Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, the Gargoyles, or the T.M.N.T. Sadly enough, they belong to other people. This is written for fun, no money is being made from these words being put to paper.
There. It's said. Now, let's move on with the story.
"I love you."
The male amid the center of the 'cleansing' smiled sadly at her, "No you don't, but thanks for saying it." He turned his eyes to the other female still there watching them. Horror reflected in her eyes.
"Sp-Spike," she questioned.
She had forgone her normal mirage. Either that or the device had been shattered. His eyes strayed her unusual form for what seemed like eternity. She was forest green in color, reminding him of the trees that had surrounded his home. She was strong, if her muscles were any indication. Her tail, yes, her wonderfully, talented tail. He grinned inside, but quickly scanned her four fingered hands, and her taloned toes that numbered the same. Twin horns shot up from her head, tangled amongst a fiery mane of red. In a word, for a nameless gargoyle - so she had often called herself - she was beautiful. He pushed a small envelope into her stunned hands and motioned for her to take the other female and go. "Run," he ordered her suddenly.
Unable to do anything except obey, the female grabbed the other one with her tail, shoved the envelope in her belt pouch, and dropped to all fours, loping away. The other female squeaked indignantly, but the gargoyle ignored her. "Unless you wish to join Spike in this, Buffy, shut up," she growled after a moment.
Buffy stopped protesting. "I can run, you know."
The gargoyle scoffed. "I move faster," she replied.
A year later...
New York City was a big place, but she had only chosen the park as a protectorate. Tonight, however, she was not thinking of the people she had vowed to protect after leaving Sunny Dale. Tonight, she pulled out the envelope she had carried around faithfully for a year. The envelope was slightly tattered and the letter its self looked like it had seen it's better days.
Dear Friend,
I write this now, as Buffy leaves me with an amulet that will fix Sunny Dale for good. Unfortunately, that triumph comes with a price. My life. I sit here, trying to put word to paper, wanting to tell you how much you helped me. The words fail me, as you can probably tell. I'm a guy, albeit dead, but still a guy. Some have the gift to write the words to woo a lady into giving him the shirt off her back and then there are those of us who can sit for days with a piece of paper and not come up with the words to say thank you. I fall into the second category. Insert dry chuckle It's hard to explain, but this was my path. The Fates wove my tale for me long before I was turned.
With my death, the feeling of complete obedience to me will disperse. I'm sorry, but it will leave you a little out of the loop for a few days. It's just a side effect of my feeding from you.
I found this amulet in my travels. Well, I guess I should be honest. I was given this amulet from another of your kind. We battled, not each other, but others. He was injured and sunrise was too far off. He gave me this amulet with the explicit orders to give it to another of his kin. After searching many hours, I found no other gargoyles in the area. You are of his kin, in a sense; hence the amulet is now yours. If I understand correctly, it will keep you flesh after sunrise. With all magics, there's probably a side effect. Please use it with caution.
It's been half a night since I finished that last paragraph. I know this won't be easy for you and I'm sorry for having put you through this. I hope I helped some. I am sorry that you must now lose a second clan. Your banishment from your home clan was harsh, but you survived. You've actually flourished, despite the tragedy you witnessed upon the return from your punishment. To lose a second clan… I know this is going to be tough for you, but you have to keep trying. You're a good lady and someday you will no longer be alone. And the one who cures you of your worst fears, the fears you live with every day, will be the one who will finally allow you to heal completely. I must say I am sorry it will not be me.
I would ask one thing, however. If you should every want a name, my night angel, pick the one you think suits you best. Do not let another choose it for you. It is time you think of yourself.
Your Faithful Servant,
Spike
Carefully folding the letter up and returning it to the envelope, she slipped them both into her belt pouch. The amulet lay hidden in the bottom of her pants pocket. Her Spike had been right; the first couple of days had been extremely rough. She was fortunate enough when dawn had arrived, locking her in her stone slumber. She hadn't been able to return to him, even though every fiber in her being protested her not going. He was gone and all her tears had yet to bring him back. Just like the rest of her clan. Sacrificed by someone else's hand. Damn the humans for…
A shrill cry pierced the air around her, jolting her out of her depressive state. Listening for a half second longer, she determined the direction of the cry and leapt off the building she had perched on. Her wings instantly caught an updraft as she glided towards the sounds of a scuffle. Dropping quickly to the ground, she peered at the sight before her.
Several figures dressed in black ninja outfits with read headbands surrounded what looked like a young couple. The woman had red hair - not as bright as her own fiery mane - and wore a yellow jumpsuit. The man, on the other hand, had black hair, wore a wife beater muscle tee and carried a hockey stick. The gargoyle thought this odd, considering hockey had been over with for a good month by now. With a shrug and very little concern for herself, she waded into the middle of the group. "Hello," she said with a toothy grin, her fangs flashing, "mind telling me why you're playing in my protectorate?"
No one said a word.
The female gargoyle turned to the human male. "You want to tell me then," she asked impatiently.
He raised an eyebrow at her as one of the men in black attacked.
"Great," she growled, delivering a kick to the man behind her. Her eyes flared scarlet and that must have been the signal to go because everything seemed to happen at once. Without hesitating further, the gargoyle leapt into action. She had been on her own, yes, but not all her life. Warrior training from her clan days kicked into overdrive as she spun around, her tail connecting with the back of a pair of ankles. The man went down - his skull hitting the sidewalk with a sickening thunk - and another took his place. A swift kick to the midsection and a quick grab with her tail and he soon joined his comrade on the ground. She dropped to all fours and charged two of the men, her wings flaring out at the last moment just enough to slow her as she collided with them. A head in each clawed hand; she bashed their heads together and then surveyed the scene before here.
