Hercules and Iolaus stood back to back as the war-bands raced forward to attack. Xena reached for her sword and cursed when she realized that she had left it with her other clothing. She reached down and drew a dagger from her garter and threw it and watched with satisfaction as it buried into the chest of a soldier that was rushing towards Hercules.

"Look out." Xena called out just as a soldier was about to run Gabrielle through with his sword. She was surprised to see the blade snap in half and a pink flash of light emanate from her. Gabrielle turned and swung her staff. The man fell over unconscious from the blow to the side of his head. She didn't have time to think about it further as she dodged a clumsy swing from another soldier. She kicked his wrist causing him to drop the sword and she dove forward and rolled as she caught it. At the end of her roll she stabbed the sword into the chest of the soldier and quickly got to her feet.

"What the hell are those things?" One man said as he pointed towards Demona, Brooklyn, and Cold Fire. The gargoyles were charging forward to attack.

"Those are our targets." Jason said as he stepped forward. "They may have fooled Gilcomgain into trusting them, but we know the truth." He drew his sword and waited for them to get closer.

"You picked the wrong place to start trouble." Demona growled and used her claws to rake the throat of the nearest thug. She grabbed the sword he was holding and blocked a downward slash from another man before kicking him hard in the mid-section knocking him to the ground before running her sword through him and pinning him to the ground.

"Demona," Brooklyn called out in warning as a soldier aimed a crossbow. Cold-Fire saw the man take aim and she leaped forward to tackle Demona to the ground. Demona heard the twang of the bowstring as she hit the ground. She felt something warm and wet start to trickle on her arm and she rolled over quickly pushing Cold-Fire off of her. She then noticed the bolt fired from the crossbow was protruding through her friend's chest. She quickly broke the back of the bolt off and pulled it the rest of the way through.

"C'mon, stay with me." Demona said in a panicked tone as Brooklyn used a sword to take the head off of a thug that was approaching them.

"Let me take her." Brooklyn said just as Demona bandaged the wound. He gently picked her up and headed back towards the barn. Demona's eyes began to glow a fiery red as she rose to her feet. The soldier nocked another arrow and she rushed forward before he could aim and used her claws to break the crossbow in half. He went to draw his sword and screamed in pain as it fell from his hand. Demona's arm had gone through the man's mid-section. Her arm was buried inside him up to her elbow. The arm on the other side was covered in blood and she held part of his upper intestines in her hand. The man was beginning to convulse and she glared at him.

"Humans never change." Demona growled menacingly before yanking her arm back out. The other soldiers around her turned to run and she quickly reached out and crushed the helmets of two of the men in her hands until she heard bone snap as she crushed the skulls of them both while using her tail to trip a third. She turned and the soldier didn't have time to scream before she crushed his skull in with her foot.

"Whoa, I'm one of the good guys." Iolaus called out. He had rushed forward to help her but because her vision was blurred due to the tears in her eyes she didn't recognize him and swiped at him with her claws. Iolaus jumped back just in time but was still scratched by her claws. Upon hearing his voice Demona shook her head to clear it. The rest of the men began to run and Hercules picked up a large log that was eighteen feet long and hurled it towards the fleeing men. It knocked them down and then Demona recognized Jason. She leaped forward and grabbed him by the throat. She lifted him slowly into the air. She was amazed that the drying blood on her hand worked to keep him from slipping from her grasp.

"You did this, why? We fought on the same side." Demona shouted.

"You are all monsters. Gil may not see it any longer but I still do." Demona snarled and considered killing him but just then she could hear Goliath's voice in her mind.

"If you kill him now then you'll be proving him right." Demona growled deep in her chest and she pulled the struggling man closer to her when she remembered a message Goliath had given a Viking leader long ago.

"I grow tired of this. Take what is left of your men and…BE GONE!" She hurled Jason away from her and into several of his men. He glared hatefully at her and he and his men quickly fled.

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Iolaus asked but Demona was already rushing towards the barn to check on Cold-Fire. Brooklyn came to meet her.

