"A Simple Kiss -- Part Two"
by Lisette: Lisette_1@lycos.com

Created on 9/09/97
Revised on 5/03/01

All the usual legalese: nothing here is of my creation. Aladdin and the Aladdin crew belong to Disney while Goliath and his crew belong to Disney/Buena Vista. No profit will be made by me. Also the song that I use is the property of Alison Krauss.

Author's Note: This is the second part of the first installment of the Talika Saga. In the Gargoyles Realm this can take place anytime after the "Hunter's Moon" incident and before "The Journey". As for Aladdin, we'll say anytime during the cartoon series, or after "The Return of Jafar" and before "The King of Thieves".

RATING: PG-13


A Simple Kiss -- Part Two

Brooklyn walked slowly back and forth across the bed chamber. Things had just gone from bad to unbelievably worse. He had tried to get in the door when he heard Elisa's scream and the roars from Goliath, but the door was magically sealed, preventing his help. Then, when all hope seemed lost, the door had suddenly fell open before him. Not waiting a second, Brooklyn had rushed forward, but there in front of him was a sight that he never wanted to see again: his mighty leader kneeling before the still form of Elisa Maza, sobbing as he held her to his chest. Without having to ask, they all knew what had happened. Sighing, Brooklyn looked once more to his leader who was now withdrawn and sitting by Elisa's side. Matt, having been summoned from his sleep, was sitting in the corner with his head in his arms, giving Elisa's sleeping form an occasional glance, a single tear sliding down his cheek. Aladdin, on the other hand, was standing in the middle of the room, holding onto Jasmine as though he never wanted to let go.

All in all, they were all showing their deep despair in the only way that they knew how.. but finally, Brooklyn had had enough. "That's it!" he yelled, turning to face the dejected group. "Everyone, pull yourselves together! She's not lost to us yet!" she cried out shrilly, hating the unsure questioning that he heard in his very own voice.

But his words seemed to be enough as Goliath rose from his vigilant perch beside the bed, nodding in Brooklyn's direction. "You are right," he growled wearily, "We must push our feelings aside and plan a way to get her back... Jasmine," he said, turning to the princess.

At the mention of her name, Jasmine withdrew from Aladdin's embrace and straightened her shoulders, showing to one and all that she for one was not going to give up on Elisa without a fight. "Yes Goliath?"

"Did Mozenrath mention how to reverse what he planned?"

Sighing, Jasmine slowly shook her head. "No, he didn't say... but perhaps if Mozenrath is dead then what he did will be reversed," she ventured quietly, shrugging her small shoulders.

"But how do we know that won't kill Elisa as well?" Matt broke in, shaking his head quickly.

"We don't," Brooklyn sighed in disgust, thumping his tail in annoyance.

"Man, I wish Genie was here!" Aladdin muttered under his breath in frustration. "He'd be able to tell us everything we needed to know!"

"You rang?" came a deep baritone voice, seemingly out of the air itself.

As the group looked around in confusion and some in fear, a blue mist began to gather next to Aladdin. Slowly it took the shape of a giant blue guy wearing a standard black butler's uniform.

"Genie!" Aladdin cried happily, throwing his arms around his friend in an enthusiastic hug.

"Ah, shucks!" Genie replied, blushing while returning the hug.

"Genie," Jasmine cried out in obvious relief, a large smile lifting her lips as she moved beside Aladdin. With a blink of an eye, Genie quickly changed back to his normal appearance: blue baggy pants, weird shoes, and no shirt. "I thought that you were on vacation!"

"Well..." Genie said with a wink, "the pyramids were getting old, besides... been there, done that last time on vacation. You know, right after the big bad Jafar. Now, what can I do for... whoa!" Genie started, staring wide eyed at the three visitors he had failed to notice upon his grand entrance. "Gargoyles!" he gasped in obvious surprise, "Why I haven't seen any of your kind in at least a millennia. Now, tell me," Genie said, changing his form once more, this time to a blue lady with blond hair in tight fitting pink dress with a Southern accent. "Sugar, who's tall, dark, and lavender over there? Not to mention his beaked and red headed companions?"

"My name is Goliath," the gargoyle said, stepping toward the strange being before him with suspicion written clearly on his face. "And who are you?"

"Well, like Aladdin and Jasmine over there said earlier," replied Genie, returning to his normal appearance, obviously noting the gargoyle's impatience with his usual charades, "I'm called Genie, and the name says it all."

"But I thought that Genies were fairy tales?" Matt broke in, obviously confused.

"Yeah, and Gargoyles aren't?" Genie interrupted the detective sarcastically.

"Never mind all that," Jasmine broke in impatiently, "we're wasting time that Elisa doesn't have."

"You are right, Princess," Goliath hedged, finally accepting the new addition grudgingly. By now he easily realized that they needed all the help that they could get. "We need to get Elisa back before Mozenrath tries something with his new powers," Goliath acknowledged.

"Mozenrath?" Genie squeaked in surprise, his skin tone lightening a shade or two.

"Long story, Genie," Aladdin sighed wearily.

"Well, I'm kind of lost here and I have the rest of eternity to spare," Genie pointed out, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Anyone care to clarify things a little?"

"Okay, here's the condensed version," Jasmine said impatiently. "Mozenrath found out that by taking the soul of a human woman, Elisa Maza, he would gain unlimited power, so he could conquer our world. To get her, he opened a portal to her world and kidnapped her. These are her friends: Goliath, the leader of the clan of gargoyles; Brooklyn, his second in command; and Matt, her human partner," Jasmine said hurriedly, pointing them all out in turn. "Following so far?"

"Um, gotcha," Genie muttered, taking in each person around the room with a dazed expression upon his face.

"Good. When Mozenrath grabbed Elisa," Jasmine continued, "her friends managed to follow her through the portal. But before he could take her back to his kingdom Aladdin was able to get to her and bring her back here to the palace."

"Okay... which is where we are right now?" Genie asked hopefully as he eagerly rubbed his hands together. "So where is the lucky lady?"

At the Genie's innocent question, Goliath couldn't help the low growl that filled his throat as he slowly stepped aside and gestured to Elisa's unmoving body. Then, as the Genie's eyes lit upon her form, his jovial expression instantly turned contrite as he began to nod in understanding. Still, this did nothing to alleviate Goliath's displeasure with the creature. "I do not think that I like you, Genie," he growled, speaking the truth as he moved once more before Elisa, "for you remind me too much of an annoying fey-"

"Fey?!" Genie cut in incredulously. "You know of the third race?"

"Puck, the banshee," Brooklyn began, ticking the names off of his talons as he went, "Odin, Coyote, Fox, Alexander, the weird sisters, Queen Titania, King Oberon... yeah, you could say that we pretty much know them all," he finished with an indifferent shrug.

At this display, Genie's pleasure only seemed to grow as he rocked back on his heels, looking completely blown away. "I haven't seen any of them in millenniums... I'm going to have to hear all of the stories.." he continued excitedly.

