All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of SN.
Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. This story takes place one day after "Divided".
Conflicts
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Castle Wyvern
"Well," Matt commented as he looked at the casing that Broadway had handed him, "It's obviously from a rifle. The casing from a pistol bullet wouldn't be this big. I'd need to take it into the lab if you want any identification as to what type of rifle or the specific brand."
"That's what Elisa said," Goliath rumbled, "Is there anything else you could tell us about this?"
"Not unless you want me to point out the bluntly obvious," Matt sighed, "Do you want me to take it into the lab?"
"I don't think we need to know what brand of rifle this assassin is using," Goliath sighed, "But you might want to tell your superiors that there is an armed sniper in Manhattan."
"You guys know that Captain Chavez and I can't do much when it comes to you guys," Matt answered, "Right now the law doesn't care what you guys do. You save someone, that's fine. If you're killed, the law doesn't care."
"Hopefully PIT changes that," Amy said firmly.
"I hope so too," Matt answered, and then looked at his watch, "but I've got to get going for now. I'll see you guys around."
The gargoyles nodded as they watched Matt quietly leave the courtyard. They eventually gathered in a circle around Goliath once Matt had gone inside to go down the elevator.
"So what do we do, Goliath?" Brooklyn asked.
"I am unsure," Goliath admitted, "From what you all have told me is that this shooter hid himself quite well before firing. Even if we are to be wary of his presence it he would be difficult to spot before someone is shot."
"That's why the police wear bullet proof vests," Elisa commented, "It's protective armor that can slow a bullet down so that it doesn't do serious harm. The military uses similar equipment."
"And where are we to acquire these... vests?" Goliath asked.
"You could get Xanatos to make them," Caroline suggested, "Couldn't he order them from somewhere?"
"That might work," Elisa agreed.
"We'll have to discuss that with Xanatos though," Goliath sighed.
"What about patrols, brother?" Othello asked.
Goliath sighed again, "For tonight, at least, it would be best to hold off patrols. It will give me time to think everything over. Especially since Thailog has decided to fight our clan directly."
There were muffled voices of agreement as some of the clan gave legitimate reasons for not patrolling. All of which were personal. Meanwhile, from a different part of the battlements, Demona looked on. Wedrington stood nervously beside her.
"More Hunters," Demona growled, "Another thing caused by Goliath's foolish attempt to protect humans."
"I don't see much that is wrong with his goal," Wedrington commented, "It benefits society."
"Human society," Demona grumbled, "It does nothing to help gargoyles."
"Miss Axel talks about her folks running an organization that is trying to help gargoyles," Wedrington argued, "They can't all be bad."
"PIT wants us to be assimilated into human culture," Demona sulked, "We have our own culture. One superior to those of humans."
"Just remember I used to be human," Wedrington sighed while beginning to sulk into the castle.
"I wasn't referring to you!" Demona answered back while walking after him.
Inside a different part of the castle Xanatos and Owen were busy looking over the offline body of the new Coyote robot.
"It will take a while to improve his programming, sir," Owen said to the black furred wolf-mutate.
Xanatos nodded, "I know, but from what Elisa told me when we returned to the Castle from Maddox Technologies, Demona had to threaten Coyote in order to get the robot to stay with their stone forms during the day."
There was a short silence before Xanatos spoke again.
"And while I'm grateful that Coyote decided to listen to Demona's threat," Xanatos commented, "He should be able to reason more thoroughly."
"The new programming should fix that," Owen commented.
"I hope so," Xanatos sighed in response.
Maddox Technologies
"Combat training?" Rage gasped, "You can't be serious."
"I am," Thailog said firmly, "Holly and Fang have proven themselves as warriors in the past, and your display against Goliath's present and past mates leaves much to be desired."
"They didn't even find me or Buzz," Liz commented, "I'm not sure why I'm being subjected to this."
There were a few mummers of agreement from the others.
"It'll make ya tougher if you know how to fight, or at least know how to use what ya have," Fang growled from behind Thailog, "And besides, the Thailog's organization grows the more trainers we'll need to train the new recruits."
"Wait a minute," Buzz asked, "We get to train someone?"
"After you've been trained," Thailog answered, "I intend to have Holly and Fang train you until you are ready to do battle with Goliath's clan. Once you are ready, I will consider hiring new recruits for you to train."
"No complaints from me then," Butch commented.
"Good," Thaliog smiled, "Holly, Fang, you may train them at your leisure."
"How come you aren't training that Sevarius guy?" Rage demanded.
"Alex Sevarius is responsible for the scientific progress that is made here at 'Maddox Technologies'," Thailog answered, "It is not necessary for him to fight."
Old Quarrymen Headquarters
Dracon sat quietly in his small improvised office just staring out into space. The escaped mobster was somewhat board. His 'hit' on the gargoyles still stood, but no one had been able to bring one in yet. He had thought that they would have had more success, especially considering that Brode's gang had also taken up the offer.
"You wanted to see me boss?" Glasses asked.
"I want to know how things are going," Dracon answered, "No one's come in with any news. I'm beginning to wonder if anything happens in this city anymore."
"Most of the other gangs have been busy trying to capitalize on the hit you called on the gargoyles," Glasses answered, "That's about it. Many of the smaller gangs have tried basic forged mugging tactics in an attempt to attract a gargoyle, but they've failed miserably. The only group that's had any success is Brode's gang."
"Go on," Dracon answered leaning forward in his chair.
"They've hired some sniper from the Russian Army who managed to wound one of the gargoyles," Glasses answered, "But as far as we know, the attempt to collect the body was unsuccessful, so we don't know if he killed the thing or if it lived."
Dracon slumped back into his chair, "We need to do something. Hijack some shipment. Do something. I'm bored of just sitting around here."
"It wouldn't be wise to try anything while your hit on the gargoyles is still active," Glasses warned.
"Brode's guys doing anything else besides hunt gargoyles?" Dracon asked.
"A few of the minor families have reported that Brode's 'kept them busy'," Glasses answered, "Nothing we haven't done."
"I think I'm beginning to regret this," Dracon mumbled, "We do that because this is OUR city. If Brode is doing that, it means he wants what we have."
"You calling off the hit?" Glasses asked.
"No," Dracon shook his head, "But all our boys are now to make sure that Brode doesn't get a single gargoyle. He ain't takin' my city."
"Yes, sir," Glasses nodded.