"She'll be fine. The bolt missed her heart and when she sleeps the wound will heal." Demona breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slowly. "What happened out there?"

"The cowards fled." Demona said. "When I start to think not all humans are bad one that I trust turns on me and tries to kill us."

"Who attacked us?" Brooklyn asked curiously.

"Jason… I don't know why but after we defeated Constantine he began hunting us." Demona informed him. "Like I said, we can't trust any human. Once Cold-Fire heals we will leave. We've disrupted my sister's life enough."

"You're not going anywhere until after the wedding." Xena said sternly. "This kind of thing happens all the time and I refuse to stand up there alone."

"If we hadn't been here then you would be married now." Demona replied bitterly.

"If you hadn't joined us before then we would be dead now." Xena pointed out. Demona was about to reply but Xena grabbed her hands. "Please consider staying. It wouldn't feel right to go through the ceremony without you."

"Very well, but I must wait for our sister to wake." Demona sighed and rose to her feet. "We will be there tomorrow night." Xena smiled warmly and nodded before leaving to tell Hercules the new plan.

Demona turned towards Brooklyn and kissed him passionately. He was caught off guard and lost his balance. They fell back on the ground and she quickly tore off her halter top and began to undress him at a rapid pace. Brooklyn began to speak but she put a finger to his lips to silence him.

"I need this. Just relax and let me handle it." She finished stripping off her clothing and quickly straddled him she purred loudly when she felt him enter her and she began to ride him slow at first but then she rapidly picked up the pace and without realizing it she dug her claws into his shoulder causing him to growl just before he filled her completely and she leaned down and started to kiss him again. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't strong enough to break my bond." Demona told him. "We'll try again, I promise." The memory of Katana screaming in agony and the smell of her burning flesh came back to him so strong that he nearly became sick and quickly sat up knocking Demona off of him.

"I…I'm sorry. The test to break it was more difficult than I thought it would be and I guess I'm having trouble getting over it." Brooklyn said after he was able to catch his breath.

"I understand, these trials are meant to push us past where we believe our limits are. If it was really easy to break our bonds then they would be worthless." She said in a joking tone. Brooklyn rose to his feet and quickly got dressed. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No, I'm just going to do a quick patrol and make sure that none of the humans are still lurking around waiting for us to sleep." Brooklyn said in a darker tone then he intended and he climbed up to the roof of the barn and glided away.

…

"I can't let you go through with this." Vivienne told Gil when they were alone again. They were covering another cave full of gargoyles before Duncan's men were supposed to pass through the area.

"Go through with what?" Gil smirked at her and she glared at him.

"You know damn well what I mean. You're still thinking of ruining that nice couple's wedding." Vivienne said angrily.

"Well, I…" Gil began.

"Even when you have me here you still are going to go after her." Vivienne pointed out.

"But I…" Gil began again.

"But you what, you have to? You have no other cho…" Before Vivienne could finish her sentence Gil grabbed her and kissed her roughly. She stood still in shock for a moment and then finally began to relax and return the kiss. They broke the kiss for a moment to catch their breath and he looked her in the eye for a moment.

"But I decided that I would rather be with a woman who loves me." Gil grinned at her and she started to blush before he kissed her again. She felt his hands running up her chain mail vest and she back away just enough to allow him to lift it up and over her head and tossed it to the floor. She removed his leather vest and dropped it to the ground. Gil picked her up and gently laid her on the ground and began to remove her leggings while he slowly moved down to take her nipple in his mouth. Vivienne moaned and began to shudder under him. She rolled him over and quickly stripped off the rest of his clothing and grinned wickedly at him before she began to slowly stroke him.

"Enough teasing," He growled and picked her up and flipped her around before he mounted her from behind. She gasped and then moaned loudly when she felt him enter her and then began to scream as he began to pick up the pace. She pushed herself back to meet his every thrust until he grabbed her hips and held her still. She felt him filling her at that moment and she realized that she would have him forever.

