He approached door #244. Pausing before he entered, he glanced down at the card just to the right of the knob:

Knocking only as a courtesy, for he knew his father expected him, Steve Bluestone opened the door.

"Dad?"

His father, at one time a prominent name in New York law-enforcement, looked up, smiling, from his book. Setting it down on the table next to him, Steve read the title as he approached: A Comprehensive History of Gargoyles, by Dr. Lennox MacBeth.

"Can't leave it alone, can you, Dad?"

The elder Bluestone shrugged. "Who ever can? I told you about how I came into contact with them, didn't I?"

"Only every time I come here." Steve chuckled as he sat down on the bed. His father wheeled his chair over.

"Yeah, those were the days. How are things now at the old 23rd?"

Steve chuckled. "You won't believe this ... Morgan finally retired."

A shocked expression crossed Matt Bluestone's face. "Morgan? I thought he was a lifer for sure."

"You don't consider 38 years on a beat a 'lifer?'"

Both Bluestone men started laughing. The conversation died down eventually, as both men fell silent. Steve, after a long pause, looked up at his father.

"I've been having some problems, Dad. Strange ones."

Matt wrinkled his face into deep thought. "Strange how?"

"Well, I dunno. It hasn't been anything major, just little occurences. A feeling, a hunch, you could say. I've had this feeling for the last week that someone's been watching over me."

Matt leaned forward. "How?"

"Well ... take last night. We went on a bust on a smuggling ring at LaGuardia. It went downhill fast, the perps had particle weapons and took down a few good cops. But just when I thought I and everybody else was dead, they just gave up. Even worse, a couple of them were unconscious. And nobody saw anything, not even any gargoyles."

"That is weird." Matt wheeled away in ponderance. "It's possible that someone told those guys not to take out the cops. They may have received orders from a superior to surrender."

"But why?"

Matt shrugged. "I wish I could help you more." He turned away, then sat bolt upright. "Wait, I know someone who might be able to."

Steve stood up, walking toward his father. "Listen, Dad, I've got to go, my shift starts in an hour, and I'm at least that far away ..."

"Take this." Matt handed Steve a small piece of scrap paper, with something scrawled on it. "You may find some answers."

"Thanks, Dad." Steve bent over and hugged his father. "I gotta go, now."

"Be careful, son."

"Don't worry, I always am." Steve turned to the door, opening it and leaving. Matt turned back to the window, looking out.

"Not always ..."

"DAD!!"

They had found no body in the room, but there was the possibility that Matt had been sitting at ground zero of the blast. That did nothing to comfort Steve. Just minutes before, he had said that the weird occurrences had been "nothing major," and now one had cost him his dad.

"Take this. You may find some answers."

Having forgotten the slip of paper, Steve opened it up in his hand, looking down and reading it.

Maza. Dad's old partner was Elisa Maza. Was Rose the daughter of Elisa? No, Steve thought, that wasn't possible, she never married. She couldn't have, Dad said she was in love with a gargoyle.

Slowly, Steve picked up the phone, dialing the number on the slip of paper. The other end rang three times, until a click told Steve that someone had picked up.

"Xanacorp Systems, how may I direct your call?"

The male voice threw Steve off. Pausing for a moment, he finally blurted, "I'm looking for Rose Maza."

"One moment, please."

He heard himself be directed to another line. Two more rings brought the reply he was expecting, a female voice.

"Hello?"

"Is this Rose Maza?"

"Yes, it is, who is this?"

Steve thought for a moment, then decided the truth was the best way to go. "Miss Maza, my name is Steve Bluestone. I believe you knew my father, Matt."

A slight pause came over the phone. Finally, Rose came back. "I didn't know him personally, but he was a friend of my mother, Elisa. Why?"

So she was Elisa's daughter. "He told me to contact you ... shortly before he died."

"Matt's dead?! When?"

"Last night. An explosion in his room at the nursing home ..."

"Listen to me, Steve, your life is in danger. Where are you?"

Shellshocked at that exclamation, Steve paused convulsively. "Uhhhhhh, I'm at home. Your Caller ID should give you the address."

"I see it. Okay, Steve, I need you to stay away from the windows and watch for me. I'll be at your window."

"My window? I'm in a penthouse ..."

"Trust me, you'll know me when you see me." Rose suddenly clicked off.

Steve hesitantly put the phone back on its cradle, trying to comprehend what he had just been told. He was distracted, though, by the shining of a laser sight.

A barrage of gunfire shattered every window that faced outward. Steve ducked, reaching under his coat for his own weapon and returning fire. It didn't do much to faze his attackers, as they continued firing, even after Steve had expended his magazine. Steve curled into the fetal position, waiting for his quick end.

A loud roar brought him out of his defeatist mindset. Carefully peeking over his couch, he watched as a group of shadows fought viciously outside his apartment. Finally, the sound of jet engines told Steve that his attackers were leaving.

When he became aware that there was someone standing inside the window, Steve stood up, leveling his pistol at a shadow.

"All right, whoever you are, drop your weapon and put your hands over your head!"

The shadow turned around, walking into the light. Only then did Steve realize that he was threatening a gargoyle.

It was female.

"Steve Bluestone?" She had Rose Maza's voice.

The strain, at that point, overtook Steve's body, as he dropped his pistol and collapsed on the couch.

"Mr. Bluestone?"

Hearing the voice, Steve finally decided to awaken. Stretching his arms, he sat up, opening his eyes to see a tall, blond man.

"Hello. An who might you be?"

The blond man adjusted his glasses, not changing his bored-to-tears facial expression. "My name is Owen Burnett, Detective. You're at the Aerie Building."

"The Aerie Building? As in Xanacorp headquarters?"

"The same. Miss Maza thought it best that you should stay here, since your apartment was in such ... disarray."

There she was again. "When could I see Miss Maza?"

"Right now, if you like."

Owen turned toward the door, where a young woman, looking barely 17, stood. "He's awake, ma'am."

"Thank you, Owen. Would you excuse us, please?"

Owen nodded curtly, turning on his heel toward the door. The woman entered the room, crossing the floor quickly to where Steve was.

"You're Rose Maza?"

She chuckled. "You wouldn't believe how much you look like your father."

Steve narrowed his eyes. "So, you lied to me about knowing my father."

Rose nodded. "It was necessary. I needed to make sure your line wasn't bugged. No hard feelings, I hope." She extended her hand toward Steve, which he took.

"Not after last night." His face became concerned again. "Weren't you there last night? How did I get here?"

Rose remained aloof. "The gargoyles saved you. Come. They're stone right now, if you'd care to stay here for the day they would like to meet you."

Steve nodded. "Care to give me a tour of Wonderland, here?"

Rose chuckled. "Sure."

"The view is awesome, Rose." Turning to his side, he suddenly became aware of a stone beast standing watch next to him on the wall. "Is this one of them?"

Rose nodded. "These all are." She suddenly appeared to reach into her back pockets, pulling what to Steve looked like a giant purple fire hose out of her pocket.

"What is that?"

Rose smiled. "You'll see, soon." The sun finally dipped below the horizon, and all around Steve a fantastic transformation occurred. He watched in awe as the statues cracked, shining bright eldritch energy through the damage to their skins, and revealing the multicolored creatures within the shells.

"Incredible." Steve turned toward Rose, but suddenly saw that she was in some kind of convulsion. He approached her, panicked.

"Rose! What's wrong?"

"GET BACK!" Rose's eyes glowed bright red as she roared the command at Steve. Fearful, he pulled away from her, and watched, shocked, as the young woman tore through her clothes, pushing out a giant pair of wings, attached to her back. She doubled back, facing out toward the sky, as the rest of her clothes shredded apart, revealing the magnificent gargoyle within the frail human.

She had grown nearly two feet taller, and had deepened in her facial features. She now had four small horns, barely portruding from her forehead, framing her hairline around the rest of her face. Huge, pointing ears stuck out from the sides of her head, ears that twitched. By her face, though, there was no mistaking that this was Rose.

Steve almost babbled in shock before squeaking out, "Rose? Is that you?"

She turned toward him, extending a hand. "I prefer Rosanna at night, Steve. Allow me to introduce you to the rest of the clan." Rosanna brought Steve forward, toward the rest of the gargoyles collected there. Two of them, shorter and beaked, approached closer than the rest.

"Who's your new friend, Rosanna?"

"This is Steve Bluestone. A detective, like my mother."

Steve compulsively pulled out his badge, flashing it to everyone. "First class, 23rd precinct."

A tall one near the back of the group held himself back from chuckling. The scene was so familiar.

Rosanna continued, "Steve, these are the twins, Graeme and Ariana. They seem to like you."

The two young gargoyles nodded excitedly, grinning widely. Rosanna pushed through them to two tall males, one looking more mammalian than the other.

"Samson," she introduced, motioning toward the gargoyle with cybernetic implants.

