Disclaimer: Buena Vista and Disney own the characters of Gargoyles, which are being used here without their knowledge or consent. The character of Mona, the alternate Demona, Aunt Maya Florez, are the ideas of Malkavien. Lucia Dominguez, Cesar Ramirez, Keith Polaski, Sharon Lewis, and Rachel Vitreum are my characters, as are the other minor ones not part of gargoyles. Lyrics taken from the song Gallows Pole written and composed by Jon Schaeffler and Hansi K?rsh performed by Demons & Wizards. Ricky Martin's Living the Vie de Loca, and Jennifer Lopez song If I gave you me also appear. This story rated PG-13 for strong language, violence, and some sexual content of a mild nature.
Last Rest Denied
Part 1: Future Returns
Written by Trynia Merin
Synopsis by malkavien@lft.be
This story takes place about two after Past Returns, part 3, and a month after Claws of Shadows, and two months after
What's Done is Done.
The Eerie Pyramid, Manhattan People's Republic, 2040AD:
"WE were fools," Demona set the last charge, on the mainframe. "What fools we were..."
"No my love..." Brooklyn gritted, his wing drooping as he limped.
"But Delaware and Jersey..." Demona looked to him.
"Didn't die in vain..." Brooklyn gripped her arm. "When I tell you, get clear..."
For the hundredth time the alert screamed in their ears. Solid explosions sounded, and both of them inwardly rejoiced. "The main struts! Matt did it!" Demona laughed.
"I like the sound of that!" Brooklyn whispered, caressing his brow with hers. They allowed a small moment of victory.
"Let's move!" Demona whispered. She gripped the detonator, and both of them moved towards the door.
"Shit!" Brooklyn gasped, pulling her behind the mainframe. "Shock troops! Steel Clan!"
"But you said that Rachel..." Demona gasped.
"Rachel, what the hell is going on..." Brooklyn shouted into his com. Demona fired back, her gun blazing at the red rods that ripped through the Main center.
"Brooklyn... I'm sorry... but team Beta got hit... Findleagh... did what he could, but the Steel clan must have.... we nailed the Shock troops with the Virus I made... but it wasn't enough..."
"Get the hell back to the labyrinth!" Brooklyn gritted.
"I'll try..." came Rachel's voice, over the volley of laserfire in the background. Demona gritted, flinging aside another carbine charge as she waited five seconds for her gun to recharge. Red lights sprang into life like a phoenix, and she fanned the oncoming line with a rain of death.
"Houston, Shenna..." came Rachel's anguished shriek.
"Rachel!" Brooklyn shouted. "Are you there..."
"Cannot... hold them... there are too many..." came Rachel's gasp. A death flower exploded beside Brooklyn's shoulder, as he tumbled out of the way. Growling, he sprayed the oncoming line with his own death storm.
"Get clear!" he hissed to Demona, holding the detonator. His red claw depressed the switch. Anxious seconds they darted, Demona covering their escape with her laser. Red rods singed Brooklyn's good wing.
"Three... two... one..." Brooklyn gritted, and yanked Demona clear as the counter ticked Zero in red letters. A shockwave molded itself to their backs, throwing both gargoyles into the next chamber. Small shrapnel tinkled down around them, the remains of the Steel clan assault force.
"Bingo!" Brooklyn laughed. Demona squirmed beside him, her hair filled with the little metal bits.
"Rachel, you hear that, we did it!" Demona laughed over her com. But all that met their ears was eerie silence.
"Rachel!" Brooklyn gritted. "Come in, dammit!"
"The link's been cut off..." Demona choked.
"Come on!" Brooklyn snarled, and pulled her along. Another death would have to wait till afterwards to mourn.
At last they reached the main nerve center, which had been Xanatos office years ago. Demona wondered at the signs of recent laser burns. "Someone's beat us to it," she wondered. Panels flickered spasmodically, sparking as their relays shorted out.
"We hit them good!" Brooklyn nodded. "Now, for that traitor..."
In unison they aimed their guns at the large gantritic steel door. It melted easily under their combined firepower like butter. Within the gloom, terminals sparked and spat, the chain reaction reaching them from the Mainframe.
"Lexington!" Brooklyn roared. "Show yourself coward!"
"There's no escape!" Demona snarled. Red eyes flared alongside white ones. Two huddled over figures leapt upon them, their cybernetics gleaming.
"I thought we finished Jackal and the Ultrapack!" Demona wailed.
"Wrong again, fools!" came a maniacal laugh. "You face my children... and they will not abandon
their father..."
Snarling he tossed the slight shape which raked his face with steel claws. It was a female, no older then Jersey had been. She rose, her large eyes blazing crimson, silver cybernetics gleaming on her wings. Demona kicked the male off her, his wings flapping as she Swiss-cheesed them with her maser. Sparks flew off the chest plate. Brooklyn turned to fire, his weapon cutting into the top of the female gargress' control unit. Blue sparks erupted into a pyrotechnic rain as she shrieked an inhuman howl. Demona leapt upon the male, claws ripping. She felt wires and steel give way under her claws, and hurled as the female reeled. They collapsed in a heap. Brooklyn limped over to his mate, leaning on her as he continued to growl, "Lexington! Enough games!"
"Fools, you have won nothing!" came the enhanced voice as two white eyes flared in the gloom, and a hover chair whirled around. His face darkened at the sight of the two hatchlings huddled to one side. An angry low growl came from his cybernetic voice box.
