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: -

Thailog nodded, but still had more questions. "You say Draco needs one of three people so that he can bring a new generation of Dragons forth. How exactly does that work?… I mean, what precisely does he need the three for? I mean, does he want them for a sacrifice or something?"

Cecile laughed. "Hardly!" she gave Thailog a sympathetic look, unfitting for her. "You really don't know anything much about Dragons, do you?"

Thailog shrugged. "It wasn't in my programming."

Cecile smiled. "Dragons are an all male race… He requires three female humans. Does that answer your question?"

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Cecile Vene smiled, as she gazed into her crystal ball, observing the cute couple.

"How sweet," she sneered. "It's enough to make you vomit, but…" she smiled again.

"But I think I may have found our first contestant for our big Dragon blind date."

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And Now, The Continuation: -

Three Days Later; Bedford Hotel:

Thailog stood in the middle of the hotel bedroom, completely naked, while Cecile idly twirled her finger in a basin of water.

"May I put my loincloth and armour back on?" Thailog asked, feeling humiliated.

Cecile continued twirling the water, never taking her eyes off him, particularly his lower area. "Say please." She said.

Thailog sighed, and spoke through his fangs. "May I please put my clothes back on?"

"No," Cecile answered. "I believe this to be your best look, Thailog. Such an impressive mountain of a body like yours has no business being covered up in useless garments that have no need for you. And I do not wish it."

Thailog clenched his fists, almost drawing blood with his talons. When suddenly, the water in the basin that Cecile had began to glow a dark purple.

Cecile turned her head, and if not for the miserable spell that bided him, Thailog would gladly rip her to shreds.

After a few moments, Cecile raised her eyebrows in interest. "Hmm, interesting," she said. "Very interesting."

"What is it?" Thailog asked, curious in spite of himself.

Before Cecile could answer, a knock came on the door. "Room service," a voice called. Cecile's younger brothers must have let the bellhop into the apartment?

Thailog was about to make a dash for the window, before the bellhop came in and discovered him, but Cecile raised her hand, stopping him in his tracks.

"Stay!" she ordered.

"Are you mad?" Thailog asked incredulously. "Don't you think the bellhop will find it a little… unusual to find someone like me here?"

Cecile just looked at him. "I said stay, I didn't ask for your opinion. Come in!"

The doorknob turned, and Thailog was helpless to do anything besides cover himself with his talons, in order to try and retain some form of dignity. But even that was denied him, as Cecile lifted her finger.

"Ah, ah," she taunted him. "No covering up, remember?"

Thailog growled fiercely, but placed his talons back down by his sides. He winced, as the door opened and couldn't help but wonder what reaction the hotel servant was going to do… Whether scream in fear upon seeing a Gargoyle, or laugh in hysterics at seeing him in his birthday suit?

The door opened, and the bellhop entered.

"You ordered some caviar and champagne, ma'am?" he asked the female Vene.

"Yes, put it over there, if you please." She pointed behind Thailog, by the fireplace, and the bellhop wheeled the table over, completely passing Thailog and not even raising an eyebrow.

"Will that be all, ma'am?" he asked Cecile.

"Yes, thank you," Cecile said smiling, and the bellhop bowed and left.

Thailog didn't know whether to be relieved or confused. Either the bellhop was blind, incredibly stupid, or maybe this hotel had more than its fair share of weirdness than he knew of.

"Why didn't he… " Thailog began, but then stopped. "You had me shielded, using one of your spells, didn't you?"

Cecile giggled. "You are learning, aren't you?"

"And the reason you didn't bother to tell me was…?"

"Now where's the fun in that?" Both Cecile and Thailog said simultaneously.

Cecile laughed loudly. "Now I know you are definitely learning. But enough jokes for now, come and see this." She patted the bed, beside her.

Thailog walked over, no choice, and sat down beside his mistress. Cecile immediately got up and sat down on him, wriggling into his lap, enjoying the feel of his manhood pressed against her.

"Why don't you take a look at this?" she hissed into his ear, nibbling on it, as she held out the basin to his eyes.

Thailog looked down into the water, and saw the most beautiful sight he had seen in ages.

Lana's lovely delicate face looked back up at him, almost as though she were smiling at him. Her eyes were lit with laughter, her red lips parted into a bright smile.

"Lana…" he breathed. Just the sight of him was making him quiver with lust and anxiety.

"Mmmm," Cecile moved about on him. "You are feeling chirper today, aren't you?"

Suddenly, fear overwhelmed him. "You're not using Lana as one of the sacrifices for your dragon?" Thailog both asked, and warned the Vene. The fear of loosing his love done was too great for him.