"Pleased, I'm sure." Samson extended a hand to Steve.

"Uh huh."

"This is Slash, my cousin." She motioned to the mammalian one, who grinned widely. She finally made her way back to the rear.

"And these two, Broadway and ... Goliath." Rosanna seemed less than enthusiastic to introduce the tall one to Steve. Steve, however, was delighted.

"Of course! My father told me so much of you two, and what you did with the clan when he was on the force. It's a true honor, sirs."

Broadway reached his arm out toward Steve. Though close, Broadway was unable to tell where Steve was due to his blindness. Steve finally clasped his hand.

"I must retire." Goliath's announcement came as a shock to Steve, sudden as it was. The tall gargoyle turned away, back into the shelter of the tower. Rosanna came back up to Steve's side.

"What's wrong with him?"

Rosanna hung her head. "Don't ask. You would never understand why my father is that way." She turned back toward the doorway.

"We're here." He turned toward his companion, still on the other side of the warp. "Are you completely sure about this? I did have a commitment to Arthur ..."

=You have been released from that duty. You are my knight, now.=

The alien voice was accompanied by the exit of a huge humanoid creature, nearly nine feet high. His sloped face was alien, yet strangely familiar.

=For your world to continue, you must be my knight.= The tall one looked up toward the top of the building. =And the gargoyles must be our warriors.=

The young, blond man behind the table stood up, walking around to greet the gargoyle and the human. His goatee cut a familiar figure.

"Steve Bluestone, Alexander Xanatos."

The two men shook hands. "A pleasure, detective."

"All mine, Mr. Xanatos. I never thought I'd meet the world's youngest multi-trillionaire."

Xanatos chuckled. "Well, then, there's a lot of things you weren't expecting to do that have happened tonight, detective. All the same, welcome to my home."

"Our home, Alex." Rosanna approached the two men. "Yours, mine, and the clan's."

"Of course." Xanatos returned to his seat behind the table, a table with a stunning view of midtown Manhattan. "Now, detective, I understand you have had a few ... violent occurrances as of late ..."

"More than violent, sir. Someone killed my father last night. I think they may be after me, now."

"Your father ... Matt? He is dead, you say?"

Steve nodded.

"I think I may know why. Come." Xanatos stood again, approaching his computer console wall, tapping some keys for a moment before finding the file he wanted.

"Here it is, detective. All spelled out. Your father was a member of the Illuminati Society, and was no longer needed."

Steve's eyes narrowed. "They are so bold as to kill retired NYPD?"

"NYPD, CIA, FBI, these mean nothing to them." Xanatos' expression enlightened. "You never knew he was an Illuminatus, did you?"

Steve shook his head. "No idea."

"I would theorize, then, that they assume he did tell you, and passed along some vital secrets of the Society. I know, they have tried to kill me on numerous occasions, without success."

Steve nodded. "That would make sense. But why now? He was old, of no danger to either the Illuminati or their secrets."

"Maybe so, but he would have still been privy to those secrets. You must consider ..."

"Excuse me, sir." The intercom suddenly interrupted Xanatos in mid-explanation. He smiled.

"I'm not expecting anyone. Let me take this, excuse me." Xanatos pushed down on the intercom button. "Yes, Owen, what is it?"

"There are visitors for the clan here in the lobby. They claim it is important."

Xanatos looked up at Rosanna. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Send them up, Owen. We'll figure it out once they're up here." Xanatos turned back to Steve. "I'm sorry, it looks like this will have to wait."

Steve nodded. "Maybe next time." He followed Rosanna out the door.

"Hello?"

=Is this Dominique Destine?=

"It is. Speak."

=I have a proposition for you, Ms. Destine. A business proposition.=

"Unless you tell me who you are, I have no interest."

=I think you will want to hear me out, Ms. Destine. Or should I call you by your other name ... Demona?=

SNARL! "What do you want, mortal?!"

=I wish to offer you your greatest dream.=

"You know nothing of my dreams! Who is this?!"

=I know of your hatred of humanity. I too have this hatred. If we join together our forces, we can bring about the end of all human life on this planet. You and your kind can rule again, as is your proper birthright.=

"I'm listening ..."

There before them stood another gargoyle and an extremely tall alien.

"You are Goliath's clan?"

Everyone turned to the back, toward where Goliath stood. He almost seemed to smile, as he recognized the other gargoyle.

"Griff."

"It's Sir Griff now, Goliath. Blimey, what's happened t'you?"

Rosanna approached Griff carefully. "It's a long story, sir knight. I am Rosanna, the leader and Goliath's daughter."

"A pleasure, milady." Griff politely bowed, kissing Rosanna's hand. Once up again, he turned toward his companion. "This is Nokkar. He brought me here, and he wants to speak to all of you."

Nokkar came forth, looking toward Goliath.

=Goliath, friend, do you remember our encounter some years ago?=

The giant purple gargoyle nodded, mournfully.

=My worst fear has happened, my friend.=

Goliath suddenly looked panicked. He looked up, mouth open and dry. "The invasion is here."

=Yes, it is. And I must ask the help of your clan. For if we lose this war, you lose your planet.=

Steve was the first one to say anything. "Good God, Nokkar ... that's a hefty responsibility for the gargoyles to take on ..."

The alien turned toward the human man. =I have learned from experience, Mr. Bluestone, that the gargoyles are ... formidable opponents. If you have any chance at all of defeating the invasion, it will be because of gargoyle involvement.=

Rose stood up, approaching Nokkar. The size differential between the two was now even greater than when Rosanna had been present. "You can count on the clan's help, Nokkar. Mr. Burnett can arrange for accommodations for you, if you need anything just ask him or Alex."

Nokkar nodded toward the human woman, turning back indoors. At that moment, Steve happened to notice Rose's tail.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but ... I think something's wrong with you, Rose."

"Huh?" Rose flashed a questioning look, then seeing what Steve had been gawking at, chuckled. "Oh, that's nothing. It's perfectly normal, Steve. I just have to be creative about hiding it."

"I don't doubt it." Steve looked back out to the skies. "When will we know the invasion's here?"

"I wish I knew." Rose turned toward Slash. "Guard the building. Me and Steve have some calls to make."

"We do?"

As the doors opened on the top level, the man soon encountered a very upset young woman, striding quickly toward him. He could almost see her eyes glow.

"Who are you? This is a restricted entry floor!"

The man lifted a long, bony hand to grasp the woman by one of her lapels, casually tossing her aside. He continued into the room, until an older, red haired woman intercepted him.

"You are the one I spoke with last night?"

=Yes.= The tall man turned to look at the younger woman, sprawled on the floor next to the elevator. =Why attack me?=

"Please forgive my daughter, sir. She didn't know you were coming." The older woman quickly picked up her daughter, bringing her back up on her feet. "And since you never gave me a name for formal introductions ..."

=My kind have no names, as your kind used to be. You may refer to me as Rokkan, as this is the true name of my people.=

"Very well, Rokkan. May I present my daughter, Angela Destine."

Angela smiled sheepishly, extending a hand. "Sorry about that, sir. I didn't know."

=You are forgiven. It is good to know that secrets cannot leave this place.= Rokkan brusquely shook Angela's hand, then turned back to the older woman, Dominique Destine.

"Shall we begin? Our true place in this world awaits us."

"Gentlemen, we have a great problem. The invasion is occurring sooner than expected, partly because of our inability to obtain the half-breed. Is there any progress at all?"

"Our field operative reports that the son of Bluestone has made contact with her. The new operation commences smoothly."

"But will he manage to draw her into our net?"

"I am unsure. Things right now are looking up, but I think we should have some insurance."

=I agree. The stakes have grown considerably, due to the involvement of Nokkar, attempting to prevent the invasion, or enlist the gargoyles' help in fighting it off.=

"Did you say Nokkar is involved?"

"There goes the whole thing, straight into the toilet."

"Maybe not. Consider that the half-breed is likely to offer the clan's aid to stop the invasion. This is a golden opportunity, gentlemen. We can watch her fight the invasion off, and that way gauge how much of an asset she could be to us."

"You had better be right about this. We can't threaten our secrecy just for your pet project."

"It's not just my pet project. This half-breed could pose a threat to us, that is if we don't recruit her first. And don't lecture me about secrecy. I know our gospel. 'Above all else, secrets rule the Illuminati.'"

"Vinnie? It's Rose."

"Rose? Hey, great to hear from ya, kid. What's up?"

"Vinnie, I need you to bring Brooklyn to the phone, could you?"

"Oh, sure. Hang on." Rose heard the speaker on the other end set the phone down, which gave her the opportunity to turn toward Steve, who had suddenly smiled.

"Of course! Brooklyn, the time traveller. Dad used to tell me some crazy stories about those kids of his ..."

"They're not so crazy anymore, Steve. You met them out there. Graeme and Ariana, remember?"

"Ohh, yeah."

Rose was about to say something more, but a gruff voice on the other end interrupted her. "Hello?"