"Later," Jasmine interrupted impatiently as she nudged Aladdin for help.

"Genie," he quickly broke in, taking his cue, "what we really need right now is to know why Mozenrath is getting all of this power from Elisa. I mean, why her?"

"Also," Goliath broke in, his voice a deep rumble, "what can we do to get her soul back from him?"

"So he.. took it all then, huh?" Genie asked, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, not really expecting an answer as his somber expression returned once again. "Okay folks," he finally declared, snapping his finger as he nodded at the expectant group, "really I'm not supposed to do this, but this time I'll break the rules," he continued as he reached into the air above him and withdrew a book from nowhere. On the front was inscribed a single word, Destiny.

"What is that, Genie?" Jasmine asked curiously, stepping closer.

"It's the book of Destiny: the place where everyone's destiny is recorded," Genie replied nonchalantly, waving away their surprise as he aimlessly flipped through the pages. "What was the name again?"

"Maza, Elisa Maza," Goliath quickly supplied, curious despite himself as he too began to edge forward. "What does it say about her?"

"Let's see... hmm, Matthews, Maverick, Mawjah, Mayan, ah, Maza... here we go," Genie muttered as he obviously began to scan the text by her name. "Well, it says some pretty interesting stuff here," he finally muttered while cocking an eyebrow at the group. "Hmm, a police detective, falls off of buildings a lot, friends with the Gargoyle clan from Manhattan, she..."

"What? Can we save her?" Matt asked impatiently, waving away at the information that they already knew.

But then, Genie's mouth widened softly before he quickly shut the book, his expression turning neutral. "She can be saved, all hope is not lost," he replied vaguely, his eyes shuttered.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Brooklyn asked angrily, trying to snatch the book from Genie's hands.

"There's nothing in the book that can aid us," he quickly replied, easily dodging the gargoyle as the book disappeared from his hands.

"Genie?" Aladdin asked cautiously. "What aren't you telling us?"

"If you are hiding anything from us..." Goliath threatened, his eyes burning white.

But Genie seemed unimpressed. Even if it was the largest gargoyle that he had seen in a long time, an angry gargoyle at that, there were some rules that just couldn't be broken or bent. Even if one of the things that he had learned long ago was not to piss off a gargoyle. Still, sometimes rules were rules. Shaking his head sadly, Genie spoke calmly to the angry gargoyle, "I'm sorry, but I can't help out on this one."

"What?" Goliath roared angrily, his control over his mighty temper snapping like a small twig under his growing desperation. "If you know something that could help, then you must tell us!"

"Goliath!" Jasmine yelled, stepping between the two. "If Genie says that he can't help us, then he can't. He's on our side, and if he can't tell us something, then it's for the over all good."

"She's right," Aladdin sighed, moving to stand beside his blue friend. "Right now we have to think of a plan."

Sighing his acceptance, Goliath caped his wings around his shoulders and led the group to the empty table. Sitting down, they began their planning.


Where am I? Elisa thought, looking around her with eyes and a body that she couldn't feel, faced with a never-ending darkness all around her. What's going on? she thought, feeling her panic beginning to build. "Goliath?!" she tried to yell, yet nothing came forth -- not even a sound in this endless realm of darkness. Okay, calm down Maza, getting hysterical is not going to help, she thought, forcing herself to calm. Thinking back, she slowly began to remember her trip through the portal and the struggle with Mozenrath. She remembered being rescued by Goliath, and then awakening to find Goliath beside her, and everything was alright... until Mozenrath came in and ruined it all. The horror she felt when she saw Mozenrath shoot that energy at Goliath was tremendous. Then the monster tormented him.... At least she had a chance to say goodbye, and to finally tell Goliath her true feelings. She loved him. She always had, and had never truly realized it till that moment. Before, her feelings and emotions had been a whirlwind of confusion. She had known for quite some time that she had cared for the big guy, proving it with a kiss here and there. If only it hadn't ended there. Or had it? Was she dead? Was this what death was?

For some reason, she didn't think so. I always thought that death would be a big family reunion with my relatives, not inky darkness... so maybe I'm not dead! Mozenrath had said that he was going to take her soul. Which meant that her soul was probably with him, meaning that she was with him. Making a decision, she quickly began a mental struggle to come forward out of the inky darkness that was to be her home. It was a tiring process, but with a little work and pure Maza determination, she knew that she would succeed -- hopefully before too much damage was done. If she was left in this place for the rest of eternity, she would go mad. This empty blackness she was in was a darker Hell than she had ever imagined. Don't worry, Goliath, this time I'm coming for you!


Mozenrath's Palace

Mozenrath hummed contentedly to himself as he walked the passage ways of his palace. Things were definitely looking up. Laughing, he flexed his gloved hand, feeling the incredible energy that was coursing through his veins. Ah, the power.. he thought to himself. It was greater than he had ever imagined. Every step he took, every move he made caused the energy to stir within himself. Elisa Maza was no more. With her energy taken, he had banished her soul to the furthest corners of his mind, never to be heard from again. He still couldn't figure out why, but her soul was the ticket to world domination. He knew without a doubt that victory would be his with her power. The magic he now possessed was almost alien to him.

But his thoughts of Elisa brought an image of her sleeping body to his mind. Frowning, he remembered his act of generosity, leaving the body behind. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, another way to show to Aladdin and that Goliath beast that he had truly won. The look on Goliath's face was priceless. To think that the beast actually loved Elisa was beyond his imagination... actually it was hilarious. On the other hand, it was pretty stupid to leave her body behind. To think of what the stupid beast was doing with it was enough to infuriate him.

Hissing quietly to himself, Mozenrath was about to holler for his pet eel to come to him when a new idea came. He wanted to test his powers, and this was the perfect way. "My little pet eel," he laughed, his eyes as black as coal, "I have an ordeal... I need you to be right here beside me!" he chanted to the air around him. Then, in the blink of an eye, a flash of light occurred at his side. Shielding his eyes from the sudden glare, Mozenrath turned to find the eel floating at his side.

"Masssster... what happened?"

Laughing, Mozenrath shook his head in child-like wonder as he grinned as his gloved hand. "I summoned you with my magic," he stated out loud, more for his benefit than for the stupid eel.

"Impressssive," the eel hissed quietly, its long, snake-like tongue sliding out of its mouth. "What can I do for you my Massster?"

"I desire the body of the human Elisa Maza," he stated matter-of-factly before turning to the eel with a murderous glare. "I should never have listened to you and left her behind," he stated angrily, easily shifting the blame from himself to the eel.

"But Massster," the eel hissed in protest, "I never-"

"Be quiet! Now, I want you to prepare the Morlacs... we leave for Agrabah in ten minutes."

"Yesss Massster..." the eel replied, doing his version of a bow before gliding away.