Castle Wyvern
"Gargoyles don't do weddings?" Mrs. Axel asked as she, her husband, Brooklyn, and Amy began working out the details about the eventual mating ceremony.
"Not the way humans do weddings," Brooklyn answered, "Traditionally, a mating ceremony is rather small and private. Caroline's ceremony with Lawrence was actually fairly close to the traditional ceremonies that we had before the massacre."
"She only did it that way to get some peace," Mrs. Axel answered, "From what I've heard, some of the males were giving her an awfully hard time."
"Trying to court her, yes," Brooklyn admitted, "I know. That was the traditional method in which gargoyle couples were joined..."
"Our Amy was human once," Mr. Axel pointed out. It is proper for decent human beings to have a proper wedding."
Brooklyn nodded, almost moving behind Amy, and then said, "Yes, that's true. Elisa was human once also, and Angela was raised by humans. We can't do everything traditionally the way gargoyles normally have... but at the same time, even if Amy was still human, no priest would marry us and the legal system would not view a traditional marriage as legitimate."
"What?" Mrs. Axel asked.
"You two have done a remarkable job with PIT trying to get society to accept us," Brooklyn sighed, "But, the government considers us outside the law, therefore no secularized marriage would be deemed legal between gargoyles or a gargoyle and a human. And most of the priests, both Catholic and Protestant, in this country sided with the Quarrymen and consider us to be devils."
"We're trying to change that," Mr. Axel said firmly.
"And I'm glad you are," Brooklyn answered, "It's nice to know that we have supporters besides the few who know us personally, but it will take you years to get enough support to get the legal system to change and even after that happens, churches will not accept supposed 'demons' as parishioners."
"What we want to do is try to combine as many parts of gargoyle tradition and human tradition as possible," Amy interjected, trying to break up the growing political conversation.
"Combining the two?" Mrs. Axel asked.
"Yeah," Brooklyn nodded, "Both Broadway and Angela and Goliath and Elisa did that for their ceremonies."
"So what do you propose to contribute?" Mr. Axel asked.
"Let Goliath conduct the ceremony and what is said," Brooklyn offered, "We can use the great hall or the castle's chapel and have it decorated anyway you want."
"Hmm..." Mrs. Axel said a loud while thinking, "It sounds workable, but I think we'd best end this discussion for the night. We need to get to bed, and I'm sure you two have other things planned."
The two beaked gargoyles watched Mr. and Mrs. Axel quietly depart. After a while, Brooklyn turned to Amy.
"So, what do you want to do?" Brooklyn asked.
"I don't know," Amy answered, "See what's on TV?"
Goliath and Elisa had meanwhile contacted Xanatos about obtaining bullet proof vests.
"Loincloth not enough for you anymore, Goliath?" Xanatos asked in a somewhat humorous tone.
"We're concerned about what happened with Lexington and that sniper," Goliath said firmly, "There is nothing funny about this."
Xanatos nodded, "Wouldn't Thailog be the bigger threat right now? I mean he ambushed your patrol, temporarily took down Coyote, and took you prisoner. I'd have thought that a guy with a gun wouldn't be considered so much of a threat."
"Normally some guy with a gun isn't so dangerous," Goliath commented, "But unlike your commandos or most common street thugs, this guy is well trained and is using distance to his advantage."
"He'd have to be trained by some actual military organization if he's able to shoot a gliding gargoyle in flight," Xanatos commented, "Most of my commandos, and I'm sure the same thing goes for the regular street crooks, have been taught to fire at the target. A good sniper, when hunting a moving target will not shoot at where he is, but where he will be."
"We need the vests because while a gargoyle's skin is tough, it isn't tough enough to stop bullets," Goliath informed him.
"Kevlar won't stop bullets either," Xanatos cautioned, "Shoot, armies tried special metal suits of armor during the First World War. Those didn't stop bullets and certainly didn't stop a high explosive artillery shell."
"It'll at least be some form of protection," Elisa commented, "It'd be better then nothing."
Goliath nodded in agreement.
"Well," Xanatos sighed, "I'm sure Owen can arrange to have your measurements taken. The big key will be explaining why holes need to purposely made into the vests for your wings, or in Lexington and Candy's case, why the vests can not have sides."
"Why would you need to explain that?" Elisa asked.
"I don't own DuPont," Xanatos answered, "I had to order the Kevlar jackets for my commandos from them. And I don't know their CEO personally, so I don't know his stance on gargoyles, if he even believes in them."
There was an awkward silence for a few moments before Xanatos spoke again.
"Have you thought about some way of patrolling that would reduce your exposure to this sniper?" Xanatos asked.
"I'm not sure how reducing the amount of time we patrol or how we patrol will work," Goliath sighed, "He will still be there."
"True, but if you glide low, below rooftop level, he won't be able to shoot at you until you're right next to him, and that would tend to give him away," Xanatos offered, "Snipers generally prefer to strike from long distances, because then they are harder to hit by regular soldiers that may have the sniper out numbered. You reduce the distance and one, you might be harder to hit, and two, he's going to give himself away when he fires."
"He could still hit one of us when he fires," Elisa commented.
"I'll have Owen take the measurements," Xanatos admitted.
Elsewhere inside the castle, Caroline, Lawrence, Candy, and Lex sat around a small table moving small game pieces around a board.
"What Russian novel is set during the Napoleonic Wars?" Lawrence read off of a small card.
"War and Peace," Lexington answered.
"Whose idea was it to play Trivial Pursuit, again?" Caroline sighed.
Candy gave a toothy grin.
"Figures," Caroline grumbled, "My turn?"
"Come on, Caroline, you're the one who's winning," Candy commented, "Why are you complaining?"
"I don't know," Caroline answered, "I guess playing board games isn't what I had in mind for the night."
"Then what was?" Lex asked, "If Goliath wasn't concerned about someone getting shot, we'd have patrol and by the time we got back, Lawrence would be asleep."
"He's got a point there," Lawrence commented, "At least we can spend some time together tonight."
Caroline gave a half smile, "That's the good part about all this, but still, board games just isn't what I was thinking about."
"You could always take Lawrence to bed then," Candy smirked.
"Hey!" Caroline gasped, "Stay out of that. Or I'll pester you and Lex."
"I was just kidding," Candy answered.
"Don't kid around with that," Caroline answered firmly, "Lawrence and I will get around to that when we're ready. Don't push."
