The skiff made its way through the immense fog as they emerged from Avalon once again. Even so, it was still quite foggy where they ended up, much to the travelers' dismay.
"The good news is that we're in much calmer waters than last time." Elisa declared. "The bad news is that it's too quiet and the water's too clean to be Manhattan."
"I wonder where we ended up this time." Willow wondered, twirling her finger in the water.
As they continued onwards, something large and ominous moved about the water, putting Bronx on edge. He snarled at the water, his hackles raised and putting the others on edge.
"Oh no..." Willow let out. "Please don't let it be another sea monster."
Suddenly, something large and metal scraped along the bottom of the skiff. It vanished before anyone could get a good enough look.
"What was that?" Angela questioned.
"I'm not sure." Goliath admitted.
"Maybe it was a submarine that passed too close to the boat." Willow suggested.
"It did feel like it was made of metal." Angela concurred.
"So, now what?" Elisa asked.
"For now, we head to sure." Goliath decided. "We can figure out where we are from there, and perhaps catch a glimpse of this 'submarine'."
...
Sometime later, the group pulled ashore and docked the skiff. Angela casually twirled her finger through the water as Willow and Goliath looked out over the water.
"Guess the sub's gone back beneath the water." Willow guessed. "Too bad. I've always wanted to see one up close."
"Whatever its purpose, it's moved on." Goliath observed.
"Then I suppose we should do the same." Angela sighed. "Return to Avalon and try again to find Manhattan."
"Not just yet." Elisa insisted, pointing off into the shoreline. "See those lights?"
"Yes?" Goliath replied.
"Where there's lights, there's a town." Elisa went on. "Considering our cellphones got a bit waterlogged back in Canada, this may be our best chance of getting word back to our friends."
"Elisa's right." Willow agreed, shifting into her human form. "We can figure out where we are, and ensure everyone back home that we're okay."
"Then go." Goliath told them. "We'll wait here."
With that, the two head into town to do just that.
…
As the two neared the town, they both found themselves stopping short at a large wooden sign that hung over the peer. It read "LOCH NESS: HOME OF THE FAMOUS LOCH NESS MONSTER."
"Loch Ness." Elisa chuckled. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Considering everything we've seen, I wouldn't be surprised if Nessie was real." Willow remarked. "Not that we'll have a chance to see her."
"Right," Elisa agreed. "Let's see if this town has a phone."
"You there, lassies!" A voice called out.
Both Elisa and Willow turned to see a man at a souvenir booth that was selling tours around the loch.
"In the mood for a little adventure?" He offered, gesturing towards a tour boat by the pier. "Nessie's been known to enjoy a midnight swim. Our rates are low, and I even throw in a free camera rental!"
"Thanks, but no thanks." Willow told him. "We're just passing through."
"Though if you could point us in the direction of a phone, that'd be wonderful." Elisa spoke up.
"Town's got a phone just over there." He shared, pointing at an old, rusty payphone. "Don't look like much, but it still works."
"We'll make do." Elisa replied. "Thanks."
Willow fished into her wallet, rummaging through her change purse. She eventually pulled out some Pence, smirking.
"And dad said keeping foreign coins wouldn't be a good idea." Willow grinned.
She then dropped the coins into the coin slot before dialing up Matt. It rang for a bit, then his voicemail began to play.
"Hello, you've reached Matt Bluestone. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you."
Before the beep could occur, a prerecorded message began playing.
"The mailbox is full and cannot accept messages at this time."
Elisa grunted in annoyance, hanging up the phone.
"Well that's just perfect." she let out. "Maybe we can try his office phone?"
Willow searched through her change purse, then shrugged.
"Sorry, no more pence." she replied.
"Great." Elisa muttered. "Let's just get back to Goliath and Angela. Maybe we can finally get back home."
...
Eventually, the girls returned to the skiff and prepared to head out. As Goliath pushed off, Angela leaned on the prow of the boat.
"Princess Katharine told us stories about the Loch Ness monster when we were young." she recalled wistfully. "Can't we stay just for a while? Please?"
"We have to get home, Angela." Goliath told her.
"Besides, even if Nessie is real, you won't see her on any of these waters." Elisa insisted.
"Why not?" Angela questioned.
