Disclaimer: I do not own the show Gargoyles. The only thing I own is the plot of this story. That's it. So don't sue me. I has no money.
THREE
A New Start
Elisa groaned as she fell into an armchair. She was panting from her transformation from a gargoyle to human.
"That still hurts," Elisa said as she looked across the room at her clanmate.
"It always will," Demona said as she also sat down in the armchair opposite the coffee table. "Now we have a few things to discuss. One being what you're going to do for work."
"I wanted to be a cop like my dad," Elisa said as she leaned back in her chair. She then looked up at the ceiling. "But seeing as I'm part gargoyle now, I can't just appear on the scene as one." Elisa sighed. "My only option was to quit the force, which I've done. I'm a civilian now."
Demona nodded from her chair as she leaned forward and grabbed one of the cups of tea sitting on the coffee table.
"A civilian you may be, an unemployed civilian you are not."
Elisa looked from the mug of tee she had just taken a sip from.
"I don't understand."
"You'll be working for me," Demona said as she returned her mug to the table. "I want you as my Head of Security. I'm pretty sure one of New York's finest would do a better job than the doughnut eating human that sits in the security office and sleeps all day."
"Really?" Elisa asked. "He sleeps?"
Demona nodded.
"I placed a hidden camera in the room. I can see his snoring human hide at any given time. I need someone that is willing to do rounds and not just sit in one room."
Elisa leaned forward and tapped her chin.
"Head of Security? For NightStone?"
Demona nodded.
"We'll sort out your pay and such later. For now, why don't we head into town and get something to eat."
"What about here?"
Demona shook her head with a light blush on her cheeks.
"I don't have anything in my kitchen."
Elisa sighed before standing and setting her empty mug down on the coffee table.
"I'm game," Elisa then said with a smile. "However, I would like to pick up some specific ingredients."
"Ingredients?"
"I have a family recipe that I'm sure you would really enjoy."
Demona's curiosity was peaked.
"You have my full attention."
Elisa nodded before looking around the living room, trying to find her shoes.
Elisa stood in front of the full length mirror in her room, adjusting the tie on her new uniform.
"You okay?" Demona asked as she stood in the doorway.
Elisa chuckled.
"That is the last question I expect to ever hear from you, Demona," Elisa said as she went over her uniform one more time, making sure everything was in it's proper place. "To answer your question, though, yes, I'm fine."
Demona looked down at the floor.
"I'm still getting use to having a clanmate again," the older female said as she fidgeted with the hem of her blazer.
"Understandable," Elisa said as she adjusted the cuffs of her sleeves. "I'm ready to take over as Head of Security."
Demona nodded with a small smile.
"It's about time I found someone more capable than that human male."
The two headed out, the gates locking as soon as they closed.
"I will say I am a little nervous."
Demona shook her head as she drove through the traffic.
"Don't be," she said. "You did a fantastic job as an officer. You'll do wonderfully as my Security Chief."
"Oh, I know. It's not that I'm worried about."
Demona looked over at Elisa for an instant before looking back at the road.
"I'm worried what the human will say when I walk in with you to take his place."
"It's none of his concern why you're taking his place. He just has to know that he's being replaced with someone that can do that job ten times better."
Elisa nodded as she closed her eyes.
"What's wrong?" Demona asked.
"It's just that… I'm still not use to this side of you, Demona. I keep expecting you to go off and attack me."
Demona placed a hand on Elisa's shoulder and gently squeezed.
"You have nothing to fear from me, Elisa," Demona said with a small smile. "You are clan and I would never hurt clan."
Elisa placed her hand on Demona's and nodded.
"I know. Give me a little more time and I'll be fine."
Demonad nodded as she squeezed Elisa's shoulder again.
"You're what?!" the former Head of Security growled as he glared at the women in front of him. One was his boss and the other was dressed in a uniform to match his.
"You heard me, Mr. Daniels," Demona said as she stood with her arms crossed under her breasts. She had a determined look in her eyes as she glared at the man in front of her. "Elisa Maza is taking your place as Head of Security. I would rather have her doing her job than you sitting in a room eating doughnuts and sleeping."
"I don't sleep!"
"Oh, no?" Elisa said as she held up her new tablet and showed an image of Daniels leaning back in his chair, snores sounding from the man's open mouth. "Then what is this?"
"It's fake!"
"Really?" Elisa asked as she minimized the image of the male and showed him that there was in fact twenty other videos similar to the one she had just showed. "Then how do you explain that there are multiple images of you doing the exact same things over and over again?"
The man glared at Elisa.
"You don't do your job. If there was a major security problem, you'd probably turn your back and ignore it, if it meant that you would have to get up and run around."
Demona nodded.
"I have eyes everywhere," she said as she held up her left hand. In it was a cell phone with an image of their current conversation being recorded. "You will notice that you can't find the camera for this particular image. But if you look over your shoulder at the top shelf, you'll notice a lopsided stack of books."
