Gargoyles: The New Generation

by OmegusXIII

The Gargoyles, who've once been betrayed by those they swore to protect 1,000 years ago, have now found a true home in Manhattan, and a companion in detective Elisa Maza. But with it comes enemies old and new, as well as allies. And an ancient exile is within reach of their home, threatening to eradicate humanity. Can the Manhattan Clan protect their home?

4. Family Matter

A/N: Hello. :) I'm back at it again with Gargoyles. And you'll find there's a number of surprising things you'll find in this chapter especially. What sort of surprises you ask? Well, just read, and you'll see.

Chapter 3: "Family Matter"

Elisa and Derek were tailing Xanatos' limo by helicopter above the streets as the former briefly narrated by the latter wondered why they were even bothering to follow him.

"Previously on Gargoyles..."

"Come on, sis! How long are we gonna keep this up?"

"Until I get something on him I can use. Xanatos always spots the tail when I follow him by car."

A moment afterward, however, Xanatos was welcoming towards Derek as he spoke to him.

"I wonder, would you be interested in a job with my company? I need someone as a pilot and personal bodyguard."

The next day, Derek spoke to Elisa about his choice before she reprimanded him for his choice in concern, only for Goliath to counsel the two of them at night in the park.

"I've decided to take Xanatos' offer."

"You have to quit! He's using you!"

"This is my life! Butt out!"

"Quiet! You don't know how lucky you are to have siblings to fight with! ALL of my rookery brothers are dead! And there is nothing, NOTHING more important than family."

Just then, in another scenario, Goliath broke through the window and landed on the floor before Korihor quickly tossed Xanatos aside to the floor as he smirked.

"So nice of you to join us, brother."

Derek overheard Korihor's words and became baffled.

"That guy's your brother?"

"No. We are not brothers anymore."

Prior to this, Sarah looked out to the newly arrived company, inadvertently catching their attention as Brooklyn and Lexington took notice of her with the former speaking up to Elisa.

"And who's your friend?"

Sarah began to get nervous again, but she tried nonetheless to trust Elisa as she tried to introduce herself.

"Uh, hi. I'm Sarah. It's nice to meet you."

She cautiously held her hand out to Brooklyn to shake it. The Gargoyle became surprised by this gesture, looking at her curiously before he held his hand out to shake Sarah's.

"I'm Brooklyn. It's nice to meet you, too."

Later, it showed Korihor using his wings to rebound as the air lifted him up before he dove right at Elisa foot first and pinned her to the floor before he scratched her belly with his foot claw, making Elisa wince in pain before he leapt at Goliath, pinning his hands on the perch as he clenched his hands harder on Goliath's claws, making him scream in pain with his blood spilling onto his nails before it showed Korihor looking at the blood on his nails and foot as he spoke to himself.

"You haven't won anything, either. Very soon, though, one of us will."

---

In the city, the moon was shining on the Eyrie Building. Nighttime was still in it's early stage. Everyone was either in their beds, or working a late shift. Depending on the circumstances, it could be a good night for most. However, "most" didn't mean "all".

Regrettably, there were those who did not know the comforts of a roof over their heads. In fact, the people had no choice but to use a barrel as their personal fireplace, using newspapers that blew near them as fuel. However, there was one person in particular that didn't dare go anywhere near them. She had long blonde hair that stopped at the middle of her back with a red jacket over her green dress. And she looked like she was beginning to wither away. The woman then heard footsteps coming near her as she turned around behind him before she tried to explain herself.

"I'm... not like these others."

As those footsteps drew closer, so did the source. When he came into view, he had a dark blue jacket, a matching fedora, and a cane. The mystery man extended his hand out to her as he spoke.

"Of course you're not. I can see that."

The woman continued to explain herself, getting the sense that he'd understand, seeing as he didn't walk away from her.

"I haven't been in New York long. This is just a temporary setback."

The mystery man then walked closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder, gesturing to the nearby group of the unfortunate as he pointed out a solution for her.

"As it happens, I need a temporary assistant. Easy work, and it pays well. Plus, much nicer surroundings than these."

"Well, what would I have to do?"

The mystery man simply gave a smirk as he looked upon her.

---

The next day, Elisa was at an air base with Sarah. The two of them wanted to check on Derek after the incident with Korihor. Strangely enough, Xanatos permitted the two of them to stop by, at lest Elisa would see it as such. To Sarah, it was understandable, having been at the brunt of Korihor's talons a few days before. They were getting hot dogs from a nearby vendor as Elisa spoke to him while she got her food.

"You know what the Zen master said to the hot dog vendor? 'Make me one with everything.'"

"Like I haven't heard that one before."

Meanwhile, Sarah made a slight laugh before she gave a joking reprimand.

"Boo!"

Elisa gave her a smirk as she feigned outrage, inquiring her while she raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean, 'boo'?"

"Come on. That joke was so lame, Elisa. It's not like anybody hasn't heard it before."

Elisa wiped a bit of mustard off of her face before she turned to the vendor.

"Hey, it was worth a shot. Looking for Derek Maza."

"His sister, right? Yeah, he said you'd be coming by."

The vendor pointed to an airplane flying overhead. Sarah looked on in amazement as the plane landed in the landing zone before the cockpit opened up. The pilot turned out to be Derek, who had shades on at the time as the two of them walked up to him while Sarah voiced her thoughts.

"I wonder if I'd fly like that sometime. You know, as a human..."

Elisa made a slight chuckle as she replied.

"I thought you hated the wind."

"Hey, I'm getting used to it a lot better now after what I've been through. I could use the practice."

Elisa smiled back to her as she put her hand on Sarah's shoulder.

"Maybe someday."

Derek then got up off the plane. He was fully aware of Elisa and Sarah's situation since the next morning after Korihor's attack. To hear that they could become human in the day was somewhat of a relief, but he still needed to find the cure. That said, it was good for him to know that they were alright for the time being.

"You guys doing alright?"

Elisa gave her brother a smile back as she hugged him before answering.

"As best we can. Is that a new toy?"

"One of the perks of working for Mr. Xanatos. Well, among other things."

Elisa brushed her hair back as her face began to show a slight frown. Although she and Sarah were used to it, their daily and nightly changes did have drawbacks, one of which Elisa felt especially bad for.

"How did Mom and Dad take it when they heard I wouldn't be at dinner?"

Derek began to make a slight frown himself. This change wasn't any easier on him than it was on her.

"Well, they felt bad, but they understood you had a job to do. But, I didn't tell them about... you know."

Elisa made a small smile before Sarah spoke up to him.

"Thanks, Derek."

"So, what are you and Xanatos gonna do now? After what's happened, I don't think he'd take Korihor's Project: 'Genesis' thing sitting down."

Derek looked over to Sarah as he answered her before Elisa gave out her doubts. Although he was Korihor's enemy as well, that didn't make him completely trustworthy in her book.

"Don't worry. He's looking into something that can cure you guys."

"And how can you be so sure he won't just hang it over our heads in exchange for something?"

Derek only made a constipated sigh at Elisa's question before he replied.

"Ah, here we go again. How many times do I have to keep saying this? Xanatos isn't the reincarnation of Snidely Whiplash. And even if he is, I can handle him."

Not willing to let the fight go any longer, Elisa decided to put it to rest.

"Hey, hey, whoa. It's your life."

"You got that right."

"But I think you're fooling yourself..."

Despite their situation, Elisa didn't forget that Xanatos was tricking Derek into working with him. As much as she wanted to help him, she can't. She had to let him find his own way.

"Look, just promise me you'll call if there's trouble."

"There won't be. But okay. I promise."

Elisa began to make a cross over her chest before Derek did the same.

"Cross your heart?"

"And hope to die."

The brother and sister then hugged each other as Sarah smiled at the scene.

---

Meanwhile, there was a boy and a girl walking around the city in awe. The boy had a yellow shirt with a blue jacket on him while the girl had a pink long-sleeved sweatshirt that said "I ❤️ New York". The boy was cautiously holding on to the girl's hand as they crossed the sidewalk. She was about to move forward, but the boy held tightly onto it, stopping her abruptly before he spoke to her.

"Not yet, Kim. Look at the sign."

Kim looked at the sign, and it had an orange hand glowing. Then, a few seconds later, it changed to a white stick figure walking. The children began to cross the street as Kim mumbled at him.

"I can cross the street on my own, you know, Jim."

"Not without our parents, you can't. Till then, I have to hold your hand."

Kim's face began to soften as she looked at him.

"Do you even think we'll find them?"

Jim began to hold a soft expression himself as he answered before he shook it off.

"I don't know... but wandering off won't help us find them, that's for sure."

Once they got to the other side, Kim turned to her older brother in worry.

"But where are we supposed to go then? We can't even remember what they look like."

"I don't know. Just let me think for a minute, Kim."

Jim leaned on the wall to get an idea, scratching his head. They've been on the streets for who-knows-how-long, and they've had no luck so far. And it seemed to be taking a toll on him. As for Kim, she looked around around anxiously for anyone of notice. And just in time, too. She heard someone cry out in panic. She immediately gasped as she spoke to herself.

"Someone's in trouble!"

Kim quickly ran to the source, making Jim turn to her in worry.

"Hey! Kim, wait!"

Fortunately, he didn't have to go too far. Kim stopped at a nearby alleyway just in time to see a mugger make off with a purse. The woman who was mugged shouted for help.

"Help! Police! Police!"

Kim saw the mugger and fixed her sights on him.

"Give that back!"

Kim ran after the mugger, much to Jim's irritation.

"No, Kim! It's too dangerous!"

"But I have to do something!"

She was about to run after the mugger, but Jim caught her hand again, stopping her as he tried to talk her out of it.

"Kim, listen to me!"

Before he could speak any further, Jim allowed himself a moment to calm down before he spoke.

"Look, I know how you feel. But what can we do? We'd just get ourselves hurt."

Kim muttered to herself as she replied.

"We wouldn't get hurt at night..."

Kim overheard that and placed his hands on her shoulders before he replied.

"You know how I feel about that. We can't let anyone see us at night. I'm just trying to keep you safe. As far as I remember, you're the only family I have. Maybe the only one I'll ever have. You know that much, right?"

"Yeah. I know..."

Jim gently hugged his sister for a brief moment before he spoke softly and took her hand.

"Come on. We'll let the police handle this..."

Little did they know that as they walked by themselves, they were being watched by a young man with light brown hair. He had a dark brown jacket with black pants and a belt. He kept a fierce, yet quiet gaze on the children, who seemed unaware of his presence...

---

Later, at the clock tower, Sarah was watching the sunset at the edge with Elisa beside her. Since their transition to half-gargoyles, Elisa and Sarah have settled on arriving at the clock tower to transform while watching as their friends awoke. It was an odd routine to be sure, but Sarah wasn't one to complain about it, especially when she could fly again.

In the heat of the moment, Sarah was forced to fly to her friends to help against Laman. In the brief moments that she has, Sarah felt a certain thrill to it. However, she hadn't forgotten about the trade off.

