Lexington awoke from his stony prison with his eyes glowing intensely white. He nimbly hopped down and waved to Brooklyn and Hudson as they went to meet the mutates to discuss sharing a patrol of New York since they were missing a few members. They left with a jump into the crisp night and glided on to the location of the Labyrinth.

It was just as well that he was first to take the castle shift. He was building yet another computer from scratch just for the fun of it. As he walked into his own personal lair, he noticed with a pleased smile than some Xanatonian employee had put some packages that most likely contained his OEM parts- specifically a prototype CPU that a company sent him to try, as well as an operating system to make it all work. He eagerly ripped open the package, just as something out of the corner of his eye started moving.

He grabbed the screwdriver and crouched down in a pounce. Then he saw it was Angel.

A very beaten up Angel. Lexington had been with Brooklyn when they had met that night for the first time, but he looked pretty bad right now. He was bandaged, meaning he had received care, but he still winced as he moved.

"Where's Brooklyn?" Angel said calmly. Lexington looked behind him towards the night sky.

"Out on patrol with Hudson. Why?"

"I don't have time to explain fully, but right now you just need to trust me."

Lexington sighed to himself. His new decked out computer would just have to wait.

The great hall echoed with laughter that sounded like bells, bellowing that reverberated as if underwater, and whispering that hissed through the warm night air. The gathering of the fairies was still as strong as the day it began almost fifteen years ago. Fifteen years, that is, according to the laws of time in the rest of the world.

Oberon stared out at his people with a look that held disgust and pride in the same twist. Titania mused that he may be the only creature in the world in which this facial feat was possible. Not wanting to exacerbate the situation, she wound her arms around her husband's shoulders whispering sweet good nights into his ears. He broke out of his daze and grasped her hand after kissing it, nodding as she traipsed off.

He followed her with his eyes, as did a certain section of the convening party. As soon as she was attended to by her ladies of the court, Oberon beckoned to the eager faces of the tricksters: Coyote, Anansi, Raven, Loki, Ariel, Uzume, as well as others. They quickly scrambled to gather around their Lord and master, though they did not go unnoticed by other watchful eyes in the room.

Oberon looked at the tricksters with an indifferent air. But like vultures they nearly panted for his attention.

"As you are most likely aware," He said with a low voice, "My grandson is rapidly approaching the island."

Step-grandson, Anansi thought, but wisely kept this to himself.

"I wish for one of you to go and escort him to the island. The gargoyles and the human may wish to stay at the mortal's castle, to which they are more than welcome to attend. However, Alexander... must come here."

He said this last part so sternly that the trickster faye shrank a little. For with the command came a mental image of what would happen to the faye that failed. Still, they kept silent, waiting for their Lord to choose.

Finally he spoke. "Coyote. You know the Maza woman, do you not?"

Coyote replied, "Yes mi'lord. He cracked an imperceptible smile to his bretheren. Loki dared to sigh exasperatedly.

Oberon ignored this. "You will go deliver my wishes to the guests to Avalon. They are but a few lengths off."

Coyote smiled broadly but bowed lowly when his smile became unseemly. "Back soon then," he said. The other tricksters looked at him pointedly, trying to communicate something under the eye of Oberon. Coyote nodded slightly, but Oberon was already waving them off.

And with a shimmer of green, he was off.

Puck woke up to yelling. He was being shaken rudely by Brooklyn, as well as being hysterically yelled at. Not exactly the favorite wake up of choice.

"How could you fall asleep?!"

"You're not exactly the best of company during the day, rock head!" He yelled back.

"Well, had you been awake, you might notice that we aren't alone." He said, indicating over his shoulder with a flick of his chin.

There sat Hudson, metaphorically licking his wounds. When Puck looked up at him, the aged gargoyle nodded. "Hiya boy-o."

Puck groaned.

"While you were napping, I filled Hudson in on the details."

"Like how we'll be getting a visit from said clone shortly?"

Hudson's head snapped up. "What, yer mean now?"

Puck snorted. "I'm afraid there's no predicting it."

"But that is the beauty of the operation, is it not?" cooed a guttural voice from the darkness. It was eerie how similar it was to Goliath's voice, for it both calmed them and made their hair stand on end.

Brooklyn backed away from Puck into another corner. Hudson seemed to do the same. Puck watched them both but stayed still.

"What do you want, Thailog?" Hudson spat, silently planning an ambush with Brooklyn.