"Because the humans of the area have turned the loch into a tourist trap." Willow explained, looking out at the water before laying eyes on a boat. "Take that tour boat for example."
"For some people, legends are strictly business." Elisa remarked.
Onboard the aforementioned boat, the souvenir vendor from before was standing before a crowd of eager tourists and several excited kids.
"24 miles long, a mile wide, and in some places even 900 feet deep." he described
As the tour continued, something massive skirted across the water, with something else pursuing it. They began approaching the boat, the first one giving the tour boat one heck of a bump.
"That looked rather real to me." Angela insisted.
"You kidding?" Willow chuckled. "That was probably just a submarine in disguise, one the companies all chipped in to give the tourists a thrill."
"For someone who can turn into a gargoyle at will, you're quite the skeptic." Angela grumbled, crossing her arms.
"I also lived with Xanatos for as long as I can remember." Willow added. "I recognize a con when I see one. Besides, I'm pretty sure Nessie's one of those creatures that would rather avoid the spotlight then bask in it."
Back on the tour boat, the knock from the first massive being had badly shaken the passengers and caused a rupture in the hull of the ship. The vendor quickly took notice and got back on his intercom.
"Uh, Nessie's out of sorts tonight, lads and lassies." the vendor announced, beginning to make tracks for shore. "We'll be returning to shore a wee bit early so we can give the old girl her-"
All of a sudden, the ship was rocked again, almost as hard as before.
"Are you certain of this 'con' now?" Angela asked.
"Completely." Willow replied. "Theme parks do this sort of thing five times a day."
All of a sudden, their boat was capsized by the very same thing that knocked the tourist ship. The five occupants were immediately sent into the water, caught up in the undertow of a massive grey sea monster. After finally managing to get their bearings, Goliath and Bronx surfaced, Elisa and Willow not far behind. All of them choked and gasped, grabbing onto the capsized boat for dear life.
"Is everyone alright?" Goliath asked.
"Yeah, we're okay." Elisa replied.
"I think I owe you an apology Angela." Willow admitted. "I don't think that was a- wait. Where's Angela?"
Goliath looked around, but found no sign of her.
"Angela!" He called out.
Just then, something shot out of the water, forcing the boat back from the force of the water displacement. As the ocean fell away from it, it was revealed to be the metallic head of a robotic Nessie, robotic eyes narrowing as it focused on the four capsized travelers. Its focus then shifted to the retreating sea monster, the head diving back under the water to resume pursuit.
"What was that?" Elisa let out.
"I don't know." Goliath admitted before turning to Willow. "Stay here with Bronx and Elisa. I'm going to look for Angela."
He then took a deep breath and dove down into the water. Swimming deeper into the murky depths of the loch, Goliath found himself in the midst of the metal Nessie chasing after the genuine article, the beast crying out in anger and fear as it did its best to avoid capture. Unfortunately, the beast's efforts also sent Goliath right into the path of the sea monster's wake, sending him tumbling through the water. However, it also revealed an unconscious Angela, a thin trail of bubbles trickling from her mouth. The mechanical monster from before caught sight of the unconscious gargoyle and opened up its metal jaws, swallowing her up before disappearing into the Loch.
With no chance of stopping the metal creature, and having run out of air quickly, Goliath was forced to abandon his search and surface. He gasped for air, coughing and spitting up quite a bit of water. By this point, Elisa and Willow had managed to get the boat upright again and had climbed inside. Upon seeing the head gargoyle surfacing, Willow rowed over, turning into her gargoyle form before offering her hand.
"Angela?" She questioned. "Did you find her? What happened?"
"The creature that attacked our boat," Goliath informed. "It took Angela."
"What?!" Elisa exclaimed. "We have to find her!"
"No, we won't catch it now." Goliath rationalized. "Let us return to shore. There, we will figure out a plan once we're dry once more."
...
Meanwhile, the metal monster swam towards a set of metal doors opening up. Once the creature entered, the doors closed, and the creature resurfaced in an underwater facility. The beast's long jaw opened up, allowing for several Xanatos soldiers to emerge from its belly. As they entered the facility, the voice of one Anton Sevarius began to chastise them over an intercom system.
