New Beginnings Part One

"New Beginnings -- Part One"
by Lisette: Lisette_1@lycos.com

Created on: 8/20/98

Revised on: 7/20/98

Legalese: Nothing here is of my own creation. Goliath and his crew belong to Buena Vista and Disney while some of the words used within are taken from "An den Mond" (To the Moon) and "Wenn ich ein Vögel wär" (If I a Bird Could Be), two German folk songs that were arranged by William Bausano. In no way will a profit be made from this.

Author's Note: This story is the fifth installment to the Talika Series and a thanks to Skydancer for some of the quotes used within.

Brief Summary: The forgotten past is about to resurface its ugly head for Talika and the clan.

Rating: PG-13 due to language and content

Decisions

Imagine the day when the world finally does come to and end.

Imagine the feelings of sorrow, courage, despair, fright, hatred, and love that will be felt by the general populous in their final days before imminent death.

Now imagine the sobs of a young mother who listens to her lonely baby's wail as she realizes for the first time that there will be no tomorrow or future for her child -- no chance.

Now watch as an aging man sacrifices his life by shoving a young boy out of the path of a speeding car, knowing all the while that the boy will be dead by nightfall but not caring because he knows that any time is better than none.

And now watch as a middle aged man with a loving family at home is so filled with despair that he purposely throws himself in front of that same speeding car, so eager to end his pain that he can't wait for night to fall on the city.

And watch as his next door neighbor chooses instead to return to his family to comfort and be comforted in his last moments by his family.

And listen to an old woman's scream of pain, outrage, and fright as she is first mugged for ten dollars and then senselessly shot by a teenage girl that has lost all respect for the life of others -- knowing that soon she will be joining her innocent victims.

And now I want you to watch and listen as two desperate individuals find comfort and love in each other's arms -- all the while whispering tear-wrought promises to find each other in the next life -- convinced that the power of their love will conquer all...

In a world so devastated and filled with pain, it is up to each person to decide how they will live out their final hours: in sorrow, heroics, despair, hatred, or in love.

Your life is what you make it and only you can decide.

New Beginnings

Egypt -- Present Day

Grunting, the group of hired workers strained to lift the heavy slab of stone that lay imbedded in the soft sand with the aid of pulleys and steel wires. "Pull men, pull!" urged another, standing back from the group in the shade of a tent, protected from the hot desert sun. They had been working this particular site for weeks, searching for yet another lost tomb in the sea of sand that covered Egypt. Weeks and weeks that were spent using up a grant given by one of the larger universities back in the states. Still, Doctor Harold Osborne was convinced that despite the fact that as of yet nothing had been found, that soon they would make a discovery so great as to outshine even the discovery of King Tut's tomb. In all truth, they had to or else the good name of Doctor Osborne would be slain and never again would a grant for research be so easily won.

With a final grunt of protest, the strong Egyptian workers heaved the large slab up from the ground and swung it away from their dig, causing it to fall heavily to the ground. As the sand and dust flew, workers and archaeologists alike turned away quickly, covering their eyes from the blinding storm. When the sand finally settled, Osborne carefully took his hand away from his face and stepped quickly out of the shade of the tent and towards the dig. There had to be something here -- there had to be. There was no other logical reason; why else would such a large and carefully carved slab be lying out in the middle of the desert?

When their digging had first uncovered the stone slab, they quickly set to work clearing the sand away from all sides till it was revealed that the slab, which was about nine feet long and about five feet wide, was in fact a lid of some sort covering a stone box of the same dimensions. While his curiosity and excitement grew, the group of experienced archaeologists quickly began digging deeper and deeper until the mystery grew. Now the hole around the stone box was four feet wide and ten feet deep, with no signs of anything but the box that was now ten feet tall. Finally, the decision was made that while the strange writing on the lid, which was also a mystery seeing as how it didn't seem to resemble any sort of writing known to man, continued to be deciphered, the group of hired workers would see if they could remove the lid. Which led up to now.

With excitement burning in his eyes, Osborne reached the edge of the dig and quickly climbed the ladder down into the hole surrounding the stone box. As the workers quietly stepped aside, Osborne stepped towards the ladder, his knees shaking with every step as he slowly, slowly climbed up the ladder that would lead him to the greatest discovery of all times -- or so he hoped. Seconds later, he reached the top and tentatively looked over the side and into the opened box.

"Well, Harold, what do you see?!" one of Osborne's fellow archaeologists yelled from the tent, a bright smile on her face.

"I.. I see a dark hole!" Harold yelled out in confusion as he turned back towards the gathered workers and co-workers. "The stone on top here is only a foot thick on each side, and on the inside it's been smoothed till it feels as smooth as glass," Harold described as he gently rubbed his hand over the smooth stone. "The light of the sun reaches down about ten to fifteen feet and it all looks exactly the same.. I can't see the bottom!"

"But.."

"Here, pass me up a rock or some sand!" Osborne called out suddenly as he turned and looked down at one of the workers below.

Nodding his head, the young Egyptian who was fortunate enough to speak English quickly scavenged the ground and sand till he found a good sized rock and then climbed up the ladder till he stood beneath the Doctor and passed up his find.

Without another word, Osborne snatched up the rock and returned to the edge of the box. Leaning as far over as he dared, he then hushed for silence before dropping the rock into the box. In the dead silence, everyone listened for the tell tale sound of the rock hitting the bottom.. and waited, and waited. Finally Osborne gave up and turned back to his colleagues with wide eyes. "If we couldn't hear the stone hit the bottom, then this thing must be over a hundred to two hundred feet deep.. probably a couple of miles! But.. that's impossible!" Osborne whispered, the confusion clear in his eyes. "Who would build a stone box like this that's that deep.. and it must be man made because how else could the walls become this smooth or the box this proportional?" he muttered, thinking out loud as he puzzled over the idea.

"Doctor Osborne! Doctor Osborne!" a young man called out, unaware of the tense silence as he ran past the group of archaeologists, heedless of the happenings around him.

"What is it, Jeffrey?" Harold absently asked the graduate student that called out to him, his mind still firmly rooted to the mystery of the box.

"We've got a partial translation of the writing on the..." Jeffrey began, trailing off as he finally noticed the open box. "You got the slab off!" he exclaimed in excitement.

"You have a translation? But-"

"It turned out that the language is an extremely ancient form of hieroglyphs mixed with a few other languages," the student hastily explained, his wide eyes remaining locked on the open box. "The partial translation reads something like 'Beware all those who try to..' we think that the next word is something like desecrate, 'the resting place of..' and then we don't know about whose it is yet or much else after that. Although it does seem to be warning about evil, genocide, and something about some kind of matter..." the student trailed off, waving his hand airily at the common warnings found on all Egyptian tombs.

"And that's all?" Osborne asked, scrunching his eyebrows together as the mystery grew. "Well, it must be a tomb then.. but why would it be so incredibly deep?"

"Maybe it would be better, sir, for you to close up the box and leave it as it was found," the young Egyptian who passed up the stone spoke quietly, his eyes wide with fear.

"Don't be foolish, young man. All tombs that have been discovered up to date have had some similar warning on their doors-"

"No sir, there is something different about this tomb, and I suggest that you replace the lid before the evil is let out."

At this grave warning, both Osborne and the rest of his colleagues burst into laughter. "Young man, I can guarantee you that there is no evil surrounding this mystery here.. if there is anyone down there I can guarantee you that he has been dead for quite a long time," he stated firmly as he turned and once more looked down into the long box. Still, the man's words rang in his ears as he noticed for the first time that the box was now six to seven feet long and three feet wide... the usual proportions of a coffin. As a shiver ran through his aging bones, the Doctor began to turn away from the opening once more when a flash of light from below caught his eye. Gasping, he turned quickly and stared rigidly down into the hole as the light grew brighter and brighter, closer and closer towards him.

Seeing his rigid posture one of the archaeologists stepped away from the tent and closer towards the hole that surrounded the box. "Harold? What's wrong? What do you see?" she asked, her voice trembling while a cold coil of fear wrapped itself around her spine.

Unable to answer, Osborne continued to watch with growing fascination and horror as the green light grew brighter in intensity until Harold knew that it was now only a few feet below him. Soon the light and glow was evident for all to see, causing a panic to go up among the workers as they struggled and rushed for the ladders leading out of the pit, sure that the Devil himself was rising out of the pits of Hell to greet them.

"Harold! Get away!" she screamed as the light grew brighter and brighter.. the green eerie light that had no place in the middle of the desert. As she watched in horror, Harold remained where he was till the glow of light left the box and surrounded him. With a blood curdling scream, he was then lifted into the air above the box until he was laid out flat on his back, floating in mid air. Still screaming bloody Mary, the green light then lowered, taking Doctor Harold Osborne with it, a look of horror fixed upon his face.

Screaming out, Osborne could do nothing as the green light carried him further and faster down the dimensions of the box, watching the sunlight slip further and further from him till darkness encased him; darkness that was only broken by the eerie green light. Suddenly, seconds, minutes, hours, or days later -- which, he had no idea -- he stopped descending and was laid gently on his back on a cold, stone floor.

Breathing heavily in the purest form of fright he had ever experienced, Osborne quickly climbed to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. From what he could tell, he seemed to be in some sort of large room with carvings similar to those found on the lid written on all of the stone walls. His curiosity getting the better of him, Osborne moved closer to the walls and attempted to read the hieroglyphics -- which was when another mystery came to life: where was the light coming from that allowed him to inspect these writings?

Fear growing once more, Harold quickly turned and saw that the source of light seemed to be coming from the far end of the chamber. Not knowing why he did, Osborne began to slowly walk across the chamber, noticing how the floor and walls were unnaturally smooth.. as smooth as glass, and that all of the walls were perfectly straight and perpendicular to the floor. Not even a modern day architect could make such a perfectly dimensional room such as the kind he was walking in.. a room that probably dated back to the earliest times. Shaking his head, Osborne continued walking across the large chamber until finally the light source was revealed: torches. Lit torches lined the walls in this end of the chamber -- perfectly lit torches where there was no breeze to cause them to shift or move... perfectly still flames burning straight up into the air, causing no smoke to cloud and choke him.

Mystified, Osborne turned once more and saw the real mystery of the chamber: against the far wall of the chamber stood a raised dais with what looked like a stone box that was what seemed to be the perfect dimensions of the interior of the corridor in which he descended.

"The tomb.. I'm in the tomb and this must be the coffin," Doctor Osborne whispered, his eyes lighting up. All thoughts of escape from this place, the glowing light that brought him down, and of the warning of evil and genocide fled his mind as the blinding curiosity of the past replaced it. Walking across the room, Harold gently laid his hands upon the smooth surface of the coffin, marveling at the intricate writings that lay across the lid.

As he traced his hands over the top and down the sides, he noticed a seam that marked the end of the lid and the beginning of the actual coffin. Smiling, Osborne began pushing against the lid with all of his strength, all of the rules and procedures of archaeology forgotten as the stone grated further and further until it crashed to the ground, breaking instantly into pieces. Had Harold's attention not been focused on the contents of the tomb but on the lid itself, he would have noticed one final warning.. a gathering of the green energies across the lid until all of the carvings blended into one flickering word: EVIL, before that too disappeared and left the lid bare of anything.

But Doctor Harold Osborne's focus wasn't on the lid and instead was fixed firmly to the contents of the coffin. Inside lay a body covered by a shroud of white, making the details completely obscure. And on top of the shroud, lying where the chest of the body would be, was a large angel.. or was it an angel? Osborne couldn't tell, because even though it was shaped like an angel, it was like nothing was there. The object was black.. but it wasn't really black either.. it was like the absence of light. All light cast by the torches seemed to be absorbed by the object creating a void of emptiness in the shape of an angel. With shaking hands, Osborne slowly reached out to the object and touched it with one finger.. and was amazed to discover that it had substance. He could feel it and touch it and define its shape with his hands, but he couldn't feel any texture whatsoever. It looked as though he was touching nothing, but it was something because it was outlined by the white shroud.

Grinning like a fool, the professor slowly reached out both hands until they were gripping the angel firmly. As he then lifted it from the shrouded body, and as the angel finally left its resting place against the cool shroud, a sense of evil so great and pain so powerful overwhelmed Osborne and wrapped itself around his belly. It was then that the last word of his student's warning came to mind.. came to mind too late. The lid on the surface had warned not to touch some sort of matter.... now the Professor knew what it was referring to.. dark matter. The dark matter that was the last and only defense against the evil that should never be released.

And then, as the shrouded body lifted itself with its own strength from the coffin -- the body that should have been dead after being laid to rest here for centuries.. millenniums -- Doctor Harold Osborne cursed himself and all the workers who helped to unleash this evil... the last thought that Doctor Harold Osborne ever knew.

New York City -- two months later

As the doors slid open to accommodate the flow of people entering and leaving the busy airport, a young woman parted from the crowd to stand alone on a small piece of sidewalk. Turning around in circles, the girl stared in wide-eyed amazement at the towering piles of steel that stretched farther up than the clouds, the roaring traffic, and the crowds of people. Sure, she had seen the crowded city of Paris before, but absolutely nothing -- not the pictures or the news reports -- could prepare her for the large -- no, huge buildings that imposed over the busy streets of Manhattan.

"Skyscrapers," the young woman whispered quietly to herself, her musical voice trying out the unfamiliar word. Then, shaking her amazement away, she focused on the question at hand. "Now, where to?" she said quietly as she once more scanned the busy streets. "I have to find the gargoyle clan," she murmured as she waved her hand in the air. Not even a moment passed before a taxi squealed to a halt beside her. Opening the door, the young woman quickly hopped into the back seat.

"Where to?" the cab driver asked as he peered at his new customer through his rear view mirror.

"To the 23rd precinct Police Station," the young woman murmured as she stared out the window at the tall building of the airport.

