Alex sat brooding in his room, still dripping wet. He wore his traditional trendy mauve sweater and khakis, though both now were dark from the water that they absorbed from the rain outside. The young mage sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the wall intently.

This did not sit well with him. Life did not sit well with him. Not at all.

There was a knock at the door. Without a word from Alex, Bobby came in and looked at his friend.

"You look like shit," Bobby said plainly.

Alex glared though his matted hair, saying nothing.

"You have a call…" Iceman said awkwardly. Alex rose and walked out of the room, still silent.

"Hey Alex." The redhead turned. "Thanks…" Bobby said quietly. Alex was about to smile and reply, but Bobby had walked away.

Alex sighed and went to the library. He picked up the phone, mechanically. Still thinking over his lot, he said, "Hello?" into the mouthpiece.

"Don't look up," Came a voice in two places at once. Alex's gaze shot up towards the chandelier lighting. His mouth opened with fear.

Thailog's menacing figure hung from the chandelier, but a breath away from Alex's face.

"Hello little brother," came a voice so guttural and dripping with malice, but also so familiar and reminiscent of Goliath that Alex was both frightened and calmed at the same time.

Alex dropped the phone and started backing away.

Thailog leered at Alex, closing his own cell-phone and putting it away. The midnight blue gargoyle jumped down from his perch and looked to his prey, which had backed into a coffee table. The gargoyle chuckled softly, taking out a small hand blaster and aiming for Alex.

"Aren't you going to make this more interesting?" Thailog said, disappointed, but still flashing a fang-filled grin.

Alex swallowed hard. He reached into his pocket and pushed the small button that Demona had given him.

Then the thought struck him that maybe it wasn't waterproof. His eyes opened wide in fear and panic. Why had he gone outside with the blasted device in his pocket? What if Demona never gets the signal?

Thailog licked his lips. "You aren't going to say anything? Not even "help?" No begging?" The gargoyle stepped closer to Alex, then picked him up roughly by the front of his shirt. Alex winced as he tried to pry Thailog's iron grip off of him, but to no avail.

"My, my, my… I'm beginning to wonder if your mother slept around before you were born. Maybe you really aren't my brother…" He threw Alex into a bookshelf, hard enough to hurt the human, but not move the bookshelf. Books fell from their places on the shelves, and Alex instinctively cowered and covered his head with his arms. Once all the books had fell from their places, Alex tentatively removed his arms from his head to see Thailog approaching him yet again.

Alex began to scramble out of the books, and tried to get away. He tried to focus and contact the professor, but his mind was so jumbled with everything that was going on that nothing came. He ran into the reference section, not daring to look where the gargoyle might be. Alex dashed, zigzagging, hoping that the large body of the gargoyle would make it hard for him to be agile and nimble as Alex could be. While crouched down he pulled out his cell-phone and frantically tried to call Scott.

It was busy.

Alex swore under his breath, frantically dialing Bobby.

"Hello-"

"Bobby, I'm in the library and-" Alex said quickly, barely above a whisper.

A blaster shot fired right next to his left ear, hitting a dictionary, leaving scorch marks. Alex blinked as the heat and noise of the blast resounding in his head. His eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets as he dropped the phone, Bobby's panicked voice coming in faintly through the other end. Alex dove out of the direction of a second blast aimed at him, and kept running.

Thailog was right behind him, taking care to smash the cell-phone with his clawed foot. His tail swayed with the thrill of the hunt. He swung the blaster onto his back and began to run on all fours to catch up with his quarry.

Alex ran and managed to make it to the doors, dismayed to find them locked, and bolted shut by some unseen way. Taking a deep breath he concentrated his power, hoping that he could break the doors open by force. He heard a noise behind him. As he spun, he refocused his energy into a shield in front of him.

It happened to be just in time for the hunter, Thailog, had fired a shot at the young halfling's back.

Alex's eyes burned briefly green before fading with the shield.

The two sized each other up, Alex his eyes burning with fear and anger, Thailog's dancing with sadistic enjoyment.

"So you are not completely inept…" The clone said, tauntingly.