"Gentlemen, I'm disappointed." He told them. "Once again, you've failed to deliver Big Daddy. Without his companionship, I'm afraid our current guest is not long for this world."
"We almost had him." one soldier defended. "We spotted him attacking a tour boat and we're moving in when we hit interference."
"Interference, you say?" Sevarius questioned. "Just what kind of interference? Some late night fishermen? Or perhaps a rather tenacious group of salmon."
"Gargoyles." the soldier answered. "It seems the group that Mr. Xanatos has been on the hunt for has turned up here in the Loch, and they have a new addition to their ranks."
"A new edition?" Sevarius repeated.
The soldier nodded, whistling to his men. Two soldiers came out of the metal Nessie, dragging a net behind them. Entangled within it was Angela, still unconscious, but thankfully alive. Sevarius walked out of his lab and walked down to take a closer look.
"My, my." He let out. "A female adolescent. Most impressive. Standard procedure for this one Bruno, but be gentle with her."
"What should we do with her after?" Bruno questioned. "Gargoyles aren't exactly the easiest to keep locked up."
"Then keep her in the grotto with our other guest." Sevarius instructed. "That should be enough to hold her."
Bruno looked shocked, but said nothing to argue. Instead, he cocked his head towards his men, urging them to do as commanded. They replied with a nod, detangling Angela from the net and setting her on a medical gurney, wheeling her off.
...
On shore, Bronx, Goliath, Willow and Elisa managed to get out of the water, pulling the skiff safely out of the tide. Bronx shook himself free of water as Willow and Elisa began wringing out their clothes.
"The beast that took Angela, you said it was some sort of mechanical Nessie, right?" Willow recalled.
"Indeed." Goliath confirmed. "If we find it, we find her."
"A submarine that big would need maintenance and supplies." Elisa rationalized. "It has to have a place to dock somewhere around here."
"Then we best start looking now." Goliath declared. "I will not allow a member of my clan to fall prey to whatever runs that foul machine."
Willow put a hand on his shoulder, attempting to appear comforting.
"Don't worry Goliath." She insisted. "We'll find Angela, no matter how long it takes."
…
Meanwhile, Angela let out a groan as she slowly woke up. She was draped onto a rock that was sticking out of the water, her claws and tail bobbing next to her. As she struggled to wake up, something swam underneath her, the back of her hand running along its backside. Feeling it beneath her hand spurred Angela into motion as she jumped up onto her rock, scanning the water for whatever she'd felt. Her head kept darting from one direction to another until she caught sight of a giant splash behind her.
All of a sudden, the water behind her began to rise, allowing for a rather angry looking loch ness monster to rise up roaring so loud at it echoed through the grotto. It closed in on Angela, the gargoyle clinging to her rock as she met its eyes. Surprisingly, she did not find herself scared of the beast. Instead, she was shocked to see that the monster wasn't angry. In fact, it appeared to be scared and lonely. Angela noted this, and moved forward a little.
"Hi there." She greeted softly, watching as the creature retreated slightly, reclining on the rocks in a depressed manner. "I'm Angela. I'm sorry if I seem a little nervous. It's just, I've never been this close to a real live Loch Ness monster before. Then again, I'll wager you've never been this close to a real live gargoyle either."
The monster perked up as Angela spoke, moving its head over towards Angela's rock. It lowered its snout so Angela could pet it, both of them relishing in the experience.
"Guess that makes us even." Angela remarked.
From an observation booth above the grotto, Sevarius watched the two interact before letting out a dramatic gagging sound.
"If it gets any more saccharine in there, I'm going to put a finger down my throat." He muttered. "Still, we've learned something interesting about our new gargoyle: Her name is Angela."
…
Later, Sevarius was recording a long on his progress with Nessie.
"Yesterday, I was forced to downgrade Nessie's condition to critical." He reported. "The isolation during the initial test period was having a dire effect on her. All the indications were she would not survive another 24 hours in captivity."
On the screen, he watched as Angela snagged some live fish from a crate that had been sent into the grotto in order to feed its two occupants. She held it out to Nessie, who took the fish gratefully before submitting her snout for pets.
