Xanatos and Fox were ripped from their sleep by the klaxon sounding in their bedroom.
"What is that fucking sound?" Fox said groggily as she sat up.
"The security system. I'll check it out," Xanatos said as he threw off the covers, and left their bed.
Fox immediately got up and slipped on a robe as she rushed to Alex's room, while Xanatos ran down the hall to his office without bothering to put on anything other than what he was sleeping in, which wasn't much. He hit a few keystrokes at his computer and the wall of monitors switched on and displayed live feeds of various areas of the castle's interior and exterior. He watched as his Iron Clan robots pursued Coldstone around the sky above the castle. Mysteriously, he hadn't deployed his robots, so something else had triggered the security system. He replayed the video to before the Iron Clan were deployed, and carefully studied it. Coldstone and Coldfire returned home, and then the robots attacked, seemingly unprovoked. But something caught his eye, and he rewound the video and watched it again.
It was hard to see, but there was a shadow of a figure near the Cold Duo. It was slight, the size of a teen or a petite woman, but its silhouette had additional appendages under its arms, like it had a second set.
Or like the arms of Lexington's wings, he noted.
The Iron Clan seemed to be targeting that figure until Coldstone shot and destroyed one of the Iron Clan, which caused the others to retaliate against the new threat according to their programming.
But why had they attacked in the first place?
Owen, already dressed and ready for the day, entered his office. Given the alarm, he knew he would be needed.
"The first level of the Oberon Protocol has been triggered," he stated calmly.
"I can see that, but what triggered it?" Xanatos said. "The Iron Clan are going after the gargoyles, not one of the Children."
Fox walked into the office holding a very sleepy Alex who was rubbing his eyes with his marshmallowy toddler fists and immediately keyed in on the events unfolding on the monitors.
"Why did you order your robots to attack the gargoyles?" she asked loudly, making sure she was heard over the alarm system. There wasn't any judgment in her tone, only curiosity, and perhaps disappointment that she wasn't let in on the plan.
"I didn't," Xanatos replied calmly. "Something triggered the defense system."
He entered a few commands, but the system ignored them.
"I can't turn the system off," he said to Owen.
"That is because something triggered the protocol instead of initiating it manually. There is a failsafe that won't allow you to turn it off from here," Owen replied.
"How do we shut it off then?" Xanatos asked.
"The only way is to go down to the docking station in the lower level where the Steel Clan is stored. There's a manual override switch there."
They watched as one of the robots crash landed into the main courtyard, while simultaneously hearing and feeling the impact in real-time.
"Fox, you and Alex should use the safe room until we figure out what's going on with the system," Xanatos instructed his wife.
"I'm not afraid—" she started defiantly.
"I know you're not, but please, think of Alex," Xanatos said. "If it's Oberon again, we need to protect him."
Fox took in a deep, anxious breath at that thought and then nodded.
"I'll come for you when I'm certain it's safe," Xanatos reassured her.
Fox lifted a painting off the wall that revealed a keypad and retinal scanner. She punched in a numerical code and put her eye against the scanner, then a door opened that until that point had been flush with the wall. She stepped inside with their son, reluctantly shutting it closed behind her. The electromagnetic locks slid into place with a loud click, and then the wall appeared perfectly smooth and unbroken once more.
The safe room was specially lined with iron. It was bullet proof, fireproof, and—most importantly—fae proof. Because Fox and Alex were not fully fae, they could both be in the safe room for a while without feeling any ill effects from the iron. Owen, however, could not cross the threshold without feeling ill, nor could he access it by force with magic.
"Are any of the other protocols in place?" Xanatos asked.
"The drones set to deploy iron nanobots are ready, but they are a one-time-use only option. They oxidize and become useless too quickly. Best to be saved as a last resort," Owen explained.
Xanatos nodded and tapped a panel on the wall that opened to reveal another hidden compartment that contained several high-tech weapons. He grabbed one of the larger blasters.
"Let's go," he said to his assistant.
Then he and Owen went to the elevator to investigate the lower level of the castle.
...
...
