"So let me see if I understand this right." A shadowed figure said, looking over at the man from behind his desk. "At the time of the release of Subject 5, Subject 1 somehow found out where you were going to release her, defeated over twenty men to take her back. Was found by a gargoyle and taken to their nest, and now is a part of their little clan?"

"Y-Yes sir." The man replied. "B-But it wasn't my fault-"

"Silence!"

The man cowered in fear.

"I counted on you to not only put the tracker on 5, but to also expect Subject 1 to do something like this." He got up from his chair. "I expected you all to be ready to capture her. And because of your bungling, the richest man in New York, not to mention the most powerful beings alive now know about our little hunt and alliance with the Quarrymen. Also, they've captured our best hunter. Now tell me, when did this not become your fault?"

The man just stared at him, shaking in fear as his superior waited for an answer. One he didn't have.

The figure snapped his fingers. "Take him away."

A pair of guards came from the shadows and dragged the man out the door as he begged for redemption. A woman with pale blonde hair and gray eyes came in looking at a clipboard. "You lose more people that way sir."

"He was an imbecile who couldn't handle a couple of children."

"A teenager and a pre-teen sir."

"Oh whatever!" He returned to his seat. "Just give me an update."

The woman looked at her clipboard again. "The processing in Pennsylvania is up ten percent, the transformation center in New Jersey is still recovering from Subject 2's last attack, and somehow, Subject 4's tracker has gone offline."

"What?"

"It happened sometime within the last hour. Apparently they've somehow short-circuited it again. Just before shutting down another center in the farmlands."

The figure sat silently for a bit, then said, "Send out one of the Special Task Forces. Find 4 and bring her in. This was her last chance. Now it's time to cut her in half."

"Yes sir." The woman said, backing out of the room.

The man sat there for a minute, then reached for a picture on his desk. It was a young woman in her mid-to-late-twenties wearing a deep pink jumpsuit. Held tightly against her chest was a seven year-old wearing the same thing but in orange.

"You could've avoided all this by just giving me what I wanted Gardenia." He said, tracing the woman's face. "Now your child's the one who'll pay."

~Two Nights Later~

"Okay, let me see if I got this straight." Angel began as she petted Bronx on the head. "A little over one thousand years ago, all of you guys-except Angela-were in Scotland, protecting this very castle from invaders. But then you were betrayed and all of your clan got destroyed and you guys were turned to stone. Am I right so far?"

"Aye lass." Hudson said, flipping the channels as he listened. "You've got it right so far."

"Okay, so from there…you all had a really long nap and Xanatos bought the castle. He brought you all back to life by having the castle go higher than the clouds. And when you woke up…you decided to protect the city?"

"There was a little more to it than that lass," the old gargoyle replied, turning off the television. "But you have the gist of it."

"But how does Elisa fit into all of this?"

Hudson gave a laugh. "Elisa was the first human we came to trust in this time. She gave us insight into your world."

Angel looked down sadly and stopped petting Bronx. "It's not my world; not really anyway."

Hudson looked over at the young girl. Ever since she'd awakened, she had seemed like a normal child. Energetic, kind, and willing to help. But when you looked closer, you saw the permanent taint of fear in her eyes from what those people had done. While she had some scars, they weren't as many as Amber herself had. But the most obvious thing was that she was so malnourished that it'd stunted her growth. She barley matched Lexington's height.

But that wasn't what bothered the old gargoyle most. What'd bothered him was the fact that those men and women had gone out and stolen-not to mention killed-children like her and used them as some kind of sport. Yes, Amber had told them that their hunts have dwindled, but it didn't make it right what they'd done to them.

"When do you think they're coming back?" Angel asked, looking out the window.

Hudson looked out as well. Amber had said she had some stuff in her old hideout that she couldn't do without. Goliath, Elisa, and Brooklyn had agreed to take her while Lex, Broadway, and Angela went out and patrolled the city.

Angel hadn't liked the idea of being left in the castle, but Amber insisted that she stay with Hudson. She didn't know the layout of the city yet, and would make an easy target for the Cutters. Plus, she'd be safer with Xanatos's security system surrounding her until she was ready to face the outside world.

"They'll be back before you know it lass." He stated, patting the top of her head. "Don't you worry. They'll all be back, safe and sound."