Cecile waved her hand at him. "Don't have a cow. Lana is sweet, young, and utterly vulnerable. There is no way she could ever make a good… sacrifice, as you call it, to a dragon, as they need strong women. Something, which your precious Lana is anything but."

Thailog, relieved, ignored her and continued to watch the true source of his desire, as Lana continued smiling. But then it was as though the picture zoomed out, and Thailog found himself watching Lana in the arms of the male Gargoyle called Gabriel.

At first, Thailog did nothing, and just watched speechlessly as Lana danced around in the arms of the young Gargoyle, their lips locking onto one another, kissing deeply.

"No… " Thailog could only breathe now.

Cecile cocked her head at him. "No offence, but did you really think she'd still love you, after what you did? I mean, besides the rape, you are a sworn enemy of the clan; you used her to trap and threaten her grandma whom you also betrayed and nearly killed… Need I go on?"

Thailog suddenly roared and flung the basin across the room. His rage consumed him, as he searched for something else to destroy, grabbing every bit of furniture he could lay his talons on.

But before he could do any other bit of damage, he stopped. He remained standing where he was, powerless to do anything except roar and strain at the invisible force that was holding him.

"Sorry, honey." Cecile told him. "But daddy's pissed off at me already for causing such a bill, what with all the destruction my brothers and I have caused. I can't afford to get anymore into his bad books." She waved her hands at him, and Thailog snarled, as he was forced onto the floor, on all fours.

"But don't worry, baby," Cecile suddenly smiled, and this time it was an even eerier smile than usual. "I have a proposition for you, if you're interested in regaining in some of your freedom?"

Thailog stopped briefly in his struggle, and gazed up at his warden in curiosity. A deal? Now this was something that was familiar to him, and one he might be able to use to his advantage.

"What kind of a proposition?" he asked her.

Cecile twiddled her finger to him, beckoning him closer. "My father has expressed concern at our possible failure at taking the sword. I am taking every precaution into sealing our primary objective," she told him. "Into gaining the sword, Excalibur, and usurping its power for our own. But as powerful as we were, I cannot ignore the fact that that sword completely overpowered me. Even if I wasn't using all of my full power at the time, I could feel the sword's energy, and it frightened me…" She paused, almost ashamed, as though fear was an unknown emotion to her.

Thailog took slight delight in watching her like this, but remained quiet.

"I have no doubt that when the time comes, when we fall to battle with the clan, and the legendary King Arthur… It will be one hell of a battle! Therefore, my family and I need every capable warrior, and the fact is… as great a warrior as I'm sure you are, my spell of control may limit your skills. So… I am willing to make you a deal. I will cast a new spell, one that will give you almost complete control of yourself back."

"Almost?" Thailog said with a raised eye-ridge.

Cecile smiled. "There are limits to what I'm offering, Thailog honey. I will relinquish the original spell I place on you, and place a new one, one that doesn't involve you obeying my every command."

Thailog's eyes widened in greed, as this had definite possibilities.

"You will have your original freewill once again," Cecile continued. "But know this, lover… The new spell I place on you, although it will not bend you to my every will, it will however still ensure your loyalty. For if you ever attempt to do any harm to me or my kin, then you will die in the most slow and hideously painful manner imaginable. Am I understood?"

Thailog sneered, but nodded respectfully.

"I'm also willing to do you a favour, Thailog. Assuming you prove your loyalty?"

"And what pray tell is that?" Thailog asked, his interest still ignited.

Cecile smiled. "Help us to take the sword, then once it is ours, I will give you that what you crave the most… Your darling, precious Lana."

Thailog hissed. "What makes you think I need your help with her?"

Cecile laughed. "Do you really think she'll go back to you? Haven't I already explained that, considering what you did with the rape and everything. You'll be lucky if she and her family don't castrate you."

Thailog said nothing.

Cecile shrugged. "But if you're so intent on trying to win back your love, your way, then please go ahead. You can try it your way, but when you fail… and believe me, you will fail. I can devise a number of spells, which will succeed where you failed, and before you know it, Lana will be in your arms all lovey and dovey again."

She moved in closer to his face, and in the blink of an eye, and the recite of a single word, Thailog found Lana sitting on his lap, with her lips close to his.

"Do we have a deal?" Cecile spoke in Lana's seductive voice, to which Thailog replied by grabbing and kissing her fiercely.

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Eyrie Building:

Elisa stepped out from the elevator, heading toward the stairs that led to the high tower, where the clan and her husband slept. Just as soon as she stepped out, Owen was there to greet her.

"Detective?" he greeted her.

"Owen," she replied politely. "Has there been any news on Brent?"