The man looked over his shoulder at the books and saw a very small reflective surface.
"What the hell?!"
"Indeed," Elisa said as she put the device in her hands on stand-by and held her hands behind her back. "I am former Detective Elisa Maza. I will be taking over your job."
"Former detective?"
"Due to certain unavoidable circumstances, I had to quit the force."
"A loss for the NYPD, but a gain for me," Demona said as she crossed her arms again. "You, Mr. Daniels, have been a thorn in my side since I found out about your lack of duty. So to make sure that nothing happens, I have found a more suitable replacement for you. You have until the end of the day to empty out your desk of all the useless items you deem to keep in it."
"But be warned," Elisa said as she glared at the human male, "if you try to take anything that is to remain, office supplies or computer equipment, I will call the police. And seeing as I am a former officer, they will not hesitate to follow though with any report I make."
"You bitch!" Daniels yelled as he threw a punch at Elisa.
The former detective was ready for the man as she caught his fist and threw him over her shoulder, effectively putting him on his back.
"I saw your sloppy punch coming from a mile away," Elisa said as she held the man's wrist in such a way that he was fully pinned. "Remember that when you start to loose your cool."
Elisa then released the man and dragged him up to his feet.
"Now I suggest that you get your sorry ass in gear and get your things out of my desk," the former detective growled. "After all, I'll need the desk for actual work!"
The man just glared at Elisa before walking over to his desk and pulling open the draws.
"I will have a box brought to you for your… things."
With that, Demona turned on her heels before looking at Elisa and motioning for her to follow.
"Human men," Elisa said as she leaned back in one of the chairs across from Demona's desk.
"I've noticed that you've started calling everyone around you human. Do you not consider yourself to be human anymore?"
Elisa sighed.
"i'm not human, Demona," she said. "I'm a gargoyle. And I will not let humans dictate how I live my life."
Demona smiled as she nodded.
"But I will make one thing clear, Miss Destine," Elisa said, a glare at the older woman. "Even though I am very cautious around humans now, I do not hate them."
Demona held up her hands in a gesture of surrender.
"Alright, alright." Demona then lowered her hands and looked over at her clanmate. "I am glad you are cautious."
"Old habits die hard," Elisa murmured. "Back at the precinct, the trait's psychologically integrated to the point of being unable to separate it from daily living. Being aware of my surroundings is second nature. Probably will be for the rest of my life." She grimaces at the latter of her statement and sighs. "A very, very long life."
Demona didn't remark, having no form of reassurance to provide. Immortality could be viewed as either a gift or curse, depending on the one burdened with the spell. Just as she had come to reconcile with the notion of being tied down to this long lifetime, Elisa would as well.
"You still have to finalize the rest of your enrollment paperwork to Nightstone," Demon said mildly. "I'll have my assistant deliver the other half this afternoon. Once we finish here, I want you to go familiarize yourself with the rest of the staff and take a tour of the facility. Memorize their names, all the routes and exercise vigilance. Even as you are, we can't be sure how everyone else will handle Daniel's termination. There hasn't been a female in charge of security for years."
Elisa looked pointedly at her employer, keeping her voice low, but firm. "I can handle myself, Miss Destine."
"I've no doubt of that, Miss Maza," Demona countered with similar sternness, lightly edged with amusement. "I've landed on my back enough times to acknowledge you aren't entirely incapable."
Elisa really gave the red haired woman a leveled stare, pondering whether to take the comment as a compliment or a clever taunt. She decided to keep her opinion to herself before focusing on situating herself into her new workplace, ignoring the burning leer directed at her.
Demona pulled the top drawer of her desk open and leafed through several manila folders before withdrawing a small stack of forms and sliding them across the desk.
"These are your new hire documents. Read over them, memorize the policies and regulations expected of you as Head of Security. Pages six, nine and thirteen hold all the information on your entitlements: health insurance, potential raises, recreational pays and leaves."
Paperwork, a cop's main adversary. Elisa wanted to joke about how awful she'd always been at ever keeping up with her incident and accident reports back at HQ. Bluestone was always so much better at organizing their files, keeping everything arranged so neat and tidy. She never had to wonder where her paperwork was. It took a single snatch of the drawer, a quick search and pluck, then bam.
'It's always the small things you tend to miss when they're gone,' Elisa thought as she grabbed a pen from one of the holders on Demona's desk. She then began filling in the blanks to each sheet. Reminiscing wasn't going to serve her much good now. Things were different. And it was time to forge new small things to commemorate her new life.
And so ends the long awaited third chapter. :) A very warm thank you to PhoenixDiamond for helping me finish this chapter. I dedicate it to you, Phoenix. Thanks for all your help! ^_^
I don't know how long it's going to be before chapter 4 is started or even finished. So please, again, be patient. Til next time, I bid you all adieu.
Talon Earthstone
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