"I hope it's not too painful this time. I mean, sure it goes away after a while, but it's really irritating to put up with, don't you think?"

Elisa concurred with her as she took off her red jacket and set it down.

"Yeah, I hear you. But I don't think irritating would begin to cover it."

In a few seconds, the sun had finally gone down. And as it did, Sarah and Elisa felt the same pain in their chests. But because of their newfound and building tolerance to it, it wasn't enough to force them to the ground. Elisa's teeth began to sharpen while her hands grew into claws with one finger blending into another on each hand. Then, Sarah's feet began to grow out of her own shoes and her heels extended up along her legs as a tail burst out from her own pants. Elisa and Sarah began to burst out wings from their backs, tearing apart their shirts in the back as they gave out a roar of relief.

At the same time, white eyes began to glow from Goliath's statue before it broke apart, frightening the pigeons around it as he roared out. Shortly after, Brooklyn, Broadway, Lexington, Hudson, and Bronx broke out of their stone casing and stretched their wings out. Once they were awake, they turned to see Elisa and Sarah already in their gargoyle forms. Goliath gave them a soft smile as Broadway spoke.

"Wow. I don't know if I'm gonna get used to seeing you two like this."

For Brooklyn, it was a different story. He walked over to Sarah as he admitted it.

"I don't know. I think I like it."

His eyes were on Sarah at the time. She noticed the stare he gave when he said that, and began to blush at his words.

"Uh, thanks, Brooklyn."

Goliath then walked closer to the edge and looked over as he spoke.

"We'll start the patrol like usual. Elisa will travel with me and Lexington. Sarah, you'll travel with Brooklyn and Broadway. Hudson and Bronx will keep watch over the tower as always."

As Goliath said this, Hudson walked out of the tower as he spoke.

"And I'll be keeping an especially close watch out for Korihor and his clan. The fact that they know about the Phoenix Gate unsettles me."

"As it does to us all, Hudson..."

Elisa looked down over the edge, still not quite used to the idea of flying like Sarah was.

"I'll never get the hang of jumping off rooftops..."

Goliath saw her unease and tried to reassure her.

"I'll always be there to catch you."

He jumped off of the ledge and flew around back to the tower in front of her.

"See? It's easy."

Elisa smiled at him before she closed her eyes and jumped off. She felt the wind underneath her wings lifting her up until she flew over to Goliath's side. Elisa looked into his eyes lovingly before Sarah spoke up.

"Okay, I'm next!"

Sarah backed up for a moment before she made a running start and leapt off, stretching her wings out as the wind picked her up. As she flew along the current, Brooklyn and Broadway watched in amazement.

"Whoa."

"She makes it look so graceful."

Sarah then stopped at a constant current that blew upstream as she called to the others.

"Come on, guys! We gotta look around!"

Brooklyn and Broadway quickly heeded her as they took off after her. Goliath and Elisa looked on at the scene as the latter spoke up.

"Looks like Sarah already got used to the wind."

"It shows how well she's grown to this new form of hers."

Elisa made a soft frown of worry on her face as the two of them took a separate current and glided a different direction.

"Yeah. She really has..."

While they flew off, Goliath saw her discomfort.

"What's wrong, Elisa?"

"I don't know. I just... I really feel like Korihor wouldn't stop at me or Sarah. What if he turns anyone else into a Gargoyle? Men, women, children? Even Dracon?"

It truly was a loaded question. He was aware that not all gargoyles were good thanks to Demona, and there weren't always good people, either. If Korihor used his serum, his blood, to make anyone else into Gargoyles, it'd be almost impossible to know which is good or bad without risking their lives, or their existence. The trouble with going into the unknown is that there would be no possible way to prepare for it, after all...

"Let us just hope we don't require an immediate answer, Elisa."

Meanwhile, at Gen-U-Tech, a scientist was suddenly under attack by the silhouette of a Gargoyle-like monster. The attack triggered an alarm as the beast broke down the door, near the two scientists that rushed to it. It leapt away from the door while pushing them away. The beast pushed down the door before running on all fours with a growl. The one in charge of it walked over to the open door and sneered as he tapped his finger on the cane, looking to the distance.

At the same time, Sarah, Broadway, and Brooklyn were flying above the city. The first of the trio was already showing her elation.

"It feels a lot better to fly when you're not in danger."

Brooklyn couldn't agree more.

"Yeah. I hear ya."

Just then, Brooklyn took notice of something down below.

"Hey, look!"

Broadway and Sarah looked down to see a silhouette of a Gargoyle-like being. They naturally had their own theories.

"Is it Demona?"

"Or Laman?"

Brooklyn narrowed his eyes as he spoke bitterly, not willing to settle for either option. On the other hand, he was aware of the possibility of Korihor getting started on mutating the rest of New York.

"Either way, they're dead. But to be safe, let's check it out."

Brooklyn flew down to the ground as Sarah saw the angry look. She hadn't seen Brooklyn that mad since Laman attacked the castle. She and Broadway flew down to the ground, but as they did, the wind began to turn against Sarah, making her bob and weave uncontrollably.

"W-whoa!"

The Gargoyle-like being took notice of this and gasped as Sarah tumbled down to the floor with the newspaper on the ground blowing away as she backed up. Sarah recovered from the fall as she stood up. But she was none too pleased about her "graceful" landing.

"Seriously? We were getting along just fine, wind."

Sarah then took notice of the Gargoyle, who stared back at her, almost as if it was curious. Sarah noticed the attire. It had a tattered green dress, with long light brown wings and yellow cat-like eyes. She raised her hand as she waved.

"Uh... hi. Are you okay?"

The Gargoyle walked up to Sarah as it replied in a feminine voice.

"I wish I could say yes."

Upon closer inspection, Sarah was surprised. She had dominantly feline features. And roughly the same size as her. Korihor must've been at it again.

"You're... you're just like me."

"Like you...?"

"You were human before, right?"

The woman widened her eyes in wonder.

"How did you know...?"

Broadway and Brooklyn landed next to Sarah, making the woman back up in alarm as they spoke up.

"That's not Demona."

"Or Laman, for that matter."

In her state of fear, the woman tried to help Sarah with a warning she could manage.

"Look out! There's a couple of monsters behind you!"

Sarah saw where she was getting at and tried to reassure her.

"No, listen. It's okay. They're not gonna hurt us."

At that moment, they heard sirens from the ambulances as they pulled up to the alley. Four men dressed in white with black shades came out of the ambulance, making Sarah gulp nervously.

"But I think they might."

---

Meanwhile, Jim and Kim were looking over the city. The girl was more enthralled by the sights up close as she leaned over.

"Wow... It looks even better from up here."

Jim, however, kept in mind what they figured out about New York sometime ago.

"Yeah. But don't forget, the city's a dangerous place."

Kim kept looking down from the rooftop as she replied.

"But it doesn't look so dangerous from up here."

As if to prove her wrong, she heard an ambulance down below. Out of the ambulance cane men with tranquilizer guns as they cornered four people down below. Jim and Kim saw the scene and grew worried as the former spoke.

"Yeah. Like that's not dangerous."

Down at the alley, the mercenaries spoke to each other.

"There she is!"

"But she's not alone? Where did they come from?"

"Tranq them all. Let the doc sort 'em out."

As they opened fire, Sarah, Brooklyn, and Broadway evaded the tranquilizer darts, hiding behind dumpsters with the feminine Gargoyle hiding down behind her own as Sarah backed up near her.

"Yeah, not too nice of a neighborhood, huh?"

Sarah then took notice of what was on her wrist. It was a band that said "Gen-U-Tech". This piqued her curiosity greatly. The only company she was aware of that made other people into Gargoyles was Dracus Industries. To see that on her wrist made Sarah wonder who was behind it.

"What the...? Gen-U-Tech?"

Before she could begin to ask, Sarah came under fire, forcing her to jump back as the boy and girl watched from above. Jim tried to pull her away from the scene.

"It's not looking good. We better get out of here."

However, Kim was fixated on the poor woman near the dumpster. How could she stand and do nothing, let alone walk away as the humans had their way again? It wasn't fair...

"I can't..."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I can't just leave again...!"

Below, the situation got worse. One of the mercenaries shot out a dart at Sarah, only for Brooklyn to jump in front of her as he shouted.

"No!"

Having taken the bullet, however, he ended up electrocuted, making Sarah worried as she held onto him.

"Brooklyn!"

As she oversaw the event, Kim tensed her claws, scratching up the cement on the rooftop as her anger began to boil. It began to reach a tipping point as they came near the woman, who shouted for them.

"Help me!"

Kim's eyes narrowed as she shouted.

"I WON'T!"

She took off down below as Jim chased after her.

"Wait! Don't!"

Down below, the mercenaries heard a screech as the girl flew right at the mercenaries and knocked them away, taking them and the other Gargoyles by surprise. Broadway looked at the scene as he spoke up.

"Another one? And it's a little girl, too?"

Kim turned back to the woman, seeing her worried face. She tried to give her comfort.

"Are you okay, lady?"

The Gargoyle looked at her stunned as she spoke up.

"W-Where did you come from?"

"From the rooftop."

Suddenly, she heard a gun cock up behind her, making her turn around to see the mercenaries aiming to strike again. Though, it's not to say they weren't surprised.

"Another one?! They're all over the place!"

"Who cares if another one showed up? Tranq them!"

Kim gasped in horror before Jim roared out, placing his feet on the mercenary's shoulders before flipping him on his partner. He landed on his hands before pushing himself up to to the air and landing on his feet.

"Leave my sister alone!"

Brooklyn and Sarah noticed, too. And they were just as amazed.

"Whoa. I like his spunk."

"What is going on here...?"

Jim then began to run on all fours before hopping on the wall and bouncing off of it to kick another mercenary to the floor, using the momentum to jump after another. But as he did, the mercenary shot him in the shoulder, tranquilizing him as he fell to the floor. Kim saw this and was worried.

"No!"

The Gargoyle woman saw the chaos around her, and she couldn't let it go on, especially when there were children in the area. Monsters or not, she couldn't let them get hurt. She stood up and walked over to the mercenaries as she shouted.

"Stop it! Leave them alone! I'm the one you want!"

The mercenaries only smirked before they gestured her to come forward. Sarah and Brooklyn saw the scene and grew afraid.

"No, wait!"

"Don't go with them!"

The mercenaries grabbed the woman before tossing her into the back of the ambulance. Once they closed the doors, they turned back to the Gargoyles and opened fire, forcing Sarah, Brooklyn, Kim, and Broadway to get to the other wall, hiding behind the other dumpster as Kim looked near the edge, seeing her brother laying on the floor before the mercenaries took him into the ambulance with the woman before closing the doors.

"Jim...!"

Brooklyn tried to reassure her as he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid. We'll save him. And the lady, too."

Broadway wasn't quite convinced about the latter, but the boy made a lot more sense to him.

"If you say so."

