GGGGGGGGGG – indicates scene change

"phone/communicator"

Thoughts

'telepathy'

Rating: M (just to be on the safe side)

Avalon

The wind blew softly over the landscape around the castle that was illuminated by the soft glow of the full moon's silvery light. A single person stood on top of one of the many towers overlooking Avalon's vast beauty and countryside. Untouched by human hands from the mortal world beyond the magical shield, that not only prevented humans from seeing Avalon but also stopped anyone including foreign magic from entering the mystic land's boundaries. Her wings wrapped around her like a cloak, protecting her from the wind's slight chill. She turned her head slightly as the sound of footsteps reached her ears from the stairs a few feet behind her.

That was the only movement she made as two humans came up from the castle interior. The human female was elegantly dressed in a blue and violet gown and had a golden circlet around her head, which stood out against her light gray hair. The second was dressed in armor with the faceplate that contained the look of an angry gargoyle pushed back to reveal his face. Both of them stopped behind the gargoyle.

The female placed her hand on the young gargoyle's shoulder.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked gently. Not really wanting to let go of another one of her eggs like she did Angela.

The gargoyle nodded and turned to face them. "Yes Princess Katherine. I am completely sure."

Princess Katherine sighed. "Very well. Tom, you have the spell that the Magus gave you?"

He nodded and held up a piece of paper. "Yes. His instructions are written clearly."

"Then cast it." Princess Katherine ordered taking a few steps back. "Be careful my dear. I can also say your mother would be proud of you if she were here instead of across Avalon. Her dear little girl has grown up."

"Thank you Princess." The gargoyle said. She turned to Tom, bracing herself. "I'm ready."

Tom held the paper in his left hand and stuck out his right with his hand open and palm facing the gargoyle. His hand started to glow as he recited the spell. The silvery blue magic starting to swirl around the gargoyle.

"Become that which you were never to be, only on a full moon like this will you return to the form that is true to thee, as you protect those which become close to you."

The magic swirled faster and faster around the gargoyle, blocking out from view whatever the spell was doing. Then the magic grew in intensity so even Tom had to shield his eyes. Then it was gone as quickly as it had started, leaving the gargoyle in a new form that would help her on her mission.

Manhattan 1997

Grumbling to herself, Elisa Maza finally released an arm to smack the annoying alarm clock into silence. She sat up and officially turned it off before the basted thing decided to announce the time again in about five minutes. She sighed; she needed something a little quieter like an alarm that played a radio station instead of blaring like a fire alarm from her school days. But it was all she could afford at the moment. She made a mental note to ask Matt to help her look for a new one sometime this week when they didn't have anything important to take care of.

Placing it back on the table she got out of bed to change into her normal attire for the evening. She was going to meet Matt outside police headquarters before heading with him to the Eyrie building to see her, well now they were their, Gargoyle friends. It had been two years since their arrival and her friends had finally reclaimed their old home after they and Xanatos had reconciled their past disagreements.

It had been a few months since the incident where Angela and Bronx had been captured by the Quarrymen. She was thankful that Xanatos, whatever his motives at the time, had helped the rest of the gargoyles survive by switching them out with already destroyed statues that he had built himself. Then the clan had gone and rescued both Angela and Bronx a short time afterwards. They still had some problems with the Quarrymen but none as of late. She was also happy that people were starting to accept the gargoyles for who they were. There were still those who didn't want them here but a majority were on their side or neutral on the matter.

Grabbing a quick breakfast for herself and Cagney, she locked up and went downstairs to her car and drove off. She pulled up to the station and Matt motioned for her to come inside.

Elisa got out of her car and went into the station just as a few raindrops from a forecasted rain shower started to fall.

"What is it?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't know. The Chief wants to see you."

Elisa sighed and walked down the hall. The Chief only ever wanted to see her if there was an assignment or to show someone the ropes. Right now, she prayed that it was an assignment. She knocked on the door and a voice came through saying it was okay to enter.

"Ah Maza, good timing." The Chief said, turning in her chair.

"Matt said you wanted to see me?" Elisa asked.

"Yes, there is someone I'd like you to meet." The Chief motioned to someone behind Elisa.

