On the other side of the partially broken window, on the far side of the room, crouched a woman in her mid twenties. The travelers presumed she was Elisa. She had light caramel skin and shining blue-black hair hanging just past her shoulders. She wore a white t-shirt and blue jeans. She had been backed into a corner by seven Heartless in two types Kairi did not recognize. Three were some sort of Bell Heartless, but larger and with a grey tint to their straw hats and black bodies. The other four were humanoid, wearing karate gi bottoms with bare, three-toed feet sticking out the bottom. Their chests were noticeably feminine, with a sarashi wrapped around their upper chests, with similar bandages covering their spherical heads. They held wooden staves, pointed at Elisa to help keep her trapped.
The next thing Kairi noticed, as Goliath crashed through the window, was that Elisa's hands were both empty.
"Elisa!" Goliath roared as he scattered the glass and reached for the Heartless.
"Goliath, it's a trap," the detective shouted in warning. She surged to her feet, to intercept him. But one of the grey Bells floated into position above her starting point, and fired a white orb at her. When it hit, Elisa and the Heartless switched spaces, and the Human fell to the ground with a grunt of pain.
"Of course it's a trap," another feminine voice said darkly, dripping with sarcasm. Another female gargoyle stepped from the shadows by the window. She had blue skin and bright red hair, and wore a golden tiara over the crests on her head. Her left hand held Elisa's sidearm, still smoking from the decoy shots. She extended her right arm, holding a larger, high-tech pistol. She aimed at the small of Goliath's back, and before he turned in reaction to her voice, she fired a bolt of blue energy at him. Electricity appeared to course over him body, and the large Gargoyle fell to the floor.
"Goliath," Elisa cried out in fear.
"Demona," Goliath croaked, propping himself up painfully. The traitorous female did not pause; she fired another blast at her former mate, who was unable to resist the second stunner. He collapsed back to the wood paneling, his eyes closed. Kairi tried to move in closer, but Demona tossed Elisa's gun into the far corner of the room and then gestured broadly. More of the Virgo Brawler and Grey Caprice Heartless appeared, and three large Gargoyle type Heartless emerged from behind the villain. The staff fighters cut off Kairi and Selphie, but Angela stared at the Heartless beside her mother, frozen with morbid fear.
"Are those... our people?" Angela asked in hushed tones.
"Not from now," Demona shrugged, "But it could be they are Gargoyles who were turned to Heartless the last time they visited. Take him."
Two of the Gargoyle Heartless lifted Goliath between them, and flew out the window. Demona caught the claw of the third flying Heartless, and allowed it to carry her out.
"Thunder," Selphie incanted. Her spell was cut of when one of the female shaped Heartless jumped in the way. It was evaporated by the lightning, but Demona and her minions escaped unharmed. Angela's eyes lit with a fury when the Dark monsters cut off her attempt to follow. She hopped up, and tore through three of the grey Bells, and as she descended, snapped the staff of one of the Virgo Fighters with her heel.
"Cure," Kairi smashed another of the marital artists into ink, and then used her restorative magic on the NYPD detective.
"Thanks," Elisa said, slightly confused, then cried out, "Look out."
One of the fighters nearly clouted the princess in the head, but thanks to the warning, she was able to interpose Perpetual Light. With its weapon tied up, Selphie was able to step in and finish the Heartless. At the same time, the policewoman was able to retrieve her pistol. She ejected the empty clip, and fished another one out of the pocket of her crimson jacket, hanging from a hook on the door. After slamming the ammo home, she took out the five remaining Grey Caprices with a single shot each. Kairi, Selphie, and Angela each eliminated one of the melee Heartless, and the four women ganged up on the remaining two monsters.
"Angela, what's going on?" Elisa demanded, "Who are these girls? And why was Demona working with those Heartless things?"
"We'll explain on the way," Kairi insisted, "Mrs. Xanatos is waiting on the roof with the helicopter."
"We don't even know where Demona took him," Angela protested. Selphie nodded in spite of herself.
"Yes, we do," the princess of Radiant Garden answered firmly, "She took him to the other concentration of Heartless. To the Clocktower."
"That makes sense," Elisa agreed, "The Heartless have been keeping the police out of the top few floors, and it would be just like Demona to use Goliath's former home as a base, to rub it in."
They scrambled through the broken window, and up onto the roof. Fox was holstering her laser, panting slightly, as the remains of the last Heartless on the roof melted away.
"Did I see Demona leaving with Goliath?" the red-haired Human asked.
"We'll explain on the way," Kairi repeated, "Time is critical."