Owen shook his head. "Mr. Xanatos has once more been looking into all his contacts to find out everything he can about your brother, but as of yet, no new information has presented itself. Mr. Xanatos even tried contacting your brother, himself, under the pretence of a client, but apparently your brother has gone underground, and is taking no new assignments for the moment."

Elisa sighed. She knew it had been a long shot, as she didn't expect her brother to stay hanging around, not after they had found his apartment. She had to admit that the life of a thief seemed to pay a lot better than the straight path. Just the furniture in that place had probably cost more than her whole apartment.

"Thanks anyway, Owen," she silently thanked Xanatos's assistant.

There was only one option left now, and that was to simply wait for Brent's next move. Since they had exhausted all other possibilities.

She still hadn't told the rest of her family about Brent. Derek knew of course, as he had been there when Brent had tried to break into the Eyrie. She had called him, as soon as they had gotten back from Brent's apartment, and informed him on all they had found out, including about Brent's daughter.

'Brent's daughter?' No matter how many times she ran that through her mind, she still found it hard to believe. Brent was the youngest in the family, not even old enough to vote, yet now he was burdened with the responsibility of parenthood. And for the moment, he wasn't exactly setting a good example, being a thief and all.

Elisa wondered about that girl who was now living with him. He had said that she wasn't the child's mother, just a friend who helped out with her. Elisa couldn't help, but worry about her. She hadn't exactly looked like the type of girl that one would leave their children alone with.

Elisa knew better than to judge people by their outward appearance. She was now married to a Gargoyle, so she had no right to judge other people, but even so, if she ever had children, she would think twice about leaving them with a girl who looked like she had just come out of rehab.

She didn't know how she was going to break it to her parents about Brent. Telling him that he was now an international thief was going to be bad enough, but now he was a thief and a father… She didn't know if they could cope?

Suddenly, Elisa stopped. "Owen?" she thought out-loud. "What about Sarah? Surely with her visions, she could find out all we need to know about Brent?"

Owen seemed to loose some of his cool stature for a moment. "Detective, I won't deny that Miss Vene… I mean Miss Foster's visions are unbelievably accurate, but as a Fey, Lord Oberon's law binds me, and his law forbids us from using or going near… other worldly magics, shall we say?"

"I don't understand?" Elisa frowned.

Owen sighed. "Miss Foster's magic mostly comes from the demon that resides within her. It is an unholy magic, one that even we Fey dare not touch. It was decreed, long ago, before even Oberon's rule that no Fey would ever even think of going near a demon, let alone attempt to use its power. Their power is ever so strong, and it also has the power to corrupt. It is said that any Fey who goes near a demon, can be corrupted and driven mad by the beast's evil."

Elisa was about to say that that sounded like nothing more than pure superstition, but considering that the man she was talking to was a Fey, and after everything she had gone through in the past few years, she decided not to argue.

"You are of course welcome to try and use the demon's magic, detective," Owen said. "There is nothing to stop you or the clan, but I warn you… No good can ever come out of a demon's magic. Their power comes straight from the lord of Hell himself, who brings many promises, but in the end only brings misery and death."

Elisa felt a little uneasy, as she was beginning to feel like she was in Sunday school. Her parents hadn't been churchgoers, but her mother had believed in things like the devil and God, and such, so she had raised Elisa and her siblings to respect the lord, to say prayers and everything. Elisa wasn't sure if she actually believed in the devil, but even so, the mere talk of him was enough to send shivers down her spine.

"Well… " she started out hesitantly. "Maybe I'll talk it over with Goliath and the clan first, and see what they say."

Owen nodded.

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Town Hall; Same Time:

Margot Yale, district attorney, stepped through the sliding doors of the Town Hall, frowning. She had made the mistake of working late again.

It had never been a problem before, as Brendan had always been there to pick her up, no matter how late she worked. Unfortunately though, he was no longer going to be there. Brendan had, in his own words, 'quit'.

Margot had devoted herself to her work, and whenever she was with her husband Brendan, she had had the tendency to keep 'bragging'. Brendan had constantly told her not to start mouthing off at him, but in the end she always did. Finally, Brendan had had enough, and a divorce was signed within a week.

Brendan had been so glad to get rid of her, he was willing to give her their apartment, money… everything, hence the reason why the divorce was over and done with so quickly. The only thing she didn't get from him was their car, and that was because Margot had never bothered to learn how to drive. Brendan had been more like her personal shofa than her husband.

Margot wouldn't have been surprised if Brendan had started dancing once he was out of the courtroom. Not that she cared of course, in fact as far as Margot was concerned; Brendan was already a closed chapter on her life. He had never cared about her career, and her work was her life.