Nodding his head, the guy quickly swerved back into the flow of traffic. Glancing back over his shoulder at the beautiful young woman, the cab driver finally fully took in his new customer. She looked to be in her early twenties, with long pale blond hair that fell in a straight wave down her back. She was of average height, about 5'7" with a slim frame that was modestly covered under a baggy pair of blue jeans and a white tee-shirt. Her skin was tanned, and as the woman glanced in his direction he saw the most brilliant pair of blue eyes he had ever seen. With the backpack that she clenched to her side, she could easily have passed for another college student. But he knew better than that. "So, you're French?"

Startled out of her reverie, the young woman met the cab driver's kind gaze and said, "How did you know?"

"When you drive a cab as long as I have, you become pretty good at picking out accents," he explained casually as he zipped through the heavy traffic.

"Ah yes, I am from the province of Bretagne in France."

"Oh.. well, what's your name, sweetheart?"

Inwardly cringing at the pet name, the woman offered a tentative smile before saying, "My name is Lisette."

"Just call me Harry," he said as he honked the horn at another cab that cut him off. "So, what ya doing in New York City... to the 23rd precinct, no less? Did ya know that some crackpots blew that place up about a month ago?"

"Yes, I heard," Lisette replied simply.

"I mean, they've got the place workin' again, but what ya want there? You can't be more than a teeny bopper!"

"Nineteen, actually," Lisette interrupted.

"Ah, you probably want to meet the gargoyles that lived there, huh?" he probed.

"You could say that," Lisette agreed as her mind drifted back to that day two weeks ago.

She had been in a small cafe, reading a novel, when a news report caught her eye. Putting down the book, Lisette had watched in fascination as a shaky video taken at night showed four winged forms jump from a smoldering, devastated building. According to the news caster, in a place called New York City, New York in the United States of America, a police station was blown up -- whatever that meant -- by a group of monsters called gargoyles.

Right away Lisette had discarded the news report as being false, for she knew that the gargoyle race was a noble one and could never have caused the destruction she saw. Still, the important fact was the fact that there were gargoyles alive somewhere in the world today. Ever since her awakening two years ago, she had been waiting to find a purpose to this new life that was forced upon her.. now she knew: she had to go to these United States and find this clan of gargoyles... it seemed as though she had a second chance; and this time you could bet that she wasn't going to let her inexperience get in the way. There would be nothing that would stop her from protecting this clan of gargoyles.

As the days went on, Lisette kept an eye peeled to the news, hoping for any word of the clan, while she spent the rest of her time diligently studying and learning the English language. By the time she saw the next news report five days later that cleared the gargoyles of all blame of the bombing, Lisette found that she could speak English fluently. Within another week she was on a plane for Manhattan.

"Lisette," the cab driver said.

Snapping out of her reverie, Lisette noticed two things right away. First of all, the cab was no longer moving, and second of all, from the tone of the cab driver's voice, he had obviously been trying to get her attention for some time now. "I am sorry Harry, what were you saying?" she asked sheepishly.

"I was just saying that we're here," he answered good naturedly as he indicated the sidewalk besides the car.

"Oh, good..." Lisette mumbled as she pulled a small black wallet out of her backpack. "How much do I owe you?"

"Sixteen-fity."

Quickly Lisette dug through her wallet before pushing a twenty dollar bill into his hand and said, "Thank you Harry, keep the change."

"Hey thanks!" Harry called out as Lisette climbed from the taxi.

Squinting up in the darkening evening sky, Lisette took in the tall building before her. She recognized it instantly from the news casts -- the 23rd precinct. From outside appearances, she could immediately tell that a lot of repair work had been done. Still, Lisette slowly backed up till she was staring up at the ruins of the clock tower -- the gargoyles' apparent home.

"Horrible, ain't it?"

"Excuse me?" Lisette asked, looking around to see who had spoken.

"I said that it's horrible... how they repair the rest of the building and don't even touch that old clock tower."

Turning again, Lisette finally found the speaker -- an older African American officer. Quickly she scanned his uniform till she found his name tag. Officer Morgan. "Yes, it is," she agreed as she watched him shake his head slowly before leaving the early night and entered the brightly lit building.

Shaking her head, Lisette quickly looked up at the towering ruin above her and muttered, "Sad indeed," before she straightened her shoulders and entered the building. Right away her breath caught in her throat at the loud bustle found throughout the large squad room.

"Qu'est-ce que c'est..." Lisette trailed off in amazement. Never before had she seen such noise, movement, and apparent disorganization. Shrugging her shoulders, she daintily sidestepped a handcuffed, screeching woman accompanied by a man and woman wearing blue uniforms. Scanning the room, she quickly looked around for anyone who looked as though they weren't busy and knew what they were doing. To her immense relief, her eyes easily found a familiar face. Trying to look as though she belonged there, Lisette quickly moved across the room to a cluster of men and women dressed in identical blue uniforms. "Excuse me, Officer Morgan?" she interrupted as she tapped the elder man's shoulder.

Turning around, Officer Morgan looked at Lisette with a questioning glance. "Can I help you, miss?" he asked, a smile on his kind face.

"I'm hoping so," Lisette said, returning his smile. "I was wondering if you could tell me how to get up to the clock tower?"

"The clock tower?!" Morgan asked, crinkling his eyebrows in confusion. "Now why would you want to go up there? It's a wreck and very dangerous.. no one is allowed up there."

"Oh yes, well I am a reporter and I was given permission to go up there and check it out for a story I am doing about the gargoyles..." Lisette fibbed smoothly.

"A little young to be a reporter, aren't you?" Officer Morgan asked, raising his eyebrows in disbelief.

"Never too early to start," Lisette quipped quickly.

"Uh huh, and who was it that gave you permission?"

"The Captain."

"Captain Chavez?"

"Who else?" Lisette agreed. This wasn't looking good... at this rate she'd never get the directions. Then again, she never was a good liar. Just as she was about to tell him never mind, the suspicion in his eyes disappeared and his warm smile returned.

"Well, alright. All you have to do is go up those stairs behind you, take a left and then find the door labeled 'supplies.' Just pull down the ladder inside and you're set to go."

"Thanks!" Lisette replied, smiling gratefully at the elderly officer. Turning, she quickly hurried away before he could change his mind and followed the directions given to her. A couple of minutes later she found herself standing on the glass covered remains of the clock tower. Everywhere she looked she saw smashed glass, pieces of wood, furniture, and masonry. Sighing, Lisette shook her head sadly at the destruction and moved till she was standing on what must have been part of the glass clock face.

There she stared out at the dark and starry night, the soft wind blowing through her silky blond hair. Smiling at the peace that welled up within her, Lisette inhaled a deep breath of the cool air -- and then gagged as the smog and pollution-ridden air filled her lungs. "New York City, not your little village," Lisette chided herself.

Out of all of the places in Manhattan to search for the clan of gargoyles, this was probably the best place to start the search. Despite the fact that dozens had probably already gone through the rubble of the gargoyle home, there was still a chance that she may find the one clue that would lead her to their present hideout. Turning around, Lisette quickly surveyed the massive ruins. Bending down, she carefully picked up what must have been, at one time, a beautiful mirror.. now just a frame with a piece of cracked glass within. Staring through the dirty glass at her reflection, Lisette couldn't help but think back to her own clan and their home together.. and the destruction that was left in their wake. Shaking her head, she quickly put the shattered mirror back on the ground and moved about the destroyed area. "No time but the present," she murmured as she dug in.

Sighing, Elisa moved around the busy squad room, knowing which spots to avoid from experience. As she neared Matt and her desks, an audible groan escaped her lips. Not only did Matt have the night off, but from the unorganized stack of files on her desk space, it was apparent that he also left all of his paperwork for her to finish.

"Hey Detective!"

Turning around, Elisa managed a small smile for the officer that was approaching her from across the busy room. "Hi Morgan."

"Did Bluestone stick you with the reports again?" Officer Morgan asked as he eyed the pile of folders that were balancing precariously on Elisa's desk.

"Yeah.. I guess this is his way of pay back for being gone so much last year," Elisa said wryly. "But what are you still doing here? I thought you'd be out on patrol by now!"

"I should be, but the Captain wants me to go kick a girl out of the clock tower."

"Another?" Elisa groaned. "And here I thought we were done with all of the people trying to get up there and gawk!"

"You and me both," Morgan agreed with a smile.

"So, how did this girl get up there?"

"I told her how," Morgan replied sheepishly, his dark cheeks darkening even more while his eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Morgan!" Elisa laughed, shaking her head in disbelief at her old friend.

"Hey, the girl was really nice, and I didn't think there'd be any harm in letting her look around while I checked out her story."

"You're just too nice sometimes," Elisa chuckled as she glanced at the waiting paperwork.

Catching her wary glance, Officer Morgan quickly spoke up. "Yeah, maybe I was a little too nice. I really should be hitting the streets, but first I gotta escort the young lady from the premises.. unless you'd be willing to put the pile of paperwork off for a couple of minutes and do this old man a favor?" Morgan trailed off as he looked at Elisa with twinkling eyes.

"We both know that it'd be you doing me the favor," Elisa said, smiling gratefully at her old friend. "You go hit the streets and I'll take care of our curious visitor upstairs."

"Thank you Detective... and please be gentle; she really was a sweet kid," Morgan implored with a smile as he started heading for the exit.

"Aren't I always?" Elisa called after him with a grin. Still smiling Elisa turned away from the huge workload and headed to the familiar supply closet. Seeing that the ladder was already down, she quickly climbed up into the shadowy remains of the clock tower. Peering into the inky darkness, Elisa moved until she was standing in the bright moonlight of the clock remains. Now doesn't this bring back memories? she thought wryly as memories of the time she spent here with the clan and of the night she and Goliath had ended up at this exact location after being attacked at her apartment. Things would have been so much easier if she only would have known then about her forgotten past. Then again, that was the whole point of a memory wipe, wasn't it? To not remember.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts and focusing on the task at hand, Elisa turned back to face the demolished clock tower. "Hello?" she called out, her voice echoing in the demolished abyss.

"Uh, oui, une minute s'il vous plaît.. I mean, one minute, please!" a female voice called out from somewhere in the darkness. Hiding a smile, Elisa listened as the person stumbled over the debris and into the moonlight. Surprised, Elisa saw that the 'girl' she was looking for was in fact a slender young woman with long, pale blond hair. "Sorry, I was... just..." the young woman trailed off as she stepped into the moonlight and focused on Elisa.

Her own smile faltering under the young woman's intense gaze, Elisa shook her head once more. "Listen, you're not allowed up here, so if you'll follow me I'll escort you back downstairs..." Elisa trailed off as she noticed the shocked expression hadn't changed. "Hello?" she asked as she waved a hand in front of the girl's face.

"You're fey.. no.. not fey.. but something," the young woman said quietly, her face screwed up tight in concentration.

Startled, Elisa stepped back a few paces before she regained her composure. "Excuse me?"

"I can.. I can sense your magic.. what.. what are you?" Lisette asked as she stared closely at the woman, taking in every detail through her eyes and her other 'senses.'

"I.. um, I'm a detective," Elisa said, finally regaining control of her shock. "Second class, here at the 23rd precinct..."

"No, that's not what I meant," Lisette said, shaking her head slowly, I can feel your magic.. but it's not quite that of the 3rd race..." she trailed off slowly as she continued to stare at the woman. Something wasn't right here. The woman before her looked nothing more than an ordinary woman, very beautiful, but still just a human.. but she wasn't. The dark skin, the high cheek bones, the dark eyes, the long black hair, the jeans and jacket... it all looked human, but she wasn't. The woman before her had an audible aura of something else, with powerful magic and energy pulsing behind every move. This 'detective' was very powerful.. and she couldn't be human.

"I.. um.." Elisa trailed off, so surprised that she didn't know how to answer the young woman's questions. How could she sense that?

Luckily for Elisa, an escape route quickly appeared. "Hey Maza! You up there?" a male voice called out from below in the supply room.

"Uh, yeah..." Elisa said, turning at the sound of the new voice.

"The Captain is looking for you!"

"Okay, I'll be right down!" Elisa yelled back, her eyes returning once more to the mysterious young woman. "Listen.. I have to go back downstairs, but I want you to wait here for me," Elisa said quietly as she met the young woman's direct gaze.

"But.."

"Listen.. uh..."

"Lisette," the young woman supplied quickly, a small frown pulling at her lips.

"Okay Lisette. I want you to wait here for me.. I'll be back soon," Elisa said as she started moving towards the ladder leading down to the dark supply room.

"But I need to find the gargoyles!" Lisette called out as she followed the detective.

Stopping abruptly, Elisa turned to face the young woman, throwing her off because of the quick stop. "What?"

"I came here to find the gargoyles.. can you help me, Detective Maza?" Lisette asked, flashing a small grin at the older woman.

Looking into her crystal blue eyes, Elisa was amazed at the depth found within.. it was like looking into a bottomless pit. Shaking her head, Elisa broke her gaze and started backing down the ladder. Stopping at a half way point, Elisa looked back up at the shadowy figure of Lisette. "Listen, just wait right here for me.. I'll be back as soon as I can get away and then we can talk. Alright?"

Sighing, Lisette nodded curtly and mumbled, "Fine, I'll wait here for you.. but please hurry."

Smiling, Elisa continued down the ladder and called out, "I'll be right back!" before closing the door of the supply room behind her.

Sighing once more, Lisette turned away from the ladder and moved till she was once more staring out into the dark night from the open face of the clock tower, dropping her backpack on the floor beside her. What was going on? She should be out in the night searching for the gargoyle clan.. then again, maybe this Elisa Maza would be able to help her find them. And even if she didn't know about the gargoyles, it would still be worthwhile to find out exactly what she was; maybe she knew of her mother... "No, my mother is dead.." Lisette murmured to herself as she stared out into the dark night sky.