Fox maneuvered the aircraft close enough to the outside ledge for the three Humans to jump off, before pulling away. The shattered shell of the clock loomed above them, with some damaged scaffolding where repairs had been started. Angela and Elisa immediately surged for the door, and the teens followed close behind. At the partially concealed portal, the detective paused; drawing her weapon and listening. Her eyes tightened.
"Two female voices," Elisa told them, "One of them could be Demona."
"We have to hurry," Kairi urged, "I think the helicopter is faster than the Heartless, but we only have ten minutes after the extraction starts. And that's if she hasn't improved the machine again."
On the trip, they had briefly told Elisa and Angela about the woman in the white coat and her targeted Heart theft. Their predictable reactions of fear and anger had not helped Kairi's mood, which in turn worried Selphie.
"Let's go," the nunchaku user and the female Gargoyle urged at almost the same time. Elisa nodded, and quietly opened the door. After she had space, she swung into the opening, her gun leading.
"Hold it," she ordered, a cop to the core, "Everyone put your hands where I can see them."
Demona and the blond woman both turned to look at her; thoroughly nonplussed. Both stood over the table on which Goliath lay. A familiar device hummed rhythmically on his chest. The white-cloaked thief looked past Elisa, and noticed the two travelers.
"You two, again?" she smirked dismissively, "Are you following me?"
"You could say that, Nelera," Selphie accented the name smugly.
"Where did you hear that name?" Nelera was more curious then annoyed, but she was annoyed nevertheless. She turned to face them, with a newly appraising look.
"It was on the journal page you used to control the Heartless that turned into Igthorn's sword," the nunchaku user answered, "You know, that trick you came up with that got you in good with Ansem?"
"It isn't nice to read someone else's diary," the scientist snapped. Then her face mellowed and she shrugged slightly, adding, "But I guess that name serves as well as any."
She turned to her ally and said, "It's getting crowded in here, wouldn't you say, Demona?"
"Yes, very," the female Gargoyle agreed darkly.
"What do you say we get rid of them?"
"I would rather not hurt any others of my kind," Demona's eyes softened slightly as they fell on Angela.
"That suits me fine," Nelera smirked, "But I think you will need my little gift, first."
She clapped her hands and the three Gargoyle Heartless reappeared. They crashed into Demona, merging and flowing over her body. The mass of Darkness congealed into a suit of black plate-mail. Behind her, Demona's wings had doubled in size, and she flapped them experimentally, and started to hover a few inches above the floor.
"At last, true flight," she purred, "No more gliding."
The last thing Kairi noticed was that the heads of the Gargoyle Heartless were now part of the wrists of Demona's armor, so it appeared as if her hands were bursting out of their mouths. She pointed her left hand at the wall, and a sphere of fire emerged, splashing against the stone.
"I must say, it is my finest work," Nelera boasted.
"But still they have numbers one their side, so..." the blond woman swept off her coat, which faded into nothing as it fell. Her outfit underneath was of the same white leather, but much less substantial, revealing a great deal of her impressive bust line and flat stomach. Her boot extended just past her knees, and her gloves just past her elbows.
"Much better," the Heart thief sighed, raising her hands, holding a dagger between each pair of fingers. The action served as trigger to Demona, who swooped down at Elisa, her red eyes tight with hatred. She aimed her right hand at the Human detective, and shot an orb of flame at her. Kairi jumped in front of the policewoman and blocked the fire with her Keyblade.
"Down," Elisa ordered, and Kairi ducked. The pistol barked five times, and not one shot missed. But even though the impact diverted her, the bullets did not seem to do any damage to Demona's armor.
Selphie darted forward, swinging both ends of her extra-large weapon at the woman in white. Nelera caught the strike on her left wrist without even a grimace or shudder. Her right hand shot out, aiming the four blades it held at Selphie's neck. Angela stepped in and caught Nelera's wrist. The Gargoyle girl's face lit with surprise from the effort it took to stop their opponent's stab; she had never encountered or heard of a pure Human who was that strong. Cyborgs and the genetically altered, but not a normal Human.
"Blitzen," the blonde woman announced, and electricity flashed over her form, shocking Angela. Selphie had already escaped, and stabbed the sharpened tail of the Dragon Chucks into the thief's uncovered lower back. Nelera turned half a step, and pointed her knives at the teen again.
"Raijin," she incanted just before Selphie struck her. A horizontal bolt of lightning emerged from the daggers, throwing the nunchaku wielder back as it struck her in the chest.
"Cure," the yellow clad girl croaked, her whole body numb. Angela slammed Nelera's knee with her tail, and then caught her wrist again. The lightning user used the same spell she had on Selphie, but Angela forced her arm to the side, so that the spear of energy nearly struck Demona instead.
