AN: There seems to be ten or so readers consistently following this story, so I wanted to let you know that I won't be updating for a while. I am taking my children on a three-week camping trip, where I won't have reliable internet service, even if I find the time to write, which I probably won't as I will be spending all waking hours keeping them from drowning, falling off cliffs, luring bears in to the campsite, picking up snakes, and setting themselves on fire. I wanted to let you know so no one thinks I've abandoned this story. It's actually outlined until the end and when we come back, I should have several weeks of kids staring at the television in the air conditioning, affording me plenty of writing hours. Anyway, I hope you enjoy and I would love some more reviews!

PS- I received a PM from a reader regarding Demona's knowledge that Puck and Owen are the same. That reader presented a compelling argument that it was the intention in the original show that Demona was aware that Puck and Owen were the same. (I mean "compelling" too. There were citations involved! Nice work!) I never picked that up myself when I was watching the show and while I have to admit, that reader almost has me convinced that was the original creator's intention, I still say it was not explicitly stated and the "clues" could all be explained in other ways, so I'm sticking with my original story here. In my version, Demona has noticed something odd about Owen and is suspicious of him, but is not yet aware that he is Puck or that Puck was/is basically working for Xanatos. I feel like that take goes along with the rest of my story, because, as most of you have probably noticed, there is a lot going on in the fairy world that Demona hasn't managed to pick up on, despite it going on right in her face. This is a pretty crucial detail of the plot, so I thought it best to clarify. Thanks for reading my ramble! Anyway, off I go to enjoy the wilderness!

"Where were you?" Goliath demanded, using a far more aggressive voice than he'd intended. It had only been a short while since they had awakened, but Demona and Luach's late arrival had unnerved him greatly. Demona's eyes narrowed at the discourteous greeting.

"I was taking a nap," she informed him curtly.

"Did you get in touch with Macbeth?" Lexington asked in a hopeful tone.

"I did not," she admitted, "But I did get in touch with Xanantos' little servant, Owen Burnett, and he says he's on the task of letting Macbeth know I wish to speak with him."

"Then what do we do now?" Linnet asked, "Do we wait even longer?"

"No. We start for Avalon," Demona declared, "And then we leave Avalon and hope it takes us to Macbeth whether he knows we're coming or not."

The others agreed and boarded the skiff and the new boat they had fashioned the night before. Linnet, Blaze, and Thorn quickly crowded into the boat with Lexington. They'd grown impressed with him, his technology, and all the stories he had to tell them about his life and how he and the others had awakened in a great city and a new age. Quietly, Luach slipped in among them, despite there being more room in the other boat.

"Do you always ask this many questions?" Lexington asked Linnet with a growing tone of exasperation.

"Aye, I'm afraid I do!" she confessed, laughing loudly at her own flaw.

Her brothers chuckled knowingly as well.

"T'is a bit vexing at times, but after all, sometimes the only way to learn is to ask! T'is the reason our sister is so clever!," Blaze explained fondly.

"Aye, and that's not the only benefit! We're pretty certain that's how we survived the Viking attack that destroyed our parents," Thorn continued, "We were but wee hatchlings and asleep in our stone forms, so the greedy raiders thought they'd carry us off, back to their own land and sell us! But we woke at sunset and our dear sister here started in with the questions. She tormented those wicked, kidnapping marauders so much, they thought the better of it and let us go!"

The other two joined in the laughter and even Lexington smiled at the joke.

"I promise to be quiet, if you'll keep telling us stories, Lexington," Linnet pleaded, her sweet eyes wide and hopeful.

"Aye! Tell us more about the island of Manhattan. We'll want to know everything in case we should ever get to see it ourselves!' Blaze asked earnestly.

"You won't!" Demona interjected loudly from the skiff, where she was packing the provisions she had bought in the hold.

"Of course not, my Leader!" Blaze replied immediately, then whispered to Lexington, "Just tell us a wee bit quieter, my friend."

In the skiff, Ophelia settled herself on the deck, right at Goliath's feet.

"I'm sure they'd feel at home in New York," Ophelia remarked hesitantly, but Demona shot her a dark look over her shoulder as she used the oar to punt them away from the shore, which caused Ophelia to abandon that tactic.

"It's a tragedy that our homeland is no longer suitable for us," Demona muttered as she thought of the sounds of the wind and the waves on the cliffside, as well as the strange beauty of the sunlit moor which she had seen for the first time, "It was a beautiful home. I miss it terribly."