"Puck knows. How easy will you make it today, slave?" He said, appearing in the room, picking Puck up by his tunic.

Puck furtively looked to Brooklyn. Thailog did not miss the flicker. "What, do you think he is going to save you, changeling?"

"No," Puck said quietly. Then he sighed in resignation. "But I will not produce your wish willfully." He winced as he said this.

Thailog had no humor on his features. He glared at Puck. "It seems every time I add to your collection of friends, you grow braver still. Very well, Puck. I will deal with you...elsewhere."

And with a flash, Hudson and Brooklyn were left alone, their ambush a second too late.

Alex looked up from the skiff. It had been incessantly foggy for a long time now, and he wondered if his faye skills were lacking. He couldn't even find Avalon on a magic skiff that was supposed to bring him there!

Yet Goliath and company didn't seem to mind. Angela was explaining to a mute Broadway about all their brethren on the island that he had yet to meet. Elisa sat at the end of their boat, scanning a constant horizon for some sign of anything other than fog. Alex had unfortunately failed to keep a conversation going between them for more than two minutes. His gift of gab was quite nonexistent.

Still, something felt different. His slightly dormant changeling blood felt like it was reawakening with a new vigor- shaking off the cobwebs it had hid behind for months.

"We're almost there," he dared to say to his companions.

"How do you know, Alex?" Elisa asked curiously.

"Probably because I've been following you for a ways now," came a singsong voice from far behind him. Everyone spun around to see who issued the voice, but Alex kept his back to him. He closed his eyes in concentration, trying to identify the voice.

" Let me see... Coyote? What made Oberon decide to send you?"

Coyote laughed. "And are you so sure that Oberon sent me?"

Alex turned to face the fae as he hovered above them. "I think my grandmother might have sent someone under her thumb, rather than her husband's." He smiled coyly.

Coyote threw his head back and laughed. "Impertinent but funny," he replied. "I suppose you really are Puck's pupil..."

"I suppose you are here to escort us in?" Goliath asked as kindly as possible. Alex would have to thank him later for jumping in so quickly at the mention of Puck.

"Naturally. You four are to go onto the "new castle Wyvern," but the young Alexander is to come with me."

"Naturally," Goliath replied, with a trace of anger. He looked to Alex protectively, but Alex smiled. "Which way then?"

"Which way? You're already here!" Coyote said.

The skiffs hit the shore with a thump. Goliath rolled his eyes. These antics were getting old.

"If you just follow that path there-"

"We know the way," Goliath growled.

Coyote swallowed his words. He carefully sidled up to Elisa, watching Goliath warily. "How's your dad these days?" He asked slowly, trying to show Goliath he meant no harm.

Goliath sighed and started to stalk off towards the castle.

"And who shoved the stick in?" Coyote added, a few decibels quieter.

Elisa bit back a laugh. "He's been like that off and on for a few months now. We actually got in a fight about it a little while back..."

Coyote looked surprised and then sheepish. "Oh. Then. Uh, sorry to ask." Yet curiously, his face still held immense surprise, Elisa thought.

"But my father is great. Misses the magic though," She said winking.

"An unfortunate side effect of the gathering. Well, off we go, and off you go. Until later then!" Coyote said, trying to hurry Alex in the opposite direction.

Alex waved over his shoulder. "If I can get away, I'll come by and visit!" Elisa nodded and followed after her gargoyle friends.

Alex followed Elisa with his eyes until she was out of sight. For some reason, all of a sudden he held trepidations about what he was about to do. He balled his fists to steady his nerves as he followed Coyote through the deepening forest.

"Hope you don't mind if we walk," He said, politely.

"Not at all," Alex said, even though he did. Puck had always told him to be careful whom he trusted. Right now, Coyote held all the cards. But as Alex looked around, he became increasingly happier that he had kept to walking with the trickster.

"This place is gorgeous," he said without even thinking. Aside from the flowers of every variety, both tropical and fantastical, trees that defied gravity, waterfalls that gushed clear pristine aqua- yes aside form all that, the island emitted a sense of beauty that maybe only a visitor could discern.

"Hmm? Ah yes, the island." Coyote looked around with a sweeping glance, impatient, and indifferent. "I suppose when beauty is your prison, you become desensitized quite quickly."

