Between Day and Night

by Lawra

Ranma x Gargoyles Crossover - As usual, various and powerful magical entities decide to play with Ranma's life. Oh that poor, poor boy.

3. Round and Round

"Speech"

'Thought'

(Language the current character does not know or is not fluent in)

This chapter contains time travel, pay attention to when things repeat, and dates change. I'm sorry for all the retelling of canon, I'm trying to only do the bare minimum to get certain points across.

X x x x x x

October 1st , 1995 Eyrie Building dining hall

Fox slowly picked up a steaming cup of tea, freshly poured by Owen, and sipped at it. Setting down the cup, she gazed across the long table, past the candles burning in the middle, to David Xanatos. He was leaning casually on one arm of his chair, a small smile on his face, and clad in a tuxedo. His clothing offset by her own black off the shoulder dress, exposing just the right amount of cleavage.

"Marry me." He said casually.

"Are you serious?" She laughed once and set down her tea, idly using a hand to brush back her long orange hair.

David stood up and started to walk over to her. "We're genetically compatible, highly intelligent, and we have the same goals." He reached down and took her hand, and she rose to stand next to him. "It makes perfect sense to get married."

"True－ but what about- love?"

"I think we love each other, or as much as two people such as ourselves are capable of the emotion." Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he lead her towards the fireplace, Owen having brought out a small wooden box. Now that she was close, Owen opened the top of the box exposing a large perfect sapphire surrounded by two gold bands curving to form the shape of an eye. Small gold bars completed the jewelry, forming into a short chain.

"For me?" Leaning in she stared in fascination at the jewel.

"To seal the bargain." David added and pulled it from the box to hold in front of her face.

"It's beautiful." The jewel was placed in her hands. "Proposal accepted." She clutched it to her chest.

X x x x x x

October 30th

"You know we could walk faster than this." Ranma commented from the back seat of a limousine. Said vehicle was trapped in traffic, and slowly moving along at a snails pace.

"Wasn't it you who said image was important?" Demona remarked sharply across from him, where she was reading a newspaper.

"When I said that, I meant not looking like you walked out of the stone age, I didn't mean you had to look like you're made of money." Strumming his fingers on the seat, he was getting tired of staring at the front of the paper. "So who's that guy on the front? Looks like he did something bad." Demona flipped to the front briefly.

"Some human who was arrested. Here." She folded the paper up and threw it to him. "I'm done with it."

"Thanks." He replied sarcastically and started to decipher the words. Learning all the the characters hadn't been difficult, compared to all the hiragana, katakana, and kanji that he knew. By the time he had gotten through the article about a guy named Tony Dracon, they had reached their destination, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"This is much different during the daytime." Demona said conversationally as they entered the building, her high heels clacking noisily against the floor.

"You've been here before?" He asked.

"Where do you think I got the mirror?" His red haired companion looked pleased with herself, but kept her voice low, to keep anyone else from overhearing.

Being his first visit, he found it interesting how everything was decorated in shades of black and orange. There seemed to be items from some really far off places, all picked for their macabre or ghoulish appearance. Even a few gargoyle themed items, with monstrous figures hunched over in grotesque displays. He felt vaguely insulted by the display, while Demona looked almost passive about it.

"I'm surprised this doesn't make you angry." He told her, jerking a thumb at the display.

"Why? I prefer that they fear." She replied without missing a beat. "Let's see if I haven't been wasting my time with you." Heels clicking, Demona headed off towards an exhibit to the right. At first he didn't really place where they were going, being far too interested in the massive building, and staring up with wide eyes at the high vaulted ceiling.

"Hey!" Demona stopped his gawking in front of some Egyptian art. "Sight see later, now tell me if you see anything."

"Alright alright." There were people all around, but he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

For the past several days and nights, Demona had been training him in seeing magic. Well the word seeing wasn't the best way to describe it. Magical items didn't glow or stand out in anyway, but something would draw your eye to them. While there wasn't much use to it past identifying items as magic or not magic, it was one of the first lessons when starting to learning magic. He was a fighter, but this magic was powerful stuff, and he would take any advantage he could get.

Demona had taught him this little trick by placing a magic item among several normal artifacts, and having him get into the right mindset to figure out which one it was. It took some time to work out how to do it, especially since it was so subtle, but he could see them decently now. The trick was to look without looking as Demona put it, or as he thought, look without expecting. (1)

"Nothing." He said after a moment of looking.

"Good, let's move on to the next."

X x x x x x

With Broadway's replacement costume in hand, Elisa Maza exited the costume shop, and placed her cargo in the back seat of her bright red nineteen fifty seven Chevy Bel Air. The costume was to replace the one that was lost while filling in for her partner Matt Bluestone. She felt it was the least she could do, since she might not have been able to get out of that situation alive without his help.

An animalistic roar and a human scream made her look across the street to a general store moments before the owner, Mr. Jaffe ran screaming from the door, a magazine rack breaking one of the large front windows behind him. Inside of the shop, the lights cut out, and checking for her service pistol, she ran past the elderly man and drew it. Pausing at the entrance, she heard some heavy breathing and shuffling coming from within.

Stepping through the open doorway, she checked left, right, and center. The only movement she could see was a can that rolled out on the floor a short distance in front of her, where it continued to rock back and forth. Remaining weary, she stepped up and knelt down next to it, before using a finger to stop it from moving and causing noise.

Hearing a crash from deeper in the store, she continued in. Halting at the end of an isle, she jumped out and pointed her gun forward. Sighing, she continued towards the back of the store. Closing in on the last isle, a torn open bag of bread, and then an egg carton were dumped out the end. When she came around the corner, her eyes widened, and she took a step back around the corner. "Oh man."

"Police! Freeze!" She called out and spun around the corner with her gun pointed at the large furred figure that was busy shoving its muzzle full of meat. Elisa didn't fail to notice how much her gun was shaking. Giving her one look, the creature turned and fled towards the front of the store. 'Okay Elisa, keep calm, you can do this.' She tried to reassure herself. 'What I wouldn't give for a big purple gargoyle right now.'

Stepping around to the other side of the isle, she stepped around the corner and found her quarry missing. Next to her, a shape loomed, emitting a deep snarl. Swinging her gun around, it was swatted from her hands before she could react. Scrambling backwards, she found her path blocked by something hard. Elisa could feel its hot breath as it leaned forward snarling and glaring at her with glowing yellow eyes.

Her eyes caught sight of a it raising it's right paw, without thinking, she dove out of the way of its slash, the counter behind her being crushed from the blow. Falling against a stack of flour bags, she reached out and tried to find anything that could be used to defend herself. 'My gun must be around here somewhere!' A hand grabbed her jacket roughly and hauled her up and into the air. Turned towards the creature, she reared back with the only thing she had been able to grab, and slammed it into the creature's face.

Flour exploded, blinding both of them, and she dropped painfully to the floor. Breathing heavily and crawling on her hands and knees, she found her pistol and stood up to face the creature. Before she could try and take it down, bright flashing lights and a loud siren announced the local authorities had arrived. Looking back towards the creature, she found that the store was empty.

"Way to go Maza."

X x x x x x

"This creature was first sighted on October fourth." The screen cut away from a newsman to display said creature leaping over a rooftop. "Since then the frequency of these attacks have increased dramatically." The final clip before David Xanatos turned it off, was the creature being turned away from a police patrol car.

"Another sighting." He remarked to Owen, the door to his office opening. Looking over, he found his fiancée Fox coming through wearing a long tan trench coat, and by the looks of it not much else. "And where have you been hiding yourself my dear?" He asked as she padded swiftly across the floor. Fox paused and clutched the coat tighter to her chest.

"I was－ out taking a walk." She said while avoiding looking in his eyes.

"You are wearing my engagement gift?"

"Of course－ I－ never take it off." She answered and looked away. "Excuse me－ I must be coming down with something." Rushing over to the entrance into their shared bedroom, the door clicked heavily shut behind her.

"Time for plan A."

X x x x x x

Sitting cross legged underneath the shade of a tree, Ranma tried to figure out what Demona had said after their trip to the museum. Something that he had to realize on his own before she would be willing to tell him anything more about magic. Something she said, he had already learned. Scratching the side of his head, he uncurled his legs, and laid down on his back.

The magic he knew of didn't seem to have any reason put to it. Jusenkyo if you fell in a pool would give you the body of whatever drowned in it. Then you were forced to switch between forms depending on water temperature. Thankfully he no longer had to worry about water. Xanatos had said that there was a spell placed on some gargoyles, and the only way to break it was to raise the castle above the clouds.

Puck's spell on both him and Demona changed their forms twice a day. Which now that he thought about it, it was a good thing that he had been a gargoyle when that was cast, otherwise he'd be locked in stone during the day.

And that was the extent to his experience with magic. So what was the common theme that he was supposed to figure out? He hated problems like this, as good as he was at figuring out martial arts moves from seeing them once or twice, he was occasionally hard pressed to figure out the mechanics of how. With magic, the how was even more difficult to figure out, it seemed to him that if you throw around a lot of strange words and just have things happen.

"GAH!" Hopping up to his feet he punched the large tree behind him causing it to shake violently.

"Don't destroy things on my property."

"Eep!" He jumped several meters into the air and spun around to find Demona fidgeting with the cuff of a red business suit. Her hair was tied back in a tight ponytail making her look like a completely different person without her wild spiky mane.

"I take it you have yet to figure it out?"

"I'll get it." He huffed and crossed his arms. "What are you all dressed up for?"

"I have several meetings, it seems now that I am available, the humans I had running my day time activities are interested in meeting me."

"Sounds boring."

"Most human activities are, though I will be chastising some for not being up to my standards." She answered and headed towards one of the gates, probably already having called a taxi or limousine. "You should be happy, Halloween is the one night where you'll be able to walk freely among the humans again." She said snidely and hit several buttons on the wall next to the gate to cause it to slide open.

Glowering at Demona's back, the gate slid shut behind her, leaving him alone to ponder his latest magic lesson. He did have to admit, it would be nice to walk down the street at night, and not have people freak out, even if technically he was hiding behind a false pretense to do it.