Grinning evilly, Mozenrath had to restrain himself from rubbing his hands together gleefully. "Soon I'll be paying a little visit to my old friends of Agrabah. Now, not even Genie can stand in my way!!"


Royal Palace, Agrabah

"Okay, so what are our options?" Matt asked, looking the group over carefully.

"Killing Mozenrath," Jasmine suggested warily once more.

"Man, that brings us back to where we were before Genie's arrival," Matt quickly argued as he shook his head curtly. "We can't kill him until we're sure that we can bring her soul back!"

"But there's no way that we can know for sure!" Brooklyn pointed out.

"Then we cannot kill him," Goliath put in firmly. "As you have all pointed out, we cannot be sure and I will not endanger Elisa any further. Whether we like it or not, we will have to take him alive."

"That won't be easy," Aladdin said, shaking his head sadly.

"It does not matter," Goliath insisted, taking charge once more. "We will just have to deliver a blow to knock him unconscious. From there we can restrain him and figure out our next move."

At this move of authority, Brooklyn sighed a mental sigh of relief. Even though he was second in command, he wasn't ready for the burdens of leadership just yet. Also, this meant that Goliath had finally pushed away all of his grief and anger and locked it away, for once again his face was cold and impassive. As far as he was concerned, that could only be a good thing. Already too many rash decisions had been made while they had been ruled by their emotions and not logic.

Matt, too noticed the slight change in Goliath's demeanor. Following this example, Matt straightened his shoulders, pushing his anger at his partner's apparent demise to a corner in his mind. We'll get our revenge.. and I'm not giving up on Elisa just yet, she was never a quitter, and I doubt she'd start now if our roles were reversed.

Goliath slowly rose from his seat at the table and began to pace, aware of everyone's eyes upon him. With determination, he had finally locked his emotions away -- most of them anyway. All that remained was raw anger and determination. Determination to get back Elisa's soul, to bring her back to him once more. Without her, all would be lost. He had finally found love once again, only to be ripped away while he watched. The feeling of helplessness he felt while he watched her slip away was like nothing he had ever felt before. It was even worse than coming back to find his clan destroyed and the "remains" of his angel of the night. Then, he had no control for he wasn't there to stop it. In this case, he had to watch his love be destroyed before his very eyes. The love he felt for Elisa may be wrong because of the difference of their species, but he wasn't going to let that stop him from loving her. The feelings he had for Elisa was the most pure form of love he had ever felt before, even greater than the love he felt for Demona. He would get Elisa back, that he vowed to himself. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as yet another palace guard rushed into the room.

"Not again!" Brooklyn groaned quietly.

Sending a glare in Brooklyn's direction, Jasmine quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

"Princess, the palace is under attack -- again!" the guard stammered, eyeing the strange creatures warily.

"What?" Aladdin cried out in disbelief, "by the same forces?"

"Yes. And this time they're killing everyone and everything that they can," the guard continued grimly. "We have already sustained heavy damages and Mozenrath keeps shouting that he is returning for what's rightfully his."

"He's come back for Elisa!" Matt exploded angrily, jumping to his feet as he stole a glance at the open door to the room where Elisa slept.

"Not this time," Goliath growled, climbing swiftly to his feet. "Matt, I want you to stay with Elisa. Protect her with your life and do not let him take her body!!" he isntructed urgently.

"Don't worry Goliath, he's not coming near her," Matt said with venom dripping from his voice as he stood from the table.

"Good, the rest of you are with me. Let us take care of Mozenrath once and for all... but do not forget!" he interrupted, realizing how his words could be taken. "No one is to kill him -- just make it so we can restrain him!"

At these instructions, a throat was cleared noisily as all eyes turned to the quiet genie. "I'm staying here," he stated quietly, leaving no room for argument.

Surprised, Aladdin stepped up to his friend and probed his eyes in confusion. "Genie? Why won't you fight with us?"

Instantly, Genie's cold expression broke as he looked at his friend sadly. "I'm sorry Al, but this is one fight that I'm not permitted to help with. You're on your own."

Sighing, Aladdin contemplated his friends words before nodding his head in agreement. Although he didn't understand what was going on in his friend's mind, he trusted him. If Genie said that he couldn't, then he couldn't and the rest of them would just have to make do without a little bit of Genie help. "Fine, you stay with Matt and Elisa," Aladdin agreed.

Shooting his friend a grateful look, Genie quickly turned and followed Matt into the bed chamber, the rest of the group watching their departing backs. As the door closed, they could hear a heavy grating sound as something was moved in front of the door. Satisfied that Matt could handle it for the time being, Goliath led the group down the passageway and into combat.


After many twists and turns, the group finally found themselves in the great hall, the place of the battle. The room was huge beyond imagining, with a roof that could be found about four to five stories up, the room itself circular with the diameter of a football field. Everywhere they looked, they saw palace guards fighting hand to hand with Morlacs, while scattered on the ground were the bodies and pieces of the bodies of the fallen. Morlacs and the guards were falling left and right. But unfortunately, for every Morlac that fell, three more replaced it, while the guards were running low.

The Captain of the Guards, a big, burly unkempt man who was missing a couple of teeth ran towards the entering group. "Princess, our forces are being out numbered."

"Don't worry Captain, reinforcements have arrived," she said slyly, looking at her gargoyle companions.

Without further ado, Goliath and Brooklyn climbed the rock walls of the room and soon launched themselves into the air. From there their roars of attack quickly ripped through the room as they began their air to ground attacks, taking out huge numbers of the Morlacs by dismemberment.

Aladdin, meanwhile, had grabbed a sword from the floor and jumped into action. In the air was Jasmine on Carpet, taking out as many of the enemies as she could. Abu, meanwhile, ran about playing tricks on the Morlacs, effectively distracting them while the guards finished them off. The allies had started their attack.


Brooklyn was amazed by the number of Morlacs in the room. It seemed that with Mozenrath's new power, he had enlarged his army by the thousands. As Brooklyn looked around, he saw a Morlac sneaking towards a preoccupied Aladdin. With a battle cry that made most cringe in horror, Brooklyn glided down and picked up the unsuspecting Morlac. As the thing struggled in his hand, Brooklyn used his other to fimrly grab the thing's arm. Then, wrinkling his nose in disgust, he ripped the arm away.

Since the zombie had no nerves, it didn't even blink an eye but kept struggling. Sighing in annoyance, he finished the job by pulling all of the major appendages off one by one. Soon, nothing was left but the head, which he promptly dropped into the writhing mass of bodies below. Turning, he looked for another awaiting victim.