"Brooklyn, it's Rose. How are you?"

She could hear the gargoyle laugh on the other end. "We're fine, Rose. Sata's learning more and more about modern times every day, as I am learning about ancient ways. This 'bushido' stuff is pretty cool."

"That's good to hear. Listen, we've got a problem here that I thought I should tell you about. We've been told that an invasion of the planet is approaching."

Brooklyn sighed audibly on the other end. Even from Japan, it sounded loud. "I know about this invasion."

"What do you know?"

"You know the rules, Rose. I can't tell you anything I learned while I was lost in time. You have to find out for yourself."

"But Brooklyn ..."

"I can't! My heart aches a lot about this, because you guys are my family, but I can't say anything about the invasion that could corrupt the timeline. My family is too important to me."

Rose nodded, sadly. "I understand. Give my love to Sata."

"I will." With that, Brooklyn hung up. Rose cradled her phone shortly afterward.

"Well ...?"

Rose stood up, frustrated. "I should have known before I called him."

"What?"

"Your dad was right, Steve. Brooklyn was a time traveller, but that experience came with a price, and that is he can't tell us anything of what will happen, since he's been to the future as well as the past. If he tells us something that results in even a grain of sand being in the wrong place, it could result in anything from a chest cold that didn't happen before to something catastrophic, like the twins disappearing from existence. That's the main thing he's trying to avoid.

"So ... I'm assuming, and hoping, that at some point when we are fighting the invasion, Brooklyn will show up and offer some assistance, but it will be a past Brooklyn, not the one currently in Japan."

Steve scratched his head. "You lost me about six minutes ago, Rose."

Rose drooped her head. "All we need to know is that Brooklyn may or may not help us. That's all we need to know right now."

Steve stood up. "So, what's our next move?"

Rose looked at her new friend, deeply in his eyes. "There is nothing we can do now. We can only wait now ... and watch the skies."

As they climbed down from their battlements, the gargoyles were soon joined by Rosanna and Steve. Before Rosanna even had a chance to detail their patrol routes for the evening, Nokkar, standing at the door, shouted, pointing into the air.

=It arrives!=

All present turned their eyes heavenward, scanning the skies, until they saw it. The alien armada, after a quick approach, flew close overhead. They stayed in tight formation, soon spreading across the city. As soon as they assumed their positions, they began sheet-bombings on the buildings and people below.

In stunned silence, the gargoyles could only watch. Quietly, forebodingly, Nokkar voiced one sentence.

=The invasion has begun.=

The impassioned yell from Rosanna fell upon the stone-like ears of Nokkar, the alien sentinel, as he watch unemotionally the attack on midtown Manhattan. The ships approached ever closer to the Aerie building as the stunned gargoyle clan who called the castle at its summit home grew ever more horrified.

=We must wait.=

"For how long? Until New York is a pile of rubble?!" Rosanna nearly flew up to the eye level of Nokkar, gripping his shoulders. "What will there be left to defend if we let them kill us with their first attack?!!"

=That will not happen.= Nokkar calmly removed the female gargoyle from his chest, depositing her on her rear next to Steve Bluestone, the poor, unwitting NYPD detective who, only the night before, had been dropped right into the midst of chaos. Steve looked back up at Nokkar.

"Why not? What has to happen before ..."

=I know the attackers well, Mr. Bluestone. This attack is not intended to destroy you completely. This is merely a show of force.=

Samson harrumphed at that statement. "Some show of force." He offered a hand to his leader, who accepted it to pick herself up off the ground. "I say to hell with this guy, we go out right now!"

Just as Samson had made his suggestion, the chaos below subsided. The gargoyles passed questioning looks between them before turning back to Nokkar. "What happened?"

=Force has been sufficiently shown.= Nokkar turned around, back toward the interior of the tower. =Come. There will be a broadcast shortly.=

More confused looks passed between the assembled heroes, as they dutifully followed Nokkar inside.

=Citizens of Earth. Do not panic. You are now under the domain of the Rokkan. If our demands are met, peace will rule this planet.

=Our first demand is thus. We demand that all planetary political control be turned over to us. We have attacked your city of New York, due to its powerful position in global politics. Rokkan governors will take over the leadership of all nations and countries.

=Second demand. We demand that control of all military forces on this planet be turned over to the previously mentioned Rokkan governors, to do as they see fit. Your military installations, technology, and manpower will be used to serve the Rokkan.

=Third demand. We demand that all unnecessary human manpower be taken off of this planet. The Rokkan are not a cruel race: we will provide ships to send your civilization to another life-bearing planet. Those humans that serve our needs will not be allowed on the ships.

=That concludes our demands. Human transplantation will begin in three days. If these demands are not met, humanity at large will suffer, in great quantities. Resistance to Rokkan rule will prove useless. We are your rulers now.=

SKRIEEDKKDDZZZZZZZ ...

"Oblivion. At last."

"Now what, Nokkar? You wouldn't let us fight them when they were bombing."

The tall alien looked around the room, at expectant faces. Rosanna's face shone with her unbridled fury; her eyes glowed an incandescent red. Graeme and Ariana's faces told all of their fear. Broadway's face screamed resignation. Goliath, guilt and shame. The only three present who seemed to be without fear were Sir Griff, Slash, and Samson.

=Now, they are on the ground. Now you can fight them. You would have died in vain had you attacked during the show of force.=

"That's really reassuring." Rosanna's voice dripped sarcasm. "If you'll excuse me ..."

Samson turned to watch his aunt march away. "Where are you going?"

She turned to him, a frustrated, angry look on her features. "To see if my grandparents are still alive. Guard the building." With that, she launched herself off a battlement and soared across the city.

Steve slowly approached Samson from behind. "Her grandparents? Is she talking about Elisa's parents?"

Samson nodded, slowly. "Come."

"Impressive, Rokkan. What now?"

Rokkan turned toward the blue gargoyle, Demona. =You must come with me, Demona. Your formidable sorcery will be a great asset to our conquest. I think there will be no resistance from the world's leaders, what we must watch for is human guerrilas who will be foolish enough to fight.=

The purple gargess behind Rokkan cleared her throat. "How do you know that the world leaders will surrender?"

=On many worlds past, there has never been a leader which did not.=

"You may be surprised by the humans, they have very strong wills ..."

"That's enough, daughter." Demona's admonition shook Angela into silence. Turning back to Rokkan, she smiled, evilly. "Go ahead. I'll come with you."

Rokkan nodded, shallowly. As they walked past Angela, Demona turned to her quickly.

"Keep things running, Angela. I won't be long."

Angela leaned against a desk, supporting herself by her arms and wings, and watched her mother leave with the alien. As the door closed behind them, the telephone next to her left hand began ringing. Hesitantly, she picked up.

"Nightstone Unlimited, Vice President Destine speaking."

"Angela, are you all right?!"

The voice was unmistakeable. Angela slapped her forehead. "Broadway."

"I need to know! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. That's all you need to know."

"I'm serious, Angela. This is important! The invasion is ..."

"I know all about the invasion, Broadway. I do live in this city too, you know."

"But ..."

"Thank you for your concern. And say hi to our son for me."

Angela quickly hung up the phone before her mate could get another word in edgewise. Ex-mate, she reminded herself. When you chose to work with Mother, you left everyone at the castle behind. Your father, your friends, your mate ...

... your son.

Tears welled in Angela's eyes, as her head dropped in sorrow.

"Grandma!"

She jumped down off the railing, smashing through the glass door which captured the smoke and kept it in the apartment. More clouds pulsed into the night sky, as Rosanna fought her way into the center. A human form lying prone on the floor grabbed her attention.

"GRANDMA!!"

She jumped down to look closer at the body, and suddenly she saw it. The lifeless, limp form of Diane Maza, trapped under a ceiling beam. She had been struck in the face by the beam, and was probably killed on impact.

"Rosanna! Over here!"

Rosanna stood up, fighting the smoke once again to see two more human forms running out of the hallway. Happily, she realized they were both family, and both alive.

"Grandpa! Aunt Beth! Come on, this place isn't going to remain standing for much longer!"

The two remaining Mazas scrambled through the smoke, toward their gargoyle kin. She quickly grasped them around their waists, striding toward the window.

"What about Mom?!"

"We can't help her, she's too far gone. We've got to go, NOW!"

Peter Maza hung his head, depressed, as Rosanna jumped out the window, opening her wings and gliding back to the castle.

"Welcome, Demona. You are honored amongst us."

Demona stepped forward. "I am honored to be chosen by you. But one thing bothers me about our ... partnership."

Her Rokkan guide approached her, slowly.

"Though I have worked with one of you for the past day, I still have no idea as to who you are, or what you want of me and my resources."

Another Rokkan, a massive, 11-foot robed alien, approached the questioning gargoyle. =Demona, you need ask nothing else.=

The alien unhooded himself, to reveal his face and head. Demona could only suck in a breath of unadulterated joy.