X x x x x x

Opening the door to his room, David Xanatos found his fiancée standing before an open window gazing up at the evening sky, wearing the trench coat he had seen her in this morning. "Fox I would like to borrow your engagement present, I want to have it engraved." If he wasn't busy he would find her horribly attractive at the moment, her orange hair waving wildly in the wind, wearing next to nothing.

"No－ I－ I can't bear to part with it." She replied and started to hunch over.

"I'm afraid I'll have to insist." He continued to stride forward and stretched out a hand. Fox suddenly stood up straight while growling, and her left hand shot went out to the side, violently spasming. Reddish fur sprouted over the back of it and a wicked set of claws extended from each fingertip. Growling, Fox collapsed to the floor breathing heavily.

Spinning back towards him, Fox brought up her left hand and grasped the glowing Eye of Odin. Red light pulsed and flared as Fox's eyes glowed yellow, her scream turning to a roar. His own eyes widened and he took a step back as her transformation finished. Ripping the trench coat off of herself, she started to pad purposely towards him.

"I thought so." Reaching into his jacket, he grabbed the tranquilizer gun from it's pocket. Taking aim, he put a single shot into her left shoulder. Roaring, Fox ripped the dart from her flesh and threw it to the side, now moving faster towards him. 'Not good.' Trying to take aim again, she weaved back and forth, stopping him from getting a shot at her body.

With a roar, the gun was knocked from his hand, and he suddenly found himself caught in the beasts arms. Shook several times, he was released and thrown to his bed, Fox leaned in over top of him snarling and pinning him down.

"Owen!" He called out and another tranquilizer gun shot rang out. Above him, Fox gave off an angry roar before collapsing down on top of him. Pulling away, she shredded the sheets above his head, giving him enough room to roll away.

Ripping a drape from one of the posts to his bed, he presented it like a matador, at the entrance to the room, Owen shut and locked the door. The doors shutting distracted Fox from him, and he threw the fabric over her head, before diving in to pin it around her. Owen came in from high and wrapped his arms around her neck, allowing them to drag her to the floor.

With a rip of fabric, they were both thrown to the side, and before he could even recover his senses, there was the sound of wood breaking. Groaning, he sat up in time to see a large piece of door fall off its hinges to the floor. Getting to his feet, he narrowed his eyes at the rips in his bed sheet.

"I knew Fox was an animal in bed, but this is just unacceptable."

X x x x x x

"So this is American Halloween." Ranma dodged some kids, as they ran by in pirate costumes carrying plastic pumpkins filled with candy. Strolling through Washington Square park, there were even some people close to his age dressed up in costumes as well, and he desperately wanted to find some way to join in all the fun. Unfortunately it would be nightfall soon, and he would have to test out Demona's earlier comment.

Finding a secluded spot amongst the trees, he removed his shoes and tying them to his belt, before waiting for the change. Gritting his teeth, he tried to be patient as it completed. Shaking himself out, he caped his wings, and with a small amount of trepidation walked out into the lighted area of the park. Immediately he was hit by several comments pertaining to how great his costume was.

He was also mobbed by a group of young children, interested in the neat costume. Several of them even started to tug on his wings. "Hey don't do that, you'll uh rip them yea." He tried to move away from the inquisitive youngsters. 'I'm not sure if this is better or worse than people freaking out.' He mentally groaned and then one crossed the line by tugging on his tail.

"No." He chastised the boy dressed like some kind of ghost, bending down into the kids face.

"Okay Mr. Gargoyle." The boy replied happily and he was then hit by a bunch of questions on where they could get a costume as cool as his.

"Um, well, in China actually." He replied and scratched the back of his head. "Shouldn't you go find your parents." He suggested, feeling uncomfortable with all the attention he was getting for his form. Seeing that they weren't actually going to leave him alone, he tried a firmer approach, including starting to push through the crowd. "I really gotta go." Many of them pouted but seemed to get the idea and let him go.

He tried to make a hasty exit from the area before anymore small children could spot him, unfortunately he kept getting stopped. It suddenly occurred to him that they all thought he was part of the earlier parade around the park, which had featured many elaborate costumes. Escaping, into a back alley, he decided to find a less active area, hopefully some place not filled with large groups of grabby children.

Several blocks to the South West, he found an entire block having a party, the plus being that there weren't any children. Finding a place to get down to the ground was easy enough, and soon he was back out in the crowd. Immediately he noticed a trio of gargoyles in costumes being appraised by the human participants. Blinking several times, he wondered what the odds of coming across them were, in a city this big. Like wise, they too seemed puzzled by coming across him.

Since the majority of people in the street were adults, it didn't take long for the trio to get free, and over to him. "What are you doing here?" The red one dressed like a pirate with a blue vest and with white and blue striped pants, asked gruffly. 'Oh man what was his name－ Brookwin? Brooklyn? Brooklyn yea.'

"First Halloween in America, thought I'd enjoy it." He replied and leaned casually up against the brick side of a building. "So it's－ Brooklyn, and you're Broadway?" He questioned the heavy set green gargoyle in a trench coat and fedora, who gave a nod and a smile. "And I don't think I've met you." He indicated the small one dressed in a thick leather jacket, white scarf, and goggles on his head.

"I'm Lexington." The small gargoyle presented a clawed hand to be shook.

"Saotome Ranma." He supplied.

"You have two names?" Broadway asked.

"Well kinda, Saotome is my family name."

"Like your clan?" Lexington asked.

"Yea sort of." He agreed, though he added to himself. 'A human clan.'

"So why aren't you in costume?" Broadway asked.

"This is my costume." Looking down at himself, he really was wearing the best costume in the world.

"I get it, not like people will figure out what we are tonight." The big green gargoyle looked pleased with the idea.

"Uh huh, sure." Pushing himself off from the wall, he started to walk away. "Later."

"Hey wait." Lexington stopped him and then started to whisper rapidly to the other two. "We know you're part of Demona's clan, but you're more than welcome to spend time with us."

"Sure, why not?" Shrugging, he was getting bored being around Demona all the time, and who knew, maybe these three were good company.

X x x x x x

Slowly circling above Felice's Meats, a warehouse complete with a large neon sign on its roof. Elisa was carried protectively in Goliath's arms as they searched for Xanatos, who they had seen enter the area after an anonymous call had alerted them to a sighting of the beast that had attacked her last night.

"Looks like it's here." She pointed towards the destroyed door on the roof.

"I think you're right." Goliath responded as a red furred creature burst from a top story window. "Hold on." Dropping quickly, Goliath swung down and kicked the beast hard enough to send it flying into a stack of boxes on the far end of the truck loading area. Goliath placed her on the ground and moved to stand protectively in front of her.

Ripping itself free from the boxes, the werewolf like creature started circling Goliath on all fours. It pounced, Goliath knocked it back with a punch, only to have it recover and start grappling with him. Pulling out her pistol, she looked for an opportunity to help, whatever this creature was, it was dangerous and there was little she could do with her hands and feet.

With a mighty heave, Goliath threw the creature into the metal loading bay doors, denting them heavily. Falling to the ground, it laid still, and didn't move. They both approached the downed form carefully, watching for any movements. A high pitched whine alerted them to Xanatos dropping down to the ground in his red gargoyle armor.

"Xanatos! What are YOU doing here?" She demanded and kept her gun trained on him.

"This is a private matter Detective." He explained and came up to kneel at the creatures head. "I would appreciate no interference."

"Is this another of your mutated victims?" She spat.

"Let's just say I feel a certain personal responsibility for it." Reaching forward he grasp the red glowing jewel at the creatures neck. Red electricity exploded from the contact and Goliath instantly pulled her away. Xanatos cried out and was thrown away into the same boxes the creature had been knocked into before.

"Goliath!" She gave him just enough warning to have the creature grab him from the back.

"You don't have to fight us." Goliath flared his wings, freeing him from its grasp. "If Xanatos is your enemy, then believe me, we are your friends!" With a roar and pounce, Goliath and the creature went over the landing to the street below. Without stopping, the creature bounded off down the street away from them. "Wait!"

Turning her gun on Xanatos, the armor wearing man was just recovering. "You're going nowhere Xanatos!"

"Sorry, business, you understand." Giving her an infuriating smirk, the folded wings on the back of his armor extended, and he took off into the air like a rocket. Putting her pistol back in her jacket, she knelt down on the ground, and put her face in her hands. Goliath came up next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Standing, she looked up into his eyes.

"That poor creature must have been human once." She looked away. "Just like my brother." Forcing herself to think past her mutated brother, she stepped away. "He clearly wants that thing around her neck, we have to gather all the gargoyles and make sure we get it before he does!"

Goliath didn't immediately respond, choosing instead to look towards the Eyrie building. "I think we need more information, before making a decision."

The large gargoyle was able to get them up to the castle just as Xanatos was explaining how this was indeed all part of his plan to get them involved. "Goliath and company are as usual, determined to thwart me. They'll pull out all the stops in order to get the Eye from Fox before I do. They'll do all my work for me." The armor clad man explained to Owen.

"I fail to see how it would be any easier to get the Eye from the gargoyles than from Fox." Owen answered.

"Your manipulations have failed Xanatos." Goliath announced their presence and dropped them down into the courtyard in front of the pair. "I don't supposed you have a plan D." The shocked look on Xanatos' face was truly satisfying. "This time, we won't be your pawns, come." A hand rested on her shoulder to indicate the direction they would leave in.

"Wait!" Xanatos called out and took a step forward. "This situation－ is beyond my control. I thought I could handle it, but." David's shoulders slumped and he looked away. "That creature you saw－ it's Fox. She's been infected by the jewel she wears. Legend says the Eye of Odin is supposed to endow the wearer with power and insight. I had no idea it had metamorphic capabilities."

"Perhaps it can give you some insight into Fox's true nature." Goliath replied. "It seems to have made her more like herself."

"Goliath, please." Xanatos begged.

"Don't listen to him." She interjected. "It's a trick, he couldn't tell the truth if his life depended on it."

