I do not own Gargoyles. Disney owns them. Gargoyles is a show that I love, and write stories about. I own Crystal, and any other characters that did not appear on the show.

New Life, New Beginnings: Chapter 7

"That's the hospital there, Fox!" Crystal had quickly gotten changed into her 'can-still-look-human' clothes and had gone to ask Fox to fly her to Toronto in the helicopter. She wouldn't have hesitated in gliding the whole way, despite the fact she would tire out long before she even reached her destination. Besides, she wanted to get to her cousin as fast as was possible.

Fox steered the helicopter towards the hospital rooftop, and just as she was landing, Crystal flung open the door. "Don't bother landing. Go find yourself a hotel, and then give me a ring on my cell phone." She jumped out of the helicopter, and dropped down the remaining ten feet. Readjusting her hat, she ran to the rooftop entrance and practically few down the stairs.

She arrived at the fifth floor within minutes, and wasted no time in making her way to the nurses' station. "Nicole Marino. Where is she?"

The nurse looked up at the disturbance with tired eyes. "And you are?"

"Crystal DiMaggio. I'm her cousin."

Sighing, the nurse typed something into the computer. "She's in room 551; the hallway to your right."

The disguised gargoyle sped towards the room, and nearly knocked the door down in trying to open it. She was horrified at the sight that met her eyes. There were tubes and wires everywhere. Her cousin appeared to be pale, but she couldn't really tell from all the bruises that covered her face and arms, and her left eye had swollen shut. She could only imagine how many more bruises there could be that she couldn't see.

Closing the door behind her, she pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down. This never would have happened if I had never left. The gargoyle grasped her cousin's hand, and let a tear escape her eye. "I'm so sorry Cole. This is all my fault."

A cough signaled the gargoyle to look up. "It's not your fault cuz. There was no way you could have stopped this from happening."

"If I hadn't left, if I hadn't given you the house, this wouldn't have happened."

There was something odd about Crystal. It sounded like the sight of her was somewhat expected. Nicole studied her cousin's face. "You dreamt this would happen, didn't you? That's why you're blaming yourself."

Crystal nodded. "Yeah, I did. Gods Cole, it killed me to see it. To make it worse, I wasn't able to wake up to call and warn you."

"Crys, how many times do I have to tell you? Just because you see it, doesn't make it your fault. Besides, how do you know it wasn't happening at the same time you were dreaming it?"

The gargoyle sighed. "I didn't think of it that way." She looked her cousin over. "So what happened exactly? The cop wouldn't go into any specific details over the phone."

Nicole shifted uncomfortably. "This isn't going to be something I'm going to easily forget. I was just sitting in the den, watching a movie, when someone knocked on the door. Naturally, I went to open it, but when I did, I was tackled to the ground by three guys in hoods. Another three came storming in, and demanded to know where the monster was. I told them I didn't know what they were talking about, and one of the guys holding me punched me in the face. They continued to ask me questions, and I kept denying I knew anything, and so they continued to beat me." she took a deep breath to calm her shaking voice. "They told me they had tracked the monster, and found that it always came to that house. Two of the three standing went and searched the house, while the other one said they would teach me a lesson for allying myself with the enemy." She wiped the tears that were trailing down her face, and looked directly into her cousin's eyes. "They raped me, Crystal," she said, just above a whisper.

The look of pain in Crystal's eyes immediately turned into one of anger. "They did what?!"

She nodded. "Every single one of them. They each had their turn with me. And when they were done with that, they beat me until I was unconscious. They beat me so badly that I had internal bleeding."

Crystal tried her hardest to make sure her eyes wouldn't glow. All they needed was a nurse to walk in and find out Crystal wasn't human. "You said they were wearing hoods."

"Yeah, blue ones. I remember that bit perfectly. They also had a symbol on their clothes." She sighed, "It was a 'Q'."

"Quarrymen," Crystal growled. "You told the cops that, right?"

"Of course I did." She coughed. "I'll do whatever I can to get those psychos put away for good. More so now that they're trying to hunt you down."

Crystal managed to smile and patted her cousin's hand, and just then, an idea popped into her head. "How would you like to come live with me?"

Nicole's eyes widened. "You mean, live in a rich man's castle with a bunch of gargoyles?"

"Yes. I can't let you stay here anymore. I can't take the risk of you being attacked again. They'll find out you survived, and they might come after you again." Gods know they haven't given up with the clan.

She squeezed the gargoyle's hand. "You know I'll have to talk with my parents about it first."