Suddenly, a flash of red caught her eye. Turning, Lisette studied the dark night carefully, searching for what had caught her attention. There it was again. Turning, Lisette strained her eyes, trying to make out what she was seeing. Just at that moment, the moon decided to make a sudden appearance from behind its cloud cover, revealing the shape she had been trying to see. "A gargoyle," Lisette breathed, watching the form in amazement.

Now she was left with a decision.. should she wait for the mysterious detective to return or should she chase after the gargoyle that she saw? It didn't take long for Lisette to decide on the gargoyle -- that was her main purpose in being there, after all. Besides, she always knew where she could find the detective.

Moving quickly, Lisette mumbled something in French and then in a flash of green light her form changed: body lengthening about half a foot, skin turning light blue, blond hair turning even paler till it was almost white, jeans and tee shirt melting away to be replaced by a white halter and loincloth, and talons, wings, and a tail sprouting from her form -- her transformation complete.

Smiling at her luck, Lisette turned and jumped from the edge of the clock tower, her wings catching her easily and lifting her high into the dark night sky. It had been quite a while since she had done this.. glided on the dark currents of the night. Not since that night so long ago.. the last night she had glided with her clan -- the night before their destruction. Looking down at the city streets below, Lisette marveled once more at the gift that she had. "If it was not for you mother, I would not be able to see the world as I now do," she murmured as a warm current of air carried her higher into the night sky. Clearing her mind once more, Lisette turned and followed the air currents, straining to catch up to the gargoyle she had spotted.

Moving through the crowded hallway, Elisa hurried past the throng of people, sidestepping crooks, cops, and lost civilians. After a few more twists and turns she finally arrived at her destination: Captain Maria Chavez's office. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Elisa lifted up her hand and knocked on the closed door.

"Come in," was the hardened reply that she received.

Forcing a smile on her face, Elisa opened the door and stepped into the cluttered office. "You called for me, Cap?"

"Yes I did. Where have you been?" Captain Chavez said as she looked up at Elisa through narrowed eyes, the paperwork she had been working on temporarily forgotten.

"I told Morgan that I'd escort the girl who was snooping around in the clock tower to the door," Elisa said truthfully, her usual half smirk showing through.

"Uh huh. That's good.. so what are you going to do now?"

"Um, excuse me?" Elisa said, completely caught off guard.

"Well, when I came in here tonight, I couldn't help but notice the pile of late paperwork that was stacked on your desk. You were about to tell me that you were going to spend the majority of tonight finishing that up and then finally turning it in, right?" Chavez asked, an evil glint in her eyes. "Unless you've somehow managed to finish all of that work in the last few minutes?" she asked archly as she crossed her arms and waited for an answer.

"No, I was just..."

"Stop. I don't want to hear it. Whatever it is, it can wait. Right now I want you to get your little butt back to your desk and finish that paperwork!"

"But Cap..."

"No buts," Chavez quickly interrupted as she stood up from her seat and leaned across the desk, her hard eyes meeting Elisa's. "I'm not stupid Detective, I know of the little game that you and Bluestone play -- always leaving the dirty work for the other one. Well, you're here now, so you're stuck with it!"

"And that was just what I was planning on doing," Elisa said with a sigh as she turned away from the Captain and left her office. Trudging across the busy squad room to her desk, Elisa couldn't help but look towards the ceiling and curse her rotten luck for not getting out of the precinct sooner. "Guess my mystery woman there will have to wait," she muttered as she took off her red jacket, rolled up her black sleeves and turned back towards her desk... and looked down in surprise. Next to the huge pile of paperwork that was scattered on her desk sat a long and narrow white box.

Surprised, Elisa slowly drew the box closer to her as she turned to survey the busy squad room. Everything looked normal. Curious, Elisa slowly reached out and opened the lid of the box and gasped. Within the box lay three of the most beautiful red roses she had ever seen in all of her very long existence lying on white cotton. Exhaling slowly, Elisa reached her hand down tentatively and picked up one of the three roses and held it to her nose. It was a perfect rose.

Suddenly, one of the long and sharp thorns stabbed into her delicate skin, causing her to cry out in pain as the rose tumbled back down to her desk. While holding her hand protectively in her hand, Elisa looked around quickly and was relieved to see that the sound of her cry had been covered up by the loud squad room. Turning her head, her long black hair trailing down her back, Elisa looked down at her hand and watched as the wound healed quickly, leaving only a small smear of blood where the wound once stood.

"Man, if anyone ever saw something like that happen, my cover would be blown," Elisa thought worriedly to herself. She just couldn't afford to get hurt in front of anyone, because now that she was in her body, the body of Talika the protector instead of a mortal's body, she couldn't control her healing. If she received any sort of wound, it would instantly heal up, no matter if she wanted it to or not. The mortal body of Elisa Maza that could receive wounds and sustain them was dead and gone forever.

Shaking her head, Elisa turned back to her desk and saw that the white cotton lying beneath the three red roses now had a drop of blood: her blood from the wicked thorn. For some reason, the roses no longer looked beautiful, but ominous instead. Shaking her head once more, Elisa quickly closed the lid of the box and pushed it aside, turning once more back to the large stack of paperwork; she would ask Goliath about the roses later.. after all, even though he was asleep now, he could have found someway to deliver the roses.. who else would have given them to her?

Somewhere over Manhattan

"Argh! This isn't getting me anywhere!" Lisette groaned in frustration. She had been doing her best to catch up to the mysterious gargoyle for the last half hour. Instead, it seemed that despite her best efforts, she was only managing to follow her and maintain the distance between them. "Yep, it definitely has been a while!" she huffed as she strained her tired wings. Suddenly she had an idea. "If I can't catch up to her, then I might as well go in front of her!" Lisette huffed. Quickly she stopped moving and began to hover over the dark streets below. Murmuring something quickly in a mix between French and Latin, Lisette then began to glow a bright green. When the glow dissipated from around her, she found herself standing on the rooftop of a building in her human form. Turning quickly she caught sight of the gargoyle. From this close, she could tell that she was female, with blue skin and wild red hair.

"Hey!" Lisette yelled, jumping onto her tip toes as she started waving her hands in the air wildly above her. "Hey! Over here!"

Startled, the blue gargoyle looked down and saw the young woman waving frantically at her. "Humans!" Demona growled in hate as she stared down at the beautiful young woman. She was still in the process of trying to eliminate all of the humans of the world, but it didn't hurt to kill this one now. Smiling evilly, Demona descended quickly in the night sky till she landed a few feet away from the annoying human woman.

"Hi!" Lisette huffed, trying to catch her breath. "I did not think that I would ever be able to get your attention!"

"Oh, you got my attention all right, human!" Demona growled as she reached behind her and unslung her laser gun from around her back.

Confused at the venom in the gargoyle's voice, Lisette backed up a few paces and stared at the gargess. Already she could see her eyes lighting up in a flash of red -- never a good sign when dealing with a gargoyle, for that usually signified anger. "What.. what's wrong?" Lisette stuttered as she watched the gargoyle take something out from behind her back. The object was about two to three feet long and made from a black metal unlike she had ever seen before.

"Die you foolish human!" Demona screamed out as she pulled the trigger on the device and an arc of deadly red light shot out and crossed the distance between them, intercepting once with the human's right shoulder.

Screaming out in pain, Lisette quickly fell to the ground. Gaping up at the gargoyle that now towered over her, she gently lifted her hand up and pressed it against her shoulder, whimpering as the pain flared through her shoulder. Pulling it away quickly, Lisette was amazed and horrified to see that her hand was now covered in blood -- her blood.

Laughing maniacally, Demona raised the gun once more and aimed it at the young human's head. "And another one bites the dust," she whispered quietly as her finger began to tighten once more on the trigger...

This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be a gargoyle before her! Gargoyles were born to protect, it was a part of their nature! But all that this gargoyle seemed capable of was destruction -- her destruction at the moment. Quickly Lisette felt her eyes begin to burn a bright green as her pain and fear began to change into a blinding anger. In a sudden burst of magic, Lisette sent the startled gargoyle flying across the rooftop where she landed in a pile, instantly knocked unconscious.

"Bitch," Lisette mumbled, recalling the one word that she had heard so often since her arrival.. most commonly used in a negative tone of voice towards women. She had no real idea of what it meant, but she imagined that it wasn't good. Straining, Lisette slowly got to her feet, crying out in pain as even that small movement caused her shoulder to burn. As the tears stung her eyes, Lisette moved across the roof until she was standing over the evil gargoyle's body. "Je te n'aime pas, donc, tu dois aller à l'Antarctica maintenant!" (I don't like you, therefore, you should go to Antarctica now!) she whispered harshly as a green glow overtook her blue eyes once more. As the green dissipated, so did the evil gargoyle that had attacked her.

Instantly a pang of guilt sprang from within her. "But, elle était mal!" she reasoned with herself in her native tongue. Shaking her head, Lisette decided to worry about it later as another wave of pain shot from her injured limb. Crying out, Lisette clutched her shoulder with her already bloody hand, any slight movement causing pain now. Gritting her teeth, she searched the rooftop for her backpack before realizing that she had left it back at the clock tower.

"Great, just great. And where is the clock tower now, oh stupid one?" she asked herself as she turned in a circle and surveyed her surroundings. Everywhere she looked she saw building after tall building, all looking the same and none looking familiar. "With my arm hurt, I will never be able to glide back to the clock tower, and without my sack, I have no money which means I cannot take a cab or use anything to help stop the bleeding," Lisette said in frustration as she realized how much her predicament really did suck. "Now I am stuck somewhere in New York City, which is probably as big as Paris, with no idea where I am, hurt, no money, and no way to get back to the only place where I actually knew someone!" she ground out, wishing all the more that she would have stayed at the clock tower like the detective has asked her to -- or better yet, back in France.

"But whining about it will not aid the situation," she countered to herself once more. Looking around the deserted rooftop, Lisette found what she was looking for on the far corner: a clothesline with two large sheets draped over it. Grimacing at the throb in her shoulder, Lisette moved slowly across the roof and then gently ripped off a piece of the sheet. Steeling herself against the pain, she then tied it tightly around her wounded shoulder. She knew that it wouldn't hold for long, but hoped that it would at least stop the bleeding for now.

"And now time to get down from here," she said firmly as she walked to the edge of the building and looked down to the ground. Sighing, she bit her lip against the pain in her shoulder and then quickly cast a spell that placed her on the sidewalk five stories below. Turning, she then lifted her head high and began to walk along the deserted sidewalk; where to, she had no idea, but at least she was going somewhere.

That, though, remained a good question: where would she go now? Did she even need to go back to the clock tower and the detective there? Maybe to get her bag, but that was it. Her purpose there in New York City was no longer. All this experience with this gargoyle did was prove to her that not all gargoyles were as kind and as good as her clan back in France. But they were nothing more than dust that lived on in her memories. The clan here in Manhattan was obviously nothing like them.. they were evil and cruel.. and maybe they did have something to do with the bombing of the clock tower. The menace in that gargoyle's eyes was enough to make Lisette believe anything.. not since the Roman's had she seen such hate in a person's eyes.

But now what? Her whole reason for being here in New York City was to find a purpose with this new clan. Should she go back to Bretagne? But what was there? Definitely not the existence that she wanted.. alone with her memories. Alone. That was what she was feeling. Her dreams had been shattered once more and now she was alone with her destroyed hope and her memories. Now she was in a new world with no home, no friends, and no one to love her or care of she lived or died -- she had never felt more alone in her life... not even when she awoke in the cave, confused and disoriented with her mentor's dusty remains laying on the floor beside her. She was all alone now.

NYPD 23rd Precinct

Sighing, Elisa turned off the computer and closed the folder that she had been working on. Turning, she put the folder on the newly organized stack of files that had been lying on her desk. "Done," she mumbled with a small smile as she picked up the heavy load and moved it over to Matt's desk. "I'll just let him take care of filing it!" Elisa continued with a grin as she stood from her chair and stretched her stiff muscles. Leaning down, she grabbed her red coat from the chair, slipped it on, and moved down the hallway, up the stairs, and to the supply closet. "Time for some answers," she murmured as she pulled down the ladder and climbed them until she was once more standing in the devastated clock tower. "Hello!?" Elisa yelled as she surveyed the dark wreck. "Lisette?"

Silence was her only answer. "Where did she go?" Elisa asked herself as she surveyed the dark ruins. Turning towards the open clock face, a piece of black cloth caught her eye. Moving closer, Elisa saw that it was the backpack that the young woman had slung over her shoulder earlier. Bending down, Elisa knelt before the heavy sack, her conscious weighing against her curiosity. Eventually, her curiosity won out. Looking around the ruins to make sure that she was alone, Elisa gently reached down and opened the zipper on the large part of the bag. After digging around for a couple of minutes, she found nothing of interest: a discman, CDs, batteries, a couple of French novels, three candy bars, and a bottle of water. Sighing, Elisa then moved to the smaller pocket. There she hit the jackpot.

Inside she found a hairbrush, gum, a pen, a small notebook with the address of the precinct on it, a small dark blue velvet pouch, a passport, and a small black leather wallet. Smiling at her luck, Elisa first opened the billfold. Right away she found a wad of French and American money, which together totaled more than $50,000 US dollars. "At least I can be sure that she had enough money to survive here in New York City... although right now she's sitting without this money," Elisa thought worriedly to herself.

After checking the pockets of the billfold and finding nothing else, she then moved to the French passport. According to the information there, the young woman that she had met earlier was really Talia Seul. "Talia Seul.. Talia Alone.." Elisa murmured, relying on her knowledge of the French language to translate the meaning of the last name. She was born on June 25, 1979, making her 19 years old, in the province of Bretagne in France. "Why would she lie to me about her name?.. unless her name really isn't Talia Seul either," Elisa thought out loud as she stared at the picture of Lisette. Shaking her head, Elisa put the wallet and passport back into the bag.