She kept thinking back to all those sleepless nights of study at school, and later university. She had never had much time for a social life, as the demands for a straight-A student were practically limitless.

She had worked her whole life for her current position, and now what was she supposed to do, just forget about it?

True, she had maybe spent one too many late nights working at her office, but if he had truly cared for her, then he would have understood and supported her. Something that he did at first, but then after a while he began craving more and more time from her, something that her work wouldn't allow. Eventually he just quit, and as far as she believed, that was just fine. Without his constant hassles and never-ending need for attention, she could get finally some real work done.

Her mother had recently past away, but not before the divorce, and she hadn't taken the news well. She knew how important her job was to her, but as she kept saying, "A good job doesn't keep you company on those long lonely nights." Margot had scoffed at that, as she had never believed that she needed a man, any man, to make her life complete.

'Aren't you worried about growing old alone?' her mother had asked, to which Margot had replied, 'No, because I'll always be too busy to notice.'

The only problem was, it wasn't just the no dating that was the problem. Margot was so engrossed in her work that she literally had no time for anything else, no socialising or anything, and as such she had no friends, no close ones anyway. But it would be a cold day in Hell before she would ever admit it, and pigs would fly before she ever loosened up a bit in her work.

Her father had been a district attorney too, before he died years ago. He had been a workaholic as well, and he gotten along just fine. He had met and married her mother, had her, and had a successful career at the same time. Why shouldn't she be just as lucky? In fact, it was partially because of him that she chose to be an attorney. She hadn't known him for very long, as he died when she was a child, but she had grown up hearing about his wonderful career, the people he helped, and the money he made.

Still, even though she was partly relieved to be rid of Brendan's need for attention, she had to admit that she wouldn't mind hearing the sound of his car right about now. It was impossible to get a cab in this city.

"I must make a note to bring it up in the next meeting," she thought out-loud.

Suddenly, a long black limousine pulled up in front of her, its back door flung open, by itself?

"May we offer you a lift?" Brendan's voice called out.

Margot blinked. "Brendan?" she asked hesitantly. She peered inside the car, but couldn't see anything, as it was so dark. "Brendan, what are you doing here? And where the heck did you come up with the money for a limo?"

Brendan's voice chuckled. "Let's just say I'm letting myself go for a change. Can't a guy spoil his wife for a change?"

Margot paused, and raised an eyebrow at him. "No, but it would have helped if you had done this when we were married."

"Well then call this a make-up gift. Something to atone for the way we split up." He said it rather quickly, as though trying to cover something up, but Margot just waved her hands at him.

"Thanks, but no thanks, Brendan," she said. "I've just worked eleven straight hours, without even a coffee break, and I'm in no mood for your little games right now."

A sigh came from the car, but Margot still couldn't see her ex-husband. "Very well," he said. "Perhaps we'll meet up again some other time. Goodbye, Miss Yale."

Margot snorted, as the door closed itself, and the limo quickly drove off. "Miss Yale," she mimicked her former partner. "It's Miss Stanton now, idiot."

She wondered if she should have taken up his offer on the ride home, but thought better against it. She didn't know why Brendan would come all this way to offer her a ride, but if he was trying to get back together with her, then he could forget it. He had made his own bed, now he had to lie in it.

Margot sighed, as she looked around, but still didn't see a cab in sight. "Should've rung for one before I got out," she grumbled, and reached into her pocket for her cell-phone.

Before she could punch the number in though, something loud and fast, and obviously very strong, whooshed right over her, and grabbed her from underneath her arms.

Margot squealed, but didn't say anything, as something that felt like a snake wrapped itself around her mouth, gagging her.

"You should have taken the ride, Miss Yale," a deep voice spoke to her. "Now you'll have to take the flight instead."

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Destine Manor:

Demona aka Dominique Destine frowned, as she fumbled through one of Nightstone Unlimited's reports for one of their many latest projects. She cursed the Human who had made it so that everything had to be done on paper. It had been so much simpler back in the middle ages.

"Gran?" Jarred's voice called out from the other room.

Demona growled at the back of her throat, but at the same time she felt mildly relieved. Anything that could take her away from this damn paperwork, if just for a moment, was a blessing.

"Yes, Jarred?" she called back.

"Could you come and help me with this spell?" he asked. "The potion's not turning to the colour it was supposed to!"

Demona got up to walk to the next room, which was her spell-room (a laboratory in modern terms, but with potions and spells instead of chemicals and scientific documents).

