All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.
All original characters are the property of Odyssey34.

On the Previous Episode:

"What I have seen is fantastic. But there is something else..." Taking a deep breath, she said, "Vespa told me that there wouldn't be anymore children? I don't really understand it."

Sphinx' expression became sad, and she had to sit down. "I didn't think she would tell you about it...for nearly 50 years now, no new hatchlings have brought joy to our clan. I have never even seen one, as my generation was the last..."

00000000000000000

'Boreas?'

A beep signalled that his call had been received. "Yes, Talos?"

'I believe we may have a problem…'

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"Taurus…?"

"Hmmm?"

With a cry, she launched herself into his arms, tears pooling from her eyes as she gripped his forearms. His eyes widened as he heard…

"I'm pregnant…"

-The Angels of New Olympus, Part III-

And Now, The Continuation: -

Mt. Thanatos:

Taurus had expected many things, except this... but he saw how much Cassy had paled when she spoke, so obviously she was being deadly serious. And now she was in tears, crying the whole time into his shoulder. He hadn't thought of this possibility, since her rape.

But how was Cassy so sure of it? As far as Manty had told him, she had yet to receive a full medical examination after her ordeal. She had had some minor scans, which had determined the kind of herbs/drugs that Achilles had given her while she had been his prisoner, but nothing more elaborate than that.

With that in mind, it could only mean that either the gargoyles had given her one, which was unlikely, or that she was simply exaggerating, thinking that she was pregnant. Still, the possibility alone was enough to make Taurus think of the worst. The mere idea of Achilles impregnating her was sickening.

Finally, Taurus found his voice. "Are- are you sure of this? Did you take a pregnancy test to confirm it?"

Cassy still sobbed, but understood what Taurus was telling her. "I...I just know it. I can't think of any other... God, what will I do now?!" It was clear that she was so convinced of the idea, that she believed it to be true.

Taurus was not very good at comforting people. The only one who could calm her down was Manty, who nearly always managed to get through to her. But he knew what he first had to say to her. "No…you can't assume the worst, Cassy. Your symptoms might be a result of your ra…your ordeal. It's possible your mind might be causing you to imagine your symptoms. The only way you'll know for sure is if you get medical confirmation of it. Please promise me that you won't do anything rash, until you get tested?"

Cassy nodded, as what Taurus told her made sense, but she still felt totally convinced that Achilles' spawn was within her. She felt mentally exhausted, after finally letting someone in on her secret. "I guess I'll have to go home now and talk to Manty," she said quietly, as she knew Taurus wouldn't leave her here to stay.

'Oh...this will be a problem.' Taurus thought suddenly.

Because of the high altitude of the mountain, Taurus had had to fly up in a different model aircraft. The air-bike he flew up in, the air-bike 3.1, was light and agile, specifically designed for high flying, but unfortunately it was only built for one person, the pilot.

Taurus had been so anxious to get to Cassy that he hadn't considered how he would transport her down. He doubted that in her current state Cassy could avoid falling off his air-bike. And since he couldn't ride it while carrying her, it meant that someone had to help him.

While he was complementing this, Cassy slowly sank to the floor, her knees giving way as she felt one problem leave her, only to be replaced with another load. She had finally managed to break the news to one of her friends, other than Sphinx, but now she had to go through it again with Manty, and the others. She was just so tired, like she had been carrying a heavy load for days.

Taurus saw her sink to the floor and picked her up. Cassy didn't complain, she was limp, not in sickness but in exhaustion and relief. He walked back into the dining hall with her in his arms. Maybe one of the Gargoyles would help him with the travelling problem…hopefully?

The dining room was mostly empty by now, since most of the clan had already gone to do their nightly tasks. However, Sphinx and a few others, including that old Gargoyle, were obviously waiting for them. But when they saw Taurus carrying a rather unwell looking Cassy, they were tempted to demand what had happened to her.

Thankfully, Sphinx remained civil. "Chief Taurus, what happened?"

"I believe she is suffering from some form of mental stress," he replied. "I do not think it is my place to tell you what exactly, but in her current state I fear she will fall off my air-bike. I need someone to carry her back home," Taurus told them, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

Sphinx really wanted to bully Taurus, to find out what was wrong with Cassy, but her training as leader prevented this all too understandable reaction. "I will do it myself, she trusts me." Sphinx felt quite repulsed at the idea of entering the city, but seeing this girl in distress overrode this for now.

Sphinx then looked to Vespa. "Please tell the others that I will be out for roughly an hour."

Taurus then handed Cassy over to Sphinx. "I will show you the way..."

Cassy said nothing, but she was mildly surprised at how easily Sphinx picked her up. Sphinx was only roughly 1.86 meters big, yet it appeared that she was almost as strong as a huge Centaur.

The journey down the mountain remained silent, as they flew down to the tall glass and metal buildings. Taurus was kind enough not to fly right down into the city, in view of everyone, with respect to Sphinx.