"Tonight however, I am pleased to report a miraculous recovery." Sevarius resumed. "Vital signs have improved drastically, and she's eating again. With a little help from her friend. The young gargoyle fascinates me. Having believed Goliath's clan to be all that was left of gargoyles in the world, her presence makes me question if there are indeed more clans of gargoyles that still exist. I will not know for certain until I finish going over her DNA profile. I'm sure it will be most illuminating."
…
The search for Angela had turned up nothing, the other four travelers thoroughly exhausted. Willow had nodded off just as the sun had begun to rise, Goliath holding her in his arms as she slept.
"Dawn is approaching." He lamented. "Our search will have to continue at sundown."
"This should be a safe enough place." Elisa told him as she woke the sleeping teen and pulled her from Goliath's grasp. "I'll head into town to see what leads I can pick up, then I'll return here first thing tonight.
"Very well then." Goliath agreed. "We can't afford to waste a moment."
"I don't intend to." she promised, just as the sun rose and the two gargoyles turned to stone.
Willow rubbed her eyes, struggling against her magic induced sleep.
"I can help." she offered.
"Uh-uh." Elisa declared, ushering Willow to the ground. "You just rest, alright? I'll handle the day shift."
Willow tried to argue, but sleep quickly sunk its claws into her and her head drooped. Elisa patted her head twice, gave Goliath's statue one last look, then headed into town.
...
Later that day in town, Elisa was buying a map from the vendor from last night, looking it over as she tried to plot out a search pattern for after sundown. As she walked forward, she bumped into someone passing by. Elisa looked up and saw it was a blonde woman in a uniform she recognized as one of Xanatos' soldiers. She was moving in a rush, stuffing several bags of groceries into the back of a pickup truck.
"Well what do we have here?" Elisa mused, hiding behind her map. "The Xanatos Goon Squad. Stocking up on supplies no less."
As the goons got into the truck, Elisa got an idea, stuffing her map into her jacket before darting around the corner. The truck then started driving off, with Elisa darting at it and leaping into the bed, pulling a sheet over herself to avoid detection.
…
The truck weaved across a winding road along the edge of the Loch, approaching a set of cliffside ruins. As the truck approached the ruins, Elisa decided she had gone far enough and leapt out of the truck. She rolled into the safety of some underbrush, watching the truck disappear before looking at her watch. It was a long walk back to where she'd left the rest of her team, and at least now, they had a lead.
…
Inside Nessie's grotto, Angela was a stone statue on the shore, Nessie having curled around it in a protective circle. However, the young monster was soon awoken by the sound of the large metal door to the grotto opening. From it emerged Sevarius and two mercenaries, one armed with a tranquilizer gun and the other carrying shackles just Angela's size. Nessie moved in front of Angela defensively, roaring at the approaching humans.
"Stifle that irritating noise." Sevarius insisted.
The armed mercenary quickly shot Nessie, hitting her with a tranq dart. Nessie tried to fight against its effects, but within moments, the poor beast collapsed onto the shore, unconscious. The other guard moved quickly, leapfrogging over Nessie's unmoving neck over to Angela's statue. He secured the chains on her wrists and ankles, just as cracks began to form on her stone skin.
"And not a heartbeat to spare." Sevarius remarked.
Angela broke through her stone skin, her eyes turning red as she realized she was bound. She roared and snapped, attempting to break the chains to no avail.
"I know, I know," Sevarius consoled. "It must be aggravating to wake up in chains first thing in the evening. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Anton Sevarius."
Angela calmed down slightly, realizing her attempts to break the chains were getting nowhere. Instead, she turned her gaze over to Nessie, a worried expression on her face when she saw how uncharacteristically still she was.
"Oh, don't be alarmed." Sevarius reassured. "She'll only be out for a few minutes."
He then grabbed Angela by her wrist, pulling her to her feet.
"In the meantime, young lady, you have some explaining to do." He declared.
...
After gathering Goliath, Willow, and Bronx, Elisa brought them to the ruins where the truck had gone. Bronx sniffed at the ground, trying to pick up a scent. As he approached closer and closer to the cliffs, he started barking in response.
"What is it, boy?" Willow asked. "You found something?"
Bronx just barked louder, clawing at the ground.
…
"When my men first brought you here, I had hoped you were evidence of other surviving gargoyle clans." Sevarius informed Angela. "I had even theorized that this Loch Ness clan had been the ones protecting Nessie's secret all these years. Thank goodness for little girls and DNA markers."