Mozenrath was enjoying this immensely. Sure, he could just use his heightened magic to destroy everyone in the room with a snap of his fingers, but what would be the fun of that? All around him his evil minions were destroying the palace's forces. Laughing gaily, he watched as another Morlac slaughtered an innocent palace guard with his sword, the blood flowing to the ground as the guard looked down in horror at the gaping wound in his stomach. Stumbling, the man fell to the floor, agony creasing his features, and then slowly fading out as the man died. Mozenrath laughed once more, wondering to himself if the man maybe had a loving family at home, with little kids waiting at the door for the caring father who was never to return to them again. It's just too perfect! Mozenrath thought, breaking into another wave of uncontrolled laughter.

Sighing he scanned the room and checked out how his arch enemy was faring. As usual, Aladdin was in the middle of things and faring pretty well. Not a scratch could be seen on him, making Mozenrath wonder how no one was ever able to draw blood from the street rat. Sure he had a couple of bruised ribs once, but that's the worse that had ever happened to him! Oh well, soon he would be drawing plenty of blood. Looking at the rest of Aladdin's cohorts, he laughed once more as he realized that soon, he would indeed be drawing a lot of blood as he tortured and killed Aladdin's friends right before his eyes. How fun indeed.


Elisa sighed mentally to herself in frustration. She had made it so far! Even though there was nothing to judge her progress by, she could tell that slowly, layer by layer she was peeling the thick fog away from her. Grunting in anticipation of the strain that lay before her, she struggled into battle once more, fighting the black mist that enclosed her.

Then, suddenly she broke free of the confines she had been placed under. But what she saw before her boggled her mind. She still couldn't move anything on her own, but now she had the rest of her senses back: mainly touch, hearing, and sight. All she felt was a smooth cloth covering her body, pants and robes. What she heard was a different matter. All around her she heard the sounds of battle: swords clanging against swords, cries of victory, cries of defeat, and the cries of the dying or those in great agony. What she saw, however, was the worst. Before her eyes she saw the disgusting Morlacs fighting the palace guards. Suddenly, her eyes zoomed in, not of her own accord, on the figure of Aladdin fighting a Morlac. It was then that she realized that no, this wasn't her own body. As the eyes turned, she caught a sight of the body she was in: Mozenrath's.


Goliath soared high above the crowd of fighters, helping out as was needed. Mainly, though, he looked for his prey. Finally, he spotted Mozenrath floating above the crowd on the far corner of the room. It looked as though he was amused by all of the death and destruction surrounding him. This, of course, only served to fuel Goliath's anger as he dove down from above and rammed hard into the unsuspecting figure below him.

With a crash and a groan from his enemy, the man fell to the ground under his weight. As he disentangled himself from the sorcerer's limbs, he backed away and watched as Mozenrath slowly regained his senses. But before the evil villain could try anything, Goliath charged again, driving the man that stole Elisa from him into the wall behind them. Suddenly, without warning Mozenrath brought his fist up and connected it with Goliath's face. Rearing behind the force of the blow, Goliath stumbled back. Looking up, he saw Mozenrath's eyes glowing brightly with his hands pointed at him.


Elisa could do nothing at all to stop what was happening before her. She was getting the crap beat out of her, and it hurt. She was able to feel all of the pain. When her vision finally cleared after the last hit, she could feel the magical energies inside herself begin to build. To make it worse, the energies and her gaze were all being aimed at Goliath who was standing before her. NO!! she screamed in her mind. But it did no good, for no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't gain control of the body that she was now inhabiting.


Ouch, that one hurt! Mozenrath thought to himself as he slowly regained his footing. Before he could completely come back to his senses, a massive lavender form charged him again, pushing him into the wall. Thankfully, with his new strength, he wasn't as dazed as he usually would be and shaking his head, he finally decided that enough was enough. Without warning he punched the offender in the jaw. As it stumbled back, Mozenrath finally got his first look at his attacker. There before him was Goliath. That stupid gargoyle had gotten the best of him, and for that he would pay!

Gathering his magic, Mozenrath slowly levitated up into the air. Screaming in anger, he let loose a volley of magic at Goliath that quickly encircled him in a strong vise, like before only tighter. Just as he started to squeeze the fool to death, a sudden impulsive idea popped into his mind: why not let him live? He would trap him with the others and make the leader of the gargoyles watch while the rest of his friends died. Nodding, he turned to the rest of the room. He was sick of the game, anyway, and was ready for the end.

With a snap of his fingers, all the bodies of the dead disappeared while the palace guards disappeared and reappeared inside a metal cage lying in the corner of the room. Then, he laughed in amusement as he made Carpet disappear under the flying Jasmine. Aladdin, seeing that his girlfriend was about to plummet to her death, jumped from his position and caught her before she hit the ground.

Unfortunately for them both, the catch was lopsided as under the weight they both ended up sprawled on the hard marble floor. Before they could regain their senses, another metal cage appeared over them. Pointing across the room, he made the rest of the main characters of this little episode disappear, only to reappear in Aladdin's cage. First went Abu, then the red gargoyle, and finally Goliath, with Carpet appearing behind him. Laughing in amusement, he then telepathically searched the rest of the palace for anyone else hiding within its bowels. Sighing, he only sensed one other presence: a human male that was with the sleeping Elisa. With a mere thought, the human was instantly transported into the cage with the rest of his friends. Now, all was complete and ready for stage two: revenge.


Sighing wearily, Goliath rubbed his aching jaw as he slowly staggered to his feet. While the cage was a surprise, it at least kept Mozenrath occupied for the moment as he checked on the others. "Aladdin, Jasmine... are you alright?"

"Yeah..." Aladdin groaned wearily, "I just have a sore butt from Jasmine's fall."

"Sorry Aladdin," Jasmine replied sheepishly as she gently massaged her own aching shoulder, bruised from the fall. "But I am fine Goliath... how about you? How's your jaw?"

"Nothing that a day's sleep won't cure," Goliath replied, brushing away her concern as he turned to his second. "Brooklyn?"

But before Brooklyn could answer, a bright light blinded them all. As they blinked away the spots in the their vision, they were surprised at the sight before them. Slowly, Matt groaned as he picked himself up from the center of the cage.

"Matt?" Brooklyn asked. "Are you okay? What are you doing here, I thought you were watching Elisa!"

"I was," Matt groaned again, finally pulling himself straight with Aladdin's help. "Genie and I were guarding over Elisa when all of a sudden Genie up and disappeared. I looked all over for him, but I couldn't find him. Then the next thing I know I'm picking myself off of the floor in here with you guys... what happened?"

"It must be Mozenrath," Aladdin whispered grimly. "Genie must have gotten away before he found you and brought you here."

"Oh, so now he's a coward too, huh?" Brooklyn asked sarcastically.

"Brooklyn," Goliath said, a warning in his voice.

"Don't worry," Jasmine said reassuringly, "I'm sure that Genie had a good reason for doing what he did."

"We only hope so," Aladdin added thoughtfully, Abu nodding his agreement.


Well, everything is complete now, except for interrogation, Mozenrath thought to himself as he slowly lowered to the ground. Turning to his Morlac warriors he said, "Bring me Aladdin."