"That was amazing." She said as they were getting dressed and she leaned over to kiss him.

"There you are I knew you were hiding something." Duncan's lieutenant's voice came from the cave entrance. "Kill the traitors and destroy these abominations." Gil and Vivienne quickly drew their swords and Gil stopped the mace from one man before it was able to strike one of the statues. He grabbed the mace and bashed it against the soldier's head knocking him unconscious while he blocked a clumsy swing of a sword from another man. The lieutenant turned to run when he realized that his men were starting to lose, but Vivienne kicked him from behind and he fell to the ground. He twisted around and she put her blade to his throat.

"Call off the remainder of your men or I will slit your throat." She ordered in a menacing tone. He grinned at her and spit blood before he responded.

"Do what you must. Duncan will see you all hanged for this." He gave her a wicked grin and started to stand and Vivienne drove the blade down and through his throat. He made a gasping and gargling sound before collapsing back on the ground. The remaining few men ran from the cave. Gil noticed the sun was beginning to go down and he grabbed Vivienne's hand and they quickly ran from the cave.

"Why are we in such a hurry?" Vivienne asked when they reached the bottom of the hill and started to run through the forest.

"When they wake they may see us as the enemy so we don't want to be anywhere near them when they wake." Gil replied.

"Where will we go? Duncan will undoubtedly hear about this and send his pet to kill us." Vivienne pointed out.

"We'll go to Castle Moray and I'll see if I can convince Macbeth that I am not there to steal his bride." Gil grinned at her and she winked back.

"You could always just introduce him to me, but if Duncan was behind you taking her in the first place then he may send another now that we will no longer be on his good side." Vivienne replied.

"I know, so we should hurry." Gil grinned back at her and they headed towards Castle Moray hoping to be there before whoever Duncan sent in Gil's place.

…

"Oh, don't look at me like that. You had to know this was coming." Puck laughed. "You see I have been saying for centuries that things need to change around here." Puck kicked Oberon in the jaw knocking him to the ground. Oberon reached out and a bright blue beam shot out of his hand and struck Puck in the chest slamming him into the wall behind him.

"You should be dead." Oberon stated as he rose to his feet and fired another beam at Lucifer who caught the beam in mid-air. She closed her fist and the beam vanished.

"I'll make this really simple for you. I like your kingdom and it's mine now. I am however feeling generous so I'll give you an option. You can flee or you can die." Lucifer grinned and her eyes began to glow a bright blue as a white light emanated from her nearly blinding both Oberon and Puck. The Fates disappeared from the room.

"I will never flee." Oberon said firmly as made himself grow to twice his normal height and aimed both of his fists at Lucifer before firing energy blasts that would have turned Puck to ash in an instant. Lucifer walked towards him and matched his height. She put her talons under his chin and grinned wide.

"Last chance, flee or die." She said again. Oberon glared at Puck and then disappeared from the room. Lucifer turned and grinned at Puck. "So, what should we do now?"

"You let him go." Puck said surprised by what he had just saw. "He will undoubtedly return."

"You worry too much. He has alienated everyone who had once called him ally. He is alone and if he returns we'll kill him then." Lucifer chuckled and looked over Oberon's map. "Now, we need to make sure that these pieces play their parts."

…

"I can't believe you did it." Titania said excitedly. She was holding her new daughter in her arms while lying in a hospital bed when she turned on the news. She saw a report that stated a hate group had sprung out of thin air had begun to not only kill gargoyles but were recruiting others into their new movement. The Crusaders has they called themselves had even managed to gain allies and followers within the government that believed in their cause.

"I was hoping that this would please you." Renard sat in a chair next to her. "That's still a peculiar birth mark isn't it?" He asked suddenly referring to the fox head shaped birth mark over her around her left eye.

"No, I think it's beautiful and it did help us decide on a name for her." Titania pointed out.

"I suppose you're right." He grinned at her. "And don't worry about those gargoyles. Now that the politicians are involved I'm sure they will either be wiped out or given the same status as any other wild animal."