"You would attack your own clan?" Demona cried. "What Gargoyle are you?"
"As you have killed two of the Rookery," Lexington retorted. His own cybernetics flared as a blue light fell upon Brooklyn and Demona. "And for that your death will be most unpleasant..."
"WE knocked out your Xanatos program. You're finished..."
"Not so," Lexington laughed. "Because even now my Last Chance program is running..."
"Last chance..." Demona gasped. "No..."
"If I cannot rule this world, then it doesn't deserve to exist..." Lexington laughed. "You've lost, Brooklyn!"
"Noo!" Demona screamed, throwing herself on Lexington. Just then a series of Steel clan clanked in, their guns raised. A shot crackled out, slamming into Brooklyn's back. Shot after shot slammed into him, and the red gargoyle crumpled.
"My love!" Demona howled, raking the steel clan with laserfire as she tossed Lexington aside.
"Kiss your mate goodbye!" Lexington laughed, and punched a button on his chair com. Blue lightning exploded, snaking over the floor. Demona leapt onto the console desperately. Brooklyn writhed in the charge, all his muscles firing at once. The smell of burning flesh crept into her nostrils. When the flare subsided, his charred form drifted into dust beside that of Lex's children. Only their cybernetics remained in a gleaming pile.
"You... you..." Demona snarled, dropping on the floor near the ashes of her love.
"All alone now," Lex laughed. "Just you and me, immortal..."
"I will see you rot in hell!" she screamed.
"Where do you think you are," Lex sneered. Steel clan advanced on her from both sides, grabbing her in their tendrils. Protesting, she struggled, but an all too familiar pain shot through her.
"That's right. Turn to your human form while I dispose of you once and for all..." Lex laughed.
"But you will die too... if Last Chance..." she gritted.
"Fooled you," Lex laughed. They wrestled her to a strange unit, much like what she recalled from a series years ago, a large glass cylinder that she was thrust into. Demona howled, battering the sides.
"I need to test my new dimensional teleporter unit. What better way then to put it on you.... on the widest possible dispersion..."
"I cannot be killed..."
"Oh, but you can... if Macbeth dies at the same instant. And I doubt he'll survive what little surprise I've got for him..."
"No..." Demona gasped.
"Last Chance will only affect those outside of Manhattan," he laughed. "Soon everything outside a twelve-mile radius will be charred to cinders... and you won't be around to see it! Activate!"
"Noo!" Demona shouted, as the hand descended upon the switch. Seething energies enfolded her, as she felt her every cell ripping asunder.
23rd Precinct House, 5:30PM:
"Captain, I think there is something that you need to see," Elisa Maza said to Maria Chavez early that evening. The sun had only just set, and Chavez had just clocked in.
"Maza, this had better be good... I didn't exactly get my forty winks..." Chavez ran a hand through her hair, rubbing the sleep from her aching forehead.
"Well it will help answer what happened to a friend of yours..."
"What?" Maria snapped up. "Who are you talking about?"
"A certain geologist who taught you rock climbing..."
"What the hell... why didn't you tell me you had a lead!" Chavez exploded. "I hate being kept in suspense, Maza..."
"Easy Captain! If you'll just come up to the clock tower..."
"What does the clock tower have to do with this?"
"Everything..." Elisa said. "Let's just say there's some evidence there..."
"All right I'll play your game. But it had better not be a waste of time!" Chavez exhaled, her lip vibrating into a frustrated Bronx cheer. She let Elisa lead her down the hallway, to the poky little broom closet. All the way Chavez grumbled and tripped over paint buckets and construction equipment. Her high-heeled shoe caught on a dust rag and sent her toppling into Maza.
"Dammit, what has this got to do with anything! Is Rachel alive or dead?"
"Captain, remember how I always disappeared just after I clocked in?"
"Yes but..."
"This is where I used to go. To sneak out on a break. It wasn't just for donuts. And remember when I lugged that TV up here?"
"We all were wondering who that was for, and that old recliner that I threw into the dumpster..." Chavez snorted, knocking plaster dust off her hair. Elisa reached up, pulling down the utility hatch ladder. It was the only part still intact from the original construction.
"They could have put in a new ladder," Chavez bitched, clambering up after Elisa. "Stupid cutbacks!"
Already the last lights of radiant sunset had faded into dark blues. Chavez heard the clicking of gears magnified several dozen times as she scampered up behind Elisa. Behind that, could she hear voices?
"Is this some stupid welcome back prank?" Chavez finally muttered, as Elisa helped to pull her up by her suited arm.
"Surprise," Elisa laughed. Chavez blinked, then rubbed her eyes. The remains of a microwave and a television were being swept up, as well as plaster dust that had fallen. Yet who pushed the broom totally put her at a loss for words.
"Hi Captain Chavez," said a large blue gargoyle, his green wings caping. "Guess I finally get to meet the best captain on the force."
"Gargoyles... here?" Chavez stammered, and almost fell over if a female had not caught her.
"Ria?" asked a familiar voice. Again she stammered, backing away from the source.
"Ray..." she stammered, and glanced into a pair of glasses. What was behind them floored her. She could swear she recalled the set of those eyes, and that smile framed by thick fudge colored locks. However, the blue skin, the horns, and the talons confused her recognition.
"Ria... I wanted to tell you... but we just couldn't think of a good way..."
"Holy Shit... what happened to you?" Chavez ran a hand through her hair. "How in the... Ray what happened?"