There were several knocks and shouting at the door behind Alex. Alex smiled. "And soon, you will be a little more than outnumbered," Alex replied.

Thailog laughed devilishly. "Come now, child. Did you really think I would come completely unprepared?"

"We're about the same age, clone," Alex said, not backing down.

"Yes, but I skipped those awkward years of utter failure you seem to be experiencing right now," The gargoyle stated, laughing and pushing a small button built into his armor.

Thailog sneered at Alex. "Now, the odds should fair much better in my favor," The clone said, glaring at Alex.

The knocking behind Alex ceased as the noises of gunfire; laser fire and mutants fighting shook the door. Alex had turned his back to Thailog to stare at the door, and was backing away from it.

Thailog laughed again. "Are you ready for death, little brother?"

Alex spun around, the color drained from his face.

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Demona was already on her way when the signal went off, though it was faint. She checked the time and grunted in frustration. It was only a few minutes after sunset. How had Thailog attacked so quickly? It was almost as if he had fallen to stone extremely near the mutant's mansion.

She was speeding in her burgundy Diablo towards Bayville; silently hoping that Alex could hold out that long.

Else his mom was going to be pissed.

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Owen gasped and grabbed his heart as he fell against a wall. He was breathing heavily, and the pain was causing him to see white spots. He shuddered as he fell to the ground and literally fell into the form of Puck. The trickster's white hair fell around his face as he gasped, cringing with surges of power and pain.

He closed his eyes. This was the worst attack yet.

Puck reached for his cell-phone and called Alex, hoping to politely ask him to stop this shenanigan and stop using his powers.

There was a tritone, followed by a woman saying the number was out of service.

Puck looked to his phone in disbelief. Already, he knew something was terribly wrong. Lord knows; if a teenager's phone is destroyed, the teen is not far behind it. He dialed a cab's number, and asked for the "VIP service" for his son. Through clenched teeth, Puck dressed himself in some of Alex's clothes and ran downstairs, hoping to get into the car before he passed out.

The refined driver helped him into the cab. Puck stared out behind a beanie cap. "How fast can you get to Bayville?" he said, biting back the impulse to cry out in agony.

The driver looked to what he thought was the kid in the rearview mirror. "How much your daddy gonna pay me?" He said, an eyebrow raised.

Puck rolled his eyes, despite himself. He pulled out his wallet that Owen carried, throwing five one-hundred dollar bills on the passenger seat. "It's and emergency."

"Life or death?"

Puck sighed, rolling his eyes again. He tossed two more bills on the seat. "Just go." He curled into a ball in the corner of the seat, waiting for them to reach the town.

The driver didn't ask any more questions, just drove as fast as the car would go. He had just made $5,700 that night. Granted, he didn't know who it was who gave him the 5 grand to make sure he was available for the kid and to get him as fast as he could drive to the Xavier School, but the driver also didn't care.

He smiled and punched the accelerator, driving through the night.

A few police cars reported him, but couldn't keep up. It would show up on any police scanner.

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Thailog made for Alex, charging at blinding speed. Alex braced himself as he tried to get out of the way, hoping Thailog might accidentally break the door down. Unfortunately for Alex, the behemoth grabbed him with his tail, pulling the halfling's legs out from underneath him, while also allowing the clone to stop himself.

Ice began to seep through the door, as small blasts could be heard through the door.

Thailog snarled and threw Alex with his tail against the door, breaking it down. Alex was stunned and tried to get up. Bobby and Tabitha tried to help him up, as Alex saw the fighting that was going on in the foyer of the mansion.

"They're everywhere, Alex. Every mutant in the building is fighting one of those robots."

Alex looked at his friends in horror. Wanda ran to Alex. "Are you alright?"

"He won't be…" Came Thailog's voice from behind.

Wanda turned, only to be swatted out of the way by the clone's immense strength.

Alex yelled out in anger, throwing a huge energy blast at the gargoyle. Thailog braced himself and took it.

He didn't budge. Not even a scratch.

Alex looked at the clone in dismay. Thailog tapped his metal armor. "Remember your father's robot, Coyote?" The clone flashed his fangs.