"At least I know our daughter will be safe." Titania smiled and handed Fox up to him. He held her close to him and swore right then that he would exterminate every gargoyle on the planet if that's what it would take to keep her safe.

…

"How could you? How could you do it?" Cold-Fire was mumbling over and over again in her barely conscious state. Demona ran a wash cloth over her sister's brow and waited to see what would happen. "You shoved her in the lava when all you had to do was run across the bridge." Now, Demona was becoming truly concerned.

"Wake up," She said frantically while shaking her but Cold-Fire's eyes wouldn't open. "C'mon, dammit open your eyes and look at me." Cold-Fire's eyes flew open but she seemed to be staring past Demona.

"You don't deserve her. You shoved the one who loves you into a fiery pit to save yourself. You never deserved the bond and the trust she bestowed upon you." Her eyes closed and her breathing became normal again. Demona sat there for a few moments and replayed over and over in her mind what Cold-Fire had said.

"She must be delusional from the loss of blood." Demona realized after a moment. "It's nearly sunrise. Where did Brooklyn go?" Demona asked in a worried tone as she left to find Xena. When she went into the house Alcmene gave her a hug followed by Xena.

"How is she?" Xena asked. Demona nodded.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to sleep." Xena sighed in relief and then noticed that Demona still looked worried.

"What's going on?" Xena asked curiously. Demona looked at her for a moment and then sighed irritably.

"Brooklyn went off on patrol but it is nearly sunrise and he has not yet returned." Demona replied.

"We can look for him." Hercules offered. Iolaus nodded.

"It would give us something to do while we waited for night fall anyway." Iolaus pointed out. "Do you know which direction he was headed.

"He seemed to be heading southwest." Demona answered after she thought about it for a moment. Iolaus and Xena glanced at Hercules as concern filled their expressions. Demona froze in stone before she could say anymore.

"Could he have reached the caves?" Xena asked as she went into the next room to change into her armor. Hercules shrugged.

"It's possible; however we haven't had any trouble from her in a long time. It's unlikely that she would start trouble now." Hercules said after taking a moment to think about it.

"We should hurry just in case." Xena pointed out. She belted on her sword and waited for them by the door. Gabrielle met them at the door and Xena looked at her curiously. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going with you." She said in a tone that told Xena that the answer should have been obvious. Xena shook her head.

"I think it would be better if you stayed here with Alcmene. I'm sure we can handle her if something happens." Xena pointed out.

"But I…" Gabrielle began.

"If something happens and she is loose again then I'll feel better knowing that you're here keeping them safe." Xena advised her while emphasizing Alcmene and Cold-Fire. Gabrielle just nodded and hugged her friend close to her.

"If she has returned promise that you'll be careful and not try to go after her." Gabrielle requested. "…or at least don't chase her without me."

"We'll see what happens." Xena winked at her and followed Hercules and Iolaus outside and down the road.

"They'll be alright." Alcmene advised Gabrielle in a reassuring tone.

"They will be but you won't." Gabrielle grinned and turned towards her with bright white glowing eyes.

…

"What do you mean Gilcomgain has turned against us?" Duncan shouted after hearing the report from his lieutenant.

"We found him covering tracks that led to a lair of gargoyles and we are certain that this was not the first time that he had protected them." The lieutenant informed him.

"Why would he do that Gregor? He hates them as much as I do." Duncan pointed out.

"Unknown my lord, but we know that he has decided to court his fellow hunter Vivienne. We caught them together." Gregor informed him.

"You're saying this Vivienne turned him?" Duncan asked and Gregor slowly nodded. "We shall see. Drexia, come in here." The doors to his study opened and Drexia walked in looking upset about being called in.

"Gregor here seems to think that Gilcomgain has betrayed us." Duncan informed her. "I want you to find out if that's true. If it is you know what to do with traitors and if it is not then you also know what to do with liars." Duncan grinned wickedly at Gregor. Drexia turned towards Gregor and her eyes began to glow gold.