The detective turned and faced the young woman behind her. She was about Elisa's height, if not an inch taller. She had dark blonde that was pulled back into a pony-tail that brushed the back of her shoulders with a little hanging down to frame her face. She had pale skin which made her blue-violet eyes stand out even more than they already did within the graceful but sharp features in her face of high cheekbones and a stubborn chin.

She wore a light blue denim jacket over a green shirt. She also wore jeans that flared at the ends over her hiking boots that to Elisa's eyes looked to be of the steel-toed variety. Elisa saw no jewelry except for three gold bracelets on her right wrist.

"Elisa," the Chief began. "I would like to introduce to you Alexandra Matlari. Newly transferred to the precinct from Scotland when she moved here two years ago."

"I'm pleased to finally meet you Elisa Maza." Alexandra Matlari stated in a beautiful melodious voice as she shook Elisa's hand.

"Same here." Elisa replied in wonderment. She had never heard a voice like that. Even the woman's Scottish accent didn't get in the way of that sound.

"I'd like you and Matt to be partners with her for the time being until I can find someone else." The Chief said.

Elisa nodded. "Alright Chief. But this is the last time."

The Chief laughed. "I know, I know. Now leave, I'm sure you have work to do."

Well, there goes a trip to the Eyrie building. Elisa thought as she held the door for Alexandra. She'd just call over and tell Xanatos that she and Matt couldn't make it tonight.

Elisa looked over at the woman. She didn't look and especially did not sound old enough to be a cop let alone a detective. Unless Scotland had new rules about people joining their police force. She didn't think the woman was telling the truth.

"Excuse me, Miss Matlari?"

She smiled. "Please call me Alexandra, or Alex."

"Okay Alex. I'm not trying to sound rude or anything but how old are you?" Elisa asked.

"I'm twenty-four. Why?" Alex replied.

Elisa shrugged. "No reason." She's just two years younger than me?! Elisa thought. She looks a lot younger than that!

Alex's smile widened. "There is always a reason Elisa. Is it because of how I look? How I speak?"

Elisa glanced at her. "You're more perceptive than you look."

"Thank you. I try to be. Police in Scotland always have to be on their toes. You never know what might pop out during the nighttime hours." Alex explained a playful look in her eyes.

"How do you have a voice like that? I've never heard something like that before come from anyone I know."

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. It's the voice I was born with."

"Ah." Elisa said as they exited the building to join up with Matt.

Matt who was standing by the car did a double take when he saw that Elisa was with someone. She had to hold back a laugh as Matt looked back and forth between her and Alex.

"Is she what the chief wanted to talk to you about?" Matt inquired.

Elisa nodded. "Alex, I'd like you to meet my partner Matt Bluestone. Matt, this is Alexandra Matlari. She just transferred here from Scotland when she moved last year."

"Please, call me Alex."

"Took a year off?" Matt asked.

"Yes. I wanted to get to know the city before I officially joined a police force here."

Matt smiled. "Smart lady. So, where are we off to now?" he asked Elisa.

"We're to show her the ropes. Alex is joining us as a partner until the chief can find someone else for her." Elisa explained.

All three piled into the car and drove off. Elisa and Matt took Alex on a tour throughout Manhattan to show her the area that they constantly patrolled every night. The area didn't really have much crime at most but there were still times when the situations that came up got pretty heavy. They passed through a small part of town where Matt stopped to talk to an old friend of his who ran a grocery store before they continued on down to the docks and warehouse district.

Alex looked out the window of the backseat with amazement as she watched everything go past as they drove. Even in Scotland she had never seen anything like this that was so large and grand. Sure her home had some large cities but nothing like this as she had also grown up in a small area that had a few old castles that dotted the hills surrounding her village that she and her friends used to play in when they were younger before going their separate ways.

She carefully memorized the streets and buildings that she saw. So that if she ever needed to drive the car out of a fire fight she would know where to go. The car turned back onto one of the main roads to head back to the precinct. She turned her head towards the front of the car when it suddenly came to a stop in front of a very large skyscraper of glistening glass and metal that sparkled in the street lights as rain fell down to the street. Alex craned her neck as far as the window would let her but she could still not see the top of the building that reached far above the clouds that hung over the city from the rain that still misted in some parts of the city.

"What's wrong?"