Bobby threw ice shards at the gargoyle. "Alex, RUN!" He yelled as his shards grazed off the gargoyle's skin and armor like water.

"It won't work on him-" Alex began, defeated.

Tabitha started to help Bobby. "It doesn't matter, Alex! We'll hold him off, now move!" She shouted, throwing her own bombs at the clone.

When Alex still didn't move, Tabitha yelled "Pietro!"

Alex found himself all of a sudden being carried at blinding speeds. "You know, you could at least say 'thank you,'" the speedster said, smirking.

Alex rolled out of Pietro's hold. "I didn't ask to be saved!" He yelled. The two boys stared at each other. Then a blast from one of the clan robots fired near Pietro.

"Yikes! Whatever, kid, you're on your own," He said, running towards the robot at blinding speeds, hoping to smash it to bits.

Alex ran down the hall. He heard a noise near a window. As he turned towards it to see what had made the noise, Demona smashed through the window, as dramatic as ever.

Alex stood there, dumbfounded. "You're late. Thailog is that way," He said is a monotone, pointing in back of him.

Demona nodded. "And which way is Xavier's office?" She asked sweetly.

Alex pointed down the hall.

"Right," She said, heading towards the office.

Alex dropped his jaw in disbelief. "But that's in the opposite direction of Thailog!" He cried.

"I know!" She said over her back.

She kicked open the door to a pitch-black room, as her eyes started glowing red. She went to the computer inside, turned it on and inserted a flash drive into a USB port.

Alex followed her in. "What are you doing?" He said, angrily.

"The first half of my job," she said, irritated. She loaded something onto the hard drive. Then she pulled out the flash drive, turning off the computer. "Ready?" She smiled devilishly to Alex.

The boy was still confused, but nodded. This was rather anticlimactic so far.

"I'll take care of Thailog, you make sure that no clan-bots get in the way," She dictated. Alex nodded quickly.

They walked back towards the foyer.

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Puck spilled out of the car as the driver tried to help him up.

"Whoa there kid, maybe you should just take it easy…"

Puck tossed the helping hand of the driver away. "I'm…fiiine…" The weak fey replied. He stood, stooped over, trying to get his breath back. He looked up and saw they were at the mansion. Puck looked around the neighboring landscape to confirm this, rising fear evident in his face.

"I didn't…I didn't tell you where we were to go in Bayville…" He said, looking at the driver questioningly.

The driver stammered. "…A-Are you sure you didn't say? I could've sworn…"

Puck sucked in breath, biting his lip as a new throbbing surged through him. "No… No, I didn't say…" He glared at the driver in growing distrust.

"Call it intuition," He said, getting back into the driver's seat.

Puck watched in confusion as the man drove off into the night. Puck looked towards the mansion with growing anxiety.

He began to make his way there though his pain was nearly unbearable.

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Alex took down quite a few robots as Demona shot a few, not really caring who she helped out. When they finally reached the foyer, they saw Thailog holding Bobby up in the air by his neck.

Alex cried out, about to charge, but Demona held him back. Instead she fired shots at Thailog's feet.

The clone's head snapped to their direction. His smirk that he had upon seeing Alex faded as soon as he saw whom he was with.

"Well, this certainly is an interesting twist," the clone said, as he threw Bobby into a reviving Tabitha. "I didn't expect to see you, dearest, especially here," he said, his words dripping with malice and sarcasm.

"Do I look like I care?" She snarled, firing two shots at him. He dodged, pulling out his own gun.

Alex ran to Wanda, Tabitha and Bobby as they tried to get out of the way of the dueling gargoyles. Wanda leaned over to Alex, and whispered, "What are they, Alex?"

Alex took a deep breath. "Gargoyles…" He said, an explanation escaping him at that moment.

Bobby tried to sit up, his body clearly aching from his fight with Thailog. "They're the same kind that helped us in the park…?" Bobby asked, laboring to lean against the wall.

Alex kneeled next to his friends. "Yes and no. Unfortunately, those two over there are not to be trusted, and the darker one Thailog, is pretty much evil incarnate."