"It's your turn," Lex pointed out, hoping to change the subject.
Caroline sighed and rolled the dice to see how far she would have to move her piece.
"Seems pestering 'siblings' is a practice that hasn't changed," Othello commented from the doorway as he and Desdemona walked by.
"It is one of the few things that hasn't changed in this world," Desdemona commented, "They'll be fine."
The two then quietly continued their walk to the library.
Long Island
Sevarius sat calmly in his chair in the basement of the house that he and the Pack had holed up in. He smiled slightly as he watched the Pack stand before him at attention. Both Shadow and Dreadnought stood behind Sevarius to insure that they didn't try anything.
"Quit grinning like that!" Jackal demanded, "You got what you want, the least you can do is tell us what you're planning."
"First I intend to cure myself of my current ailment," Sevarius commented, "And then everything will fall into place."
"I fail to see how you being human again will help us get money," Jackal commented.
"Or get even with Xanatos and Coyote," Hyena added.
"Orrr fight Goliath," Wolf growled.
"Oh but it will," Sevarius answered, "You see, since Troll was freed, I do not have the facilities necessary to cure myself. I need an efficient lab. One that doesn't have the risk of rats stealing my formula."
"Well, if you hadn't freed the little elf, we wouldn't be in this predicament," Jackal commented, "Would we?"
"Dreadnought?" Sevarius asked.
The massive robot activated a minor laser cannon and shot Jackal in the chest, knocking the male cyborg down.
"Continue to challenge me and I will have him increase the power level," Sevarius said coldly, "You will learn obedience."
"Fine, what is your command?" Jackal asked as he got up, sarcasm and defiance clearly in his voice.
"We are going to take over Maddox Technologies," Sevarius answered, "The company is still functioning, despite the death of Mr. Maddox, so it is clear that some lackey took over the works. We will overthrow him and take over the company ourselves. From there I can become a human again and will once more have the powers of a powerful business at my command."
"I don't want to get involved with those elves again," Hyena commented.
"I doubt the 'elves' are controlling the building anymore," Sevarius commented, "When you captured Troll, you didn't capture him leaving the Maddox Technologies building. That will be all for the general meeting, I will leave the specific planning to you, Jackal. This will be the Pack's assignment."
"Very well," Jackal commented, "We could use the help of Shadow and Dreadnought."
"I'll give you temporary command over them, once you've presented me with a half decent plan," Sevarius answered.
Elsewhere
Yuri looked patiently through a pair of binoculars that he had. He had seen no sign of any gargoyle so far that night, and he was beginning to wonder if they didn't patrol every night. He had seen some the night before, but they were beyond the range of his weapon, and they did not come within range.
"No one's out tonight," one of his aides commented.
"Thank you for stating the obvious," Yuri growled back, "We must be patient. Hunting is a sport of patience, not speed. That is why you people have always failed against these gargoyles. You are never willing to wait."
"There things we need to do," the aide defended.
"You should be focused on watching for gargoyles," Yuri commented.
"They aren't out tonight," the aide protested.
"We will stay out until dawn, to make sure they are not out," Yuri ordered, "If they stay in their castle, then we have done enough to frighten them, and your leader, Brode will have the power he needs."
Yuri then turned his full attention back to observing the night sky. The two aides could only sigh.
Castle Wyvern
Goliath and Elisa found a fair sized crowd in Hudson's television room as they came in. Hudson was seated in his traditional easy chair. Bronx and Trixie lay to the right of his chair, and Elisa found it hard to giggle at the sight of Bronx looking almost annoyed by the fact that Cagney had made his head a bed. Broadway, Angela, Sarah, Ian, Ethan, Eve, Brooklyn and Amy were also sitting on the floor watching the television. They appeared to be watching Letterman.
"So what have ye figured out?" Hudson asked first as Goliath and Elisa approached.
"Xanatos will pay for the procurement of the 'bullet proof vests'," Goliath rumbled, "and I think it would be safer to patrol at a lower altitude."
This caught Brooklyn's attention, and the second in command turned his head to look at his leader.
"How much 'lower'?" Brooklyn asked.
"Below the rooftops," Goliath answered, "It will prevent this sniper from picking us off at long ranges."
"We're not going to be walking?" Amy asked, "Are we?"
"No," Goliath answered, half chuckling, sensing the humor in the female's question.
"What about Thailog, father?" Angela asked.
"We will have to deal with him much the same way we've dealt with him before," Goliath answered, "Much of what will need to be done will fall to Xanatos. As long as Xanatos keeps his company, we are safe."
"It might be wise to keep a look out for him or any of his followers," Hudson pointed out.
Goliath nodded, "We will."
Demona found Wedrington seated quietly in the library looking out over the window. The white male's wings were caped over his shoulders.
"Here you are," Demona commented, "What are you doing?"
"Thinking," Wedrington answered simply.
"About what?" Demona inquired.
"About whether or not I've made good decisions in my life," Wedrington answered.
"What?" Demona asked again.
Wedrington turned his eyes away from the window and stared at Demona's eyes.
"I've tried to persuade to you that humanity is not some all destructive evil force," Wedrington sighed, "And you continue to argue that humanity is evil. I point out that I was human, and you change the subject."
"I have seen what evils humanity is capable of," Demona answered firmly, "You are kind and... idealistic, but you are also and exception to the rule. The Inquisition of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance specifically hunted gargoyles. Macbeth and his heirs, the Hunters hunted my kind for centuries. And they were all quite successful. They are inherently evil at their core. They kill what they either hate or fear."
"I know you've seen hard times," Wedrington answered, "But did you ever look for what is good in life? Like the Marshal Plan after the Second World War. The United States spent millions of dollars to rebuild Europe, despite the fact that no one in America, then or now, cares about Europe. Evil people don't do that."
Wedrington paused for a moment and then spoke again, "And I can't believe that I'm an exception. There are more good humans then there are evil. You've simply let yourself believe that anything human is evil. I've tried to show that not all humans are evil. I've pointed out that this PIT organization is trying to help gargoyles and you argue that they're evil."
"They want assimilation," Demona pointed out, "They do not want to help us. We should not want to become 'winged-humans'. Humans were weaker than gargoyles. By laws of strength we are better suited to rule then to be ruled."