"Make a left here." Amber said, pointing down an alley street as they glided over an area in the Bronx. "My hideout's on top of that building over there."

Goliath looked at the surrounding area. The streets were bare except for a few humans, the buildings were a bit rundown, and where they were headed seemed to be the worst one.

"This is where you've been living?" Brooklyn asked as they landed on the roof.

Amber nodded as she was set down. "Here, there, and everywhere. But this one is where I've been staying more recently."

As Goliath set Elisa down, he couldn't shake a feeling that something was following them. Though friend or ally, he wasn't sure yet.

"You know, we could've taken my car to collect your things." Elisa said as Amber headed over to the water tower on the edge of the roof.

"It's not that much," She replied, moving the heavy cover away from the hole in the side. "I'm just taking what I really need and then we're heading back. Besides, I've always wanted to see this part of the city from up high. Makes it look less…gang-bashed."

"Gang-bashed?" Elisa asked as she climbed in behind the girl. The tower wasn't very spacious, but it had enough room inside to hold an old cot, a small desk with a laptop on top, a couple of boxes that acted as a dresser and nightstand, and a small standing lamp.

"One of Ruby's made-up words." Amber replied, stuffing a few clothes in a duffel bag. "It means…the area is pretty much beat up by all the gang fights around here. But that's pretty much one of the best places to hide…" She paused in her packing.

"What's wrong?"

"How long has my laptop been flashing?" She asked, putting her things down as she sat at the desk. She began typing as Elisa joined her and Goliath came in, hearing the fear in Amber's voice.

"Is everything all right?"

"I don't know yet," Amber replied. "But we'll know in a second."

"And what exactly are you doing?" Goliath asked, confused by the screen color's that whizzed by faster than he could read.

"Hacking into the Cutter's mainframe, I've got a little virus in there that alerts me when the higher-ups are up to something or want something done about us."

"Like with Angel?"

"Exactly." She replied, typing a little faster. "It's how I get my list too, and-" she stopped typing.

Elisa took notice of the look of fear on her face, then turned to the computer. On it read one sentence in bold print.

"PRIORITY FOR SPECIAL TASK FORCE 17: HUNT DOWN SUBJECT 4 AND DESTROY HER AND ANYONE WITH HER." Elisa read aloud, putting a hand on Amber's back. "Isn't Subject 4 the one we were just talking about?"

Amber nodded, closing the laptop, putting it in a bag, and stuffing the stuff on the makeshift nightstand into another. "Ruby Sakura-at least that's the name she made up for herself. She's an energy gem; electric specifically, and those can cause a lot of problems for Cutter's-as they are now finding out."

"They can't be that bad."

Amber gave the detective a hard look. "She once shut down a whole facility with an explosion of electricity that came from her having a tantrum."

Brooklyn gave a low whistle as they walked out. "That sounds like a lot of trouble to me."

"And what would happen if they shattered her?" Goliath asked.

Amber shook a little at the thought of a person shattering before her eyes. "It'll kill her. And they'll be able to create even more powerful weapons not only for themselves, but for your enemies as well."

The thought made Goliath and Brooklyn uneasy. The Quarrymen were already deadly enough with their electric hammers. If they were to become stronger or if another enemy got a hold of this…they didn't want to continue those thoughts.

"Where do you think she is now?"

"The last time I heard from her was about three weeks before I met you guys. She was headed closer to the Statue of Liberty, so she could get rid of some access energy. From there she was heading towards the Rosebank area"

Brooklyn looked at Goliath. "Aren't the others patrolling near there tonight?"

Goliath gave him a nod. "They were going to see if they could find where Angel and Amber escaped from."

"I told you they've probably scrubbed any evidence of them being there by now." Amber stated, zipping up the two duffels. "I'm gonna have to double time it to get that way."

Suddenly, Amber found herself scooped up into a bridal style hold by Brooklyn as he took off with her in his arms. "What're you doing?"

"Getting us over there faster. Elisa and Goliath will meet us as soon as they notify the others."

"But you don't have to-"

"I've said it before and I'll say it again." He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "We wanna help you Amber. In any way we can."

Amber blushed a little as he looked towards the way they were flying. 'Just hang on Ruby.' She thought to herself. 'We're on our way.'

