant voice called back to them.

The two heaved a sigh of relief and slowed their pace, just as Angela came running out of the corridor that lead to Xanatos's office, and rushed into her father's arms.

"Father, thank the Dragon you're safe!" she breathed tearfully into her father's embrace. "A little while ago, all these strange snakes that Puck called the Adroanzi, came out and attacked us. Puck managed to banish al of them, but he says that whoever gets wounded by them, goes temporarily insane."

"Yes," Goliath breathed heavily, "we know."

"You do?" Angela looked up at him curiously.

Goliath nodded. "By the time we got to the Labyrinth," he said, "Talon and Claw had already faced these… Adroanzi, as you call them. They were seriously wounded, so we left them in Lexington's care while Brooklyn and I went to deal with the Adroanzi. We succeeded in killing the one snake, but when we returned, both Talon and Claw seemed to have gone mad and were attacking Lexington. Lexington wasn't hurt badly, thank heaven, but we had to leave him in the Labyrinth's care until tomorrow after he had rested."

"Ouch!" Broadway said grimacing.

"Goliath?" Owen stepped into view. "I see that you are well."

"As well as can be expected, considering that we've had demon snakes taking bites out of our tails, and our own friends turn against us!" Brooklyn moaned.

Owen ignored him. "Please come with me to mister Xanatos's office," he said. "I believe we have something that might be of interest to you."

"About what?" Goliath inquired, but Owen was already walking ahead of them.

Goliath looked at Angela and Broadway, but they said nothing and just hurried after Xanatos' major-domo.

Goliath looked at Brooklyn, but Brooklyn just shrugged and so the two of them followed.

"Ah, Goliath," Xanatos greeted them, as they entered his office. "Good to see that you're still alive."

"Nice to see you too," Brooklyn mumbled.

"Okay," Xanatos continued from behind his desk. "First of all, before I show what we've got, I want you to promise me a couple of things, alright?"

"What sort of things?" Goliath frowned. "What are you talking about?"

Xanatos sighed. "I don't want you getting all angry and tearing up the place," he said. "Most of all, I don't want you saying anything like 'I told you so,' okay?"

Goliath arched an eye-ridge at him, but simply nodded. "Very well."

Xanatos took a deep breath and waved a hand at Owen.

Owen stepped up to Xanatos's television screen and pressed a few buttons, indicating that there was a tape inside the VCR player.

"We've been doing some research on all we could find out about the Venes and their history," Owen said. "It turns out they have a very colourful history, dating all the way after the Salem Witch Trials, which of course I have already informed you about."

Goliath nodded, as the screen blinked on and a picture formed on it.

"From what we've been able to gather," Owen continued. "The Venes, after they fled Salem, settled somewhere north, right by where a Native tribe were living, away from all the witch-hunters, and eventually changed their name from Veneficus to Vene. Once there, they started a farm where they continued practising the mystic arts. They also encountered a master shaman in the Natives village. The Shaman married one of their daughters, thus passing on his mystic knowledge and heritage into their line."

Brooklyn shrugged. "Oh well, at least they didn't cut out his heart."

Owen spared Brooklyn a glance, but made no comment and simply continued with his lecture.

"The farm they started still exists today, and is known to be one of the oldest and most historical properties in the United States." Owen pressed another button and a black and white picture came up on the screen showing a man in his early forties, standing outside a farm. "This is Nicholas Vene, who began opening new farms in various places around the country, in the mid-nineteenth century. His children continued their fathers legacy, as did theirs, and so far the family now owns a vast variety of farms, livestock and other such properties, both in and out of the United States."

Broadway gave a small whistle. "Bet they make a fortune in rump steak!"

The whole clan gave Broadway a long look.

"What?"

"Anyway," Owen said. "Around the turn of the century, the Venes began opening new business, such as oil companies. Theirs were the most successful, as every time they bought a new stretch of land, they discovered oil on it."

"Talk about your good luck!" Brooklyn said.

"Especially when you're a sorcerer," Broadway summarised.

"Quite right, Broadway," Owen confirmed. "The Venes weren't just lucky, they knew exactly where all the oil was before everyone else did. They simply found out where the oil was, on a land where no one knew of it, bought the land without anyone suspecting, and then supposedly discovering their black gold."