"Then why don't you turn every human in the world into a gargoyle," Wedrington growled, "Then human society can't assimilate gargoyles. Gargoyle society will assimilate humans."
"No," Demona growled, "Humans must not become gargoyles."
"Which leaves violent take over or genocide, which is also wrong," Wedrington commented, "You can't conquer or kill humanity and you won't transform humanity to keep yourself from being assimilated. What are you going to do? Keep things the way they are just to protect the way you view gargoyles?"
"That would be preferable," Demona answered, "Then gargoyle culture would remain gargoyle culture, untainted by human perversions."
"Remember, I was human once," Wedrington growled, "By that sort logic you need to KILL me because I've perverted your vision of gargoyle culture."
Demona blinked.
"You always forget that," Wedrington continued, "You want a purely gargoyle culture with no trace of humanity, I, Elisa, the three other females in Goliath's clan, and the other gargoyles in Thailog's all need to die. Now, while I'm sure you'll want to take care of Thailog's 'clan', I know you've basically wanted to please your clan. Will Goliath be happy if you kill his mate? Will Brooklyn be happy if you kill his mate-to-be? Will Lexington be happy if you kill the one he loves? Will Lawrence be happy if you kill his wife? Will your daughter be happy if you do any of this?"
Demona's face soured. Wedrington's logic had her cornered. To an extent she wouldn't care what happened to Elisa or the other transformed females in Goliath's clan, but her actions had always been aimed at protecting the clan. Gaining what she wanted would only drive the clan further away from her, and the point that she would have to kill Wedrington frightened her more. She had reluctantly accepted to herself that she had grown attracted to Wedrington and she didn't want to lose him.
"If you want gargoyles to survive, you will have to accept 'assimilation' of some form or another," Wedrington pointed, "There are more humans then there are gargoyles, by far. Gargoyles can't rule the world and if humans accept gargoyles into their society, they will expect that gargoyles do some things to blend into their society."
"If you don't like the way I've behaved, why have you stayed?" Demona demanded.
"Because part of me is attracted to you in a way that seems to be more than simple friendship," Wedrington said weakly, "I want you to see the good in the world. Humanity is not your enemy."
"You're attracted to me?" Demona asked, forgetting the rest of what Wedrington had said.
"Yes," Wedrington answered, "That's why I feel so angered by the way you've behaved. I personally would like the ability to walk down a city street, and if that means I need to be 'assimilated', then I'm okay with that. It will let me return, somewhat, to the life I had."
"But you have a new life," Demona protested, "We can have a new life."
"One of seclusion," Wedrington said back, "I don't want to hide from the world to give you an idea about purity."
"You agree with these PIT people?" Demona demanded.
"I'm willing to give them a chance," Wedrington commented, "The world runs on give and take. You can't get everything you want. Would you at least consider it? Supporting PIT."
Demona looked into his eyes, and found little ability to argue.
"I can try," Demona said weakly.
Dawn
Xanatos stood quietly with Owen as the gargoyles took their places for the day.
"So can we order the vests?" Xanatos asked.
"Easily doable, sir," Owen answered, "I find it interesting that Othello and Hudson will not be wearing the vests."
"They're already wearing armor," Xanatos commented, "Nothing to be overly concerned with."
"Is there anything you will do about this sniper?" Owen asked.
"No, I'll leave him to Goliath," Xanatos answered, "I think they'd want to take him down more than I would. We should focus on protecting our business."
"Worried about Thailog?" Owen questioned.
"Not really," Xanatos answered, "But he's running a major business. At least we know now why Maddox Technologies hasn't gone belly up."
"What are your orders, sir?" Owen asked.
"We will be doubling our efforts right now on the same fields that Thailog is working on at Maddox Technologies," Xanatos commented, "He doesn't have a shapeshifting Demona to help him, so he can only direct them at night."
"I'll get right on that, sir," Owen nodded in agreement.
"Good," Xanatos nodded, "and I meanwhile need to take a trip to the Labyrinth. I'll probably take Fox with me. Give her a little bit of exercise."
"Of course, sir," Owen nodded.
Elsewhere
"Still no sign of them?" Brode's chief aide asked Yuri as the Russian sniper stood before him.
"We spotted none in the air," Yuri answered.
"I'm beginning to grow board of your tactics," Brode's aide commented, "We should have enough gargoyle bodies to get the biggest favor out of Dracon by now."
"None of the other gangs have brought one in either," Yuri pointed out, "This things take patience. Those gargoyles have usually defeated every crook that has tried to defeat them at close quarters combat."
"Maybe," Brode's aide sighed, "But you're going too slow! We need to do this quickly. Dracon may get bored by the fact that he's not getting any bodies and will call off the hit. If he calls of the hit, he can deny any favors."
"I will double my efforts when the sun sets," Yuri promised.
23rd Precinct Headquarters
"So, how are all you're winged friends fairing?" Flariaty asked as she and Matt left the Precinct house.
"They're doing fine," Matt answered, "Concerned about someone shooting at them, but they're fine."
"It wasn't policemen that were shooting at them, was it?" Flariaty questioned.
"Flariaty, Elisa was a cop when she was still human," Matt pointed out, "Do you honestly think she would allow the clan to get into a fight with the police?"
Flariaty ignored him, "I still think they're trying to take our jobs, and the abundance of weirdness in this city makes it possible."
"They aren't after our jobs," Matt protested.
"You value their opinion over mine," Flariaty pointed out, "anything weird happens, you go to the gargoyles, you don't come to your partner. I swear, sometimes I think you ought get yourself transformed and go live with them."
"They asked me for some help, tonight," Matt argued.
"They should have followed the rules if they wanted police help," Flariaty answered.
Matt sighed. Flariaty remained very legalistic in terms of how to deal with the clan. She expected them to follow all the human laws, when most laws didn't apply to them, and despite the fact that while the Quarrymen were gone, many of the prejudices still existed.
"I'm sure they will once they can freely enter society," Matt commented, "Don't make a conflict out of something that can't be easily solved. You'll live longer."
"Just do your work and stop associating with them every night, and I will," Flariaty said coldly as she began walking down the street in the opposite direction.
Matt only sighed again.
Abandoned Warehouse
Garlon sat quietly behind a desk in the warehouse that he and the surviving Unseelies had claimed after they found they couldn't get into the Maddox Technologies building. His attempt to take command of the entire surviving Unseelie Court had failed, and only a few were willing to serve him. The most powerful was Vermin, and the rat-like Unseelie had come up with an idea that intrigued Madoc's former aide. His first priority however, was to make the warehouse a safe establishment, that wouldn't be condemned by the mortals. That would at least keep them out of his business.