"What are you talking about?" Angela asked, pulling on her chains.
"Oh spare me, Angela." Sevarius snorted. "The tests are undeniable. You not only belong to Goliath's clan, but you're also his biological daughter! You are his very own flesh and stone."
To say the news shocked Angela was an understatement. In a race of beings where the concept of fathers was somewhat alien, the realization left Angela with a culmination of emotions inside her. Surprise, concern, fear, and a small hint of joy all coursed through her as she let the news sink in.
"Goliath… is my father?" she whispered.
"Not that it matters." Sevarius remarked as the mercenaries planted something on Nessie.
"What… what are you doing to her?!" She demanded.
"It's a SONAR tag." Sevarius explained. "Now that her condition has improved, we're sending her back into the Loch. Once she leads us to Big Daddy, we'll capture them both, start a nice little Loch Ness Monster farm. With all the raw genetic material I'll have at my disposal, I'll be able to create more monsters and creatures than ever before. The possibilities will be limitless."
Angela snapped, pulling on her chains while attempting to lash out at Sevarius. Luckily for him, the bindings held and his men managed to grab her in time.
"You're the only monster here!" Angela snapped.
Sevarius just chuckled.
"And there's your daddy's short fuse." He remarked. "Like father, like daughter I suppose."
Just then, an alarm started sounding, putting everyone on high alert.
"And speak of the devil." Sevarius remarked.
…
Back up top, Goliath, Elisa, and Willow gather around Bronx to see what he sniffed out, only for part of the ground to start sinking down with them on it. Elisa quickly grabbed hold of Goliath as Willow steadied herself on Bronx.
"It's an elevator." Willow declared. "The goons camouflaged it as part of the ground."
"If this is an elevator, who pushed the down button?" Elisa questioned.
"Somebody who knows we're here." Goliath rationalized.
"Amazing deduction Goliath." Sevarius' voice commended. "I see Gargoyle gray matter is as razor sharp as ever."
"Sevarius!" Goliath let out as they reached the bottom.
Suddenly, the platform tipped to the side, dropping all four of them down a chute.
"That's Doctor Sevarius to you."
…
The group woke up after their unexpected tumble. Much to their chagrin, they found themselves in an ancient dungeon, complete with chains on the wall and everything. Willow rubbed her head, rolling her eyes at the decor.
"Sheesh, how cliché can you get?" She muttered.
"They say a man's home is his castle." Sevarius mused, speaking through his P.A. system once more. "And what fun would a castle be without a dungeon?"
"Enough of this!" Goliath snarled, turning towards the large speaker in the wall. "I know it was you who took Angela! If you've harmed one hair on her head, I will make you suffer!"
"A bit late for fatherly concern, wouldn't you say, Goliath?" Sevarius jeered. "So let me warn you. Angela is going with us on a little excursion into the loch. Should you see fit to abuse my generous hospitality-"
Angela's voice suddenly came over the P.A. system for a brief second.
"Don't listen to him!" She screamed. "Go-!"
She was suddenly cut off, the sounds of a struggle and rattling chains filling the speaker.
"Angela!" Goliath yelled, leaping onto the wall and smashing the speaker.
"Message received, Sevarius." Willow snarled.
…
Back down in the loading bay, Angela was marched, still in chains, back into the mouth of the mechanical Nessie. Other soldiers began getting on a well, Sevarius joining the party. Before climbing on, he turned to Bruno, tossing him a machine gun.
"As much as I would hate to lose a gargoyle, should Goliath become too much, put him out of our misery." Sevarius ordered. "Just be sure not to hurt Miss Xanatos, lest you wish to find yourself six feet under."
"Yeah, I hear ya." Bruno replied, cocking the gun.
…
Back in the dungeon, the four of them were searching around the cell, looking for an escape. Elisa poked around the wall, finding a block where the mortar had been worn away. Letting out a soft hiss, she drew the attention of the others, showing them the loose block. Both Goliath and Willow exchanged grins, an idea already forming.
"Bronx, dig." Willow commanded.
With a happy bark, Bronx quickly got to work.
...