The Rokkan were gargoyles. Just like her.

"Rosanna?"

He could see her shoulders droop, as she planted a claw on the battlement.

"My grandfather and aunt are alive, but shaken. They will be all right."

Steve approached her, slowly. "But what about your grandmother?"

Rosanna turned to face Steve. Sighing shakily, she looked up at him. "She was killed in the bombing. Their apartment collapsed, and she was caught under a beam ..."

Rosanna closed her face into her hands, heaving sobs shaking her body. Steve placed an arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

His attempts only further fed her rage. She suddenly tossed Steve aside, stretching her wings skyward and roaring her animal fury impotently into the night air. Her eyes glowed, their brilliant red a strong counterpoint to the gloom of the evening.

"I swear to you, the Rokkans will pay dearly!"

Rosanna looked out over the city, scanning the damage paths and calculating where the gargoyle attack patrols should travel. In a small notebook in her hand, she noted down which streets had been hit hardest, where the humans would need the clan's help the most. Heavy footsteps behind her distracted her from her task. Turning slowly, she came around to face the only being who those footsteps could belong to.

"What are you doing here, Goliath?"

Goliath regarded his daughter, her proud stance and intense face, with a small drop of fatherly pride. Pride which he immediately stifled.

"I ... heard about your grandmother. I'm sorry, Rosanna."

Rosanna scoffed at him, turning back to her task. "Like you would really care. You're too busy wallowing in self-pity to come out of your cocoon and start taking action." Frustrated, she turned back around. "She was her mother, Goliath! She's family!! You should have at least helped me!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize ..."

"No, you didn't. Give it up, Dad! If you do nothing but mourn her for the rest of your life, there will be nothing left of her to remind you!"

Rosanna huffed a loud breath, turning back around to see the city's skyline.

"Rosanna ..."

"I don't have time for this, Goliath. I have a world to save."

Goliath sighed, sadly. He looked to his left, checking the wind currents and launching himself from the tower.

"I don't know about this. It's been years since I've seen them."

She put a reassuring arm around his shoulders. "Look around you, my mate. The damage here is incredible, and it'll only get worse if you don't offer them your help." She snuggled on his shoulder. "I know for sure that you are a very capable warrior. They will be happy to see you, I'm sure."

The other female, a prepubescent child, tugged on the male's wing, hanging underneath his arm. "I wanna meet the clan, Daddy."

He couldn't help but smile. He crouched down to eye level with her. "You do understand, this will be dangerous. I can't guarantee your safety if we do decide to stay and help fight."

The girl hugged her father, tightly. After she released him, he brought himself back up to his full height, turning to his mate.

"Well, in for a penny, in for a dollar." His mate squeezed him tightly, then kissed him tenderly.

"Let's go, Lex."

He nodded, and roared out as he and his family leaped off the observation balcony, catching the right updrafts to bring them to the Aerie building, up to Castle Wyvern.

"Never thought we'd have any use for those."

Owen turned around, impassionate as always. "Belive me, Alexander, before this is over, we will need every bag of synthetic gargoyle blood we have."

Samson, folding sheets next to Alexander, winced. "God, I hope not."

Steve Bluestone, having been drafted into helping prep the lab, listened to this exchange carefully, trying not to think about the upcoming fight for their lives. He had stacked up a pile of gauze bandages on a shelf when Slash and Broadway came running in.

"Hurry up, guys!" Broadway's voice was excited, but a happy excited.

"What's going on?"

"You'll never believe who just landed in the courtyard!"

Goliath dropped to his knees, clearing some of the lawn clutter from the marble slab.

"Hello, Elisa. My love."

He looked up at one of the sides of the stone. There were fresh flowers there, not maybe four days old, planted into the holder. Rose must have been here recently, he thought.

"I know I usually only come here on our ... special day, but it may not come this year. Nokkar's invasion is upon us."

Goliath sighed, heavily. "Our daughter is a fine leader. The clan is in good hands. She will be known as a great warrior." His eyes dropped, down to his hands, which were folded in his lap. "I just wish you were here to see her. I wish ... I had been quicker."

He fell to the ground, lying in a near-fetal position. "Oh, God, Elisa, I miss you so much. I used to be so strong with you, and now danger is all around and I can do nothing to stop it. I haven't the strength of body, nor spirit, to continue."

His tears flowed freely, raining down off his face and into the cold earth which held the love of his life.

"Good Lord, they weren't lying!"

"I can see that." He looked up, toward the center of the skyline. "At least my building is still standing."

"Do you really think it's a good idea? Shouldn't we give him a chance first, then drop in on him?"

He stroked his goatee, deep in thought. "Perhaps. We'll see what happens on his first counterattack, and then if he looks like he needs help, we'll be here."

"Where are we going, then?"

"No place in particular. Pilot's discretion."

The chopper turned away from the bright lights of Manhattan, but not before a bright spotlight shone on the side of the craft's fuselage, enlightening the sole word on it.

Xanatos.

Rosanna had been pulled down from her lookout post by Samson, who led her to the courtyard. The sight that greeted her was unbelievable.

Lexington was home. He was currently being mauled by Graeme and Ariana, but the happy voices made her feel a little bit better. Smiling at last, she came down the steps.

"... missed you, Uncle Lex!"

Lex laughed loudly. "I missed you guys, too!" He finally worked his way out of the twins' death grip to approach Samson and Rosanna.

"Welcome home, Lexington." Rosanna couldn't resist hugging Lex. She always thought of him as being like an oversized teddy bear. He returned the hug, turning to clasp forearms with Samson.

"It's good to be home. I brought some friends, too." Lexington motioned to the two shadows behind him, which approached. It only made Rosanna smile wider.

There were two females there, one slightly younger than Lex, the other much younger. Both were web-winged, and both were very affectionate with Lex, much to Rosanna's relief.

"Guys, this is my mate, Pontiac, of Clan Detroit."

"As leader of Clan Manhattan, I bid you welcome, Pontiac." Rosanna offered her hand, which much to her surprise Pontiac shook.

"I thank you, Rosanna." She turned to the younger girl. "This is our daughter, Cadillac."

Now that Rosanna could get a better look at her, she saw that Cadillac had her father's skin tone, but the odd forward-pointing horn pattern of her mother. Rosanna crouched down to eye level with her.

"Welcome to New York, Cadillac."

The shy child only beamed. Samson slapped Lex on the back, palling around with him.

=Who are you? Rokkan?=

"Rokkan? I am not Rokkan, nor do I want anything to do with the Rokkans."

The three shadows approached closer. Goliath's eyes widened, in horror.

=He is Manhattan clan. He is resisting.=

A fourth silhouette appeared behind the giants, smaller but more commanding. When it spoke, though, the voice chilled Goliath's blood in horror.

"Do what you like to him, but keep him alive. I want him to deliver a message."

The three giant silhouettes rushed toward the gargoyle. His eyes suddenly glowed white, lashing out toward the giants to no avail. The first swing from one of the giants took him down six notches in the fight. His vision clouded over, he tried to put up some defense, but could not. The three giants continued to beat him savagely, until they were sure he was hovering between life and death. The fourth silhouette then approached him, eyes glowing red.

Demona.

She picked her ex-lover's chin up, so that she could face him in the eyes. "Take this message to the clan. The Rokkan will place gargoyle-kind in its proper place as rulers of this planet. There will be no room for dissenters."

She dropped his head, turning to see whose grave he was by. Chuckling, she spit on the headstone.

"Or half-breed abominations, for that matter."

Two of the giants roughly picked up the gargoyle by his shoulders, picking him up and taking to the air.

When she finally got to the top, Rosanna sucked in her breath quickly in shock.

"Oh, my God ..."

Her father lay in a small dip caused by his fall, nearly broken in half. He obviously had some broken bones and internal injuries. He looked close to death.

"That should be it."

Owen nodded, in agreement. A sudden flash of light on the exam table between them snapped them out of their self-congratulatory mood. Almost instantaneously, the light disappeared, and in its place stood Alexander Xanatos and a bundle of flesh and bone that had been the massive gargoyle Goliath.

"Clear out! Give us space!!"

Steve did as Alexander asked, while Owen turned back to the refrigerator, opening the door and pulling out three bags of the synthetic gargoyle plasma. He hurriedly handed the bags to Alexander.

Sensing he would be in the way, Steve decided to leave the medlab. He turned the corner to see Rosanna standing there, waiting in anticipation.

She was on the brink of tears.

Samson and Broadway sat in the TV room with Lexington, listening to him regale about his new clan in Detroit. Pontiac had chosen to stay with Ariana, continuing the reconnaisance notations that Rosanna had begun, while Graeme and Slash took Cadillac on a tour of the castle.

"You heard me right. I swear to you, that dog can drive. I fixed up an old Buick Skylark for him, and now he joins us on patrols. Makes him feel more useful than he probably would have been."