Whistling, he then walked over to the Sultan's throne and lowered himself down into the comfortable chair. Just as he was about to be completely relaxed, he was disturbed by a commotion below. Smiling, he looked up to see Aladdin struggling, each arm being held by a Morlac.

"Aladdin!" Mozenrath called out, a bright smile lifting his lips. Getting up from the throne, he walked quickly to his arch enemy's side. "I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me."

At this, Aladdin struggled even harder in the Morlacs' grips, to no avail. Their grip was like a vise, making him unable to move in the slightest. "What do you want Mozenrath?" he finally replied, his tone weary as he locked eyes with the pale man. "To gloat even more?"

"No, that will come later," Mozenrath laughed as he slowly backed away. "Right now I want to know where Genie, the Sultan, and that stupid pet Raja is -- not to mention that worthless parrot Iago."

At this, it was Aladdin's turn to laugh. "I'm not telling you anything!" he yelled defiantly.

At this display of courage, Mozenrath only returned the laugh. "I was hoping you'd say that," he said as he stretched his arm back and then let it fly, landing a hard slap across Aladdin's face that cracked and echoed across the room. He watched in satisfaction as Aladdin's head whipped sideways with the force of the blow. As he turned to face Mozenrath once more, everyone could see a faint trickle of blood running from the corner of Aladdin's mouth. "Ah, so you do bleed," Mozenrath mused, his cold smile growing. "Care to answer me now?"

With even more determination, Aladdin shook his head in defiance as he muttered a single word beneath his breath, so low that only Mozenrath could hear: no.

Laughing his evil laugh again, Mozenrath slowly nodded his head as he eyed the street rat. "You hero-types -- so typical and perfect," he laughed as he slugged him in the stomach. Groaning, Aladdin quickly doubled over in pain. Hissing as a flare of pain whipped through his hand, Mozenrath only took the pain as a price of joy as he realized that this blissful heaven could go on forever -- and for Aladdin, it must have seemed like it did. But fortunately, or unfortunately, depending upon your view of things, he finally got bored with his primitive torture. Sighing he turned to another waiting Morlac. "Fetch me the princess."

"No!" Aladdin moaned, finding his strength as he renewed his useless struggles.


A few minutes later, Princess Jasmine ran from her captors to her bloodied boyfriend. "Aladdin! Are you alright?" she asked, fear in her heart and eyes as she looked over his wounds.

Before Aladdin could calm her fears, the Morlacs grabbed her and dragged her away from him. "Now Princess Jasmine," Mozenrath said, looking at the sobbing princess, "maybe you will be a little more cooperative.

"Never!" Jasmine cried, sticking her lower lip out in defiance.

Ignoring her last statement, he asked "Where are the others? Where are your father and Genie?" he demanded, his voice cold.

"I'm not going to tell you anything!" Jasmine said, making Aladdin proud.

"Fine then, Morlac," he said pointing at one of the waiting zombies. With no further wait, the Morlac quickly stepped up to Aladdin and started to beat him severely.

"NO! Stop!" Jasmine half screamed, half sobbed.

With a snap of Mozenrath's fingers, the Morlac stopped the beating. "Answer me Princess, unless you want your boyfriend to pay the price of your insubordination."

"No.. Jasmine, don't tell him anything," Aladdin wheezed in between gasps for air with his bruised ribs.

Before Jasmine could answer, Mozenrath gave the signal for the beating to begin again.

"Stop!" Jasmine pleaded as just as quickly the abuse stopped while Mozenrath merely raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her response. With tears in her eyes, she looked over at Aladdin. The only thing that was holding him up anymore was the Morlacs on either side of him. His eye was already darkening, while his lip was bulged and swollen. The rest of his body was also turning black and blue and covered in blood. "Fine," she sobbed, "you win,' she whispered, knowing that she couldn't see her love hurt.. not Aladdin.

"Good," Mozenrath answered, a glint in his eyes, "where are they?"

"They're all gone. My father has been on a trip to visit a foreign land for the past two weeks... he took Raja and Iago along."

"And Genie?"

"He's on vacation somewhere in the world," Jasmine whispered, her eyes hidden behind her thick lashes as she pulled weakly at an arm restraining her.

"Thank you princess," Mozenrath whispered, his cold smile growing. "Morlacs, take them back to their cage," he ordered, following behind the group. It was time for their demise.


Elisa couldn't stand it much longer. For the past twenty minutes, she had watched and had taken part in the beating of Aladdin. As much as she tried to resist, she couldn't stop Mozenrath's hands, her hands in a way, from beating poor Aladdin. The police part of her just wanted to get out there and stop the interrogation right then and there, but she couldn't. Finally, Jasmine gave in. Not that Elisa could blame her, for if it was Goliath being tortured, she would have caved also. As they walked back to the cage holding her friends, one thought rang loud and clear through Mozenrath's mind: it was time to kill them all.

NO! she had to stop him somehow. Suddenly, her friends were before them. They all gasped in shock as they got a good look at Aladdin. Voicing their displeasure, Brooklyn and Goliath turned hot white eyes at her, or Mozenrath.

"Mozenrath! You will pay for this outrage!!" Goliath roared, stepping up to the thick iron bars.

"Oh," she replied, "so the mighty gargoyle would like to be the first to perish... fine! For some reason I was sparing you, but no longer!" she yelled with Mozenrath's voice. "Prepare to meet your beloved in the beyond..." Then she felt herself give her love a devilish look as she said, "oh wait, I guess you'll be all alone because Elisa will always be with me right here," she finished, tapping her head.

"Mozenrath, I do not know how, but somehow you will pay for all that you have done to us here," Goliath warned, his voice slowly growing in intensity. "If not by me, or the people here, then by my clan... you will pay!" Goliath roared angrily at the evil person before him.

But she just laughed as the power gathered and she slowly raised her hand and pointed at Goliath. No! Elisa screamed to herself. I've finally found my love for him and I refuse to let this psycho tear it all apart... he will not hurt Goliath! Never! she thought to herself as she began to fight even harder against the restraints.


The group could only look on in terror as Mozenrath gathered his mystical energy and began to channel it towards Goliath. There was nothing any of them could do except watch as their friend and leader was about to be executed. Mozenrath's hands began to glow an eerie green as his power came to a boiling point. But then, just as it seemed he was about to unleash it all, a blank look came over his face. Without blinking an eye, the hand lowered back to his side as Mozenrath stood before them, looking at nothing and no one, apparently unaware of his surroundings.

"Goliath?" Brooklyn whispered to his leader, "what's going on?"

"I do not know, my friend, I do not know."