Cassy continued to remain silent also while Sphinx followed Taurus to Manty's apartment, until finally Sphinx had had enough of the silence. She whispered, but it came out as hiss, "Child...what happened to you?!"

"We are both cursed... " Cassy said cryptically, not looking Sphinx in the face. "You are cursed to remain childless, and I'm cursed with the bastard, who raped me, child."

Sphinx' eyes widened, as she realized what the Human girl meant, but then she thought..."How can you be so sure? I thought you told me that you were… abused, only a short time ago"

"I... I'm sure it's true... I've been having all the symptoms, but Taurus wants me to get tested first," Cassy stammered, as the topic was making her nervous.

"You mean you think you are with child, but don't know if this is really the case?" Sphinx shook her head. "Cassandra, I learned long ago never to assume things. You really should see if it is true first, before you continue to make yourself crazy over it."

Cassy was quite impressed at how calm Sphinx had managed to stay. It must come with her duty as the leader, as she had no other explanation for it. And exactly like Taurus, she wanted her to have medical confirmation first.

"Taurus said so too," Cassy told Sphinx, then stayed silent, not wanting to talk about it anymore.

Sphinx understood, and again concentrated on gliding. Seeing the city becoming larger, she again had to assure herself that it would only be for a short visit, nothing more. Hopefully she wouldn't meet any smart-ass people, who could not resist commenting on her presence.

Taurus meanwhile felt tired. He hadn't slept since Cassy's departure, and he felt like going to sleep in mere seconds. He hid it very well though, always showing the ever-alert Chief Taurus on the outside. But it sure didn't help that Manty was demanding more information over the com-system on his bike.

"Taurus, where was she? Why doesn't she speak to me herself?" Manty asked impatiently. Taurus's call had thrown him into relief that his adoptive daughter was all right, but at the same time he wanted to know where the hell she had been.

Taurus didn't really feel like chatting, so he tried to cut it short. "Someone else is carrying her back, and as for where she was. I found her at Mt. Thanatos."

"Mt. Thanatos? What the abyss was she doing there? Did the Gargoyles want anything from her?" Manty asked.

Taurus clearly heard the suspicion in Manty's voice. Despite the fact that he had probably never even met a gargoyle in his entire life, he sounded suspicious. It was just the usual mistrust towards a group, which willingly isolated itself from society, nothing more.

"Manty, I think she will be more than willing to answer these questions herself. Just wait some minutes, then you can ask her." Taurus ended the com-signal before Manty could say anything further

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Some Minutes Later; Manty's Apartment:

Manty was walking in a circle while he waited for the return of his daughter. He was quite worried as to why Taurus had found her with the Gargoyles of Mt. Thanatos.

The Gargoyles were quite secretive, as very few Olympians had ever met one of them before, and he was not one of them. Occasionally some could be glimpsed flitting from rooftop to rooftop, but Manty was not even fortunate enough to see that. Though all Olympians had been taught that Gargoyles were an extremely noble race, like they had told Goliath when he came to the isle, they couldn't understand why they chose to remain living in isolation on the mountain with so few resources at their disposal? Not when they could be living with the rest of New Olympus, with all the comforts they could ask for. It was a great mystery for many of the New Olympians. Sometimes the New Olympians were just as stubborn as the Gargoyles.

But Manty did not care for this debate at the moment. He was more concerned about the reason why his daughter was at their lair in the first place.

Finally, he saw Taurus arriving, with a Gargoyle behind him who was carrying her.

Manty barely waited until Cassy stood on her own two feet, before embracing her in a near crushing hug, the fur providing no cushioning. While he was somewhat disappointed in her running away, he was more relieved to have her back in one piece.

"Cassy!" he cried. "Thank the Gods you're safe!" he checked her over, ensuring that she was in good health. "What in Tartarus did you think you were doing?! Going off like that, scaring the hell out us!"

Cassy looked at him with tear-filled eyes.

"Manty?" Taurus began cautiously, then he stepped over to the side, making room for someone who was in the doorway. "This is Sphinx, leader of the Gargoyles on MT. Thanatos."

Manty was more worried about Cassy than being polite, but he gave the Gargoyle leader a small bow of respect with his head. "Thank you for looking after my daughter. She seems to be in good health, but… Why didn't you have her contact me straight away, and let me know where she was? And what was she doing at your place anyway?!"

Sphinx regarded the Manticore coolly. "It was not my decision to make, regarding why she didn't tell you where she was. Cassy herself said she didn't want anyone to find her, not just at that moment. As for why she was with us, we found her on our mountain. When we questioned her, she fainted. I'm guessing she'd never seen a Gargoyle before? Anyway, we brought her back to our home and by the time she awakened, it was daytime and we were asleep. When we awoke the next night, she asked us if she could stay."

Manty looked at Cassy for confirmation, but all he got was a depressed sad-filled face.