"But mine doesn't depend on it." Xanatos came up to place a hand on Goliath's shoulder. "It's Fox's life that does."

"I have no more love for Fox than I do for you." Goliath swatted the armored hand away. "Even if what you say is true? Why should I help her?"

"Because you know what it means to lose someone you love." Seeing Goliath's shocked face only raised her anger.

"Don't even think about it Goliath, can't you see? This is his plan D, if it fails, he'll move on to E and F." Her words had the desired effect and Goliath swept her up in his arms to walk away. The very idea that Xanatos would understand or could sympathize with someone else, was an affront to what he had done to her brother Derek.

"A noble effort Xanatos, but another failure." Quickly climbing the steps he turned them back to the man for one last comment. "Not a good night for you."

X x x x x x

"I like this Halloween thing." Ranma commented to himself, watching some people as they had a competition on who could carve the best pumpkin. He didn't really understand the why, but festivals were always fun for him.

"Hey there's Goliath and Elisa." Broadway pointed to a pair walking down the street.

The trio of gargoyles he found, were not that bad of company. Broadway was a bit of a glutton and seemed to have a happy disposition. Lexington was similar, but lacking the desire to try every piece of food that he could see. Brooklyn was continually suspicious of him however, and he really thought the red gargoyle was taking his defeat by him weeks ago far too personally.

Ranma was surprised to see the large purple gargoyle strolling down the street with a human woman daintily holding on to one of his arms. Goliath had on his usual clothing, a dark brown loincloth bound at his waist with a large black belt and a gold buckle, but the woman was dressed in an expensive gold puffy dress. The whole thing confused him greatly, aside from that one crazy woman, all the other normal humans who had seen him had reacted with fear or animosity.

"Who's Elisa?" He asked the little one, who seemed the most intelligent out of the bunch. Across the street was an area set aside for couples to dance, and Goliath and Elisa joined in. Cocking his head to one side, he found the slow dance that they were doing strangely fascinating. There was nothing overly complicated about it, only a strange surreal feeling from watching a human and gargoyle dance together.

"I'm surprised Demona didn't fill your head with lies about her." Brooklyn said before Lexington could respond.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked angrily. Demona, as far as he knew, hadn't told him a single lie.

"Don't you get it yet? Demona hates all humans, she's tried to kill us several times, and whatever she does is bad news."

"Yea right." Now he knew to tune out Brooklyn's ramblings. "Well see you around." Heading towards the human and gargoyle pair, he was feeling tired from being up all day and probably needed a bath, so he would be heading back after satisfying his curiosity. As the pair's dancing came to an end with the song, he came up behind Goliath with his arms clasped behind his back.

"Hello." He said startling the pair, Goliath immediately taking a protective position in front of Elisa. After a moment, the large gargoyle relaxed, but continued to look at him with suspicion.

"You startled us."

"Goliath is this?" The woman asked, now that he was closer, he could see that she in her late twenties and had darker skin with hair.

"Yes, he is." The big gargoyle sized him up. "Has Demona showed her true colors?"

"Well she's kind of a blue, with red hair, and her wings are more purple." He looked absently off into space, a little put off on how paranoid gargoyles seemed to be. "Just wanted to say hi, and I was wondering if she actually knew about－ well you know."

"I'm Elisa Maza." The woman stepped around Goliath. "And yes I know what he is."

"Saotome Ranma." He bowed his head politely.

"Is that Japanese?"

"Yea, how'd you know?" He asked curiously.

"I took some classes on Japan, mostly architectural and art related ones."

"Ah, never really thought that kind of stuff was interesting."

"Perhaps we should find someplace more private to talk?" Goliath suggested, taking Elisa's hand to lead her to an empty spot, he followed now intrigued by the pair. "Has Demona been mistreating you?"

"I've been through worse." He answered with a shrug.

"If she is, you have my word that we'll help you in any way we can. You're more than welcome to join our clan."

"That's nice and all, but I don't need help." He waved off their concern. A week with Genma was more perilous than the entire month with Demona.

"We all need help from time to time." Elisa added.

"Yes, everyone does." Goliath commented like he was talking about something else.

"What do－ you and Demona do?" Elisa asked trying to distract Goliath from something.

"Elisa we should go." Goliath suddenly started walking away to an alley and came to a halt shortly after starting. "I'm sorry but I must do something, and it is better that you do not get involved." Parting words done, Goliath resumed walking.

"Goliath?" The woman looked torn on what to do before heading off. "Goliath, hey wait up, high heels aren't easy to run in ya know."

"Hmm, I wonder what's up with him?" Groaning, he wondered why something interesting would happen now. All he wanted was to head back to Demona's, take a bath, and get some sleep. Why couldn't the fun stuff happen when he wanted it to happen?

Following from a discrete distance, he jumped up on a two story building, and after reaching a secluded area, the two stopped stopped near a fire escape. With skill developed from years of running from problems created by Genma, he jumped on to the metal structure without a sound, and listened in.

"You can't be considering helping him?" Elisa berated Goliath.

"What if that creature is Fox, and she's dying?"

"We can't believe anything he says, you know that."

"I know－ but that creature is still a threat to my castle, my city. And if Xanatos speaks the truth, if someone like him can love－ perhaps there is hope for this world yet." Goliath looked up, thankfully in the opposite direction of him.

"You're going to help him aren't you?"

"Yes." Goliath admitted grudgingly.

"Good." Along with the pair on the ground, he looked into the darkest part of the alley, where Xanatos was walking out into the light, clad in a black trench coat.

"How did you find us?" Elisa demanded and the pony tailed man snapped a hand forward to pluck something from Goliath's left shoulder.

"Old habits die hard." He joked and threw away a small silver and red disc.

"Anything I can do to help?" Ranma asked from his position crouching on the fire escape, causing the trio to look up at him in surprise. 'Oh how I love doing that.'

"Ah Ranma, thank you but I think me and Goliath can handle it." Xanatos replied.

"Agreed, there is no reason to risk yourself." Goliath added.

"What? I got to pay you back for that meal a while ago." He explained to the man.

"Fair enough." Digging into his coat, Xanatos pulled out a small device. "This way." Slipping off the fire escape, he landed on all fours briefly before following.

"Ranma." A hand fell to his shoulder and he looked up at the larger Goliath. "Do not involve yourself with this, Xanatos is even less of a friend than Demona."

"Uh huh." Brushing the hand from his shoulder, he continued like he hadn't heard him talk.

"You do not seem to realize the peril you are in, Xanatos and Demona are amoral beings, out to satisfy their own selfish ends."

"Are all gargoyles supposed to be paranoid?" He asked, honestly interested in whether or not it was a trait inherent to the species.

"Paranoid? You have no idea what he has done to my clan!" Goliath growled and his eyes glowed white briefly.

"If you two could set aside your squabble." Xanatos drew their attention. "I believe we've found Fox." In front of them a group of around twenty people were running from a hall building. Inside some kind of animal was growling and smashing things. With a small burst of speed, Goliath ran forward and opened up his wings before entering.

Not one to be shown up, he was the next to enter, and immediately scanning the darkness for whatever was causing all the noise. Behind, Elisa entered with a gun she had drawn from－ somewhere, and Xanatos who shut the door behind them. Unsure on how the two would fair in a fight, he kept close just to make sure he could step in if needed. Xanatos seemed to move like a trained fighter, but Elisa did not.

Hearing something from above, he looked up to a catwalk that ran around the second story, and caught sight of a giant red furred beast that let out a loud howl. Before he could figure out what it was, or even get a good look at it, the beast jumped up on the railing and dove towards them at high speeds. 'Wow this thing's fast!' Goliath pulled Elisa out of the way, he was able to go to the other side, but Xanatos didn't seem to get the message and was bowled over.

Seeing that the man was about to be torn into like a hunk of meat, both he and Goliath rushed forward to pull it off. The larger gargoyle got there first and wrapped the beast up in a full nelson, allowing him to drag the snapping and snarling beast away.

"You alright?" He asked Xanatos, checking for injuries, and finding only minor tears to his jacket.

A metallic click alerted him and Xanatos to Elisa cocking her gun. "Sorry Detective, but nonlethal only." Standing, David snatched Elisa's gun from her hand and crumpled it into a useless hunk of metal. Only briefly did he wonder how Xanatos could do the feat of strength so easily, before turning back to check on where the big animal was.

There was more crashing and he watched Goliath thrown from the beast's shoulders and through the front door into the street. The lavender gargoyle slammed into a car that was passing by, pushing the sedan completely across the concrete and into a street light. A moment later the light came crashing down into the street.

"Guess it's my turn." Stepping in front of the creature, it paused, narrowing its glowing yellow eyes. The pause gave him enough time to get a really good look at his opponent. The shape was vaguely humanoid and covered in a dark red orange fur, with a large golden jewel around its neck. Of course the obvious difference was that it looked like some kind of wolf or fox standing on it's hind legs.

Like before, he barely had time to react to the creature's attack, but this time he punched it right in the muzzle with enough force to stop its momentum and make it stagger back. Stepping forward he planted a kick in the center of it's chest. His blow knocked it back to crush an abandoned food stand. More snarling accompanied the creature bursting from the wooden wreckage and racing along the wall away from him.

"Watch out!" He yelled after noticing it was going for Elisa. It changed directions at the last moment and shot towards him. Catching the pair of outstretched claws, he was forced backwards and hit the ground hard. Struggling to push it away, the muzzle full of sharp teeth leaned in before with a mighty leap, it left him to head towards the door.

Scrambling to his feet, he ran out after it, and was just in time to see it leap clear over Goliath and use a couples car as a springboard to nearly reach the top of a four story building. Following, he past by Goliath and used the car's suspension to get a little extra height himself, before scaling the wall. Flipping over the ledge, he landed in a crouch and scanned for the creature. In the center of the roof was a large one story structure that it must have ran behind.

"Wait." Goliath landed next to him. "This is getting us nowhere, we need to pin Fox and take the necklace from her."

"What'll that do?" He asked.

"It will revert her back to human form."