A pair of wide icy blue eyes scanned the area around them as they made their owner made her way into the abandoned warehouse. Finding the place had been easy, getting in was easy, now all she had to do was either find what she was looking for, or wait for her predators to enter her trap and become her prey.

"Hey Lex I think I found it!" A voice said, coming from the broken skylight.

The shadowed girl dived towards the shadows as a figure jumped down. It was bigger than one of her usual chasers, and didn't look all that human.

Another figure-this one looked female-jumped down and landed beside the other. "Are you sure this is the place Broadway?"

"Well, the skylight looks like it was broken from impact of a body." The other-Broadway- replied. "My guess is Amber jumped through when she came to get Angel."

'Amber? Angel? They were here?' The girl thought to herself. 'How do they know that?'

As she inched herself closer, a third figure dropped down from the skylight with what looked like webbed wings. That's when it hit her, these were the gargoyles that they'd been debating about all over television. No wonder they didn't look human. But then, who was she to judge?

"Nothing topside except broken glass and a little bit of blood. My guess is Amber or Angel got cut in the fight and didn't even realize it." The third being stated. "What about down here?"

"Just like Amber guessed, they've cleared this place out top to-"

A clank came from across the room.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I didn't hear anything."

The males might not have heard it, but the shadowed figure did. Slowly and quietly, she pulled a small box from her back pocket. She opened it to reveal a pair of black Bluetooth earbuds with red trim. She placed them in her ears and turned them on. Sure enough, her prey was nearby.

"Watch where you're going you dolt!" A voice whisper-screamed into a mike on the other end. "You almost got us caught!"

"Big deal." The another voice replied, making sounds like they were getting up. "It's not like they're what we came for."

"No…but they're what we could use to get Subjects 1 and 5!"

That didn't sit well with her. If they got the others, all that Amber had worked on for the last nine years would go down the drain. That was when she noticed the chains hanging from the rafters of the ceiling. And that her prey was standing just close enough in range.

'Prefect. Now to draw their attention.'

"I'm telling you I heard-"

"Hey Cutters!" A voice called out.

The gargoyles turned to see a fourteen year-old girl with short royal blue hair and electric blue eyes wearing a pair of ripped capris, red keds, a chain belt, a black tank top, a red zip hoodie, and around her neck was what looked like an electric dog collar.

"Come and get me suckers!"

"It's Subject 4!" A voice shouted from behind a wall of crates. "Get her!"

Suddenly, a group of ten men and women in battle gear surrounded not only the girl, but the gargoyles as well.

"You've got nowhere to run this time 4." The leader said, not noticing that her target was making little movements with her hands or the rattling that was coming from above her. "Prepare to get shattered!"

4 looked up with a pair of red eyes. "Only if you prepare to get shocked-out."

It was then that the Cutters realized that they had walked into a trap. But by then it was too late, the chains that had been hanging from the rafters were now acting like snakes; grabbing their wrist or waists. The weapons were ripped from their hands, and once they were caught, an electric current ran through their bodies and knocked them out.

The lights flicked on in the warehouse, showing the gargoyles what she had done.

Lexington looked at her as if she was a ghost. "How did you-"

"Since you know Amber and Angel," the girl began, adjusting her shirt as her eyes returned to their former color. "I guess I don't need to explain what I am."

The gargoyles looked and saw just above her heart was an oval shaped ruby with a lightning bolt inside.

"To them, I'm known as Subject 4," she stated, readjusting her shirt. "But to the other Gemmalites, I'm called Ruby Sakura."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." The female gargoyle said, taking the girl's hand. "I'm Angela, and these are my clan mates, Broadway, and Lexington."

"It's a pleasure to meet you all"

Lexington looked at her skeptically. "You don't seem that surprised by our appearance."

"Amber's mom had a saying back when she was alive. 'How a person looks is only skin deep, how a person acts, that is their true self.'"

Broadway gave a confused look. "What does that mean?"

"Basically," A familiar voice said, making them look up to see Brooklyn and Amber come in. "it's the 'don't judge a book by its cover' thing. But I like how she said it."

"Amber!" Ruby exclaimed, making a dash for the older girl as she was being set down.

Amber felt herself fly back a few feet as the tackle took her by surprise. "Looks like someone missed me."

Ruby chuckled a little. "You have no idea."