"Cassy?" he said soothingly. "I'm sorry if I was hard on you, but… I was just so worried that… "

"Manty?" Taurus began again. "I think there's something you and I need to talk about." He indicated for his friend to follow him into the next room. Manty squeezed his daughter affectionately, one final time, and then followed the security chief into the room.

Sphinx walked over to her Human friend, placing a friendly talon on her shoulder. "It will be all right, Cassy," she said assuredly. "Your father seems like a caring Manticore. I'm sure he will understand all you've been through."

"Nobody knows what I've been through," Cassy whispered softly.

Sphinx nodded. "Possibly," she agreed. "But I'm sure he will understand your pain, and will do all he can to help you."

"SHE'S WHAT???!!" Manty's loud roaring voice came from the next room.

Sphinx raised her eye-ridges. "Or at the very least," she said, "he'll see to it that the beast who did this to you, will never again sire anymore children."

Cassy laughed quietly. Manty always had a bi of a temper when it came to protecting her.

Sphinx eyed her worryingly. "I have to go now, Cassy," she said somewhat regretfully. "I have to return to the clan, but… Call me if you ever need anything, okay? Everything will be fine, you'll see."

Cassy nodded, and gave her friend one final hug before they parted company.

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Same Time; The Office of Boreas:

"So this is the situation," Talos said to the people in the room, concluding his report. "It is now your place to decide what to do. If you will excuse me now." Talos then left the room.

Boreas leaned back behind his desk. What with all the other problems he had already got, this crisis was the last thing he needed. Looking across his desk, he tried to gauge the reaction of the other two occupants of the room.

One of them was a rather weak looking Harpy man named Xylon, who was responsible for the information policy. And there was Echidna, whose responsibility was inner matters of New Olympus. Both of them had been quite annoyed to be woken up at such a late hour, but now understood the seriousness of the matter.

It had been three hours since Talos had detected the human satellite and barely managed to adjust the cloak, which surrounded the island. And they all knew what it meant. Human technology was making frighteningly fast progress, and now it was only a matter of time before they would detect the island.

That was why Boreas had called these two. Besides him, they were two of the three most important Olympians in the government. The other one was the Chief of Security, Taurus, whom he had tried to contact, but for some reason he was nowhere to be found at the moment, so it was only the three of them, and they had to decide what to do now.

"I think you agree that we should keep this under the wraps for now. The last thing we want is a panic," Xylon finally said. "Nothing of this should leave certain circles."

"Just for once, I agree with you," Echidna said. On many levels, she was opposed to Xylon, who she despised as a weakling.

Xylon nodded. "The bigger question however, is how to deal with this? I hate to say this, but all the information we have makes it clear that we won't stand a chance in a conflict."

Echidna only snorted. "Ha, how do you come to this conclusion? We are still far more advanced than they are."

Xylon hissed under his breath. He was always annoyed with people who had no idea of facts. He had little tolerance for idiots.

Annoyed, he answered her, "Echidna, we might have the superior technology, but I doubt that even we can hold off against millions of soldiers, big navies and huge air-fleets. And I don't even want to think about their weapons of mass-destruction, which can blow away the whole island... I hate to say it, but if it does come to war, then this is a war we have no chance to win."

"But then what should we do instead?" Boreas asked calmly. "We can't hide much longer. That much I do know. But it has also come to my attention about some of the opinions in the population. And believe me, the sheer arrogance that many of them have against the outside world, will cause them to walk to their deaths. Most of them think that Humans will willingly bow to them..."

"And what is so bad with that?" Echidna asked.

"Your stupidity is really starting to annoy me. How do you think the Humans will react to that kind of attitude?!" Xylon growled.

Before they could start making the confrontation physical, Boreas' loud voice called out to them. "Silence! I won't tolerate you fighting in here!" He waited some seconds, before he continued. "This matter is too important to let it become ammunition in your bickering. So what do you both suggest we should do, for now?"

Xylon and Echidna looked at each other, both at a loss for words. The fact was, neither of them had any clue of what to do. This was bigger than anything either of them had ever faced before, and it would take much more than the three of them to decide what course of action to take. And they were running out of time.

"On second thought," Xylon finally said. "Perhaps keeping it under wrap isn't the best solution after all? Something this huge shouldn't be kept hidden from the people, as it concerns all of us… I think it would be best to call in the great gathering. The decision should be made by all species that live on New Olympus." Xylon then looked to Echidna. "Do you have a problem with this?"

"No, no problem." she answered, this time staying calm. "It'll be a long time since the last gathering was held, but it shouldn't be difficult to get the word around,"

"Good, but it needs to be held at night, since I also want the clan of Mt. Thanatos to attend," Boreas then added.

"What use do we have for those isolationists? They don't care about us," Echidna snorted.

"After what happened, no wonder," Boreas simply said, remembering very well the incident ten years ago. "But it is their concern too, so they will attend. And just to make it absolutely clear, it is ALL species, meaning that Miss Cassandra, as the only human on this island, will also be attending. And I won't tolerate any protest!"

Echidna grinded her teeth together, but otherwise said nothing.