After hearing the laser fire, Goliath and the others ran out to the courtyard where they witnessed Coldstone and Coldfire fighting with the Iron Clan robots in the sky over the castle. One of the robots was already lying in ruins in the courtyard.
"Xanatos!" Goliath bellowed in rage as he watched his rookery brother and sister grappling with the billionaire's creations far above.
Brooklyn automatically reached for his rifle over his right shoulder and growled when he remembered it was still missing, along with his armor.
"Now would be a good time to tell me where all of my stolen stuff is, Broadway," Brooklyn growled at his brother.
"For the last time, I don't know where your stuff is!" Broadway replied angrily.
"Put aside your petty squabbles," Goliath snapped at the pair. "Right now our clanmates need our aid."
Nashville, who had heard the alarm and fled the TV room in search of trouble, dashed out into the courtyard.
"What's going on?" he demanded.
"Gnash, take the egg and the beasts and go wait in the rookery," Brooklyn ordered his son, as he thrust the egg into his arms.
"But—"
"No arguments, just go!" Brooklyn ordered.
Nashville glared at him angrily but then reluctantly did as he was told.
"Come on boys," he said to Bronx and Fu-Dog who followed after him, happy to go where the egg went.
The five remaining gargoyles then climbed the castle walls to gain a greater height from which to launch, and then they took to the skies to help their kin and take down Xanatos's Iron Clan.
Goliath caught up to the first robot pursuing his rookery brother. Coldfire was trying to distract it by raking it with her flamethrowers. They didn't do much against the heavy iron construct, but at least she got its attention. The robot turned and fired at her. She whirled, rolled, and dodged its laser blasts, though one managed to get past her defenses to strike her in the shoulder, setting off her pain receptors and informing her of the injury.
Coldstone circled the castle's tallest tower, trying to place it between him and the robot. Goliath saw his chance and barreled into the side of the Iron Clan robot, plowing it forcefully against the tower. His tower. The structure rocked at the blow, sustaining damage from the impact. A few stones came loose and fell to the ground along with the robot as it crash landed into the courtyard below, joining its companion in a smoking ruin of rubble. Goliath felt some regret about the damage, but if Xanatos was trying to kill them, he would gladly push aside any qualms he had about the destruction he caused to the man's legal property, even if it was their home.
"Thank you for your aid, brother," Coldfire said as she flew in alongside him.
"We could never stand idly by when one of our own is in danger," he replied.
Then they both returned to the pursuit of the remaining two robots that were hellbent on taking out Coldstone.
...
...
Xanatos and Owen exited the elevator to a lower level of the castle. The corridor led directly to the room where the Steel and Iron Clan robots were normally stored.
The access panel where Xanatos would have placed his palm was hanging askew from the wall and blackened with scorch marks from laser fire, and the door had been blasted and forced open. Xanatos gave his assistant a look before cautiously entering the room with his blaster up and ready.
He did a quick sweep of the room but found nothing. The room was empty, save for the four regular Steel Clan robots who were standing motionless in stasis. The other charging stations that housed the Iron Clan robots were empty. The large bay doors were open to the sky, and the wind as well as the pre-dawn light, streamed in through it.
Xanatos made his way to the computer terminal. He attempted once more to recall the Iron Clan robots, but when that failed, Owen went to the wall where the charging stations were mounted and hit a red button that had warnings in bright red letters stamped all around it.
"What does that do?" Xanatos asked.
"It sends out a kill code that overrides the operating systems of the Iron Clan and Steel Clan Robots. It wipes out all other commands and directs them back to their base. Unfortunately, I'll have to reprogram each robot after executing the code, but the Iron Clan should stop attacking the clan and return here."
"Owen, I need an explanation here—what the hell is going on in the castle? Is this Oberon's work? Is it the gargoyles? Or something else?" Xanatos asked.
"Honestly, sir, I don't know," Owen replied. "This is not Oberon's style, and yet, I cannot help but wonder whether he ordered one of his Children to cause havoc."
"Why now?" Xanatos growled.
"You may not be a vengeful man, sir, but Oberon has more than enough pride to spare. He could be trying to save face for his humiliations last summer."
"And you can't do anything about it?"