"Why did you ever leave it?" Ophelia asked and Demona shook her head sadly.

"To get away from the Hunters," she explained, "Even after three generations, they would not leave me alone, so I fled throughout Europe, seeking safety in the cities, in the mountains, in the forest, anywhere I thought I could get away. Everywhere I went, they followed me. Whether I successfully avoided conflict with a generation of them by hiding away, or killed them when they attacked me, it mattered not. The next generation always continued the hunt."

"Is that why you traveled across the sea?" Goliath asked, finding himself suddenly interested. He wondered why he had never thought to ask her such questions before.

"No. It was the warring humans that ultimately chased me away to America. Their weapons became more and more destructive and it got to a point where any time I landed on a building to sleep, I risked awakening amid a pile of rubble. I decided that I needed more space."

"And you thought New York City was the place to get it?" Goliath asked incredulously, causing her to cast him a disgusted sneer.

"Of course not! I would have happily gone through my whole life without ever approaching that human-made hellhole! But I found a comfortable place for myself further north, along the rocky Atlantic coast. It reminded me of home, and I was able to live in relative peace and practically avoid the humans entirely. I suppose I should have continued doing so and I might have avoided a great deal of trouble."

"What do you mean? What did you do to the humans?" Ophelia asked. Demona sighed, clearly displeased at being asked to admit her own folly, but she told them,

"I had a set of books, in ancient Greek, that I truly wished to read. I couldn't translate them myself, so I arranged for an advertisement in local newspapers, looking for someone who could translate it, for a very generous fee. I was contacted by someone who claimed to be a Greek scholar with an interest in folklore, and after a few correspondences through the mail, and checking the references he sent me, I decided to hire him. I took the books and left them at the address provided. I promised the money would be exchanged once the scholar delivered the original books and translations to a nearby address. The scholar was required to swear secrecy about the contents of the books."

Demona glanced over at Goliath hesitantly. She suspected a torrent of red-hot judgment was about to come her way, but she had already started and she reckoned she might as well finish the tale.

"Of course, I never intended to let the man live. Once he knew the contents of the books, he would be too dangerous. I guarded the scholar's house each night, anxious to ensure that he was still translating and not sharing his work with anyone. I became frustrated by the fact that I never saw any sign of the man in the house or coming or going for that matter. I left him many messages and he always replied, promising that the work was nearly done. Finally, he agreed to meet me at the address I gave him, and I waited for him, fully intending to quickly end his existence and take my books home." She looked at Goliath again and found him gazing sadly out at the horizon. Her heart ached at the confirmation of his disappointment in her. Ophelia looked equally disgusted at Demona's intentions, but as she was still equally enthralled by the story, she asked,

"What happened? Did the man come and bring the translations?"

"Oh, he came," Demona assured them, "But it turned out that the scholar I had hired wasn't a man at all!"

"What was he?" they asked in unison and Demona sneered again.

"An extremely resourceful, deceptive, opportunistic, and incorrigible twelve-year-old boy."

"Oh, Adelpha!" Ophelia cried, "Surely you didn't murder a child!"

"No," she replied emotionlessly, "I did not. I suppose I didn't have it in me to kill a young boy, even if I should have known what he would grow to become."

Goliath and Ophelia both looked very relieved to hear that she had spared an innocent boy and Demona shook her head again.

"Do not nominate me for sainthood yet," she warned, "It's true I wasn't prepared murder a child in cold blood, not even one who had successfully deceived me, but neither could I risk letting him go. I kept him close, employing him to run errands and interact with adult humans on my behalf. His mother was dead and his father, far too busy to be bothered to spare a moment's attention toward his son. Had he been less neglectful, perhaps he would have noticed that he had a rather unusual boy indeed. He was a clever, talented, and ambitious child, and quickly grew to be a very competent lackey. I admit, I was amazed by some of the tasks he was able to accomplish with little more than pure ingenuity and nerve. He was strong enough to defend himself at night on the street, and charming enough to wheedle his way past most humans to get whatever we wanted. I trusted him with more and more and he worked his way from reliable errand boy to formidable henchman as he began to assist in more complex matters of mischief. But the longer he served me, the more apparent it became that he knew too much and was quickly becoming a threat."

"So, you waited to kill him until he was no longer of use to you?" Goliath summarized sadly.

"No," she denied with an edge of frustration, "It so happens that I did not kill him at all. But one night I sent him to run an errand, and he never returned. I thought perhaps he'd been caught by the police or even the Hunter, but he had absconded with some of my valuables and ran away to New York City, where I had to track him down to get him back."