"One more thing," Boreas continued. "As you know, Taurus should have been in on this discussion, as he is responsible for New Olympus's security. But for some reason he was neither available at work nor home, and he's not answering his calls. Because of this, I request that both of you keep this matter… under wrap, as you would say, Xylon. As chief of security, Taurus's opinion is invaluable, and it wouldn't be right or wise to exclude him, just because he was unavailable at the time. I will talk with him tomorrow, as soon as possible. Once I've gone over everything with him, we will make arrangements for the gathering, as planned. Agreed?"

Xylon and Echidna nodded their heads in agreement, but deep down they were confused, as it was unlike Taurus not to be at his com, and even more unusual for him to be absent from work. He had never taken a day off work in his entire life.

"I will also speak with the Gargoyles on Mt. Thanatos," Boreas concluded. "Since it is not easy to raise communication with them, it might take some time. So I will contact them immediately, and ask them to prepare for the gathering. I won't mention anything of the reason behind the gathering, just that it would be in their best interest, and that of everyone else, for them to attend."

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Taurus' Apartment:

Taurus was damn tired. He had left as soon as Cassy had been taken home, and he had talked to Manty, just to have a meeting with his bed, to catch up with his sleep. It was late (Boreas hopefully wouldn't mind him taking one day off work).

Walking up the stairs, he opened his apartment door, only to be greeted by the sight of his neighbour Calypso feeding his pet fish. He had no idea why she would do this at nighttime, but he also didn't care.

Just then she noticed him. "Oh hello, Chief Taurus!" she said chirpily. "Work must have been quite hard for you, what with being away from home for two days. How do you feel?"

Taurus was tempted to simply walk to his bedroom, but did not dare to do so. He remembered all the manner lectures his mother had given him in his childhood, and the occasional spanking when his behaviour was horrible. Female Minotaurs, may not look very strong, but his backside had had a hard experience with his mother's hand.

"Tired... I managed to find my friend, and she is safe now. But I've only lived on energy drinks for the past couple of days, and I feel like falling asleep on the spot," Taurus told her truthfully.

"Oh, you mean the Human girl? I heard a lot of things about her, but never met her. Maybe you can introduce me to her. But I think I better let you sleep, goodnight!" Calypso blew him a kiss, and then left Taurus alone.

Taurus tried hard not to let the blood shoot up into his face. This gesture of hers wasn't the first time that she had given him hints on how she saw him. But this was, up to now, the most obvious one.

Taurus told himself that he would stay single for the rest of his life, as he walked to bed. But deep down, he didn't quite believe this, and more so… because he didn't want to believe it.

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Mt. Thanatos:

Sphinx was still thinking of how she had said goodbye to Cassy. She gave her the clan's number, with which she could reach the clan's communicator, and she even promised that she would try to visit her if possible.

As she returned home, she couldn't help thinking of the child's possible fate. The clan had never had to deal with children from rape victims, mostly because Gargoyles were really strong, and their breeding circle was very different than that of any other species. Breeding was a time of passion, love, comfort, their affections focused on the one they want to be with and shares the above feelings, not some random stranger. But the idea alone that this monster could have impregnated Cassy, was enough to make her throw up.

It was so wrong, so sick, so...she could not find the words for it. She could only imagine what it was doing to the poor girl? Having a baby was supposed to be a wonderful and truly memorable thing, but that beast's violation of Cassy had ruined it for her.

And it was quite an irony. While they were on no speaking terms with the New Olympians, they had indeed befriended a Human. The world was really strange.

But then she thought of children, and held a hand on her belly. It was a gift, which would be denied to her, unless they could leave the island. But that was impossible. The strict isolation policy made the island like a prison, and for the clan it was a death camp.

"Leader? We have received a message from the office of Boreas. Seems to be quite important that they even bother to remember us," Typhoon said, walking into the room, a piece of paper in his hand.

Glad to be out of these thoughts, she took the paper and read it.

"Hmmm, seems Boreas wishes to speak with me," she said out-loud. "With all of us apparently? I'll try his office now; see if he's still there." She got up and made her way over to the communications monitor. "Gather the clan together in the dining room," she ordered Typhoon. "Once I've spoken with Boreas, I'll relay everything he says both to you and everyone else."

Typhoon nodded, and left to gather the clan.

...Ten Minutes Later...

"I wonder what could be so important?" a middle-aged male asked his mate. The whole clan had been gathered at the big table of the dining room, and word got around that something important had to be discussed.

Finally, Sphinx entered the room and asked for silence.

"Good," she said loudly, so that everyone in the room could hear her. "Now that we are all here, I can say what is going on… " She took a deep breath. "As most of you know, some time ago I received a text communication from the office of Boreas, requesting a word with us. I have just spoken with Boreas. He says that there is to be a great gathering, held sometime around next week at the senate hall. Everyone of New Olympus is to attend this gathering. He wouldn't say what the gathering is about, just that the matter is of the up most importance, and it would be in everyone's best interest not to miss it."