He was thinking over Vermin's plan when there was a flash of emerald light and Garlon found himself looking at another fey.
"Troll?!" Garlon gasped, before growling in an icy voice, "What are you doing here, traitor?"
Troll backed up, quickly seeing that the mousy haired fey was preparing to attack him.
"Hold on!" Troll said quickly, "It's not what you think!"
"I think you're a traitor for leaving the Court," Garlon growled, "And traitors are killed."
"I didn't quite believe you when you wanted to keep the Court going," Troll explained, "I was foolish then and have seen the error of my mistake."
"And you've come crawling back," Garlon commented, "Give me one good reason as to why I should accept your return."
"Because I have evidence that our mortal 'allies' have betrayed us," Troll answered.
"We had slaves who were not willing to serve us to begin with," Garlon answered, "You can not betray someone when you never wanted to serve them in the first place."
"I wasn't referring to the slaves," Troll explained, "I was referring to the Pack."
Garlon frowned, "The Pack attacked you? You should have been able to wipe the floor with those morons and you're not that powerful."
"They used Iron on me, my Lord," Troll bowed, "I couldn't fight them. Apparently, Dreadnought and Shadow were damaged in the attack on the Eyrie Building. They kidnapped me to have me repair them. They have hijacked the two robots."
"We will get them back," Garlon growled, "And the Pack will pay for its crimes against us."
"Is that a wise idea, sir?" Vermin asked from the door, "Both Dreadnought and Shadow are immune to magic, thanks to Madoc's own designs, and while the rest of the Pack is lacking one or two whole brains, they are fierce warriors. It might be better to let them duke it out with Goliath's clan and then pick up the pieces."
"Shadow and Dreadnought were built so that we could control the Pack," Garlon argued, "If they've hijacked the robots, then we are at a disadvantage in the overall situation. We will destroy the Pack for their betrayal and recover the robots. They will be most beneficial in helping us fight Xanatos."
"Very well," Vermin bowed, "I will ready a team to take care of the Pack."
"Troll will help you," Garlon commented.
The Labyrinth
"Things have actually been rather quiet down here," Talon commented calmly, "Most of the former slaves are adjusting better every day."
"How are they, by the way?" Fox asked.
"Doing better," Talon commented, "Most are beginning to accept what the Unseelies have done to them, so I think we're making progress."
They then heard a flurry of questions as Claw walked through a nearby hallway with a much smaller Ocelot mutate following.
"Some seem to be more curious about all this than others," Maggie commented.
"Do you think Thailog will attack the Labyrinth?" Talon questioned Xanatos.
"I wouldn't think so," Xanatos answered, "There'd be nothing for him to gain financially by doing so, but that doesn't mean he may want some sort of 'fall back' base if he's forced out of Maddox Technologies."
"What about the clones?" Eleanor Reed questioned, "I've heard that he originally had them created."
"He's opted for using sorcery to transform willing humans," Xanatos commented, "Wedrington and Goliath saw all of them on specialized screens that Thailog set up. They couldn't see the coloration of them, but they know what they look like. Demona, Elisa, and Coyote ran into a pair of Thailog's 'clan', and both were very 'frustrated' by the encounter."
"Well," Talon sighed, "We'll try to help as much as we can. Make sure he's not trying anything in the sewers."
"That's about all that Goliath and Elisa would want," Xanatos commented, "Are there any supplies you need brought down here at all?"
"Cots or bed frames," Maggie answered, "Once all the former slaves are fully used to things, we intend to reopen the shelter."
"Is that all?" Xanatos asked.
"For now," Talon sighed, "There isn't much else to get right now."
"How goes work on a cure?" Maggie asked curiously.
Xanatos sighed, "Gen-U-Tech thinks they've worked out how the first portion of the formula works, and are moving on to the second."
"They're still trying to analyze the original formula?" Eleanor asked.
"Unfortunately, David and Sevarius did their work all too well when they were still working together," Fox commented, "The formula is very complex and hard to figure out."
Eleanor gave weak sigh while polite 'good-byes' were said and while Xanatos and Fox left to return to the Eyrie Building's basement.
Long Island
Jackal found Sevarius busy with various notes and things at the desk he had set up for himself in the basement of the house. The male cyborg stood there silently for a few moments before he made a coughing sound into his fist to get the mutate scientist's attention.
"Ah, Jackal," Sevarius said looking up, "You're back, and a little earlier than I anticipated, but no matter. I assume you have a plan?"
Jackal inwardly growled. It hadn't taken him too terribly long to think up a plan of attacking Maddox Technologies, he, Hyena, and to some extent, Wolf, had discussed what to do concerning Sevarius. It was agreed that they would be better off without him now, especially with the robots under his command, any money would go to him. However, with command of the robots, it would be difficult to take out Sevarius, and they had decided to wait until they were absolutely sure that they could succeed.
"I do have a plan," Jackal answered.
"I'm waiting," Sevarius said impatiently.
"We'll all bust into the building's basement and trap their business elite on the upper floors," Jackal said calmly, "Much like what Xanatos did at Nightstone. Once we have them trapped, we can find out who they are and kill them. You can then claim the company."
Sevarius smiled, "That sounded half decent."
Jackal held back an urge to activate his lasers and fire on the mad scientist.
"I do try my best, sir," Jackal answered.
Sevarius nodded, "Very well. You will move at dusk. I don't want some policeman spotting you with my robots. I'll give you temporary command over them when you leave."
"Fine," Jackal sighed as he left the basement.
He returned to the first floor to find Hyena, Wolf, Canis, and Vulpine waiting.
"He surprisingly approved the plan," Jackal commented, "We just have to wait till dusk."
"Not a bad idea," Hyena commented, "I don't think many transitions of power have gone this way in broad daylight."
"They don't," Jackal nodded, "But I still don't like all this. He ain't gonna pay us. We've lost our status as mercenaries."
"Hey we agreed that we were going to take him out when we got our chance," Hyena pointed out quietly, "Let's not whine until then."
"I don't like waiting unit dusk," Wolf commented in his growling voice, "If we fight, we should fight now."