Broadway sighed. "Man, I miss Bronx. It's too bad about him."

Samson nodded in agreement with his blind father. "Yeah, but he was old. It was his time, he lived an active life while he was on this plane."

Lex leaned forward. "Sometimes, I worry about Dodge, our elder in Detroit. A lot of what he does reminds me a lot of Hudson, but other times ... he puts himself at risk way too often for my taste."

Broadway harrumphed at this. "And what's so wrong with that?"

"No offense, bro," Lex chuckled uneasily.

All three took a deep breath, sitting silent for a long time. Finally, it was Broadway who spoke up.

"I hope Goliath's okay."

"Not just him," Samson interjected. "I hope Rosanna's okay."

Lex gave Samson a quizzical look. "Why? Before I left, all indications were that she had disowned him, pretty much."

"You've never seen her go to her mother's grave. I happened upon her one time, talking to the thin air ..."

Samson flew over the graveyard on a regular basis; it was usually on his assigned patrol routes. But tonight, it seemed a little different to him. A shadow on the ground drew his attention. He dipped down, alighting a distance away from the shadow's path.

Hiding behind a tree, he watched as the shadow stopped at a gravesite not far from where he stood. The shadow knelt down, pulling debris away from the headstone. It was only then he realized who it was, when he saw the name reflected in the moonlight.

"Rosanna," he whispered to himself. He turned to leave.

"Hello, mother."

He stopped as soon as he heard Rosanna speak. Quietly, he crouched closer to the tree to listen.

"I brought some new flowers for you. Lilies. I know you like them." Rosanna took a bundle out from under her folded wings, approaching the side of the headstone and planting them in its flower holder. She knelt back down by the marker.

"The clan is all right. We're safe, we keep the city safe, everything's under control ... no, I'm lying. Everything's not all right."

She slumped down, closer to the ground, now. "It's Dad. I don't know what's happened to him, but he's ... aging faster lately. He's starting to look his age, in human terms, if you know what I mean. It started when you left us, but I think it's begun going faster since Angela left. She could never understand him. Quite frankly, neither could I."

Samson turned away from the scene, but his ears kept listening.

"I'm worried, Mom. He worries me a lot, just sitting there, brooding. It's almost like ... he's given up. I can't snap him out of it, he frustrates me so much! I'm at my wit's end with him." She started sobbing. "I don't know what to do, mom!"

Samson could feel himself beginning to soften. Before he could let himself go too far, he stood up quickly, running to take off.

"I'm all right, Steve."

"No, you're not. As much as my father could read Elisa's moods, I can read yours."

Rosanna gave Steve a sideways look. "Am I that emotional? Was she?"

"No. Just call it an inherited Bluestone family weirdness. This is really upsetting you, and I want to know why."

Rosanna took a deep breath. "Did your father ever tell you the circumstances around my mother's death?"

"No. If he did, I don't remember."

Rosanna nodded. "He told me a couple years ago, because he felt it was my right as her daughter to know ..."

"I hate daylight raids."

Matt Bluestone turned and looked at his partner, Elisa Maza. They were standing outside of a dockside warehouse, waiting to commence a raid on a smuggling ring.

"Why? Because your winged hubby isn't here?"

She smirked at him. "Very funny, Bluestone. He'll be here shortly." She looked down at her watch: 5:44. Only eight more minutes until sunset.

"So, how are you guys?"

"We're okay. I'm just glad that Xanatos was able to foot the bill for Rose's private school, I don't think she'd be able to handle kids around here."

Bluestone shrugged. "Folks in Connecticut are more tolerant anyway." Her down expression suddenly caught his attention. "You miss Rose, don't you?"

"Who wouldn't? I'm just glad she's away from Quarrymen and most of the other assorted New York anti-gargoyle wackos."

Their conversation was interrupted by SWAT captain Jeff Reed, calling on their radio. "Detectives? The warrant came through. Commence when ready."

Bluestone pulled the radio out of Elisa's car. "Copy, Reed. Operation is a go, repeat, operation is a go."

Elisa pulled her service pistol out of her jacket. "Let's go, Matt!"

"Good evening, Goliath. We have a surprise for you." The elder Xanatos smiled wider as he stepped aside, letting the person behind him rush forward.

"Daddy!"

Goliath happily greeted his younger daughter, Rosanna, pulling her into a tight embrace. "When did you get back?"

"This morning. I'm spending the weekend here."

He hugged her for a moment longer, then set her down, turning out toward Manhattan. "I'm sorry this is so brief, but I must go. Elisa needs my help on a raid this evening."

"Cool! Take me with, I'm not missing this!"

Goliath shot a glance at her. "Why?"

"I am half-gargoyle, Daddy. Wouldn't you like a spare set of wings?"

She did have a point, Goliath scolded himself. "All right. Try to keep up."

Rosanna unfurled her wings, revealing a wingspan that nearly rivaled Goliath's. The father and daughter launched themselves from the wall, into the dark Manhattan sky.

Reed's instructions were answered by a barrage of gunfire from the warehouse's top floor. Amid cries of "Take cover!" Elisa found herself behind the lead SWAT vehicle, next to Reed.

"Well, I take it that's a 'no.'"

Reed pulled his radio out. "Team A, Team B, move in. Sniper A, be ready!"

"Copy."

Elisa cocked her weapon, checking on the security of the Kevlar vest she wore, and turned back toward the warehouse. A ventilation duct caught her attention just to the left of the main entrance. She smiled.

"Reed, cover me. I've got an idea."

"Oh, God, I know what that means, Maza." Reed turned back to the radio. "Team C, provide cover fire for Detective Maza, she's going in!"

"Copy." Semi-automatic weapons began firing from the police line toward the windows of the warehouse, as Elisa scrambled toward the duct she had seen.

"It's a shootout! Be careful."

Rosanna smirked, something that reminded Goliath so much of his mate. "Always am, Dad." She went down to all fours, crawling toward the front edge of the roof, where her father was waiting.

A blur of red motion caught Rosanna's eye. Focusing, she suddenly recognized the red streak.

"Dad! Mom's in the middle of the crossfire!"

Goliath's face took on an expression of unadulterated horror. He pulled himself up to full height, beginning a suicide dive toward the love of his life.

Suddenly, he saw the one he was looking for. True, it was part of their merchandise, but it wouldn't matter much if they were caught. He slapped the clip into the feed slot of the weapon and continued firing.

The vibrations of the gun stopped only momentarily to show the yellow text stenciled on the clip:

Armor piercing.

Absently, she heard Bluestone behind her, screaming something about armor-piercing rounds. She didn't take heed until she heard something from above.

"ELISA, GET DOWN!!!"

At that moment, another burst of weapons fire erupted from the top floor.

It was aimed perfectly.

"MOM!!"

Matt Bluestone stood in utter shock. Deadened for a moment, he finally got the composure to reach for the radio in Elisa's car.

"Officers down." His voice broke. "Repeat, officers down, one SWAT squad and Detective Maza."

The fourth had hit dead center in Elisa's chest. It too had pierced the Kevlar vest.

Weakly, Elisa opened her eyes. She saw Goliath first, then Rosanna. She smiled for a moment, sighed as deeply as she could, then brought Goliath's head down to her.

"You'll be all right, Elisa. I'll get you to a hospital."

She gasped a weak breath, gave her mate one last kiss, then breathed a short message to Goliath.

"With your shield or on it."

Her eyes closed. Her chest sank. Her entire body relaxed.

Goliath and Rosanna were lost in their grief. Tears flowed freely from the eyes of both father and daughter, tears which were followed by outraged roars. Leaving the body where it lay, the two gargoyles savagely punched through the roof, scratching and clawing at the band of smugglers, a mere six men, savagely tearing into them, letting all their fury loose on the cop-killers. Finally, all six were unconscious, carried by Rosanna out the front door of the warehouse.

The cops were more than grateful to the two gargoyles, but they didn't care. Goliath climbed back up the side of the warehouse, coming back down with Elisa's body cradled in his arms. Bluestone approached them cautiously.

"Are you ..."

Goliath glared at the detective, handing him the body. "We are physically well, Bluestone. But my soul has been hurt beyond repair."

Goliath turned away, walking out toward the next warehouses on the pier. Rosanna jogged to catch up with her father. When she finally caught up with him, he dropped to his knees, consumed in grief. Rosanna could do nothing more than wrap her arms around her grieving father.

Alexander sighed. "He'll live, at least. He had some internal injuries that were pretty serious, but I mended his bones, which is mostly what I had to do. Sunrise is pretty close, so his stone sleep should heal his internal injuries."

Owen exited, as well. He motioned to the gargoyle and the cop. "You can see him now, but not too long."

Rosanna nodded, entering the lab with Steve not too far behind.

"Rosanna ... I ..."

Rosanna smiled. She couldn't hide the tear slowly rolling down her cheek. "Hi, Daddy."