Meanwhile, the doors to Nessie's grotto opened up, allowing Nessie to swim out into the loch. The young monster wasted no time, darting out into the water to put as much distance between her and the grotto. Unfortunately, her metallic effigy was right on her tail, following the signal from the SONAR detector.
"Be careful." Sevarius warned. "Stay back and stay low. We don't want to get to close and alert Big Daddy."
…
With Bronx, meanwhile, his efforts to dig were greatly rewarded as he managed to bust through the stone walls of the dungeon. Luck was in the gargoyles' favor as the hole opened up into the now mostly deserted loading bay. Satisfied with Bronx's progress, Goliath and Willow took over, tearing through the wall and providing the quartet with their escape route.
"Nice job you guys." Elisa complimented.
"Job's not over yet." Willow reminded her. "We still need to find a way to go after Angela."
"Would it be possible that Sevarius has another 'submarine'?" Goliath proposed.
"Most likely." Willow nodded. "He'd have a spare, especially if his target is the Loch Ness Monster that nearly turned us into chum."
"Then that is what we will use." Goliath declared, heading through the hole.
Once he stepped through, he was greeted by Bruno, who aimed his gun right at Goliath.
"That's far enough, beast." Bruno warned. "I'm just itching for an excuse to shoot."
Goliath snarled, stepping back reluctantly. That's when Willow stepped in front of him, spreading her arms.
"You really wanna try that?" She asked.
Bruno went wide-eyed behind his visor as she walked out of the dungeon, the rest of the group following after her.
"Good boy." She smirked, holding out her hand. "Now, hand over the gun."
Bruno grumbled before handing the gun to her. She took it, aiming it at Bruno and urging him away.
"Does this facility have any other submarines?" She questioned. "I'm assuming the main one's currently out in the Loch."
"Yeah." Bruno confirmed. "There's a minisub docked just behind us."
"Any others?" Willow pressed.
"No." Bruno answered.
Willow nodded, turning back to the group.
"Looks like I've found us a way out of here, as well as a pilot for our escape." She mused before turning back to Bruno. "Lead the way."
Reluctantly, Bruno led the way to the sub. Goliath hopped on with Elisa gathered up in one arm and Bronx under the other. Willow sprouted her wings, pulling Bruno onto the sub by the back of his shirt. Goliath pulled the hatch open, gently lowering Elisa down. Willow pushed Bruno in next, then prepared to go in herself. However, she stopped, looking back at the now empty docking bay. Her eyes narrowed and she turned her gun towards some oxygen tanks that were lining the walls.
"Goliath, are you guys situated in there?" She asked, preparing her shot.
"We're on board!" Goliath called back.
"Good." Willow let out.
She fired her gun, a laser piercing through several of the oxygen tanks and causing them to combust. The explosion caused all of the tanks to go up in flames, which in turn ruptured the wall holding back the full force of the ocean. Water began to flood the docking bay as Willow jumped in, closing the hatch behind her.
"Are you insane?!" Bruno shouted, realizing what she did.
"What?" She asked innocently. "We're all on the sub. Besides, I was sending a message to my father."
Before Bruno could say anything more, Goliath snarled and grabbed his shoulder.
"Get us out of here." He commanded. "Take us to Angela."
"Alright! Alright!" Bruno agreed, taking the controls.
…
In the Loch, Nessie continued swimming through the water, rushing to return to Big Daddy. She roared and whined, calling out to her mate desperately. Suddenly, Big Daddy swam out of his cave and right towards Nessie, letting out a roar of his own. The two met up, almost immediately rubbing snouts and showing each other affection. From the Nessie submarine, Sevarius observed the touching reunion with a look of predatory hunger.
"Monster love, how touching." Sevarius remarked, gazing over at Angela. "Now, how are we going to lure them close enough to catch?"
…
Moments later, Angela was being dragged through the water, dangling by a chain right next to one of the subs turbines. Both Nessie and Big Daddy took note of the sub, as well as the gargoyle being dragged in its wake. Recognizing her friend from the grotto, Nessie gave chase with Big Daddy not far behind.
Just a short distance away, the minisub soon arrived at the scene, onboard cameras catching sight of the chase. Both Elisa and Willow gasped at the sight.
"It's amazing." Willow let out. "The Loch Ness Monster is real."