"Well, if you didn't over emphasize your 'r's, we wouldn't have to worry," Hyena commented, "But your growling gives you away."
"Why you..." Wolf began to growl, getting Canis and Vulpine to growl in his support.
"Easy," Jackal warned, "The last thing we need is a fight amongst ourselves."
The Pack spent the rest of the day relaxing and going over specific plans, including the route they were going to take. It was largely decided to use the sewers would be the best route of attack, as that Shadow and Dreadnought would attract to much attention and without someone powerful like the Unseelies or Nightstone or David Xanatos behind them, an all out assault through the air would fail. Going through the sewers was the best option of travel, plus it would make it easier to launch the planned attack. As the sun set over the western horizon, Sevarius appeared from his basement with both Shadow and Dreadnought with him.
"Everyone's assembled, I see," Sevarius commented, "Are you ready?"
"We've been rrrrrrrrrrready," Wolf growled.
"Very well," Sevarius commented, "Shadow, Dreadnought, your are to assist the Pack in their capture of Maddox Technologies, and you are to insure that they take the facility for me."
A green light blinked under Dreadnought's dome and Shadow nodded in agreement.
Maddox Technologies
Thailog inspected the last bits of the areas that Demona and Elisa had damaged or destroyed during the rescue of Goliath and Wedrington. Holly had repaired much of the damage with her magic and even restored the original defenses. Although the process had completely tired her out, Thailog was incredibly proud of her progress. When he and Fang first discovered her, she knew a little bit of dark magic and wasn't powerful enough to even use the copy of the Grimorum without the necklace. Now, while she still needed the necklace to channel the book's power, she had mastered most of the spells within it.
Seeing that everything was in order, Thailog quietly decided to return to his office.
Castle Wyvern
"Remember we are to patrol below the rooftops," Goliath instructed as the clan made their way out to the battlements, "This should prevent that sniper from getting a clean shot at us."
"It will make covering the entire area more difficult though," Othello commented.
"Patrol the streets in your sector that have the highest crime rates," Goliath instructed, "We can't cover everything this way, but until the bullet proof vests arrive, we can not risk making ourselves easy targets for this sniper."
The clan then took positions along the wall to prepare to leap from the battlements. Goliath also decided to reinforce some last minute instructions.
"Also remember to be on the lookout for Thailog and any of his followers," Goliath instructed, "And if anyone is wounded, they are to return here as quickly as possible."
"Right, Goliath," Brooklyn acknowledged.
The clan then leapt from the battlements and dove toward a much lower altitude at a very high rate of speed. The female trio let out loud screams like those that people would holler out on a roller coaster, with a resounding 'WEEEEEEEEEE!'
"We need to do that more often!" Amy said with a grin.
"Better then any roller coaster," Caroline nodded in agreement.
"Bad for my ears," Brooklyn grumbled as he tried to clean out one of his ears.
"Oh, come on, that was fun," Amy answered.
"Right," Brooklyn said skeptically.
"What, haven't you ever been on a roller coaster?" Caroline asked.
"Not to ride it," Brooklyn answered.
"I guess we got ourselves a goal for the future," Caroline smiled, "Get your mate to ride a roller coaster."
"We haven't been mated yet," Amy answered.
"Close enough," Caroline shrugged.
The three gargoyles then banked to turn around a corner and continue gliding toward their patrol zone.
Elsewhere
Yuri frowned as he put his binoculars down.
"Did you hear that?" one of his aides asked, "One of them let out a devilish scream."
"I think it was more than one," another aide commented.
"They were only having fun," Yuri growled, "Haven't you ever been on America's various mechanical amusements?"
"Well no, but..." the first aide commented.
"But nothing," Yuri growled, "They were having fun. More importantly they're not afraid and they're smart. I can't hit them."
"We've seen you shoot," the second aide commented, "You could shoot a pea of a man's head without splitting hairs."
"Yes," Yuri smiled, "Good training in Russian Army for snipers. The problem is that there are none above the buildings."
"So?" the first aide asked.
"I can not shoot what I can not see," Yuri explained, "They are using the buildings as cover."
Both aides immediately got on their cell phones.
"What are you doing?" Yuri questioned.
"Contacting the collection teams," the first aide said, "Tell them they need to drive the gargoyles above the skyline."
"That won't work," Yuri commented, "They will only attack the collection teams."
"It's the only way," the second aide pointed out, "Our orders are to bring in at least one dead gargoyle tonight. It is not entirely likely that one may glide by this building."
Yuri only sighed. He was sure that this would be another botched operation. The police would be brought in this time in larger numbers and either the gargoyles or the police would get a confession from at least one of them. To some extent, this was the reason that Yuri didn't officially work for any gang. The obsession with getting things done quickly would only cause problems. Things like this required a level of patience that was not present in many criminal's minds.
Long Island
The house that the Pack had occupied stood quiet as Troll, Vermin, and two other Unseelie fey floated toward it.
"That's where they were hanging out?" one of the minor Unseelie asked, not believing that a group of mercenaries could be living in modest looking house.
"Repairing Dreadnought and Shadow weren't the only things they had me do," Troll commented.
"It won't stay that way for long," Vermin smiled as he raised a ball of fire to throw at the building.
Sevarius was collecting all the notes he had taken during his spare time in terms finding a cure for his mutate formula. Not because he wished to cure those he had used it on, but to regain his human form. He still hated Titania for robbing him of his humanity. He was about to set them all in a neat pile when he heard a massive explosion that made him jump.
"What the devil?" Sevarius commented and began to head up toward the first floor, "They only left a little while ago, and why would they return and attack the building?"
"Because we aren't who you think we are," Vermin answered as he appeared directly in front of Sevarius with Troll and two more Unseelies behind him.
"Troll?" Sevarius asked, surprised by his appearance, "What are you doing back here? I thought you left?"
"I did," Troll answered, "I went and returned to my Court."
Sevarius then noted the fire that was burning around the entry point that the fey had come through.
"Why are you attack me?" Sevarius demanded, "I freed you."
"You were also instrumental in my capture by the Pack in the first place," Troll
answered, "You are a part of the Pack and the Pack were servants to the Unseelie Court."
"You betrayed us," Vermin smiled, "Now you will tell us where the Dreadnought and Shadow robots are, and where the rest of your comrades are."