Tabitha kneeled next to Wanda, throwing the witch's arm over her shoulders, endeavoring to help her out of the fray. "If they are a new race of beings, then we can't just kill them, even if they are evil, Bobby…" She said.

Alex looked to his friend. Apparently, he had missed out on some conversation that had transpired between Tabitha and Bobby. It sounded as if it was about genocide…

Alex couldn't hide the slight disgust he had in his face. Bobby saw it and apologized. "Seriously, I just wanted to end the fight…"

"They're not all evil Bobby. And even if they were, I thought X-Men morals stated that they would only kill as a last resort," He spat, upset. Wanda and Tabitha looked away, ashamed that they might have had the same thoughts. Alex sighed. "Look, let's get you out of here." Alex propped Bobby up on his shoulder, as Tabitha did the same with Wanda. They scurried into the dining room and then kitchen, avoiding the two fighting gargoyles and the other fighting robots and mutants.

Kurt appeared. "Gött in heaven, how did this all happen?" He said, eyeing the carnage around them.

Bobby waved him off. "That doesn't matter. Where is everyone meeting?" Alex hadn't been at the school long enough to know about all the secret codes and practices that were to occur in the event of an attack, but Bobby and Kurt knew exactly what the other was talking of.

"The underground hangar. The robots can't get past the door, so Shadowcat and I are coming back to retrieve people."

"Okay, let's go," Bobby said, as Kurt put his hands on the four of them.

Alex threw Kurt's hand off. Bobby looked at him questioningly. "I'm not going."

"Like hell, you're not going," Bobby said, grabbing Alex's arm and giving him an intense stare. "Don't be a hero, you moron."

"There's nothing heroic about it. I have to do this Bobby."

"That thing is here specifically to kill you. You're going to give him that chance?" Bobby said, his blue eyes fuming with anger.

Alex threw Bobby's hand off. "Why don't you just say what you really mean, Bobby? If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened! That's what you want to say, isn't it?! I don't care if I give him the chance to kill me or not, but I have to stay!"

Bobby was about start yelling back when there was a shattering of glass. Some kid had run through one of the foyer windows, smashing it to bits.

"Just go," Alex said, still angry. He went to the kid to help him out of the fight between the two gargoyles. Kurt nodded and teleported the other three out to the basement hangar.

Alex placed a gentle hand on the kid's shoulder. He noted with a confused glance that he owned the exact same clothes back home. "You okay?" He said, uncertainly.

"No, Alex, I'm not okay," muttered Puck, as the fey locked his icy blue eyes with Alex's.

"Puck!" He yelled in surprise.

Unfortunately, that drew attention to them from Thailog and Demona.

"Puck?" Demona said, a grimace angling over her features. Sadly, it broke her concentration for a second, allowing Thailog enough time to swat her out of the way and into a wall. Demona hit the wall with a sickening CRACK, as she crumpled into a heap on the floor.

Thailog turned back to the two, Puck on the floor surrounded by glass, and Alex kneeling beside him. "Finally…" Said Thailog, with a satisfied smirk.

Alex quickly tried to gather Puck up and move him, but it was in vain. Thailog pulled out a blaster and aimed it at the two. Puck put a hand on Alex, telling him to stop.

"Here endeth…" Thailog pronounced over the pair. Alex had a face stricken with fear, but Puck's was eerily calm. "You proved to be not strong enough for me little one. Too bad your teacher is caught in a dichotomy of binds…" He said, his eyes laughing at the surprise in both their faces.

"What do you mean?" Alex said, his voice shaking.

Thailog made a look of mock surprise. "You mean to tell me, you didn't know? Well, I suppose of course not… no human is so heartless as to allow his father's servant to suffer so on purpose…"

Alex looked to Puck in confusion. The fey was like a limp puppet in his arms, seemingly much smaller than Alex remembered. Puck was still looking to Thailog with a glare. "…You seem to know a lot then…" Puck said slowly.