Brooklyn and Broadway both pushed against the dumpster, rolling it right at the mercenaries, forcing them to take cover as it collided with the ambulance. Taking advantage of the lapse, Sarah rushed over to the ambulance, opened the doors, and managed to scoop Jim up as Brooklyn and Broadway caught up and tried to pry it open with their claws while Kim caught up to Sarah and checked on her brother.

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah. He's just asleep."

Sarah turned back to the woman and tried to offer her hand.

"Let's get you out of here, too."

Despite their assistance, however, the woman became frightened and grew worried about what would come after.

"What are you helping me for?"

"What do you mean why? It's the right thing to do."

Just then, the mercenaries shot out the tranquilizer darts again, successfully hitting Brooklyn in the shoulder as he exclaimed in pain. Rather than risk a failure, Broadway picked up Brooklyn as he began to fall asleep. He then spoke out to Sarah and Kim.

"Come on. We're getting out of here."

Sarah turned back to the woman before she spoke again.

"You heard him! We have to go now!"

The woman only backed away as she spoke fearfully.

"I can't."

Sarah and Kim looked confusedly at the woman for a few seconds. After that, Sarah bore a dismal expression before speaking softly.

"Alright. But we'll come back for you. I promise."

With that, Sarah and Kim took off from the ambulance with Broadway and Brooklyn following suit while Brooklyn only spoke his refusal in a slight slur.

"No...! Gotta... Save her..."

Sarah gently closed Brooklyn's eyes as she replied.

"Don't worry. We will."

With that, the group took off from the alley, riding the updraft just as the mercenaries tried to locate them, going around the van. Seeing no trace of them, the mercenaries header back to their ambulance, unaware that Broadway, Sarah, and the children were watching in the shadows with Brooklyn being tended to by his new friend. And speaking of new friends, Broadway couldn't help but wonder how they got there.

"Thanks for the help back there. You doing okay?"

Kim nodded before turning to Sarah.

"Thanks for getting my brother."

"Of course. It's the least we can do. What's your name?"

Kim was quick to answer her as she smiled.

"I'm Kim. This is my brother Jim."

Broadway looked to the unconscious Jim in a state of surprise before he looked over to her, wondering where they came from.

"You're both Gargoyles?"

Kim seemed especially proud of it as she answered.

"Yeah. But only at night, though."

Sarah became a bit concerned to hear that. That was the exact same situation as what she and Elisa were going through. Kim saw the look and grew anxious.

"What's wrong?"

Sarah looked back down to the girl and knelt down as she tried to move on to a different question.

"Nothing. It's just... how did your parents feel about that? You turning into Gargoyles?"

Kim began to show a much sadder look as she responded.

"I... don't know."

Broadway was becoming perplexed by this as well.

"You don't know?"

Kim shook her head before Broadway tried something else, if only to help stir some memories.

"Do you at least know what they're like?"

"They were..."

Kim held tightly to the end of her shirt before she grunted out of frustration and sadness.

"Ugh! I don't know!"

Kim began to sob to herself as she sank to her knees. Broadway was beginning to regret having asked at all while Sarah gently placed her hand on her shoulder and tried to reassure her.

"It's okay. We can take you somewhere safe for you to lay low. In the meantime, we can help you and your brother with what you're going through. Sound good?"

Kim looked out to the streets where the mercenaries left. She had an uneasy feeling as she looked back to Sarah in worry.

"Are they gonna come back?"

"Don't worry. Where we're going, they can't follow. Right?"

Sarah looked to Broadway, who had a skeptical look for a while before he agreed.

"Uh, yeah. I mean they don't know much about us, so we should be in the clear."

"See? It's safe."

Kim gave it a few more moments of thought. When she was done, she agreed.

"Okay. Thank you."

She hopped onto Sarah's arms, wrapping her wings around herself as she smiled.

"You kidding? We're the ones who should be thanking you."

The group all took off from the shadows and to the sky, unaware that Ryker watched from above. He had dark grey leather wings stretching from his back with a pitch black tunic around his waist. He picked up the device and saw it beeping before he looked to where the mercenaries took off with the woman. After that, a deep snarl came from Ryker.

---

Meanwhile, at Xanatos Enterprises, a red helicopter was pulling up on the landing zone, where Owen was waiting for them. The door lowered itself into steps as Xanatos and Derek stepped out, only to receive a report from his handyman.

"We just received some fascinating expense reports from Gen-U-Tech systems."

Xanatos was rather expecting it.

"Yes. Since the events with Korihor, their R&D team is working on... something special for me."

"Something involving armed mercenaries?"

That, however, wasn't something he expected.

"Not to my knowledge. Perhaps it's time to pay Dr. Sevarius a visit."

Derek felt as though he should come along, given recent events.

"Mercenaries, huh? Maybe I'll come along."

He turned to his compatriot and spoke up in concern for him.

"I'm sure it won't be necessary, Derek. Especially not after what you've been through."

"If you're working on something about our Dracus Clan situation, then it is necessary. Besides, it's what you're paying me for. Might as well get your money's worth."

Xanatos gave a soft smile and laugh before he accepted.

"Might as well."

---

Moments later, at the clock tower, Broadway was telling the clan the whole story. In the meantime, Hudson was looking over them in great interest.

"As soon as they left, we got the first updraft back. That's how we brought them with us."

"By the ancients..."

Bronx went over to the girl and sniffed at her, making her laugh a bit as Sarah explained more, though it was more a hypothesis.

"Seeing as they appeared dressed up in regular clothes, I think we can safely say Korihor made his next move already. And it must've affected their memory in the process."

Goliath growled under his breath. He could not declare war on his castle, but that didn't mean he won't declare war on him.

"First, Korihor attacks my clan, and now he uses children to be his pawns? Is there no end to my brother's madness?"

Elisa was more focused on the other woman who stood up for them as she inquired about her to Broadway.

"But what about the woman?"

"She gave herself up to let the kids go free. She didn't seem to know who they were, and that's saying something. But when I tried to help her escape with us... she decided to stay behind."

Brooklyn began to voice his guilt as he spoke sadly.

"She was... so frightened."

Broadway felt the answer was obvious as to why.

"Yeah. Of us."

"She needed our help."

"We talking about the same person? From where I sat, she didn't want our help."

"She wanted mine!"

Before their argument could go on, Sarah interjected.

"Quiet, you two. Arguing isn't gonna help her out of this mess, whether she wanted help or not."

Brooklyn sighed as he took Sarah's words to heart.

"You're right... but how do we even start?"

Sarah recalled the wrist band that was on the woman. She may not being in the police, but it wouldn't take a detective to figure out it was a clue.

"I saw a wrist band on her. It said something called... Gen-U-Tech."

Elisa placed her fingers on her chin as she had a theory in her head. At the same moment, the boy was stirring from his sleep, waking up to find himself in a corner of the clock tower near the TV.

"It must've been a tracking device. Digital, long-range, expensive."

Goliath looked outside the clock tower as he had a more daunting theory on his mind.

"Whatever this Gen-U-Tech is, I can't help but fear that it might be playing Korihor's game..."

Jim looked up to see the Gargoyles that took him in. At the same time, he saw his sister playing with Bronx, riding on top of him like a horse as she laughed. Kim then took notice of the boy as she jumped off.

"You're awake!"

As she went to hug her brother, Elisa looked down and saw the tender moment taking place as Kim hugged him.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean? Are you okay?"

Kim nodded to him as she replied.

"Yeah. Thanks to them."

She pointed up to Broadway, Brooklyn, and Sarah, all three of which waved over to them as Elisa made a soft smile before she noticed their faces. Young as they are, she can't help but find a... resemblance to them. Goliath took notice of it and was curious.

"Is something troubling you, Elisa?"

Her attention shook off from them for a moment as she answered and turned back to Goliath.

"Nothing. I'm probably just seeing things. But they look... familiar..."

Far away, the Wyvern Clan didn't realize they were being watched by the same Gargoyle who witnessed the alleyway brawl. He had a dark scowl on his face before he expanded his wings and headed to Ellis Island.

---

The next morning, Xanatos and Derek were at Gen-U-Tech, visiting Dr. Sevarius. He had slicked-back red hair with a streak of white on the sides, as well as a common white lab coat with a cane in his hand.

"I think it's time for an update on our project, Sevarius."

Dr. Sevarius was more than eager to show Xanatos.

"Of course."

He pushed a button on the panel, showing the footage of many Gargoyle activities, including one with the encounter between Goliath and Korihor at the Empire State Building with the newly transformed Elisa joining in on the fight, with Derek looking in awe at the confrontation.

"Before the events at Dracus Industries, you asked me to genetically design a living creature based on a Gargoyle. Then afterwards, you asked for an antidote to turn a hybrid back to normal. For the former, I considered cloning a living specimen, but aside from the sample of your memento at Dracus Industries, none was available. Or has that changed?"

Xanatos answered as quickly as it was blunt.

"No. It has not."

"I see. Regardless, the cloning process itself would take much too long to cultivate. So, I turned to gene splicing to breed for desired traits. The composite genotypes would give our creations the strength, speed, and agility of a jungle cat, plus a bat's ability to fly."

There was one other detail Xanatos needed to know.

"And human intelligence?"

"Yes, of course. But the problem is the energy needs of the wing muscles. The creature would need to eat the equivalent of three cows a day to maintain its strength."

"So how do the Gargoyles do it? Not too many cows in Manhattan."

"I surmise they store solar energy while hibernating as stone every day. As for Elisa and her friend, not to mention their benefactor, their situation alters their form by day to allow themselves recovery before they take flight again. Unfortunately, that process is unknown in the rest of the animal kingdom. But there is another way to meet the energy needs."

Sevarius pushed another button on the monitor to reveal a tank of electric eels on the side of the lab.

"Electrophorus electricus. The electric eel. These fish store energy in specialized organs called electroreceptors. Adapting this might solve our problem."

Derek was quick to bring up the main reason they were here. Frankly, he was tired of dragging it out.

"Yeah, well, this is all pretty impressive theory, but the big question is, why'd you hire mercenaries?"

Sevarius considered it a slip-up on his part. But nonetheless, he answered casually.

"Ah, yes. It seems one of the test subjects escaped."

Xanatos caught on to his words and became curious.

"'Test subjects?'"

"Oh, don't worry. We got her back. Look."

Sevarius lifted up the screen on the wall to reveal, to their surprise, two catlike Gargoyles, one with brown fur, and the other with tiger fur as they growled while the Gargoyle woman sat in a corner by herself looking out the window to see Derek and Xanatos as he grew curious. For that matter, they were curious as well.

"You grew these from scratch? This quickly?"

"Well, no. That would have taken too long. I used a shortcut. Human protocols. Human test subjects injected with a mutagenic formula."

Any other time, Xanatos would be surprised. But after the events of Korihor, he was outraged.

"What?! I asked you to make a cure, Sevarius, not a disease!"

"But I am. How can I possibly make a cure if there's no disease for it to fight against?"