Curious, she then picked up the small, dark blue velvet bag. Pulling gently on the ribbon that tied the bag shut, Elisa stared in wonder at the contents of the bag. Inside were eight coins that caught and reflected the moonlight. Carefully, Elisa reached out and lifted one of the coins, allowing the moon to reflect off of its surface so that she could read its dulled surface. Gasping, Elisa quickly lowered the coin and placed it back with the others. "Eight French coins that date back to 990 AD... they must be worth a fortune!!"

Quickly Elisa redid the delicate ribbon and placed the velvet bag back into the backpack. Picking it up, she quickly slung the bag over her shoulder and hurried down the ladder and into the halls of the 23rd precinct. "I have to get to Goliath and have him help me.. we need to find her!" Elisa mumbled as she rushed down the hall and out of the building, ignoring the stares of her fellow co-workers as she jumped into her car and tore out into the night traffic, before she gets herself in trouble she finished silently, worry creasing her brow.

Somewhere else over Manhattan

"I can't believe you ate the whole thing," Brooklyn muttered as he eyed his gliding companion's paunch.

"Hey, all this gliding gave me an appetite!" Broadway protested as he patted his large blue stomach good naturedly. "Besides, I said you could have some."

"Yeah, after you finished it off!" Lexington piped up from Broadway's other side. "Whoa! Talk about deja vu!" he quickly exclaimed as he looked at his rookery brothers in amazement.

"Probably because this happens nearly every time we go on patrol together!" Brooklyn said as he dipped his wings to glide lower and miss Broadway's swipe.

"Ha ha, very funny!" Broadway growled.

"Ah, he's just steamed cause Goliath took Angela patrolling with him and he got stuck with us!" Lexington laughed as he too avoided his rookery brother's aim.

Soon a full out war began as the three brothers swirled and dipped, trying to best the rest. They hadn't had fun like this in ages; they hadn't had the chance to act like rookery children in ages. Still laughing, Brooklyn stopped doing the aerobatics and started gliding back towards the Aerie building. "Come on guys, let's head back to the castle -- the others are probably back by now!" Brooklyn laughed.

"Are you suggesting this as our second in command?" Lexington laughed as he caught up to Brooklyn.

Winging up on Brooklyn's other, Broadway tried to put on a serious face -- failing miserably -- and said, "Yes, oh mighty leader, we shall do as you command!"

Rolling his eyes at the laughing duo, Brooklyn just smiled and said, "No, as your rookery bro-" he trailed off as his eyes narrowed.

"Our rookery what?" Broadway asked in disbelief.

Laughing, Lexington quickly nudged his brick colored brother. "What was that?" he questioned, smiling broadly.

"Just shut up and look!" Brooklyn snapped as he pointed to something on the ground in front of them.

Silencing immediately at the intensity in Brooklyn's voice, the two gargoyles quickly glanced in the indicated direction. About 100 yards in front of them walked a young human woman on the deserted sidewalk.

"Jeez, when will these humans learn that it isn't a good idea to go walking around by yourself at night?" Lexington asked as he peered down at the young woman.

Shaking his head, Broadway met Lexington's gaze and said, "I don't know, but all it does is make our job more difficult. Should we follow her to make sure that she gets where she's going alright?"

"Probably.. Brooklyn?" Lexington asked, turning to his rookery brother.

"Yeah, it's a good idea to make sure that she does make it alright, but I don't think that all three of us need to follow her. If you guys want, I'll go ahead and make sure she gets home and you two can head back to the castle," Brooklyn suggested as he followed the young woman's movements with his sharp eyes.

Shrugging his shoulders, Broadway turned and met Lexington's gaze once more. "I think that it's a good idea.. but are you saying it as our rookery brother..."

"Or as our second in command?" Lexington finished with a small smile.

Turning to glare half heartedly at his brothers, Brooklyn grinned instead and said, "As your second in command. Now get moving before Goliath begins to worry!"

Laughing, the two brothers altered their course and began to glide back in the direction of the castle. Brooklyn barely heard Lexington say, "He just thinks that she's pretty and wants to be her hero if she needs help!" before they both broke up in a fit of laughter that gradually died away on the night breeze.

Smiling, Brooklyn shook his head as he dipped lower to follow the young woman's progress more closely. As he got closer, he realized that Lex was right.. she was beautiful from what he could see.. for a human that is. She was wearing blue jeans, a white tee shirt, a red piece of cloth tied around her shoulder, long blond hair that stretched down her back.. a red piece of cloth? Squinting his eyes to see better in the night gloom, Brooklyn saw that the red piece of cloth was in fact tied tightly around her shoulder, and that not only was it red, but it glistened slightly under the occasional light of a street lamp.. as though it were wet. Also, he could now make out red splotches all over the back of her white shirt. Concern etching his face, Brooklyn glided lower still and watched closely as the young woman continued walking down the side-walk, her gate becoming more and more uneven as she occasionally placed a slender hand against a nearby wall for support.

Just as Brooklyn was about to dive down to assist the woman, a loud and jeering voice caused them both to pause. Shaking his head, Brooklyn quickly glided down to the nearest rooftop and watched with glowing eyes as four guys sauntered out from a dark alley and encircled the young woman.

"Hey baby, whatcha doing out so late?" one of the guys with green, spiky hair asked quietly as he advanced on her.

"Alone?" the other guys taunted as they expertly began to move closer, causing her to back away.. right into the alley.

"I am going to the police station, thank you," Lisette said coldly, her eyes flashing angrily as the young men began backing her into the alley.

"Oh hoh.. did you hear that boys? The girlie is going to the police station!" the leader of the group, the one with the green, spiky hair cried out as the rest began to whoop and laugh. "Well, hey baby.." the leader crooned as he darted forward and pushed Lisette against a grimy brick wall, his body pinning her against it while he gently pet one hand against her smooth cheek. "We can help you out!" he whispered fiercely as his friends drew up beside him.

"Hey look at that! She's bleedin'!" one of the boys cried out with a stupid grin on his face as he poked at her bandaged shoulder.

Screaming out in pain, Lisette flinched as darkness started to steal over her vision. Reacting quickly, the leader quickly covered her mouth with his dirty hand as one hand began to travel lower. "Shh, honey.. we don't want anyone interruptin' us."

As the pain subsided and the throbbing returned, Lisette turned her icy stare on the young leader. Meeting his dark glare, she felt her eyes slowly begin to burn green as her anger built. Suddenly she released it all in a burst of magic that sent the leader flying across the alley and into the far wall. "DO.. NOT.. TOUCH ME!" Lisette cried out, her breath heaving as she fought to regain her composure.

"What the hell!?"

"Did you guys see that!"

"What's up with this bitch? Let's get the hell out of here!" the other members of the little punk squad yelled out as they turned to run from the scene.

"No! Grab her!" the leader called out, halting his friends in mid-step. "This bitch is going to pay!" he said as he brought a hand to his mouth and wiped away a trickle of blood.

At this command, the group quickly shrugged their shoulders and began advancing on the woman. Seeing this, Lisette quickly called upon her magic and started dealing out devastating blows to the group. And up from above, Brooklyn continued to watch, his mouth wide in amazement. Just as he was about to come down and kick some butt, the woman surprised him by sending the leader across the alley, her eyes glowing green.

"She's fey!" he gasped in amazement. Frozen in shock, he continued to watch as she began fighting the group of punks using nothing else but magic. Suddenly, he saw the leader of the group begin to sneak around Lisette, moving closer and closer to her unprotected back as she dealt with the others. Seeing the punk's intent and having no time to dive, Brooklyn did the only thing that he could think of.. the exact wrong thing to do. "Hey, watch out!"

Startled, Lisette broke off her attack and looked high up into the alley in search of the cry. That second of inattention was the one thing that the leader needed as he darted forward and dug his nails into Lisette's shoulder wound, causing her to scream out in agony. This time she could do nothing to prevent the darkness from swimming up to meet her as she lapsed into unconsciousness.

As the woman fell to the ground, the group of punks hesitantly advanced forward, afraid of another attack. When they saw that none would be forthcoming, they knelt beside her.. ready to watch at first and then take their turn at revenge on the beautiful girl.

Slipping out a jack knife, the leader inched the gleaming blade towards the top of her shirt when a demon like roar broke the quiet of the night. "Oh God," the leader stuttered in fear as the knife dropped out of his hands and onto the grimy ground of the alley. Turning, he just had enough time to turn and stare up into the sky before he was knocked off of his feet and to the ground by a flash of red. Groaning, he looked up and into the eyes of the Devil himself. "A gargoyle!" he screamed out in panic as the glowing red eyes focused on him. "Let's get out of here!!" he screeched in panic as he scrambled to his feet and ran from the alley, the rest of his gang close behind.

Sighing, Brooklyn allowed his eyes to quit glowing as he turned back to the young woman. She didn't look so hot. Her shoulder wound was bleeding fiercely, easily soaking the bandage and dripping down her arm as her tanned face became increasingly pale. "She needs help," Brooklyn muttered thoughtfully as he knelt beside her. Just as he had seen Elisa do it before, Brooklyn gently reached out one hand and placed it firmly over the wound, hoping to slow the bleeding. Groaning, the young woman shifted slightly, but still didn't regain consciousness. "I can't bring her to the hospital.. what if they try using some instrument with iron on her!" Brooklyn said aloud to himself as he stared at her face. She was even more beautiful in person, with high cheek bones, a small, pert nose over wide, full red lips. "I need to take her to the castle," Brooklyn finally mumbled to himself, coming to a quick decision. It made the most sense, because not only did Xanatos have state of the art equipment, but there was also the rest of the clan, a fey, a half fey, and a quarter fey living there.. they may just be of some help.

Nodding to himself, Brooklyn leaned forward and gently slid his arms under the woman and easily lifted her into his arms. When she didn't wake he turned and surveyed the dark alley. He needed to get higher so that he could get some altitude and find wind currents to glide off of. Disappointed, he quickly realized that there was nothing to be found here that would do the job: just trash bags and a few dumpsters. Sighing, Brooklyn gently readjusted his hold till he was holding on to her firmly around the waist with one arm, her head tilted forward. Careful not to jostle his passenger, Brooklyn gently scaled the side of the building, the crunch of stone the only noise. It was extremely slow going, each step a baby one because of the difficulty of trying to climb with one hand, but a few minutes later he was at a high enough height that he was able to push away from the wall and let his wings catch him. Once he was airborne he readjusted his grip on the unconscious young woman once more so that he was again carrying her in his arms, her head supported on his shoulder.

"Goliath's not going to believe this," he muttered as he soared higher into the night sky, looking down at his passenger to see her eyes moving quickly beneath the cover of her eye lids.. dream time.

Smiling, the young baby gurgles in her mother's warm grip, the arms safe and protective as she stares across the room. It was the same room.. always the same room with the same view: grimy dirt floors, a hearth with a small fire burning, a rickety old table with wooden benches, an old bed made out of lumber pressed against the far corner, and the pale and cold sunlight seeping in through the open doorway. No, look at her face.. please look at her face! Lisette begged of her mind's eye.. it wasn't to be. Every time it was the same dream with the same view.

Laughing, the baby gurgles some more as she is gripped tighter by the hands as she rises higher in the air, moving with the mother as she stands up from her chair quickly. This isn't a game!! Look at her face! Lisette urged, knowing that the baby wouldn't do any different than usual.. too young to understand.

Suddenly the room begins to tilt as the baby is lowered quickly to the floor and then laid on the cold dirt. The cold upsets the child, and she quickly begins to scream with tear filled eyes. Turning her small head, the young infant watches through blurry eyes as the mother walks towards the open door, never once looking back.

Then she stops. Holding her breath, Lisette urged for the dream to go on. As the baby continues to cry, the mother stops by the door and weakly reaches one tanned, slender hand out and rests it against the door, the hand trembling. Ever so slowly she begins to turn. Just as the corner of the woman's face reaches the light, the dream slowly fades to black.

No, Lisette sobbed in her mind's eye as darkness once more reigned over her world. I need to see her face...

Aerie Building

As the elevator dinged open on the highest part of the Aerie building, Detective Elisa Maza rushed through the opening and into the Great Hall of Castle Wyvern. Turning in circles, she quickly found what she was looking for. "Owen!" she yelled as she rushed up to the calm as ever man servant.

"Yes Detective Maza?" he asked in his usual bored voice.

"I need to speak with Goliath! Where is he?" Elisa panted, trying to regain her breath.

"I do believe that he and the rest of the clan are gathered outside in the courtyard."

"The courtyard?" Elisa asked in disbelief. Usually when she came to the castle, the clan was always gathered in the recreation room with Goliath hidden away in the library reading one novel or another.

"Yes, they have just returned from patrol and are.. uh hem, swapping stories," Owen said, raising his eyebrow slightly as he said the last part, indicating that it wasn't his own term to describe the event.

Nodding her head, Elisa turned and ran towards the far end of the room where the large doors leading into the courtyard were located. "Thanks Owen!" she yelled over her back as Elisa pulled open the massive doors and ran into the courtyard.

It was beautiful out here, with spring already past and summer in full bloom. There were trees, grass, and flowers of all varieties blooming in the warm night air. But Elisa saw none of this. Ignoring the beautiful scenery, she ran past and out onto the stone parapets where the clan was gathered. "Goliath!"

"Elisa?" Goliath asked in confusion and the beginnings of worry as he watched his love run up to the group.

"I need your help!" Elisa said as she pulled to a stop beside the group, ignoring the looks of worry from everyone gathered.

"What's wrong Elisa?" Angela asked as she watched her human friend closely.

"Do you need help with a case?" Broadway broke in eagerly, a smile lighting up his face.

Flashing one of her small smiles, Elisa shook her head at Broadway. "No case, but something different. I need your guys' help finding someone!"

"Who lass?" Hudson asked as he scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"She's in her late teens, early twenties, with long blond hair that stretches down her back, blue eyes, about my height, 110 pounds, tall and thin, and last seen wearing baggy blue jeans and a white tee shirt," Elisa described from memory, replaying her time with the girl in her head. "Also, her name is either Lisette or Talia Seul."