"So, what're you doing here?" Amber asked, pushing the bluenette back so she could see her face. "And why are you suddenly up higher on the hit list?"

"I may have…um…short-circuited my collar?" Amber gave her a look as Lex went over to one of the Cutters. "I didn't mean to! It's just…well I was getting ready to destroy another center when a kid was snatched and then they started to beat 'em up and I got so mad I…just…let it burst through me. And since those jerks weren't here all that long ago I thought 'Hey, this'll be the perfect time to see if I can finally get this thing off me.' But then I heard that they were planning on shattering me so I decided to kill two birds with one stone."

Amber covered the other girl's mouth. "Slow down and calm down. You're going to shock us all and frankly, I don't want static hair tonight. Now turn around and let me take a look. Maybe I can break it off."

As she did, Brooklyn looked over at his bigger rookery brother. "Goliath tried to contact you guys. Why didn't you answer?"

"We must've turned them off."

"Or maybe Ruby short-circuited them." Amber said, looking at the collar. "And it looks like this thing needs the key if we're gonna get it off."

"You mean this?" Lex asked, holding up a small key.

"Yes!" Ruby exclaimed. "Thank you!"

As Lex turned the key in the collar, Goliath and Elisa glided in with Amber's bags over his chest.

"There." Lex said as the collar unlocked. "How does that feel?"

"Strange honestly. It's been on for so long I forgot what it felt like to have it off."

"This is great and all." Elisa said, walking over to the girls. "But how about we continue this get together back at the castle."

Ruby gave Amber a look. "Castle? Sheesh Am, what kind of friends have you been making?"

Amber gave her a smile. "The best kind Ruby. The best kind."

Angel had just finished turning the page in her magazine when she saw a few figures fly by the window. "They're back!"

Bronx perked up as she made the exclamation, and ran after her as she made her way out the door.

"Slow down lass." Hudson said, following after her at a more moderate pace. "There's no need to rush."

"But they've been gone half the night! And I don't have much time before-" She stopped dead in her tracks. There, out in the courtyard, was someone she hadn't seen in two-and-a-half years. "No. Way. Ruby!"

The figure turned in time to get a tackle hug by the little pinkette. They laughed as the other surrounded them and started laughing themselves. Bronx even came up and gave the newcomer a lick on the cheek.

"I see your little trip was more fruitful than you intended, eh lass?"

Amber gave him a smirk. "More than you know Hudson."

"How is it he doesn't attack you guys when he meets you?" Elisa asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's something in our scent."

"Well," A voice said from behind them, making them turn to see Xanatos. "it seems another gem has come to join us."

Ruby quickly rose to her feet and bowed. "It's an honor to meet you Mr. Xanatos, I am Ruby Sakura."

"Please, the honor is all mine, and please, just Xanatos is fine. As you can see you're welcome to stay and be our guest for as long as you like. All I ask is that you stay away from the western tower for now. We're doing a little remodeling there."

Ruby gave him a smile. "I'm guessing it's a surprise for us?"

Xanatos gave her a secretive smile. "You'll have to wait and see."

Angela put her hand on Ruby's shoulder. "Come, let's get you changed and give you a tour of the castle. There's so much to see before dawn arrives."

As most of the group headed inside, Amber looked back over the city. There will still two of her friends left to find. It worried her, but at the same time she knew they'd be okay. They'd been on their own a lot longer than Ruby had, and weren't prone to making mistakes. But still…

She felt a hand slip into her own. "You okay?"

She turned to the red gargoyle beside her and showed her worried look. He gave her hand a squeeze. "We'll find them soon."

"I hope you're right Brooklyn" She stated, turning back towards the city. "I really hope you're right.

As they both turned to go inside, they didn't notice the eyes that were watching them from another rooftop. They would reveal themselves in time, but until then, they were just a shadow.

A/N: Hey! Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I've been so busy with work and family that it's been crazy! Anyway, we get to meet Ruby this chapter! I've kinda changed her looks from her original drawing. At first she had a braid of long black hair and her eyes were red. But then I thought, 'Well, lightning is usually represented by blue, so why not change her hair and have her eyes change?' And who is the mysterious watcher? You're gonna have to stick around to find out!

Also, feel free to ask any questions and I'll answer them either by replying or in the next chapter. Please follow and favorite!