Sevarius hit Vermin at point black range with an electric blast and attempted to hurdle the remaining fey, realizing that they weren't there to talk. The blast knocked Vermin to the ground, but did not do him serious harm. Troll immediately conjured up a spiked club and hit Sevarius with it as the mutated scientist tried to get over them.
"Where are the rest of your comrades?" Troll demanded as he looked down on the wounded Sevarius.
"I do not know where they are at the moment," Sevarius coughed out.
"Did you send them somewhere?" Troll questioned, "You had taken leadership of the Pack when you decided to free me."
"I sent them to take over Maddox Technologies," Sevarius coughed again, clutching his ribs.
"He attacks a member of our court and now he intends to sit on our throne," Vermin accused, "KILL him Troll!"
"What?" Sevarius asked, "Throne? Troll told me you'd been driven from the building."
"Our Lord intends to establish his palace atop the Maddox Technologies building," Vermin answered, "As a tribute to his predecessor. You intend to fight his designs, so you must die."
"No," Troll protested, "Enslave him instead. He did free me in the end. That deserves some form of mercy."
"He looks like our former slaves," one of the minor Unseelies commented.
"Very well," Vermin sighed, "Do not worry, your life has been spared."
Castle Wyvern
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Wedrington asked in the library as he looked out a window.
"Who?" Demona questioned from one of the tables.
"The clan," Wedrington pointed out, "Out there patrolling with some guy with a sniper rifle after them."
"You needn't concern yourself with him," Demona answered, "This sniper isn't dangerous. As much as I may disagree with Goliath, he is no fool. He'll do what is necessary to protect his clan."
"Shouldn't we help?" Wedrington asked.
"Not until humanity accepts gargoyles," Demona said firmly, "If this PIT organization can gain total control over human society, then I will consider it. I also do not want you to go out until the prejudiced humans are vanquished."
"Why?" Wedrington asked.
Demona looked at the male for a moment. She knew he wanted an honest answer. Unfortunately, she was somewhat embarrassed by the honest answer. Wedrington had remained by her side longer than anyone since the Wyvern Massacre when everything went bad for her and she magnified the problems by making bad decisions. She had been alone for years, and now was beginning to feel things that she thought she would never feel again.
"As you said last night," Demona began weakly, "I've begun to care about you more than as a simple friend... I think we've been unofficially courting ever since I met your family."
Wedrington turned and blinked, "Courting?"
"You have been there for me despite knowing my past," Demona answered, still in an embarrassed and weak voice, "You have remained by my side. We are growing to love one another."
"I'm sorry if I've done anything wrong," Wedrington commented quickly.
"You've done nothing wrong," Demona insisted, "You've actually done more than others have."
The two slowly approached one another.
"Where does this leave us then?" Wedrington asked.
"Together," Demona answered as the two hugged.
Above Manhattan
It had been a relatively quiet night as Caroline, Amy, and Brooklyn went about their patrol route. Turns were rather sharp, and there hadn't been any noticeable amount of crime that they could see, although there always seemed to be a black care trying to get below them.
"Quiet night," Caroline commented, "Maybe all the crooks are bored of crime."
"We aren't that lucky," Brooklyn chuckled back.
"I'm more concerned about that car below us," Amy commented, pointing down to where the car was, "That car has been following us for the past five blocks."
Brooklyn looked back to see the care weaving in and out of traffic trying to get below them. Suddenly, as they got closer, two back windows rolled down and gangsters wielding Uzis began firing up at them.
"Look out!" Brooklyn yelled as he banked right, avoiding the bullets that came flying at him.
"As if we weren't being shot at enough," Caroline growled.
"Take them down!" Brooklyn ordered, "Before they hurt someone."
The two females nodded and began diving down toward the car, zigging and zagging as they went to keep the gunners from getting a good shot at them and got gradually closer to the vehicle. Eventually both Amy and Caroline landed on the roof of the car. Both reached in and grabbed the gun out of the two crook's hands. The crooks had seemed to keep trying to hit Brooklyn when they couldn't see the two females any more.
"There, no weapon," Amy growled as she crushed the gun in her hands.
"They ought to make gun control laws tighter," Caroline commented as she reached in to take the criminal out of the car, "people shouldn't be allowed to run around with machine guns."
The yellow female nodded as she pulled the other gunner out through the other window. Both men looked relatively frightened by low growls and glowing eyes. Both Caroline and Amy then took off, holding the two gunmen by their feet and began to slowly glide back up toward Brooklyn.
"Why were you shooting at us?" Amy demanded.
The gunman looked at the female's glowing red eyes sharp fangs and then down at the ground. He feared being dropped and began to talk very quickly.
"We're only following orders," the man said quickly, "We were told to drive you above the rooftops so that Yuri could shoot you."
"Who's Yuri?" Brooklyn demanded.
"Our sniper," the other gunman said in a nervous voice, "Used to be in the Russian Army. We found him a few years ago looking for work."
"He's a freelancer that we keep on retainer," the first gunman added, "Whenever we need someone shot, he's the one we call."
"Who are you working for?" Caroline growled.
"Ultimately, Brode," the second gunman whimpered.
Caroline and Amy growled at the recognition of the gangster. Brooklyn growled in an even more aggressive manner, remembering the brief gang war that went on when Brode first came to New York.
"Why did he tell you to come and shoot at us?" Brooklyn growled, "We have no money for him to take."
The two gunmen looked at each other and then at that the ground again.
"But there is a favor involved if we take you out," the second gunmen said weakly.
"What?" Caroline growled and shook him to make him speak up, never loosening her grip.
"Dracon's called a hit on every gargoyle in Manhattan," the gunman screamed, "Every family has accepted it and is participating. Brode wants to do it so that he can evict Dracon from Manhattan."
"He wants to restart the war," Brooklyn growled.
"No, it's a favor!" the first gunman said quickly, "If Brode bags the most gargoyles, Dracon will owe him a big favor. Brode has deemed that the favor will be that Dracon is to abandon New York to him."
"Great," Brooklyn sighed, "Let's find something we can tie these two up with and leave them for the police.
The two females nodded and the group then glided down an alley way to find a fire escape.
Maddox Technologies
Thailog was in his office when a sudden alarm rang out throughout the building. It got him to stand up, and the black skinned clone was thankful that the alarm was solely internal and wouldn't warn the police.
"Goliath wouldn't just attack me," Thailog commented to himself, "At least, not this quickly. Who could this be?"