"See Alex, your dearest uncle Puck had two tasks to perform. The first, dictated from the King of fairies himself, stated that he was to use no magic but that to protect you and to instruct you in the ways of magic. The second task, was put on him later by the Queen, saying he was to neither protect you nor to instruct you. Even I, as twisted as I may seem to you, can see the cruelty in these words…" Thailog laughed manically.

"So while you were here, romping with your friends with your magic and games, Puck has been having his essence split in twain, a rather unpleasant experience as you can imagine."

Alex looked at Puck with sadness in his eyes. "Is this true…?" He said weakly, a sinking feeling in his heart.

Puck glanced at Alex, but then went back to glaring at Thailog. "All of it. But I still wonder how our mutual friend here figured all that out. No one knew but Goliath…"

Alex looked as if he had been slapped in the face. He hung his head in shame and horror. He had no idea that Puck was suffering so; but he hadn't wanted to think about that. Maybe he really did know. Puck had even tried to tell him what was going on, but Alex didn't want to hear it. It was all about him. Alex had been so selfish, where Puck had been so patient and selfless. Puck was turning out to be so much more human than Alex ever could be.In spite of everything that was going on around him, he couldn't help but remember the play Puck had been reading that day in the library…Doctor Faustus. Alex was so selfish that he was akin to Faustus, and now he was reaping the fruits of his own destruction. He hated himself; he fell lower and lower into depression with every passing second.

Why couldn't he do anything right, like his father did?

Alex looked up to see Puck was staring at him. The fey had a gentle smile. "Another lesson in humility, I suppose," He said quietly to his charge. Alex choked back a sob. Even after all of this, his friend and teacher was able to joke.

"A lesson learned too late," Thailog said irritably. "It is sad that your teacher could have saved you both had he been strong enough…" Thailog said again, looking at Alex.

Puck looked at Thailog, befuddled. "Why do you keep saying that?"

Alex wasn't listening. "Yes, what if Puck was strong enough…" Alex was so desperate to fix his problem that he ignored the spark of delight in Thailog's eyes. He looked to Puck. "My friend, can you ever forgive me for how I wronged you?"

Puck looked away from Thailog and looked at Alex with concern written all over his face. "Of course, but I don't like your tone, or his face," He said, indicating Thailog with his thumb.

"I can't defeat him, but you can!" Alex shouted as he began chanting in latin. He spoke strong words of breaking, degeneration. They wove together as the fey green magic was summoned to his fingertips and imbued into Puck's form.

Puck's face was stricken. He yelled something that Alex couldn't hear, but Alex merely smiled. This was a great gift he could give his teacher.

All he needed was one second. One moment in time in which he could be stronger than both his grandmother and his surrogate grandfather. He stood as his power; green light swirling and covering the walls blinded the room. Thailog looked around him as the light enveloped him as well. Alex then himself was enveloped by his own power, his eyes turning the fey green that they did when he let himself become one with his other half.

He kept chanting in latin, the grounding words that he now knew by heart. He stood on the words, they kept him focused and kept his power strong. With his spoken words he begged, he pleaded with Avalon to allot him this one moment, this one time in which he could surpass the Lord of the Fey.

And in the island's infinite wisdom, it granted it.

For one moment, Oberon stood up from his throne in his palace, furious with anger. The entire room, filled with the reveling gathering of the fey looked to their King in fear, as they too felt the presence. Oberon yelled at the top of his lungs, frightening the gargoyles on the island.

For one moment, Titania let a small smile escape her lips.

For one moment, Merlin in his travels stopped what he was doing and turned in an unknown direction in the world, squinting. His face was somber and curious.

And for this one moment, Alexander Fox Xanatos was more powerful than Oberon himself. With his power, he broke all the binds on his teacher, mentor and friend.

Then the moment, as fleeting as a summer breeze, was gone.

The room faded as if the light imploded upon itself, being sucked back into Alex. Alex fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily, grasping his heart. He now realized how dangerous his request had been. So much power had surged through him for that one second, that just a mere second more would have proved too much for his inexperienced body. He gasped and sputtered trying to regain his strength. He felt dizzy, but managed to sit back, leaning against the wall. He looked to Puck.