Crystal couldn't hold back the growl from her throat. It was Nicole's parents who had convinced the rest of the family that she should be disowned. "Yeah, I know." She squeezed her hand back. I just hope you make the right choice, she thought. "Look, I'm gonna go to the house for a bit and check it out. See if I can salvage anything from what's left. You don't mind, do you?"

Nicole smiled and slightly shook her head. "Not at all. I'm happy you were able to make it here."

"Nothing could have stopped me from making sure you were all right." She leaned forward and gave her cousin a kiss on the forehead. "I'll visit you again tomorrow night." Giving her cousin's hand one last squeeze, she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Walking as fast as she could, she made her way to the stairwell and raced up as fast as her legs could carry her. Sprinting across the rooftop, she flung off her sweater to reveal a red tank top and a pair of wings. Leaping off the roof, she opened her wings and caught a thermal. She wanted to get to her old house as fast as she could. If those Quarrymen were going to get what they deserved, she would first see if there was a way to do it legally. If not, she had her own way of dealing with those who crossed her.

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Crystal arrived at what remained of her former home within a short time. The garage was completely leveled, and so was the kitchen. Although she was saddened to see half her house destroyed, she was thankful that the most important half was still intact.

She landed on the remains of the garage and looked around. "Well, now I've got room for that Hummer I've always wanted." She stepped onto the blocks that had served as a wall between the garage and the house, and looked down into the hole that was the basement. Sighing, she leapt off the small wall and walked up the front steps. The front door had been knocked down, most likely by the firefighters, and there were still some pieces of the yellow police tape around. She stepped inside, and saw an area of blood on the floor; the spot where Nicole had been beaten and raped. Holding back her tears and fit of rage, she walked into the empty master bedroom and pulled out a large suitcase and a backpack from the closet. She looked into each room to find out which one was Nicole's, until she realized that her cousin had taken her old room as her own.

Crystal couldn't help but smile. "Good ol' Cole, always taking the easy way out of moving." Not wanting to waste anymore time, she quickly began placing her cousin's clothes into the backpack, and anything of monetary and sentimental value in the suitcase.

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"I was wondering when you'd make it. I was starting to worry." Fox had called Crystal shortly after the gargoyle had begun packing to tell her which hotel she had checked into, and the floor number; two hours ago.

"Sorry, guess I lost track of time." Crystal placed the suitcase on the floor and took the backpack off. Closing the balcony door behind her, she sat down heavily on the bed.

"So how's your cousin doing?"

"Nicole's fine. She's a tough one. Knowing her, she'll probably say she's ready to leave in a week."

Fox didn't know the gargoyle very well, but she could easily tell something was wrong. "Is there something bothering you Crystal?"

She sighed and hung her head. "She's in there because of me. If I hadn't given her the house, they never would have found her there."

Fox sat down on the bed and wrapped an arm around the young one's shoulders. "You didn't know this was going to happen. No one could have seen this coming. But I promise you, we'll find the ones who did this, and make sure they get what they deserve."

"They're no longer an organized group, Fox. Even with Castaway still in hiding, most likely fearful of the police finding and arresting him for his attack on the clock tower, it's possible he's still somehow giving out orders." Her voice dropped. "Still hunting the clan."

Fox pulled her arm back. "The Quarrymen did this?!"

Crystal's eyes took on a reddish hue. "I was mad when they attacked me, but now they've gone too far!" She took a few breaths to try and calm herself. "They're gonna pay for what they did. I swear, I'll make them pay!"

"Crystal, are you even listening to yourself? You can't take the law into your own hands."

She couldn't help but glare at the human. "Can't I? Even if this does make it to court, do you really think they'll be able to pick an unbiased jury? Gargoyles are still too hot a topic to find someone that doesn't have an opinion."

The tattooed woman ignored the glare. "You know that's not true."

Crystal shook her head. "That's where you're wrong Fox. I was studying law on my own while I was in university before my transformation happened. I know how the system works. Cole will end up being the loser in this if we go the legal way. I'm the only one that can make sure justice is served."

"You mean vengeance."

"Does it really matter which one?"

Fox stood up and stared down at the other woman. "You know Goliath will never allow this."

The female gargoyle copied the human's move. "Who said I was going to tell him?"

"If you won't, then I will."

"Oh no you won't." Her eyes began to glow. "You won't say a word of this to Goliath, nor anyone else in the clan."

Fox actually started to feel a little scared, she didn't know Crystal all that well yet. There was no telling what the girl would do to her if she got in her way. "Is that a threat?"

"Merely a statement. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a perch for the day." She opened the balcony door and stopped mid-stride. "The law is inadequate. I thought you'd know that by now." She jumped onto the rail and sailed off into the night.

Staring after her, Fox shook her head and closed the glass door. "I do, but there's still so much that you need to learn about it."