"He's lying, Gil would never betray us." She was about to breathe fire on him when Duncan called for her to stop.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I want you to look into it before we decide on guilt." Duncan informed her. Drexia nodded slowly and her eyes went back to their normal color.

"I will look into this." Drexia growled menacingly as she stepped closer to Gregor. "When I have proof that you've lied then I will take pleasure in slowly melting the flesh from your bones." Gregor paled at that and without another word Drexia turned and left the room.

"You'll have to excuse her. Gilcomgain is her oldest friend and confidant. You better be right because she is more than capable of doing exactly what she threatens to do." Duncan advised him. Gregor's face turned visibly pale but he nodded slowly.

"What will I do if it turns out they are right?" Drexia asked herself over and over again as she leaped off of the battlements of Duncan's castle and started to fly towards Gil's last known coordinates.

…

"Milord, there is a man and woman at the gates. They demand to speak with you." A guard rushed into Bodhe's temporary quarters in Findlaech's old study.

"Who are they?" Bodhe sighed while he put on his sword belt.

"Lord Gilcomgain and Lady Vivienne," The guard replied nervously.

"Shit… Make sure that Macbeth doesn't come to the courtyard while I speak with them." Bodhe ordered. He walked out the door to meet his guests. "What do you want?" Bodhe asked irritably when he walked out the door and saw them walking towards him. Gil stopped and wrapped his arm around Vivienne's waist.

"I understand your anger towards me, milord but I have come to relinquish my claim on this Castle and the fair maiden within. I only ask that you give my love sanctuary against Duncan's anger when he comes this way." Gil replied. Bodhe studied his face for a moment and a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"So, you will not stand in the way of my daughter and Macbeth. You will also help us when the time comes against the Prince?" Bodhe asked the last question in a near whisper as he shook Gil's hand. "If so, I believe we can work out an arrangement. Gil shook his head sadly.

"I've recently had a change of heart regarding the gargoyle creatures and I was caught helping them." Vivienne gave him a surprised glance and he sighed. "My apologies, I meant that we were caught helping them." Vivienne grinned and nodded to acknowledge that what he said was true.

"Duncan will be sending Drexia to kill us and he will probably send another to take what Gil just gave up." Vivienne added.

"Who is this Drexia?" Bodhe asked curiously. Gil looked at him in surprise.

"I thought you would have heard of her. She is the monster that he uses to keep the other lords in line. They don't dare turn against him with her, but if we can get the help of Xena and the gargoyles then we can defend this place." Gil informed him.

"How do you suggest we do that boy?" Bodhe chuckled and shook his head. "I'm afraid that they don't actually answer to me."

"Alcmene," Gruoch called out from the entryway. Bodhe turned and motioned for her to go back inside, but she continued on. "Hercules's mother could get them to help us and she comes to court every week. We could send her a message and let her know that we need help."

"She wants to be left alone." Bodhe replied.

"It doesn't hurt to try. If what I've heard just now is accurate then we will need all the help we can get." Gruoch stated firmly. Bodhe rubbed his chin as he thought over what she said.

"You've always been the better tactician. We'll give it a try." Bodhe grinned and she gave him a hug before going to welcome Gil and Vivienne inside. I just hope this isn't the one time you're wrong.

…

"Milord, are you here." Puck whispered while he searched through an old apartment building. It had been abandoned for decades but was a suitable hideout for the time being.

"Did he believe what he saw?" Oberon responded after a moment. Puck grinned when he saw Oberon sitting in a recliner that was about to fall apart as if it were a throne.

"I believe he did. This double agent assignment is growing tiresome. When can we strike against him?" Puck asked curiously.

"Once we discover just what it is he has planned and I am reunited with my lady-wife." Oberon stated.

"That's an awful lot to do… but I'm sure we'll get it taken care of." Puck added after seeing Oberon's irritated expression.

"Very well, contact your sisters if it's safe. It's time we start planning our revenge against that Archangel." Oberon sat there and thought of what they would do as Puck vanished from the room.