"Why didn't you say so?" Groaning he smacked his forehead. "I could have done that back across the street."

"Powerful sorcery protects it, so it will not be so easy."

"Ya know you suck at giving needed info before going into a fight." He deadpanned, earning a glare from Goliath.

A high pitched whine announced Xanatos landing on the roof, through use of a jet engine on his back, with Elisa in his arms. With his trench coat removed, Ranma could see that the man was wearing strange armor. Around his upper body was a silver portion, each arm had a red gauntlet on the forearm, and the rest of his body was covered by a skin tight black material.

"Take the left, we'll flush her out towards Xanatos." Goliath ordered and headed off to the right without waiting for a response. Having no complaint about the plan, but deciding to modify it a bit, he jumped up to the highest part of the roof, and came face to face with the transformed woman.

"Easy now." He didn't try and close the distance. Right now she was cornered, and whatever intelligence working in that mind didn't seem to be able to work through what was going on. "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm through getting knocked around."

The two glowing eyes didn't show any recognition to his words, and he took a single step forward. The effect was immediate and she attacked. Rather than get a face full of angry two and a half meter tall werewolf creature, he ducked underneath her lunge, allowing Fox to pass by harmlessly. Rolling over, he looked over the edge to see her squaring off with Elisa and Xanatos. "Crap."

Thankfully, Goliath appeared in front of Elisa, allowing him the time to get down behind it. The large purple gargoyle strode forward to receive another attack from the woman turned creature. Grappling, Goliath spun and threw her into the huge neon sign spanning the length of the building. Sparks flew, the impact causing the electricity to hit a ground, and the creature dropped down to lay dazed on the roof.

In an accidentally synced move, both he and Goliath struck it at the same time slamming it back into the sign and causing a huge explosion of electricity. "Now Xanatos!" Goliath yelled and Ranma gritted his teeth and tried to shield his eyes from the sparks shooting out from behind the creature. He also wanted to cover his ears to block out the horrifying high pitched scream being emitted by their target.

Xanatos' clawed hand reached forward and grasped the jewel causing lightning to shoot up his arm and surround him. This only increased the creature's scream, that reached an ear shattering pitch, before something exploded, knocking all three of them across the roof. The sign was buffeted by a magical discharge that made it glow like the sun briefly, before it exploded.

Holding a hand up to shield his eyes, the creature dropped to its hands and knees, the tone of her roar becoming more and more human, and it's body starting to morph. Ranma watched in fascination as the fur receded, the form underneath morphing into that of a woman with bright orange hair and a gray tattoo over her right eye. She stayed on all fours breathing heavily for a moment, and then collapsed unconscious.

Elisa was up and over to the woman, were she pulled off the dress portion of her costume and draped it over Fox. Wincing, he looked down at his left arm, noticing that when being thrown away a set of claws had ripped five long gashes down from his shoulder to his wrist.

Overhead, the rhythmic thumping of a helicopter came closer, which flashed a spotlight before proceeding to land on the rooftop a short distance away. Along its side, a door slid open, and Owen stepped out.

"She's alive." Goliath said to Xanatos. "The Eye, give it to me."

"A trade?"

"Let's just say I don't trust you with it." The armor clad human placed the jewel in Goliath's hand.

"So now you know my weakness."

"Only you would regard love as a weakness."

"Yea I don't really know what you two are talking about, but does anyone have a band-aid?" He asked getting to his feet and clutching his upper arm.

"You're hurt." Elisa cried out and came to inspect his wound, he pulled away when she started fiddling with the torn fabric.

"Owen can you get the medical kit?" Xanatos asked and gently lifted Fox up off the ground to hold her against his chest.

"Of course Mr. Xanatos." The blond left to retrieve the item from the helicopter. Xanatos at the same time helped load the unconscious woman inside. A moment later, Owen returned with a small leather bag and pulled out some scissors.

"Thanks." He let Owen start to cut away his shirt at the shoulder. "Man I liked this shirt too." Though he could always cut the other side short. Looking away from his mangled arm, he saw the trio climb over the ledge and approach Goliath and Elisa. Jerking away, he growled when Owen pulled some cloth out of his skin.

"Sorry." Owen apologized and finished pulled his destroyed sleeve, from his arm. Done with that, he started to wrap it up.

"Thank you for your help Ranma." Goliath nodded to him. "I regret to admit that I believed you might be a kindred spirit to Demona."

"You're injured yourself." He pointed out, ignoring the comment about Demona, and gestured with his free hand to Goliath's chest, where four deep slashes ran down his right pectoral.

"Yes." Goliath spoke slowly. "But I will not let him attend it. I beg you once again, return with us, I fear for your safety should Demona learn that you have helped humans."

"Pass." He stopped Goliath before he could say anything more.

Owen finished bandaging his arm and used some tape to tie the end securely in place. "There, that should remain in place until morning." The man said clinically.

"Thanks." Trying not to move his injured limb, he used his other hand to wave, before heading off the side of the roof to return to the mansion. He would have to get more bandages later, especially since he knew that his wounds were going to reopen and bleed freely when he changed forms.

X x x x x x

Demona crossed her arms, watching her annoyance of a house guest, feed from her kitchen. Honestly she had expected him to return sooner. Ranma was clingy, though thankfully he did not talk to hear himself talk, and kept a respectable distance. For him to remain away for most of the day and night was strange. A very small equally annoying part of her, had even entertained a tiny amount of concern for him. Only because he might cause problems for herself of course.

"You're injured."

"And hungry." He replied sarcastically back, disregarding the hint of concern in her voice, and grabbed some food from the fridge to eat.

"Who dressed it?"

"Mr. Owen."

"Let me see it." Without waiting for a response, she grabbed his arm, and started to unwrap the gauze.

"What are you doing?" He asked and pulled his arm away.

"Don't argue." She snapped and grabbed him once again, appraising the wound that had started to bleed once again. "What did this?"

"That was the weird thing, it was this woman who was turned into this big wolf creature by something called the." He paused trying to remember what the item had been called. "The Eye of Odin."

"You saw the eye?" Demona asked expectantly, pulling on his arm. "Where is it?"

"Goliath took it." Ranma answered.

"Goliath? What were you doing with him?" She demanded, briefly stopping her removal of the bandage.

"What? I was helping him and Mr. Xanatos get the eye thing from that woman, Fox."

"Goliath and Xanatos, working together?" She mulled over the idea. "No bother, I'm sure it's a temporary thing. This on the other hand is a set back."

She indicated his arm, now having removed all but the last bits of gauze at the top, and then started to wrap it in a different way. Nothing significant, just something she had learned from one of her parents long ago, that was supposed to work better over the short term that a gargoyle would have injuries. Rather than the long term recoveries humans required. (2)

"I'll be fine in a couple weeks."

Pausing in her work, she realized just who's arm she was wrapping, and then started again to finish. "It's a pity you no longer turn to stone during the day."

"Why would that be a good thing?"

"Because your arm would have been healed by the time you woke. Or did you think that the stone sleep had no benefit?"

"That would be useful this once."

"You should stay out of the affairs of others, you'll just end up hurting yourself again." She finished wrapping and tied off the end of the bandage.

"Aw, are you worried about me?" He teased.

"Hardly." She crossed her arms and glared at him.. "You're no use to me if you're broken, which reminds me, have you figured out your lesson from earlier." She had no use for an apprentice, no matter how temporary, when he couldn't even figure out something he already knew.

"Uh, heh heh, slipped my mind." He scratched the back of his head with his good arm.

"You should feel lucky that I am not my teacher, he was not as lenient as I." No not at all, that filthy human the Archmage had been a brutal task master who taught her little past the most basic of concepts.

"You've never had to deal with my old man's idea of training."

"We'll trade human horror stories later, go get some rest, it will help you heal." Why hadn't she thought of that before? There were so many things that she had experienced, surely a fraction of those memories could shred his desire to be human into pieces.

"That's what I was going to do until you stopped me."

"Go then." She commanded.

"Aw! But I want to hear more about how you're worried about me." He pouted and she growled loudly before slashing at him. "Yikes, learn to take a joke." Fuming, she wondered why in the world she kept him around.

X x x x x x

Ranma awoke to a feeling of wrongness. Shifting to sit up, he found that he was still a gargoyle, although it was really close to sunrise. He had slept through the change fine before, so that wasn't it. Absently he rubbed at his injured arm, trying to place what the feeling was. As the sun grew closer and closer to rising, the feeling increased, and he started to pick at the gauze. The itch suddenly grew to an unimaginable level and he tore off the bandage.

Starting at the top of the slash marks, his flesh knitting itself back together like a zipper. Gritting his teeth, the speed increased making it feel like his skin was on fire. Crying out, he stood up and held his arm out in front of his body. As the pain intensified, he felt the rest of his body beginning the change back to human. Whimpering, the last bits of now pink skin merged back together, and he fell against the wall to slump down to the floor.

"Ouch." Breathing heavily, he raised his arm, and found that it was completely healed. No long lacerations, no scars, just clean unbroken skin.

"What the hell are you making all the noise for?" Demona nearly broke in the door when coming in.

"Guess we don't have to worry about injuries." He said weakly and held up his arm in her direction. "Hurt a whole lot though."

She scowled but inspected his arm. "So it seems."

"Night." He sagged forward to fall face first into his sleeping bag, too tired to even try and pull the cover over himself.

X x x x x x

November 5th

David Xanatos rocked backwards after a left hook from Goliath hit him square in the chin. A right punch followed, but he recovered and grabbed the gargoyle's outstretched arm. Briefly they struggled, but he was able to step into the larger Goliath, and turned his movement into a hip throw. Goliath landed flat on his back, momentarily stunned, and he followed up the throw by jumping up in the air and coming down with a foot in the place where Goliath's head had been.

Goliath spun while in a deep crouch, and David's feet were suddenly knocked out from underneath him. Rolling backwards, he rose to his feet in time to redirect another punch to his face. Spinning on the ball of his right foot, he kicked Goliath with enough force to stagger the gargoyle. Seeing that there was a lull in the action, he reached up and released the pressure system on his exo-frame armor. Removing the helmet, he took his first breath of fresh, non recycled air.