She had got Jarred to study one of her magic books, and had left him to attempt one of the spells in it. It had just been a minor spell, one for turning base metals into gold, or Alchemy as the humans called it. She had often laughed at the thought of all the humans in the past that had attempted to turn lead into gold. So many years they had put into that one mission, to make gold, some even wasting away their lives, and yet all they had to do was use a simple spell.

'Which they could have used, if they hadn't outlawed magic,' she thought, taking in pleasure of how the Human's own law and superstitious fear had worked against them.

She walked into her spell-room and found Jarred, as always, sitting at her desk, his nose in the spell-book she had given him. He found magic absolutely fascinating. He was fond of learning how to fight, and be a warrior, but his heart seemed to be in sorcery. He apparently wanted nothing more than to be a great sorcerer, just like some magician called Harry Potter.

Demona frowned. She thought she knew of all the sorcerers in the world, yet somehow this one had escaped her knowledge. The name sounded familiar, but she could not place it.

'Must be an English magician,' she thought. She reminded herself to look the name up sometime.

"What's the problem, Jarred?" she asked her grandson.

Jarred looked up, frowning over the book. "It says here that after I sprinkle the toad's spores in, the colour should change from blue to green, but… it's pink."

Demona glanced into the cauldron. She couldn't understand why Jarred didn't just use one of the saucepans in the kitchen, as the cookers were so much faster than ordinary fire. But Jarred wanted to do all his spells just like a traditional sorcerer would do it. She had to admire that in him. At least he seemed to have respect for the old ways, unlike his sister.

Lana had more or less dropped out of all her classes, with the exception of a few history lessons that she did by reading her grandmother's books, at the insistence of her mother, and a few self-defence classes.

The warrior training, or self-defence classes, was an absolute must, as Darlene didn't want her daughter getting into danger again, without having some kind of protection. As for the magic lessons, Lana also found them fascinating, like her brother, but she didn't really want to have anything to do with it, since it was magic that had gotten her trapped as a Gargoyle. Though, as Demona had often pointed out, if she had never become a Gargoyle then she would never have met Gabriel.

"Did you add in all the other ingredients?" she asked him. "How about the roasted newt?"

Jarred nodded. "Yeah, I followed the recipe to the letter, but it still turned out pink."

Demona drummed her talons on the table, thinking, when she noticed a speck of dried brown powder on the cauldron. Curiously, she picked it up with her talon and sniffed at it.

"Dried Wolfs-bane?" she deduced, but was confused. "Jarred, may I?" she took the book from him and double-checked, but was correct. "Jarred, this is Wolfs-bane. Wolfs-bane isn't one of the ingredients you should have used."

Jarred shook his head. "I haven't used it. I only got out the ingredients you told me that the book says to use, nothing else, honest."

Demona searched her grandson's face, but aside from the usual cheeky expression that his face often held, his face seemed sincere.

"Well, the how did… " she stopped. "Wait a minute! Jarred, is this the same cauldron that you used in your last spell?"

Jarred nodded without even checking.

Demona thought back to what Jarred's last spell had been about. She couldn't recall exactly, but she did remember that Wolfs-bane had been one of the key ingredients.

"Jarred, when you last used this cauldron, did you clean it out after you were finished with it?"

Jarred nodded. "Yeah, I put it in the dishwasher and… "

Demona groaned loudly. "Jarred! You don't put cauldrons in the dishwasher!"

Jarred looked hopelessly at her. "Oh but, Gran! The cauldron's half my size. It would take hours to clean that big thing by hand… err, claw."

Demona sighed. "That's not what I mean, Jarred. When you're finished with a cauldron, or any kind of pot that you use for a spell, you're supposed to clean it by boiling water inside of it for a good half hour, so that it can completely dissolve any of the ingredients that you used till there's nothing left. If you don't, if you wash it by any other way, then you risk not getting rid of the entire previous spell that you used the pot to cast. Hence, the next time you use it, you could accidentally mix the two spells together."

Jarred gulped. "What would have happened if I cast this spell, as it is now?"

Demona shrugged. "Who knows? What was the last spell you did before this one?"

"It was a plant growing spell. You used it to bring that dead weed that used to be a rose bush come back to life, outside."

Demona nodded. "Ah, yes. Now I remember. Well, both of these spells were quite harmless, but nevertheless, it is important never to mix magics, Jarred, not when you don't know the consequences of your actions. Separate, these two spells are harmless, as I said, but who knows what would happen now that you've mixed them."

Demona took a damp cloth and hung it over the cauldron. "I think that'll be enough magic lessons for tonight. I'll dispose of this later. Why don't you go and see what your mother and sister are doing?"

Jarred made a face. "Everyone's making kissy-face. Lana's with Gabriel, and mom's with Griff. The only one who isn't in the smoochie mood, besides me, is Gem and she's just a baby."