"Unless Alex is directly endangered, I cannot, and our lessons together have brought up nothing."
Xanatos ground his jaw slightly as the two looked out of the bay and waited.
...
...
Brooklyn and Katana swooped in front of one of the two remaining robots that had been pursuing Coldstone and Coldfire to try and gain its attention, but they both quickly found that the robots didn't seem to be interested in them. Brooklyn couldn't help but feel that they would be a lot easier and quicker to deal with if he had his swords and guns. He knew they could still take them out, though. They had before.
The less agile and heavier Iron Clan robots could not move as quickly as they did, so he quickly did a backwards roll and landed on the robot's back hoping to steer it toward one of the walls of the castle or down to the ground, but the robot immediately spun like a crocodile in a death roll, casting him off before he could do anything,
After watching her mate's failed attempt, Katana knew better than to physically intervene. She did not have the sheer mass and strength that Goliath did to forcefully redirect the robot's course, but as she watched Coldstone continue to swoop and dive to evade the robots' fire, an idea came to her. She swiftly caught up to the reanimated gargoyle and got his attention.
"I have a plan. Follow me," she said.
She turned back toward the castle, and Coldstone followed without hesitation, which surprised her a little. Then she dove rapidly, plummeting toward the castle grounds. Coldstone tried to keep up—he was not nearly as fast as her, but he did his best. Just before Katana risked colliding with the castle's grounds, she pulled up out of the dive and slipped through an archway between two of the courtyards, swift and agile as a falcon. Coldstone barely managed to follow her, nearly colliding with the archway himself. The Iron Clan robot managed to pull up out of the dive, but it was heavier and more cumbersome, and it could not correct its path before plowing into the top of the archway then crashing headfirst into the castle stones and earthen floor, ripping up the ground along the way, finally stopping in a heap of crushed iron and rubble as the archway collapsed behind it.
One to go, Katana thought to herself as the last remaining robot narrowly managed to avoid the same fate as the other robot and continued its pursuit of Coldstone.
"Nice work, babe," Brooklyn said as he glided up alongside his mate and gave her a cocky grin.
Katana offered him a brief smug smile before turning to pursue the final robot, but Angela and Broadway beat her to it as they pummeled the robot from above with stones from the collapsed archway.
The pair had learned from past experience that directly attacking any of the Steel or Iron Clan robots was a bad idea. Any attempt to pry off the head or wings resulted in an electric shock that incapacitated the attacker. Noticing some of the rubble in the courtyard, Broadway had grabbed a particularly large piece of stone that had broken away from the archway when it collapsed, and Angela followed suit and picked up her own large stone. They swiftly carried their primitive weapons into the sky, which they intended to rain down upon the last remaining robot.
The constant threat of laser fire had prevented Coldstone from going on the defensive, but it was not paying attention to the young pair. But before Broadway and Angela could act, Nashville came hurtling through the sky, a wooden kendo sword in his hands, and aiming right for the robot.
"Gnash! Stop!" Broadway shouted, but either it was too late, or the young gargoyle ignored them, and he thrust his kendo sword forward and into the Iron Clan robot.
Although it was a wooden sword wielded by a child, it was a gargoyle child who held the weapon, and the robot jerked as the kendo sword passed through a gap in its armor between the neck and shoulder. But sword fighting requires close proximity, and Nashville was now in range of the robot who grabbed a hold of him with its arms and released an electric current into his body. Nashville went rigid, his eyes and mouth wide with fright and pain, unable to scream or break free as every muscle in his body seized from electric shock.
Broadway quickly caught up to the pair as they veered beyond the grounds of the castle and then smashed his chunk of the castle stone viciously into the robot, grotesquely denting in the side of its head. The robots were designed to closely resemble Goliath, so watching his metal doppelganger's face crumple under the force of the impact made Broadway feel a little sick to his stomach. But it had the desired effect, and the robot released its hold on Nashville, freeing him from one danger but putting him immediately into another as the young gargoyle plummeted… not toward the castle grounds, but into open sky and down toward the streets below.
"Gnash!" Angela cried, and she dropped her stone and dove to catch him.