"I didn't know sorcerers could do that?" Goliath asked amazed. "I mean, I know of some sorcerers who have travelled in time and know of the future, but… To do that, the Venes would have needed the Phoenix Gate, and that's gone. Isn't it?" He looked cautiously to Owen.

"Yes," Owen replied. "As far as we know, the Phoenix Gate is still lost in the same temporal vortex that you placed it in. And there is no other magic in this world that can create such a talisman, as the gate."

"So how did they do it?" Angela asked.

"We don't know for certain," Owen shrugged, "they must have found an Oracle of some sort."

"An Oracle?" everyone all but said.

"Yes," Owen cleared his throat. "An Oracle is, to put in simple terms, a person with the ability to see into the future."

'Oh, a prophet.' they all thought.

"Then again," Owen said suddenly, "it might have been a demon, which the Venes must have summoned from the underworld to do their bidding." Owen continued. "Most likely to help them in their fortune, as well as other things. This type of demon would be called a Seer."

"And just what does this Seer look like then?" Goliath asked.

Owen touched another button and a picture on the screen showed that of a hideous looking beast with several pairs of eyes, all of them glaring out on them. It's body looked as though it was made of nothing, but eyes actually.

"Wouldn't a thing like that tend to stand out in a crowd?" Broadway said, as he pointed at the monstrosity.

Owen nodded. "No doubt, but then again… The Venes are known for their resources."

Owen then looked at his employer, who nodded and waved for him to continue.

Owen lowered his organic hand over the remote control. "We continued looking over all the records we could find of the Venes, and we discovered something that you, Goliath, should find most intriguing."

"What?" Goliath demanded.

"Alright," Xanatos interjected. "Just remember our bargain… No 'I told you so's,' and no rampaging?"

Goliath thinned his eyes at him. "What… have you found?" Goliath hissed through his fangs.

Xanatos sighed and braised his hand for Owen.

Owen pressed another button and the screen showed another black and white photograph.

From the way that the people in the photo were dressed, it looked like it was set in Victorian times. The photo was that of a gentleman in a dark suit and top hat, a lady in a white dress with a strange looking hat, and two children, a boy of about eight who was dressed in a sailor outfit, and a little girl… They all stopped and stared at the girl.

"This is Edward Vene," Owen continued. "His wife, Christine, and their son, Jordan."

"What about the little girl?" Angela asked.

Owen shook his head. "According to the then reports, birth certificates and such… Edward and Christine had only one child, which was their son. There's no record of her ever being pregnant again, after the birth of Jordan. This little girl just seemed to appear out of nowhere."

"Maybe they had her out of state?" Broadway suggested. "If she was born somewhere else, then the girl's birth records could be in another state somewhere?"

"Or maybe they didn't have her at all?" Brooklyn stepped in. "She could have been adopted?"

"Again, no records of adoption or such," Owen replied. "But that's not all. Take a look at these small family portraits." He touched the control and four other old photographs appeared on the screen, side by side.

"The first one on the top-left," Owen proceeded, "is that of Jordan Vene, years later when he was 35, with his wife and 2 sons. Keep in mind… " Owen suddenly paused, "…that I'm only speaking of the children whom we have registered births of." He then continued. "Following him on the next photo to the right, is his son, Peter Vene and his 3 daughters. Then his daughter Ruth with her 2 sons, and finally… Roberto Vene with his one son, Abraham, who is Cecile Vene's father."

The clan all stared at the family photos. Jordan Vene's family should have only consisted of him, his wife and their 2 sons, as Owen had said, yet… There were 5 people in their huddle, not 4. The fourth person was a small child, a little girl; dressed in a white frilly dress with fair hair, tied in bunches.

It was the same in the next picture, and all the others after that. Where there should have been only 4 or 5 people in the picture, there was one other. The wardrobe that she wore was different in each image, and her hair was worn differently, but… In each captured image, the same haunting pale eyes stared out back at them, all of which were Sarah Vene, the child who was even now locked up in their prison cell.

"Jalapeno!" the clan breathed.

The End… Not!