"I have two words for you," Elisa steadied her boss as Rachel reached a hand out to a bewildered Chavez. "Dr. Sevarious."
Meanwhile at Castle Wyvern:
The hall was very quiet, in fact the whole castle seemed deserted. Grim silence marked a Calm and ominous foreboding. No gargoyles had crept down to this level, so near the labs. Out of the silence, energy crackled as the air become overload with static electricity, and seemed to wave as there was a heat source in the floor. A sharp pungent odor of ozone split the air. Slowly a disc of liquid silver spread beneath it, expanding evermore into a disc of light. Papers whispered slowly on the desktops, whipping into a quickening breeze. Stroboscopically lightening painted the room in an eerie blue flash. Air sighed and moaned, sucked into the vortex of the event horizon's circle, a handful of seconds before a form burst forth.
It hit the far wall with a meaty whamming noise, accompanied by a hurt grunt. The humanoid form fell onto the ground, convulsing. Quickly the silhouette stretched, long wings erupting from its back as a long tail sprouted from above her flanks. Fair complexion of her skin flushed to azure blue, underneath a river of blood seeping from a deep laceration in her forehead.
Oddly the red tide abated to reveal the shapely crown of four tiny horns. All wounds that the new arrival seemed to had re-absorbed. There was no more deep cut on her forehead, no more fractured skull and no more hemorrhage in several part of her brain. Only the unconscious form of a beautiful unconscious lay gargoyle spread on the floor. Her burgundy mane lay askew of her face, her hand laying over the breastplate of her golden armor. Beside her lay a gold tiara.
The Clock Tower, 6 PM:
Luckily Rachel was closest, or Chavez would have eaten the new plaster floor. Deftly the turquoise gargoyle caught her friend in strongly muscled arms. They were bare, smooth and strong as they wrapped around Chavez and steadied her. At arm length, Chavez forced herself to look into the wistful gargoyle countenance. It was Ray all right, there was no mistaking the set of the eyes, even though those graceful brows were now ridges. Or the firm chin just beginning to be creased with wrinkles. Chavez's fingers extended, then stopped short of touching one silky lock of hair. Her green eyes flushed with regret. "Well, I have to say this Dr. Sevarious does good work, dammit. If I didn't want to pulverize him I'd praise him!"
"It is me..." Rachel smiled sadly.
"No doubting that smile," Chavez chuckled sadly. "So, how the hell have you been? Are you... okay? I mean... what happened to this Sevarious bastard that..."
"Ria...."
"I'm sorry lass, but we did our best," Hudson said gallantly.
"She was like this when we found her," Brooklyn added. "Even if some of us didn't recognize her..."
"Laddie yer flapping on a dead air pocket," Hudson warned.
"Uh guys..." Broadway interrupted. "Does it matter now?"
"We didn't' find any trace of him," Elisa sighed. "Every lead is dry..."
"Dammit, you could have called me!" Maria shook Rachel, her throat choking. "I didn't know if you'd still..."
"I'm a cop, Ray. I've seen serious Shit in my life. Didn't you think I'd understand?"
"I'm sorry..." Rachel lowered her eyes.
"Come here you," she said, folding Rachel into her arms. To everyone's surprise Maria Chavez gave Rachel a gentle kiss on both cheeks.
"Och, she knows everyone!" Hudson suddenly commented, resting hands on his hips. The rest of the clan leapt off the high walls to land beside the startled Chavez.
"How many are there of you?" Chavez backed away, still holding Rachel's arms.
"Not many," Rachel shook her head.
"Captain!" Elisa looked at her oddly. "What was that about?"
"Why, Elisa, I'm a life outside my office, and my own secrets!" Chavez grinned, pecking Elisa on the cheek as she turned to Rachel.
"This is my Clan..." Rachel indicated the others. "Hudson, Brooklyn... and all the others at Castle Wyvern..."
"Son of a bitch," Chavez shook her head, muttering half to herself in Spanish, a Puerto Rican dialect. "I don't know whether to be pissed at you Elisa for hiding this from me, or grateful to you for leading me to Ray. But why now..."
"We wanted to show her where we used to live..." Brooklyn, the red gargoyle with a rather attractive beak commented.
"Used... to live?" Chavez glanced questioningly at Elisa.
"Yeah. This place was their protectorate..."
"I don't believe it! On top of the police station all the time...Maza, what were you thinking?"
"Does it matter now?" Rachel asked, hugging Chavez tightly.
"No," she sighed. "Damn I can't believe we were so blind not to see this. No wonder that Hunter attacked..."
"That's another thing," Elisa said. "Is Robyn..."
"Gal's still got six month's probation... Matt's on the case..."
"Is that a good idea?" Elisa asked.
'Why?"
"He's... kinda gotten personally involved," Elisa said.
"Oh great, anything else you haven't told me, Maza?" Chavez put her hands on her hips.
"Ria," Rachel tugged her sleeve. "Calm down... you don't want to blow a blood vessel…"
Just then the odd bleeping of something on Rachel's belt split the conversation. Sheepishly she said, "Excuse me... communication coming in..."
She hit the button to a small pack on her belt that looked like a pocket pager. In reality it was a Transgalactic communicator she had adapted for use on earth. "Yes, Goliath? Rachel here... yes... she's here... but what..."
Discreetly Chavez pulled Elisa aside to talk to her, so Rachel could have some privacy. She put her finger in one ear as she began to talk aloud to the air.