"You slimy son of a—!"

Derek was just as outraged, but for a different reason. He pulled Xanatos towards the artificial Gargoyles.

"This is what you've been funding here?"

Xanatos tried to make an excuse, but afterwards, he became ashamed of himself.

"I had no idea. No, that's not true. I was fooling myself. I knew Sevarius had a bad reputation. But after what happened at Ellis Island, I wanted results so badly I ignored it. But don't worry. We'll make it right. We'll find a way to reverse the mutations."

Unfortunately, Sevarius wouldn't take this sitting down. He grabbed a gun on his desk and pointed it at Xanatos.

"No! I won't let you destroy my work!"

Derek saw the danger and tried to protect him.

"Down!"

Sevarius fired a dart at him, only for Derek to cover for him, getting hit near his shoulder blades. He groaned from it, but it wasn't enough to stop his following retaliation. Derek leapt right at Sevarius across his desk, kicking him to the ground, as well as the bubbling chemical near him as the flask that held it shattered to pieces. When he tried to fire again, Derek grabbed his arm and wrestled the gun away from him while he was on top of Sevarius, pinning him down.

"Go ahead, try something. I'd love to do that again."

Derek plucked the dart from his shoulder, feeling strangely no side effects that would usually result from it.

"Funny, I don't feel sleepy."

Sevarius chuckled to himself before he replied.

"Fool! That wasn't a tranquilizer dart. It was loaded with the mutagenic formula! The same formula I used on them."

Derek began to have a look of terror on his face as he looked back to the artificial Gargoyles. He was in the same boat as Elisa now. Both brother and sister were now cursed. And there seemed to be no escape from that.

---

Speaking of brother and sister, back at the clock tower, Sarah was talking with them. Jim and Kim were sitting on the couch in front of Sarah.

Since Sarah didn't have a lot to do on New York, especially as far as jobs here beyond her occupation, she took it upon herself to keep watch over them as she tried to find out more about them. Kim was more willing to cooperate, but Jim remained... aloof. That said, Sarah was determined to help with their memories. To do that, she needed to know what they've been through. At best, it's as good a place to start as any.

"So, what have you guys been doing all this time? Before that night?"

Kim answered her sadly while Jim kept watch on Sarah.

"Far back as I can remember, me and Jim were on our own for a week. The whole time, Jim was telling me not to go out in front of people or not to let anyone see us."

Sarah felt surprised, widening her eyes.

"You don't remember anything beyond that?"

Kim shook her head before Sarah asked a different question. If Korihor did have something to do with it, they've got to remember a certain detail about him.

"Well, what about when you first changed into a Gargoyle? Did you see anyone besides your brother when it happened?"

Kim held her head down as she responded meekly.

"I think so... But I didn't even know I was changing at the time. I thought my own body was hurting me. While it was happening, I... thought I saw a monster. And I was so scared..."

Kim was about to burst into tears before Jim comforted her as Sarah cut it short.

"Hey, hey. It's okay. You don't have to keep going anymore."

Sarah turned to Jim, wondering if he could fill in the rest of the blanks.

"What about you? Can you remember anything past last week?"

Jim only shook his head as he replied.

"No. I'm in the same boat. But if there's one thing I do remember, it's that you can't trust anyone."

Sarah didn't realize it at the time, but she was smiling at that. She couldn't help but hear Elisa saying that.

"You know, I've got a friend of mine who talks just like that. You should get to know her sometime."

Just then, Sarah's phone rang out.

"Oh, hold on, guys."

She picked up the phone from her pocket and opened it before placing it on her ear.

"Hello?"

Elisa responded instantly her end of the call.

"Hey, Sarah. You doing okay?"

"Yeah, actually. Kim was telling me about what he and Jim went through. Turns out, they've been on their own for a while. Not a lot of help to turn to when you're a Gargoyle at night."

"And what about Jim? Did he tell you anything?"

Sarah made a slight bit of hesitation as she spoke. At the same time, the boy kept his arms crossed, though he glanced over from his shoulder to look at Sarah with a soft look on him.

"Well... he's a stubborn one. I'd even say he's as stubborn as you are. He just wouldn't trust anyone."

Elisa laughed a bit at that.

"Well, look at that. We have something in common already."

Sarah then began to speak in a concerned tone.

"Elisa, what do you think Korihor has to do with Gen-U-Tech?"

"I don't know. And honestly, I'm scared to find out..."

Sarah turned over to the children to see the Jim holding Kim close to him, like a parent would to his child.

"Well, if you're in too deep, try not to get hurt, okay?"

"Don't worry. I'll be fine, Sarah. See you later."

Elisa promptly ended the call before she sighed to herself. When she ended it, Matt checked on her. He had light orange hair with a light grey trench coat over him.

"You worried about someone?"

"You could say that, Matt."

---

And she was right to worry. Back at Gen-U-Tech, Derek was feeling quite ill. In the meantime, Xanatos was keeping a close eye on Sevarius, still angry over what he did to his bodyguard.

"You'd better have an antidote."

"Oh, I do. Right up here. But why would I help you destroy my work?"

At that point, one of the mercenaries appeared in the monitor and spoke up.

"There's a couple of police detectives here, Doc. They're investigating a kidnapping."

It then showed Elisa and Matt just outside the building. Xanatos didn't hesitate to twist the knife.

"By all means, Doc, invite them in. Let's give them the slide show. Introduce them to the finished product."

Sevarius' eyes widened in terror. Xanatos was about to expose him! But in doing so... he'd put himself back in jail. He called his bluff to be sure.

"You wouldn't dare! You bankrolled everything."

Xanatos gripped him by the dollar of his coat and lifted him up to his face.

"You're right, we'll both go down for this. But I've been in prison before. Have you?"

Xanatos tossed him to the floor before he continued his threat.

"The police, the press, the public - they'll crucify you. And if they don't, I will."

Sevarius then began to reconsider his options.

"I could begin work on the antidote right now."

Having made his point clear, Xanatos went back to Derek, checking on his health for the time being.

"How are you feeling?"

"Pretty lousy."

"Just say the word and I'll have her brought up here. Don't worry about me. This is my fault as much as Sevarius'."

However, Derek's answer was quite different. He was aware of her situation being half-Gargoyle. But he knew what could happen if he told her. She'd end up putting herself in danger for his sake. And against a man like Sevarius, or even Korihor, there's no telling what would happen. His conscience wouldn't let him go through with it, transformation or not. Beside that, he realized something else.

If he was to get a cure, he'd know for sure that it could help Elisa with her own curse. It's practically two birds with one stone.

"No, I can't face her now. Maybe when he's cured me. If it works with me, maybe it can cure Elisa and her friend, too."

Xanatos seemed to acknowledge his wish before he turned to Sevarius.

"All right, get rid of them. And then get to work."

He had no choice but to comply as the doctor rushed upstairs. Suddenly, Derek doubled back in pain. He wondered if this was the same pain Elisa had to go through before.

"Derek, what's wrong?"

When Derek looked back up to Xanatos, he had cat-slit eyes over his white sclerae.

"Help me..."

---

At Ellis Island, Korihor was sitting at his desk with Jane by his side. He didn't appear too pleased about what he'd learned.

"So Xanatos thinks he can do evolution better than I can? If that's not an example of mortal folly, I wouldn't know what is."

Jane had a theory about what he set out to do.

"Maybe he's trying to figure out the mutation first so he can undo it the same way."

Korihor growled as he turned to the sun.

"Even so, this clearly isn't the first time he's tried to play god. He tried to keep my brother and his clan under his thumb, but they rebelled against him. Yet he has learned nothing..."

"So, what should we do? Should we call Laman back from his search for Goliath's angel?"

Korihor sharply turned around as he shook his head.

"No. This matter, however infuriating, isn't enough to urge the whole clan's attack. That said, Xanatos must be sent this message: Clan Dracus can not and will not tolerate anyone infringing on my property. And anyone who tries will be sentenced... to death."

---

Later, at night, the sun having gone down, Elisa told the others the news she got from Sevarius. Neither Brooklyn nor Sarah believed it, of course. Elisa couldn't believe it herself.

"I don't trust Sevarius. He's definitely lying about something."

Brooklyn was quick to agree, but it was more for his own reasons.

"Can't you arrest him?!"

As much as she wanted to, Elisa was stuck on that matter.

"There's no probable cause. Without enough evidence for a warrant, my hands are tied."

"Well, mine aren't."

Brooklyn made a dash right out of the clock tower, catching Jim and Kim's attention. The latter spoke up to him.

"Where are you going?"

"To find her. She needs my help."

Broadway had his doubts as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah, right."

Sarah nudged Broadway as she spoke in his defense.

"Cut it out. She did need our help."

"Then why didn't she go with you?"

Kim spoke in agreement with Sarah as she turned to her brother, though he was just as skeptical.

"That's why we gotta go back. Right, Jim?"

"I don't know, Kim. I mean, I'm glad she helped us, but how do we know she'd even want our help? She didn't follow you guys before. What makes you think she'd follow us now?"

Brooklyn was quick to snap at him.

"You don't know anything about her!"

Goliath interjected the scene quickly as he stepped in between Brooklyn and Jim.

"And neither do you. Rushing off without a plan won't help her, least of all, your senseless bickering."

Elisa began to form a smile as she spoke up.

"Good thing I've got one. My hands may be tied as an officer of the law. But not as a Gargoyle."

Jim and Kim looked at Elisa in intrigue before she smiled at her.

---

Meanwhile, in Gen-U-Tech, Xanatos was keeping a close watch on Sevarius as he was spinning the chemicals before he stopped the machine. After that, he picked up the chemical and put it in a beaker. At the moment, he was mixing an antidote, using Korihor's blood sample Xanatos obtained from Ellis Island during an up-close-and-personal encounter. Though, he didn't much like how Xanatos was looking over him.

"Don't you have some junk bonds to sell?"

"As far as you're concerned, I don't. Besides, it's my blood sample from Ellis Island we're dealing with. If there's any chance it can work—"

Just then, Xanatos heard groaning nearby. Derek's condition was getting worse. He'd fully grown wings, as well as dark brown fur, sharp teeth and claws, and even a tail. That could only mean one thing

"The metamorphosis is accelerating!"

Sevarius felt it best to employ a safety procedure.

"It might be safer to cage him."

However, Xanatos wouldn't go through with it.

"He's a man, not an animal."

Sevarius made a scornful scoff before he countered.

"Tch! By that logic, neither are they."

"All the more reason to shut up and keep working."

At Xanatos' behest, Sevarius went back to work on the supposed antidote.

---

Little did they know that most of Clan Wyvern, including Elisa, Sarah, Jim, and Kim were flying above the Gen-U-Tech building. When they landed, they looked through the glass ceiling. Brooklyn pegged it as the best place to get inside.

"We can get in here."

Brooklyn was about to claw it open, but Lexington stopped him.

"Wait! See those wires? Those wires mean electricity. And electricity probably means an alarm."