Matt turned to her as he climbed out. "Nothing. I'll take you back to the station Alex."

"What about Elisa?" Alex asked as Matt walked around the car to the driver's side.

"She needs to stop in here to check on someone for a few minutes." Matt explained. "See you later partner!" he shouted at Elisa, who waved back, before he climbed behind the wheel.

Alex turned in her seat in time to watch Elisa enter the tall building. She glanced back at Matt who turned the car back down the road to the station. Where they hiding something from her? She smiled to herself. She should expect something like that since she had just met them tonight. She turned back to face forward, hoping that they would come to trust her in the future with whatever secret they kept with each other.

GGGGGGGGGG

Elisa walked past the guard in the front lobby over to the elevator. The elevator arrived and took Elisa all the way to the top of the skyscraper and into Castle Wyvern. Even though it was modernized in some places the castle still held its elegant historical charm and mystery that came with it when Xanatos had brought in from Scotland two years ago.

She walked across the marble floor to the stairs that led to one of the castle's many rooms. This one room in particular being the nursery to the now six-month-old baby Alexander Xanatos. She found the door open and saw a small green gargoyle playing with the baby. The gargoyle's wings were attached on the underside of his arms to the tops of his legs. His long tail moved back and forth as he dangled a ring of plastic keys above the baby, who was lying down on a blanket. Baby Alex gurgled happily and reached for the keys, trying to grab them as they moved back and forth.

"Hello Lex."

The gargoyle turned. "Elisa!" he gave the keys to the baby and walked over to the detective. "We were wondering where you were. You weren't here when we woke up."

Elisa smiled. "Sorry. I had some business to take care of." She looked back at the baby. "Playing babysitter?"

Lexington rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah. Fox and Xanatos are out for the evening and Owen has something else to take care of at the moment so…"

"I understand. Where are the others?"

"Up in the common area. Where Owen took you on your first night here."

Elisa smiled at the memory. "I remember, it stands in front of the room with the throne and the Magus' book right?"

Lex nodded.

"Alright, I'll see you later then. Have fun."

Elisa turned and left the room. Everyone had grown quite fond of the baby since the gargoyles had moved back in but that was especially true for Lexington. She climbed the stairs and arrived at an archway that led to the common area. She looked out at the city. The view from the castle was one thing she never got tired of.

She found Goliath and the others in front of the glass windows that led into the elegant room that held the old magic book from their time that was wielded by the Magus before he had to give it up to go to Avalon with Princess Katherine and Tom. They had though the book had been destroyed when the Archmage lost his power but the book had mysteriously reappeared in the room that it had previously been in when she, Hudson, and Broadway had taken it before they found the Clock tower.

As she approached Broadway, Angela, and Hudson took off from the castle for the nightly patrol. Bronx watched them go, whining in the back of his throat as he was once more forced to stay behind at the castle. He didn't mind much, since the castle had a lot more room than the Clock tower but he still enjoyed going out among the city for patrol to stretch his legs more. He turned his head as footsteps reached his ears and he ran over to Elisa as she came out of the shadows.

"Hey Bronx." She said, petting him on the head as he licked her hand.

"We were worried. You weren't here." Goliath said.

She smiled apologetically. "I know, Lex told me. I'm sorry but the something came up that the Chief needed Matt and I to do first."

"What was it?" Brooklyn asked as he folded his wings.

"A new detective transferred to the precinct. She just started working there after taking a year off to get used to the city. She had moved here from Scotland last May."

"What's her name?" the red gargoyle asked.

"Her name is Alexandra Matlari. She's a little taller than me and speaks English pretty well. Though her accent is quite noticeable." Elisa explained.

"Accent?" Goliath asked.

"Yes. When people grow up in a different country or even a different part of the same country and then move elsewhere in the world they have what we call an accent. Like when Tom came here looking for us. He had an accent, you probably wouldn't have noticed as you guys grew up in Scotland but I could tell he was from that area from how he spoke."

"Can this, accent, be detected easily?"

Elisa shook her head. "Not really unless you know what to look for. Accents change with time, sometimes you gain one sometimes you lose one. It depends on where you are. Even when you live in one place for a long time you may not even develop an accent. I guess it just depends on the person you meet."

"I see. Is this new detective assigned to be a new partner for you and Matt?"