Unconscious, the adolescent gargoyle fell toward the streets of Manhattan, the iron and glass building streaked past him in a blur. Angela folded her wings closer to her body to gain more speed as she strained to catch him. The wind whipped at her skin and stung her eyes, but she carved through the air until her outstretched arms wrapped around Nashville's body. In one fluid motion, she unfurled her wings like sails, catching the air, and lifting them both safely back up.
Katana met them halfway. She had been too far away to save her own child and watched in horror as he fell. Her relief to see him safely in Angela's arms was almost eclipsed by her remorse. If it weren't for Angela's intervention, Katana could have lost both of her children tonight. First by saving the egg from the freezer, and now her son from a fall that would have surely killed him. She had been so distraught by what had happened with the egg, so afraid, that she had taken it out on Angela. She had struck her, fought with her, hurt her, and she felt so ashamed of herself. She wasn't even sure why she had acted out so savagely other than the fact that her emotions were so tangled up with the horrible dreams that she'd been having. They'd leached out and gotten the better of her, and she had jumped to the worst conclusions. Even if Angela's reactions before hadn't been entirely mature, she should have been the better person. If her own mothers and fathers were around, they would have taken her to task for such behavior toward a friend. Toward family.
"Arigato, Angela," Katana whispered in her native tongue, her voice thick with tears as she clutched her son to her body. "Domo arigato gozaimasu."
Angela placed a gentle, forgiving hand on her arm as they rose back up to the castle.
The Iron Clan robot was still there, bobbing slightly due to its broken head, the kendo sword still protruding from its shoulder. But it was no longer attacking. Everyone watched it warily, wondering what it would do next, when its thrusters kicked in, and it suddenly made its way wobbly back to the castle, ceasing its pursuit of them entirely.
With the Iron Clan now out of commission or in retreat, the clan landed safely on the green space outside of the main keep of the castle, and took stock.
"I think that's all of them," Broadway said a little breathlessly.
Nashville recovered from the Iron Clan robot's attack and started to rouse in his mother's arms. Before she could even assess his injuries, he struggled against her, and insisted on being put down.
After realizing her child was mostly unharmed, Katana's relief turned into anger.
"What were you thinking, Nashville!" she shouted. "You were nearly killed!"
"We told you to stay with the egg!" Brooklyn added sternly.
"You always tell me to look after the egg! I'm not a hatchling! I stopped the robot!"
"And nearly killed yourself in the process!" Brooklyn shouted.
As if to punctuate Brooklyn's statement, a loud explosion from below rocked the castle, and they all froze momentarily, stunned and wondering if the last Iron Clan robot had exploded, or if this was some new threat.
"Where is the egg?" Brooklyn asked his son, alarmed.
"Down in the rookery with Bronx and Fu-Dog," Nashville replied.
"That explosion came from beneath the castle," Angela said horrified.
"The rookery!" Brooklyn and Katana both said, alarmed, and they ran inside.
...
...
As Xanatos and Owen waited, only one Iron Clan robot eventually returned to base following the execution of the manual override. Its flight was off course and unsteady, and Xanatos realized, almost too late, that it was flying toward them at an alarming pace.
"It's not slowing down!" he shouted.
He and Owen ran out of the room and into the hall, diving for cover, just as the Iron Clan robot flew out of control through the bay doors, and crash landed right into the bank of Steel Clan robots, its thrusters still burning.
"Get to the elevator!" Owen shouted, and they scrambled to the car. Xanatos slammed his hand down on the button to open the doors. They had just enough time to get in and close the doors behind them, when there was a loud explosion, and they felt the whole car rock.
...
...
Owen and Xanatos emerged from the elevator just as Goliath and his clan stormed into the Great Hall. The billionaire strode quickly toward them, uncaring that he was wearing nothing but a snug fitting pair of black boxers, exposing a lot of tan skin and toned physique.
"We heard the explosion. The rookery—" Goliath demanded.
"Is safe," Xanatos said dismissively. "The explosion came from the storage bay where I keep my Steel and Iron Clan robots. All of which are destroyed now… thanks to you."
Goliath's face twisted into a visage of rage and fury.