"That's how you came to New York?" Ophelia asked.

"Exactly so."

"And you never killed the boy?" Goliath asked hesitantly, "Even after he defied you?"

"Never."

Goliath looked genuinely relieved to hear that there was some limit to the evil she had been willing to commit.

"I'm glad, Adelpha," he told her, as he watched the swirling fog that scattered and dimmed the lights of their lanterns, "I really am very glad to hear that."

"You should be glad," she informed him matter of factly, "If I had not spared that boy, and he had not lived to grow into a man, you would most certainly still be frozen in sleep."

Her words caught him off guard, and he tore his gaze away from the water to meet her expressionless eyes.

"The boy was Xanatos?" he realized softly.

"Who else?"

Goliath fell silent as he seemed to contemplate this new information, but Ophelia continued to ask questions.

"Why did you stay in New York, if you hated it so much?"

"To save the last of my clan, of course," she replied, and then it was she that fell silent, and would not answer any more of Ophelia's questions. Her eyes became cold and unseeing as the two boats drifted through the mists, no doubt remembering years of insanity, violence, and rage. Ophelia looked from Demona's emotionless gaze to Goliath with great concern.

"Adelpha?" Goliath asked gently, "Are you alright?"

"No," she said with a sigh, "But there's nothing at all to be done for it. At any rate, I would love to be able to return to Scotland, if we could live there in peace. I have no love for Manhattan, or America in general. My daughter is the only thing there that means anything to me now."

"Surely, Angela isn't the only thing you'd miss?" Goliath suggested. She seemed to consider this proposition, and finally replied,

"Fireflies."

"What?" Ophelia asked.

"They are little insects that glow in the night. You don't see much of them in the city, but if you go to the forests at the right time, they are quite lovely. Xanatos once took me to a place deep in a forested park that had thousands and thousands of them, all illuminating at the same moment. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen."

Goliath watched her face as she spoke and noted the hints of passion there.

"I wished for you to see it someday, Goliath. You should ask Xanatos where it was, once this is all over. You ought to see it for yourself."

"I would love to see it too," Ophelia said softly, looking up at Goliath, but he didn't respond and he appeared too lost in thought to even pay attention. The voyage seemed to take longer than expected, and the thick fog encased them so that they couldn't even see the other boat, except for the lantern that hung from it. But at last, they felt a sudden pull, as if they were on a great fish that was being reeled in, and they sped through the light waves as if being drawn by some sort of magical force.

Moments later, the fog cleared and Avalon was revealed to them again. There was no need for them to row anymore. The power of the island drew them straight to the beach below Oberon's palace, where they could see the gargoyle honor guard had already spied their approach and were quickly gathering to greet them.

"Returned already, have you?" Tom the Guardian called jovially as Ophelia quickly disembarked and ran to throw her arms around her adoptive father.

"I'm afraid we can't stay long though," Goliath informed him, "The next length of our journey awaits us. Still, it is good to see you, my friends!"

"Speaking of friends?" Stephen suggested as he gestured toward the dumbfounded trio of new gargoyles in the second boat. Goliath made quick introductions for them and, to Goliath's concern, they all quickly came ashore to socialize with the new clan. Goliath glanced frustratedly at Demona, who he had expected to be equally annoyed at the loss of time, but he was surprised to find her looking quite pleased with the introduction. He realized that this kind of interaction was precisely what she had hoped for, and with any luck, her three warriors would quickly make friends and wish to stay on Avalon with the other young gargoyles.

On one hand, Goliath could see the wisdom of this plan, but part of him was troubled as well. The clan's children had been hatched on Avalon and it was all they knew, but these three had lived in the world their whole lives. Goliath knew that it was in a gargoyle's nature to protect, and he suspected that these three would never truly be happy on Avalon. He also knew there was no use in trying to explain this to Demona. He could only hope that her desire to keep them together would win out over this plan to leave them on Avalon.

Goliath had just stepped out of the skiff onto the sandy beach to reluctantly join the others when they were all blinded by a sudden flash of light and a sound like a horrible screech. When they had regained their senses, they discovered the horrific sight of the three enraged Weird Sisters, floating above them menacingly.

"Were you not warned?!" one of them screamed in fury, causing the gargoyles to look about in confusion, having no idea who or what she referred to.

Princess Katherine retorted bravely, "We might ask you the same! Did Lord Oberon not vow that none of your kind would harass us?"