"Oh God, what's going on?" Elisa said aloud as she picked herself up from the ground. Looking around in amazement, she found herself in the middle of a rocky plain that stretched as far as her eyes could see. The sky above her was black and stormy with lightning flashing every few seconds as a cold wind blew from all directions. "Thank God for well-insulated jackets," she whispered to herself, patting her familiar red jacket as she scanned the sky -- and then froze as she realized what she just said. "I have my body back," she whispered to herself in disbelief, never believing that she would ever again be so happy to see her familiar pair of blue jeans and scuffed black boots. Quickly she checked her holster and was disappointed to discover that it was minus her revolver.

"Figures," she muttered as she buried her disappointment, focusing on the most important question first. "Now where in the hell am I?" she asked to no one in particular, considering that she was the only one here. Or was she? Suddenly, she saw a shape lying on the ground a couple feet from her. Moving slowly, she walked forward and recognized Mozenrath's form. Now it all made sense.

Quickly she backed away as the figure began to stir. "Oh, my aching head," Mozenrath mumbled to himself as he sat up. When he looked up, shock was written clearly on his face as he recognized Elisa Maza standing before him. "You! What are you doing here?... you should be sleeping, you have no control!"

"Well, it looks like I've regained control, and I want my body back!" Elisa cried out defiantly, her hands resting on each hip.

"Your body? But..." he stuttered until realization came to his face. "We're still in my head, aren't we?"

"Gee, for some big and powerful sorcerer, you sure are slow on the pick up!" Elisa scoffed, scanning the horizon.

"Well, then I guess that I'll just have to put you back where you belong so I can finish what I was doing before I was so rudely interrupted!" Mozenrath hissed as he climbed to his feet, dusting off his tattered robes.

Instantly, Elisa's eyes flew back to Mozenrath as she pierced him with her fiery gaze. "Don't you even think of hurting Goliath!" she yelled, her eyes turning an eerie green.

"What are you doing?" he mumbled in first confusion, "What's going on with your eyes?" he continued, fear finally entering him at the sight before him. "What are you?" he whispered as before his very eyes, Elisa started to float a few feet off of the ground, her eyes green and her raven hair billowing out behind her.

"You dare threaten me?" Elisa replied, her voice echoing ominously around him. "You take me from my home, from my dimension! You touch me in ways that I've never permitted you to! You take my soul! You hurt, beat, and torture my friends! You threaten my love! You think that you can get away with all of these atrocities?" Elisa said, the color intensity of her eyes becoming even brighter.

By this time, despite his fright, Mozenrath's own anger had been raised. Straightening his shoulders he reached his gloved hand toward the floating Elisa. "Yes I do! Don't think that a puny little human with a few tricks up her sleeve can stop my plans for world domination!" he hissed scornfully. "There's no way you're getting back to your body. And after I seal the consciousness of your soul in the darkest corner of my mind, I will kill all of your friends one by one. Then I will move on to your beloved gargoyle, letting him watch them all die and knowing that it was your soul that was providing it! Then I will use your body in ways that you can't even imagine!" he laughed, eyeing her lewdly. "After I conquer this world, I will conquer your dimension and wreak destruction on your friends and family!! No one will be safe from the powers of Mozenrath!" he ranted crazily.

In response, Elisa could only stare at this monster in disbelief. "My God, you are so pathetic!" she replied, laughing in his face. "What is with bad guys and ranting about their plans for world domination? Do you think that your threats could possibly scare me? Me?" she laughed, stretching her hands out to either side. "Geez, join a help group or something! Oh, wait, better yet I can introduce you to someone back home... his name is Xanatos and you guys would get along great. Or better yet... have you ever heard of Demona, I think she's more your style," Elisa taunted, shaking her head in disgust.

At these repeated jabs at his ego, Mozenrath had finally had enough and let loose a volley of magic against Elisa's hovering form. But then shock covered his face as Elisa was not destroyed like planned, but instead absorbed the energy shot at her. The more magic she absorbed, the brighter she got. Soon, when it didn't seem that she could get any brighter, all of the energy exploded back out of her hands and into him. The force of the blow threw him high into the air and back into... his own body. Shaking his head, Mozenrath slowly got to his feet and looked around him. His prisoners in their cages were staring at him with open mouths -- pretty understandable considering that for apparently no reason at all, he had just flown halfway across the room.

Angrily, he attempted to teleport back to the cage, something that should have taken a snap of his fingers with his new powers. Now though, nothing happened. Her soul is gone, and with it her power! he thought crazily to himself as he slowly staggered away from the others. Then, fuming to himself, Mozenrath quickly stalked over to the cage. With or without her magic, he was still more than capable of finishing off his enemies -- starting with Goliath.

Smiling evilly, he pointed his gloved hand at his awaiting victim. Then, just as he was about to let loose his volley of magic, he noticed that his captives were not even looking in his direction. Instead, everyone seemed to be looking a little off to his right with their jaws nearly touching the floor. Turning in that direction, Mozenrath saw why as he saw the same hovering form of Elisa Maza once more. "Not you again!" he yelled at Elisa. But this time he had learned his lesson, and without wasting another second Mozenrath quickly bolted from the room and began running up the winding stairs of one of the many towers of the palace.

"Elisa?" Goliath asked, amazed. There at the door to the room was Elisa, floating at least three feet off the floor. Not only was she back in her own body, but her eyes were glowing an eerie green color and her hair was being pushed back by an invisible wind, the silk of her clothes rustling in it.

"Goliath?" Elisa returned, her voice completely normal as she floated closer to the group, a soft smile on her face.

"Uh, Elisa?" Matt said quietly, "you're floating."

"I know Matt," Elisa smiled, "but we can worry about that later... right now I need to set you free and then take care of Mozenrath."

"Sure, whatever you say," Brooklyn added, joining the conversation.

Nodding her agreement, Jasmine then elbowed Aladdin gently in the side to remind him to close his mouth.

Quickly, Elisa finished the distance to the cage. As she set down on the floor, she looked at the door to the little prison and chanted, "The little prison that confines them here, I deem now to disappear." At the end of the chant, green energy flowed from her hands. As the mist surrounded the two prisons, it tightened in and then disappeared. The guards and her friends looked at her, shocked in amazement at the show of magic. But suddenly, everyone's attention was quickly drawn away from Elisa as Aladdin slumped to the floor.

"Aladdin?" Jasmine called quickly, running to her love's side.

Elisa, too ran over to Aladdin, guilt covering her face. "Aladdin, you've done so much for me, and because of my magic this happens," she said, anger replacing her features once more.

"Magic?" Goliath mumbled. Until then he was a quiet observer, still getting over the shock of seeing his love return from the dead so to speak.

Without replying to Goliath, Elisa knelt down beside her injured friend. "Here, let me help."

Not really knowing what she meant, Jasmine complied and moved away from Aladdin. Curious, she watched as Elisa made Aladdin lay on the stone floor, placing her hands upon his bare chest.