Alex nodded, feeling that he could predict where this conversation was going. "Many of us envy Puck and his 'punishment' often. To stay in the human world forever..." The look of admiration and wonder on Coyote's face made Alex want to retch.

"How is the old fox these days?" Coyote said as he discreetly blocked Alex's path.

Alex now looked at Coyote, searching. "I'm not sure I should be discussing this with you, especially now, before I have even seen Oberon."

"Oh come now, surely Oberon knows what has become of or mutual friend? He has yet to discuss the matter with us! How unjust is that!"

Alex chose his words carefully. "Maybe Oberon wants you to focus on the gathering rather than someone who he thinks betrayed him."

Coyote wasn't about to give up so easily. He leaned forward like a friend confiding in a friend. "Despite what others might say, he and I were closer than anyone on this island. That's why when your father tried to capture me, he made sure to keep Puck out of the loop- which was quite a task from what I understand!"

Alex's eyes betrayed him. He had never heard about this- the failed attempt to capture Coyote using a melted cauldron of life as a cage and the desecration of a holy site as the bait. Coyote spearheaded his attack by capitalizing on this.

"It was around the same time that realized how much potential there was in the faye. And since he knew he couldn't have a faye slave in Puck, he started exploring other avenues for his... enrichment."

At the word 'slave,' Alex had shut his eyes, trying to tune out Coyote. But the trickster kept at it. "And I heard from Puck that after he failed to capture me, he really looked into his wife's genealogy more carefully... realizing of course he would have his own little pet halfling in nine months..."

"Stop it," Alex said, silently cursing himself for the anger in his voice.

"Has your father asked you to do anything for him lately? Or have you done anything for him recently that he didn't ask you to do, but maybe, just maybe he manipulated you into doing?"

Coyote had hit the nail on the head, and his smirk told Alex that he thought he had won. Yet Alex knew that this was only the tip of the iceberg. Coyote wanted information, and Alex had it. Coyote didn't hold all the cards after all. And if Alex couldn't handle a smart mouthed trickster, then he had no chance of getting what he wanted from Oberon. So he took a big breath, and stared boldly into Coyote's eyes.

"I doubt that Lord Oberon would want me discussing such things with you. But I promise, if you want me to, I'll ask him when we get there. Then you can explain to him why we took so long to get to the castle." Alex was smug in his reply.

Coyote leaned back, his probing stalled. "It seems I misunderstood your intentions here."

Alex narrowed his eyes. How did Coyote even pretend to know what Puck was doing there? He hadn't breathed a word about it anywhere near Avalon! He sighed. "Look, I understand your impatience. But I know nothing of the rules of the court, or the power plays that are behind your actions. So until I understand the playing field, I'm going to play it safe and stay on the sidelines."

Coyote started walking forward again. "Well, whether you wanted to or not, you've already told me one thing."

"Really? And what might that be?"

"You certainly have been out of Puck's influence for a long time."

And out of all the words that had passed between them, none were more true to Alex, but also, none hurt as much.

Lexington again, woke from his stone with a start. This time, he realized he was the only one left not concocted by magic.

According to Angel, the night that Goliath, Angela, Broadway, Alex, and Elisa had left for Avalon, he and Brooklyn had been attacked by something. Brooklyn had been kidnapped leaving Angel, thought for dead, behind. Between them, they had figured that since Brooklyn did not seem to be willing to share his experience with the clan, something must be up. Angel had tailed Hudson and then Bronx to discover they too were kidnapped.

Lexington knew he was next, and he was starting to have a hard time faking that everything was okay. Angel had remained out of sight, but managed to formulate a plan with Lex that hopefully would triangulate the rest of the clan before it was too late.

Lex had also noticed, since now he was on his toes all the time, that there was a night and at least a day when Hudson had disappeared before his 'copy' had reappeared in his stead. The Brooklyn-copy had asked a few questions, but quickly swallowed the lie that Hudson had been visiting his blind friend and had lost track of the time. Lex was more than happy to pretend he bought it too. Even Bronx had disappeared for two nights, and Lex knew that if he didn't act nervous, his clan mates would know he was tipped off. He asked about it, and Hudson went off searching. He came back again with some laughable story that Lex was again to stomach.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Brooklyn appeared in the doorway. "Hey, buddy, our shift is up when Hudson and Bronx get back."

"I thought we had solo runs tonight?" Lex said half-heartedly.

"Well you don't mind if we team up, do ya?" Brooklyn said. Lex had to suppress a whimper.