Just then a sudden noise from behind the group caused them all to turn quickly in surprise. "I think that I just found who you're looking for," Brooklyn panted quickly as he hopped down from the parapets, careful not to jostle the girl anymore than necessary.

"Oh God, what happened?" Elisa said, immediately by Brooklyn's side as she gently checked out the shoulder wound.

"To her shoulder? I don't know. But I found her wandering the streets where she was attacked by a gang of punks..."

"Was she hurt?" Angela asked quickly, concern touching her face as she looked at the still form of the woman.

"Why didn't you take her to the hospital?" Goliath asked, worry creasing his own features.

"No, she wasn't hurt," Brooklyn answered quickly to Angela as he began moving past the clan. "She managed to fight them off pretty well on her own."

"She fought them off on her own?" Lexington asked in amazement as he looked at her small frame, moving beside Brooklyn.

"Where are ye going lad?" Hudson asked as Brooklyn hurried past.

"To the infirmary, and get Owen!" he yelled over his shoulder, with Elisa and Lexington running beside him.

"Owen?" Broadway asked in confusion. "Why do we need Owen?!"

"Because I think that she's fey!" was the yelled response as Brooklyn disappeared from sight.

"What?!"

"Broadway, go find Owen! Hudson, Angela, come with me!" Goliath ordered as he turned quickly and began running after his second in command, the rest of the clan in hot pursuit.

As Goliath rounded the final hall, he quickly entered the infirmary where he saw Elisa and Brooklyn bent over the young woman. "Elisa?..."

"Where's Owen?" Elisa asked as she gently untied the cloth that was wrapped tightly around the girl's shoulder.

"Broadway went to find him.." Goliath trailed off as he stared at the red wound on the girl's shoulder.

"Is it a gun shot wound?" Lexington asked quietly from his perch against the wall.

"No, I don't think so.. I can't see any gun powder or anything..." Elisa muttered as she grabbed a scissors lying on a stainless steel table nearby and gently cut off the sleeve of the shirt and pulled it away to show the wound. "It looks like a clean hole straight through her shoulder..."

"A laser?" Brooklyn asked as he pressed his hand over the wound in hopes of slowing the bleeding.

"I think so," Elisa agreed grimly, meeting his shocked expression.

Suddenly the door burst open behind them as Owen and Broadway hurried into the room. Without saying a word the man servant moved instantly by the young woman's side, pushing Elisa and Brooklyn out the way. There was no reaction or no word as he quickly went to work on her shoulder, a tense silence falling over the room. A while later, Owen finally stepped away from the young woman, a clean white strip wrapping its way around her shoulder and arm.

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, they watched as the mysterious young woman's eyes fluttered open. The first thing that those striking blue eyes saw was Brooklyn's smiling face. "Oh no!" Lisette whispered as her eyes widened in fear and she sat up quickly, crying out as the pain flared up in her arm.

"Hey, take it easy!" Elisa said quickly, instantly by the girl's side.

"You!" Lisette gasped, recognizing the detective easily.

"Who else? Now just hold still or else you're going to hurt your arm even more," Elisa soothed as she gently pushed the young woman back onto the infirmary bed.

"But.. but the gargoyles," Lisette gasped as she looked at the gargoyle clan, who now all mirrored her shocked expression.

"It's okay, they're friends!" Elisa urged, a small smile on her face. "Besides, I thought that was why you came here.. to find the gargoyles..."

"It was... but one of your clan sisters found me first..."

"Uh oh," Lex murmured as the picture of that particular gargoyle came to mind.

"And the first thing that she did was shoot me in the shoulder with.. fire, from this big machine!" Lisette said angrily, her eyes flashing a bright green, which caused everyone in the room to flinch back in surprise.

"Demona!" Brooklyn growled, his eyes flashing white as he thought of his hated enemy.

"Ah.. so she finally made it back to New York City," Elisa said thoughtfully, thinking back to when she sent Demona to Norway in a fit of anger.. well justified anger.

"It was a short stay then," Lisette snapped angrily, her eyes flashing once more that eerie green of the fey as she thought of the gargess's unexpected trip to Antarctica.

"Are you one of Oberon's children?" Lexington asked quietly, breaking in on her anger.

"What?" Lisette asked, thrown off guard for a minute.

"Are you fey?" he persisted, the perfect picture of innocence.

For a moment, the anger faded back from her eyes as she smiled at the younger gargoyle. "I.. wait a minute!" she broke off suddenly, the wary look entering her bright blues once more. "How do I know that you will not hurt me with another of those machines?" she asked, eyeing the clan.

"It's called a laser gun, and it's because it's not our way to do that.. attack humans.." Brooklyn answered slowly.

"But isn't this Demona a part of your clan?" Lisette asked, not letting her guard down yet.

"Not any longer," Goliath answered with a tired sigh.

"I.. I do not understand," Lisette answered back, her French accent mixed in with her melodious voice causing each to strain to hear her words. "Is she the one who destroyed your home above the clock tower?"

"How did you know about that?" Elisa asked in confusion. "You were in France at the time, weren't you?"

"Yes," Lisette answered slowly, eyeing Elisa suspiciously. "It was all over the news.. that bombing of your home at the police station... how many are there in your clan?" she asked, taking them all off guard at her sudden change in topic. "The news footage showed only four gargoyle forms.."

"Well, after the massacre at Wyvern, there are just seven of us. There's Lexington, Broadway, Goliath -- our leader," Brooklyn began explaining, pointing to each gargoyle in turn. "And Hudson -- the previous leader, Angela, Goliath's daughter, and then there's Elisa Maza and that there is Owen Burnett..."

"And this is Brooklyn, the gargoyle that saved you from that gang and brought you here," Elisa interrupted as she pointed to Brooklyn with a small smile forming on her face.

Smiling tentatively at the gathered group, Lisette lifted a small hand and pointed to herself. "And I am Lisette.. but what is this you said about a massacre?" she asked, her voice straining at the mention of the word.

"A very long story," Goliath broke in sadly, thinking back to all of their adventures of the past three years.

"Very well," Lisette agreed, understanding the need for silence about something so personal. Besides, there was something else that still bothered her. "But if you are human, Elisa, then why can I sense such powerful magic from you?" Lisette asked, once more taking the detective off guard by such a direct question.

"Ah.." Elisa stuttered as her gaze jumped back and forth between Goliath and Owen, the only ones who knew the real story.

"Well," Brooklyn broke in quickly, not even noticing the small look of relief that spread across Elisa's face. "Apparently when Puck turned her into a gargoyle one time, she developed the ability to do magic as a side effect.."

"Turned into a gargoyle?" Lisette asked in confusion.

"Long story," Brooklyn replied with a sheepish grin.

"But.. who is Puck?" Lisette asked, her confusion growing.

Sighing, Angela shook her head slowly and smiled at the young woman. "That could get complicated."

At this, Lisette leaned back against the propped up pillows and thought for a moment. It all sounded plausible.. it could happen. But for some reason, Lisette had the gnawing feeling that it wasn't the whole truth.. Elisa felt just too powerful for that to be the whole explanation. Shaking her head, Lisette looked up to the clan and smiled a bright smile.. she would worry about that later. For now she would accept that explanation.

"But that hasn't answered any of our earlier questions.." Elisa broke in hesitantly as she laid one of her dark hands on Lisette's shoulder. Turning, the young woman moved till her dark blue eyes met her own dark ones. "How can you sense my magic? How did you fight off those guys? How were you able to send Demona away... and where did you send her? And why do your eyes flash green
whenever you become upset? Are you fey?"

"No, she is not," Owen said quietly, interrupting whatever Lisette was about to say. "I have never seen her before in my life, and she is not one of my sisters."

At this admission, Lisette cast Owen a strange glance. "Well, you are partly right," she finally broke in with a small smile. "I am half human and half something else.. I was born in 979-"

"Nine hundred seventy-nine?" Brooklyn interrupted in obvious disbelief and confusion.

"To my parents," Lisette continued, as if he hadn't spoken, "Jean-Marc, a human, and Jasmine, who was not quite human -- or so we think..."

"You think?" Broadway asked in confusion.

"Well, I never actually met my mother... or my father for that matter," Lisette admitted sadly. "A few months after my birth, my mother disappeared. My father quickly traveled to a nearby village in the province of Bretagne in Gaul, now called France. There, he was said to have begged the townspeople for help -- help that he would never get."

"But why wouldn't the villagers help your father?" Angela asked quietly.

"Because by that time, rumors of my mother had spread, and her disappearance only fueled the flame," Lisette replied softly as her head dropped to her chest. "The villagers were afraid of her and thought her a witch..."

"Why would they think her a witch?" Elisa prodded quietly.

"Because strange things would happen whenever there was magic around... like if our village was ever attacked by magic, a blow that would maim or kill another villager would cause little to no damage to my mother.. or so it was said. Also, no one knew who she was or where she came from, including my mother... just one day she was there... and the next day she was gone... My father, a very poor farmer, began the search for my mother by himself. While he searched, the gossip spread until it reached the ears of the wizard to the lord of the land, Craigen. Intrigued, he traveled far to our village where he talked to the peasants there and heard the stories first hand. Even more intrigued, he then traveled to my father's decrepit cottage where he met with my father. It was then that he saw what would most likely become of me, and then convinced my papa to release me to his care..."

"Why did your father give you to the wizard?" Goliath asked in amazement, casting a quick glance in Angela's direction.

Sighing, Lisette lifted her head and met Goliath's baffled gaze. "I like to think that he gave me up because he loved me so much -- that he knew he could never bring me up properly by himself -- or that he figured that when he found my mother that they would come for me... I never had the courage to ask Craigen why, and I was told that my father died just a few years later, still searching for my mother..." Lisette trailed off, a sad smile on her porcelain face. Shaking her head, she quickly steeled her emotions. "In any case, it was done. I was raised by Craigen in the lord's château where I was taught to read, write, and study many things -- including the study of magic," Lisette finished with a small smile.

"He knew you were magical?" Lexington asked from his perch on a nearby infirmary bed.

"No, but it was a good guess. Strange things began happening when I was just a child..."

"Like what?" Angela asked, her eyes eager in curiosity.

"Well, one story that he told me was that when I was just an infant one of my bottles began to teeter and fall off of the counter. Rushing forward, he tried to get to it in time to prevent it from smashing to the ground... when suddenly the toppling glass halted in mid-air and then floated back up to its place on the counter. The only people in the room were he and I. After a few more instances like that, he became convinced that I was no ordinary child!" Lisette laughed, instantly lightening the mood in the room.

"What else happened to convince him?" Elisa asked with a small smile, seeing that these memories were good ones for the woman.

"Well, one time, when I was just a year old, I apparently learned how to levitate things...

Craigen's room - 980 AD

Smiling, the young wizard sat at his table and mixed his brews, trying to create a potion that would magically stop the smell that always seemed to permeate from the young child's diaper. He knew that the smell meant that she needed to be changed, but he knew that he could figure that problem out without having to smell that horrid stench. Periodically, he would stop his mixing to peer over his shoulder and ensure that the child was still sitting in the crib that he had made for her.. and staying out of trouble. Suddenly his smile grew as he realized that he had figured out the potion, and that all he needed to do was mix these last two bottles.

Ever so carefully young Craigen lifted the bottles close to his face and began to slowly pour the contents of one bottle into the other. Almost immediately the substance within changed colors from a forest green to that of the sky. Grinning, he continued to hold the bottle up to his face as he absently set the empty bottle on the table.. or where the table should have been. Surprised, Craigen looked up.. and then down. Crying out, Craigen realized that he was now floating a good eight feet off of the ground, his stool and table five feet below him. So surprised was he that both bottles dropped out of his hands and then smashed on the stone floor so far below.

A sudden girlish laughter caught his attention. Turning as best as he could while floating in the air, Craigen looked down and saw his young ward sitting as she was supposed to.. but her eyes were glowing an eerie green. Laughing again, she clapped her hands, her eyes focused firmly on Craigen's flying form. It didn't take a genius or a wizard to figure out why he was suddenly floating in the air. "Lisette!" he called out, his voice trembling slightly. Why did he have to be afraid of heights? "Lisette, sweetie, put me down!" he called out, trying to keep his voice calm.

Not calm enough, apparently. Smiling, this caused Lisette to laugh all the harder as she began to move her head back and forth, causing poor Craigen to float back and forth as well.

"Lisette! Put me down!" he yelled out as his face began to turn green because of the movement. "Help!"

Present day and time

"So as you can see, it did not take a wizard to figure out that there was something special about me.. and because he met my father, he knew that it wasn't due to him, which just left my mother."

"Well, at least you didn't drop him on his head!" Brooklyn said, laughing at the thought of a baby causing her unsuspecting mentor to float in the air.

"Well, I guess that's one thing to be grateful for!" Lisette said with a warm smile in Brooklyn's direction.

"Yes, but how did you manage all of this time? Are you immortal?" Elisa asked, getting back to the subject at hand. After seeing the young woman's expression fall once more, Elisa wished all the more that she hadn't.

"If I were immortal, I would not have this mess, would I?" Lisette answered with a sad smile as she gazed at the human detective. Turning slightly, she focused on the warm eyes of Brooklyn instead. "No, I am definitely not immortal... I spent all of my time in the château either with Craigen or with the gargoyle clan that protected the château. They were my friends -- whenever I could, I would sneak away from my chores and studies so that I could be trained and just be with the clan.." Lisette said, trailing off as a small smile caused her full lips to lift slightly at the pleasant memories.

"So the humans and gargoyles lived together in peace?" Goliath asked, smiling at the thought of his dream of peace between the two races a reality.