"Forces of magic that I call upon, to undo this horrible and mighty wrong. This person before me should not be in pain, so now I take it and thus do contain," Elisa chanted quietly, so that everyone had to lean forward to hear. Suddenly they all backed away as green light spread from her hands to his chest, and quickly enveloped the groaning Aladdin. Within a matter of seconds, all cuts and bruises to be seen on Aladdin's body slowly disappeared like there was nothing there in the first place. Then, the green mist left Aladdin's body and came back into Elisa.


Oh God the pain, Elisa thought to herself as she absorbed the agony from Aladdin. As soon as the light died away, Elisa staggered to her feet. Holding her head in her hands, she almost fell before Goliath caught her.

"Elisa? Are you alright?" he asked quickly, concern written all over his face.

"Yeah, fine... just remind to invest in Tylenol when we get back!" she jested to him as she tried to shake away the pain.

"Uh, Elisa? Not to interrupt or anything," Matt cut in quickly, "but what about Mozenrath?"

"He's not going anywhere!" Elisa said, her anger making her eyes glow green once more. Not waiting for anyone else, Elisa quickly chanted aloud, "Forces of Avalon allow me to go, bring me to my hated foe!" Then, as the mist started to surround her once more, she was slightly surprised to feel two pairs of hands latch onto her, dragging themselves with her. When the mist cleared, she looked around and found herself on one of the highest balconies of the palace. There before her was Mozenrath.

Not waiting for him to notice her, Elisa quickly threw a bolt of green at him, releasing all of the pent-up agony that she had taken from Aladdin, hitting him in the back. With a groan, he slid to the ground, now experiencing the pain that he had inflicted. Then, not wasting another second, she quickly cast a spell on him, similar to the one that was put on Goliath as a vise held him standing upright at the edge of the balcony. He couldn't move a muscle.

Mozenrath, quickly regaining his senses, vainly began to struggle. When he discovered it was useless, he looked up to Elisa, cringing at the green glow of her eyes.

"How does it feel to be the one in the vise? Not a lot of fun, huh?" Elisa whispered, her voice hard and cold. "Maybe I should begin to squeeze it like you did to Goliath. What do you think of that? I think that's a good plan. For now you shall die Mozenrath, so you can never harm me or my friends again!" Elisa yelled, as she prepared herself for the final squeeze.

"Elisa, no," Matt stated quietly from beside her, touching her arm gently. "You're a cop, you can't do it that way -- it's wrong."

"Matt, you weren't there," Elisa ground out, fighting off tears as she forced her eyes to remain locked on the demon that had tortured them all, "you don't know what it was like!" she stated as she heard the voice that she knew belonged to the second pair of hands she felt: Goliath.

"Elisa, this is not you," his low voice rumbled from beside her.

Shaking her head slowly, Elisa refused to meet his dark, onyx eyes. "Goliath, he caused so much pain and suffering. He must be dealt with."

"That is not your way... it's his! To do so would be lowering yourself to his levels," Goliath reasoned calmly. "The decision is yours."

At this statement, Elisa lowered her head sadly. Goliath was right.

"There must be something else that we can do to make sure that this never happens again," Matt pleaded quietly, tightening his grip on her arm.

"Well, there is something else that I can do," she whispered, not quite knowing how she knew, but also realizing that it was going to take a lot out of her. But she didn't want to say that last part out loud, for chances were that Goliath would try to stop her -- but it was the only way. Walking away from her friends, she stood next to Mozenrath at the edge of the balcony, her eyes boring into his own.

"I bind you from doing harm Mozenrath," she whispered, feeling this new-found magic gather around her like a forgotten friend, "harm against other people and harm against yourself. I bind you Mozenrath from doing harm," she continued, her voice growing stronger, "harm against other people and harm against yourself. I bind you Mozenrath from doing harm, harm against other people and harm against yourself. I bind you Mozenrath from doing harm, harm against other people and harm against yourself. I bind you Mozenrath from doing harm, harm against other people and harm against yourself."

As Elisa continued chanting, a green mist formed around her and connected to Mozenrath's form. As each phrase went out, the mist got brighter and brighter. Shielding their eyes, Matt and Goliath could only watch in awe as their detective friend produced magic that they never knew she was capable of. About five minutes of chanting later, the light suddenly exploded. When their eye sight cleared, everything looked the same. Mozenrath was still standing next to Elisa, only now instead of a plumber's glove, his hand was back as he wore a dazed and confused expression on his face.

Goliath, turning to see if Matt had noticed it as well, turned quickly when he heard Elisa moan. Gasping, he noticed something else that he failed to notice earlier: Elisa's dark tan complexion had now changed to a pasty white. Before he could take a step in her direction, Elisa fell to the side, which happened to be the short wall of the balcony. As Goliath ran towards her, Elisa fell limply over the side and began to fall. Roaring out in protest, Goliath sailed over the side of the balcony and started his glide down. In order to go faster, he tucked his wings to his side, doing a head first plummet. It reminded him of his first dream in this strange land. He couldn't let it end like the dream! Slowly, he began to gain on his beloved below him. "Elisa!" he roared, "I'm coming."

Suddenly, about twenty feet before the ground, his reaching arm grasped onto her hand. Getting a firm grip, with a little bit of luck and years of gargoyle experience, he was able to pull out of the dive, with only five feet to spare. As he soared back into the dawning sky, he pulled Elisa up and carried her in his arms.

Weakly, Elisa looked up and met her rescuer's eyes. "Goliath?"

Goliath smiled down at his love and said, "I told you I'd 'catch you ever' you fall!"

Smiling, Elisa nodded weakly in recognition of the verse of the song she had played for him. "So you did."

"Are you okay Elisa?"

"Yes, just tired.... I used up the majority of my energy on that one," she admitted with a soft sigh.

Nodding, Goliath circled around once more and landed on the balcony, Elisa cradled in his arms. Looking around, he saw that the palace guards were putting manacles onto Mozenrath, and that the rest of the group was there.

"I told you that she fell off buildings a lot!" quipped a cheerful voice from behind Goliath. Turning quickly, he saw Genie floating behind him in a puckish manner: namely sitting Indian style.

"You! Now can you tell us what is going on?" Goliath demanded, feeling his anger grow once more.

"A little," Genie acknowledged with a quirky smile, "but we should wait until sunset, I think that Elisa needs the sleep.. that spell was a doozy!" Genie said with a wink at Elisa. "Also, the sun will be up in a matter of minutes.

Nodding in agreement, the group decided that questions could wait till later. Now was time for clean up and rest. Actually, the clean up was all being handled by Genie and his "construction crew," in other words, more of himself in jeans and tank tops. Elisa was given a room, and she fell asleep immediately when Goliath laid her on the bed. Matt soon fell asleep on a couch beside her bed, unwilling to leave her side. Like Matt, Goliath and Brooklyn took their perches on the balcony outside the room, unwilling to stray too far from her side. They all figured that it was due to the fact of how close they all came to losing her. With a last look over his shoulder, Goliath turned to stone, with dreams of Elisa waiting for him.