"Yeah sure, let me just log off."

Luckily, the fake-Brooklyn didn't notice the last-minute e-mail sent to Warren Worthington III.

Puck sat in the dark, staring at the lifeless forms of his now three cell-mates as the day faded into night. Now he fully covered his head with his arms as the blast of stone exploded out of the darkness.

Hudson and Brooklyn muttered an apology under their breath as they came out of their daily coma. Bronx came over and laid at Puck's feet, whimpering softly. At least someone appreciates what I'm going through, Puck thought bitterly.

Brooklyn awkwardly came over and sat down next to Puck. "I'm guessing you finally caved..."

Puck felt indignant about this remark, but he was too tired to argue. He nodded solemnly. "He knows what we're trying to do, and he says we can try all we like. It won't matter in the end."

"In the end? What is that supposed to mean?" Brooklyn questioned.

Hudson sat himself down too. "Could mean he's just trying to throw yer off and keep you from scheming more."

"Well, it doesn't matter, Goliath will be back soon, and we still have hope in Lexington to get us out of here." Brooklyn said optimistically.

Puck snorted.

All of a sudden Lexington was in the room with them, piled in a heap on the other side of the room. He moaned, as Hudson went to tend to him. He looked around and managed to give a pathetic "Hey guys," before he grunted with more pain.

"Well that takes out half of your rescue, doesn't it?" Puck said, a little too harsh for his liking. Brooklyn nearly lost it. He picked Puck up and threw him roughly up against the wall, much to the surprised cries of Hudson, Lexington, and Bronx.

"Yeah, well I don't see you coming up with any ingenious plans yourself," Brooklyn growled menacingly.

Puck didn't fight back. "You know, if I liked being manhandled like this, I think Thailog would stop doing it himself. But you know... in this light, I can't tell the difference between you."

Brooklyn put him down, his eyes glowing white with anger.

Hudson put himself in between the two, staring at them sternly. "It's needless to say this isn't doing anything. Thailog is up there probably laughing his arse off." When they still looked like they wanted to rip each other's eyes out, Hudson continued after rolling his eyes. "Puck, Brooklyn is our de facto leader. He comes up with plans, we discuss them and follow through. It is our order. Constantly nipping at them without offering any suggestions yourself is rather immature befitting someone your age.

"And Brooklyn: Puck is enduring all kinds of pain to buy you time for your plans. He has the right to be bitter, but you would do well to remember that your temper needs to be kept in check. Both of you, find a way to work together, or we all are doomed." Satisfied, Hudson went back to Lexington.

Puck sighed. He wondered if things were better when he was alone in the cell. Perishing the thought he went back to counting the minutes before Thailog appeared asking for a copy of Lexington.

Goliath and company made their way to the castle. As they approached, Goliath's mood become gradually better as less magic was visible to him. Soon they were surrounded by the Avalon clan welcoming them to the castle.

And among them was none other than Lady Katherine and Tom, the guardian. They hugged Elisa, and shook hands with Goliath, and danced with happiness when they found that Angela was pregnant.

"Oh this is so exciting, darling! Oh dear, isn't this just monumental? Our little Angie?!"

Goliath looked at his friends with happiness in his eyes, but there was a touch of jealousy. He had not been there to see his daughter grow up. Then again, this seemed to be such a human emotion, for Angela was the daughter of all the clan. Yet she looked so much like her mother...

He shook his head to clear his head. These thoughts were unnecessary. So he sat down in a chair, looking on the gathering of close friends of Angela as they congratulated her. He did not realize he had sat down right next to Elisa.

Upon realizing this, he gave a start, and was about to excuse himself. "Don't leave," She said quietly. He looked into her eyes and sat down.

"Well, this is awkward..." She said, jokingly. Goliath tried to crack a smile, but the result just made Elisa want to laugh. She took a big breath and continued. "It's so strange to be here again..." She trailed off, hoping he would pick the conversation back up.

He took the bait. "Yes, so many things have changed. I mean, Angela, a grown woman now! Even little Alex has grown into quite a man. And you-"

"Yes?"

Goliath sighed. "You still look beautiful."

She smiled, warmly, blushing a little.

"In that human sort of way." He said, biting back a laugh.

"Oh you!" Elisa cried, in mock anger, stalking off. Goliath laughed and thought about just letting her walk away.

Then he thought better about it.