"Well, not exactly... I think that the humans of the château resented my clan because they were different from themselves -- which meant that the wizard and I were resented as well," Lisette explained slowly, a sad smile filling her face. "In any case, life went on like that... until the Roman Invasion... It was a time of war -- battles were won and battles were lost, armies advanced and armies retreated, homes were destroyed.. and friends were killed," Lisette described as her voice turned hollow and her eyes seemed to focus on nothing. "One day in the summer, when I was 17 years of age, the château was attacked by the mighty Roman army..." Lisette whispered as her thoughts traveled back to that time so long ago.

The Lord of Bretagne's Château -- 996 AD

Yawning, Lisette moved slowly down the stone hallway of the castle, her long skirts swishing against the floor as the weak sun filtered through the occasional window. "Oh, these late nights are killing me!" she said, trying in vain to wipe the sleep from her eyes. She was late for her lessons with Craigen and she knew it. From the position of the sun it seemed that it was almost noon. "No, he is going to kill me!" Lisette murmured as she picked up her pace and quickly began climbing the stone stairs of the tower. Breathless, she finally reached the top and burst into the cluttered room. "Craigen?"

"I'm here, just where I said I would be earlier this morning when it was time for your lessons," an aged voice replied tersely.

Moving carefully around one cluttered table after another, Lisette finally found her mentor reading on a stool with a very large book on his lap. "I'm so sorry, Craigen, but..."

"You were out late with the gargoyle clan and accidentally slept in," the wizard said as he finally looked up from the book he was reading to connect his tired brown eyes with her blue. "It is always the same with you, my child," he sighed, shaking his white head as he slowly got up from his seat, his brown robes catching the occasional ray of light.

"But the Romans attacked a nearby village and I went along to help scare them away..." Lisette argued, trying to defend her actions.

Waving his hand in the air, Craigen quickly replied, "And tis good that the gargoyles did so... tis in their very nature to protect... but you are not a gargoyle."

"But..."

"I know, you can take on the form of a gargoyle with that magic of yours, but inside you are still a young mage.. my apprentice and ward... a human being..."

"A halfling," Lisette interrupted quickly as she watched her mentor begin to mix some concoction.

"Yes, but if the lord or his son ever knew that at night you changed yourself into a garg..."

"Oh, phooey on the lord, and especially on his son! I don't like the way he keeps eyeing me!" Lisette said angrily as she plopped down on the wooden stool, her dress flaring around her.

"The boy likes you..."

"The boy just wants to own and control me like he does everyone else in this château!" Lisette argued, her eyes flashing green at the thought.

"Shh, now child," the aging wizard said as he knelt in front of his ward. "You know that..."

"Hush, Craigen... did you hear that?" Lisette cried out suddenly as her large blue eyes grew wider.

"Hear what?" Craigen asked in confusion as he placed one hand gently on Lisette's shoulder.

"Shh, there it is again!" Lisette cried as she jumped to her feet and rushed to the nearest window. There she looked down upon the peaceful château, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. However, when she looked further, past the château's walls she saw what caused the noise. "Oh, mon Dieu! Craigen, the Roman's are attacking!" Lisette cried quickly, willing her eyes to be wrong as man after man began pouring out from the nearest wood.

"What?!" Craigen called out quickly as he rushed to stand beside Lisette at the tall tower window, just as the cry of alarm was sounded throughout the château.

"I just see the watch guards... where is the lord and his forces?!" Lisette cried out in alarm as she watched the measly watch guards attempt to defend the château walls.

"They are gone, helping Lord Louis to defend his lands from the Romans," Craigen replied hollowly as he watched guard after guard retreat further from their posts under the hollow of spears and arrows.

"But the Romans are here!" Lisette protested weakly.

"And the château shall fall under their control."

"Then we must stop them!" Lisette cried out shrilly as she picked up her skirts and rushed for the door.

"Stop, Lisette! Can't you see? The sun is high and the gargoyles won't awaken for hours... till it's too late," the old wizard trailed off slowly.

"I know, but we can stop them! You can use your book of spells, and I my magic! You said that I was strong..." Lisette trailed off, one hand resting on the door.

"No, my child. I am an old wizard and you a young girl. You are strong, but we can't take on an entire army!" Craigen urged.

"But..."

"And we shall use that to our advantage. The Romans are fierce, but they are not barbarians and will not harm us," Craigen said wisely as he stepped beside his ward and pulled her gently away from the door. "They will take us captive with the rest of the château and later the lord shall bargain for his people's freedom."

At that exact moment, one of the fore mentioned Roman warriors charged into the room, sword ready. "Who are you?" he barked out quickly, eyeing Lisette in her tightly bodiced gown.

"I..." Lisette started, aiming her best glare at the invader.

"We are nothing more than an aging man and his granddaughter," Craigen interrupted quickly, placing a firm hand on Lisette's shoulder.

The guard continued to eye them for a minute longer before nodding slowly. "Fine. Move it," he ordered, pointing for them to move ahead of him and down the stairs where they were then placed in the open courtyard with the other inhabitants of the château.

There they sat and waited for hours on end as the Romans finished turning the château upside down in search of valuables. And then the group of scared and hungry captives were told to start moving by the Roman Captain himself.

Smiling in reassurance at Lisette, Craigen reached over and gently squeezed her hand. "See my child? I told you that everything would be alright."

Lisette herself was about to agree with her aged mentor when a sudden shout caused everyone to freeze and made Lisette's blood run cold. "But what about the gargoyle statues, sir?" one young Roman warrior called out hesitantly as he eyed the many statues that adorned the château's walls.

"What about them?" was the Captain's curious reply as he too eyed the fierce statues.

"Why, we must smash them sir, before the sun goes down and they come to life and after us!"

At this, the contingent of warriors broke into uneasy laughter. Hearing this, Lisette felt her worry ease... until she saw the Captain's face as he contemplated his warrior's request.

Brushing away Craigen's restraining arm, Lisette stepped away from the group and towards the Roman captain until the cold steel of a sword blocked her way. Straining to keep her face a mask of ease, Lisette met the captain's eyes and said, "Must your pillaging of our home be so complete that you must smash the masonry that decorates the very château itself?"

Turning, the mighty Roman captain stared down from his tall stead at the brave young woman before him -- brave, but foolish as well. It was obvious that she hadn't yet learned that it was a woman's place to be silent. She was beautiful, for a French peasant, that is. Still, later he would probably take pleasure in putting her in her proper place himself. Ignoring her objection, the Captain finally turned his wise eyes back to his young warrior. "And where did you hear of such superstitions?"

"From another troop, sir. They said that a band of demons flew outta the night sky last night, screeching and roaring with glowing eyes, chasing the troop right outta the village they were inhabiting. I was told that the demons were called gargoyles and that they came to life when the sun falls below the horizon..." the young man trailed off slowly, his mind ticking off the short hours to sunset.

Turning, the mighty Roman captain surveyed the many statues adorning the château walls, as did every other soldier in the contingent.

"Don't tell me you actually believe that fairy tale!" Lisette cried out, breaking into a mocking laughter. Turning, she called out to the rest of her people that were gathered behind her with shocked expressions on their faces, "Did you hear that? The mighty Roman army that is out to conquer our country is afraid of gargoyles! A child's fable!"

"Enough!" the Roman captain yelled out fiercely, his cold gaze locked on Lisette. "You have quite a tongue.. one that I will have cut out if you don't shut your mouth! The Roman Empire fears nothing!" he yelled out, meeting Lisette's piercing blue eyes. "Now move out.. we have much ground to cover!" the captain barked out as he turned his horse and began leading the troops from the château.

Sighing in relief, Lisette quickly moved to Craigen's side. "They're not going to hurt the clan," she whispered as she began moving beside her mentor.

"Oui, and all thanks to you, my foolish child," Craigen whispered back in a scolding tone, thinking of how close he came to losing her, yet also with a slight twinkle in his eyes as he thought of how she outsmarted the captain and used his pride against him.

"And it was..."

"Captain, sir... what about the gargoyles?" the same guard broke in, causing Lisette's words to freeze on her lips.

Pulling his horse to a stop, the Roman captain looked over his shoulder at the deserted château. "You may take a small troop back to smash the statues and catch up to us later if it will ease your worry," he said smoothly as he faced forward once more and urged his horse on.

Stunned, Lisette could only watch in horror as a small group of men broke quickly away from the troop and advanced on the stone gargoyles. Numbly, she felt Craigen yank on her arm, trying in vain to pull her away as one of the heavy maces broke down upon the first gargoyle form, reducing it to rubble. "That was the gargoyle that I called Petite... she was the one who taught me to glide," Lisette whispered, tears glistening in her blue eyes as she stared at what was left of her friend.

"Lisette, we must go! I'm sorry about your friends, but there is nothing that we can do!" Craigen whispered, pity covering his face at the devastated look on his ward.

Gasping, Lisette watched as yet another of the noble gargoyle clan was reduced to rubble -- this one the second in command's beautiful young mate that was heavy with egg. "No..." Lisette whispered as the mace lifted again, this time over one of the clan's young. "No!" she screamed out, all of her sorrow and disbelief turning into blinding anger. Surprised at the scream that broke the quiet, everyone turned and the mace paused in mid-air. "I warn you now, foolish humans, that if you do not stop in your destruction, there shall be severe consequences!" she screamed once more, shaking off her mentor's restraining hand.

Surprised, the Roman warrior, now and forever a barbarian in her mind, turned away from the young woman to throw his captain a questioning glance, mace at his side.

Staring coldly at the young woman, the captain quietly uttered one word: "Proceed."

Nodding at his superior, the young man raised his mace once more.. which was all the prompting Lisette needed.

"Arrêt!" she screamed as her eyes began to glow. Startled, the guards and peasants drew back as green energy shot out of the young woman's hands and hit the young warrior, causing him to fall quickly to the ground. As she turned and began dealing out similar blows to the other mace wielders, she began to float a few feet from the ground.

"A witch!" was the surprised and fearful word that went up throughout the Roman warriors as they jumped for cover from her magical attacks.

"A witch indeed," the mighty Roman captain murmured as he hid behind a nearby boulder, abandoning his horse to fend for itself. While making sure to keep his body protected from the green rays of magic, he slowly lifted his head above the rock. There he saw Lisette, floating in much the same place, her eyes glowing that same eerie green with her pale blond hair blowing behind her in an unfelt wind. Turning, he saw that already a third of his mighty army was down, either unconscious or dead, and that the rest were taking shelter behind boulders or trees, trying their best to launch a counter attack before they were brought down like their comrades. Turning further, he saw that their prisoners were hiding from the onslaught as well. And then his eyes focused upon the old man that was brought down with the witch. Even now his eyes were riveted to her form, concern etched upon his wrinkled old face. "Thorne!" he barked to one of his soldiers that was hiding behind a nearby oak tree.

"Yes sir?"

"I want you to gather all of the men that you can and then follow me! I have a plan..."

"Sir?" the young man asked, casting a wary glance back into the battle field.

"Get moving! We need to get over to our prisoners!" the Captain barked, his face cold as he stared back out at the beautiful witch. "We shall end this NOW!" he hissed, his eyes as hard as the granite that his men had been destroying.

Nodding, the young warrior quickly hurried away and did as he was told, trying to remain shielded from sight at all times. A few minutes later everything was set and ready to go. Turning, the Roman leader nodded once at his troops and as one they stood. "Stop your fighting and surrender to us now, witch, or they shall die!"

Turning quickly, Lisette looked for the source of the threat, ready for some new targets. What she saw caused her blood to freeze once more. There stood her people, knives and swords pressed against their throats with the Roman barbarians standing behind them. Even worse was that at the front of the group stood the Roman Captain, his own broadsword held tightly against her mentor's throat. "Craigen?!" Lisette gasped, her mind spinning.

"Like I said, surrender to us now or they all die, starting with the old man!" the Roman captain warned as he tightened his grip.

As fear choked Lisette, she racked her mind for a way out -- some way to save them all. She couldn't just cast a spell to send the Romans to some other place, for all of the places that she knew of and was capable of sending the army were close by, and that would just eliminate the problem temporarily -- the Romans would be back. No, she had to deal with these Romans once and for all. So what to do if she needed to deal with the enemy but there were innocents in the way?

"Well?!"

Steeling her emotions and forcing her face to be impassive, Lisette met the evil Roman's dark stare. "No," was her simple reply. Before anyone could react, Lisette quickly chanted a simple rhyme as green mist shot out of her fingers to surround the group. Seconds later the mist dissipated and all that remained were the baffled Romans with empty hands. You simply have to eliminate the innocents from the equation. Smiling, she was about to perform the same spell on the remaining gargoyle statues so that she could deal with her enemy alone when someone tackled her from behind. Crying out, Lisette and her assailant tumbled to the ground a few feet below, knocking the wind out of her.

Groaning, Lisette felt a knee shoved into her back, pinning her to the ground as her arms were yanked roughly behind her and secured in place with cold metal. Coughing as the soft dirt entered her lungs and as she tried to regain her breath, Lisette felt rough hands at her back and shoulders as she was lifted to her feet.

"Now let's see you try your magic with your hands bound, witch!" the Captain growled, angry that even when her clothes were torn, her hair messed, and her tan face smudged by dirt she still managed to look like a goddess.

"You fool! You think that I need my hands free to use my magic?!" Lisette hissed, preparing herself to launch another magical attack. Suddenly she realized that something was wrong, very wrong. Nothing was happening! She couldn't feel her eyes burn green or the tingle of her magic waiting to be released.

"You can, can you?" the Captain asked smugly, laughing at her apparent distress. "Did I mention that you are now being restrained with iron cuffs?"

"So?" Lisette mumbled as she focused on her magic... or lack of it. "What's iron?"

"What? You don't know about iron?" the Captain laughed, finally capturing Lisette's full attention. "It seems as though I get to teach you first hand about your weakness!"

"Weakness?" Lisette asked in confusion, a cold trickle of fear running down her back.