"Aero," Kairi used the wind magic to force the maniacal Gargoyle back, giving her a few moments to breath. Unfortunately, the spell did not appear to hurt Demona or her armor. The Keyblade user was over matched in strength and at least evenly met in skill, so it was taking all of her speed and flexibility to keep the darkness clad villain from taking her out of the fight. Elisa was nursing a sprained or broken left wrist, after her gun had proven ineffective, she tried to attack Demona physically, but she had been knocked aside for her effort.
'The only reason I am still in the fight,' Kairi decided, 'is because Demona kept trying to get past me to Elisa. I need to stop holding back.'
"Blizzard," she pelted the twisted Gargoyle with ice, and then charged in, aiming at the armor on Demona's left wrist, intent on diminishing the kidnapper's Fire power. The Keyblade struck hard, and Kairi quickly spun away while sketching another blow. Demona's eyes narrowed in consideration, and the princess watched for an opening to heal her ally. The Gargoyle's reinforced claws slashed down, each on a different diagonal. Kairi caught both with Perpetual Light, and rather than struggle with Demona, she used the force to fuel her movement as she slid past the villainess, striking her opponent's armored ribs with a resounding clang. Then the Keyblade user sprinted over to her injured ally, shouting "Cure" as she dodged a wing smash.
"Thunder!" Selphie shouted, and Nelera's eyes widened incredulously. But the spell was not aimed at the lightning user, and instead struck the device on Goliath's chest. Though the male Gargoyle went rigid for an instant, the Heart Extractor did not stop or slow when it was hit, nor did its victim awaken.
"Did you think I wouldn't fortify my extractors against your magic?" Nelera taunted, sweeping both of her sets of weapons upwards at Selphie's face. The girl was able to interpose her nunchaku, and even knocked one of the daggers out of the blonde's left hand. The scientist turned thief swooped down to recover the blade, but Angela cut her off. Her claws tagged Nelera's uncovered bicep, but did not pierce her skin.
"Elisa, how good of a shot are you?" Kairi asked softly, fending off Demona's tail.
"Second best in the precinct," the policewoman answered without pride, "Why?"
"Can you shoot that thing on Goliath's chest?" the princess explained by asking, "But only the machine part on the top or bottom. If you hit the glass, I'm afraid it will keep working and Goliath's Heart will escape and become a Heartless."
"Do you think I will give you a chance to try?" Demona snarled.
"She has a point," Elisa rolled backwards to avoid a Fire and wing combo attack.
"Can you do it?" Kairi said desperately.
"Yeah, I think I can."
"Alright," Kairi turned her full attention back to Demona, immediately intoned, "Thunder."
As the spell hit the Gargoyle, Kairi jumped forward, aiming for her wings, where the armor was thinnest. She slashed three times in rapid succession, cracking the armor. Demona responded by slamming her tail into the teen, and even though Kairi put her Keyblade between them, she was thrown back and scuffed up.
That was enough time for Elisa. The detective dropped to one knee, and carefully lined up her shot before squeezing off two rounds. The first bullet skipped off the top of the machine, leaving a nice divot. But the second buried itself deep in the circuits. The Heart Extractor began to make a different sort of humming noise, and spewed forth some thin green smoke. As she rolled to her feet, Kairi locked her eyes on the bullet hole, and pointed her Keyblade at it, shouting, "FIRE!"
The targeted spell flew straight for the gap, bypassing Nelera's protective enchantments. The heat and flame fused the remaining machinery, and the extractor shut down with a loud 'pop'. Goliath's breathing became deeper yet also faster. The woman in white glared at Kairi and Elisa in mild annoyance, and surprisingly, Demona's reaction was much more severe.
"What have you done?" she shrieked, before throwing herself recklessly at the Keyblade wielder, "I was finally going to be rid of him!"
The teen was battered by the berserker assault, until Elisa turned and calmly put a bullet through the crack in Demona's wing armor. The Gargoyle's scream changed from rage to pain as the projectile tore through the thin, sensitive membrane. Selphie and Angela suddenly remembered their opponent, but Nelera had backed away and was already opening a portal when they faced her. Demona noticed as well, and her face showed surprise.
"Where are you going?" the blue skinned Gargoyle asked.
"I'm done here," the blonde human shrugged, "It will take me days to build a new extractor for the Heart of Granite. I like you as much as you or I are capable of, Demona, but I don't have time to waste fighting if I won't have any chance of achieving my objective. I would suggest that you retreat as well."
With that sentiment, the researcher vanished into the Darkness. Demona surged back to her feet, snarling incoherently. But as she moved to charge again, something changed. Her armor froze up, a pool of Darkness spread out from the floor around her, and the treacherous Gargoyle began to sink into the shadows.
"What's happening?" Angela asked.