"I thought you liked your baby sister?"

"I do, but you can only play so many games with her."

Demona sighed. "Well, I'm sorry, Jarred, but for tonight you'll just have to settle with her. I still have a lot of paperwork to do for work, and I can't afford the time right now."

Jarred groaned. "Yes, Grandma." He said defeated, and walked out the room.

Deep down, Demona felt the same as Jarred. It seemed like everyone was getting lucky in the romance department lately except her and Jarred, and that was just because he was still a boy. It was times like this that made her pine for her former mate, Darlene's father, and the others she had at one time shared her heart with. Even, may the Dragon help her, her former mate Goliath would be welcome at this point. That was, until she remembered that he was now re-mated… and to a Human no less.

Demona snarled viciously, restraining the dark impulse to tear the walls down with her bare claws. She had known for a while that Goliath and the detective's mate-ship was only a matter of time, but even so… the thought of a Human and a Gargoyle together, particularly those two, turned her stomach, as well as her ire.

Demona growled one final time, and then went back to her study to finish Nightstone's paperwork.

She didn't notice the dark eyes that were following her from outside.

0000000000

Police Precinct; Some Time Later:

Elisa fumbled through her keys, as she made her way across the road to her car. After meeting up with the clan, and saying a quick kiss and hello to her husband, Captain Chavez had asked her to come in and give a full detailed report of her attack. Despite Elisa insisting that it had just been a pack of rats, Chavez was not easy to fool.

Elisa pulled the bandages off her hand, stretching her fingers. She didn't need the bandages at all now, since Puck had been kind enough to give Alex a lesson in healing, and thus cured her wounds… Of course, when he first tried the spell, he had accidentally given her the claw of a chicken, but that was all water under the bridge now.

Elisa sighed. She had been lying to her captain for years now, ever since the clan had come into her life. It was hard to do so because Chavez was more than just her captain and commanding officer... she was also her friend. Chavez had once served under her father, and as such had gotten to know most of her family.

But it wasn't just that Chavez was a close family friend, she was also a good cop with a keen head on her shoulders. She was nobody's fool, and Elisa was more than positive that she was suspicious of her. Elisa had made up more than a few bad lies over the years, to cover up her tracks, particularly the one when she went on her world tour with Goliath, Bronx and Angela.

And that had just been the icing on the cake, as together with her previous stories, of how she was able to be in on a particular crime just in the nick of time, and being able to subdue half a dozen crooks on her own… etc. Chavez knew Elisa was a good cop, and an even better fighter, but even she wouldn't have been able to take down that many men by herself.

Elisa sighed again. She knew the time was coming when she would have to tell her friend the whole truth. She just didn't know how she was going to react to it. Finding out about the existence of Gargoyles had been a real shock to her system, as to everyone else, but finding out that her friend, and one of her best cops, had been their friend and ally for years, all the while hiding them under their own noses, and lying for them and such… Elisa didn't know what Chavez would say, or do?

"Maybe I can still put it off for another couple of years?" Elisa wondered out-loud, half serious.

She reached her car, and turned the key in the lock, but stopped when she heard the sound of a child crying.

Elisa turned her head, looking around, but aside form the usual crowd of people passing her by, she saw no children. She pricked up her ears and listened further.

As she listened, she heard the cries again, this time closer. She strained her hearing, and deduced that the sound was coming from one of the alleys close by her.

Elisa took the key out and put it back in her pocket. She cautiously made her way to the alley, taking care in case it was a trap. Along with everything else that was happening in her life, she knew that muggers used many a trick to try and lure unsuspecting people into dark alleyways, where they were helpless.

"Hello?" she called out, and reached for her gun.

The crying went on, and Elisa slowly made her way into the dark alley, her eyes straining to see.

"What I wouldn't give for a Gargoyle's sight right now," she said to herself.

She walked further on, taking one step at a time, until she came to the source of the crying. It turned out that it was indeed a little boy, kneeling by the dumpsters, head in his hands, crying.

Elisa put her gun away, her maternal instincts taking over, and rushed over to the child. "Hello?" she said soothingly to the boy. "What's your name?"

The boy raised his head and looked at her. Elisa's keen cop instincts immediately shouted out to her, as she looked at the boy's face. Being a cop, she had to deal with cases such as missing persons, and wanted thugs, so she was experienced in memorising certain people from a photograph. She instantly recognised the boy, as one of the Vene twins.

"Name's Damien, heir to the Vene legacy, future ruler of all Humanity," the Vene answered. "But you can call me… D!" The boy laughed and clapped his hands together, and a flash of yellow brightened the dark alleyway. Before Elisa could even turn, a lasso of the yellow light grabbed her, entrapping her.