"It's so unlike you to attack first, I simply invited you here to talk." He said casually and tucked his helmet under his right arm. Behind him was the large neon sign for the Golden Cup bakery, complete with a large golden cup.

"Our previous encounters have not encouraged me to trust you." The gargoyle growled with his eyes still glowing white.

"If you say so. Fox and I are getting married tomorrow night. I want you to be the best man."

"You cannot be serious." Goliath's eyes finally stopped glowing.

"Demona will be there, and she's promised to be on her best behavior." His proclamation had the desired effect, that being Goliath's jaw dropping.

"I－ will need time to think on it."

"Take all the time you want, well up until ten o'clock tomorrow night." Task done, he placed his helmet back on and felt the system pressurize again. "See you then." On his back, the half circle wings unfolded, and his jet pack engaged.

X x x x x x

"Only you can decide what you'll do lad." Hudson intoned. Goliath sighed, his mentor had been very aloof with his advice for this occasion. It was always harder to make a decision without the old gargoyle's wisdom to guide him.

"It's crazy to even consider going." Elisa added from behind him, as he knelt on the railing surrounding the clock tower in preparation to sleep through the day. "Promise you won't."

"You're right." He replied and took one of his usual positions. 'But I did not say I wouldn't.' He added to himself as the sun rose.

X x x x x x

975 Castle Wyvern, Western coast of Scotland

Goliath flared his wings and landed in front of his mentor and his angel. Why his leader had sent him away on an errand was beyond him, but he had happily listened. While Goliath was the second, he was the leader, and it was his orders that the clan followed.

"My love!" His mate leapt into his arms, embracing him tightly.

"We must go immediately or we'll miss Prince Malcolm's wedding." He pushed her away reluctantly from her excited greeting, and they both looked towards their leader for permission.

"Go on then."

"Thank you my Mentor." Together they left the battlement and to the great hall's large curved top windows. Coming to rest first in the center of the three, moments later his angel landed beside him. Smiling to one another, they quietly looked inside. There weren't that many humans inside but they all stood watching with rapt attention to the trio on top of a platform at the back side of the hall. On it stood the Prince and Princess, and a priest between them.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Prince Malcolm placed a gold ring upon Princess Elena's finger. Beside Goliath, his angel laid a hand against his arm.

"With this ring, I thee wed." Princess Elena placed a similar ring upon the Prince's finger.

"Exchanging tokens to seal their pledge of love." He commented. "A strange custom, but fitting." Beside him, his angel pulled something from behind her, and broke it apart with a strange metallic grinding noise. Looking over he saw one half of a strange gold and turquoise shield being presented to him. The other half of the small item being clutched to her breast.

"Take this token of my love, cherish it always, as I will cherish my half. Upon this I pledge my heart to you forever."

"I accept your token－ my angel of the night." Freeing his wings, he brought them forward to wrap up her body, and pull it close to his own. "And vow that you and I are one, now and forever."

X x x x x x

November 6th

"Are you sure you understand how you need to act?"

"No name, no family." He started, ticking off the points with his fingers.

"No CLAN." Demona corrected him.

"No clan." He glowered at her for a moment. "The turn to stone during the day thing, and don't try and warn anyone else. You know I'm not sure why this really matters, you said you would have that Phoenix Gate thingie, so why do I have to hang around and not come forward with you?"

As described to him, the Phoenix Gate was a magical artifact that could travel freely through time with a spoken incantation. Demona had half of it, Goliath had the other, and she needed to attend this wedding in order to obtain the other half from Goliath.

It was sneaky, underhanded, and he didn't understand why she didn't just ask for the other half. After all, she was going back to stop their clan from being destroyed, why would Goliath object to that? Demona had explained that away by saying that Goliath would never trust her with it, and seeing his recent attitude towards her, he could agree with that.

"Because I will not be able to avoid Goliath and make sure you get through at the same time."

"Better yet, why do I have to go at all? You change your past and then we never meet. There done." He shrugged and tried to ignore her glare.

"Because you were mentioned in that letter Xanatos received. Which means you are supposed to go back in time with me. And using the memories from when I was younger, I'll be able to make changes."

"Alright, assuming I believe you about the me having to go back thing. You said something like that before, what do you mean when you were younger?"

"I have already been visited by myself, my memory is hazy at best, but I believe I can set myself on the correct path. Which, if I'm successful, will make it so we never meet." She finished with a huff, having already explained that part several times to him.

"Which means we'll never get cursed." He reiterated.

"Yes." Demona sighed.

"So when do we leave?" He asked excitedly.

"When we sprout wings, now get back to figuring out what every spell has." Demona stood up from her seat.

"But why can't we go out and－ out and－." Realization came over his face.

"Yes?"

"That's what every spell has, some way to fix it!"

"What do you mean－ fix it?" She turned back to give him her full attention.

"Um, well Jusenkyo the curse is turned on by cold water, but hot turns you back. Puck's spell turns on and off in the morning and at night. And Xanatos freed some gargoyles by raising the castle above the clouds."

"So?"

"So spells need to have something that－." He floundered for a word. "Turns them off?"

"Close enough, even though you did take forever to get it, you did get it."

"HA! I told you I would!" Laughing, he leaned back in his chair, and put his hands behind his head. "So what do I get to learn next?"

"How to quit being annoying."

X x x x x x

Xanatos stood at the lowest gate into the castle, directly overhead sat the tallest tower, and coming down to land in the courtyard in front of him was his own personal helicopter, piloted by his bride to be. He was still clad in his red gargoyle themed armor, for little reason than it was a pain to get off, and he wanted to meet his father when he landed. The helmet had been left inside, he could control most required functions with the sensor controls lining the spine of the suit.

The helicopter landed perfectly thanks to the expert flying of Fox, and she hurried to exit the vehicle to open the door for Petros Xanatos.

"Hello father." He said happily at the man's cross look. Fox removed her sunglasses and sauntered up to him in order to plant a firm kiss on his lips.

"Don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Petros asked in his usual disapproving tone.

"Fox and I make our own luck." Smirking, he pulled her close to kiss her again.

"I'll go change for tonight." Fox ran a hand through his hair and leaned in once again for a kiss. That done, she headed off.

"What do you think of the place?" He asked his father.

"Why do you need all this?" Petros waved a hand.

"Oh reason not the need father, I wanted it, so I took it."

"And the armor?"

"I assure you, it's purely defensive." Growing bored with his fathers foul attitude, he headed into the castle up the three small flights of steps into a gatehouse.

"Against what? What kind of life do you lead? You would have been better off as a poor fisherman like me." Petros berated, nearly chasing him inside. "If I ever get my hands on the man who sent you that coin." His father growled. "I swear I'll teach him not to meddle with my family."

"That's ancient history Pop, besides that coin was only worth about twenty grand, and well." He spun around to face his parent. "Now I'm worth considerably more."

"An anonymous stranger sends you a museum piece worth a fortune. All this came from that, you didn't earn any of it boy."

"Some day I'll prove to you that I am a self made man." His father continued to grumble about work ethic and how he needed to learn some proper values. All very boring and it was very hard to concentrate on what was being said.

His metal boots clicked on the marble floor of the Great Hall, which was due to have the decorators arrive in a half hour. Coming out from an elevator was Owen and a black robed figure.

"Ah, Judge Roebling, thank you for coming early." Extended an armored hand, he shook the judges hand. Being careful not to activate the tiny electric motors that would crush every bone. "We have a video for your both to view before the ceremony." Motioning and moving towards the door leading to his office. "The best man, maid of honor, and another attendee are－ somewhat unusual." Stepping away to let his father and Judge Roebling pass through the door, Owen came up behind him.

"Are you sure Goliath will actually show up?" His servant asked.

"Oh, he'll be here, I'll bet my future on it."

X x x x x x

Instead of landing on the lowest part of the castle, Demona continued on until the second internal wall, where she finally set down. Ranma followed her because this was also part of the plan. She needed to show him where to meet her again. Goliath he had already seen arrive, since they had purposely came late.

"It will be about two hours before I return."

"So you said." He replied and caped his wings.

"Now to change history." She said with a grin, hopping off of the battlement to fall one story. He joined her a moment later, and walked through another wall before finally being able to enter the Great hall.

The long rectangular room was the largest in the castle area. Hundreds of flowers decorated the windows and raised platform at one end. Bows and streamers came down from the center chandelier to connect to the outside walls. Going down the center of the room was a wide white carpet, and already standing at the head of the room was David Xanatos, an older man, Fox, Goliath, Owen, and a man in a black robe.

David was dressed in a dark gray tuxedo with black trim, a small gold pendant displayed on the left side of his jacket. Fox was wearing a white wedding dress with a skirt instead of a dress. The old man was in a cheap looking tan suit, and Owen was in his usual blue business suit.

Seeing him and Demona entering, both the black robed man and the older man standing next to Owen gasped. Goliath gave him a weary look and then focused his gaze on Demona. The female gargoyle paid him no mind and walked up to stand at Fox's side.

"Demona." Goliath started.

"I'm only attending this because Xanatos insisted, and I need to keep him as an ally. I neither know nor care why you are here."

"This is not the first wedding ritual we have attended together. Don't you remember?"

"I'm not interested in reminiscing."

Ranma joined Owen and the older guy off to the side. Demona's acting skills were certainly nothing to laugh at. Here she was openly lying to Goliath, and all it seemed to do was make him more interested in her, the large gargoyle angling himself to keep her in view.

"We are here today to join David Xanatos－ and what is your real name my dear?" The robed man, likely a priest turned to Fox.

"Fox is my real name, legally."

"Ahem, to join David Xanatos and Fox, in matrimony. The rings please." The glassed wearing man turned to Goliath, who dropped something in David's hands. On the other side, Demona did the same, but with far less care. The couple came together and slipped the rings on the others finger. "By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife."