And was very surprised at what he saw.

He saw Puck had changed. The fey trickster no longer wore the purple and red livery that he was known to wear. Instead he wore a black stitched doublet, placed over a white tunic. He wore black leather breeches, black leather boots. There was obviously some medieval elements to the fey's attire, but he looked as if he was fully aware of the current clothing styles. There was nothing outdated about his outfit; just…eccentric.

The black and silver outfit was nothing compared to the change in his hair. Puck's hair was no longer the long white that it had been. Now it was clean cut in an angular cut above his ears. His eyes still were a piercing blue, but now had more life to them.

In all, Puck looked much more alive. He was looking at his hands. Alex smiled. This might have been one of the first times in Puck's long life in which the fey belonged to no one but himself.

Puck made a fist and looked menacingly at Thailog. "Well, you got your wish. I'm free…" He said, enjoying the taste of the last word in his mouth.

Free.

Puck had been in service for a very long time. Whether it was to some slightly adept shaman during the pre-civilization of human life, to King Solomon, a Greco-Roman priest, or some alchemist during the medieval times, he had always at least been in service to Oberon.

Now he owed nothing to anyone but himself.

Puck decided to try out his newfound "free powers." And who better than the one that tried to kill Alex before?

He phased out of being, much to the chagrin of Thailog. The gargoyle looked around the room, taking a step forward, cautiously. The room was deadly silent.

Then Puck was behind Thailog. Puck blew a gale out of his mouth, causing the large clone to go flying through the air, right into some furniture, smashing them to tinder wood.

Satisfied, Puck dusted off his hands with a work well done. He then floated over to Alex. "How you feeling kiddo?"

Alex was still breathing heavily, but nodded, telling his friend that he was okay.

Puck made a concerned smile, tousling Alex's red hair. Alex smiled, though now he was the weak one.

Then there was a sound of clapping behind them. Puck spun around, putting his own body in-between the menace and Alex. Thailog had emerged from the broken pieces of furniture, unscathed.

Puck narrowed his eyes, feeling unsettled. Thailog should at least be sore.

The clone stopped clapping. "That was quite the display. I've always been fascinated by you, Puck… So much that I planned all of this," the gargoyle said, indicating the carnage in the room, "upon the notion that I would be able to meet you."

Puck scowled, not liking where this was going.

"Luckily, Alex, dear sweet brother Alex, behaved so well. As did Halcyon…"

Puck's eyes snapped wide. Alex looked on in confusion.

"You see my dear friend, Halcyon made his second and final will with some encouragement from his lawyer Trenton Omari…"

"Whilst not the best of aliases I could have come up with, I thought it was fitting that my name would mean 'fast speaker.'"

Both Puck and Alex had looks of surprise on their faces. Alex was the first to speak, despite his loss of strength. "How did you become human during the day?"

Thailog laughed. "Oh no, that is not it. Magic was not involved. Trenton Omari is just one of the many human clones I made for myself, educated to my slant on things," He said, snarling, reminding Puck of his own involvement in Thailog's creation.

"And how did you influence Halcyon to change his will? Why?" Puck asked, changing the subject.

"Simple," the clone replied. "I needed to get Alex away from the castle and the clan so that my threats to his life would be taken seriously. Once you two were separated, I would attack Alex, drawing you here later. I never imagined that the Queen of the Fey herself would play into my scheme as well. By the way, as Owen, you really need to tighten your security on hacking into the security cameras within the castle," Thailog said, his white fangs curving into a grin.

Puck took a step backwards towards Alex. "Why go through all the trouble?" he said, knowing he was not going to like the answer.