"Your robots tried to kill my clan, Xanatos! How dare you break your word—your truce—to attack us?"
"The truce still stands," Xanatos said calmly. "This was not my doing."
"I do not believe you!" Goliath growled.
"If I wanted you all dead, I would do it at noon and be done with it," Xanatos replied calmly. "Why would I be so wasteful as to send my robots to do it at night? Do you know how much it's going to cost me to replace them and repair the castle? And for what? To give you a little exercise?"
"Then who or what do you suppose is responsible for sending them to attack my clan?" Goliath growled as he folded his arms across his chest.
"I'm not sure yet," Xanatos said calmly. "The culprit has managed to evade all manner of security measures so far."
"I will go over the security videos, and hopefully then we'll find out who set off the Oberon Protocol that deployed the Iron Clan robots," Owen said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "In the meantime, I have a lot of clean up and repairs to oversee before the Halloween party tonight, including another full security sweep of the castle. So, if you'll excuse me."
Owen briskly walked away, and Xanatos moved to follow, but Goliath put his hand out to block him.
"You cannot seriously mean to continue with the party after all this," he said appalled.
"It wouldn't look good to cancel this late," Xanatos said as he stepped around the large gargoyle dismissively. "Besides, the damage is mostly isolated to the lower level, which was going to be off-limits tonight, anyway."
"You haven't seen the courtyard yet," Brooklyn quipped.
At that moment Lexington charged into the Great Hall looking alarmed.
"Why are there robot parts scattered all over the castle grounds?" he inquired. "It looks like a battlefield!"
"It practically was," Broadway said. "Where have you been?"
"I was patrolling with Hudson," Lexington said, looking startled by the question.
"Where is Hudson now?" Goliath demanded as the elder gargoyle had not followed Lexington inside.
"He decided to stay the day at Robbins's place, so he wouldn't have to make two trips for the party later tonight," Lexington replied.
"So you've been alone for some time then?" Xanatos pointed out as he made eye contact with Goliath, a grim, hardened look on his face.
"I literally came straight home from there. What happened while I was gone?" Lexington said befuddled.
"The Iron Clan was set off automatically, and as far as we know, it wasn't Oberon or one of his children. The more likely culprit was someone here in the castle," Xanatos said. "Someone savvy enough to work their way through the security system."
"What exactly are you implying?" Lexington asked defensively.
"Oh, I think you know," Xanatos shot back.
"This is not my clan's doing," Goliath growled defensively.
"You may believe that Goliath, but I was able to observe some of the live surveillance footage shortly after my Iron Clan robots were deployed. They were going after a small figure that looked an awful lot like Lexington," Xanatos said.
"It wasn't me, I swear!" Lexington protested, holding up his empty palms.
"Whoever was behind this strategic attack can't hide forever," Xanatos said as he glared unflinchingly at the small gargoyle. "And I'll personally see that they don't."
Xanatos quickly turned and left them all standing there in the Great Hall, more perplexed and concerned than before.
Goliath's eyes raked over his clan. He could not believe the accusations Xanatos just hurled, and yet, he also couldn't think of any other rational explanation for all of the strange things happening. His mind reeled with thoughts that he didn't want to face or consider.
Could Lexington truly be responsible?
He had been so angry and secretive lately.
But he had been with Hudson most of the night.
Or, so he claimed.
But would he really try to harm anyone, especially his own clan?
He thought of the nightmare Puck had given him to try and trick him into giving him the Phoenix Gate. How Lex had caused so much pain and destruction in a futuristic hellscape. Goliath's heart broke at the memory. Had Puck recognized something cruel and calculating within Lexington that he had refused to see himself? Had the dream been a prophecy after all?
He had missed the signs in Demona, refusing to see the darkness within her before it was too late. Was he refusing to see it now in his young charge?
But the more he thought about it, the more Lexington didn't have the same motives, prejudices, and jealousies that Demona had. In hindsight, Goliath could see the trail that led Demona to her choices, but the same could not be said of Lexington.
The chaos wasn't targeting one individual, either. It was seemingly random, to sow discord, anger, and paranoia. But why? To tear them apart? Why would Lex want that? Why would anyone want that?