Demona turned and moved to leave the room, Goliath in an almost scripted action, followed after her. Raising an eyebrow, if he had eyebrows in his current form, he watched Xanatos and Fox take off after the pair. "And now the fun begins." David said to Fox.

"This is your wedding! Have you no respect for anything?" The older man demanded and grabbed David's arm.

"I'm sorry Pop, I'm in a bit of a hurry." Prying the hand from his arm, David and Fox strutted off after Demona and Goliath.

"Unacceptable." The elder man growled and stormed off after the newlyweds.

X x x x x x

Demona placed her hands atop the stone railing of a terrace. She could hear the heavy steps of Goliath echoing as he followed he through a tower, and out on to the rounded vista. Everything so far had gone according to the plan. In mere moments she would have the other half of the Phoenix Gate and then she could change her past.

"Long ago, we also exchanged vows." Goliath came to stand several paces behind her. "I know you remember them." From under his wing, he pulled out the half of the Gate she had stupidly given him so long ago. "I promised to keep this always, and I have."

She turned to look at her one time mate, noticing how pleased he looked with himself. Reaching behind her back, she pulled out her half, allowing herself to smile as she placed her half into his. "As have I." The broken Gate immediately fused itself back together with a small crackle of static. Pulling it from Goliath's hand, she stepped back and laughed cruelly, his smiling face turning to one of shock and betrayal.

"Goliath you're a sentimental fool! Now I have the Phoenix Gate, and I intend to use it!" Raising the Gate up into the air she recited the incantation. "Deflagrate muri tempi et intervallia!" The Phoenix Gate glowed and a bright sphere of light expanded from her hands. Ranma, the two humans who had just wed, and that third old one, jumped in at the last moment before they were transported back in time.

"It seems the honeymoon has begun earlier than expected." Owen Burnett noted after the group had disappeared.

X x x x x x

975 Castle Wyvern, Western coast of Scotland

Around Ranma, the intangible sphere of fire flared once, and then disappeared from view. Along with the fully human members of the party, he looked around in wonder at the forest, he now found himself in. Without missing a beat, Demona took off with Goliath in tow shortly after.

"Where are we?" Xanato's father asked.

"Not where, when." Xanatos corrected, pointing at the far away castle which was a duplicate of the castle atop the Eyrie building. Only it now sat on a cliff overlooking the sea.

"975 actually." He supplied. Even being forewarned of what was going to happen, he was just as disorientated as the rest of the group.

"Thank you Ranma." David gave him a cheery smile. "And I believe we have an appointment in that direction." Xanatos pointed in the general direction of the castle, but away from the open farmland leading up to it, and deeper into the woods. "Shall we my dear?" He asked Fox.

"We shall." The orange haired woman replied and kissed David on the lips before sauntering off in each others arms.

"And what is your part in this－ gar-goyle?" Xanatos' father asked him accusingly.

"Trying to fix a mistake." He replied and hurried after the pair. When he reached them, they were taking a leisurely stroll in a park. Pausing, he heard a metallic clanging noise coming from somewhere up ahead.

"Let's not keep them waiting." David said cryptically, now jogging with Fox. Rolling his eyes, Ranma wondered if he should just let them go off and do whatever it was they were supposed to do, while he went for the castle. Then again, if those noises were any indication, it meant the people fighting had weapons, which meant it was a serious fight.

'I better not have some woman turned werewolf butcher my arm again.' He grumbled, casting a glance at Fox. Blaming her wasn't productive, so he didn't, but he did feel a strange sort of kinship with her. She had been changed into something against her will, the only difference being that she had lost herself to it, and seemed to have forgotten the whole event.

Stopping at the tree line before the forest opened up into a large clearing. He looked out into the open area, where six humans on horseback were fighting with swords and shields. Four of them were dressed with the same red hoods. The other two had darker cloaks on, a man in red and woman in black, neither of which looked to be doing well.

Seeing that the woman was about to be stabbed in the back, he leapt from his position, and landed in a crouch on top of the back haunches of his horse. Snaking out a hand, he grabbed the guys wrist and pulled the blade from his grasp with the other.

"Nice sword." Not really, it was dented and not well taken care of, so he grabbed the hilt and the tip and bent it in half. "Here you go." He gave it back to the stunned bandit.

"A gargoyle!" Another hooded man shouted, drawing the attention of the others.

"It must be from the castle, kill it, kill the beast!"

"Are you stupid? We can't fight a gargoyle!"

"You idiots couldn't fight me if I was human." Dropping off the horse, he sprinted towards the nearest bandit. Jumping upwards over a sword slash, he planted a foot in the back of the bandits head, and knocked him off the horse. Landing on the ground again, he looked at the remaining two bandits, the third still staring at his ruined weapon. "Who's next?"

"Let's get out of here!" One yelled and the two turned to run away.

Ranma's eyes glowed white for second, and caught up with them before they could even turn around fully. Yanking them off their horses, he threw them towards a tree where they bounced off, falling to the ground unconscious. "Cowards." Brushing off some imaginary dirt, he remembered the first bandit, who was just noticing that he was alone. "Boo."

"AHH!" Screaming, he galloped off, and this time Ranma let him go.

"Very impressive." David and Fox both clapped, having retrieved the freed horses, the older man still having trouble getting up on his.

"Aw, these guys were wimps." He scratched the back of his head, mildly embarrassed to be congratulated, when he hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Do not be so modest gargoyle, you fight like a demon, even for one of your kind." One of the two he had just helped commented, removing his hood, showing straw colored hair in a bowl cut. "We are most grateful for your gargoyles aid strangers, but we cannot－." The man paused, catching sight of something while looking at David.

"Aw, good friend, I am the Norman ambassador." His demeanor had changed from guarded to instantly friendly, pulling off his right glove to show a gold ring on his middle finger. Done with that, he proceeded to shake David's hand. "My companion and I, bear precious gifts for Prince Malcolm of Wyvern. You wear strange garb, but your gargoyle is an excellent fighter." He returned his glove and whispered something to Xanatos. "I would be honored if you and your party would accompany us the last few miles to castle Wyvern. Prince Malcolm will be very generous in appreciation."

"You're most gracious." David said to the Ambassador who did not seem to be waiting for them, then turned to him, and patted the horse. "Ride or fly?"

Hopping up to sit with his legs hanging off one side, he smirked. "Every time I'm around you I gotta beat someone up, I think I deserve to be lazy."

"Fair enough."

"I see your far more strange than your garb." The ambassador commented. "Letting a beast ride a beast."

Narrowing his eyes, he growled lightly, not liking this guys attitude at all. He had just saved his life, and now he goes off and insults him? Crossing his arms, he glowered, thinking that these medieval guys needed to learn some manners.

X x x x x x

Passing underneath the high arched gate into the first courtyard of castle Wyvern, Ranma was awed by the differences between the times. In his time, it stood empty save for Xanatos, Fox, and Owen. But here in the past, it stood as a functioning building, lived in by dozens, perhaps hundreds of people and a large number of gargoyles.

Hopping off the back of the horse, he noticed immediately that the only people paying attention to him in the least were the armed guards, who looked ready to attack him. Crossing his arms, he had no fear that they could do anything to him. None of them looked particularly well trained, and Demona had told him that they were nothing more than show, the real guards of the castle were the gargoyles, the humans were just to discourage attackers during the day.

"We are much pleased at your arrival ambassador." A man exclaimed, moving down the steps in a long red robe with a blue cape trailing behind him. "But where pithy tell is my bride?"

"It was hoped, that by traveling in secret we could avoid the attentions of rogues and thieves." The Ambassador explained, the woman who had been in the group, removed her hood.

"We were wrong." She explained and turned to look back at his group of time travelers. "But thanks to these kind strangers and their gargoyle, who rescued us most valiantly, and saved my life." With a flourish, David Xanatos bowed to the man in red, who Ranma now knew was Prince Malcolm. Ranma nearly spoke up that it was he that stopped the bandits, but remembered that he was supposed to be seen not heard, so he settled for glaring at the ambassador.

"These tokens are but the first of your rewards." Digging into a satchel at his side, the Prince gave a handful of coins to David. "Tonight you'll have fine food, fine lodging, and fine clothes. Your gargoyle is free to socialize with his kin, I'm sure the simple creatures will find no fault with his company, they are a communal sort." Turning his back, the Prince walked up to the Princess and gently rested a hand against her cheek.

"This attack on Princess Elena, makes me anxious, we shall be wed this very night!" He pronounced and started to walk up the stone steps towards an elderly man with a large staff. "Prepare the great hall!"

Glowering at the man, he didn't like how Demona's comments were being proven true. People in this time didn't appear to have the freak out response people in his time had to seeing a gargoyle. Instead they had a treat him like some kind of smart animal response. Truthfully he wasn't sure which annoyed him more.

"I'll take you to your quarters." A boy no older than himself told the Xanatos family, making a point to exclude him by stepping between them.

"Just a moment." David came over to whisper in his ear. "Don't take it personally."

"What makes you think I take it personally." Brushing aside the tuxedo clad man's concern. "I got some place to be anyways." About to walk away, a stout tan gargoyle slightly shorter than himself, came to rest in front of him. Like him, he was wearing full clothing where most he had seen wore just the bare minimum. Unlike him, he had white hair, a full beard, and six small bump like horns that swept back from his temples through his hairline.

"Welcome lad." He greeted warmly. "Come, I would speak with you."

"Alright." Giving one last glance at the group he had arrived with, he followed the old gargoyle. He had time before he had to be in location to meet with Demona again.

"What clan are you from lad?"

"I don't have a clan." He answered, walking with the old gargoyle on top of a wall.

"No clan? Was there a massacre?"

"Never had one." Almost rolling his eyes, he wondered what the fascination was with clans for gargoyles.

Part of Demona's instructions for this to work was to not give clues that he wasn't really a gargoyle. Saying he was from Japan would be like saying he was from the moon in this time. The only thing it would do would be to make them suspicious of him. On the other hand, if they thought he was an orphan, out on his own, they wouldn't view his strange behavior as anything to be suspicious of.

"And yet you travel with humans－ strange and dark times we live in. How long will you be staying?"