Goliath smiled. "It's been too long since you've called me that."

Steve came up behind Rosanna. "I need to know, Goliath, what happened? We need to know."

Goliath sighed. "I went to Elisa's grave." He gave an embarrassed look at his daughter. "I'm ashamed to say this, but I went there to die."

Rosanna sobbed again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ..."

"It wasn't just what you said tonight, my daughter. You were right. It's just ... I've felt so weak since her death. I wasn't fast enough ..."

"And I shouldn't have kept you from leaving so long. It's nobody's fault. We have to let it go. If we don't the Rokkans will surely defeat us."

The mention of the alien race suddenly startled Goliath. His eyes widened, as he tried to sit up.

"Rosanna, it was the Rokkans that did this to me. The Rokkans ... and Demona."

A small fire lit itself inside Rosanna's heart. The mere mention of her stepmother's name gave her over to rage.

"Let us take care of her, Daddy. We'll get rid of the Rokkans and Demona. She'll be sorry she ever crossed us."

Goliath sighed again. Another smile came across his face. "You've become so much like your mother ..."

At that moment, the sun came up, and Goliath turned to stone, still prone on the exam table. Rosanna smiled.

"Sleep well." She turned around, walking into the embrace of Steve Bluestone. She was so emotionally spent, she didn't even react as she folded back into the human Rose Maza.

Alexander Xanatos, owner of the massive Aerie building and guardian of the gargoyles who called it their home, leveled his gaze at Rose Maza suspiciously. The tears from the previous night's drama had yet to dry from her cheeks, yet she was asking him to do something dangerous and potentially foolhardy.

"Wake 'em up, Alex. We need surprise, and if Demona told them anything about the clan, they won't expect this." Her gaze was steady, level, not anxious or emotional at all.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Alexander turned to face the gathered gargoyles, raising his hands over his head and closing his eyes. Weird, arcane energies gathered about him, swirling and building in strength until they completely enveloped him. He looked toward the stone gargoyles and smiled, enigmatically.

"WAKE UP CALL!!!"

The focused energies blasted from the arms of the quarter-fae Xanatos, eddying and swirling about the gargoyles. Almost five seconds later, cracks formed on the stone surfaces, allowing their own eldritch energies to escape. Finally, the breathing, living gargoyles burst free of their stone shells, roaring into the sky.

The morning sky.

Samson was the first to say anything. "What gives?" He looked down to see Rose standing there. "What's going on?"

Rose giggled. "That's right, you've never seen me like this, have you? Well, get used to it fast. Everybody, gather around, I'll tell you why I just had Alexander wake you."

A presence in the room roused him from slumber. Turning sleepily, he saw two human shadows looking in from the doorway. He yawned loudly.

"What's up?"

The two humans slowly walked into the room. The male figure, an older man, spoke. "We wanted to see Goliath. We heard what happened to him."

Recognition flashed. "Oh, now I remember. The Mazas." He stood up. "I'm sorry, we didn't meet formally. Detective Steve Bluestone, NYPD."

The older man shook Steve's hand briskly. "Peter Maza, NYPD retired. My daughter, Beth." Beth came up and shook Steve's hand, the turned to look at Goliath.

"Do you know him very well?"

Beth looked up at Steve. "We first met him when he and Elisa turned up in Arizona, on that quest of theirs. We didn't know then how serious they would be."

Steve nodded. "And what about Rose? How welcome was she into your family?"

Peter approached the table, settling next to his daughter. "Very. You have to understand, Steve, it didn't matter to us that her father was a gargoyle, we loved her all the same. We still do. She comes to see us whenever possible, and always brings dinner. Diane ... she loved Rose to death."

Steve placed a hand on Peter's shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, sir. Rosanna told me about it."

Peter's countenance dropped. "First Elisa ... then Diane. And now I fear that Goliath may be the next of our family to die."

The collected gargoyles discussed amongst themselves what Rose had just told them. Finally, it was Samson who spoke up.

"Let's do it."

Quickly, the other clanmembers chimed in.

Graeme: "I'm in."

Ariana: "Cool."

Broadway: "Lead the way."

Lexington: "I'm in, but let Cadillac stay behind."

Pontiac: "Where my mate goes, I go."

Griff: "That's what I'm here for."

Nokkar: =The Rokkan do not react very well to surprises. I will go.=

Slash nodding his head eagerly was finally what clinched Rose's decision. She turned to Alex, next to her. "Do it, Alex."

More mystic energies gathered about the industrialist, which finally climaxed in his incredible yell.

"ROSANNA, COME ON DOWN!"

Alex blasted the energy toward Rose, allowing the magic to course through and around the tailed human. She started going into convulsions, screaming loudly until the wings sprouted out of her back, stretching out against the clear morning sky. Her height increased, her skin changed colors, feet and hands turned into talons. Finally, Rosanna stood before the clan.

She was smiling.

"Let's kick some Rokkan butts."

"Follow them. They will lead us there."

The pilot turned around to face his employer. "May I remind you, sir, that they've never been too receptive of your assistance."

"They don't need to know I'm helping them, Vogel." The black-clad man sat back further in his seat. "I know she's with the Rokkans. They are going to find her. And when they do ..."

He pulled out an ancient weapon, a heavy broadsword bearing a family crest: MacBeth.

"... oblivion comes for me at last."

"Yennit alis fresed

Yennit reouns gorret

Yennit friis larnit alorren!"

The energies which had built up from her hands shot out far and wide from the place she stood. All around her, the stone faces of her companions changed to those of living beings, all of which began to reduce in size, until they all matched the height of the woman in the center. Though they retained their unusual skin colors, they all appeared ... strangely human.

The lead alien applauded. =Well done, Demona. This will do nicely.=

Demona smiled. The reverie was interrupted, though, by the flashing of warning lights around them. The lead Rokkan directed one of his warriors to a panel.

=The gargoyles are attacking.=

Demona's eyes widened. "That's impossible! It's 10:30 in the morning!" She strode with purpose toward the panel where the younger Rokkan stood, and looked. Her eyes narrowed, her blood boiled.

The gargoyles were indeed attacking.

And the half-breed was at the point.

The gargoyles glided to their attack points, weapons at the ready. Rosanna turned to her headset.

"Griff, Nokkar, are you set up back there?"

"Ready to go, Rosanna, just give the word."

Rosanna nodded, turning to Ariana. "On my signal, fire. All teams, on my signal, fire!"

"Two can play at this game!" She raised her arms, allowing the magic to gather at her command once more.

A laser blast from the side of the ship disrupted his train of thought, as it sailed just between the two gunships. The panicked calls of the pilots met his ears, through his headset.

"Back off, split up!"

=No. We stay here.=

Griff looked up at the other chopper, where his fellow warrior waited. "If we don't move, we're toast!"

=We stay here. We stay until Rosanna calls for us.=

Griff turned back away, grumbling, "But what bloody good will we be if they cook our arses before we get the signal?"

Just as a laser volley sailed overhead, the hanger doors of the ship opened wide, allowing the attackers to pour forth. The sheer numbers of the defense force took Rosanna by surprise.

"Break off! Evasive action, take as many down as you can! Nokkar, Griff, get over here now!"

Now that the attackers approached closer, Rosanna got a good look at the Rokkans. Her eyes widened, in an expression of unadulterated horror.

The Rokkans were gargoyles. Giant ones. While she mumbled something to herself about "this explains a couple things," Rosanna was hit broadside be another attacker, what appeared to be a smaller Rokkan, in one of their uniforms. Rosanna rolled with the blow, recovering enough to see who the attacker was.

"Die, freak!"

Rosanna didn't even need to see the face to know who it was. Demona. The hybrid's eyes glowed red, as she zoomed in to counterattack her stepmother.

=Prepare to move, Sir Griff.=

"I've been ready." Griff cocked the weapon in his hands, releasing his grip on the chopper's skids and gliding at high speed into the fracas. Nokkar dropped out of a rescue hatch in the bottom of his gunship, igniting a personal jet and streaking into the fight, laser blazing.

Lex sped through two more Rokkans, watching with satisfaction as they rammed hard into each other and fell from the fight. He looked over at Samson, grinning.

"These guys aren't so tough!"

Samson was about to agree as he blasted another one, but at that moment, a Rokkan grabbed Samson's head from behind, gripping into his artificial eye. The next few moments were torture for Lex, as he watched the Rokkan pull the cyberimplant free from its flesh-and-bone moorings.

Samson let out a primal scream of pain. Lex rushed over to catch the unconscious gargoyle, grabbing Samson with his legs and pulling him to safety. He clicked on his radio.

"Rosanna, Samson's down. He's in major cyber trauma. I'm taking him back to the Aerie building."

"Go, Lex. Broadway's going with you."

Lex acknowledged, turning around and heading back to the castle. Feeling himself lose his grip, he yelled for his rookery brother.