"Until the Chief can find another partner for her yes. So it may just be me or just Matt who comes here for awhile."

"Will she know about us?" Brooklyn asked.

"I'm hoping that she won't be with us that long Brooklyn." Elisa explained. "Only if something came up that I couldn't change would I have to tell her about you."

Goliath nodded. "That is good enough for now. I hope though that she turns out to be someone that we can trust Elisa."

"Me too Goliath. Me too."

GGGGGGGGGG

Elisa got back to the precinct a short time later just after sunrise. To her surprise she found not only Matt but Alex waiting for her as well. Both were sitting on the steps talking to one another as she approached. Elisa's bright red car was sitting on the street in front of them.

"So, how long have you two been here?" Elisa asked.

"Just talking. We finished the patrol and came back here and I asked Matt where he had started in the force and so on. I guess we lost track of time." Alex explained as she stifled a yawn.

"Ah. Anything happen last night?"

Matt shook his head. "No not really. All quiet."

"Do you have somewhere to stay Alex?" Elisa asked.

The Scottish woman looked up. "What? Oh, no not really. I was rooming with a friend but I promised her that I would find something closer to work once I found out if I got the job or not."

"Well in that case you could stay at my place if you want. I have an extra bedroom that you could use for awhile until you find something."

Alex's face brightened. "Really! Oh, thank you Elisa! I'd be most grateful, I promise I'll pay you back."

Elisa smiled. "It's alright. Do you have anything to bring with you? Or just what you have on now?"

"No, my bags are inside in the Chief's office. I'll go and get them." Alex called over her shoulder before disappearing into the building.

Matt turned to his partner. "How'd it go with the others?"

"They're doing fine. Goliath was worried when I didn't show but I explained what happened so not hard feelings. Lex has also taken up babysitting."

"Babysitting?" Matt asked in disbelief.

"Yes. He was looking after baby Alex when I arrived. Fox and Xanatos had gone out for the evening."

Matt rubbed the back of his head. "Are you sure it's alright having her in your home? I mean what if they pop by one night and see her? More importantly what if she sees them? You're going to have a lot of explaining to do."

Elisa laughed. "Don't worry. I told Goliath that I might take her in. I promised to tell him tonight if I did or not so that they'd know whether to come by or not. They still can, I'd just have to talk to them on my balcony."

"Alright. As long as you're sure."

"So, did you find anything out about her?"

"Well, you know she just moved here. She served on the police force in Scotland for four years." Matt started.

"Four years?" Elisa interrupted. "She barely looks like she's out of college!"

"I know," Matt said. "She graduated college at the age of twenty. She's exceptionally bright. She had lived with her Aunt and Uncle before going off to college and then making her own way in a city afterwards."

"No parents?"

"No. Alex told me she never knew her father and her mother disappeared under mysterious circumstances. So she was raised by relatives ever since but she has been researching about what happened to her mother to try and see if she could find her one day."

"I'll be happy for her when she does. Just put them in the trunk Alex. Here let me get if for you." Elisa said as the woman reappeared from the building with three duffle bags and a rolling suitcase that had one duffle bag strapped onto it.

Alex deposited the bags into the trunk and closed it. She said goodbye to Matt and climbed into the car as Elisa also said goodnight to her partner before driving off.

……………….

The creature watched as the red car made its way down the street before turning onto another to head home. He growled in its throat for having missed its chance to go down and grab its target. If only those other two humans had left her alone for just a few moments then he wouldn't have to continue to sit up here for another night to try again.

He watched as the sun came up. The warm, golden rays hit his skin and began to burn it until he changed into one of his other forms that he had come to possess over the several millennia that he had lived. He brushed a piece of hair out of his eyes as the calm wind picked up in speed to indicate an approaching storm that was still several miles away but would probably hit the city that night. He growled again, he hated water no matter what form it came in.

Adjusting his jacket he walked stiffly on the two legs he now had to the door on top of the roof that led to the building's interior. His now blue eyes flashing to their original red as he spotted a potential meal for himself wandering just a few floors below. At least he would have something to tide him over until he could begin his real hunt once more. A hunt, which he was eagerly awaiting the start of to possess the one thing that had continually fled his grasp… until now.