"More than that, there's two of them." Elisa added. "Mates. And they're heading right towards Sevarius! Zoom in."
"Why not?" Bruno remarked. "There's nothing you can do."
He did as he was told, the image on the screen becoming larger. This also brought Angela's dangling form into focus. Goliath's eyes went wide as he saw her.
"Angela!" he exclaimed.
"After that gargoyle!" Willow demanded.
It plunged deeper into the depths of the ocean, following Sevarius' sub and the two charging monsters. As they did, Goliath grabbed some scuba gear from a storage locker on the sub.
"You sure about this?" Willow asked.
"It is the only way." Goliath replied, putting the scuba mask on before climbing into a torpedo tube.
Willow closed the tube behind him, turning to Elisa with a worried look. Elisa just set her mouth in a grim line, her eyes locked on the screen in front of her.
…
Meanwhile, Angela struggled to hold her breath, her lungs screaming for air as she was pulled along behind Sevarius' sub. Inside, the 'good doctor' leaned on the chair of the sub's main pilot.
"How much longer until our beasts are within taser range?" he questioned.
"Thirty-five seconds, sir." the pilot replied.
Sevarius smiled with twisted delight as the pilot prepared to fire. Before they could though, the minisub careened into it, scraping along its outer hull and sending the crews inside both to their knees. Willow and Bronx covered their ears from the assault as Goliath did the same within his tube. The larger sub ended up with massive gashes in its hull, causing waves of water to pour in.
As the minisub came back around, Elisa hit a button that shot Goliath out like a torpedo. He darted right up to Angela, who was just about out of air. Goliath quickly swam up to her and placed a scuba mask on her face, allowing her to breathe again. As she gasped and filled her lungs once more, Goliath made short work of her chains as Nessie and Big Daddy approached. Seizing the moment, Angela swam up to Nessie and removed the SONAR tag from around her neck, allowing it to sink to the bottom of the Loch.
Inside Sevarius' quickly flooding submarine, the mad doctor tried to find a way to salvage the situation. He looked on a monitor screen and saw Big Daddy swimming by.
"Fire the tazers!" He ordered.
The pilot obliged, and fired a taser cable at Big Daddy, causing him to roar in pain upon impact. Nessie, Goliath and Angela all watched in horror, though the latter was not willing to just stand by and do nothing. Her eyes narrowing, she swam forward, clawing through the taser cable as a second was fired. Once Big Daddy was free, both he and Nessie turned on the metal doppelganger with angry expressions. They dove right at it and began tearing it apart, starting at the neck and even ripping off one of the metal flippers. Goliath and Angela took this moment to return to the minisub, taking off for the surface and leaving the two monsters to their prey.
Sevarius did his best to seal off the damage, but it was quickly proving to be a fruitless endeavor.
"We're taking on a lot of water." Sevarius noted. "But we should have enough ballast to make it to shore."
Just as he said that though, the monsters came at them again, gripping another metal flipper and dragging it down into the depths. Onboard the sub, the crew looked to Sevarius for what to do next, only to find no sign of him.
"Sevarius?" the pilot let out. "Where's Sevarius? Sevarius!"
The sub was dragged down into the depths of the Loch by the two monsters, a fitting vengeance for the chaos brought upon them.
…
Watching through a side window in the mini sub, the reunited clan watched as Big Daddy and Nessie returned to shallower waters. Nessie took a moment to approach the window, as if to give Angela a final farewell. The two were even joined by two smaller monsters, something that made the entire group gush as the monsters disappeared from view.
...
Once they made surface, the first thing the group did was set the minisub to explode. The group watched from the shore as the metal monster went up in flames, Willow binding Bruno to a rock with some rope she'd pulled from the sub.
"Sevarius has more lives than an alley cat." Bruno told them. "Don't think for a second you've seen the last of him."
"Maybe not," Willow conceded. "But at least, it will be the last anyone has to worry about these metal monsters."
"Agreed." Elisa chimed in. "Some creatures in this world are meant to remain legends."
Goliath nodded in agreement, placing his claws on Angela's shoulders.
"You should have seen how lost Nessie was without Big Daddy." She said softly, placing her own claw over Goliath's. "I was so happy when the family got back together."
"Me too, Angela." Goliath agreed. "Me too."