"Haven't you guessed it yet? After studying David Xanatos as in depth as I have, I discovered that he would not have been nearly the man he is today without that blasted coin that he received from himself all those years ago. Then I asked myself, how was he able to send the coin to himself? It was magic that sent him back to that time, specifically, the phoenix gate. And how did he even learn of the existence of said magical relic? Well, he just happened to have a very enigmatic assistant named Owen…"

Puck's mouth lifted in a very guarded smile. "I'm very flattered Thailog, but David's greatness has nothing to do with me-"

"HA! See? The fact that you like that, so passive, whether as Owen or Puck, makes you all the more desirable as a servant. YOU caused Goliath and Elisa to fall in love with each other when they both turned into gargoyles to see the other in their own light. YOU introduced Demona to David. YOU in turn helped David break the spell on Goliath's clan. It has been you, my friend, that has made this saga as engaging as it has been. And it will be you, also, that will give me my rightful place in this world."

Puck looked quickly from Demona to Thailog. She was beginning to stir. "Surely that is not all you planned. What else did you do to get this far?"

Thailog smiled coyly. "After Alex finally decided to go here, I called him threatening his life. Then I would back off, allowing him to second-guess himself to the point of being afraid all the time. But you had to come along and give him a motivational speech, telling him how powerful he was, etc. Well, we couldn't have the young mage thinking he could actually defeat me, can we? I 'convinced' Dracon to smuggle the Powr8 chemical, knowing that it would summon the X-Men and by default Alexander and his knowledge of the streets of New York City. Once isolated, I sent my own versions of the clan-robots to attack the unsuspecting masses. After my brother had crossed onto the scene, I knew it would be the right time to send in all of the robots in my arsenal to overwhelm the lad.

"Alexander performed masterfully. He became so enraged by the defeat of his friends that he lost control over his powers, resulting in the ultimate loss of confidence in himself. So much that a few seconds ago he said he could not defeat me, but you could. And now, here we stand, you free of all the binds placed on you from various masters previous, and ripe for the taking."

Puck was frowning, but listening intently. Alex had stopped listening once he realized how he had been played for a fool. Once again, he had messed up. This time, there was no atoning for it. He looked to Puck's back, able only to see a portion of the fey's face.

I'm so sorry, he thought.

Puck paused before speaking again. "And now that I'm free, what makes you think that I'll become your servant?" The fey said sarcastically.

Thailog pushed another button on his armor. Suddenly hundreds of Robots appeared in the foyer, coming in through the various hallways, windows, doors- everywhere.

Puck and Alex tried to mentally count the multitude, but it proved futile. There were too many to count. Puck snorted indignantly. "Riiiight, so if Alex could take down hundreds, how many do you think I can take out?"

Thailog smiled. "What if they just want to capture you?"

As if on cue, the robots all pulled out chains from their arms. And within the chains, Puck could already feel the pulsating enchanted iron that was in Thailog's armor. It was going to hurt if they touched him. Puck glared at Thailog.

"You don't have to fight you know…" Thailog said, matter-of-factly amidst his clan robots.

Puck rolled his eyes. "What choice do I have, if I won't go quietly?"

Thailog shrugged. "None, I suppose."

The robots swarmed around Puck, but the trickster managed to evade them, flying around the room. He was quite apt at aerobatics, this one. Thailog decided to make for Alex while his teacher was previously occupied.

Yet Demona, finally awake from her unconsciousness, jumped on his back, causing the clone to fall forward with the momentum created. Thailog yelled in outrage and surprise, trying to turn around and grab her. He tore her off his back, but she landed nimbly on her feet. She charged him again, managing to scratch the clone on his shoulder. He bellowed out in pain, a deafening noise resounding in the ears of everyone conscious around. Thailog grabbed Demona by the shoulders and kneed her in the stomach, causing the wind to be knocked out of her as well as a little bit of blood to come out of her mouth. She doubled over in pain, allowing the clone to push her out of the way of his quarry, Alex.

Puck would destroy one robot, and two more would take its place. He would dodge one chain, only to wince as another chain thrown at him would graze his arm. The fey knew this was a losing battle, but he kept going. One chain hit the mark, grabbing his left arm. He tried desperately to remove the chain from his arm, only to have his right leg caught by another chain. Realizing the mounting disaster unfolding around him, the fey twisted into a diving fall, pulling all the robots attached to him with him. Within inches of the ground, he stopped, but the robots could not control themselves so nimbly.