"BROADWAY! GET OVER HERE!"

The blind gargoyle came to his rookery brother's side, grasping the unconscious Samson in both his arms. Lex let out a sigh of relief.

"Geez, Broadway, he's almost as heavy as you are."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny. Let's get my son home." Broadway followed Lex into the morning air.

A sudden laser blast caught Broadway square in his back, and he began to fall to earth. Lex went into a nosedive, trying to direct Broadway's fall toward something closer to them than the pavement. Alighting on a rooftop, Lex guided his brother in.

"Where are we, Lex?"

"Don't know. You were hit pretty hard, we're on a convenient rooftop."

Broadway sniffed. Something very familiar in the air ... a fragrance ... orchids ...

"We're at Nightstone."

Lex looked up at his rookery brother. "Are you sure?"

"I can smell her, Lex. I can smell Angela here."

"All right, Mr. Gates, I'll let my mother know you called. She'll be quite excited about this deal, I'm sure." She hung up. Just as she did, though, the doors opened violently. She stood up, angry.

"What is this? This is a private office, get ..."

Suddenly she saw what the commotion was. Two gargoyles walked through the now-destroyed doors, carrying a third. She paid no attention to her doors now.

"How is this possible?" She looked down at her watch. "It's 11:15 in the morning!"

The shorter gargoyle looked up at the bigger one. "I think it's a mistake, bro. This isn't her."

The woman approached carefully. The bigger gargoyle took in a deep breath through his nose, smiling when he smelled something that satisfied him.

"Angela. It is you. Come and help me, our son has been injured."

The shorter one looked at the woman sideways. "Angela?!"

"Broadway. Lexington." She walked up to Broadway, cold-cocking him and making him drop Samson.

"What was that for?"

"Who the HELL do you think you are, bursting in on me like this?! Don't come to me just because one of your clan is injured. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I am not your mate anymore, Broadway. Gather your things and get out of here before I call security and have you removed forcibly. And believe me, Nightstone security can make your life very miserable."

Broadway's face crossed into an anger that Lex had never seen before. He stood over his fallen son, facing down the woman.

"You listen to me, Angela. I was shot down over here by folks working with your mother, the same guys who decided to make a jigsaw puzzle out of our son." Broadway suddenly grabbed Angela by her shoulders, turning her forcibly to face her injured son. "Now, are you going to help us, or are you going to watch your son ... our son ... bleed to death in your office?!"

"Rosanna, Pontiac's down. I'm going back to the castle with her!"

"Ack --"

"Rosanna, we have to pull out, there's just too many of them!"

Rosanna looked over at Ariana, struggling with another four attackers trying to capture her. Three laser blasts from Rosanna later, they were off and falling. Ariana looked over at Rosanna, who quickly signaled her with a hand across her neck.

"Pull out! Everyone pull out and regroup. Back to the castle!"

She watched as her clan pulled out of the attack. Ariana glided up to the side of her brother, carrying the injured Pontiac. Satisfied that everyone was gone, Rosanna turned back to check on the Rokkans.

Most of them had returned to their home base. Rosanna nodded.

"We'll be back."

She turned to leave ...

"Farewell, Rosanna. May you decay slowly and painfully."

The bubbles came up for a short time.

Then they stopped.

Finally, she decided she may as well know where she is. She picked her head up, opening her eyes ...

... to the brilliant lights of an interrogation. She could barely make out the silhouettes before her, but it was obvious that they were Rokkans. Every so often, their eyes tended to glow. But it wasn't the white or red glow of earth-born gargoyles: their eyes glowed a deep blue.

She turned to look at her hands, seeing that they were separated and shackled, suspending her off the floor. Looking down at her feet, she saw they were the same way. She experimentally tried flexing her wings, only to find that they, too, were shackled. Obviously, the Rokkans knew how to keep a gargoyle captive.

=You are Rosanna, correct?=

She turned her attention back toward the silhouettes through the lights. "No, I'm Zsa Zsa-freaking-Gabor. Tell me something I don't know."

The Rokkans mumbled between themselves. Obviously, her sarcastic burst had caught them by surprise. She allowed herself to smile slightly.

=It would be wise of you to cooperate, Rosanna.=

"And do what? Betray my clan, betray my planet? I don't think so, tall-dark- and-ugly. Find somebody else to be your stoolie, it's not gonna be me."

A smaller silhouette came forward to join the other Rokkans. Before recognition could sink in, a blue talon lashed out at her, leaving a bright red mark across the young gargess' face.

"Your wit is well known, Rosanna. But trust me, it is wasted here. It's only a matter of time."

Rosanna's eyes glowed, turning back to the owner of the talon. "Right, Demona. I'm really going to be afraid of you."

"You had better be, freak. Once the clan learns of your capture, they will do anything to rescue you. And that's when we will deliver the death blow."

Although she wouldn't admit it aloud, Angela was glad to see her son. She just couldn't let Broadway know, he might translate her affection into an attempt to return to the clan. But why should she return? She had everything here with Mother, what more could she possibly want?

The blind eyes of Broadway lay, unmoving, on her. She knew he couldn't see anything, but it still made her nervous. She was relieved, though, that Lexington had left an hour before.

"Okay, I think that'll do it." Angela clicked a small titanium plate into place on Samson's face, satisfied that her repairs would hold. The power source was running as per the manufacturer instructions, but she had had to cannibalize some parts for the implant, due to the incompatibility of Nightstone electronics to the Xanacorp implant. Just to be sure, she kept Samson unconscious, walking around the table and pulling off her gloves.

"Will he ..."

"It wasn't life threatening, if that's what you were worried about. He should have full use of his eye when he comes to." She wiped off her hands, tossing the towel into the wastebasket. "You were right to bring him here. If you'd made the full flight to Xanacorp, he'd be permanently blinded."

Broadway nodded, adjusting himself in the seat and wincing a bit.

"What happened to you?"

Broadway suddenly became self-conscious, stopped writhing. "Oh, nothing ... I got nailed in the back by a Rokkan on my way, that's why I had to stop here. I lost all the strength in my arms, and nearly dropped Samson."

Angela sighed. "Let me take a look." Broadway obediently turned his back to her, allowing her to see the injury. She only nodded. "You've got some pretty bad laser burns back here. I'd better treat them, it might become septic and you'll never make it to sunrise then."

"Okay."

Angela stood up, going into her cabinet to get some burn supplies.

"Hey, Uncle Lex. Where were ya?"

Nervously, he replied, "Nowhere. I had to leave Broadway and Samson hidden, hopefully they can make it to daylight." Suddenly, his expression changed from anxiety to fear. "I heard about my mate, how's Pontiac doing?"

"She's in the medlab with Owen and Alex. It's nothing major, she should be okay. Cadillac's already there, go on."

Lexington sped past the younger gargoyle, jumping in the doorway and running toward the medlab. Ariana came out to her brother.

"I'm glad we got to meet her."

"Yeah." Graeme's shoulders slumped. "Too bad about what's going to happen, though."

Ariana put an arm around her depressed brother.

The guard looked curiously at Rosanna, as if she were making a scientific study. Yes, she, Rosanna decided. This guard looked quite female. Swinging her head so that her wet hair slopped back down her back, Rosanna turned her eyes toward her current guard.

"Can you see me better now?"

Caught unawares, the guard stammered for a moment. It was clear to Rosanna that this was a young Rokkan. Maybe a teenager.

=I apologize. You are just quite fascinating.=

"Thanks, but I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment, coming as it is from a Rokkan."

The guard lowered her eyelids.

"Oh, wait, don't go away! I could use a good conversation, most of the guards who've been here were pretty quiet." Rosanna narrowed her eyes, trying to catch a good glimpse of the guard. "What's your name?"

=Our kind have no names.=

Rosanna nodded. "You know, my kind used to be like that."

=Your kind? You mean the gargoyles?=

"Exactly. In the ancient times, my father was the only one who actually had a name, and it was the humans who gave it to him. He's called Goliath."

The guard came closer to Rosanna. She seemed interested.

=Tell me about your father.=

In the medlab, Goliath finally awakened, stretching his limbs and roaring his discontent. The first to approach him were Alexander Xanatos and Steve Bluestone.

"How do you feel tonight?"

Goliath gripped his temples. "I will live, Alexander. My stone sleep has healed my injuries, I believe." He turned his massive head, looking at the table next to him and seeing an unknown web-winged gargoyle. "Who is that?"

"That's Pontiac, Goliath. My mate."

Goliath turned around to see a friendly, familiar face. "Lexington!" Goliath stood up and embraced his returned clansman. "When did you come?"

"Last night. I brought Pontiac and our daughter with me." He pointed behind Goliath, who turned to see the young gargoyle Cadillac, sitting next to her mother. Lexington strode past Goliath to be at his mate's side. Steve Bluestone tapped Goliath on the arm.

"I need to talk to you, now."