"So how personally involved is Matt?" Chavez asked, the shock of seeing the Gargoyles temporarily suspended.
"Uh, he had said she loves volunteering at the community center with the PIT crew, Captain Chavez, and he was really grateful when she told him about who Castaway got his latest arms from..." Broadway put in, which earned him a stern look from Hudson and Brooklyn.
"How grateful?" asked Chavez.
"Uh... a bouquet of flowers and two tickets to Madam Butterfly?" he shrugged.
"Terrific," Chavez scraped her shoe against the stone floor annoyedly. "If it wasn't the fact she was a good source of info on her brother's old contacts..."
"But wouldn't Castaway know this by now and somehow changed his plans?" Broadway scratched his head. "I bet the fences have already shifted now that he knows the heat's on..."
"Fences," Chavez laughed. "How many cop shows have you seen, Mr..."
"Broadway," he said proudly. "I helped Elisa on one of her cases... the Dracon one a few years back..."
"He was my partner... when Matt was captured," Elisa explained.
"A gargoyle private eye?" Chavez shook her head. "Oh boy just what I need now..."
"Uh guys, I think we had better get back... Goliath has something he needs us to take care of back at the castle, pronto!" said Rachel, with an apologetic look to Chavez.
"Leaving so soon, now that we've met?" Chavez frowned.
"No disrespect indented, lass," Hudson nodded to her. "But we must be going... our leader will be wantin t' speak... and Goliath doesna tolerate tardiness..."
"Goliath?" Chavez shot a glance to Elisa. "Is that your boyfriend, Maza?"
"Yes," Elisa blushed.
"You tell him the next time he pulls a stunt like this... I want to see him face to face!" Chavez snapped. "He should have told me that my friend was a gargoyle!"
"But Captain..."
"See you on shift... which starts in four minutes, Maza," Chavez said. Then she turned to the other gargoyles.
"Sorry to meet you on such short notice," Broadway apologized.
"Don't think anything about it. I'm just glad you guys are on our side. No don't keep your leader waiting..."
Macbeth's Mansion, Long Island, NY, 2040 AD:
Lucia saw the distant lights, her ears burning with the sound of what seemed like whistling. Red flashes flickered over her creme colored battle armor, panting its contours in red light. Silvery curls slipped out of her barrette, hanging around her pleasantly lined face. However, the look upon it was far from pleasant.
Macbeth rushed to her side, his arm slipping around her shoulders.
"It's over... isn't it... everyone..." she turned to him.
"Last Chance," Macbeth whispered. "Demona... warned us... just in time..."
"Findleagh..." she sobbed, forcing back tears for their son. He would never know the pleasure of marriage or children of his own.
"Died bravely as befitting a warrior..." Macbeth gripped her shoulders. "And the son of a king..."
"Like Keith... and Sharon..." she stammered. "Luach..."
"Rachel," Macbeth glared through the French windows. He gripped the remote control in his hand, punching buttons. Lucia rushed to the security terminal, hands flying over the securecam banks. An eerie howling boomed, and they knew they only had seconds to act before Last Chance went into operation.
"Targeting telemetry..." she whispered.
"Arming main cannons and defensive shield," Macbeth nodded, giving a cursory glance out into the courtyard. His laser cannons swiveled to punch their red rods into the oncoming disastrous dawn. He fought the cramping pains in his chest as Demona's transformation hit him. As ever, Lucia gripped him close, as he howled the pain.
"She's still alive if you are here," she whispered.
"Never mind me... get on the targeting computer... make sure we draw a bead..." Macbeth whispered, face still contorted in pain. Lucia's lined face lit up under the winking lights. So many objects pinged on the Doppler radar. A volley of rockets sprang up from the four turrets in the courtyard, sailing skywards. Within seconds the light was lit with a series of blue and white flashes, which eclipsed the rising sun in magnesium strobescence.
Macbeth nodded, moving to his wife's side as she checked the perimeter. "We got them!" she laughed, whirling to face him. HE gripped her close, kissing her gently. The field was clear. Or was it? His eyes narrowed at the sudden ping approaching.
"We missed one..." she gasped, glancing up at him.
"Activate the shield!" he shouted. Her hands typed over the codes, initializing the generators. They smelled the ozone as a bluish light domed up around the Mansion. Already the refugees stirred, and children's faces pressed to the French windows as the eyes stared skywards. Over the shimmering of the force shield, the death flowers exploded. Stone gargoyles fused into place, as the remainders of the Clan froze into place under the full sunlight. Samson, his siblings,
Midnight, Delilah, and Broadway all fused to place amidst the panicked onlookers. Mute and Claw huddled together, as Claw clenched his arms around the stone statue that was his own heart's silent love.
Then the ground itself seemed to shake. A huge mushroom cloud rose through the widows, and Lucia gripped her husband's black gloved hand tightly. Screams and shouts echoed in the Mansion.
"Lennox," she whispered, glancing at him as he looked over her shoulder at the monitors.
"Manhattan was undamaged... but New York... New Jersey..." he gasped. A look of horror filled their faces.
"Shield's holding, but barely. It must be four hundred degrees," she gasped, as the bluish energy held back a wall of flame. A red disastrous inferno flickered through the windows of the Manor. A loud roar, the ground trembling under their feet, punctuated it. Suddenly there was an explosion that vibrated the whole Mansion.
"God no!" Lucia gasped. "The generator!"