"Day maybe two." He answered, though it should only take them a night to do what they were here for.

"You're welcome to remain, our pact with the humans protects us during the day."

"I'm fine." He really wanted to tell the old guy that he would be dead in a few years, betrayed by those same humans, but if he said too much it would change events, and then it might happen in a different way. Lacking first hand experience with the events that lead up to it like Demona, he might even cause it. 'Ugh this time travel stuff is too complicated.'

"It's your choice lad." Looking up suddenly the gargoyle cursed. "What's he doing? I said the battlements." Glancing up, Ranma saw Goliath soaring overhead to land on the tallest tower.

"I need to attend to him, only advice I have is to keep clear of the humans lest you cause trouble for yourself and me." Without waiting for an answer, the gargoyle jumped off the side and started to head for the top of the tower.

"Fine by me, I'm right where I need to be." He smirked and took a seat on top of the stone battlement to wait. "Too bad I couldn't tell you, but hopefully we can fix it."

X x x x x x

"Curse those strangers!" The Archmage hollered and threw a vile containing a glowing green potion to smash against the wall next to her. Putting some distance between herself and the liquid, she tried to remember exactly what that was, and decided that touching it would be bad.

"Because of them, my bandits failed to steal the Phoenix Gate!" Grabbing a skull with a candle burning on top of it, the Archmage threw it against the far wall. "I MUST HAVE IT!" It bounced once against a wall, raining wax down upon the Grimorum Arcanorum. Recoiling, she expected him to punish her in some way.

Calming down, he brushed the wax from his precious magic book, and cradled it to his chest. "With it and the Grimorum, I'll need only the Eye of Odin to secure the ultimate magical power." Turning, he raised a bony finger towards her. "You will still it from the Princess and bring it to me."

"As you wish, Archmage." She stood up as confidently as possible, no longer skulking in the darkness to avoid the Archmage's wrath.

"Go and make haste." He barked and she ran from the lab.

Thankfully the seaside portion of the castle was not guarded during the night, or any other time for that matter, no human could scale its face, and no gargoyle would want or need to. Circling slowly and low enough to be blocked by the castle structure, she looked for, and found the new Princess' room. Making one pass to be sure the human was looking away, she landed silently in the arched window in a crouch.

Slowly she scanned the room, on a large bed was the Princess brushing her long brown hair, oblivious to her presence. 'Let's see, small shield with a golden border and phoenix on it.' As her eyes got to the table in front of her, she found the object was conveniently within reach. Grabbing it, she left silently, and went to a place she knew she would be alone.

Gently she traced the phoenix design with a talon. This was something made of pure magic, not like the Grimorum that was a book imbued with magic. It was enchantingly beautiful, the gold and turquoise surface without any fault.

'I can't give this to the Archmage, he'll no longer need me, but if I don't, I know he'll no longer have me as an apprentice.' She had think, but she had so little time to do it before she was expect back. Blinking several times, she noticed that her thinking spot was occupied, and the strangest thing was that he looked like her. As far as she knew, no one else at the castle had her coloring, so she would have to investigate.

X x x x x x

David Xanatos handed off his envelope to the Norman Ambassador, and stepped back to let the horse turn and head out the gate. They had all changed into period garb, him in a red and purple set, his father in variations of green, and Fox in a lovely blue dress and a long trailing veil falling from the back of her head. She looked simply stunning, and he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.

"What are you hatching now?" His father Petros asked with his arms crossed.

"That envelope contains my personal instructions for the Illuminati society, plus two smaller sealed envelopes, the society is to wait one thousand years, to deliver the first envelope to a young David Xanatos of Bar Harbor Maine. That envelope contains one of the coins Prince Malcolm gave me earlier, it's practically worthless now in nine seventy five." Pulling out another of said coins, he flipped it in the air. "But in nineteen seventy five, it'll be worth about－ twenty grand."

Fox came over to embrace him. "The other envelope is to be delivered twenty years later, it contains a detailed account of how the coin was obtained. That's how I knew how to set this all up, I received instructions from myself last week. So you see Pop, I am indeed a self made man."

"I'm so proud of you." Fox turned his face and kissed him deeply on the lips.

"Alright, Mr. Big Shot Time Traveler." Petros rolled his eyes. "You set off your little errand boy before answering one important question, how do we get back home?"

"Oh ye of little faith." Kissing Fox again, he headed back into the castle with her in his arms, intending to go up to the top of the tallest tower. "Our ride should be arriving shortly."

X x x x x x

Goliath had never been happier for his mentor's great wisdom than he was now. The gargoyle that would later be known as Hudson had accepted his explanation for where he had come from with only a momentary reluctance. He was also now helping him search for Demona. Goliath could see Ranma sitting off by himself, but even his younger angel was missing. It was troubling, because he knew that his one time love would likely contact her younger self in some misguided attempt to destroy humanity.

Finally he caught sight of Demona, no her younger self, flying in and landing nearby to Ranma. "So that's why Ranma's here." He growled and leaned over the edge to go down and stop them.

"Who?"

Away from Ranma and his young love, the sphere of fire created by the Phoenix Gate flared into existence. "My younger self must not come to investigate!" He informed Hudson before diving off the tower to intercept.

"Aye, I'll belay him."

X x x x x x

"This feels a little weird." He noted, watching several gargoyle children play, reminding him heavily of how he remembered playing with Ukyo when he was younger. Lots of bounding, mostly by him, and mock attacks. 'Wait a minute, I know those three.' It was Lexington, Broadway, and Brooklyn, but they were all much younger, if he had to guess around eight or ten years old.

The flapping of wings behind him, made him turn around and see Demona coming to rest behind him, with the Phoenix Gate in her hands. 'No this is the wrong Demona, she's too young.' She lacked the hard, impossibly old, look to her eyes that the elder did. The rest of her was also younger looking, more soft somehow.

"Who are you?" She asked, hiding the Phoenix Gate from view behind her back. "You're not from our clan."

"Just visiting." He replied and turned away from her. 'Okay, I am not thinking that Demona is cute.' Not that the older Demona wasn't attractive, but she was old enough to be his mother, this Demona was actually close to his age though, and well－. 'ACK! I am not thinking any gargoyle is good looking.' He shook his head violently side to side.

"What do you mean just visiting?" She pried.

Behind, a bright light show of red and yellow, drew his attention. The Demona he knew came into view from inside the sphere of fire that was created by the Phoenix Gate traveling through time. "Who? You look like－ but this cannot be!" The younger Demona took several steps back from her advancing counterpart.

"Oh I am quite real." Demona replied and held up the Phoenix Gate, her younger self clutched her own to her chest.

"But how?" The young Demona asked, her eyes traveling wildly between him and her older self.

"Soon, but first we must go somewhere private. I know from experience that my arrival through the flames will attract one other. Ranma, get close so that we may leave."

"Like I'd let you leave without me." He hopped down from the stone stood next to the older and younger Demona.

"Deflagrate muri tempi et intervallia!" Demona intoned and raised the gate over her head. White sparks shot out from the gate and then they were surrounded by a sphere of fire, and in a flash they were transported forward in time. When the first vanished, he found himself in mid air, and flared his wings to slow his decent into a gentle drop the to the top of a tower. (3)

Goliath, who had somehow piggy backed their trip, was not so lucky, and he went crashing face first into the ground. While he was still trying to figure out how Goliath had tagged along, Demona attacked, kicking the large gargoyle hard enough that he slid across the stone, to lay still. The younger Demona started forward to help Goliath, but was stopped by her older self.

"Yes! I am you, your future self, you know I speak the truth." Demona pulled her double to the edge to look over. "I've come back to give you a warning. This is your future."

Peering over the edge himself, he gasped at the sight. Below the castle lay in ruins, fires burned anything that was flammable, and not a living thing could be seen. Immediately he recoiled from the harsh scent of death and burnt flesh. His eyes found first the human bodies laying on the ground, soldiers and civilians in various positions. Some having died fighting, others killed elsewhere and dragged haphazardly into large piles.

Due to the horrific sight, he nearly missed the the piles of uneven rubbed place all around, indicating the places where a gargoyle had been destroyed in their sleep. They had been turned to dust without even having a chance to defend themselves. A hard lump formed in his throat, knowing that just moments before, he had seen all these people and gargoyles alive.

"The death of our kind surrounds us, your one true love is frozen in stone at night." Demona knocked lightly on the Goliath statue that was crouched on top of a large square battlement in a thinkers pose. He nearly gasped, realizing that Goliath and his clan were the ones frozen in stone till Xanatos put the castle above the clouds. "The humans did this, and you can stop it! You hold the power in your hand." Demona calmed herself down and started to pace.

"To use the Phoenix Gate, you have but to think of a place in time, speak the incantation, and you will be transported. With it, you can accomplish anything." The Gate in the elder Demona's grasp glowed briefly, and she laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you see? Do you see now what I see whenever I see a human? Death! Betrayal! Not just for their kind but everything around them! War is so easy to read about in books but this can be found in none, not even a footnote on the pages of history, all this death is beneath notice to the atrocities they have committed against each other!"

"People aren't like that, if they knew." He gripped the stone underneath his hands so hard that it shattered, sending fragments down to crash to the ground below, disturbing the unnatural feeling of stillness.

"Remember your father, think of his actions when you changed, he had raised you your entire life, and he threw you away without a second thought. That is what humans do, anything they do not understand, they get rid of or destroy. One thousand years have passed from this time to our own, has humanity gotten better in that time? Here they treat you like a beast, then they treat you like a monster. The only thing that has changed is their weapons, from killing with their hands, to wiping out entire cities, entire continents with their weapons!"

Stepping away from the edge, he didn't want to see this, he didn't want to be in this tomb, and he certainly didn't want to admit that in a lot of ways, she was right. His father, the only parent he had ever known, had let him walk away without a word. In the end he had meant nothing to Genma, even though his father had a curse that was just as bad if not worse than his own. Was Demona really right about humans?