Elisa squirmed, as she tried to break free of the lightning lasso, but it was so tight that it felt like she was stuck in a cocoon. She fell to the ground, kicking her legs. She looked like a giant glowing caterpillar.

A second giggle made her raise her head, and she another little boy, identical to the first one, come forward out of the darkness.

"Future ruler of all Humanity?" the second boy said incredulously. "Give me a break!"

Damien shrugged. "Well, it could happen!"

0000000000

Destine Manor:

Demona moaned, as she observed the stack of reports that needed doing, on her desk.

"There must be an easier way to do this," she moaned loudly, and prepared to sit down at her desk.

She had just got out the chair, to sit on, when she stopped… Her keen ears picked up noise from outside her window.

She continued moving about, not wanting to give whoever or whatever it was a reason to suspect that she had caught onto it. She moved the chair out, and then put it back, seemingly deciding better against it. She started making her way over to one of the walls, where she kept one of her laser cannons in case of emergencies.

Unfortunately, whatever it was that was watching her must have caught on to what she was doing, and attacked.

Demona raced to her hidden compartment, to retrieve her cannon, as the sound of shattering glass sounded behind her. She pressed the button, accessing the compartment, revealing the hidden weapon, which she grabbed in earnest.

Demona then whirled around, aiming her weapon on whoever had been foolish enough to invade her home, but paused when she noticed who or, more precisely, what it was.

At first, it didn't seem like anything, just a big black cloud that was hovering among the shards of glass littered on her carpet. But as she inspected it closer, she saw an undeniable face within the dark mass. The face was grotesque; its eyes were like two large lumps of coal, soulless and empty, with jagged pieces of dark matter edging out of its mouth, for teeth.

"Not our usual night-time visitor," she said, as she blinked at the creature.

The beast seemed to ooze its way into the room, and as Demona noticed, she saw that it had multiple tentacles, which were aiding it to move about.

"De-mona," the creature slurred, interesting Demona.

"Interesting," Demona summarised. "So you have the power of speech then… But that won't do you any good." She aimed her weapon at the thing, and fired.

As the laser beam cut through the air, striking the beast in the face, the beast seemed to open its mouth, just as the beam reached it, and seemingly swallowed the beam whole. As it digested the laser, its body doubled in size.

"Damn it!" Demona swore. "It must be an energy consumer!"

The creature's tentacles then reached out, its long arms slapping the laser cannon away from Demona. Demona snarled, and angrily swiped away at the snake-like tendrils, but each time that she clawed at them, the tendrils seemed to fade away briefly, before coming back into focus. It was like swiping at air.

"Mother?" Darlene's voice called to her.

Demona looked in mild fear, as her daughter's footsteps came closer to her study-door.

"Darlene!" Demona called out to her. "Don't come in…!"

The creature used this momentarily weakness, which caused her to look away, and wrapped its arms quickly around her, smothering her voice.

"Mother!" Darlene raced through the door, hearing her mother's cry, and was met with a hard slap around the face, which sent her flying out of the room, and onto one of her mother's tables.

Demona snarled deeply, futilely thrashing about in the creatures bonds, but to no avail. The creature had her bound tight.

The creature then slurred one final time, and slithered its way out of the mansion, carrying Demona with it.

0000000000

Bedford Hotel; Several Minutes Later:

Cecile stood patiently on the rooftop of the Bedford Hotel, idly checking her fingernails. Thailog stood close by her, holding something in his arms, inside a large sack, which flinched and thrust about wildly, attempting to escape.

"Stand still!" Thailog ordered, his eyes flashing red, but his captive chose to ignore.

Cecile spared a glance, smirking slightly at the scene. "Gotta give those attorneys credit," she said absent-mindedly. They were standing on the roof of the hotel, where they were staying temporarily. The floor of the roof had been painted with a circle, and a number of symbols.

A flash of lightning sprang out of nowhere, and Damien and Nathan Vene were standing right before her.

"You took your time," Cecile briefly said. "Did you get her?"

The boys stood aside, revealing Detective Maza, wound up like a mummy in a strange yellow glowing light. She glared furiously at the Vene, and even more so when she spotted Thailog standing close by.

"Thailog!" Elisa spat at him. "You miserable good for nothing twisted…!"

"Yes, yes," Cecile said, bored. "He's a rapist, a mongrel, a monster, a freak of nature, whatever. Much as I enjoy listening to people go off at others, we don't have a lot of time tonight." She raised her hands, and clapped them. "Ladies, you'll no doubt be wondering why I have sent for you tonight… "

"The thought had crossed our minds," Elisa grumbled, watching as Demona thrashed about in the tentacles of her captor. She looked over to Thailog again, and noticed that there was someone else beside him, but she couldn't make whomever it was out, as it was too dark.