That night, they were all gathered around the dining room table once more. Everyone was feeling rested and ready for a question session. But, before anyone could start, Elisa turned to Genie and said, "Hi.... I guess that we haven't officially met yet. My name is Elisa Maza."

"Hi! I know who you are already, it'd be hard not to," Genie quipped as he eagerly reached forward to shake her hand. "As for me, my name is Genie. Also, I'm a Genie."

Shaking her head ruefully, Elisa said, "Gee, I never would have guessed. First, do you know what happened last night?"

"Which part? Mozenrath? The cage? My departure? Or would you be talking about your magic?"

"The magic part," Elisa said with a little laugh. "I mean, I'm just an ordinary detective. What happened?"

"If you're anything, you're not normal!" Matt said, receiving an annoyed glare from Elisa in return. "Sorry."

"Well, he's right you know!" Genie broke in on Matt's defense. "I mean, I can't answer all of your questions, but from what I've read about your destiny, you're anything but normal."

"What you've read about my destiny?" Elisa asked, cocking her eyebrow in trademark fashion.

"Long story," Jasmine sighed.

"Good call Princess!" Genie called out happily, "hey, have you ever considered that as a profession.."

"Genie..." Jasmine cut in warningly.

"Okay, all that I can tell you is that the magic I sensed from you was definitely the kind only found with the third race," Genie stated, his eyebrows wiggling. "I heard that you know the King and Queen of Avalon... if I were you, I'd take it up with them," he finished in a matter of fact tone of voice.

"What?!" Elisa asked incredulously.

"Why did you not aid us in this fight, Genie?" Goliath rumbled, closing Elisa's jaw.

Thankful at the change of topic, Genie quickly said, "Because Fate ordered me to stay out of this one. I could only be an observer and kind of an informant at the end of the journey. Besides, no matter what I did, only Elisa could have returned her soul to her body -- only her and her magic."

"Yeah, right," Elisa muttered, slowly getting to her feet, trying to ignore the strange ring of truth the words of the large blue guy had on her. "Either way, we really should be heading back home."

"Wait, one more question, Elisa," Aladdin called out, halting her with a small smile. "What happened when you healed me?"

Sighing, Elisa slowly settled back into her seat. "I was kind of waiting for that question," she admitted. "For some reason, which will be figured out when I get home, I knew how to heal you... all I had to do was take your pain away from you and put it inside me."

"Ouch, where is it now?"

"When I first found Mozenrath upstairs, that's what I hit him with, everything he inflicted upon you!" Elisa laughed.

At this, Aladdin merely smiled, glad to have his payback in at least some small way.

"What about Mozenrath?" Jasmine called out, a hint of fear in her voice.

"Mozenrath won't be harming anyone anymore. The spell that I cast on him, which I still don't know how, made him without magic. To make it even worse, he probably doesn't even remember anything at all. It's like he's already been through a correctional institute. He's been redeemed and is ready to start a new life," Elisa replied calmly.

Now it was Aladdin's turn to be incredulous. "Yeah, right."

"Just save your judgment till you see him," Elisa warned.

With that settled, the group began their goodbyes. With everything said and done, Aladdin and Jasmine watched as their new-found friends launched into the air: Goliath with Elisa cradled in his arms, and Brooklyn with Matt on his back.

After a couple of minutes, the group found the mirror in the alleyway once again. Slowly Goliath reached forward and hesitantly touched the glass. To his relief, his hand passed right through. "Good, it's still operational," he sighed. "Ladies first," he said to Elisa and watched as she disappeared through the glass. Next was Brooklyn, then Matt, with Goliath bringing up the rear. As Goliath was pushed through the other side, he sighed in relief. They had arrived with little time to spare before dawn. Turning, he quickly grabbed the edge of the mirror and pulled with all of his strength, watching in satisfaction as the wooden frame tore from the wall and hurtled towards the floor. To the satisfying sounds of shattering glass, the group then ran out of the spooky town house and to the street below.

Elisa sighed in relief when she saw her car where she left it, with no noticeable vandalism present. Turning quickly she caught Goliath's eye and said, "Meet you at the castle."

Nodding an affirmative, Goliath and Brooklyn quickly took to the air as Elisa and Matt hopped into the fairlane. Grinning, Elisa quickly pulled away from the townhouse and soon re-entered the bustling Manhattan traffic. After dropping off Matt at his apartment first, Elisa then continued on to the Eyrie building. As she ran onto the ramparts, she was greeted by a throng of friends, with Brooklyn and Goliath in the middle. Standing around them were Angela, Hudson, Broadway, Lexington, Bronx, Owen, Fox, and Xanatos. All were questioning them furiously as to their whereabouts for the last four nights.

"Goliath?" Elisa called out from the doorway. Immediately all conversation stopped at the sound of her voice.

"Elisa?" they all questioned, giving her glances that varied from surprise (Lex, Broadway, Hudson), to admiration (Angela), to envy (Fox), to plain appreciation (Xanatos). Wondering what they were looking at, she once again turned a dark shade of red as she realized that she had forgotten her clothes back at the palace and that she was still wearing Jasmine's skimpy clothing.

"Uh... long story," she said quickly as she shuffled further into the shadows. "Goliath? Can I talk to you?" she called out once more.

Nodding quickly, Goliath stepped away from the others and drew Elisa away from her hiding place until they stood at the edge of the rampart. Gently, he lifted her into his arms and dove into the dark night sky, ignoring his harried clan as he soared up to his perch on the highest tower. Sighing in relief at avoiding the questions, he turned to Elisa and asked, "You wanted to talk?"

"Yes... Goliath, we almost lost each other here, and that made me realize something..."

"What?" Goliath asked curiously, although he already suspected that he knew the answer.

"That I love you," Elisa said simply, looking at the ground.

Smiling, Goliath drew Elisa into his arms, folding his wings around her frail body, "I love you too," he whispered for the first time, softly into her ears. "And no matter what is going on, we will go to Avalon together to face it!" he said fiercely, his eyes glowing a fierce white. Smiling, he then reached down and lifted Elisa's chin, so she was looking him in the eyes. "I do love you, and nothing will ever change that!" he said as he lowered his lips to her, sharing their first "real" kiss. Sadly, the kiss ended all too quickly as Goliath jumped to his perch and faced the coming sun.


Red eyes glowed evilly from one of the dark corners of the castle. They think they love each other, do they? That's what they think! Goliath is mine, and that human won't get in the way! Demona thought to herself as she left her hiding place and soared unseen to a nearby building. Gritting in expectation of the pain to come, she lowered herself to her knees on the jagged surface of the roof. She wasn't disappointed as she barely made it down before the transformation took place. Luckily, she had long since learned to control her screams of agony. Standing up a few minutes later, Dominique Destine sighed as she watched her love in his daily perch. The human would soon be no more, and then there would be nothing standing in her way of her love and her family.

The End