Screams and panic filled their ears as the shield faltered. Red flames licked closer and closer as the thermonuclear shockwave spawned fire licked closer and closer. It would only be a matter of seconds before the Manor was fully consumed.
"Macbeth!" she screamed, as she saw the windows blow inwards. He shoved her under the shelter of the couch as the glass ripped into the line of refugees. They rolled on the floor together, as he shielded her with his body. One by one the statues exploded in the heat. Both watched with horror.
"Lucia!" he shouted, gripping her close. It was hot, so hot. Hell exploded around them, and he could see the flames licking over each and every piece of furniture. They scrambled at the falling timber, which crashed down around them. Painstakingly crawling towards the entrance to the basement. Only their respective battle armors yielded them any insulation from the scalding heat now.
"It's all over..." she sobbed, as they climbed into blackness. "It won't be long before the whole place goes..."
"Aye," he whispered, and pulled her close to him in the dark space, which had suddenly gone hot. He pulled her face into view of his, blue gray eyes fixing into her frightened dark ones.
"We tried so hard... was it all for nothing?" she asked him, her leather gloved hands in his.
"No," he shook his head, hands gripping painfully tight. "Never say that. As long as we have fought the guid fight..."
"In the cause of freedom," she nodded. "It is a good death... isn't it my husband?"
"Remember, I will always love you..." he choked through the smoke clogged air.
"Macbeth... I have... no regrets," she whispered, as he hugged her close in his arms, slowly rocking her. Armor against armor made little difference in the scalding heat.
"Nor do I, my dearest love," he whispered. Even the basement around them slowly yielded to the flame, Lucia and Macbeth retreating towards the back corner. Once before he remembered his castle in flames, ten centuries ago. That time he had rushed out, saving his wife from a death by fire. Now, there was no place to run. They would perish... even he, who was immortal, for he doubted enough would remain to be reborn. His entire existence would blissfully come to an end, at last.
"Hold me," she whispered, glancing up into his face. He held her close to his armored body as he pressed kisses to her face. The world had blazed into an inferno, but those blue eyes held a refreshing peace. Already flame had crept onto his coat, and he battered it off. Her skirt caught fire, licking slowly upwards. Macbeth's lips clamped over hers in a last frenzied kiss as he pulled his lightening gun from his holster. A white blaze consumed them both seconds before the flames did.
Castle Wyvern 6PM:
"Someone's breached security on level two," one security guard muttered to his partner.
"Come on... let's see if they forgot to clean the rat traps this time..." the blonde sighed, picking up her taser. Both reluctantly dragged themselves from hot coffee and donuts before a security monitor.
The man was glad for some action, yet his blonde partner was annoyed at being taken from her java. Sighing, she slid the security card through the access pad.
"Weird, nobody came through here..." she muttered.
"Then how the hell did they..."
"Shh," she hissed. The door whirred open, to a dark space. On the floor lay a dark shape, covered in gleaming gilt.
"Shit! How did that gargoyle get in here?" he snapped.
"Who cares. Let's get her to the infirmary. I'll love to see the look on Xanatos face when he..."
"Wait... don't you recognize her?" he asked, stopping his partner. "That's that... female who attacked..."
"Quick, get the tranq..." she said.
"Wait, let's just kill her..."
"No you idiot! If Xanatos knew we had her, he would flip if she were killed! I bet he'll be thrilled to get his hands on the saboteur!"
Together they clamped cuffs on her wrists, and took her form between them. She was heavy; yet manageable. He stopped to pick up the gold tiara, turning it over in his hand.
"Stop futzing around and give me a hand, you dumb ass," she gritted.
Somewhere over Queens, 6:15 PM:
"You're gliding is getting better," Brooklyn nodded to Rachel, who just about managed to keep pace with the other two. Angela and Broadway swept around them, flitting on a convenient thermal.
"Let's take a closer look," Angela flicked her flanks and dove. Shrugging, Broadway and Brooklyn pulled in after her. Rachel moaned and tried to copy their actions.
"Careful, we're coming into a tricky patch here..." Broadway called, as they swooped over the elevated train that separated Queens from Manhattan. A train rocketed by, slicing into the still air with a river of wind. Rachel's wings blew back as she rose up on the updraft.
"Watch it!" Brooklyn cried, struggling to anticipate where she was going to land.
Rachel reached at her waist as she felt dead stillness under her back. There was no updraft, and with her tail side down she was plummeting like a stone. Broadway and Angela gasped as Brooklyn swung round to try and break her fall.
Something shot from under Rachel's wrist, clinking into the nearest high building. A thin cable jerked, arresting her fall. Safely it drew off enough so that she could land against its side.
"Whoa, don't scare us like that!" Brooklyn alighted near her. Within minutes she had scaled the wall, leaving him behind.
"I'm coping the best way I can," she shrugged.
"Are you okay?" asked Angela and Broadway, who had alighted on the rooftop. "You scared the heck outta us..."
"Nothing a little rope and pitons couldn't handle," she said. "First rule of climbing, always have a safety line..."
"But how did you throw it in time?"
"Carbon dioxide propellants in the tip of the piton doesn't hurt either," she said.
Brooklyn huffed as he finally scrabbled up, five minutes later. "Damn, you climb like Spiderwoman! Sheesh!"
"Nothing here," Angela laughed. "But one disgruntled hero..."
"Thanks for the attempted save," Rachel smiled, tweaking Brooklyn's beak.
"No damsels in distress, eh, big hero?" Broadway nudged him in the elbow.