"You ladies may seem different," Cecile ignored her and continued. "But you all have something greatly in common."

"I have nothing in common with this… this…!" Demona spat out.

"Human?" Thailog finished for her, smiling somewhat arrogantly at her.

Demona's eyes flashed red, and Thailog felt fear as he looked into those eyes that he had once found enticing. Before the fire at the amusement park, and the business with Lana, Thailog had never really feared her, but now all he could do was gaze into her dark eyes, and shudder.

"Whether you agree or not is irrelevant," Cecile said not-caring. "You each possess a certain spark that we require, like a sort of fire that gives you your inner strength, your independence, bravery and courage, and so forth."

"So?" Elisa said, wincing.

"I assume then you must be these Venes I've heard so much about then?" Demona interrupted them, not letting Cecile answer the detective's question.

Cecile shrugged. "One of them, yes. But enough talk. We got a lot to do tonight, and very little time. Big daddy's coming, and I don't want to disappoint him when he gets here." Without another word, she raised her hands and clapped them.

Elisa grunted, as she was shoved forward into the circle that had been drawn into the floor. She heard Demona snarl, as she futilely resisted. And from the sack in Thailog's arms, all she heard was tiny squeaks from a woman, as she was manhandled too.

Elisa wondered what other poor soul they had dragged into this?

Cecile Vene walked toward them, and too entered the circle. She began chanting in something that sounded like something between a cross of Latin and Chinese. She had never heard anything like it.

After a few moments, Cecile shifted her hand into her pocket and withdrew something that resembled a large tooth, and with a hard throw; she threw it into the ground.

A bright flash suddenly filled the sky, and Elisa had to close her eyes from the sheer brightness. She couldn't hear Demona. She supposed that with her knowledge of magic, she would know about spells like this, and know about things like bright flashes and such.

As for the other woman, since she was wrapped up in a sack, Elisa didn't suppose she could see anything, but she did hear her squeal and yell a lot. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something familiar about the stranger's voice.

When the light died down, Elisa blinked and took a look about. She almost swore aloud in frustration. They were no longer on the roof, or unlikely anywhere near New York anymore. They seemed to be in a cave, a large one by the looks of it, filled with large bones.

'Terrific,' she thought. 'Just what I need… Getting whisked off to another strange land. What's next? Another world tour?'

A sudden loud scream halted her thoughts, and she looked up to the sack in Thailog's arms, looking as though it was getting ready to commit murder.

"Stand still, will you?" Thailog roared, but whoever the woman was, she was obviously more of a talker than a listener.

"Let me out this instant, do you hear me?" She cursed them all. "You picked the wrong attorney to deal with, let me tell you! I'll see you all in court, have you sentenced to 100 years hard labour, and when your sentence is done, I'll have you all stretched out on the rank, your eyes gouged out, and hanged!"

Cecile raised her eyebrows. "Obviously the trip didn't agree with you then?" she said amused. "Thailog, let her go."

Thailog grunted, and snapped the ropes free with his talons, and snatched the sack off of her.

Elisa did a double take when she saw who it was… It was none other than Margot Yale, District Attorney, and no doubt one of the clan's biggest opposers.

"You really have a knack for getting into the clan's business, don't you, Miss Yale?" Elisa murmured.

"What is the meaning of…?" Margot started, but stopped, as Thailog grabbed her mouth, and growled fiercely at her.

"Forgive Thailog," Cecile chuckled. "He doesn't have the best patience in the world when it comes to lawyers."

Margot Yale hissed at the young woman. Who was this young upstart to talk to her so?

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Margot insisted, only to be interrupted by a deep tremor that sounded through the ground.

Cecile smiled, and turned around. "You're about to find out… Ladies, allow me to introduce your host for the evening… and possibly all of eternity!"

All three of them looked as though they were about to speak, but stopped when they saw a large golden-brown clawed foot land in front of them. They raised their heads up, up and further up, until they came face to face with a dragon's snout.

"Ladies?" the dragon greeted them in its loud deep voice. "Welcome to my kingdom!"

Margot squeaked in fear. Elisa felt an urge to at least gasp, as she had never seen a real-live dragon before, at least not one that had talked before. Demona kept her cool, and just regarded the creature in interest.

Cecile bowed her head respectively to the ancient beast. "Draco," she waved to the women in tow. "Meet your dates."

"DATES?" all three of them exclaimed.

To Be Continued…