AN: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Let the updating begin again! Gargoyles and its affiliated characters belong to Disney/Greg. Any other characters belong to me.

Confessions

Apparently I was unconscious for a few days. As I was unconscious, I don't really remember. That's just what they told me. I do remember waking up. I did not expect to see so many people so angry at me. To be honest, I did not expect to see anyone. I did not think anyone else would survive.

I opened my eyes. Once again, I was back in my room. A glance at the window showed that it was nearing sunset. I sat up. The room spun around me and the contents in my stomach surged. I swallowed hard, determined to keep things where they were supposed to be.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I glanced at the door. Fox was sitting in a chair, glaring at me. "Are you Fae?"

"No." I swung my feet to the side of the bed. The floor dipped and swayed underneath me. I clutched the bedcovers in an attempt to stay upright.

"What are you, then?"

I shrugged, glancing at her. "I don't know anymore. I think I'm mostly human…or maybe only a small part of me is. I don't know."

"That doesn't make any sense," Fox snapped.

"Is she awake?" Xanatos came into the room, followed by the small man who had called himself Puck. Puck carried Alexander. "Care to explain how you managed to blow up half of my castle?"

I winced. "I'm sorry. I didn't know it would do that."

Puck spun in the room, holding Alexander. "Interesting." He placed one finger on my nose and then flicked the tip. I batted his hand away. "Fae she is not. Neither fully human. What are you hiding inside, hmmm?"

The sun set. Mr. Xanatos and I glanced at the window in the same instance. "Let's discuss this up top. Hudson was babbling something about a Guardian on the night of the attack. Maybe he can help us out," Xanatos said. Fox stood up, taking Xanatos by the arm. Puck followed them out of the room.

I swallowed and put my feet on the floor. Things were still moving around me. I put weight on my feet. The ground tried rolling away and I gripped the bed to stay upright. My stomach rebelled against my tight-fisted control. The contents would stay down. I would have that, at least! Xanatos poked his head back in the room. "Aren't you—" He broke off at one look of my face. He sighed, coming into the room. "Here, lean on my arm." I'm not certain how much leaning I did, so much as gripping his arm tightly while he dragged me up to the castle kitchen.

I sat on a stool and we waited in silence. Fox kept shooting glares at me. Roaring outside announced the Gargoyles awakening. Puck zoomed from the room, still holding Xander. The gargoyles marched in. The Trio was wide-eyed. Mentor looked like a Viking war hammer had hit him in the side of the head. The female was curious. And Goliath was…angry. I shifted uncomfortably.

Everyone gathered around the table, staring. Staring at me. "Has the lass had food yet?" Mentor asked.

"What? No. What on earth for? She was fed intravenously," Fox replied.

"The Spell is a draining one. It would have killed our Rookery Guardian. She'll need her strength back." The large blue one in the Trio turned to the fridge. He started pulling out food. My stomach knotted and my vision swam. The plate of food hadn't even touched the table before I was devouring it.

There was a moment of silence. I forgot about everyone in the room as I ate, my body controlling my actions. There was just the food and me. I shoveled food anxiously into my mouth with my hands, my head inching closer to the table as the distance between mouth and food appeared too great. My body cried out for more, demanding I eat more.

"Now that's what I call feasting!" Puck remarked, laughing. I started back to awareness. The bones of a whole chicken were all that testified of its existence. A carton of eggs and a dirty pan showed a dozen eggs, devoured. Leftover roast and pizza. A bag of apples. A block of cheese. A bag of chips. A large bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy…I wiped my chin self-consciously, discovering a bit of gravy. I licked the gravy from my hand, my body demanding more. Half the table was covered with empty dishes and I still felt as if I were starving.

"I think you've had enough," Xanatos said. "Why don't you explain what should have been told to us months ago?"

"And I am most curious to know where you learned that particular spell," Mentor added.

I slowly lowered the bone I had been gnawing. I didn't remember even picking it up. I took a deep breath, glancing at the Clan again. "I'm not certain where to start…" I frowned at the table before looking up at the group decisively. "You know what happened to the Clan one thousand years ago?" Everyone nodded. "I was also alive one thousand years ago. At that time, I was a gargoyle." Various exclamations of shock and disbelief met the statement. Goliath silenced them with a barked command. "I was spared in the Viking attack because I was the Rookery Guardian." I glanced at the Trio. "I sent you three to discover what had occurred without the night after the attack."

The green and blue one groaned as they remembered my instructions from long ago. The red one covered his eyes. "Oh man! We forgot to return to the Rookery Guardian!"

"There's no way she's the Guardian!" the blue one exclaimed. "The Guardian did not look so…so…"

"Human," Goliath finished for him.

"Yeah," the red one agreed.

I nodded. "Yes, you did forget to return. And I am the Guardian. The first I knew of the massacre was when Princess Katherine and the Magus entered the Rookery for the eggs. They told me everything. I had to see the statues before I would believe…" I trailed off, feeling the grief well anew within me. I took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the emotions back down. "I helped them move the eggs. While we traveled, I taught the Princess everything I knew about caring for eggs and new hatchlings. When we were betrayed at her uncle's, I again helped everyone sneak out, taking down what few guards stood between us and the river. And we traveled to Avalon."

The female spoke up, then. "You went with them to Avalon?" I nodded. "Why weren't you there when we hatched? And why are you human?"

From Avalon. That would explain why I did not recognize her. "After assuring the safety of the eggs, I returned to one of Avalon's skiffs. The magus, after casting the spell so many times, cast it once more…" I trailed off. The sleep had been a blessing, in all honesty. I was able to dream of happiness before the world intruded again. I sighed and continued. "I awoke when you did, when the castle was above the clouds. But I did not awaken with the clan…at least, not with this group of the clan…"

Goliath frowned. "This is the only part of the clan surviving. You know of another group?"

"Your mate, the second," I said softly.

His face became a mask. "No longer," he growled softly.

I nodded understanding. I had seen her actions. I knew them both well. "She told me everyone was dead, except us two. For a time, we worked together. But her hatred…it was more than I could bear. I told her that I would no longer be party to her evil. 'If you're not with me, you'll be with them,' she said to me. She began chanting and I ran. I could not end our sister, not after all the loss we had already suffered. I was not ready to be alone again. The spell glanced off my shoulder and I escaped before she finished the incantation. At sunrise, the change began. I have been as you see me since."

The silence hung between us, heavy and thick. I waited for someone to say something…anything. Mentor moved first. He wrapped me in his arms. "What a blessing!" he said, voice thick. "Our sister, returned to the Clan." Awkwardly, I hugged him back. Even as a gargoyle, I was not accustomed to receiving affection. The others followed the Mentor's lead, patting my shoulder and welcoming me. Goliath stood back, watching.