After taking a few moments to catch her breath, and note everyone's reaction, she then asked. "So what do you think of it?"

"A gathering? Been a while since they've had one of those." a female threw in.

"And they actually ASK us. How nice..." a male said, very close to sarcasm.

Then finally it broke down into a mess of voices, until Sphinx had had enough and banged on the table. "SILENCE!"

All went silent. Not one of the clan dared to breathe. Sphinx's temper was noted to be quite the hell-raiser.

"Good..." Sphinx continued. "Now, I know we don't want to have any dealings with these people, but this seems really important." She sighed. "So it looks like I have no choice, but to attend. Since everyone is invited, you're all welcome to come with me. Anyone want to?"

At first no one said a word, but then Sphinx saw Icarus raising his hand. "I will do it. I'm as un-eager to go into that city as everyone else here, but I can't let you go alone."

Sphinx barely hid a smile, as Icarus mainly wanted to show his clan that despite the fact that he had remained mateless, he was still a 'real' Gargoyle, with no fear.

"Very well, Icarus." She said. "You may come."

'I just hope this will be worth the bother...' Sphinx added in thoughts, hoping that it wouldn't be a waste of time.

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Taurus' Apartment; Early Morning:

Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep

Taurus at first did not hear it, and then he tried to ignore it, but the constant beeping finally got on his nerves. He was still tired as hell, and even a night of sleep had not changed that, and the beeping was not his alarmclock. It was the telecom.

'Regardless who this is, I'm in no mood for anyone right now...' Taurus cursed, while slowly getting to his feet. Being called at 8:00 in the morning was normally no problem for him, but not today.

Walking over to to the screen, he hit the activation button. "Whatdayawant!?" he growled, his tiredness and the fact that he was rudely awakened not conributing to him being nice at the moment.

"Chief Taurus, is this how you speak to your superiors?"

Taurus froze when he heared the voice of Boreas, and his picture appearing on the screen. At once he straightened up. "S...sorry, Sir! It is just, I'm tired, and your call woke me up..."

Boreas now noticed that Taurus looked rather worse for the wear. He should have expected this, what with Taurus not answering all his calls. "There is some matter I have to talk about with you. However, you won't be of any use like this. Come to my office this afternoon at 15:00. Hopefully you'll be more awake by then..."

The screen then went black. 'So much for a day off...' Taurus sighed inwards.

Walking back to his bed, he wanted to get some more sleep, but this time he set his alarm-clock to 13:00. Because he didn't want to risk himself simply oversleeping the appointment. Also, this would give him enough time to visit the city baths first. He was by now smelling like hell, and the chief of security shouldn't meet his superior while stinking like a wet dog.

'What can be so important that he calls me personally?' Taurus wondered, while already again drifting off into sleep.

As he thought of this, his thoughts kept going back to Cassy and her dilema. He had tried to assure her that her symptoms were no doubt brought on by her trauma, but even he couldn't be sure. What if she really was pregnant?

Taurus relaxed himself into his bed, his arms lying across his broad chest. He wondered how she would cope being a single mom on New Olympus? Could she do it alone?

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Manty's Apartment; A Few Hours Later:

Manty had to go back to the surgery because of an emergency, leaving Cassy alone with her thoughts. Before leaving though, Manty had taken some samples from her, and told her he would send them off to be tested right away. However, he told her that they probably wouldn't get the test results back for another day or two yet, so for now all she could do was wait.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, waking her up.

As she approached the front door to answer, she could hear something shuffling on the other side. It sounded like an elephant was tromping through the corridor outside.

She opened the door with the touch of a button, and came face to face with a large green foot.

"Oh hey, Cy…" she was going to say Cyc, but stopped when she looked up, and up… and up at the enormous Cyclops. Cassy knew instantly that it wasn't her friend. Cyc was big to be true, but not even he was this big, reason being that he was not fully grown yet.

A quick look to the smug face, looking down on her, proved this.

"Oh hello, Orin?" she greeted Cyc's cousin, surprised, as Orin had never come to visit her at her home before.

"Hey, beautiful?!" Orin boomed down at her, deafening her slightly. Because of their huge size, Cyclops had a tendency to shout a lot, mainly because they thought people couldn't hear them from way down below. "Mind if I come in?!"

Cassy cringed a bit, as she rubbed her ear. "Yeah, sure, please do." She took a few long steps to the side, allowing Orin just enough room to step inside, without stepping on her.

As he stepped by her, she noticed that his skin was unusually shiny, almost like it had been polished.

"Hope you don't mind me coming in on you like this?!" he asked her. "But I wanted to ask you something very special today!"

"Umm, okay," Cassy pointed to the living room. She didn't know where he was going to sit, as they had no Cyclops-sized furniture in the apartment.

Orin didn't seem to care, as he sat down right in the middle of the room. He shuffled around a bit, as he got comfortable, before settling down with his legs spread apart. Cassy couldn't help, but notice his masculinity, and blushed.