"We have no quarrel with you, Princess," the second sister replied bitterly, "But we are here to claim what belongs to us!"

The three fairies descended upon the boat where Demona now stood, glaring at them with suspicious defiance.

"What do you want now?" she demanded.

"We told you not to speak to any other of our kind," the first sister scolded her, "We won't have any others making claims on you."

"We may not be free to leave Avalon to retrieve you from the mortal world, but when you willingly come into our realm, we have the power to keep you here forever."

"No!" Luach shouted from behind her, and the three turned on him.

"What business have you on Avalon, Luach, Son of Macbeth?" the third sister bellowed, "Be warned, mortals aren't welcome here and we will punish men who invade our home and meddle in our affairs!" With that, they summoned a blast of energy that sent Luach flailing backward over the edge of the skiff and into a heap on the deck.

"Leave him be!" Demona snarled, posing to fight.

"We mean to," said the second sister, "It is you we come for."

"But why?" Goliath asked in exasperation, "What reason have you to take her from her clan?"

"She is our child now," the first sister explained, "We took her as our possession centuries ago and the magic we've placed on her is eternally binding. It is by our power alone that she lives. We write her fate now. She is of your clan no longer. She belongs to us."

"Your child? But you don't even care for her! You've left her alone, suffering for centuries. You've only stepped in to manipulate her when it served your own heartless purposes. She is nothing to you! What could you possibly want her for?" Goliath protested, his anger rising higher than his ability to remain diplomatic.

"It is enough that she is ours and she pleases us," the third sister said dismissively, "And we will have her."

"That's what you think!" Blaze shouted, and he and his rookery siblings began to lift large rocks that they pulled from the sands and throw them at the sisters, hitting them several times before the three fairies screamed in rage and returned fire with a mass of their power, which caused the ground around each of the three to become like the watery-soil of a bog. Each of them sunk down below the sand.

"No!" Demona screamed, leaping in the air to grab the closest of sisters, who merely disappeared as she tried in vain to tackle her. The other gargoyles rushed to the aid of the trio, just as their heads disappeared beneath the sand. They dug frantically, but could not seem to reach them fast enough.

"Please!" Demona cried in pain, "Release them!"

"You will heed us or they will die," the second sister threatened angrily.

"Take me then," she cried, "But spare them."

The first sister gestured toward the place in the sand where they'd disappeared, and the earth opened and they reemerged on the beach, gasping and panting for breath. The other gargoyles rushed to comfort them while the Weird Sisters sent a beam of energy through Demona that filled her eyes with emptiness and stilled her body as if she were frozen.

Goliath called to her, but she was unable to answer. At the same time, several of the Avalon clan began to launch spears with iron tips at the Weird Sisters. Enraged, the Weird Sisters returned fire on them though they were distracted enough that Goliath was able to approach Demona and try to free her from the Weird Sisters' captivity. Catching him in the act, the third sister bitterly redirected a spear flung at her and hit and pierced Goliath just below his right shoulder. Goliath roared in pain and rage as blood poured from his breast.

"Stop this!" the princess cried furiously, "You've no right to take her and you disobey Lord Oberon's command."

As the princess' protests drew the attention of the sisters for a moment, Luach managed to regain his senses and pulled out the very long, iron chain that had been given to them on Bain Felix. Quickly, Luach hauled the long coils out of the boat and brought it to where Demona stood, enslaved and hypnotized, and formed it into a protective circle around her, hoping to shield her from their powers.

"Demona?" he cried frantically as he wound the chain, horrified by the dull glow in her nearly lifeless eyes, "Can you not hear me?"

"Mortal, you will regret this meddling!" screamed the second sister as all three sent a simultaneous blast of their power toward Luach, who screamed in pain as his entire body was encased in a strange, green flame. He fell to the ground, trying in vain to smother it, while several of the gargoyles ran to assist him.

"Lord Oberon!" the princess cried, "Your subjects attack us! Please come to our aid!"

"We attack you?" the first sister repeated in a mocking tone, "You keep from us what is rightfully ours! That creature is bound and indebted to us. Surrender her and you will know no more trouble from us!"

"Never!" Goliath roared at her, his voice still powerful though his wound was great, "We will not surrender our sister!"

"Then let your defiance be on your own heads!" the first sister shrieked, as they raised their hands to cast another devastating spell.

"And my wrath will come down on yours!" thundered the voice of Lord Oberon, the great fairy king, who silenced the battle as he appeared before them in a storm of violent wind.