Brooklyn hadn't considered that. If he had gone it alone, he would've been captured along with his new friend.

"Oh, wonderful. Terrific. So what do we do?"

As luck would have it, Elisa had an idea to go about it, but Kim was curious.

"We find another way in."

"How do we do that?"

Sensing where Elisa was going, Goliath walked away from the glass ceiling before he put his claws on the floor and pierced through it, lifting it up to make a makeshift entrance. Elisa turned to Kim and answered with a smile.

"Like that."

As she jumped into the hole, Kim and Jim widened their eyes in surprise as the latter admitted to something on his mind.

"Okay. That is cool."

Following the procedure of women and children first, Elisa and Sarah went down with Kim and Jim before the rest of the clan followed. Once inside, Elisa looked around for any sign of guards. Fortunately, there wasn't any sign of them.

"No guards. Still, we can't risk an alarm now that we're inside."

Lexington took notice of a computer nearby and went over to it before he tinkered with it. Brooklyn quickly lost his patience.

"Will you quit fooling around?"

Sarah gave him a nudge as she tried to reassure him.

"Easy, Brooklyn. He told you about those wires, remember? I'm sure he knows what he's doing."

Lexington proved her point as he spoke up.

"She's right. I'm just turning off the alarms and unlocking the door."

With a push of a button, Lexington managed just that.

"Got it. Now we can go in."

Brooklyn went over to the door in the room before he opened it up and turned to Sarah.

"After you."

Sarah smiled at Brooklyn as she and the others walked in. Elisa looked around it and grew distasteful with the setting.

"I hope they fire the decorator."

It wasn't long before they found the woman from that night. But she looked... upset. Even so, Brooklyn didn't hesitate to go up to her.

"There you are!"

But before he could go up to her, Sarah held her arm up to him.

"Wait, Brooklyn. She didn't like being surprised by two Gargoyles before. Just to be safe, I think you can leave that to me and Elisa."

Brooklyn was about to argue, but then he noticed how sad she looked. Of course, it was all the more reason to help, but seeing her dismal appearance made him reconsider. What if she was afraid of him? It was something he couldn't stomach.

"Okay..."

Sarah gently tapped her hand on his shoulder before she tried to reach out to the woman.

"Hey. It's me. Are you okay?"

The woman turned to see Sarah in front of her.

"It's you! That woman from last night!"

"Yeah. I came back. Like I promised. You don't have to be scared. We're here to help."

"We?"

To prove her point, Elisa walked up beside Sarah, wings and all. The woman gasped in surprise once again before Elisa reassured her and the woman began to ask her question, theorizing what happened to her as well.

"Don't worry. We're pacing our introductions so you don't feel overwhelmed."

"Were you... human once, too?"

Elisa placed her hand on the glass as she answered.

"In a way, we still are. Me and Sarah. But you don't have to worry. When sunrise comes, you'll know what I'm talking about."

But the woman couldn't wait until sunrise.

"But I'm human. I'm not like this...!"

Elisa spoke to her softly again.

"We know you're not. That's why we're here to help you. Can I get a name?"

The woman was hesitant at first, but seeing two people who went through the same thing, she opened up to them.

"M-My name is Maggie. Maggie Reed. I'm from Ohio."

Sarah took her turn to make introductions as she spoke up.

"Nice to meet you, Maggie. I'm Sarah. Sarah Peterson. I'm from Pennsylvania."

Elisa spoke up next.

"And I'm Elisa Maza. I grew up in New York, so it's safe to say I've got some experience."

Maggie smiled softly from hearing this, but then she remembered the two children from that night as well.

"But what about the children?"

Elisa reassured her as she spoke up.

"Don't worry. They're okay."

Elisa turned behind her to gesture Jim and Kim over to her.

"It's okay. You can come out."

On her cue, Jim and Kim cautiously walked over to the light, where Maggie was amazed to see them.

"You're alright."

Kim placed her claws on the glass pane as she replied.

"Yeah. Thanks to you. You helped me and Jim escape with our new friends. They wanted to help you, too."

Goliath took the liberty of speaking up as he stepped over to Maggie's cage.

"She speaks the truth, Maggie. You've saved those children from the mercenaries. And for that, we are in your debt."

Goliath made a generous bow to Maggie, who became surprised by the gesture, as well as his sudden appearance.

"And who are you?"

"I am Goliath. And this is my clan."

At his cue, the rest of the Gargoyles present walked up to her.

"Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington. You already know Elisa and Sarah by now."

Maggie was honestly nervous seeing this many in one place, but at the moment, they don't mean any harm. After all, one of them risked his life to save Sarah's, which was about as much as she could gather from last night's incident. Maggie looked at Brooklyn with a bit of concern once she remembered.

"Are you... alright?"

Brooklyn was surprised to hear it from her, especially to him, but it made his more hopeful side blossom as he spoke up.

"Oh, well, you know. It's not the first time I took a bullet for someone. It won't be the last."

Then, Broadway remembered what Sarah told him when she tried to offer her hand.

"But why didn't you want to go with us? Are you scared of us or something?"

Brooklyn grumbled from hearing that before Maggie tried to explain.

"No, it's not that. I don't know if you could understand, but I need a cure. I'm not a monster."

Brooklyn tried to comfort her as best he could before Elisa chimed in.

"We're not monsters, either."

"Don't worry, Maggie. We'll get you out of this."

However, a familiar and dark voice spoke otherwise.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, detective."

Maggie, Elisa, Sarah, the children, and the Clan turned around to see Korihor with a fierce and dark gaze fixated on them.

"The only way out... is through me."

Goliath and Elisa's eyes glowed blank white as they scowled at him.

"Korihor!"

"Why are you here?"

Maggie saw the confrontation and was immediately caught off-guard.

"Wait, who's he?"

Sarah turned to Maggie to answer her.

"No friend of ours, that's for sure."

Korihor smirked as he walked closer to the clan, but kept himself at a fair enough distance away.

"I'm merely here to give Xanatos a lesson he won't soon forget. But before I do, it appears some liberation is in order."

Korihor fixes his gaze to Maggie and the children by Elisa's legs. At the same time, Brooklyn was already rearing to fight, entering a stance.

"Come on, guys. Korihor can't take us all on at once."

Korihor welcomed the challenge, holding his arms out.

"Why don't you prove it, then?"

Brooklyn was quickly provoked by this as he charged at him with a yell. Though, it came much to Goliath's fears.

"Brooklyn, no!"

Brooklyn leapt at Korihor, only for the Gargoyle to grab him by the neck and slam him to the ground. After which, he pinned him to it with his foot.

"Such a naïve child you are. As if you'll win because you desire to so badly..."

Broadway and Lexington were quick to come to the rescue.

"Hey!"

"Get off him, creep!"

Korihor responded to this attempt by grasping onto Brooklyn with his talons and tossing him at Lexington, sending the both of them crashing to the floor. Then, Korihor came head-to-head with Broadway, each pushing against the other's hands as they growled. During this contest of brute strength, Maggie feared for the worst and was quick to push a button on the glass pane and spoke into it.

"Somebody help me!"

As a result, the alarm blared out. Broadway, Brooklyn, and the others were caught entirely by surprise. That allowed Korihor to gain the upper hand as he shoved Broadway aside with a growl to the glass pane holding Maggie inside, shattering it to pieces. With the teal Gargoyle down, Maggie looked at him in horror and concern as Korihor turned to the woman and saw the button near her cage.

"I see. Very clever of you to call backup here. That said, it won't do them any good."

Elisa saw where it was going, however. Whether Maggie intended it or not, everybody must've seen or heard about Korihor before. If they were to see him at night, his secret would be out in the open.

"Won't it? You'll be exposed. If anyone sees you like this, your reputation's as good as done."

Korihor didn't seem too fazed by this ultimatum. In fact, he was smiling.

"You're right. I could take off and leave some unfinished business behind, or..."

In that moment, two guards came into the room and saw the Gargoyles.

"Lock down the laboratory."

Korihor's eyes glowed red as he spoke.

"I could have some fun on the way."

Korihor roared as he leapt at the guards, claw first. They shot at Korihor in an attempt to tranquilize him, but he was too fast for them. In the process, however, they managed to tranquilize Maggie, who then fell to sleep. In the meantime, Korihor sliced the weapon with his claws before attacking the guards, knocking them to the wall. Korihor was about to strike them in the throat with his talons, his red eyes glowing fiercely, only for Goliath to intervene.

"No!"

Goliath shoved him out of the way as the guards recovered from Korihor's charge. Thus, they attempted to retaliate while Goliath held his own against Korihor.

"You will not harm a human soul ever again!"

"That's not for you to decide, brother!"

Korihor broke out of his grip kicked him away just as one of the guards got out a smoke bomb and tossed it at them, only for Elisa to catch it and throw it back just when it was about to engulf them in smoke.

---

Meanwhile, Sevarius, Xanatos, and the mutating Derek overheard the alarm.

"Building security has been breached!"

Xanatos didn't seem all too worried about that over Derek. In fact, he had a feeling about why it happened. Either Goliath or Korihor must've gotten wise to Gen-U-Tech's advances in mutation. All the same, he felt as though Derek needed his full attention.

"Never mind. Just give him the antidote."

The ailing Derek reached his hand out over to the serum in Sevarius' hands.

"Help me..."

Just when he was about to take it, the door suddenly burst open, revealing Elisa, Sarah, Brooklyn, and the others with an unconscious Maggie in Brooklyn's arms. Derek turned in a panic as he had a frightening feeling about who it was. Unfortunately for him, that feeling was proven true.

"No! Not now!"

Elisa took notice of the situation first and foremost and was utterly shaken.

"Derek? Derek, is that you?!"

In shame, Derek tried to hide himself in vain.

"No...!"

Jim and Kim looked up to Elisa, becoming more and more puzzled from recent events.

"Who's Derek?"

"And why does he look... afraid?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm going to find out."

As Elisa marched over to them, Sarah took notice of the others next to Derek and began to piece all the puzzles together.

"Wait a minute... Xanatos, you did this to him?"

Xanatos was quick to explain the truth.

"More accurately, Sevarius did this. I was only trying to clean up his mess."

Elisa was quick to get angry, wrapping her tail around his neck.

"Then it's your mess, too! You did this to my brother!"

Seeing her rage-fueled state, Derek tried to dissuade her from her attack.

"Stop, Elisa! It was an accident! He's trying to help me!"

Kim looked at Derek, becoming curious about his side of the story.

"He was?"

Elisa was too upset at recent events to listen to him. Or at this point, believing him. She gestured to Maggie and the other mutant Gargoyles in the glass cage to show proof of his "help".

"Like he's helping Maggie?! Or those two?! Don't you get it?! He's lying! He's always lied to you!"

To keep the situation from getting worse, Sarah tried to stop Elisa from anything rash next.

"Elisa, I know you're angry, and you have every right to be. But Xanatos isn't the enemy here. In case you forgot, Goliath's holding his own against Korihor right now!"

