I do not own Gargoyles. I only own Sarah Xanatos.

Story Start

Sarah rushed out of the elevator to get to her uncle's office floor to find Owen, but instead she found Fox sitting at her uncle's desk with a bored expression. Fox almost jumped out of the seat with how hard Sarah slammed open the office door. The two women stared at each other in surprise before Fox broke the stare-down.

"What's your hurry? David is gone for the day," Fox said as she slowly composed herself after the scare she just had.

"Where's Owen?" Sarah questioned as she tried calm down a bit, but she was still a little freaked out since the box kept appearing in random areas of her apartment as she was getting ready this morning. She hoped that Owen was still here at the skyscraper, but she had a feeling he was with her uncle today.

"He's with David," Fox said as if it was the most obvious answer. "What's wrong?" she asked when she noticed the slight panicked look in Sarah's eyes. Fox continued to approach the young woman curiously before she noticed something in the hallway behind Sarah. However, when she leaned over to get a better look at whatever it was, it was gone. "How did it disappear like that?" she thought but her train of thought stopped when Sarah interrupted her.

"Nothing, nothing is wrong. I just really needed to talk to Owen. I'll talk to him when he gets back," Sarah said and turned around to leave before yelping when she spotted the box further down the hallway. She gave Fox one last smile before practically running down the hall and hopping over the box, which disappeared as soon as she passed it. She went back to her apartment and ended up staring down the box, which magically appeared on her coffee table. The staring contest continued for a few hours until she finally grew annoyed and went up to the roof.

It was still too early in the day for the gargoyles to wake up, but at least out here she could enjoy some fresh air while the creepy box kept stalking her or magically appearing in front of her. "Why in the world did Owen give me this thing, whatever it is?" she grumbled as she was tempted to just kick the box off the edge of the skyscraper, but she was afraid it would just appear behind her again. "Owen needs to get back here already," she growled as she took a seat on the steps that led up one of the towers of the castle.

A chuckle from one corner of the courtyard made her jump to her feet. A man emerged from the shadowed corner, but he had a strange aura to him. His presence immediately put Sarah on edge. "Well someone has been having a rough day," the man said as he tossed the box back and forth between his hands.

Sarah cautiously eyed the man, who kept approaching her. "Who are you and how did you get up here?" she questioned as she glared at him. There was no way this man could get past her uncle's security.

"Oh my apologies, how rude to not introduce myself, I'm Puck, a good friend of your uncle's," he introduced himself as the glee in his expression only intensified instead of dimming. "I see you did not appreciate your uncle's gift," he continued as he gave a sly look to the woman, who was still glaring at him.

"How do you know about the gift?" she asked as she walked down the stairs so she could at least have a better chance at running for the elevator or the stairs that led back into the skyscraper.

"Oh he didn't tell you, he came to me to ask for this gift. It's a gift that will give you better protection against those who would want to see you dead," Puck explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"So how is the box supposed to help protect me?" she questioned as she tried to discreetly look at Puck and the door as much as she could. She was ready to make her escape as soon as she could.

"It's not the box, but what is in the box," he said and tossed it at her after he seemed to get a slightly anxious look on his face.

Unfortunately, Sarah caught the box so it wouldn't slam into her face and break her nose. She felt a strange heat in her hands as she held the box and looked back up at Puck. "What's in the box?" she snapped when he seemed to be getting a bit fidgety.

"Oh just something to help you, nothing bad," he said and gave a silent hiss when he could sense Xanatos coming up the elevator as fast as he could. "Why don't you see what is inside?" he questioned as he used his magic to make the box open on its own. A dark smirk crossed his face before he disappeared from sight. His mischief was done for now.

Sarah gasped when the man disappeared from view, but soon the contents of the box shined so brightly that it blinded her for a moment. The glow began to dim and she was able to see a silver and ruby necklace sitting in the box.

"How is a necklace supposed to protect me?" she whispered before yelping when the necklace shot out of the box on its own and wrapped around her neck.

"Sarah," her uncle's yell made her eyes snap up to the elevator, where her uncle and his wife were standing as the doors opened. "We're too late," he thought as he watched his niece be engulfed in a dark cloud and he could only hear her screams and see a strange red glow emanating from inside the cloud.