Brooklyn muttered something very unflattering under his breath, and watched the young couple clasp claws.
"Better get back now," Angela said. "Father will be worried..."
So saying they all leapt off the building, one after the other as they headed Wyvernwards. Rachel hooked her rope to Brooklyn, soaring after him like a kite.
A sword flashed in the night, as Hudson dove from the light of the full moon towards them. Rachel was cut loose with a shriek, her wings billowing out in the night air.
"Hudson what the hell are you doing?" Brooklyn snapped at him, all set to dive after Rachel. For a minute she floundered, and tumbled before she finally righted herself and climbed slowly.
The grizzled warrior swept up under Rachel, gripping her under the arms and knees. "And what have we here... a kite or a gargoyle lass?"
"Hudson you stinker!" Rachel chided, as he bore her back to Wyvern. "What was that about?"
"Ye must learn t' fly on yer ain, lass," he chuckled.
"And how can I if you're carrying me like a wee bairn?" she imitated a thick Highlander accent that stunned him.
Rachel planted a smacking smooch on Hudson. Gurgling he almost crashed into the tower as he overshot.
"Ach!" he grunted, as she pulled away. At the last minute he righted himself, landing heavily beside the other gargoyles that had arrived.
"Gotta watch where you're going, Hudson," Rachel grinned, and he set her down carefully.
"I have a pot of stew with our names on it Angela," Broadway laughed as he quickly rushed into the castle.
Goliath's stern form watched them land, and he said, "Good you are here! Something very strange has happened..."
Rachel suddenly had the oddest look on her face. Hudson turned to her with concern, saying, "Lass, are ye all right?"
"Ow..." Rachel winced, holding her head. "It... the pain... something's... not right..."
"Rachel... I require your experience, with time travel..."
"Goliath, what is going on?" asked Brooklyn.
"Xanatos summoned me when someone was caught breaking into the computer area. I tried to investigate... but I can't explain it..."
"Can't explain what?" Brooklyn asked. Angela and Broadway had already disappeared off to the kitchen together. Lex and Delilah were most likely teaching Silence her latest reading lesson.
"This way, my friends... I am at a loss as to how to proceed in this matter..."
Castle Wyvern Medical Unit, a few minutes later:
Goliath glanced into the glass, and nearly scratched his way through in frustration. "You see the quandary," he indicated.
"How did she get into here?" Angela gasped.
"Demona!" Brooklyn snarled, about ready to burst into the room and rip her throat out.
"Stop it!" Rachel grabbed him. "She's already unconscious!"
"Wait... do not be hasty. See that her appearance is different from what you know..." Goliath suddenly said, noticing that as two technicians removed a golden armor from around her body.
"We also found this weapon with her, which Owen claims to have no record of manufacture for," Goliath handed to Brooklyn and Rachel.
"It's... almost like something that belongs in Star Trek..." Brooklyn muttered.
"Next Generation or Classic Trek?" Hudson asked.
Rachel's eyes narrowed as she beheld the weapon. "Wait... that's 21st century technology!" the former Time Lady pointed out.
"How do you know?" Brooklyn wondered.
"Please," Rachel rolled her eyes behind her glasses at Brooklyn. "I spent a considerable time with the Doctor in your world's future. I even worked on a colony mining ship where this would be considered an antique!"
"Okay, okay!" Brooklyn held up his talons in defeat. "But that doesn't explain what she is doing here!"
"Why don't we ask her when she wakes up?" asked Rachel matter of fact.
"Father... what is on your mind?" Angela asked, as Goliath continued to stare at the prostrate form in the hospital bed.
"That looks just like the Demona from my dream," he stammered. "The one when I passed out on the Skiff, and thought I had rid myself of the Gate..."
"Oh wait a minute... how on Earth?" Angela asked.
"Puck never was clear on that," Goliath said ominously. "I asked him once if it would come true. He answered, Like I'd tell you!"
"Sounds like Puck to me," Brooklyn muttered. "Never a straight answer..."
"Sounds as if Puck folded time... and could have astral projected you into that continuum," Rachel scratched her chin. "Or the it was the dimension Puck used as reference."
"Excuse me?" Goliath asked.
"Fae have the power to bend space and time. The Time Lords recognize this. Oberon is considered a fair manipulator, one of the few authorized on your world to do so...."
"Wait a minute!" Hudson said. "Ye mean t' say Goliath did go into the future?"
"It wasn't a dream?" Goliath asked.
"Apparently not," Rachel folded her arms. "And this Demona is from that alternate reality..."
"Can't we send her back?" Brooklyn asked.
"No!" Angela and Hudson explained at the same time
"Unfortunately that continuum ceased to exist long ago.. proportionally speaking," Rachel said. "In that continuum, or dream or whatever it is...was.. she has been killed. And this Demona might be a good influence on the one from this time and space."
Lex suddenly came up, with Angela. They gasped when they beheld the figure behind glass.
"What the hell..." Lex got out.
"It's Demona..." Angela said. "But how did she get here Father?"
"She's possibly an alternate," Rachel said.
"Excuse me?" Lex asked.
"We don't know for certain," Goliath said, still cautious.
"According she wakes up." Lexington points out.
Castle Wyvern, Medial Suite, 8PM:
A pair of red eyes glanced at the glass. Silence had heard the talk of daddy and mommy. Something about Demona. She had to see for herself if it was true. Despite all that happened, she remembered the Blue gargoyle that had so fondly held her. Before the darkness and shrieks. She had not been there for that... before Momma had whisked her away.