"Sooo… what was it you wanted to ask me?" she asked finally.

"Err, yeah," Orin moved his arms about, like he had just finished exercising. He flexed his muscles, and seemed to be showing off every part of his muscular body more so than usual, from his bulging muscles, to even his toes as he wiggled them at her.

Most people would have gaped at this, or at least gasped, but Cassy was more than used to this, as she had had seen Cyc pull the same stunt countless times. Since Cyc had apparently learnt everything he knew from this guy, she could only assume that Orin was doing what Cyc would be doing… He was either planning something, or he was after something.

"Yeah, I… I heard about your… predicament," Orin said, not even stopping, and pointed to her belly.

Cassy lost her smile. "How did you find out about it?!"

Orin shrugged. "Me, Cyc and Cyan were in the street when Manty bumped into us… Well, actually he bumped into my foot… and then he filled us in on what's been going on."

Cassy's face burned. "How did Cyc and Cyan take it?"

Orin shrugged again. "Cyan wanted to come over here right away, to offer you support, I guess. But Manty told her that you had had a long night, and needed sleep. So we agreed to wait another day, until you rested properly."

"So why are you here then?" she asked him.

Orin's smile came back. "I told you, to ask you an important question. For starters, I'd like to say how sorry I am about… Well, about all of this." He pointed to her belly again.

"Yeah, well," she sighed. "There's really not a lot I can do about it now, is there?"

"Well, actually there is." Orin's enormous smirk came back.

Cassy gave him a hard look. "I'm not going to have an abortion, give it away, or anything like that, Orin. So if that's why you came… "

"Oh no!" Orin waved his hands at her. "On the contrary. I heard you were planning on keeping the little fellow. But… have you thought about how hard it's going to be? I mean, as well as raising a kid like the one you're having, in a city like this… You're going to have to buy all the baby clothes, toys, cribs, and other stuff. Then you're gonna have to get a job."

"I know!" Cassy snapped, as she had thought about this already. She knew he was right, but she still hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Even if she finished school, what New Olympians would want to hire a Human?

"Well, I've been thinking about it," Orin said suavely, as he lifted his leg and scratched it. "And I've come up with the perfect solution for your problem."

"I'm not getting a job at The River Styx if that's your plan?" Cassy said adamantly.

"No, nothing like that!" Orin said laughing. "The solution you need is, simply, you need a man!"

Cassy blinked at him. "I think I'm past that, don't you think?"

"I mean you need a man to take care of you," Orin explained. "Someone to provide for you, be a husband and a father to your kid."

Cassy scoffed. "Yeah, swell idea, but who would want to marry a…" she trailed off, as it finally hit her what exactly his big question was. "Oh… "

Orin grinned. "Yeah, just think about it, Cass. I know I'm a little older than you, but I got a steady job, my own place, I'm great with kids, and they love me, and… As a special bonus, you'll be married to the biggest hunk on the entire island! What do you say?" He continued flexing even more. "Wanna be Mrs. Orineaus?!"

There was no answer, just a sound akin to steam escaping from a teakettle. Cassy appeared to be shrinking in her seat as Orin's bicep grew, or at least it appeared that way, and she stared at the reflection of herself on his oily skin. Most men get dressed up (nice clothes, aftershave… etc) when they propose. Only Orin, a relative of Cyc (not to mention him), would be the ones to dress down and get oiled up.

Suddenly, the door chime sounded again. Cassy was never more thankful to hear that bell. Perhaps it was Cyan? Out of all the young girls on New Olympus, Orin was the fondest of Cyan.

"Could you excuse me for a sec?!" Cassy said hurriedly, and rushed to answer the door. Orin still flexed his bicep and gave it a small kiss, raising his eyebrow at Cassy.

Cassy flung the door open, panting from her rush and embarrassment. "Oh thank God you're…"

Cassy's voice dropped and so did her face.

"Thank God you're right I'm here," Cyc said, as he strutted in. Cassy's nostrils were assaulted by Cyc's musky cologne. Even his cologne had to be brash.

"Out of all the people on New Olympus, it had to be you." Cassy said dryly, as she slammed the door.

There was a startled shout, as Cyc entered the room that his cousin was reclining in, while waiting for Cassy's response. There was a startled shout from Orin, as the buff Cyc entered the room, not the fair Cassy.

"Orin, what are you doing here?" Cyc asked.

"I came here to offer my support for Cassy over here," Orin said, as he stood up and strolled across the room, and engulfed Cassy's shoulder under his one finger. Cassy's knees shook, trying to support the weight of his hand.

Cyc's face flushed a deep green. "Orin, I need to speak to you…in private. Cassy, do you mind?"

Cyc turned to face Cassy whose face was turning a bright shade of red. Cassy was more than happy to oblige Cyc, and bolted away into the kitchen.

"Orin?" Cyc hissed, pulling his cousin down by his well-groomed hair. "What exactly are you thinking?"