To weaken us, Goliath realized.
"We still don't know who put 'Egwardo' in the freezer," Brooklyn growled, interrupting Goliath's contemplation. "It might be the same person who set off the Iron Clan."
"Someone put 'Egwardo' in the freezer?" Lexington repeated, appalled.
Brooklyn turned a suspicious eye on the small green gargoyle.
"You're my brother, Lex, but if you had anything to do with it…" He couldn't even finish his threat. He shut his beak, visibly enraged as his jaw flexed and his eyes glowed.
"I can't even believe you'd accuse me of something like that!" Lexington defended himself angrily. "Any of you!"
Goliath put a hand on Lexington's shoulder.
"Xanatos is right. The truth will out, but I will not allow baseless accusations to stand," he said, addressing Brooklyn and the rest of the clan sternly. "I fear that whatever is happening is being done intentionally to tear us apart, to make us distrust each other, to weaken us. For what dark purpose that is, I do not know. But we are clan… family. We do not turn on each other."
Brooklyn shook his head dismissively and looked away.
"Enough now. The sun is about to rise. We must take our places and rest," Goliath announced.
"Are we even safe to sleep here today?" Broadway asked, voicing a concern that weighed heavily on everyone.
"Our batteries are nearly depleted. We cannot protect you during the day," Coldfire added.
Goliath looked at his clan, and Broadway could see the worry etched on his leader's face.
"It is too late to go anywhere else," he replied solemnly.
They had just enough time to get out to the battlements, while Coldstone and Coldfire stayed inside to charge. Goliath found a place along the parapets with the others given that his tower had sustained significant structural damage, rendering it unstable and unsafe. He glanced around at his clan as they each took their places next to him. Settling warily on the battlements, they all nervously awaited the dawn.
No one spoke to each other, and despite his warnings about jumping to conclusions, Goliath could see the others eyeing Lexington suspiciously. The events of the night, the egg being endangered, the attack on the clan by Xanatos's robots, and everything that had preceded tonight's events, had caused a fissure between all of them. Trust had been shattered. He struggled to accept that one of his clan was responsible, every instinct inside him was screaming that it was someone—or something—else, but he knew he wasn't infallible. He knew he had blindspots. And if he was wrong, if it was one of his clan, how could he save them from walking down a dark and destructive path before it was too late when he had spectacularly failed to prevent another from doing the same before?
As the sun rose, instead of a fearful, intimidating visage, the sun caught Goliath with a deeply troubled and sorrowful expression.
...
...
Coldfire settled in for the day next to her mate. The nanotechnology infused in her system had already repaired the damage to her shoulder, but the effort had nearly depleted her power cells, and she felt weary and drained. In truth, the sensation wasn't really the same as when she was flesh and blood. She couldn't actually perceive her surroundings in a biological sense. She didn't even breathe. Everything her neuroreceptors "felt" came back as digital information. Even pain. It was all just digital feedback informing her that she was damaged or her power cells were low on energy. She didn't actually feel anything.
Nevertheless, something was off in the castle.
She could feel that.
There were times, both during the day and night, when she could swear she sensed someone, like she was picking up the shadow of something that couldn't be seen directly. She'd even had that exact sensation earlier tonight just before the Iron Clan attacked. Other times, she felt like she was being watched, and she'd turn abruptly, expecting to see someone on her heads-up display. But every time, her sensors confirmed that nothing was there. Nothing tangible, anyway.
"Do you think the castle could be haunted?" she asked her mate.
Coldstone looked at her skeptically.
"Before you reply, recall that—until recently—we, too, were lost souls."
Coldstone conceded her point and shrugged, his hydraulic joints made a soft whirring sound.
"I suppose all things are possible," he replied.
Coldfire mused about it for a while just before Owen came in and plugged them both into the outlet to recharge. After he left, and just before she shut down, Coldfire thought she saw something. Movement out of the corner of her eye, perhaps. Her head jerked slightly in the direction from whence it came, trying to get a lock, but her battery was too drained to initiate a full scan. Before she could figure out what it was, she slipped into a state of regenerative stasis, and everything went black.