Very carefully she waited, scuttling through as the technician left the door swinging shut behind him. She could move very fast when she wanted. On tiptoes the silver gargress child approached, her claw held out. How peaceful the Blue Gargoyle looked, the one who had made her...
Ever so carefully she reached a talon out to touch her face. That gentle caress brought about a moaning and a stirring. Eyes blinked open, registering the new room in a panic.
"LEXINGTON!!! XANATOS!!!" Demona screamed. Silence backed away in fear. That wild look of fear and terror burned, Demona's arms and legs flailing at the nylon restraints, enforced with steel.
"My daughter! My love!" she screamed. Abruptly the scream died in her throat as her eyes registered the room more clearly.
"I... am alive!" she breathed, her heart pounding to a standstill in her chest. "how..."
Her head flickered towards the black restraints that held her wrists tightly. Just enough she could move a bit, but not enough to let her sit up. Wires pressed to her chest, which was garbed in a strange soft cloth. Where was her armor? Why did everything look so... old? Glancing around yet again she noticed the trembling form which retreated towards the door.
"Mute... is that you..." she asked, her eyes falling into wide pink ones. "Little one... do not fear. I mean no harm... come here so I can see you..."
Terrified, Silence vanished in a flash of silver and copper wings. How young she looked!
"What... is this..." Demona moaned. "Another... dream?"
Sleep claimed her, and she welcomed its peaceful embrace. A second oblivion from which anything was possible.
Later she was aware of a presence, staring at her watchfully. Head writhing, Demona blinked again. Her eyes widened at a lavender blur sitting close beside the bed.
"Goliath..." she gasped, her head reeling. How had he survived?
"Goliath, it's good to see you alive. But how did you escape Coyote? Angela said that she saw you die!"
"Not exactly..." he coughed. "And you were not destroyed. But I must warn you, there are many questions... and that is why you must be restrained..."
"I... understand," she sighed, that look in her eyes seeming very much unlike the Demona he had come to know in this reality. Was it really she, the war weary Demona from his delusion?
"If you are, then why were you not destroyed in Cyberspace?"
"It... was a simulation. Findleagh... pulled us out in time, downloading Brooklyn and me as Xanatos killed us. Fox... had built in a safeguard... a trap just in case Xanatos would try..."
"But you died in Cyberspace!" Goliath cried. "And who is Findleagh?"
"When Keith destroyed the computers, he managed to stop the program. Everything in cyberspace was frozen, and when the computers were brought back online, we were disgorged. Unfortunately Lexington survived. We barely escaped with our lives... but then something very strange happened. He rushed off... "
"Wait... Lexington... survived?"
"Yes... and we met back at Macbeth's...."
"I am most confused..."
"So am I! In my time you were killed fighting Coyote 4.0. Elisa died... bringing your remains back... she passed into the mists of Avalon..."
"What are you saying?"
"Angela... she warned us... warned the Clan that Xanatos would try to take over the world... with his master plan. We didn't want to believe her at first. But then... Xanatos gained more and more control. He bought out Nightstone, and many other corporations. Gaining more power... till he was able to take over Manhattan. This happened over the course of five years. Angela kept trying to warn us. But I wouldn't listen..."
"What..."
"And only Macbeth and his wife Lucia were able to stand against him... and arm the PIT Crew to stop Xanatos from allying with the Quarrymen..."
"Lucia... who?" Goliath was confused at the cast in this story. "But how did you know Rachel..."
"Rachel MacLaren arrived two years before the Takeover.... right in the midst of a great battle. Somehow she caused an explosion that destroyed Xanatos invasion force of steel clan robots. WE all... escaped to Macbeth's mansion. For the next two years the clan was in hiding."
"You... and Macbeth working together?"
"I know it's crazy. But Angela... she convinced me... that I had to stop Xanatos or I myself would destroy my clan. Dr. Sevarious... he had taken over Nightstone from under my nose. He even captured subjects off the street and began to experiment as never before. Then when he captured Rachel MacLaren, and turned her into a gargoyle I realized something had to be done. She convinced me that if I did not change, my hatred of humanity would destroy the gargoyles. I... wanted to believe her. But she... saved my life when Sevarious tried to take it. Little did I know that was only a drop in the bucket. For he was creating a clone army for Xanatos."
"The Clone wars?"
"Yes. Thailog and I joined the Resistance. By then the PIT crew had formed an alliance with the Manhattan Clan to stop the quarrymen. Castaway was working with Xanatos at the time. I took what little remained, and sank it into a corporation with Macbeth. Thailog's genius caused the wealth to increase to the point to fund our efforts... In 2005, Rachel predicted that Xanatos would strike. But it was Brooklyn that thought of a way to stop Xanatos from trying again with the Steel clan, and he had Lexington devise a virus to paralyze Xanatos' computers..."
"But Xanatos..."
"Fox and her son had fled by that time... and managed to give us the details of the system so Lex could hack in. A small assault team was assembled. Hudson lead it in, and the virus was injected......"
"But what made Xanatos... become what he described?"
"We all thought him dead, when Hudson went into the city, he fought Xanatos. He was killed in an explosion that the virus caused. Lexington... was almost killed in the explosion at Macbeth's mansion..."
"Lex..."
"But he survived, thanks to technology he devised. We managed to lay a rookery... but had to hide it in Macbeth's Mansion..."
"I am going to untie you now. But be warned, any threatening moves..."