The clone walked to the far end of his office to look at a few security cameras. He found nothing going on, on the upper floors, but the basement was another matter. The Pack had apparently blasted through the same wall that Demona, Elisa, and Coyote had blasted through the night before.
"Holly just fixed that wall," Thailog complained to himself and turned to his communications switches and activated the radio, "Holly, Fang, we have guests in the basement, not far from the training area. Please see to them, until I can arrive."
"Right," Fang's voice answered.
"Jeez," Hyena commented as she dusted herself off, "Whoever is running this place now was waiting for us."
The others nodded in agreement. After Dreadnought had blasted a hole in the wall, he and Shadow were met by a hail of rockets, and unlike Coyote, both robots tried to power their way through the barrage. Dreadnought was offline, and while Shadow could still move, it was obvious that it wouldn't take much to take him down.
"Yeah," Jackal commented, "Makes me curious as to who is running this joint."
Canis and Vulpine were suddenly hit by powerful electric blasts that threw them into the other rocket launchers in the room. Wolf turned to charge but quickly met a similar fate. Jackal and Hyena then turned to see Fang and a blood red female gargoyle with dark hair and devil-like horns and holding a large book watching them intently.
"You will meet him soon," Holly said in a firm voice.
"You'rrrrrrrrrrre gonna pay forrrrrr that!" Wolf growled as he got up.
Fang hit the mutated member of the Pack again with an electric blast. Jackal and Hyena prepared to fire their laser blasts at the two when the female held up the book she was holding.
"Fulmenos Venite!" Holly announced and launched a bolt of lightning, first at Hyena and then Jackal.
The blast knocked both cyborgs against the far wall. Their upgrades allowed them to absorb the electricity part of the attack, but the magic that created it still launched them back. Wolf, had by now recovered and charged at the two, jaws slavering. Holly held her book back, kneed Wolf in the gut and then delivered a punch to the back of his head with her other hand. Wolf then fell to the ground unconscious.
"Any other takers?" Holly asked.
Canis and Vulpine sided next to Jackal and Hyena and growled at the other two.
"You're good," Jackal admitted, "But you can't win."
The male cyborg then launched his finger missiles at Holly and Fang, forcing both to dodge out of the doorway. Canis and Vulpine then began to advance on Fang while Jackal and Hyena began to advance on Holly. They were interrupted by a coughing sound. Jackal and Hyena turned to see a large black gargoyle that looked like Goliath, but had red eyes.
"Now, what seems to be the trouble here?" Thailog asked.
"What happened to Goliath?" Hyena asked a loud.
"Actually, my dear Hyena, I am not Goliath," Thailog answered, "My name is Thailog. I am Goliath's clone."
"You're running this business?" Jackal asked.
Thailog nodded, "I assume you were sent here to remove me. Am I right?"
Jackal and Hyena nodded.
"How much is this man paying you?" Thailog asked.
"What?" Jackal asked.
"You're mercenaries," Thailog explained, "People who will fight for money. You wouldn't be here unless someone paid you to do it."
"Actually, we're not being paid," Jackal grumbled.
"You personally want to take over my company?" Thailog asked.
"No, we were told to take over your company for someone else," Hyena answered in a testy voice, "Now, are you going to surrender or do we have to beat you to a pulp?"
Thailog glanced at the unconscious Wolf and then at the remaining Pack members.
"You're fighting for no pay?" Thailog asked, "That doesn't sound like a good mercenary."
"It's complicated," Jackal sighed, confused by the gargoyles entry and comments.
"Go ahead and explain then," Thailog commented.
"We need those two robots," Jackal began gesturing to the offline Dreadnought and the heavily damaged, but still active Shadow, "to take on Goliath's clan, but after the Unseelies fell apart they went offline. We captured an Unseelie and had another one of our members repair them and install new programming. Now, they fixed the robots, but they programmed them so that they wouldn't follow the Pack but to follow him. We can't leave his employ because it would mean we'd lose the robots and won't be able to fight Goliath and his clan..."
"And Coyote," Hyena growled from behind her brother.
"Well," Thailog commented, "They are both out of the fight. You'd need to have them repaired in order to take on Goliath and Coyote."
Jackal and Hyena nodded.
"Fang, Holly, drag the two robots to the underground robotics facilities," Thailog ordered, "I'm sure that Hyena and Jackal would like to have their robots repaired as soon as possible."
"You'd repair them?" Hyena gasped.
"I will provide the facilities," Thailog answered, "You will repair them. Meanwhile, Jackal, I have a business proposition for you."
"What?" Jackal demanded.
"You're a mercenary, are you not?" Thailog asked.
"Yes," Jackal asked.
"How would you like to switch employers?" Thailog asked, "I can't pay you all much, because Maddox Technologies is still trying to get its feet off the ground from the fall of the Unseelies, but I'm sure it's an upgrade from not being paid at all."
"Work for you?" Hyena growled, "Our TARGET?"
"Would you rather take your two damaged robots back to the employer who isn't paying you and then have to repair them in what is probably a shabby house somewhere?" Thailog asked, "I'm sure he will be happy that his robots are damaged."
"You're willing to pay us?" Jackal asked as he watched Thailog lift up Wolf's unconscious body.
Thailog smiled, "Yes. I can give you more details as to how much I can pay you if you will accompany me to the medical wing."
"Is this a smart idea, bro?" Hyena asked.
"He's freed us from Sevarius," Jackal answered, "and he's willing to pay. I say go with it."
Castle Wyvern
"So what if the sniper is Russian," Candy growled, "he still shot Lex."
"I'm fine now," Lex answered, "day in stone cured everything."
"And I want you to stay fine," Candy said back to the other webwinged gargoyle.
"Candy is right," Othello agreed, "The ethnic background of the sniper is not important. But the information that this is all a 'mob hit' is."
Goliath nodded, "This complicates matters. It appears that all of us had some run in with these people."
"The group that tried to get us got into a firefight with another group of gangsters though," Elisa commented, "I think Dracon already suspects what Brode's proposed 'favor' is."
"We need to get Dracon to call off this hit before he threatens the whole city," Angela commented.
"We still have to find him," Hudson commented, "The news reporters mentioned that Dracon escaped from the same prison as Castaway and at the same time."
"Which we will do," Goliath vowed, "Dracon will not escape us forever, and his hit will not last!"
The End...