Puck stood slowly, chains draped over him, an evil glint in his eye. The pulsating iron that only he could feel burned ice cold on his skin, threatening to cut his essence of magic. His jaw was set against the pain as he turned around to face Thailog.

And, as you have probably surmised, Thailog was holding a weakened Alex with a blaster to his head.

Puck was crestfallen. He sighed sadly as the remaining robots swarmed him with the chains. His face contorted in pain, but the elf made no sound. Wrapped in so many chains, were the fey human, he might not have been able to breathe.

Thailog roughly threw Alex to the side. He approached Puck, and grabbed his chin. "You are mine and will do my bidding." The clone smiled crookedly, but Puck stared back with hatred in his eyes.

"Even if you have me, you'll never be as great as David Xanatos," Puck said in a monotone. Thailog snarled and scratched the fey's face. The wound obviously stung the fey, but he did not cry out, nor did the wound stay for long. It healed slower than perhaps was usual given the preponderance of enchanted iron wrapped around him.

Just then, all the remaining intact windows in the room shattered, spraying everyone with fine bits of glass. Thailog turned around to see Goliath and the clan beginning to stand from their crouched position upon jumping through the window.

Thailog could not mask his surprise. "How did you-"

Brooklyn held out a police scanner. "Unfortunately for you, it seems Puck was speeding to get here, and we figured that meant trouble. Elisa wants to bring you in Puck, you were nearly breaking the sound barrier…" He said jokingly, ignoring the present predicament.

Goliath looked questioningly at Puck. His attire and hair had changed so dramatically.

Puck made like he was trying to shrug, but the chains enveloped his shoulders down to his ankles, making such a light-hearted gesture impossible. "Tell her if you guys get me out of this one, I'll do community service for a decade."

Thailog wasn't about to let that happen. He indicated the clan to the remaining robots, distracting the gargoyles quite well. Thailog made for Alex, to take him hostage, but the young mage kicked the clone's hand away, further enraging him. Thailog made another attempt.

"Get away from him!" He heard a voice say behind him. Thailog turned to see the X-Men spilling out of the hallway, ready to fight. The voice had come from a boy with red sunglasses, leading the troupe.

Thailog backed off and looked at Puck nearly forehead to forehead. "Get us out of here, or I kill him," He said, aiming his blaster at Alex's head.

Puck looked to Alex with a great calm in his eyes. Alex looked weak and deeply sad back at his teacher.

"Puck, please, don't…" He said.

Puck smiled weakly. "This is goodbye for a spell, kiddo. See you later…" He looked back to Thailog.

"Mortal ills we tend to reap,

Let Fey and troupe away creep.

Let us henceforth disappear-

Get away from carnage, hell, and fear."

A flash of blinding green light brightened the room, only to be extinguished again. In the room stood the X-Men, the clan of gargoyles, and Demona and Alex (well, they were still on the floor).

Goliath sadly looked down on the son of his former enemy. He was silently crying, tears falling down his face as he stared at the place where Puck was but a moment before standing. He looked to the X-Men who looked at the gargoyles, distrusting. Goliath noted with gladness that the robots had been taken away with Puck and Thailog.

He still didn't know the full story. But he had to bridge the growing gap between the mutants and the gargoyles.

"My name is Goliath. This is my clan. It is a pleasure to formally make your acquaintances," He said as soothingly as he possibly could.

A man in a wheel-chair appeared, the crowd of teenagers and a few adults parting the way for him. "And I am Xavier. We are the mutants, the X-Men. And your kind just destroyed my newly refurbished mansion."

"Surely you can't judge us all by one extraneous example?" Goliath said.

Xavier's mouth twisted in a small smile. No, no it could not. If the non-mutant humans judged his school based on Erik Lensherr's or Raven Darkholme's actions, then he would never have gotten anywhere in the world.

"You're absolutely correct. I hope that the relations between us will continue to foster friendship, then," Xavier said diplomatically.

Goliath nodded, and turned to see Lexington talking to Alex. Alex was saying nothing, stunned.

Goliath sighed, looking to where Demona was.

She was gone. As always.

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The conclusion will follow promptly.