"I'm helping a lady in need. She needs a big strong man to help her out," Orin responded both proudly and embarrassingly, after being caught by his cousin. "Having a baby is way too big a responsibility for just one person, especially a young girl. I've got a steady job, years of experience, not to mention a hot bod. So I decided to help her out… What are you doing here?"

"Same thing you are!" Cyc stated. "Orin, I think you should back down."

"What?" Orin asked, amazed at the seriousness in Cyc's voice.

"It's my turn to be the man here, to truly step up to my manly duties. After all these years of just strutting around, it's time to strut no more," Cyc stated patriotically. "Cassy's been my friend for years, and I'm not gonna stand about while she's forced to raise a kid by herself."

Orin was quiet for a moment. "You're serious about this, aren't you, Cyc?"

"Yes I am," Cyc said.

"Well," Orin began cautiously. "She is a little too young for me. And you've certainly known her a lot longer… All right then, it's your choice. Treat her well," Orin said, and then patted his cousin's shoulder.

"CASSY!" Cyc shouted, and Cassy came into the room, a glass of water in her one hand.

He got down on one knee in front of her, taking her hand, complete with the glass, in his hand.

"Cassandra Williams, I would be honoured to be your husband."

Cassy dropped the glass she was holding right into Cyc's hand, its water forming a small pool in his palm.

"Pardon me?!" she squealed slightly. She could have sworn that it was Orin who had just asked her that question a few moments ago.

Cyc's grinned enlarged. "Yeah, I know. Orin just told me what he was planning, but… We both feel that you would be better off with me."

"Excuse me???!" Cassy was beginning to feel more insulted than surprised. What was she, somebody's dog that needed a home, a prize?!

"Yeah, Cass," Orin chipped in, as he knelt down to her level. "I was all for settling down with you, helping you raise your little one, but… Well, let's face it. I am a bit old for you, and Cyc's nearer your own age. Plus, Cyc was willing to take me on for you, and… " Orin flexed his muscles again. "Well, let's just say that when it comes to girls, Cyc never has much luck when he's competing against me."

Cyc sneered at his cousin. "You wish!"

"Only speaking the truth, cous."

Cassy would have normally been amused by this bigotry, but for now she had other problems. "Cyc, Orin," she began, "I am flattered… "

"Course you are!" Orin laughed. "Who wouldn't be?! Even if Cyc is only second best, he's still the second biggest hunk on the island!"

Cassy gave a small nervous laugh, and was about to finish what she started to say, but then…

"Cassy?" Cyc said, and for once his voice held none of his usual sarcasm, flirt, vanity, or anything that described him as Cyc to her. "Cassy, I know you and I have never been anything more than just… friends, but I… I do really care for you. I always have and I always will. And we all know that if you have this baby, life is just going to get a thousand times worse for you. And I'm not saying this because I think you're weak or anything. Far from it, as I think you're the strongest person I've ever met, but… No one could deal with what you're about to undertake."

Cassy paused, as she listened to her life-long friend. She hated thinking it, but deep down she knew he was right. This baby was going to be a burden that many people wouldn't be able to handle. It wasn't just the fact of raising it, but the fact that it was going to be the son if a mad Minotaur, something that no one could deny if it resembled anything like its father. And even if she finished school, got a good education and such… What Olympian would willingly hire a Human? She'd be lucky to get a job as a dishwasher. Chances are that she and her baby would most likely starve, unless Manty continued to support them, but what kind of a life would that be for her if she had to depend on Manty for the rest of her life?

Cyc placed his entire hand around Cassy, giving her an affectionate squeeze. "I know I probably don't come across as the perfect husband type. But I promise you that I'll love you, support you, be a father to your baby, and give you anything your heart desires… including that, which requires the use of a bed-chamber." He wiggled his eye-ridge at her, inciting a groan from Cassy, but she was nonetheless still listening.

Cassy couldn't help, but consider his proposal. It was true that having this baby was going to be next to impossible, but… Could she seriously marry Cyc, of all people?

"I-I-I… I think I'll have to think about it," she finally stuttered out.

"Woo-Hoy!" Orin slapped his cousin affectionately on the back. "Hear that! She's halfway there!"

"Wait a minute, I said I… " She didn't get to finish, as Cyc bent his head down and almost took away half her face, as his huge lips engulfed her, nearly sucking her flesh off, as he kissed her.

"I know, I know," Cyc said, as he got up. "You need some time to think about it. Sure, I'll give you… till tomorrow, okay? See you there then! Bye-bye!"

He and Orin wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing and planning to go out and do some celebrating. But not before Orin turned his head once more and said…

"Oh, but one thing," he grinned. "I get to have the first dance with the blushing bride."

Cyc laughed. "Sure thing, cous. I'll have the rest of my life to dance with her."

"Yeah, I don't think Cassy has even tried the new dance that Cyan made, has she?" Orin laughed loudly, and wiggled his backside at her, saying goodbye as the two of them left through the door.