"What is it ... Bluestone, correct?"

Steve nodded. "The clan went out on a raid on the Rokkans this morning. Alex over there used some magic to wake them up, so they could sneak attack."

Goliath nodded. "He is powerful."

"Goliath ... nobody's seen Rosanna come back."

A shadow of concern crossed Goliath's face. "Samson is her second-in-command ..."

Lexington turned around. "Samson's not here, either. He's with Broadway, they're laying low until sunup."

"Goliath," Steve levelly pleaded, "the Rokkans aren't going to let this slide for very long. They're sure to counterattack. Whether you like it or not, this clan needs a leader."

"How can you stand that? I never get to hear Rose go through that, but hearing what it feels like, it must be difficult."

Angela closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure. "I got used to it after about a month. Mother says that eventually I won't feel it at all."

His shoulders drooped. "We've missed you, Angela."

"The clan can go on without me. Rosanna's made sure of ..."

"I don't mean the clan. I mean us. Me and Samson."

Angela turned her head slightly to see her son, lying prone on the next exam table. She sighed quietly, sadly.

"I heard that, Angela."

Surprised, she turned back to the heavy-set male before her. "I'm almost done, Broadway. If I were you, I'd get back to the castle as soon as possible."

"I suppose you're right." Broadway stood up, feeling his way over to his son and lifting him up. He turned slightly to his left, toward Angela.

"Thank you, Angela. You know you'll be welcome if you ever want to come back to us."

She could only nod, watching as Broadway carried their son through the hallway, jumping out the window. She felt relieved.

She was glad Broadway's improved hearing couldn't hear her tears fall.

=Why did you never try to rule the humans?=

"That's not our way. Gargoyles do not live to rule, they live to protect. My father's deepest dream was that humanity and gargoyle kind could find a way to interact peacefully and accept each other. He hoped more humans could follow his example."

=His example?=

"My mother was human."

This revelation seemingly did nothing to faze the guard. She nodded, slowly.

=That explains why the little one had such interest in having you detained. She has made it clear to us that the humans are meant to be destroyed.=

"You mean Demona, don't you?"

The guard nodded. =But from what I've seen of humanity, what you have shown me, I do not understand her.=

"That's her own dementia. She blames humans for every bad thing that has happened to her in her incredibly long lifetime, but the real cause is her own stubbornness and ego."

The guard was just about to reply again when an alarm blared throughout the ship. A klaxon bellowed over the chaos.

=All footsoldiers to the exterior. Earth forces attacking.=

The guard turned to look at Rosanna again. =Is this your clan?=

"I don't know about this one."

"Weapons are ready, sir. P-33 missiles and RR-290 particle beam weapons at your discretion."

The gray-bearded pilot nodded. "Time to die." He pulled the trigger on his pilot stick, sending missles flying toward the alien ship.

"It sounds like the damage is quite extensive."

The guard didn't hear her. She was trying to contact a supervisor through her comm. link.

=What is going on? I need orders.=

=Orders are to stay there and guard the prisoner. The situation is under control.=

The guard seemed upset. =Acknowledged.=

Another blast rocked the ship, sending debris flying through the door to the prisoner quarters. The guard caught the brunt of it, collapsing under large pieces of jagged metal, and catching her leg under a particularly large panel. Another Rokkan passing in the passageway looked in.

=Help me! Help me!=

The other Rokkan, a male by Rosanna's calculation, simply looked at the helpless guard. He pulled a small item out of his belt, pointing it an firing at the fallen guard.

=Good death, friend.= He ducked back out the door, into the passage, and continued on his way.

"What did he do to you?!"

The guard heavily supported herself on one arm. =It is ... a Rokkan tradition. He shot me with a poison dart, so that I cannot be captured.=

"Gee, what a nice guy," Rosanna muttered to herself. "How long do you have?"

The guard's breath was becoming labored. =An hour at the most.=

Rosanna thought hard about her next decision. If she let the guard die, she would still be trapped here. If she were able to escape, she could rally the clan to attack once again. But she would leave the guard to die. What had the guard done to her ...?

Then again, she might help the clan ...

"Release me and I'll help you."

The guard looked up, puzzled. =Why would you help me? I am ... Rokkan, you are a gargoyle.=

"Because we have one thing in common. We both know our duty. We both have honor. Let me help you, and I swear to you my clan will not try to harm you."

The guard let out another labored breath. Finally, she pulled a small device out of her own belt. Tapping a couple of the buttons, she pushed down on a trigger key.

The sounds of the shackles unhooking were music to Rosanna's ears. She leaped over to the guard, pulling with all of her strength on the panel on top of the Rokkan guard.

Finally, she was free. She limped back to Rosanna.

=What is the use of freeing me? In less than an hour, the poison runs its course and I will be dead anyway.=

"No, you won't. I'm bringing you with me, back to the building." Rosanna jogged over to the opposite wall, picking up a Rokkan particle rifle. "Stand clear!"

The guard did as Rosanna told her. Rosanna cocked the gun, pointing it at the bulkhead and pulling back on the trigger. The resulting hole in the hull was enough for anything to fall through, including Rosanna and the guard.

"Can you still glide?"

=I'll try.= Together, they jumped out the hole, unfurling their wings and gliding away from the battle zone as fast as they possibly could.

Vogel's warning brought his attention away from the combat. He turned toward the starboard window, to see two gargoyle-shaped things gliding away from the ship. For some mysterious reason, MacBeth smiled.

"It's all right, Vogel. Leave them alone. That's Rosanna."

Vogel was about to reply when a Rokkan punched through the glass of the airship.

Steve Bluestone, just coming up to where the rest of the clan was, pointed his line of vision toward the opposite horizon. Suddenly, he saw two silhouettes approaching.

"Guys! Somebody's coming!"

The assembled gargoyles ran back over to the other side, seeing Broadway and Samson approach. Hurriedly, they assembled around the two returnees.

"Where you guys been?"

"Healing up, that's all. Where's Rosanna?"

They suddenly became quiet. Turning to Goliath, he answered Broadway's question.

"She didn't come back this morning. We don't know where she is."

All eyes turned downward. Alexander Xanatos chose that moment to climb up to the parapets. Looking toward the battle, he soon saw two silhouettes becoming ever larger as they approached.

"Alex, you there?"

"Hey! It's Rosanna!" He adjusted the microphone to his lips. "I'm here, Rosanna. What's up, where ya been?"

"No time. I've got a friend with me, she'll need your skills."

Rosanna alighted, lightly touching down on the stones and laying down her armload, a gigantic Rokkan female. The entire clan kept their distance from the alien, allowing only Alexander and Rosanna near her.

"What's wrong with her? And for that matter, why do we care?"

"She helped me escape the Rokkan mothership, Alex. She's been pumped up with some kind of weird poison, and she's got internal injuries."

Alex nodded, turning to Owen. "What do you think, old teacher?"

The incognito trickster approached slowly. "The poison will be easy for you, Alexander. The hard part will be curing her, she matches nothing on earth, save the gargoyles ..."

"Oh, I've got an idea." The sorcerer placed both of his hands on the prone Rokkan's form. The strange energies which found their origin from Alexander's quarter-fae heritage soon swirled and built around him and the sick alien.

"First to take care of the poison." He allowed a globe of energy to form above the alien's head. Into the sphere, a strange white fluid began filling it, not stopping until it was completely full. With a motion of his hand, Alex bid the sphere to fly across the city, ultimately dumping its potentially fatal cargo into the thin air, as water.

"And now, here's my idea."

He put his hands back on the Rokkan. Closing his eyes to concentrate, he began chanting, canting back and forth as he did.

The lights surrounding Alex and the Rokkan became blinding.

Building her courage, she finally opened her eyes. She was relieved to see Rosanna there. But wait ... something was wrong. She was on her back. Rosanna was standing over her.

Memories came back to her. She remembered ... talking to Rosanna in the holding cell ... the attack ... the panel pinning her down ... her mate condemning her ...

... and finally, the freed Rosanna pulling her free of the panel and helping her flee the battle. Rosanna said she would help you, she thought ... did she release you from the poison?

"Are you all right?"

Something was wrong. Rosanna's voice sounded different. She opened her mouth to reply.

"What has happened?"

Her eyes opened widely. Her voice! Her voice was different!

"What has happened to me? What have you done?!"

A human crouched down to her eye level. He was strangely attired, and much too calm for her own taste.

"I just saved your life ... I hope you appreciate it."

Rosanna extended her hand. "You fell unconscious while we were flying back here. I asked Alex to save you life, and he did. He took the poison from your system."

She began hyperventilating. "What have you done to me?!"

Rosanna's face took on a look of desperation. "I'm sorry, it's the only way we could save you. Your injuries were too severe ... Alex didn't know what to do with you ... so ... he kind of ... sort of ... turned you into a gargoyle."

She stood up, horrified.

"What?! You've turned me into a gargoyle?!"