Just then, Goliath was suddenly sent crashing through the wall and sliding to the floor. Seeing Goliath down and out, Elisa gasped in worry as she released Xanatos from her tail and went to him.

"Goliath! Are you okay?"

Goliath only moaned as Korihor walked through the hole he'd made.

"What happened to all that vigor from before, brother? You must've gone soft in your old age."

He took notice of the group in front of him, his gaze mainly fixed on Xanatos and Sevarius as Jim and Kim saw him and gasped as the latter became frightened while the brother glared back at him.

"That said, I'm not here for you, brother. Not even for the children. This is a personal matter."

Korihor stepped over to the two of them as Derek stepped in-between them.

"No! I'm not letting you take this away from me!"

Korihor stared at the new hybrid in puzzlement. He hasn't seen him before, and yet... he somehow felt familiar to him.

"What's this? One of your creations, Xanatos?"

Xanatos glared back at him as he retorted.

"He's a human being, Korihor. He has a name."

"Perhaps. But if he's with you, then he has a death wish as well!"

Korihor attempted to attack Derek, but Elisa jumped onto him from behind, pulling him back as she shouted to him.

"Hurry, Derek! Get out of here with the others, now!"

Korihor snarled as Derek looked on in worry for his sister.

"Elisa...!"

Meanwhile, Broadway and Sarah were tending to Goliath as they lifted him up. At the same time, Jim was trying to snap Kim out of her fear-stricken state.

"Come on, Kim. We've got to get out of here."

Kim couldn't listen. She appeared too traumatized by the appearance of Korihor. Goliath saw this and became worried for them just as much as he was for Elisa. And speaking of, Korihor managed to grab ahold of her and toss her right at Sevarius, knocking the antidote right off of his hand. Derek saw this and leapt desperately at it, trying to catch it before it could break. But sadly, he was too late. The serum was smashed to pieces, the only possible cure for him and his sister was broken apart.

"No!"

Derek began to shed tears before he shouted in despair once again.

"NOOOOO!"

Korihor snarled as he cracked his neck.

"That'll teach you to meddle with my blood."

Korihor turned to the other subjects as he walked to them.

"And as far as you go..."

Korihor placed his claws on the glass and scratched it, leaving several cracks behind before they overtook the whole structure and broke into pieces.

"...you've earned a vacation."

Korihor then picked up a table and tossed it straight up at the ceiling, leaving a hole to the skylight above as he turned to the said subjects.

"Well? Go on. Seize the day. As of this moment, you're free."

One of the subjects, the brown-colored one spoke up to him.

"Ain't gotta tell me twice."

With that, he and his compatriot climbed up on the hole, leaving Sevarius outraged.

"No! Those are my creations!"

Korihor snarled as he grabbed him by the back of his collar. Korihor's eyes flared a deep red into him as Sevarius stammered.

"Your creations are otherwise engaged, Doctor. In the meantime, it's time you took a dose of your own medicine!"

Korihor chucked Sevarius right at the eel tank, breaking the glass and dousing him with water before the eels fell down beside him. Immediately afterwards, they began to electrocute Sevarius as he groaned in agony before he gave out a dying breath. Derek, Xanatos, Elisa, Sarah, Goliath, Jim, Kim, Brooklyn, and Broadway saw the event happen and were mortified as Korihor smirked at the scene before turning to Xanatos.

"Let this be a lesson, Xanatos! Infringe on my territory again, and you'll meet a worse fate than the late good doctor!"

Korihor then took off out of the skylight he created himself, leaving the group by themselves as they stared at Sevarius' limp body. After a moment, Xanatos walked over to the body and held his fingers up to his wrist. He felt nothing to speak of. Which can only mean one thing.

"No pulse. He's dead."

Sarah went over to the body to be sure. Somehow, she doubted that electrocution from the eels would be enough to kill someone.

"By Eels? Before you say that, Xanatos, let a real doctor handle it."

Sarah knelt down to Sevarius' body as Xanatos became intrigued by her words.

"You're a Doctor?"

"Not like Sevarius, but I'm just the one you need. Trust me."

Sarah placed her ear on the chest. And unfortunately, adding to Xanatos' earlier supposition, there wasn't a heartbeat to hear.

"Oh, no..."

Elisa and Derek walked over to Sarah as she set Sevarius down. The former was already afraid of what it meant.

"What's wrong?"

"It shouldn't be possible. At least, it's extremely rare. But the shock from those electric eels caused a heart failure. And nothing in this lab has anything to help treat it as far as I can tell."

Derek was becoming more and more afraid of the likely possibility about his situation.

"So you're saying... Sevarius is dead?"

Sarah turned back to Derek with a worried look. She saw how Derek looked when the serum was smashed to pieces when Korihor tossed Elisa off him. She may not know Sevarius, but the look on Derek's face told her that he was the only one who knew the antidote.

"I'm sorry, Derek. As far as I know, there's nothing I can do."

Derek's hands trembled in fear, unable to face the uncertainty about him and Elisa's futures.

"He can't be dead. He's my one chance..."

Xanatos saw Derek's sadness and tried to comfort him. After what Korihor did, there's no need for telling what he's going through.

"I'm sorry."

Derek immediately snapped.

"NO! I only needed a few more seconds...! Elisa needed this...!"

Elisa overheard that and was baffled.

"I needed it? What do you mean?"

Xanatos interjected into the conversation as he spoke up, trying to clear things to Elisa.

"At the time, I was trying to go down with Sevarius' ship to expose his experiments, detective. But Derek decided to use this situation to try to find a cure not just for him, but for you, too."

Elisa didn't see any reason to believe it, not after what he put Derek through.

"A likely story. But nobody asked you, Xanatos. You're going down for this. I promise you. Whatever it takes."

However, Derek had a different take on the matter.

"No. It's not his fault, Elisa. He did try to go down with Sevarius. I talked him out of it."

Elisa widened her eyes in disbelief. How could he still fill himself after what Xanatos did to him?

"You what...? Derek, why would you—?"

"Why wouldn't I? You and Sarah never asked for this. I just wanted to help you. Now, I can't do anything..."

As he put his claws over his once human face in shame, Goliath and Elisa went over to Derek to give him his own comfort as well. As much as he hated Xanatos for subjecting Derek to this, he knew that pointing fingers won't help him, especially when Korihor's attack closed off the possibility of a cure for him.

"Derek, I am terribly sorry for the events that have happened tonight. If I knew of a way to amend this, I assure you that I would."

"I'm glad you're trying to help, Derek. But you're not alone in this. You don't have to be."

Derek looked around at the group as they, in turn, all looked at him. Jim and Kim looked up at Derek next before he saw them as well. He was surprised to see that they were with the Gargoyles, but he figured out what they meant.

"Did Korihor get to you, too?"

Having seen the monstrous Korihor attack the Wyvern Clan, Kim nodded. Her memory was still blocked, but she could recognize the monster she saw with her brother.

"I think so..."

Jim spoke up next as he interjected.

"Kim and I can't remember much, but we do remember him."

That settled it. All of this started because of Korihor. How far was he willing to go just because he hated humanity?!

"So that's it, then. It's Korihor's fault. He'll pay for this. If it takes my last breath, he'll pay."

Elisa placed her claws on Derek's shoulder, interrupting him.

"Not a chance. You've been through too much trouble by yourself, Derek. And look where it got you. From now on, we do this together. Okay?"

Derek couldn't argue. He remembered Goliath's words. There was nothing more important than family, after all.

Derek nodded to his sister before Xanatos reminded them of the matter.

"That's all well and good, and I'm glad we're on the same page, but you might wanna get out before the police show up. Unless you want them to see you and your brother like this, detective?"

Elisa didn't need to be told twice. She didn't even need to be told once.

"No. But don't think for a second I'll ever forget this."

Elisa looked up at the skylight and spread her wings out before Xanatos spoke out to her.

"Wait, Detective."

Elisa glared at Xanatos before he spoke his peace.

"We'll find a cure for you and the others. I promise you that."

"Let's get one thing straight, Xanatos. I don't really trust any promises from you, and I never will. But if there's any chance that you're serious, run it by me, or don't bother at all."

With that, Elisa, Goliath, Derek, and the rest of the Wyvern clan took off through the skylight, leaving Xanatos sighing to himself before he spoke.

"Well, at least she didn't say that she won't forgive me."

---

Later, near daybreak, the Wyvern Clan made it back to the clock tower. Once there, Hudson was filled in on the situation. He learned of the successful rescue with a girl named Maggie Reed. Only afterwards, however, did they see Korihor attacking Gen-U-Tech and simultaneously stumble upon Derek's situation. He needed Sevarius to make a cure for him, Elisa, Sarah, and the children, but Korihor killed the doctor in retaliation for what he believed to be an infringement.

"So, Korihor attacked Gen-U-Tech, eh? It seems his hatred has extended even towards the likes of Xanatos."

Elisa gave out another important detail as Jim and Kim looked over Maggie.

"It's not just that. He said Xanatos was infringing on his territory. And with Jim and Kim's case, it can only mean one thing. And I think we all know what it is."

Goliath confirmed it as he spoke up.

"Project: 'Genesis'. It must be involved in turning humans to Gargoyles like Korihor. But since he can disguise himself during the day, it would be best to assume those infected with his blood can do the same."

Frustrated over what he'd done to him and his sister, Derek couldn't care less about it.

"Who cares what his blood can do?! All I care about is putting that monster down, once and for all! The sooner he's dead, the better."

Just then, at that moment, Maggie began to stir from her unconsciousness. Jim and Kim's faces showed relief as Maggie came to.

"You're awake!"

"Are you okay?"

Once she got her head together, Maggie smiled upon seeing the children again. So much so that she reached her hand out to Kim before stopping herself. She didn't know if it was the right gesture for a Gargoyle-hybrid, especially to a child. But Kim didn't seem to mind it. She lifted her head up until Maggie's palm touched the top of it and smiled. Then, Maggie looked around the tower, realizing she was no longer at the lab. Then, she remembered a certain coal-skinned Gargoyle that attacked her.

"Korihor! Where is—?!"

Before she could continue her panic, Jim tried to reassure her.

"It's okay. Goliath and the others held him off. But Sevarius... he was..."

Before he could finish, Derek walked over to her, delivering the bad news.

"He's dead. Korihor killed him to make an example out of him."

Maggie's face began to sink into despair as she realized what Sevarius' death meant. He was the one who transformed her, and he was the only one who could've reversed it. But thanks to Korihor, it's all but impossible.

"No! No, no, no! He was the only chance for a cure!"

Lexington walked up as he gave out the positives to help ease her.

"It's gonna be alright. You'll be safe in here, Maggie."

Maggie had her doubts.

"This is safe? I'm a human! Humans can't live this way! I need a cure! I need it...!"

Maggie was on the verge of breaking down, beginning to shed her tears. Brooklyn, Sarah, and Elisa saw Maggie's sadness and tried to cheer her up.