Cassy stood where she was, watching the empty doorway where apparently her fiancé, and future cousin-in-law, had just left.

"I think… " she slowly said. "I need to lie down." She started to make her way over to her bed-quarters but, almost as though it knew she was leaving, the telecom sounded, indicating a call.

"Oh for…!" she snarled inwardly, and slammed her hand down on the receiver button. "WHAT?!" she angrily shouted.

Taurus's surprised face filled the screen.

"Taurus?" Cassy said surprised. As infuriated as she was, she could never bring herself to be rude to New Olympus's Chief of Security, one of the few Olympians who treated her respectfully. Not to mention one whom she had once had a crush on.

"Cassy, I apologize for disturbing you," Taurus said. "Are you… well?"

The "well" was sputtered out

"Yeah, fine," Cassy said tiredly. She normally didn't mind speaking to Taurus, but for now she really needed to get some rest. "Is there something you need?"

"No," he started. "I just wanted to check how you were, and… "He muttered something under his breath.

"Pardon?"

Taurus sighed. "I wanted to ask you if you were free for lunch tomorrow?"

Cassy blinked. "Ummm, yeah sure. I believe I am. But… why do you want to know?"

Taurus rubbed his horns, a clear sign that he seemed to be nervous. "I actually have something I want to discuss with you, Cassy. Something important."

Cassy paused, suddenly stiffening up. "What sort of… something?" she asked cautiously.

Taurus immediately tensed up. "Something that can't be explained over the telecom. I have booked a table for two tomorrow at the Unicorn's Diner. Are you coming or not?"

Cassy sighed. 'Taurus must really be nervous,' she thought. 'He never gets this cranky unless something is up.'

"Okay, fine," she said. "What time?"

"1200pm, okay?"

"Perfect," she smiled. "Thanks for the invitation."

"You're welcome, and… " He paused briefly and then said in a hushed tone. "Sweet dreams." And disconnected the telecom before she could answer.

'Gee, now I wonder what his special question could be?' she thought sarcastically. She didn't think it would be possible. She, the most isolated female on the island, was getting proposals from three males.

"Oh, wait a minute," she suddenly said, annoyed. "This is Taurus we're talking about. He's not the marrying kind. In fact, he doesn't seem like the dating or anything kind, as he's never away from his job."

Still, he had seemed rather nervous about asking her to lunch. Cassy considered the possibility, but in the end she shook it off, and walked to her room. She already had one proposal to consider, she didn't need to think of two.

There was another chime at the door, and Cassy considered throwing the damn chimer away. She stomped over to the door, and opened it.

"Nessus?!" she exclaimed in shock, as her former boyfriend stood before her.

"Hi, Cassy," Nessus looked uneasily at her. He hadn't spoken with her since he had helped bring her safely home. "I'm sorry to intrude, but… I heard about your predicament and I… "

"I CAN RAISE IT ON MY OWN!!!" Cassy suddenly screamed out, and closed the door instantly.

Nessus stood staring at the door for a short while before saying to himself, "I just wanted to offer my condolences".

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Cassy lay in her bed, her thoughts all jumbled.

What was she going to do? Cyc had proposed to her, and now seemed intent on following it through. Indeed, he believed them to be practically walking up to the altar right now.

Cassy had never imagined Cyc as a husband to her. True, she had at one time or another, perhaps considered him for a boyfriend. Like all the girls, she had noticed what a fine body he had, and he had always been able to make her laugh and forget her troubles. But… she had only been 12 years old at the time, and now the thought of them being married, of her calling him things like 'honey' and 'dearest' sounded positively ridiculous to her. Cyc was a close and dear friend, but nothing more.

Still, he had been right about the baby and all the problems she was about to face. There might still be Taurus's proposal to consider, but that didn't seem fair to Cyc, like she was leading him on.

True, she didn't feel of him as the way that a future-wife should feel, but… She did care for him a great deal, so that was a good start. And he had been the first to offer her his support, and she didn't doubt that he would remain true to his word and look after her and her baby, but… What kind of a life would they have together?

She had once asked Manty how he had known how he, and his now late wife, had had a future together? He had told her that he had thought about what life might be like, both with and without her, and in the end he decided that life without her… wouldn't be worth living, to him.

Cassy laid her head back on the soft pillows, her eyes getting heavy.

She had a fairly good idea what life without Cyc might be like. She'd be most likely stuck with a baby to raise single-handedly, in a city that held no love or respect for her or her offspring. Either that or she'd be doomed to spend the rest of her life completely dependent on Manty's support, with no chance of a life of her own

'So… what about if she was married to Cyc?' Cassy thought about married life with her life-long friend. She thought about what kind of a dad he'd be to her child. Although she didn't believe for a second that he'd make a bad dad, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of a role model he'd be, since kids usually modelled after their parents? And more importantly, what kind of a husband would he be like to her?

If anything, she didn't believe that their lives together would be boring at least.

All these thoughts and questions kept floating in and out of her head, as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

To Be Continued…