Despite their best efforts, pulling out every trick they knew, Apate had managed to destroy all but a few of the Steel Clan. Out of the living gargoyles, only Lexington and Garia remained airborne. The rest were injured and either already getting medical attention or trying to fight through it.
Moments ago, the last two of the robotic clan had been flung into each other, and through a round wall of a tower. Judging from the sound, the amount of stone rubble and the sparks flying from the gaping hole, they were out of commission.
For the first time in her memory, Elisa hoped that Xanatos had gotten clear and was safe.
Elisa looked up as a dark shadow moved in front of them. Instinctively, Elisa raised her firearm and pulled the trigger.
Apate shrieked, swinging out with a free arm in a swiping arc that was meant to decimate all in its path.
Goliath, seeing what was about to happen, pushed off from the low perch he'd managed to find and got between Elisa and the monstrosity they fought.
The force of the blow knocked Goliath off of his feet and straight back into Elisa, ending with them in a tangled mess in a corner.
Elisa pushed free of her dazed husband and found herself looking at the dark figure that strode toward them with a purpose.
As she watched, the figure began to lighten, to take on more definition. The swirling black skin lightened to a deep olive skin tone, the hair a rich mahogany color. A cream colored gown hung from one shoulder and gathered at the waist with a thick, jeweled belt.
"It didn't have to come to this, you know," Apate said, her sing-song voice back as she approached the pair. Her face swung towards the doors to the castle and she lifted a hand in warning. "Stop," she shouted to the sudden rush of those returning to the fight. "Stop, or I end this now," she lifted a hand with a large fireball in it. "I'll roast them both before you can make it to them."
Brooklyn swept his arms wide, stopping the others in their tracks even as his glare at Apate promised retribution.
Apate turned over the hand she'd lifted and a second ball of flame appeared.
"You know what? I tire of this. Give me the box, let me save my brothers and sisters, and we can all return to our lives." Apate said, sounding almost bored.
"No," Goliath breathed. Obviously in pain, he managed to make it up to one knee. He attempted to spread his wings, to block Elisa from sight.
Having none of it, Elisa limped on a knee that she'd fallen on wrong earlier and walked to stand by his side. "No," she said firmly. "Not going to happen."
"Pity," Apate said, then shrugged. "I'll just finish the two of you off, and raze this castle myself to find it."
Apate stood over Elisa and Goliath, two of her fireballs ready.
"You're not dealing with one of your puny fae now, girl," Apate snarled out, raising her hands high to hurl them on the couple.
"No," a female's voice came from the doorway, "We're dealing with a pitiful, pale excuse for an artificially created Greek god."
The newcomer caused Apate to hesitate a moment. Just long enough for Elisa to throw herself forward and catch Apate with a double fisted hit to the solar plexus, causing Apate's concentration on the fireballs to break.
Goliath swung around to find Sphinx and a few other New Olympians standing in the doorway, a green portal just closing behind them.
Sphinx grinned, a golden looking scimitar in her hand.
"I thought we could use some help," Coyote said from behind the group.
With a wild yell, golden weapons flashing, the New Olympians joined the fight.
"Are you alright?" Sphinx asked, running over to Elisa and Goliath.
"We're great," Elisa said, pushing to her feet. When she'd hit Apate from such an odd angle, she hadn't been on her feet or had a lot of room to work with. As such, she'd landed in a heap… again… and had rolled out of the way. Now that she was once more on her feet, she felt less powerless.
"We're going to keep this one busy," Sphinx said, narrowing her eyes at Apate. "At least for a few minutes."
"What happens in a few minutes?" Elisa asked, trying to help Goliath to his feet while keeping track of the conversation and watching for Apate.
"You'll see," Sphinx said with a wink.
With a wild yell, she turned and joined the fight. While everyone at the castle had fought and kept her busy, the New Olympians seemed to actually make a little more progress.
It was as if that was the signal that everyone was waiting for.
As Sphinx gave her battle cry and ran towards the fight, it brought a wave of fresh hope to those who had been there and had begun to get worn down. With the sudden wave of energy, the Manhattan Gargoyles roared and entered the fray.
While the only thing that had been done to affect Apate had been Talon's electrical charge, nothing else they had done had made a difference. The New Olympians, with their unique weapons, were actually having an effect.
Seeing this, the clan went to work. If they could keep her attention on them, it would free the New Olympians to do what they needed to do. Still fighting the wind, though it had backed off a bit, they took to the sky.
They dipped. They weaved.
They annoyed her as much as possible.
Elisa reached for her gun but realized that it wasn't there. She must have lost it while flying through the air like a lawn dart at some point.
A blur whirled past her, and Elisa blinked confusedly for a moment until what she was seeing registered.
Nayeli ran past her, Pandora's box in her hands.
"Everyone… Clear!" Nayeli yelled.
As the clan… all of the clans… stopped the attack, Nayeli bent and slid the box along the ground with enough force that it came to rest in front of Apate.
Apate spotted the box an instant before the top opened on its own, a golden light beaming upwards.
Apate raised her arms to block the light and tried to move away.
She tried…
Then she screamed. One long, loud scream of anger and fear, as her form slowly faded from the feet up. Slowly, she was pulled into the box until the only thing left was a lingering echo of her voice. The lid slammed shut with a finality that echoed through the courtyard as the edges of the box began glowing white hot.
Moments later, even that was gone, and all that was left was… a box.
"Yeah," Brooklyn shouted, giving Nayeli a high five. "I knew watching all those eighties movies would come in handy!"
Everyone looked at him confusedly.
Nayeli shrugged. "You know. The Ghostbusters and their ghost trap."
Elisa paused for an instant as her mind began to clear. When she finally replayed what had happened and made the connection, she began to laugh.
Throwing an arm around her daughter's shoulders, she held her daughter close. "Not that I'm not grateful for the help…"
"But don't do it again," Nayeli finished for her mother with a very overly dramatic sigh worthy of every teenager ever born.
"Yeah," Elisa said.
She looked around the courtyard and winced. Entire sections of stone walls were missing, and with the storm still rolling in, she only hoped that Puck had it in him to fix it all fast.
A movement to her left caught her attention, and she turned to see the woman standing there. In complete shock, she slowly said, "Pandora?"