"Do not give the Gate to the Archmage." Demona left him to his thoughts, addressing her younger self. "Do not share it with－ do not share it! Use it! Get rid of the humans! Rule the gargoyles! Rule the world! It's all within your grasp!" (4)

"Grr." Goliath was waking up, and the younger Demona ran over to attend to him, but she was stopped by her elder self.

"Believe me, I know exactly how you feel. But you cannot trust him, he's weak, he cares more for the humans then for our clan. The greatest favor you could do him, would be to put him out of our misery forever."

The younger Demona gasped along with him, killing was a last resort, when there were no more options left. What she was suggesting wasn't something he could ever do, it was murder, and Goliath hadn't done anything that justified that. The young Demona tried desperately to pull away, but her older self held her fast.

"Can't you see? I am what you will become!" Demona pulled her other back.

"Never! I will never be like you!" With a snarl, she pulled her hand away.

"I do not wish to hurt you."

"And I do not wish to be you!" The younger charged the older wildly, and was thrown over Demona's shoulder to land heavily on the ground.

"If I must beat this lesson into you, so be it."

"No!" He stepped between the two, finally having seen enough. Demona while right about some things, was clearly in the wrong to attack her younger self. "You're right, humans aren't the best, but what does this do?"

"Get out of the way." Demona's eyes started to glow. "I must be showed the error of my ways before it's too late to change this."

"You should listen to him." Goliath said grabbing Demona's left arm near the top. With a roar, one of Demona's wings came down to slash Goliath's face. Goliath, instead of releasing her, drew back a fist and punched Demona, the force of the blow sent her backwards to slam head first into the stone wall, where she crumpled to the stone lifelessly. The Phoenix Gate that was in her hand, rolled out to come to rest at Goliath's feet, where it was picked up.

'Glad I didn't have to do that.' He sighed and went to check and make sure she was alright. She was out cold and had a nice lump on the top of her head, but she would survive.

"Are you injured?" Goliath asked the young Demona, his voice full of concern, and Ranma watched the pair, feeling like he would be interrupting something if he spoke.

"You－." Demona looked at Goliath briefly. "The others－ all gone." Tears started to fall from the blue gargoyles eyes, and she spun away from Goliath to hug at his statue. "What am I to do?"

"Do nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Do not worry, do not wait or look for this catastrophe. Live in the moment, attend the petty jealousies and angers that prey upon your heart. Fortify yourself with love and trust, and you need not fear this future, but most of all, fulfill the vows of love you make." Gently, Goliath took Demona's chin between his talons, forcing the shorter gargoyle to look up into his eyes. "For they will surely save you."

"I shall." She replied and rest her hand on top of Goliath's. "You have my oath."

"I had hers once as well." Goliath turned to look at the downed form of Demona at his feet. "We should go." Nodding, he gathered up Demona in his arms and moved close to Goliath who looked down at the Phoenix Gate in concern. "I do not remember the incantation."

"I do." The younger Demona before he could, and stood next to them. "Deflagrate muri tempi et intervallia." She spoke and flame surrounded them to appear in front of the group he had arrived with.

"I think we found our ticket home." David chuckled.

"If I didn't fear the damage you would do to the time stream, I would gladly leave you here." Goliath growled.

"But you won't, because you didn't, time travel is funny that way." The billionaire laughed.

"Good bye young angel, remember your promise." Goliath said in parting to the young Demona. The red head nodded once and stepped away. "Deflagrate muri tempi et intervallia." Goliath repeated the incantation with a few minor stutters, and they were surrounded by flame.

X x x x x x

The gargoyle who would be known as Demona, watched the ball of flame rise into the air briefly before in a flash it vanished. Looking down at the Phoenix Gate in her talons she wondered what she should do. Her future self for all her horrifying attitude did bring up a good point. She would not give the Gate to the Archmage, knowing that he would do terrible things with it.

"I saw the phoenix flame!" Jerking, she hid the Gate behind her back hurriedly, the Archmage trudged up the steps, the Grimorum clutched to his chest. "You lost the gate! Admit it you stupid beast!" The human advanced towards her.

"But I."

"Fulmenos venite!" He called out and a green ball of lightning struck her right shoulder, spinning her to the ground. "I will tell Prince Malcolm that you stole the Gate!" He sneered and she turned to look up at him. Her view was suddenly blocked by her leader's back.

"Why would you suspect this child of stealing anything from the Prince?" He asked advancing towards the Archmage. "And even if she did, precisely who would she be stealing it for?"

The Archmage glared at the old gargoyle before stalking off towards the stairs. At the entrance he spun around. "I will not forget this." He growled and glared at both of them, before heading down the steps. Once out of sight and his footsteps were no longer heard, the elder gargoyle turned to look at her.

"Are you alright lass?"

"Yes Mentor."

"I'll not ask what you've been up to, but I hope you have learned your lesson."

X x x x x x

Goliath flared his wings and landed in front of his mentor and his angel. Why his leader had sent him away on an errand was beyond him, but he had happily listened. While he was the second, he was the leader, and it was his orders that the clan followed.

"My love!" His mate leapt into his arms, embracing him tightly.

"We must go immediately or we'll miss Prince Malcolm's wedding." He pushed her away reluctantly from her excited greeting, and they both looked towards their leader for permission.

"Go on then."

X x x x x x

November 6th ,1995, Eyrie Building, New York City

"It seems the honeymoon has begun earlier than expected."

The world came back into view through the flames, revealing Owen and judge Roebling standing right where they had left them. Feeling the ground once more beneath his feet, Ranma looked around to get his bearings. 'No dead bodies, no fire, and no gargoyles stuck in stone.' He sighed in relief, happy to be away from that place of death.

Demona moaned and shifted, opening her eyes, she suddenly pushed him away, and he let her get to her feet. "I can walk on my own."

"Angel?" Goliath asked tentatively.

"You sentimental old fool." Demona snapped. "You may have prevented me from altering the past, but you failed as well. I have clear memory of your little inspiration about keeping my vows of love, I never forgot it. And it changed nothing!" Demona waved her arms outward and got right into Goliath's face. "Obviously, history is immutable."

Turning away sadly Goliath said. "More's the pity." With a leap, Goliath landed on top of the battlement and left.

"We're done here." Demona commanded and followed Goliath's path up to the battlements where she waited. He however remained on the ground with his eyes downcast. "What are you waiting for?" She barked and he followed after, wanting to get as far from this place as possible.

"Why didn't you say you knew me?" He asked over the roar of wind.

"What does it matter?" She snarled harshly, swinging close to grab on to his sleeve. "You idiot! Don't you realize what just happened? My clan is dust! My one chance to help them, ruined by Goliath! And you're worried that I don't remember every detail of you for the five minutes that I was around you one thousand years ago?" With a push she swerved away.

He didn't recover immediately, taken back by the venom in her voice, but eventually he returned to her side, realizing the extent of what had happened. Regardless of their involvement to change the younger Demona's path, the castle had still been sacked. There involvement had likely even been part of the events that caused the very thing they had tried to stop. Time, it seemed, was unchangeable. "Sorry."

Demona turned to glare at him with red glowing eyes. "Call yourself a human again and you'll face my wrath." She pointed a talon towards him.

"You don't have to worry about that, I don't think I want to call myself anything."

X x x x x x

Goliath came to a stop in front of Elisa, Hudson, and Brooklyn. All three having gathered outside the clock face to await his return.

"You promised you wouldn't go!" Elisa took a step forward, but Hudson's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

He didn't respond, walking by without a single word, he entered the tower. Words couldn't describe the despair he felt now, knowing his angel of the night was lost forever, having willingly betrayed her vows long ago. The enormity of his failure to protect her from herself was beyond crushing.

X x x x x x

OMAKE TIME!

A Very Laboratory Rat Omake

"Gee Demona, what do you want to do tonight?"

"The same thing we do every night Ranma, try to take OVER THE WORLD!"

Author Notes:

Spell list

Phoenix Gate spell

"Deflagrate muri tempi et intervallia!" - Burn down the walls of time and space!

Archmage's attack

"Fulmenos venite!" - Come lightning!

(1) – Sort of like those 3d pictures.

(2) – Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than you. She basically wrapped it the same way but in her mind, her doing it will have better results.

(3) – October 1st, 994 specifically.

(4) - She's saying don't share the Gate with Goliath, which means not to pledge her love to him.

Timeline

Oct 1st – David Xanatos proposes to Fox and gives her the Eye of Odin as an engagement gift.

Oct 25th – Demona helps start Ranma learning to read English to give him something to do besides bother her. Should he remain long with her, it will also let her send him on errands without worrying about him needing a translator.

Oct 28th – Demona gives Ranma some rudimentary training in how to sense magic items in preparation to her visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Halloween exhibits. Also part of her plan to make him into a good servant and endear him to her.

Oct 29th – Tony Dracon and his men are taken into custody and stopped from acquiring the jewels hidden by Mace Malone, with the work of Elisa Maza and Broadway.

Oct 30th – Ranma and Demona visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Demona is searching for any magical items that may have been brought in to display for Halloween but find none. Later that night, Elisa is attacked by the werefox version of Fox as it rampages through a general store.

Oct 31st – Ranma assists Xanatos and Goliath in taking the Eye of Odin from Fox, saving her life. He also learns that injuries sustained in the night to an unknown extent are healed completely in the morning, even though it makes him feel drained for the following day.

Nov 1st – Xanatos receives a letter from himself explaining how to turn his wedding on November 6th into a time travel trip back to 975. As well as how he came about obtaining the medieval coin that was the start of his vast wealth. During the night, Thailog is released from his maturation chamber and takes up residence at the Eyrie building, though he will remain hidden until Nov 28th.

Nov 5th – Xanatos sends word through Elisa that he wants to meet Goliath atop the Golden Cup Bakery building.

Nov 6th – Fox arrives at the Eyrie building with Xanatos' father, Petros. Goliath attends the wedding with his half of the Phoenix Gate, and is tricked into giving it to Demona who uses it to send the new Xanatos family, herself, Goliath, and Ranma back to the year 975. Once their roles in the time stream are completed, they return seconds after they left.