"Yes. Long ago, the ancient Romans, our ancestors, learned that the one weakness to all magic users was to be restrained by iron. For some, even the touch of the iron caused the skin to burn and severe pain.. to others it just caused for their magic to become null and void... as is the case with you," the Captain said with a cold smile.

"No... this can't be happening!" Lisette cried, shaking her head as she tried even harder to call upon her magic.

Laughing, the Roman captain turned away from the witch, now nothing more than a harmless young woman.

"And what do we do now, sir?" one of the older warriors asked as more and more of the downed soldiers slowly climbed to their feet, apparently stricken unconscious by the witch's magical blows.

Stopping, the Roman captain turned to face the young witch. She hardly looked dangerous now as she struggled in the heavy iron shackles, one of his men on each side holding her arms tightly. "Destroy the remaining statues," he finally replied coldly, an evil glint in his eye as he watched the witch jump into action once more.

Quickly, Lisette began to struggle fiercely in her captors' grip. "No! Oh God no!" Lisette screamed as she watched a group of men advance on the remaining gargoyles, maces ready. Slowly, gargoyle after gargoyle was destroyed by the flying maces. "No, please stop!" Lisette sobbed, twisting weakly in her captors' grip as her friends were destroyed one by one before her eyes. Soon it became just too much to bear as Lisette's knees gave way, the warriors struggling to keep her standing as she turned her head away from the sight as her tears left trails down her dirty cheeks.

"Oh no, witch, you must watch your demons be destroyed," the Captain whispered from beside her as he roughly grabbed Lisette by the hair and forced her to watch the destruction, slapping her hard across the face whenever she closed her eyes.

Soon the destruction was complete and only one gargoyle statue remained: the leader of the clan who sat on the highest tower of the château. Looking up at the sun through a red haze that was caused from a head wound that was inflicted by the captain, she saw that sunset was just moments away.

Unfortunately, the Roman captain saw this as well. "Well, now... I think we should see if this gargoyle story is just a story or what. Men, I want you to secure as many chains as you can around the statue!" he called up to his warriors that were standing beside the statue. Turning, he then motioned to the two that were guarding the witch and said, "Come on."

Nodding their heads, the two guards half dragged, half carried the witch between them as they entered the château and climbed the stairs that led up to the tower that housed the remaining gargoyle.

Feeling more helpless than she ever had before, Lisette could do nothing but watch with tear filled eyes as the sun slowly dipped over the horizon. As the cracks spread quickly throughout the stone form, the Romans stepped back in fear.

Slowly, the stone particles exploded off of his gargoyle form as the Leader awoke to greet the night... and was stopped by chains. Surprised, the young leader struggled for a moment to no avail before looking down and seeing the destruction below him. "No!" he roared into the dark night sky as his eyes focused on the pile of rubble that sat where his mate once rested. "No!"

"Leader, I.." Lisette called out as the tears poured down her cheeks and as her heart broke all over again for her friend, the guilt at not being able to stop this destruction welling up within her.

Surprised, he turned quickly to see himself surrounded by strange men in strange clothing. Suddenly he saw a familiar face. "Lisette?" the leader called out in confusion. "What has happened.. why didn't you use your magic to stop this?!" he cried out. Watching her closely, he saw her flinch visibly at his words. It was then that he noticed the chains and the blood on her face. As a growl split the night and his eyes began to glow white, the young leader called out "Are you..."

"So, the stories are true," the Roman captain broke in, his face expressionless. "Well then, witch... or Lisette I suppose, your demons are now dead..."

"You monster!" Lisette screamed, the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"You are the one who destroyed my clan?" the leader roared as he prepared to charge the man. The chains that bound him held his arms and wings tight against his body, but that didn't restrict his feet or the sharp talons found there.

Stopping the gargoyle in his place with his words, the Roman captain yelled out, "Your clan is dead, and this witch did nothing to stop the destruction because she preferred to save her own hide!"

Backing up on his perch, the gargoyle stared at Lisette in confusion, not wanting to believe what the man was saying. But the evidence was right in front of him.. sure Lisette was chained, but she didn't need her hands free to perform her magic.

"No, I.." Lisette broke in weakly, the tears pouring down her face as she pleaded with the Leader with her eyes.

"Kill him," the Roman captain broke in quickly.

"NO!" Lisette screamed. Turning quickly, she kneed one of her guards in his most vulnerable place before elbowing the other one sharply in the nose, causing them both to go down. Then she ran as fast as she could across the tower as she watched two of the Romans run up to the unsuspecting gargoyle and shove him as hard as they could, sending him over the edge of the tower. "No!" Lisette screamed again as she elbowed her way to the edge or the tower and looked over, just in time to watch her friend smash to the ground five stories below. "No," she sobbed in denial as she was quickly surrounded by the Romans once more. Turning her roughly, Lisette found herself staring up into the evil Captain's eyes. "Why? Why did you lie to him and say that?" Lisette sobbed brokenly.

"Because now your demon died believing that you betrayed his clan to save your own life... he died cursing you!" the Roman answered, laughing at the idea.

As anger consumed Lisette's being, she did the one thing that she could in her situation.. she spit in the evil man's face.

Quickly she was repaid with a hard slap across her face, causing her to cry out as she began to fall to the ground. Moving fast, her guards lifted her arms and forced her to stand once more and face the captain. "Thanks to your inexperience and blinding anger, we were able to defeat you today, witch. Because of you, your demon friends are now dead," he said coldly, loving every minute of the pain that flashed across Lisette's face as her entire being was filled with sorrow and guilt and as each word cut her to her very core. Smiling, the Captain moved to the edge of the tower and looked below at his troop of men milling below in the courtyard. "Hurry men, we leave immediately!"

"To where, sir?" one of the younger men called up from below.

"To the city of Reims..."

"But what of the other prisoners, sir? They're gone!" another of the men called out, looking about in the darkness.

"Yes, and the witch probably sent them far away from us," the Captain agreed, sending a cold look at the witch. Looking at her though, he quickly saw that he would get no more reaction out of her. She stood with her head tilted down, her long blond hair hiding her face, and her shoulders sagging down: the perfect picture of defeat. "It matters not. We have something even better... a witch to be burned at the stake!" he yelled out, causing a cheer to go up throughout the crowd of men. "Move out!" he ordered a few minutes later, after everyone and thing were gathered and ready to head out. Lisette, heavily guarded and surrounded, was placed somewhere in the middle.

And so they did. The group traveled by day -- leaving before the sun rose and making camp after night fell -- always moving. As for Lisette, she ignored everyone and thing, so filled with guilt and remorse that she didn't even care that she was marching to her own demise.

That was fine for the Romans though, because they were so afraid of the 'witch' that they kept their distance -- except for the Roman captain. Every chance he could he would be at her side, taunting and tormenting her in hopes of a reaction. In all honesty, he couldn't help it. She was so beautiful that he couldn't help but want to spend his every free moment with her -- which infuriated him all the more. He blamed it on Lisette of course, believing that she had cast some sort of spell that caused the attraction.

One night, the Roman captain decided that the witch's temptation was too much to bare and decided to act on it...

The hour was late as the Captain finally gave up on sleep -- the woman, as always, most on his mind. Throwing his blanket aside, the Captain slipped on his clothes and then left the stuffy tent for the cool summer night air. Walking aimlessly, the Captain nodded at the occasional night watchman before finding himself in front of the heavily guarded prisoner's tent. Without even knowing what he was doing, the Captain then waved the guards away -- who left with knowing looks, figuring that the witch was about to receive another nightly beating.

Moving as though in a dream, the Captain very slowly pulled back the tent flap, revealing the witch huddled in her chains within the tent. As like all of the times before, the young woman didn't even stir as he stepped into the tent. With that same blank look on his face, the Captain slowly knelt before her. "You did it, didn't you?" he whispered harshly, his hot breath on her impassive face. "You cast some sort of spell on me, so that I can't get you out of my mind, didn't you?!" he rasped, pushing closer still. When he still got no response, his anger flared to an all time high... and his lust as well. "Fine then, witch!" the Captain hissed as he shoved Lisette onto her back. "I give into your damn spell! I'll give you what you want!" he yelled out as he whipped off his belt and straddled the witch.

It was at this point and time that Lisette finally broke out of her self-imposed isolation and became aware of her environment for the first time in days -- she didn't like what she saw. "Get off of me!" Lisette screamed, instantly bucking her hips, causing the surprised Captain to roll off of her. Moving quickly, Lisette stumbled to her feet, her arms still tightly bound behind her as she rushed over to the unsuspecting Captain, catching his chin with her knee.

Crying out, the Captain backed away and touched his chin gingerly. "You witch! I was just giving you what your spell demanded of me!"

"What are you talking about?!" Lisette yelled, barely able to believe what she just prevented. And here she thought that things couldn't possibly have gotten any worse.

"You put me under some damn spell so that I can't get you out of my mind!" the Captain roared before he charged Lisette.

Unable to move fast enough in the heavy iron chains, Lisette was easily tackled, causing her to cry out in pain as she landed on her bound hands. "Get off of me!" Lisette screamed as she began to twist and squirm violently under the Captain. "Use your head, I couldn't have cast that spell! I've been bound in iron chains!"

Those words seemed to knock some sense into the Captain as he backed away quickly. Before he could respond, the tent flap opened behind him, revealing her guards and a couple of the night watch as well. "Is everything all right in here, sir?" one of the guards asked as he eyed the scene: Lisette lying on the ground, her dress even more torn and the Captain breathing heavily before her, his belt lying on the ground. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had been going on.

Without saying a word, the Captain looked once more at Lisette before leaving the tent. That was really the last that she ever did see of him, for he never again came to taunt and torment her. And never again did Lisette withdraw into herself in order to hide from the pain of her memories. From that point on, Lisette decided that she would rather face reality and deal with everything as it happened. And that's exactly what she did those last few days of the journey to Reims: attempt to cope and deal with her tremendous guilt and pain at losing everything that matter in the world to her.. at least Craigen was safe.

After their arrival, there was a quick hearing at which Lisette was declared a witch. And then it was time to burn...

As Lisette stared out at the mob of people that laughed and jeered at her, she couldn't help but wonder about the direction her life had taken as she struggled uselessly against her iron bonds. "Such is life," she muttered as a masked man stepped forward with a burning torch in hand. Inside the mask, Lisette knew that the man was smiling as he bent low and lit the piles of hay that were scattered below her pole that she was tied to, on fire.

Coughing as the thick black smoke drifted up, Lisette began to struggle fiercely against her bonds -- all to no avail. In a matter of seconds the fire blazed and the hot scorching heat began to sear her skin. A second later her dress caught on fire and her skin began to burn under the onslaught. As Lisette began to scream in agony, a fine blue mist enveloped her burning form. When it dissipated, the crowds, smoke, sunlight, and pole were gone as Lisette tumbled to a hard, stone floor. Unfortunately, the fire was still there. Screaming as the fire climbed higher, Lisette thrashed and rolled on the stone floor, trying to put out her dress.

"Oh mon Dieu!" a voice called out, as though heard from far away.

Suddenly a large blanket was thrown over her body as gentle hands patted out the fire. Crying at the flashes of pain she felt on her burned skin, Lisette felt a yanking on her arms before a release and then the cold iron was gone. Confused, but in too much pain to care, Lisette felt the gentle hands at her back once more as she was turned on her back. Opening her eyes, Lisette saw that she was lying in some sort of cavern... and then a familiar face came into sight. "Craigen!?" Lisette gasped as pain flared around her legs once more, the tears pouring down her cheeks.

"Yes, child, it is I," Craigen soothed as he took Lisette's small hand in his.

"Craigen... my legs!" Lisette gasped, fighting against the pain.

"I know, I know.. you are free from your bonds, and now you must change your form into that of a gargoyle once more, so that stone sleep may heal you," Craigen whispered softly as he averted his eyes from her badly burned legs, the bruises covering her face and arms, and her thin form as he met his ward's scared blue eyes instead.

"Oh Craigen, the gargoyles..." Lisette sobbed, remembering all that she had witnessed.

"Hush, I know Lisette. We'll talk later, but now you must rest," Craigen urged, a tear burning in his eyes at all of the horrors that his girl must have faced in the last week.

Nodding her head, Lisette weakly gathered all of the magic she could manage before casting the transformation spell. It was evident just how weak and wounded she was by how long the transformation took and by how much she had to struggle to go through with it. Fortunately, though, she was changed to a gargoyle and then to stone.

As the sun set over the horizon later that day, the stone skin surrounding Lisette's gargoyle body cracked and then broke away. Roaring, she awoke on the cold stone floor of a cavern, completely disoriented and confused. Without even thinking, Lisette shifted back into her human form and looked down at the stone particles littering the floor. "I've never slept in stone before..." Lisette whispered in amazement at her stone skin. "But why..." Lisette trailed off as all of her memories of the past week or so came crashing back. Gasping, Lisette quickly lifted the bottom of her skirts, revealing her smooth, unmarked legs.

"Lisette?"

"Craigen?!" Lisette yelled, searching desperately for her mentor, panic squeezing her heart.

"In here, child!"

Turning, Lisette saw a shaft of flickering light that seeped out from another chamber. Picking up her skirts, shee ran across the dark cavern and into the chamber where a strange sight greeted her. The new chamber was relatively small with hundreds upon hundreds of brightly lit candles placed about, particularly next to a high slab of stone that sat in the middle of the room. Cringing at the fire, Lisette saw her mentor standing beside the slab of stone, spell book in hand. "Oh, Craigen!" Lisette sobbed, releasing all of the emotions that had been bottled up as she ran into her mentor's embrace. "They're dead... all of the clan is dead..."

"I know child..."

"I couldn't stop them, Craigen... it's all my fault..." Lisette cried, her tears soaking Craigen's long white beard.

"No, it's not..."

"I let my anger blind me and then they used something called iron on me, which caused my magic to leave me!"

"Shh, I know Lisette," Craigen comforted as he smoothed her long blond hair. "But it's not your fault, you did all that you could..."