"I will comply," Demona glanced up at him, her face sad and serious. It was not the face of a crazed megalomaniac, but of one who had seen much death and was weary of fighting.
Slowly he unbuckled the restraints. Demona lay there quietly as he did so. "You see... I didn't try to rip your throat out. I hope that count's for something..."
"It is a start," Goliath sighed.
"You're awake!" Rachel smiled, holding her hands out as she approached the bed. "I know you must be confused."
"Rachel?" Demona gasped, a smile of joy on her face. Yet the sight of the gargoyle at her side filled her heart with joy.
"Brooklyn! My love!" she cried out, leaping from the bed. Brooklyn gasped as arms tackled him, a pair of lips pressing passionately over his own. He landed on the floor, beneath her solid frame as she sobbed into his white hair.
"Thank God you are alive my love!" she wailed, her eyes bright with tears. Momentarily she held him out at arm's length. That look of love sent a wave of revulsion and thrilled horror through his stomach all at once.
"Get away from me!" Brooklyn spat, pushing her away.
"How did you manage to bring him ali..." Demona asked Goliath, a bit taken aback at his rejection.
"Demona... there is something you should know..." Rachel came over to her. Just then her eyes widened even more at the sight of Hudson striding into the room, hand on his sword.
"Hudson..." she gasped. "My god... it's not possible... I saw you killed..."
Suddenly the world swirled around her. Only Rachel's sturdy arms steadied her, as she fell against the geologist. Nothing made any sense, for all her points of reference were dissolving into the confusion around her.
"Where I am?" Demona asked, lifting her head to glance at Rachel.
"Should rather asks WHEN." Brooklyn snarled, wiping his lips with disgust. He spat the last word with extra venom, his eyes staring daggers at the astonished Demona.
"But... my love..." she stammered, his glare piercing her aching heart. The weakness seized her legs, turning them to Jell-O. Only Rachel's arm steadied her now, helping her to the bed once more. Demona glanced helplessly at Rachel, and everybody, her face a mask of total confusion.
"Demona... there's something you should know..."
"Who are you?" she asked Rachel. "You... are as my friend... but... you are so... so... young..."
"You should know, you turned her into a gargoyle!" Brooklyn spat at Demona.
Again she winced, squeezing her eyes shut as she turned her head away. Tears formed, and Demona's chin wobbled in a vain attempt to banish them from her eyes.
"Brooklyn, please! You're not helping!" Rachel admonished her beaked friend. "Demona.. You're not in your time anymore, and not in your continuum either."
"But... How did I came here?" Demona asked, tears dripping down her blue cheeks. That look of utter confusion amidst loss struck to Goliath's core. It was the exact look his Night Angel had given him long ago.
"That's what we'd like to know!" Brooklyn commented, earning a warning glance from Goliath.
"I don't belong here!" Demona wailed, putting her hands to her head. Talons dug into red hair, which was not dazzling ruby red, but a soft burgundy. Why had they not noticed the difference before? She looked so lost and alone, drawing her knees into her chest.
"You... are a time traveler," she grabbed Rachel's lapels of her vest. "Tell me! How can I go home? My clan needs me there!"
"There's a problem, Demona." Rachel stammered, her eyes flickering uncomfortably behind her glasses. "You continuum no long exists."
"What do you mean?" Demona asked, yanking so hard on Rachel's collar she nearly throttled her. "My mate... my clan... my friends... they are..."
Rachel lowered her head, and shook her head slowly. "I'm sorry."
A low moan escaped Demona's throat. She released Rachel's collar, burying her head in her hands. "God no... no... it... can't be..."
"Demona..." Goliath said, hand inches from her.
"I... read a file... from the Matrix... on this postulated reality. I had no idea you would survive. When I learned about you... I read about the possibilities. Lexington... developed a teleporter. He attempted to send you away, disperse your atoms across the multiverse. But the Weird Sister's enchantment combined and backfired. The chain reaction caused a temporal cascade, that destroyed your reality..."
"No... no.... Noo..." Demona stammered, her eyes widening in horror. That empty look of despair stabbed into everyone's hearts. Alone, totally alone.
"Noooooooo!" Demona screamed, her wings flaring as her cry pierced the still air. The windows rattled with its force.
"Demona..." Rachel gasped.
"Out. Leave me alone. Please." She sobbed, curling up into a little ball.
"As you wish," Goliath nodded and goes out.
Gently Rachel smiled at Demona, her talon stroking the gargress' tear stained cheek. Hudson sighed, moving over to Rachel as he slipped an arm around the former time lady's waist.
"Lass, leave her be. She wants her ain company now..."
Brooklyn stopped, turning to say something. That sharp look from Demona silenced the words in his throat as she said, "Don't. Don't even say it..."
"Come on lad," Hudson pulled him out. They left here there, alone with her memories...."
"Everyone, this is Demona we see before us... but not the one we know," Goliath explained, to the bewildered gargoyles. "Rachel has suggested she is from another reality... one that no longer exists..."
"Like that makes it okay? How can we..." Brooklyn said.
"Knock it off already!" Rachel hissed. "I trust her..."
"You would trust anyone..." Brooklyn muttered to himself.
"I suggest that she remain here in the course of due time, for she wishes only to assist us in our fight... against the Demona of our reality. And like Rachel has proved herself, we will give her the same chance," Goliath said. "But Rachel, you will be personally responsible for her actions..."
"Agreed," Rachel nodded gravely.