"The Heartless," Kairi explained as she darted forward, "She's too out of control, and so she can't command them. They are trying to take her Heart."
She smashed the open maw around Demona's hand, destroying part of the Heartless armor, but not slowing the Gargoyle's absorption. Angela grabbed her mother's hand and pulled back with all of her strength, but to no avail. Selphie and Elisa grabbed their ally's arms, but still Demona inched deeper. Suddenly a larger arm extended past them. Goliath shredded the armor over his former mate's torso, and then grabbed her shoulder, yanking her free. The Heartless under them started to reform, but Kairi stabbed down with the Keyblade, and it melted away instead. In its place was another sheet of paper, and Selphie snatched it triumphantly.
Goliath gently set down his unconscious enemy, and let out an exhausted sigh.
"Can someone tell me what has happened here?" he rumbled in confused frustration.
"So Goliath was the target the whole time," Lexington said thoughtfully. Fox had been waiting close by, and the helicopter had carried everyone, including the bound and unconscious Demona, back to Castle Wyvern.
"When she realized the Heartless could not capture me here, she must have decided to lure me out of the castle," Goliath decided.
"How do we know this Nelera won't come back?" Brooklyn frowned.
"She might," Kairi nodded, "But now that you know whose Heart she wants, it will be harder for her to ambush you again."
"And Nelera said she has a spare target," Selphie added brightly, noticing her friend's improved disposition, "So she has less reason to come back."
"She will go after someone else?" Goliath growled angrily.
"And we will go after her," Kairi said reassuringly, "We will stop her again, and find out where she has hidden the other Hearts she stole."
"And to help you in that respect…" Xanatos walked forward carrying an extra large briefcase, "since I already supplied Kairi with a weapon, I think it is Selphie's turn."
He opened the container, revealing a pair of forty-two inch long metal poles with rubber grips, connected by a high tensile cord.
"These devices were created to convert wind to electrical power," he explained, "But Fox found a different use for them."
Selphie pounced on the weapon, and then darted back, spinning them experimentally. The high-tech nunchaku thrummed through the air, but spun faster than the Dragon Chucks. After a few quick moves, she snapped the new weapon under her arm, and slipped the Dragon Chucks into her bag.
"Thank you Mister Xanatos," she grinned broadly.
"So where will you go next?" Angela asked.
"We haven't found a new path yet," Kairi pondered the question, "We haven't found the right connection."
"If you like, we can try to help you find it tonight," Goliath offered, and Kairi nodded gratefully, "We will see you at sundown, then."
The Gargoyles scaled the side of the building, and assumed their poses as the sun started to crest the horizon. The light formed a halo around Goliath's now stony visage, and the Keyblade appeared in Kairi's hand. Feeling the pull, she pointed it towards their frozen ally, and the beam emerged. It flashed through the Gargoyle, scribing the Keyhole onto the sky.
"I take it this means you will be leaving," Xanatos raised an eyebrow at the light show.
"Tell Goliath thanks for us," Selphie requested.
"I guess I'm not 'too slick' to do that," he agreed with a smirk. Selphie looked mildly embarrassed at the barb.
"For now, I should join Detective Maza and discuss what we are going to do with Demona," he excused himself. Fox Xanatos watched her husband go with a slightly pensive expression.
"There is one thing he didn't tell you," Fox said once David was out of earshot, "On the first night you were here, the Heartless stole something. The prototype for a man portable electron migration laser."
"A weapon?" Kairi prompted, and Fox's frown deepened.
"That's the thing," the older woman answered, "It's not a weapon. It's a device to transmit electricity wirelessly."
"But it could be used as a weapon," Selphie offered, "like a lightning gun?"
"No, it's totally safe," Fox countered, "Believe me, David and I have plenty of experience turning things into weapons that would not normally be."
She gestured towards Selphie's new nunchaku.
"The electron migration laser can deliver enough energy to power an average city block in a one centimeter beam. But if it were to hit you, all you feel is a slight tingling. That's why it's so useful, except to the receiver dish, the beam is harmless."
"Maybe she wants use it to power something else?" Kairi thought out loud.
"But they didn't steal any of the receivers," Fox shook her head dubiously, "And frankly, the fusion power packs the Steel Clan robots use are smaller and provide more power."
"Then why steal the laser?" Selphie shrugged.
"She might have some other use for it," Fox suggested, "You guys know more about magic than we do…"
She smirked ironically at that, which neither of the teens understood.
"… and her technology is fairly advanced," the former mercenary continued, "so she must have some use for it, to have the Heartless steal it. Anyway, I thought I should warn the two of you."
"We'll keep it in mind," the princess nodded, "Thank you for telling us."