"But they're dead..."

"And I along with the other château inhabitants are alive, thanks only to you and your quick thinking."

"But..."

"It was very smart of you to transport us to the lake like that... although it did take us till morning to get back to the château," Craigen said with a small smile. In honesty, it was nothing to smile about. Because of that delay, Craigen was a good day behind Lisette and the army as they traveled, meaning that he didn't make it to the crowded square of people in Reims until the hay beneath Lisette was already lit on fire, causing her to be badly burned.

"Yes, but..."

"Hush now, Lisette, right now I need for you to get up and lie here on this slab," Craigen interrupted as he helped Lisette up and then forced her to lie down.

"What?... But why, Craigen?" Lisette asked in confusion as she began to feel groggy.

"The world is no longer safe for you my child... the people of Gaul believe you to be a witch.. not even the people that you saved at the château would come and help me to save you... you're no longer safe here, and until the world is once more safe, you must sleep," Craigen said quietly with a sad smile.

"Craigen, I..." Lisette started, the tears pooling in her eyes as she no longer found the energy to lift her arms or head. He must have cast the spell before I entered, Lisette thought as her eyes remained fixated on Craigen's kind old face.

"There are about ten coins in the pot by the wall, and we're sealed in, so you'll have to use your magic to get you out once you awaken..."

"No," Lisette whispered as a tear drifted down her cheek.

"Lisette... be careful and always remember that I have always loved you as my daughter..."

"Please don't leave me Craigen..." Lisette whispered one last time as darkness stole over her vision and Craigen's face disappeared from view.

"I... love you," Craigen gasped as the spell took hold and Lisette fell into a timeless sleep. At the same time, Craigen felt his heartbeat slow as he fell to the cold stone floor. He had used all of his magic and energy to cast the sleep spell, and now was left with nothing. His dying thoughts were of his adopted daughter, Lisette, for whom he died to save.

Present time and day

As the minutes ticked by, Brooklyn finally gave into his concern and hesitantly laid a hand on her small shoulder. "Lisette?"

"He used everything he had to cast that final spell and must have died there by my side.. for when I awoke two years ago, I found his dusty remains on the floor by my side," Lisette whispered, another tear trailing down her cheek.

"Oh God Lisette.. I.." Elisa trailed off, her own eyes filling with tears at the thought of this young woman being put through such horrors.

Holding up her hand to stall the comments, Lisette continued. "After I awoke, I used the coins that Craigen had left to me.. now worth a fortune, to reenter this strange new world," Lisette said with a small smile, struggling to push what she just relived to the furthest corners of her mind.

"And what 'ave ye been doin' this last year then, lass?" Hudson asked as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"I've actually spent the last year on a computer and in front of the television trying to catch up on all that I've missed these last 1000 years!" Lisette said, laughing at the idea. "And that's a lot to catch up on!"

Smiling softly, Brooklyn moved closer to the hospital bed that housed the young woman, who seemed all the more vulnerable after hearing of her tragic past. After all, many of the experiences that she faced were similar to the same tragedies that filled Brooklyn's past. Then again, unlike Lisette, he never had to face these tragedies alone -- and he didn't have to watch the destruction of his clan either. "Lisette, I'm sorry," he whispered sadly as he laid one of his brick red hands on her good shoulder.

"As am I for your loss," Lisette replied quickly with a sad smile. "I'm not anything special.. you have gone through this all as well, so don't feel pity for me..."

"If anything, you have to be special because you're definitely not normal!" Brooklyn interrupted before thinking. As soon as the words left his mouth though, he blushed fiercely, causing his brick coloring to turn an even darker shade of red.

"The sun will be rising soon," Goliath spoke up, saving his second from further embarrassment. "You are welcome to stay with us as long as you wish," he finished, sending a small smile in Brooklyn's direction.

Smiling up at the large gargoyle, Lisette whispered, "Thank you," before redirecting her stare back down at the hospital bed she was sitting on.

"Ach, let's be goin' then.. tis been a long night," Hudson muttered as he turned and slowly left the room, headed for the cool night air.

"Good idea... my shoulder is killing me!" Lisette agreed, her thick French accent blending the words as she slowly swung her legs out over the side of the bed.

"And where do you think you're going?" Elisa asked, instantly by her side in case she needed assistance as she tentatively stood up on her weakened legs.

"To rest and heal," Lisette answered as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

It made sense to Elisa. After all, she wouldn't want to spend the day in an infirmary when she could be elsewhere. "Uh, Owen?" Elisa prompted as she looked over at the manservant.

Picking up on his cue, Owen stepped forward and said, "If you'll follow me, ma'am, I'll show you to one of the spare rooms of the castle."

"That would be nice.. but maybe later, I'll be going with the others right now," Lisette replied as she slowly began walking towards the door, heading in the direction that Hudson had taken.

The clan exchanged quick glances before Angela spoke up. "Okay, but let me help you.. that shoulder wound is very bad and you must be weak from it!" she called out, concern touching her voice as she stepped forward and supported Lisette on one side.

Smiling her thanks, the two young women slowly left the room, with the trio talking up a storm behind them. Next went Owen, who turned off in a different direction.. most likely to inform Xanatos and company of their latest 'guest.' And then came Elisa and Goliath.

"So what do you make of our new friend?" Goliath asked quietly, his eyes focused on the five young people ahead of them.

"She seems sweet and kind, definitely brave... but also someone who's seen more than her fair share of pain," Elisa answered slowly.

"Well, Angela seems to like her," Goliath remarked as he watched his daughter tilt her head back in laughter at something Lisette must have said. It would be good for her to have a female companion of her own age.. someone to talk with.

"And Brooklyn as well," Elisa replied with a knowing smile.

"Aye, that he has," Goliath agreed as he linked his rather large arm with Elisa's. I just hope that this one doesn't end the same as with the others."

Smiling up at her love, Elisa squeezed his arm gently before saying, "Don't worry, Big Guy, I have a feeling that it's mutual this time."

Turning, Goliath looked once more at the trio plus two and saw the not-so-subtle looks that Lisette and Brooklyn kept giving each other when they thought that the other wasn't looking. "Well, what do you make of her mother?"

At this a small frown appeared on Elisa's face. "I'm not sure... as far as I know, magic for humans is taught, but this seems to be inherited.."

"Do you think that her mother was fey? I mean, green magic, no spell book, weakness to iron?"

"I'm not sure.. later I'm going to have Puck help me test just how powerful she is, but from what I can sense from her, she's very powerful indeed. Which means that you can bet I'm going to do a little digging to see who exactly, if anyone, was fooling around with a human back then!" Elisa murmured as a yell from ahead caught her attention.

"Oh!" Lisette cried out suddenly as her legs gave out beneath her, leaning heavily on Angela.

Reacting instantly, Brooklyn quickly moved beside her and easily lifted her up into his arms. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern covering his features as he looked at his new friend.

Smiling weakly at her savior, Lisette said, "Yes, I guess I am just not as strong as I thought.."

"I'll just carry you then," Brooklyn replied with a grin as he set off once more for the parapets where they rested for the day, the three other gargoyles following behind, large smiles on their faces.

"I think that Brooklyn likes her," Broadway whispered, stepping next to Angela.

"Oh you think so, do you?" Angela asked with a coy smile. "Well, I for one am very happy for him... Lisette seems to be very nice!"

"And now maybe he'll finally leave us alone!" Broadway replied, returning Angela's smile.

Laughing, Angela punched him lightly on the shoulder as she stepped ahead of him and walked out into the moon lit night. Feeling the warm breeze on her up turned face, she couldn't help but wonder at how perfect things were starting to look.. not only did they have a new friend staying with them, but she was female, her age, nice, and Brooklyn liked her. Things were definitely beginning to look up. Still smiling, Angela hopped up onto her perch and turned to watch Brooklyn and their new friend.

Ever so slowly, Brooklyn moved forward across the hard stone until he stood before his daily perch, throwing occasional glances at Lisette's large blue eyes every so often.

Noticing Brooklyn's attention, Lisette couldn't help but smile softly to herself. This wasn't the first nor the last time that she would receive such attention; still, the knowledge that the attention would be short lived stopped her from taking the thought any further. She had dreamed of love before with both human and gargoyle suitors -- but always her heart was broken when the poor fools who thought they were in love learned of the true nature of her heritage -- she never expected anything different any more... although Brooklyn did already know of that heritage and he was an extremely handsome gargoyle that did seem to be a nice guy. Shaking her head, Lisette decided to stop both their thoughts at once. "The sun is almost up.. you can probably put me down now," she whispered confidentially in her soft French accent.

Blushing, Brooklyn quickly complied and put Lisette gently on her feet. "Uh.. see you tonight?" he asked as he quickly jumped up onto his own perch, conscious of his clan's eyes on his back.

"Yes, tonight" Lisette agreed as she glanced at the rising sun -- she had better hurry! Closing her eyes, Lisette quietly mumbled a quick spell to herself as a green mist surrounded her form.

Surprised, Brooklyn watched as the green dissipated, leaving a gargoyle in Lisette's place.. a very beautiful gargoyle. As she turned those same deep blue eyes on him, a large smile covered her face as she jumped up onto the parapet beside him. Before he could utter a word, the sun came up over the horizon, freezing the look of shock on his face.

Smiling, Elisa turned away from her love's stone statue and moved closer to the two gargoyles that caught her eye. So, the new friend to the clan could change forms into that of a gargoyle.. interesting. Yes, things were sure to change around the castle now, but change was not always bad. It was true that things would be more complex with another magic wielder around, more difficult to contain her secret if Lisette got curious. Then again, the situation just became 100% better for Brooklyn. As her smile widened, Elisa looked at the look of utter and complete shock that covered Brooklyn's stone form as he looked at the stone statue of the new gargoyle.. shock and something else. And then she turned to face the new gargoyle.. she was beautiful and when one looked closer, it quickly became evident that the gargoyle in fact was none other than Lisette, with the same facial structure, bone structure, only with added inches, wings, tail, talons, and a loin cloth and halter top, similar to Demona's. "Things are definitely looking up for my little clan," Elisa finally whispered as she turned away from the stone statues and began walking towards the door to the Great Hall; she needed to get some sleep.

Just as she reached the large door, it suddenly came open and banged against the side wall. Surprised, Elisa stepped back quickly, relieved when she saw who it was. "Xanatos, Owen," Elisa greeted as she moved around them and continued on her way.

"Detective," Xanatos greeted as he allowed her to pass by and then continued walking with Owen. "So, my friend, where is the young woman, Lisette, that you were just telling me so much about?"

"Try the parapets!" Elisa called back over her shoulder, overhearing Xanatos' question as the elevator dinged open and she stepped inside.

"The parapets?" Xanatos questioned, quirking his eyebrows at his manservant.

Shrugging his shoulders in response, Owen replied, "She stated that she was going with the gargoyles.. perhaps Miss Lisette wanted to see the gargoyles turn to stone?"

"Perhaps," Xanatos replied, a calculating frown appearing on his face as they continued walking towards the stone forms of the gargoyles. "So I ask once again," Xanatos continued as they walked up onto the stone battlements where their gargoyle friends were sleeping, "where is this new friend to the gargoyles?"

"I don't know sir," Owen replied with a frown. "I doubt that young Lisette would be wandering around the castle with her arm hurt as it was."

"Well, she has to be somewhere!" Xanatos said in exasperation as he backed up till he was leaning against the stone parapets. Turning his head, Xanatos looked first off to the right at the towering form of Brooklyn. "I wonder what was on his mind as the sun caught him," Xanatos murmured as he took in the frozen look of shock on the young second's face. Smiling, he then turned around and looked to his left... and then jumped away from the parapets in shock. "I thought that you said that she was human!" he accused as he looked at the unfamiliar gargoyle that was frozen next to Brooklyn, a large smile on her face.

"Part sir. It seems as though her father was human and her mother was something else... something magical but definitely not gargoyle," Owen answered, a frown covering his features as he studied the statue. It was definitely Lisette, even with the changes, that much was evident. "She
was human when I left her side."

"Well, she's definitely not human now," Xanatos muttered, stating the obvious as he moved closer to study his guest. She was a beautiful gargoyle, meaning that she would most likely be just as beautiful as a human.. but young as well. From the lineless planes of her face, he wouldn't place her age over that of twenty-two years old. "How old did you say she was again?"

"Nineteen, sir," Owen answered as he stepped beside his boss and stared up at the young gargess.

"And about how old would you guess Brooklyn and Lexington's ages to be in human years?" Xanatos asked, a small smile forming on his face as he stared up at the looks that the two statues were directing at each other.

"I would guess about her age to a little older.. no more than 22 years old for Brooklyn, and probably about 17 years of age for Lexington."

"I see," Xanatos answered, the smile growing.

"And as you can see, Mr. Xanatos, Brooklyn and our new guest have hit it off quite well."

"Very interesting.. not only do we have a new addition to our little 'family,' but also a magic wielder that is strong enough to shift her form to that of a gargoyle. Not to mention that things should be interesting to see what, if anything, comes of the attraction between these two.. speaking of her magic though, she must be pretty powerful in order to change her form like she has.. correct?" Xanatos asked, another calculating gleam in his eyes.

"Pretty powerful," Owen agreed.

"At what point would you put her power level? She's not stronger than you, is she?" Xanatos questioned as he finally turned away from the statues and started heading back towards the Great Hall.

"I can't say for certain without testing her magical ability, first, but from what I can sense, her power level is definitely close to that of the Puck's... but without any training besides that from a human wizard, I imagine that she is further behind than what she should be and is incapable of reaching her full potential at this point and time."

"Hmm... and do you think that you will get an opportunity to test this?" Xanatos questioned as he began heading towards his office.

Smiling a hidden smile that Xanatos couldn't see, Owen replied slowly, "I believe that Detective Maza will be requesting my assistance in such a test shortly."

To be Continued