"It's alright, Maggie. We'll try to find a cure."

"All of us will."

"You don't have to do this alone, either."

In that moment, Goliath spoke up to her as he looked out at the setting.

"The dawn is coming. And we all need rest. When night falls, we'll find your cure, Maggie. Even if it means confronting Korihor at his castle."

Elisa gasped at the idea. Last she remembered, Clans Wyvern and Dracus were under a truce. If they were to confront him, it would allow Korihor to retaliate. And she just couldn't risk that if it meant the children would be hurt.

"Goliath, we have a truce. If you attack his castle—"

"I know. He will attack ours in turn. But what else could be done, especially with my devil of a brother?"

With that, the sun began to rise up from the horizon as the Gargoyles crawled over to their positions. Maggie and Derek looked on as they turned to stone, but their surprise grew more so when they saw Elisa, Sarah, Jim, and Kim's transformations.

Their wings and their tails shrunk back into their bodies as they cracked their bones and shifted them back into place. When it was over, they were human again. Maggie was the most speechless of this phenomenon.

"You... you're human again!"

Sarah stood up as she stretched herself to keep herself limber as Elisa spoke to her.

"Yeah. I told you you'd be surprised."

Almost immediately she got as close to Elisa as to almost pounce on her.

"How?! How are you doing this?!"

Sarah backed Maggie up as she tried to calm her down.

"Settle down, Maggie. We know you're going through a lot. But trust me: what Elisa, me, the kids are going through, it is not the answer."

"Then what is?!"

Elisa placed her hand on her shoulder as she reassured Maggie.

"Waiting here for the time being. The clock tower has a police precinct downstairs, so it's about as safe as it can get."

Derek then began to storm out of the tower, clearly not ready to wait.

"Which is more than Korihor can say about his castle."

Elisa saw the attempt and she spoke against it.

"Derek, you know how I feel about this! What happened to doing this together?!"

"I was about to ask you the same thing! Why can't you stand by me for once?!"

"It's too dangerous by yourself, Derek! Look what happened to you!"

Derek assumed she was blaming Xanatos for his transformation. And he wasn't in the mood for it.

"For the last time, this isn't Xanatos' fault!"

"I don't care about Xanatos, Derek! I care about YOU!"

Shocked at hearing Elisa raise her voice, Derek widened his eyes as Sarah, Maggie, Jim, and Kim looked on while Elisa poured her heart out.

"Do you have any idea what went through my mind when I saw you like this?! It wasn't just how Xanatos turned you into a mutant! It was how I wasn't there for you! I asked you to make that promise because I wanted to keep you safe from this! But I couldn't...!"

Elisa was beginning to cry as she tried to stay strong. But the facade was quickly slipping on a landslide.

"You didn't see what Korihor would've done to those guards. He didn't care about being exposed if it meant he could kill them. He could kill you, too...!"

Derek's face began to sink in guilt as Elisa sobbed on his chest, unable to bear the thought. He gently stroke her hair as he spoke softly.

"I know. But Goliath's right. What other choice is there?"

That gave Jim an idea as he spoke up.

"Hold on. Korihor attacked Xanatos by killing Sevarius, right?"

Derek looked at the boy strangely as he failed to see the point.

"Of course he did. What are you trying to say?"

"That right now, Goliath and the others can't touch him since it would cause them to strike back. But you can. You and Xanatos. As far as you're concerned, you'd be getting even."

Derek had to admit there was a merit to this strategy. Clan Wyvern may have formed a truce with Korihor, but Xanatos didn't. So he was free to strike back.

"He's right. If we were able to counterattack before Korihor could respond..."

Elisa already saw where this was going. Which was all the more reason she went against it.

"Derek, no. You can't take him on by yourself."

"Watch me."

Derek walked out to the ledge, only for Elisa to follow him.

"You don't understand. Remember what I said before?"

Derek became puzzled as he turned back to his sister.

"Does the word 'together' mean anything to you?"

Derek put his hand on his head as he made a slight smile to her. But as it turned out, she's not the only one. Jim spoke up from behind.

"Hold on. I'm going, too."

Kim looked at her brother in astonishment. She was surprised to see that he'd want to go along, especially since he's the one always talking her out of putting herself in danger for others' sakes.

"Really? Why?"

"You said it yourself, Kim. We can't just do nothing. Not after what that monster did to us."

Derek liked his spirit. It was almost like looking into a mirror. But even so, he wasn't blind to the risks Elisa warned him of.

"Hey, I like your guts, kid. But Elisa's not wrong. Korihor would sooner tear you apart the second he sees you."

Jim tensed his hand into a fist as he gave his answer.

"I know. But if it means my sister won't have nightmares again, so be it."

However, with their luck on getting their memories back, Kim felt as though it wouldn't be wise.

"But you can't do that! And it's not just because you'll get hurt. What if he's the only one who knows what happened to us?"

"Then we'll get those answers first. One way or another."

Derek was liking him more every minute. He even began to chuckle a bit himself before he spoke.

"Alright. But if you're coming along, you better let us know if there's trouble."

Jim and Kim nodded as they spoke simultaneously before doing so separately as they each crossed their hearts.

"We promise."

"Cross our hearts..."

"...and hope to die."

Derek and Elisa were both caught off-guard. It was just like how they kept their promises. The children were naturally confused, though Kim spoke up in curiosity.

"What's wrong?"

Elisa only shook her head before with a smile as she replied.

"Nothing. It's just you two are like me and Derek when we were your age."

Derek then turned to Sarah and spoke up to her with a gentle tone.

"And Sarah. Can you take care of Maggie for the time being?"

"Not that I needed your permission. But I'll see what I can do."

---

Hours later, back at Ellis Island, Korihor was sitting at his desk with Jane in front of him. She saw that he had a satisfied look on his face.

"I take it the attack went as planned?"

"All that and more."

"I'm surprised you didn't kill Xanatos directly."

Korihor never lost his smirk as he explained himself.

"Well, I can't very well harm a member of the Illuminati, can I? Arrogant as he may be, he has his uses."

However, the smile went away as Korihor began to ponder a different subject.

"That said... the children were caught amidst the crossfire."

Jane's eyes widened a few inches, almost as if she was surprised.

"They're still alive?"

"No doubt the brother must've been the protector. I think it's plain to see where he got that from."

"So what do we do? Go after them?"

Korihor only began to smile as he answered.

"No. There's no doubt they'll try to retaliate under Xanatos' castle to avert the possibility of a strike against Goliath and his clan. That being the case, we might as well roll out the welcome wagon... on their turf."

---

Several more hours later, the sun had fallen back down past the horizon. By that point, the Gargoyles have awoken from their stone sleep. And when they looked inside, they only found Sarah and Maggie by themselves. Brooklyn was quick to check up on Maggie, given her situation.

"You doing alright, Maggie?"

"Alright as I can be, I guess."

However, Broadway was more focused on the main thing.

"Never mind that. Where's Elisa and Derek?"

Sarah decided to fill them in on the situation.

"After sunrise, they decided to go to Xanatos' castle. The kids went with them, too."

The news was enough to make Goliath worried. Knowing his brother, he'd label that as an excuse to attack his castle anyway. He promptly asked Sarah before she explained.

"Why?"

"The kids think that confronting Korihor would give them answers. About where they came from. They asked me to stay with Maggie and make sure she's safe."

That made sense to Goliath. However, with Derek in the mix, it's likely some revenge was at work as well. And there's no telling what would come of it. But even so, he can't risk breaking the truce, unless he risks the castle being attacked.

"Hudson, you and Bronx stay with Maggie and Sarah in case Elisa and Derek come back with the children. The rest of us will go to the castle."

---

Moments later, Elisa, Derek, and the children were at Xanatos' castle standing on a ledge. Derek was now more panther-like than he was previously, and he was wearing a green suit with navy blue shoulder pads, yet another perk from Xanatos. And speaking of, the man of the hour was walking up to him in concern.

"I hope you thought this through, Derek. If it doesn't work, he'll only retaliate with bigger casualties."

"That's not going to happen. I promise you..."

Derek extended out his claws, as if ready to fight before Xanatos spoke.

"Well, I can see I'm in good hands. Or talons, I should say."

Meanwhile, Elisa may have had some practice in flying, but the height was still worrisome for her. Though, of there was a good thing to come of it, it would allow more time for Elisa to pick up on a wind current.

"Not sure if the height makes it better or worse..."

Derek didn't think much about the height as opposed to his main goal. He was a pilot before. If anything, this would only feel like a breeze.

"Well, until we have a cure, we might as well learn to use these wings. Follow my lead."

Derek then jumped off of the ledge and flew into the air with Elisa, Jim, and Kim following suit. As they flew, Xanatos turned to Owen.

"Owen, I want you to find me the best geneticist on the planet."

Owen walked away in compliance with the order. At the same time, Elisa looked over to Derek, wondering what the plan was.

"So, what's the plan? Do we just storm our way into Ellis Island?"

Derek may be obsessed with vengeance, but he was aware of the risks as well.

"No. After what's happened, he won't take kindly to that. We'll need to coordinate a strike."

However, the voice of a certain Gargoyle changed the plan.

"Or I come to you!"

Elisa and Derek looked above them, seeing Korihor flying right at them. Elisa was miffed to say the least, but not more so than Derek.

"So much for that."

"You! This is your fault, monster!"

However, Korihor was not afraid to engage him as he lunged right at Derek. The resulting force pushed him back to the Castle as Xanatos and Owen looked on at the scene. Elisa and the children didn't hesitate to fly after Derek, and not a minute too soon. Korihor stood up and appeared ready to scratch him, only for him to swing it the other way, grabbing Elisa by her leg when she dropped in for a kick. He waved her around before tossing her to the floor. After which he kicked Derek, rolling him over to Elisa as he walked towards them both.

"Ill give you that, detective. You managed to surprise me, siding with your arch-nemesis to get a shot at me."

"For the record, we just have a common enemy."

Korihor only chuckled at her wordplay before reminding her of what she said before. Jim and Kim landed on the ground behind Korihor, planning to surprise him.

"Oh, yes. The one rule you set for yourself. Never trust anyone. Does that sound familiar... James?"

Jim gasped from hearing that, surprised he was able to notice them from behind. All the same, he couldn't let him get away. He lunged at Korihor with a shout, knocking him to the floor as Owen looked up at the sky and noticed the Gargoyles from far away.

"Sir, it would seem the cavalry is here."

Xanatos drew a breath sigh of relief.

"Good. We have to stop this senseless violence."

Jim was swiftly scratching Korihor on his chest before he shouted at him.

"Why did you mutate me and my sister?! Why?!"

Korihor only laughed darkly at Jim's words before he answered.

"You speak as if I'm responsible, young one."

"That's because you are!"

Jim tried to scratch him on the face, only for Korihor to grab his hand and kick him away, forcing him to land on the ground near Kim as she helped him up.

"Jim!"

Korihor stood up from his position as he walked over to them.