The man with the stick and the woman behind him hadn't fared too bad for themselves. He used his weapon to render the last would be thug unconscious as she returned to them. "Casey Jones, April O'Neil," he said as way of introduction.
"I have no name," she replied, "but you may call me friend." She turned, moving to leave them.
"Wait," the woman called. "Where will you go?"
"To find a spot for the day. One can not be too careful when it comes to hiding from prying eyes." She made to leave again.
"Hey, Friend," Casey called out. "How 'bout we show you the perfect spot to stay hidden, eh?"
Eyes flashing briefly, the gargess turned. "So you can smash me in my sleep? Humans are…." she paused, knowing she was doing it again. Judging people as they had often judged her. She sighed. "Perhaps it would be a good idea. Please, forgive me. My past experiences with humans have been … less than successful."
April moved and placed her hand on the gargoyle's shoulder. "Our friends have had the same problems."
Hearing that, her head spun so that she faced the human. "Are they gargoyles," she blurted out hopefully.
It was Casey that answered her verbally, but April's downcast eyes were voice enough. "No," he said, "but they aren't 100 human either."
"Come on," April said. "I'll get the pies and Casey can take you to meet the guys."
Her eye ridges furrowed in confusion. "Pies?" But the other red head was already gone. "What does she need pies for? And is it wise for her to leave our company after an attack of this size?"
Casey hefted his hockey stick and slid it back into the altered golf bag on his back. "Ape knows all the shortcuts. She'll be fine. We'd best get you into something or at least out of plain sight. Not everyone's as accepting as Ape and me." He had pulled out a long trench coat from his bag and offered it to her.
She scowled at the offending piece of cloth, but caped her wings under her arms and slid it around her body. Her tail wrapped around her leg as she adjusted the bandana around her hair and crossed her arms for inspection. "Good?"
He nodded and beckoned for her to follow him.
"If April knows the shortcuts, why were you attacked here?"
"We knew we were being followed and couldn't risk leading them to our friends. We had to lose them. You just happened to help us render them unconscious." He turned and faced her, effectively walking backwards. "And for that, I thank you."
She smiled. "You're welcome, but it is gargoyle nature to protect. I would have done the same for anyone."
Casey smiled wider and nodded. "I think you would have. Still, thanks."
The gargress smiled back. "So, are you going to tell me anything about your friends?"
"Oh, sure. Names and colors mainly. They can fill you in on the hard stuff when we get there. There's Leonardo, the unofficial leader. He wears blue. Donatello wears purple and can fix just about anything you break. Raphael wears red and is as temperamental as a woman on PMS, but don't tell him I said that, k? Then there's Michelangelo, wears orange and is Puck in disguise, I swear." He paused. "There's also Splinter, their sensei."
"They're named after Renaissance artists?"
"Hey, you're not bad for not having a name. Many people don't know that," Casey chuckled. "But tell me, why don't you have a name?"
The gargress raised her eye ridge again. "I have not chosen one since leaving my clan. It was not needed."
"Your momma didn't name you?"
"It is not gargoyle way to name everything we come across, human. In my clan, we made it tradition to find our names as we grew. I have not yet done so," she explained with half-truths.
They had walked up several side streets before ducking down a deserted alley. Casey looked around for a moment before pulling the manhole cover up and motioning to the now open hole. "Down the hatch," he quipped.
She backed away from the hole. "You want me to go down there? Underground," she asked. She had always had a terrifying fear of having anything over her head. She much preferred the open sky as her only cover.
"Yeah, that's the
idea," he replied. "Come on, we don't want to get caught
here."
She swallowed her fear. A warrior was afraid of nothing
and this would be nothing for her. Closing her eyes, she descended
into the sewer. The first thing to assault her was the smell. "Oh
my god," she complained. "It reeks down here."
Casey closed the manhole cover over them and shrugged. "It's not that bad, once you get used to it."
"So sayeth the human with less than perfect sense of smell," she grumbled. "My sniffer is a lot more sensitive than your own."
"Come on. If April beats me back I'll never hear the end of it."
"Right," the gargoyle agreed. Her eyes scanned the area around her, but even with her eyesight she knew that if they took any turns she would not find her way back out of this place. Not before she panicked at any rate. "So, um, are you and April like mates or something?" She would talk all night if it helped keep her mind off this place.
"Mates?"
"What's the human term? Married, I think."
Casey let out a laugh. "April and me married? I don't think so. Naw, don't really think I'm April's type."
"That's a shame,
really, then. You made a nice looking human couple."
He
stopped. "Look, can I ask you something that's been bugging me
since we met?" He didn't wait for an answer. "What's up
with this 'human' business? Did I wrong you in another life or
something?"
She too paused, but for thought. "Casey, I'm sorry. Seven years ago humans destroyed my clan while we slept. I was away at the time, banished for attacking someone I shouldn't have. When I returned all that greeted me was the littered remains of my family. I'm afraid that wasn't the only time I was hurt by humans. It is difficult to change after so long, but I will try."
Casey nodded. "So long as you try," he nodded as he started off again.
Shaking her head, she followed the male. They took a left, then a right, then two more rights, another left… bah! What was the point? The gargess didn't have a clue where she was and simply gave up trying to figure out how she would get out if things went south. Instead she decided that perhaps she should make sure things DIDN'T go south.
Author's Note:
Ok, I love the Turtle movies. Always been a favorite of mine. Sadly though, I only got to see the first few cartoons made, so I'm a little out of the loop. I did see one episode with the Battle Nexus and one where April was kidnapped by triceratops looking things. So, to cease my ramblings before they get too far out of hand, most of my fics won't be accurate with the cartoons. Sorry.
Next chapter: Greetings!