"You fail to understand, boy. I can't help the fact that you and your sister change at night; that's just how you were born!"

Jim and Kim looked at Korihor quite puzzled as the latter spoke in confusion.

"How we were born...? How could we—?"

Before Kim could finish her question, they heard Goliath's roar from afar, causing Korihor to look up to see him rushing right after him. Needless to say, he was not pleased.

"You!"

Korihor lunged at Goliath, causing the two of them to enter a midair confrontation. The resulting clash brought the both of them to the ground with Goliath on top of him. At the same time, Brooklyn and the others landed beside Elisa, Derek, and the others.

"You may have beaten me before, Korihor. But now, I have the high ground!"

Korihor began to chuckle at his resolve as he tried to diminish it with his words.

"You dare to risk breaking our treaty?"

"The treaty only applies to your castle!"

"You won't dare lay a finger on me, brother."

Goliath snarled as he raised his fist to strike him.

"And why not?"

"Because you owe me."

This only angered Goliath as he yelled out before striking him in the face and tossing him farther away.

"I OWE YOU NOTHING!"

Korihor maintained his smirk as he spoke again.

"Are you so sure about that, brother?"

Goliath glared at his brother fiercely.

"What madness are you talking about?"

"You had to have noticed. How much those children take after you. Their convenient loss of memory. Surely you must've pieced them together."

Goliath looked back to the children, both of which were just as puzzled as he is. For that matter, Elisa was baffled by this as well.

"Huh?"

"What is that supposed to mean, Korihor?"

"It shouldn't be too hard to figure out, brother. After all, it was your blood that spawned them. And your mate's as well."

Goliath was taken aback by his words.

"My blood?!"

"That's right, Goliath. James and Kim are your progeny! In other words, your children!"

Jim and Kim gasped at his words before Elisa figured out what he was getting at. And Xanatos was just as struck by this information.

"Oh, my gosh. Korihor cloned them from us! From when we first fought!"

"But how's that possible? Cloning you two wouldn't have been this quick, especially not for children. Unless..."

Derek took note of the look on Xanatos' face. He didn't see much on Ellis Island, but he had a feeling something was up.

"Unless what?"

"He must've had access to the Book of Morgan Le Fay. I'll bet he used that thing to try to speed up the process."

Korihor chuckled to himself as he spoke to Xanatos with a leer.

"Now you know what it means to infringe on my territory, Xanatos. And you'd do well not to repeat that mistake."

As far as Derek was concerned, the one who made that mistake was Korihor.

"Too bad you made yours!"

Taking advantage of the situation, Derek charged him and knocked him to the ground. Derek tried to follow this with a punch, but Korihor grabbed it and kicked him away with a backward somersault before he jumped on top of him and dug his claws into his wrists. Derek screamed out from the pain that followed as Elisa tried to come to his rescue.

"Get off of my brother!"

Elisa pushed Korihor off of Derek with a tackle. He was pushed against the ledge in the process as Elisa pushed him with her wrists. As Xanatos saw this scene, he clenched his hands before he went inside the castle as he spoke to the communicator.

"Owen, get the suit ready. It's time for a little pest control."

Elisa struggled to keep him pinned down, but it didn't last long. He quickly overturned Elisa and pinned her near the edge as he leered at her.

"He's your brother, you say? I hardly see the resemblance."

Just then, he felt two hands grip him by his shoulders, making him gasp before turning to see Derek.

"You're about to."

Suddenly, Derek's hands shot out electricity, electrifying Korihor as he screamed in utter agony. In the process, he let go of Elisa's wrists, allowing her to escape. However, even during the grueling electrocution, Korihor still has the strength to retaliate. He swung his arm in a backhand strike, knocking Derek away from him. Once he was free, Korihor drew labored breaths for a moment before he walked towards him and gripped him by his neck.

"An excellent strategy on your part. But all it succeeded in doing is irritating me!"

Korihor dragged the struggling Derek over to the nearby ledge as he clenched onto the neck, preparing to crush it with his bare hand.

"I hope you're happy, Derek. This is where I turn vicious."

Suddenly, a shot rang out, a laser zipping in-between Korihor and Derek's faces.

"I believe that's my line, Korihor."

Xanatos held his arm out to Korihor, ready to shoot him with Goliath, Elisa, and the rest of the clan present surrounding him.

"You'd better release him, Korihor, but not over the edge. Otherwise, well... I assume you get the picture."

Korihor snarled at Xanatos before he tossed Derek over to the group. However, the snarl didn't last long as he sighed before he made a small smile.

"Very well. I've made my message to you clear, anyhow. But know this, Xanatos. I'm not so generous as to form a truce with you. Now or ever. Remember that."

Korihor spread out his wings before he took off from the castle and flew off into the darkness.

---

Later on, at the Eyrie Building, Owen was bringing in someone in a trench coat and fedora. It was part of his earlier request for the best geneticist on the planet to help Derek and the others. Two of them have escaped thanks to Korihor, but the rest stayed with the Wyvern Clan.

"May I present, sir, the best geneticist on the planet."

The geneticist in question took off the boat and fedora and was none other than... Sevarius. He had a different haircut since the incident. Instead of a long and fringe-like hair with silver streaks, it was a buzz cut with not a speck of silver to be seen.

"I was particularly proud of my death scene."

Xanatos didn't look too amused.

"Frankly, Sevarius, I thought you overplayed the part."

"But aren't you amazed we pulled it off? It took months of forcing the early subjects to escape before the Gargoyles even spotted one."

"But after that, things couldn't have proceeded more predictably. Though, Korihor managed to shift things a bit out of order."

Xanatos played the monitor, showing Derek with Elisa, Jim, Kim, Goliath, and the rest of the clan. The picture he viewed was rather... wholesome.

"He's well-suited to his new form, wouldn't you say? And with the kids, they almost seem like one happy family at that."

Sevarius, however, was stuck on the main issue.

"Yes, but they've all escaped. And we don't even know where the other two went."

"We'll find them. As for the rest, they'll be back. Derek is convinced that only I can cure him. And that delusion will keep him just where I want him. Besides, even if he wasn't looking for a cure, he's got bigger fish to fry. We all do."

Sevarius had an unfortunate theory.

"You mean Korihor? Who was he, anyway?"

"All you need to know, Anton, is that he's someone playing a dangerous game. And let's be honest: he knows it too well."

---

Back at the clock tower, Sarah, Hudson, and Maggie were told of the events that took place at Xanatos' castle. And needless to say, they were more than surprised.

"They were what?!"

"Cloned from Elisa and Goliath's blood? To think that such a feat would be possible..."

"So they were never human... to begin with? How could that be?"

Elisa answered Maggie despite her surprise as Goliath paced back and forth. This development was startling to him as well. He didn't know how to feel as far as the children were concerned.

"I don't know, Maggie. I'm still trying to make sense if it myself. Korihor grew Jim and Kim from a piece of us like a cutting from a plant."

Goliath overheard it, and he didn't hesitate to vent his frustration and uncertainty.

"A piece of us? These children ARE us! First, Korihor attacks my clan and my castle! And now he pieces out our own souls! Is there no end to his madness?!"

Goliath slammed his fist against the side of the wall, making Kim jump back in alarm with a gasp. To say that Goliath was irritated by this would be an understatement. However, Elisa knew that they never asked to be created the way they were. She was also reminded of it when Jim tended to Kim gently. She tried to do the same for Goliath as she went by his side.

"Goliath, you've got every right to be angry, but no right to take it out on James or Kim. What difference does it make how they came into being?"

Kim cautiously looked at Goliath briefly before turning her head away, feeling ashamed to be near him as Elisa continued.

"Now they're as much a Gargoyle as you are. Sure it's only at night, but my point still stands that they're living. In a way, they're our son and our daughter. How could you reject them?"

Looking at the two of them, Goliath realized he had been quite brash, even if it was only for a moment. He took a deep breath before he went over to them as he replied to Elisa.

"You're right, of course."

As Goliath knelt down, Kim began to feel sad as she responded in a dismal tone.

"We heard what you were saying. About how we were you. Do you hate me...?"

Goliath shook his head as he replied.

"No. If there's anyone to blame here it's Korihor, not you. You've been through enough under his claw."

When Goliath held his arms out, Kim began to sniffle as tears appeared in her eyes. Almost immediately, she jumped into his chest and began to sob softly. Not long after that, Jim hugged Goliath as well, though he tried the hardest to hold back his tears. Derek and Elisa saw the scene and the both of them looked to each other in reverence as the former spoke.

"So, what do we do now?"

"I don't know, Derek. Right now, I wish we had more simple things to deal with. But regardless, we'll go through this. Together."

Derek began to cross over his chest as he spoke.

"Cross your heart?"

Elisa began to do the same as she answered with a sad smile.

"And hope to die."

The brother and sister then gave each other a hug, now more certain than ever that whoever or whatever they would become, nothing could break their bond...

---

Meanwhile, back at Ellis Island, Korihor was recuperating from the attempt on his life made by Derek. It was a surprise how he had used electricity from the palms of his hands. Perhaps it was an ability of Sevarius' mutants. All the same, it ingrained a sensation inside him. And he didn't appear likely to ignore it.

"To think that Sevarius actually managed to create a Gargoyle that commands lightning itself. Perhaps I should make a note of that…"

Just then, he heard the door opening behind him. He had a feeling who it was as he spoke up.

"Ah, Jane. I could use some good news right now."

"Actually, yes. Laman just came back. And he's not alone."

Korihor turned his seat around, away from the window to look out from his desk. And to his surprise, he saw not only Jane and Laman, but the two Gargoyles who'd previously escaped Sevarius' lab with his help. The brown one was quick to speak up to him.

"So, this is your place, huh? I think I like this."

Korihor's face began to make a slight frown as he spoke to Laman.

"And where is the angel?"

As if to answer, Laman stepped away to reveal a silhouette of her, her red eyes glowing as she stepped into the light. She was a female gargoyle with a shock of red hair and pale blue skin. She also wore a gold tiara, a pair of earrings, an armband and an anklet as decorative jewelry. She also seemed to favor midriff-baring halter tops that hang off of one shoulder. And that Gargoyle looked very astonished to see him.

"Korihor…? You're alive?"

He began to form a smile as he stood up from his seat.

"As are you, I see. We have so much to talk about…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N: And there you have it, the next chapter for Gargoyles: The New Generation. :) It's been a long time and coming making this one, and it was especially one of my favorites, because I got to introduce my two favorite characters into the story. They only made the appearance in The Goliath Chronicles episode "For it May Come True". The moment I saw James and Kim, I fell in love with them immediately. I wanted to see Goliath and Elisa have kids of their own when I started watching Gargoyles more and more. While most of the Goliath Chronicles wasn't canon, including that episode, it actually presented an opportunity for me to flesh them out, as well as alter some of the Metamorphosis episode. And in case you were wondering, Hyrum Hansen portrayed James or Jim Maza while Isabella Abierra voiced Kim. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :)