The giant stood tall, towering over everyone on the battlement, including Goliath. She was angry, that much was obvious. Rosanna desperately approached her, trying to calm her down.

"Now wait a minute, friend. We just saved your life, please hear us out!"

"How have you saved my life? I'm no longer myself, I'm a gargoyle!"

"Maybe so, but look at us, then look at yourself. You aren't any different, you just ..."

The giant looked around at the group. True, they seemed very Rokkan in form and body, but they were short. How could she ever coexist with these beings?

She looked at herself. True, she looked no different. But the way she felt ... she was alive. Unconsciously, she allowed herself to smile.

"I'm alive. I'm alive!"

"Yes, that's what we've been trying to tell you!"

She finally let her guard down. She turned to Rosanna, a grateful look on her face.

"How can I ever repay you?"

Rosanna sighed, relieved. "Well, you'll never survive any attack and conquest by the Rokkans now. So ... we need your help to defeat them."

The furious blue gargoyle leaped into the face of her Rokkan escort, eyes glowing an angry red. She had nearly destroyed her penthouse office at Nightstone, her fury was so great.

"She was HELPLESS! She was under CONSTANT GUARD!! And that jerk MacBeth attacks, and everything goes straight to HELL in a HANDBASKET!!"

=Please calm yourself, Demona. She will not be escaped for long.=

Angela was just entering the office, but she observed from a distance the drama unfolding.

"Not be escaped for long?! She's only Goliath's daughter, she's inherited her father's ANNOYING tendency for CLEAN ESCAPES!!"

"Mother, get down, you'll hurt yourself!"

Demona turned to her daughter now, eyes still glowing. "And you ... you little TRAITOR!"

Demona forgot about the Rokkan for a moment, taking the opportunity to lunge at Angela, fangs and talons bared.

"What the HELL was BROADWAY doing here?! Don't try to deny it, I have the security camera tape!"

"It's not my fault, he crash-landed here ..."

Demona delivered an back-hand slap to her daughter's face, sending the younger gargess sprawling, nearly into the next room. She stood in the doorway, heaving her shoulders, breathing heavily. A bit calmer, she turned back to the Rokkan.

"What did you mean, she won't be escaped for long?"

=Shortly after the attack began, the guard who helped her escape found herself trapped under debris. Her mate passed by her in the passageway, and shot her.=

"What does that have to do with anything? I know about your traditions."

=There was a tracer along with the dose of poison. I'm sure that Rosanna took that guard back with her to the rebel headquarters. We'll be able to know where the guard is, thus we'll find Rosanna, and bring the battle to them.=

Demona's face lit up. However, she was still a bit annoyed. "You didn't have to go through all that trouble. I know where they are already."

"What's going to happen to me?"

Rosanna stood next to her new friend, watching the sky begin to lighten. She could only sigh.

"You'll turn to stone for the entire day, until the sun sets. While you sleep, your body will heal itself. When you awaken tonight, you will feel more refreshed than you ever have before."

The giant nodded, slowly. Just then, the sun broke the horizon. Rather than take a threatening pose, like the rest of the clan, the giant chose only to stand tall, unafraid of the day. Soon her entire body had turned into a granite form.

Rosanna's own metamorphosis finally subsided, leaving her panting for air, but in her human form, that of Rose Maza. She took a last, cautionary look around the horizon before returning below, passing Slash on her way down. She turned to her cousin as she passed.

"Circle the castle a few times today, Slash. I want to be prepared for anything."

Slash nodded his great, furry head, continuing his climb to the high battlements. Rose continued down to the medlab, where she saw Steve Bluestone waiting for her.

"Hey, Rose." He tried to stifle a yawn, but failed.

"Steve, are you okay? You look beat."

"I am, to be truthful. How can you keep going like that?"

Rose chuckled under her breath. "One of the side effects of being a hybrid human-gargoyle is that my brain has no sleep centers. My gargoyle form heals when I'm human, and my human form heals while I'm a gargoyle." Seeing Steve half-consciously register this information, she patted him on a shoulder. "Come on, I'll have Owen prepare a room for you."

In the lead ship, its entire crew, a man and a woman, flipped switches all around them, guiding the ship into position. The man turned to his shipmate.

"Please tell me you're ready for this."

"As ready as I get, brother." She turned her eyes downward, he could see that through her mask. "I kinda wish Jonny had been here."

"No, you don't. He'd go on some kind of sanctimonious head trip, and start trying to kill our allies. Remember, we're only chasing the Demon."

She turned to her wheelchair-ridden brother. "How are we so sure that the others didn't join her?"

"Because I know, Robyn. They never would. She never would."

"This is about the Maza woman again, isn't it?"

He turned, angrily, toward her. "No, it isn't ... yes, it is. I made a promise to her at her grave. I swore I would not harm her clan, not a single one. I made that oath before God, Elisa, and her daughter."

"Oh well." Robyn turned back to her displays. "Coming up on Manhattan, Jason."

"Signal the fleet. Let's finish this." Jason pulled on his own mask.

The Hunters and their party descended on the city.

Slash alighted on a battlement, letting out a loud howl. This brought Rose, Alexander, and Owen to the castle to see what was happening.

"That's not good."

Rose grew angrier. "If they decide to smash the clan, there's no way we could stop them!"

Alex sighed heavily. "Well then, I guess it's time to bring out the relics."

Rose looked at him, eyes wide. "You don't mean ..."

"Indeed I do, Rose. Come on, Owen, it's time for the Steel Clan to fly again."

Owen nodded, following. Rose soon jogged after both men, followed closely by Slash.

"Signal the fleet." Jason stood up, flipping one of the switches on his exoskeletal spinal brace which clicked his Hunter armor around him. "Let's jet."

Robyn set the aircraft on its autopilot, clicking on her own armor.

"Let's go up."

Alex nodded back, as all three clicked down their helmets, activating their jets and flying skyward, toward the attacking Rokkans.

Within the confines of her Rokkan armor, Dominique Destine grinned maniacally. She pushed her thrusters forward, into the heart of the arena.

Her drive was suddenly interrupted by a flotilla of battle-suited troops. Though the faces were hidden, the colors told her all she needed to know.

Hunters.

"Will they attack? They are the last of the Quarrymen."

Rose turned to Owen, through the view of her helmet. "They won't. Trust me on this, Owen, I have an agreement with their commander." She thrusted forward, coming up at the side of the lead Quarryman, one of two with three diagonal slashes across the face of his helmet.

The Hunter gave her a sideways glance. "Rose."

"Jason. I was wondering how long it would be before you came."

"I made a promise. If I have nothing else, I must at least have my honor."

Rose nodded, the cumbersome Steel Clan armor barely allowing her to move her head. "We have forces waiting behind you, Jason. We'll follow your lead, but we must fight watching toward sunset."

The other Hunter came up behind Rosanna at that point, turning with concern to her brother and the hybrid. "We must be careful about your winged reinforcements, Rose. Some of our troops are old-school Quarrymen."

"Leave them to me. If they threaten the clan in any way, they're mine."

Robyn nodded. Rose turned back to Jason. "Whenever you're ready."

Jason nodded. "May God fly with us this afternoon." He turned toward his troops. "QUARRYMEN ATTACK!"

"Attack! ATTACK NOW!"

As quickly as she had given the order, the Rokkans jumped into the fray.

In the penthouse executive office of Nightstone Unlimited, Angela Destine sat with her back to the window, not wishing to pay attention to the chaos she was helping to create with her mother. She tried to focus on the marketing reports in front of her, but it became increasingly harder with every passing minute.

In frustration, she threw the documents off the desk, standing up and letting out a loud scream. Thankful that the walls of the office were sound proofed, she sat back down behind the desk.

Conflicting images flashed through her brain. Thoughts of her mother ... thoughts of the bright future she was trying to build for them ... thoughts of the end of the human race entirely ...

... but then her mind returned to her family. To Samson, the son who she had just treated for his injury the day before. To Rosanna; true, her enemy, but no matter, she was still her sister. To her father, sinking further into his depression with each passing night ...

... to Broadway. Poor, blinded, abandoned Broadway. And now she was helping her mother kill him. As if she hadn't done enough by leaving him.

Her head fell to the desk, her tears unsoothable.

On her way down, she checked the sun, then her watch. Only eight more minutes. She silently prayed that she had better luck than her mother.

The hard stone came too soon for the hybrid. She hit hard, knocking her unconscious and shattering the last vestiges of the armor around her. Her eyes lay half-open, unseeing, as the last Steel Clan robot fell under the attack.

The first to her side after her fall was Alexander. Quickly, he took off his helmet to attend to her injuries. His eyes closed, allowing an eldritch glow to emanate around the young woman's head.

Suddenly, she breathed a shallow word. "Mom."

He seemingly lost control of his power. Suddenly, Alex and Rose were fully bathed in light, surrounding them completely. When he finally was able to pull away, he saw Rose standing there, bereft of her armor but none the worse for wear.

Then he saw the glow.

"Rose?"

She turned to look at Alex. The glow in her eyes, bright white, intensified. When she spoke, though, was when he knew something was very wrong.

"No. Not right now."

She ran off the edge of the battlement, launching herself into the heart of the battle ... but without armor. Still, she was able to fly into the faces of the Rokkans and do what none of the present technology had done; destroy a Rokkan.

Owen alighted next to Alexander. "What did you do to her?"

"I wish I knew." He turned to his old teacher, fear in his eyes. "Owen, something terrible has just happened to Rose. She's possessed."

Owen arched an eyebrow.

"It gets worse. She's possessed ... by Elisa Maza."

Owen alighted next to Alexander. "What did you do to her?"

"I wish I knew." He turned to his old teacher, fear in his eyes. "Owen, something terrible has just happened to Rose. She's possessed."

Owen arched an eyebrow.

"It gets worse. She's possessed ... by Elisa Maza."

Dominique's face crunched in anger. "What do you mean, retreat? We have them where we want them!"

=One casualty is too many, Demona. All forces, retreat now.=

Dominique cursed under her breath. "All right. We'll regroup and try again. But you'll never have a better chance!"

Alex looked up to see Jason Canmore, one of the four remaining Hunter forces, landing. Jason's sister Robyn was not far behind.

"No, Jason. We have bigger things to worry about." Alexander turned to where Rose Maza had finally wound up, collapsed and unconscious. However, her eyes remained open, with the same eerie glow shining in them.

Owen returned to the battlement with medical supplies in hand. As suddenly as he had appeared in the doorway, the gargoyles began coming to life all around them, stretching and tossing stone skin all about as they roared to greet the evening.

The first one to notice was Samson. He motioned to Goliath to come to his side, and the two massive male gargoyles approached the huddled humans.

"What has happened? Where's Rosanna?"

Alexander stood up to face Samson and Goliath. "We're not sure. The Rokkans attacked during the day, we tried to hold them off but were unsuccessful. Then Rose crashlanded, I came over to help her, and then all of a sudden she was like this."

The clan's newest addition, the gigantic ex-Rokkan, alighted by the group. Her eyes opened widely, but she could say nothing. The face on the unconscious human lying in the center of the group belonged to Rosanna. However, the glow in her eyes indicated otherwise.

Then she saw the shadow. It approached slowly, at a calm walking pace. The shape of the shadow was human, but Rosanna had no way of knowing whether it was someone she could trust.

As the shadow came closer, Rosanna could make out some features. It was a woman, that was clear. She wore modern clothing, somewhat similar to what Rosanna herself preferred when she was human. The eyes beckoned to her. Dark brown eyes ... familiar eyes ...

"Mother?"

Finally, the shadow came right up to Rosanna. At this distance, it was easy to see who it was clearly.

"Hello, Rosanna. My daughter."

"Angela?"

She looked into the private bathroom of the office. Not there, either. Then where ...

The purple gargess stormed into the office, her worldly possissions hanging from her shoulder in a white overnight bag. Demona saw her in the corner of her eye, exiting the restroom.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't help you destroy the clan, mother. I can't."

Demona was surprisingly calm, it seemed. She walked back over to Angela's vacated desk, sitting down behind it. "And why not?"

"When I came to you six years ago, I was confused. I'm not any more. I can't run from my own crises, and whatever's happened to father is something I have to deal with on my own."

Demona's eyes glowed. "It's Broadway and Samson, isn't it?"

"You would ask me to destroy my own son! I can't do that, mother. I just can't!"

Angela turned on her heel, storming toward the office door. "Farewell, mother. Stay well."

From a secret panel under Angela's desk where it had been hidden for six years, Demona produced an extremely old document, unfolding it and raising her hand toward her daughter.

Against her will, Angela felt herself stop in mid stride. Demona allowed herself to smile slightly, returning to her spell.

Although Demona spoke no Spanish, she pronounced the spell with the accent of a native speaker. Angela put down her retreating foot, turning back around to see her mother sitting there.

"Oh, hello, mother. I didn't know you had come back." She looked around the office. "What happened here?"

"Don't you remember? I told you to take out your things so that the exterminator could come and fumigate."

Angela looked down at her overnight bag, still full. She nodded, seemingly remembering now. "Okay. Can I leave this in your office?"

"Of course, my dear." Demona smiled wider. Now there was no way she could be swayed. The "Obedient Child" spell she had found in pre-Inquisition Spain couldn't fail this time.

The group had reassembled in the medlab, where Alexander and Owen could keep a closer eye on Rose. Goliath stood at his daughter's side, holding her hand unconsciously. Around the walls, Samson, Steve Bluestone, Jason Canmore, and the giant stood.

"As near as I can tell." Alexander turned to Owen. "What exactly did I do and not know I did?"

Owen stroked his chin thoughtfully, his eyes deep in concentration. "Soul transferrence, Alexander. Displacing the soul of a living being and replacing it with the soul of the dead. In this case, Rose's soul is the displaced, and her mother's is the replacing soul."

"But how did I do it? I didn't speak an incantation, I didn't call on the power. All I did was ... touch her ..."

"Occasionally, that's all it takes. Magic that deals with souls is never an exact science. Sometimes, if the dead soul wants to come back to the living plane, it will take its own action. Did Rose say anything when you touched her?"

Alexander's face went white. "Oh my God, she did. She said, 'Mom.'"

"That was all it took." Owen sighed, unemotional as ever. "Unfortunately, this kind of soul transferrence can't be reversed. At least, it will not be reversed until Elisa's soul has finished what she wants to do here. Give her time."

Rosanna now sat with her mother on the green plain in her mind. Her confusion was still making things difficult.

"I came to you to reassure you." Elisa approached the gargess. "I hear you every night when you talk to me in your dreams. I hear Goliath, too. I hear his sorrow, as loudly as he is quiet here. He feels guilty for my ... untimely death. But he shouldn't."

"So what does that have to do with me?"

"You're unsure of yourself, Rose. You don't know if you'll be able to lead the clan to victory. But that's not important." Elisa sighed. "Do you remember what I said to your father before I died?"

Rosanna nodded. "'With your shield or on it.' I still don't know what it means."

"It was a blessing for a Spartan soldier. At that time, they carried very heavy shields, which hampered their speed. If a soldier was to flee from battle, he would have to drop his shield to run. The blessing commands the soldier to stay and fight, no matter what, that he should come home either with his shield, meaning he was the victor, or on it, which meant he was killed in battle."

Rosanna nodded. "I see. So, to defeat the invasion, we will have to fight until the bitter end, no matter what happens."

Elisa nodded again, this time taking her daughter's talons in her hands. "When your father went to my grave the other night, he went there to die. I couldn't let him do that, so I kind of helped his healing process along. And now I have things to tell him. To tell the whole clan, including the Rokkan you brought home last night." Elisa approached Rosanna closer. "Can I borrow your body for a while? I'll leave as soon as I'm done with it."

Rosanna stood up, with her mother. "But I don't want you to go." The gargess' eyes began to water.

"I never will." Elisa pushed Rosanna's hands meaningfully into her chest. "I'll always be there, in your heart. I'll be watching you. Always."

She could take it no longer. Rosanna pulled her mother into a tight, tearful embrace in the landscape of her own mind.

"Elisa? Is that you?"

The woman nodded. Her voice came as an otherworldly echo. "Yes. I have a message, for all of you."

She stood up, walking around the room toward the clan.

"I know, I can't say too much to you that you haven't already heard. But what I have to say will be important, if you want to defeat the Rokkans. Don't forget about everything you have learned about defending humanity, as that will be more important than ever. But now you must take on an offensive stance, and don't be afraid to leave your protectorate undefended to attack the Rokkans where they are. And believe me, the only way you will repel them is to take the fight to them."

She approached the giant.

"You will be of a great help to us. Your knowledge of the Rokkans' methods will be a huge asset to the effectiveness of the attacks. Let your feelings of betrayal and anger work for you. Rosanna gave you your liberty. Give Earth and her people theirs."

She turned to a group who had assembled in the midst of the lab, where Samson stood with his father. Lexington, Pontiac, Cadillac, Graeme and Ariana were there, too.

"Your courage, strength of character, and will will all be tested in the coming battles. Channel your emotions, and you will never fall."

She finally made her way to Goliath. Her eyes widened, shining.

"Leave behind your guilt, my love. It wasn't your fault. You don't have to punish yourself, you've suffered enough. Your sense of guilt will be your downfall if you let it dominate you." She pulled his head down toward her. "Remember that I love you. Now and forever."

She tenderly kissed the hulking gargoyle. In the brilliant flash around them, the others in the room could almost see through to the old times, see Elisa and the younger Goliath together, as they were meant to be.

Finally, the flash subsided. Rosanna stood there in her gargoyle form, tightly clinging to her father. When they finally disengaged, they looked upon each other with newly discovered eyes.

"Father?"

Goliath sighed. "Rosanna." They hugged once more.

Stepping down from southern wall, the gargoyle regarded by everyone as the clan's leader scanned over his brothers in arms. He nodded, self-satisfied.

"Gabriel!"

He turned to see Tom, the Guardian, rushing toward him.

"Guardian, what is wrong?" Gabriel looked around, not seeing one of his newer human friends. "Where is David and Fox?"

"They left this morning. Said something about their son needing them at home. Gabriel, we don't know where Lina is."

Gabriel looked to Ophelia, his mate. "Do you know where she may have gone?"

"Your guess is as good as mine lately. She's been spending more and more time across the island, near ..." Ophelia sighed as the memory of the Magus, their friend and companion in their earlier lives, returned to her.

Gabriel took Ophelia's silence as the answer to his question. "We'll go find her. She shouldn't be there, it's far too dangerous. Especially with the Gathering going on."

"I'll go with you." The Guardian jogged after Gabriel, leaving the castle.

"There you are! Where were you hiding?"

He approached her slowly. "I wasn't. You ran right past me, Lina." He produced a small, flat stone from his belt, handing it to the girl. "Take it. You can probably make it work better than I can."

The light shining from its surface gave it a mystical glow. She smiled widely. "What is it?"

"A stone I found in a cave not far from here. Like everything born of Avalon, its power is great."

Lina smiled. "Thank you ..." She trailed off.

"What's wrong?"

"In all the excitement of meeting you, I've forgotten to ask your name."

He chuckled. "I've long forgotten my own name. I've been living here for so long I don't even remember my clan."

More breaking foliage distracted them both. They dove for the lower bushes, hoping to hide. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough, as a cold doggoyle nose managed to find Lina with no problems at all.

"Boudicca! Stop it!"

"I found her, Gabriel!" The Guardian's voice called behind him, as he approached Lina, grasping her hand and pulling her up. "Where have you been? The clan's worried sick!"

The other gargoyle with her stood up, finally. "It's all my fault. I sincerely apologize."

Gabriel finally caught up, but his face twisted into confusion as he saw Lina next to another male gargoyle, not far in age from himself. "Lina, who is this?"

"Uhhh ..." Lina hesitated for a short time before coming up with the answer. "This is Rain. I found him last night."

"Rain?" he whispered.

"Found him, you say? Where?"

Lina turned and pointed. "Over by the hot trees. Why?"

Tom slowly approached the male, looking at the peculiar pendant by his collarbones. "Because this is one of the pendants of those newcomers who brought the hot trees." He looked up at the gargoyle. "It allows him to avoid his stone sleep."

Before anyone could say another word, a bright flash lit up the sky. Gabriel looked up.

"That came from the castle. It must be important." He looked over at the other two gargoyles. "Why don't you bring Rain with you, Lina? We'll decide what to do with him."

Lina and Rain exchanged worried glances.

Gabriel, Tom, Lina and Rain pushed their way through the crowd, nearly up to the front. Gabriel turned to Lina.

"Don't do anything to embarrass me, Lina."

"I wouldn't!"

Suddenly, Oberon made his appearance before the massed crowd. By his side, as she had been for quite some time, was Queen Titania, resplendent in fae magic and majesty. He came forward to address the group.

"Friends, children, this is indeed a dark night for Avalon. Earlier this day, two of Avalon's honored, Fox and her husband David, left for the earth realm. They informed Titania before their departure of why they were leaving."

Titania stepped forward. "My daughter told me of an impending invasion which threatens the earth realm. Unfortunately, should earth fall, Avalon will lose its anchor to reality. Everything here will perish."

A nervous rustle made its way through the massed audience. Lina and Rain looked at each other, worry creasing their faces.

"Because of this, Avalon is in need of champions. However, the champions may not be of fae blood. Although this matter is very serious, the Gathering must take precedence. We will allow two gargoyle champions to leave."

Oberon took over. "Fox has informed us that the gargoyles are on the front line of the defense forces. Thus, we will send two gargoyles forth to fight."

"Gabriel, please choose two of your clan to go."

Gabriel turned toward the massed crowd. "Whoever here has the courage to join our comrades, let them step forth and ..."

"We'll go!"

Another loud rustle went through the massed group. Lina approached, dragging Rain behind her.

"Lina? You will go?"

"Why not? I have the courage. I am unafraid of anything."

Under his breath, Rain whispered loudly, "Don't speak for both of us that fast, Lina."

Gabriel nodded. "Very well, Lina. I grant you this request." He turned back to the mass. "Lina and Rain shall go join our brothers and sisters."

"Be sure that you come home. We will miss you every day you are there."

Tom grasped forearms with Rain. "Good luck, lad."

Rain nodded mutely, climbing into the skiff and sitting down. Lina stood with Gabriel, embracing him tightly.

"We'll be back. Trust me."

"Good journey and good luck. Avalon will take you where you need to be."

Lina smiled, turning back to the skiff and climbing in. Picking up the row pole, she dipped it into the water, casting them off into Avalon's mists. Rain looked up at her, arms crossed.

"What?"

"I don't believe I let you volunteer me for this."

"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad. We'll be where we need to be, we find the local gargoyle clan, we join up, beat up on the invaders, and come back home. Simple."

Rain simply sulked, looking out on the water.

"Now ... where would the clan be?"

"Wouldn't there be a castle? I would expect they would be there, defending it."

"True. Look around, see if you can find one."

Rain looked straight up. "I found one."

"Where?"

He pointed up. Lina followed his finger, until she saw it: a magnificent castle, perched atop a gigantic skyscraper.

And they were just across the street from it.

Well, at least things Rain had never seen before. Lina had seen some of this when the Xanatoses were living on Avalon.

Directly in front of the building, an automobile blocked their path. Lina looked it over carefully, as Rain crept up behind her.

"What is it?"

Lina whistled. "It's called ... a Cadillac. David was showing me some cars in a book, and this was one of them." She admired the car for a few moments more before the building door opening distracted her. A human man in a trenchcoat came around to the driver side of the car, not noticing them. He pulled out his keys and unlocked the door.

At that moment, Lina approached him. "Hello."

He yelled for a moment, then looked at her. He started chuckling.

"Where did you two come from?"

"From Avalon. We're here to help the gargoyles, can you tell us where the clan might be?"

The man sighed. "They were all up in the castle, last I knew. Hang on a second." He pulled out another mysterious device from his coat, punching a few buttons before bringing it up to his ear. "... Yeah, Alexander, this is Steve Bluestone, downstairs. There's a couple of gargoyles down here with me ... I know the clan's up there with you, but these two are new in town ... They said they were from Avalon ... Oh, okay. Thanks."

He closed the device, putting it back in his coat. "Just hang tight for a minute. Someone will come to meet you." He opened the door of the car, climbing in.

"Wait ... who will come meet us?"

"Alexander. Trust me, you'll know him when you see him." Revving the engine, Steve drove away. Lina turned to Rain, shrugging her shoulders.

The sudden tingling feeling that came over anyone affected by fae magic suddenly consumed Rain and Lina. Then a light bathed them both. Just as suddenly, they were gone from the street level.

"Uhh ... which one of you is Alexander?"

A goateed man came forward to greet them. He smiled, with a tinge of mystery that Lina suddenly recognized.

"I'm Alexander. And you are ..."

"You must be David's son! Wow!" She broke out in a wide smile, jumping into Alexander's arms and hugging him tightly. "We're friends of your father's, but he never told me how cute his son was!"

"Oh-kay ..." Alexander turned to the gargess on his right. "Uh, Rosanna, could you help me out here?"

She approached the overly happy gargess wrapped around Alexander. "Greetings. I am Rosanna, leader of Clan Manhattan. And you are ..."

"Oh, forgive my manners." She unclamped from Alexander, turning to Rosanna. "I am Lina, of Clan Avalon. We're here to help you with the invasion, as Avalon's champions."

"At least, she's the champion. I'm just along for the ride." The male came forward finally, a look on his face which showed his distaste with being there. "I am Rain."

"Welcome. We can use all the help we can get." She turned to the rest of the clan, behind her: a cyborg blue male, two beaked siblings, a web-winged male with a mate and child, a portly blue male, a large violet male, and an even larger white female.

Lina took the last one in, especially, with shock. "You've been eating a lot of beef, haven't you?"

"Lina, Rain, this is the clan. Samson, Graeme, Ariana, Lexington, Pontiac, Cadillac, Broadway, Goliath, and ..."

The tall female finally spoke, her voice the sound of crashing thunder. "Liberty."

"That's right, Liberty." Rosanna sighed. Unfortunately, her relief didn't last for very long, as an alien attack force opened fire over their heads.

"It's a Rokkan patrol! Clear out and counterattack!"

The now-very-extended clan did as they were told, leaping off the battlements and scattering in the air, meeting the Rokkans where they were. Soon Lina found herself with Samson, hovering above the scene.

"Let me guess ... the invaders?"

"That's right."

"What kind of weapons are they using? I can't figure them out!"

Samson rolled his eyes. "Look, just try to stay out of the way for now. After the attack's over I'll teach you about 21st century armaments." He extended his cyborg left hand, blasting away at the Rokkan attackers.

Lina harrumphed. "I'll show him I can be useful!" She scrambled over her pouches until the found the stone, the one Rain had given her only three hours before.

"Maybe you can get it to work better than I can."

Lina grinned. Of course she could! She raised the stone high above her head, concentrating her thoughts on the magical piece of Avalon itself.

A blinding flash distracted everyone involved in the battle, all eyes looking toward the source.

Rain could only chuckle. "Well, I guess she got it to work after all!"

As the flash cleared around the battle area, the Wyvern defenders soon found themselves surrounded by some peculiar looking fowl. The first one to react, though, was Rosanna. What surprised them the most, though, was that her response was not angry.

On the contrary: she was laughing her butt off.

"Pigeons! She turned them into pigeons!!"

They watched as the formerly much larger attackers, now confined to small bird bodies, flapped away from the scene of the battle. Samson looked back over at Lina, his jaw agape. Seeing this, she smugly grinned in his direction.

"That useful enough for ya, Sammie?"

"You said you were a friend of my father's?"

Lina nodded, smiling. "He showed me a lot of stuff from around here. Mostly technological stuff, but he told me about the clan. At least, the old clan, the one that Goliath was the leader of."

Alexander sighed. "Well, at least I know that he's enjoying himself in his self-inflicted exile. I hope he appreciates the time difference."

Lina leaned forward. "I'm afraid I have some bad news for you, Alex. David and Fox left ..."

"When?!" Alexander stood bolt upright in fear.

"This morning. He said they were coming to help you."

Alexander figured the time difference in his head. This morning on Avalon could have been nearly three weeks ago. Which would mean ...

"Oh, God. Daddy's home!"

Just as their confusion reached a panicked fever pitch, they were approached by two figures. Two imposing figures.

Two Rokkans.

=Attention, humans. Follow the guides to the arks. They will take you from the planet.=

In a short period of time, the humans formed straight lines, trudging toward their futures.

=Seven guards, two escorts. There are about three thousand humans there.=

The gargoyle next to Nokkar turned to him. "Why are we sitting here, then? Shouldn't we go in there and drag them out?"

=It is not that simple, Sir Griff. They chose to leave of their own free will. This is an unknown strategem to my people, the Rokkans have never done this kind of act before.=

"Nothing's wrong with a little bit of mercy, right?"

The third member of the group, the mute mutant Slash, looked over at Nokkar nervously. Nokkar shook his head.

=On the contrary, sir knight, the Rokkans showing mercy creates high suspicion in my mind.=

Slowly, as if rousing from a great drug stupor, the older man awakened, seeing that his surroundings had not improved. He growled slightly under his breath.

"Our accommodations have declined."

"Not as much as your life will shortly." The female voice came from a door near the back of the room. The owner of the voice approached the two men slowly, menacingly, allowing her wings to create a shadow behind her.

The sight of the blue gargess wasn't the first time the older man recognized her. "Demona. How nice to see you again."

She chuckled. "Charmed, I'm sure. As always, a pompous bastard."

"Who's the bastard, Demona? I'm not the one trying to destroy the world!"

Demona laughed. "Destroy? Is that all you think of me, MacBeth?" She came nearly nose-to-nose with him. "I'll have you know, I'm trying to save my race. We need breathing room, you humans have roamed the planet long enough."

MacBeth sneered. "I see your time in Europe during the '40s didn't teach you much."

"And where the hell were you?"

Now MacBeth was shouting. "Fighting for my country, fighting against the evil forces that you have aligned yourself with! Face facts, all you're doing right now is repeating the mistakes your old friend Adolf taught you ..."

"SHUT UP!" Demona lashed out at the immortal human, slashing him across his face. However, at the same time she recoiled from the same blow.

MacBeth chuckled. Demona growled in pain, sprawled on the floor. The man tied up next to MacBeth, just rousing, turned to him and smiled.

"Admit it, you enjoyed that."

"I can't lie."

Demona's eyes glowed red. "Ohhhhh ... rot here for all I care! Your pathetic race will be destroyed soon enough anyway!" She stormed out of the room, escorted by her guards and sentries.

Having come closer to the crowd to get a better look, the three Earth defenders watched over the proceedings with growing horror. Nokkar's seldom-emotional face showed a sadness he possibly had never shown before.

=I have seen this before.=

Griff looked over at the alien. "Where?"

=On this planet. During your Second World War.=

Griff shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know about that. Goliath pretty much plucked me out of the middle of the war, I don't know what happened later."

Nokkar turned away, rubbing his eyes. =It ... was called the Final Solution by Adolf Hitler.=

The name of the German dictator beought revulsion from Griff, as seemingly fresh memories of the Battle of Britain raced through Griff's head. "Hitler? What do the Nazis have to do with anything, not that it wouldn't surprise me."

=Near the end of the war, it was discovered that Germany was using much of its resources to systematically eliminate Jewish people in all the nations conquered by the Nazis. The Jews were sent willingly to their deaths by promises that they were going to be placed into camps and simply held. That ... was not the case.=

Griff's eyes began to glow. As did Slash's. "So, you mean ..."

=My suspicions on Rokkan mercy are not ... unfounded.=

"Report."

=The humans here have been loaded into the ship. We are ready to begin.=

"Good. Leave and prepare for liftoff. I have one last bit of business to attend to."

The Rokkans ackowledged, turning and jumping off the deck, into the air.

Rising through the decks of the ship, Demona could not help herself from smiling. Maybe now, she reasoned, the curse would be lifted. She could barely hold back her emotions as she entered the bridge, where MacBeth and Vogel were being held.

Upon her entry, MacBeth scowled further. "What more can you do to me? I am helpless, I am your captive!"

She only chuckled. "This." Demona tapped into a control panel near where MacBeth was tied. Once finished, she picked up a microphone.

"Prepare for liftoff. Repeat, prepare for liftoff."

"I don't understand you, Demona. What good will this do you?"

She couldn't help herself, she only began laughing louder. "All the good in the world! Or rather ... all the good out of the world!"

As MacBeth watched in horror, Demona flipped a switch that opened every window panel in the ship. Including the bridge.

"Say hello to your intestines for me ... old friend." With that, she glided out one of the open bridge windows.

Nokkar rose, tossing a device to Griff. =Contact the rest of the clan. We must act now. Slash, come with me.=

Nokkar ignited a jetpack in his armor, lifting off. Slash soon followed. Griff turned to the device in his hand, a video communication device, and tuning it until Rosanna's face appeared in the screen.

"Griff, what's up?"

"We have a situation. Are you familiar with the 'Final Solution' ...?"

Unless their saviors came to their rescue. As they did come to their rescue.

Nokkar and Slash found their way to the bridge, prying open a pilot hatchway and entering to find MacBeth and Vogel, still tied up in the cockpit.

MacBeth's first reaction, rather than revulsion, was relief.

"What are you waiting for? Get us out of here!"

=We have reinforcements coming. Help us free the occupants of the ship.=

Vogel rubbed his wrists as Slash untied them, muttering "You don't have to tell me twice."

Her eyes glowed red. "Where?"

Her Rokkan escort pointed toward the darkened sky. Through the streetlights' haze, she could make out four silhouettes speeding toward the moving ark.

Although three of the silhouettes were unfamiliar to her, and one seemed too large to be true, the third made her roar with rage.

Rosanna.

"GET THEM! Stop them before they reach the ark!!"

The gargoyles split up, heading toward the escape hatches of the starship. With gargoyle talons as sharp and strong as crowbars, they ripped the hatches open, entering the ship.

What they saw horrified them. Humans, crowded into the bowels of the ship, like cattle. Some seemed to be sickly. At least twenty had been crushed to death. Those who were alive trembled with fear at the sight of the earth-born gargoyles.

Rosanna saw their fear, and climbed up one of the walls. "Attention, everybody! If you want to live, come with us! If you stay, you will die!"

Slowly, the humans came around to Rosanna's way of seeing things, filing toward the escape hatches and jumping out, into the river.

=That would not be wise. The blast could kill everyone within twenty miles.=

"To hell with the humans! Blow the ship!!" Demona snatched the controls away from her escort, savagely depressing a switch to self-destruct the starship.

"What the hell's going on?!"

"The original plans for these arks was to destroy them as soon as they left Earth's atmosphere! I believe Demona may have hit the destrict mechanism prematurely!"

Rosanna gave a twisted look at Liberty. "No kidding. Let's get the hell out of here!!"

Griff and Rain nodded, acknowledging. They took off, out of their passage.

Liberty was the first out the other escape hatch, with Rosanna nearly behind her, until she heard the cries. She strained her eyes to look through the flames.

She saw the girl. Four, maybe five years old. Frightened out of her wits. And in the center of the flames.

"Hold on, sweetie, I'm coming!!" Rosanna nearly jumped into the flames until a black-gloved hand grabbed her forearm. She recognized him instantly.

"MacBeth? What the hell are you doing here?"

"I was captured by the Rokkans, it's a long story. Let me get her, the flames won't hurt me as much as they will you!"

Rosanna nodded, allowing MacBeth to proceed. He calmly strolled through the flames, allowing the heat to sear through his clothes, but not burning them. The fire was causing him pain, though; Rosanna could hear his cries of agony.

"Damn ... you ... MacBeth!"

"Take her and go! I have something I need to do here." MacBeth jogged back up to where he came from. Rosanna looked into the eyes of the little girl, the worried, crying eyes. Eyes that gave her hope.

"You'll be okay, honey."

"Take the girl, Rosanna. Take the girl now!"

Finally, the leap was made. Her wings unfurled and met the heat of the surrounding air with a loud rustle. And Rosanna glided away from the destruction ...

"No! TOO SOON!!" He jumped out a convenient window hatch.

Rosanna felt herself catch in the wave, throwing her trajectory off. She closed her eyes, trying to keep herself from getting sick ...

And in one horrific moment, she felt herself drop the girl.

"Are you sure about this, Alexander?"

The other flier, in a gargoyle-looking suit of armor, slightly turned his head to his companion. "I'm positive, Lina. If he really did leave Avalon, this would be the first place he would go."

"If you say so." Lina reached for her Avalon stone, putting it before her flight path. "Light."

A piercing beam of light punched through the darkness, toward the ground and trees far below. The light beam cut a path through the wilderness, until a clearing opened up in the distance. Lina narrowed her eyes to look further.

"What ... is that?"

"Xanadu. It's Dad's favorite Earth-bound getaway." In Alexander Xanatos' view, the armor began analyzing the surrounding areas of the retreat. Unusual patterns in the air composition alerted him immediately.

"He's here. There's an exhaust trail from a helicopter, a Xanacorp helicopter."

"Let's go down." Lina extinguished the stone, placing it back in her pouch as she descended to the ground below. Alexander soon followed her down.

Then it began hurting.

She struggled to return to her feet, but a reassuring voice calmed her again. "Stay down, Rosanna. You've been hurt."

Rosanna sighed, then suddenly shot upright. "Oh, my GOD! The girl ...!"

"Liberty caught her. She was backing us up as the ark blew."

Slowly, Rosanna's eyes adjusted to the darkness surrounding her. The owner of the voice finally came into focus.

Rain.

"Where are we?"

"A convenient alley. It's so dark because of the smoke from the ark's explosion." He crouched down next to her. As she readjusted herself to get comfortable, a shooting pain went through her gut.

"Owww ..."

"I can't tell, but your injuries seem to be internal. We have to wait for the dawn, your stone sleep will heal you."

Rosanna shook her head. "You don't understand ... I turn human during the day. I don't know if this will heal."

Rain sighed. "I apologize. I'm just so used to the Clan and Avalon ..."

"Don't be. It's just ... my mother was human. So, as a birthday present when I was three, Alexander cast a spell on me that makes me fully human during the day." Rosanna regarded her tail, flicking back and forth. "Well, almost fully human."

Rain nodded, semi-understanding. The sounds of more gunfire out in the street made him crouch closer to Rosanna.

"What's happening?"

"The Rokkans have been attacking the humans on the streets. It seems that they have dispensed with the deception of the arks and taken to wantonly killing anything that moves."

Rosanna growled. "This is not the way I want to be for long. We have to get moving."

"But you can't be moved." Rain sighed. "Listen to me closely, Rosanna. If I move you, you will die. If the Rokkans find us, we're both dead. Our only alternative is to hide here for now."

Unfortunately, things were going not at all well this evening.

"Samson," Graeme called from the doorway, "we've got reports from all over, the Rokkans are showering Manhattan with gunfire. We need to do something!"

Samson looked over at Liberty, having just returned after catching the little girl Rosanna had dropped in the blast wave. "What are they doing?"

"A common Rokkan tactic. Unfortunately, the way the Rokkan command structure works is that if the first plan doesn't work, annihilate them all."

"Samson, we're almost ready."

The blue cyborg gargoyle turned to see Jason and Robyn Canmore, the Hunters, in full combat armor. "How many?"

"Our forces are down to three Quarrymen, plus us. That makes five humans. Lexington has told us he can lead a sortie."

Samson nodded. "Robyn, you're with Lexington. Split the Quarrymen between three attack parties and take opposite directions. Jason, you're to the northeast."

Jason nodded himself. "I'll take Ariana and Goliath with me. Especially Goliath, he needs to get away from here."

Robyn called up to them. "Graeme and Pontiac are with us."

"All right. I'm going with Liberty and Dad, we're taking the south."

The man finally turned and spoke. "You know, eventually we'll have to leave."

The woman nodded, sadly. "I can't even relax, I keep thinking about him, in combat, alone with the Clan."

"Be calm, my dear. Our son is a capable warrior and sorcerer. He can handle things for a while. Remember, we're only going if it gets out of hand."

She sighed. "All right. Maybe another drink will make me relax."

The man reached for a bottle of champagne, not far from where he sat, refilling their glasses. He let them touch, the musical sound of their striking echoing throughout the room.

"A toast, my dear. To our brave son."

"To Alexander." She smiled, raising the glass to her lips.

"I'm touched. I didn't even know you cared!"

Suddenly stricken from their reverie, they turned around to see the massive silhouette standing in the doorway. In a smooth motion it turned on the lights to reveal itself.

Alexander.

"Hello, mother, father."

"Can you read?"

Rain nodded.

"Tell me the name of the street we're near."

He nodded, turning toward the mouth of the alley and reading the street sign. He returned shortly. "Wall."

Her eyes opened widely. Wall Street?! The blast had blown her nearly 30 blocks away from the river!

"Where did the ... Rokkans go?"

He turned his head up the street. "Further down."

"Help the wounded."

He looked over at her. "My priority is to make sure you're all right ..."

She flashed an intense look at Rain. "As long as you're here with me, your priority is protecting this city and all those within it. Tend to the wounded. That's ... an order from your leader."

Rain finally relented, running out toward those wounded lying in the dust around the center of the gunfire. Rosanna sank back down, the pain from her injuries too much for her to stand. Panting, she reached into her belt for a small electronic device, one she placed near her mouth.

The cyborg suddenly twitched, hearing a radio call in his one artificial ear. The voice was familiar ...

"Samson, it's me!"

His one true eye opened wide. "Rosanna! Where are you?!"

"An alley off of Wall Street. The Rokkans just went by."

"Are you all right? What happened?"

"Long story. Rain's with me, he's tending to the wounded. Come down and help us, okay?"

At that point, a Rokkan sortie jumped down upon Samson and his party. They were caught unawares.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?"

"Forget about me! Tend to ..."

"Every living thing out there is dead, Rosanna! We're just lucky they didn't find us!"

Her eyes widened. Never had she heard of such carnage within her protectorate. "How many?"

"Rosanna, I have to help you ..."

Ignoring the pain for a moment, she jumped on Rain's chest, grasping his shoulders in a threatening way. "DAMN YOU, I SAID HOW MANY?!"

Rain's jaw set tightly. "29. Are you happy now? Can you now live another night with more misplaced guilt?"

Tears were forming in her eyes. At that moment, Rain knew for sure how dedicated she was to living the true purpose of any gargoyle -- to protect, no matter what the cost to herself.

At that moment, though, her eyes rolled back in her head and she lost consciousness, sliding down the length of Rain's body and slumping on the ground. Panicked, he laid her down on her back, pulling out herbs from his pouches, trying desperately to save her life.

Alexander approached his parents warily, with Lina not far behind. She was unsure what to make of this situation.

"On what, a 900-number? Give me a break."

David Xanatos looked at his wife Fox for ideas. She had none. He sighed and turned back to his son. "Then I'm sure you overheard enough. When the situation is beyond your control ..."

Alexander took that moment to rush up to his father, until he was almost nose-to- nose with him. "This ... situation ... was out of control the moment the Rokkans sheet-bombed Manhattan Island! It went further out of control when Goliath nearly died from a beating by a Rokkan patrol. It went over the edge when Rosanna was captured!"

For the first time, Alexander saw his father turn his eyes down.

"I'm sorry, son, we had no idea." His eyes immediately returned to Alexander's gaze. "But what do you expect us to do? All my resources were willed to you when we went to Avalon. There's nothing left with me."

"Yes, there is!"

All in the room turned toward Lina, who approached them with the glowing Avalon stone. She focused her attention on the stone, her eyes fixed.

"Memory."

The stone flashed again, producing a pillar of light through which a kind of holographic image could be seen. It was David Xanatos, with his wife.

Speaking to Oberon and Titania.

"Thank you, Oberon."

"It's a shame, though, that Alexander had to be left behind. Oh the wonders he could have seen ..."

"Actually ... I wanted to talk to you about that. You see, I want some kind of assurance that if my son needs help, any kind of help, that we will be allowed to return to Earth and assist him."

"Why do you ask this, David?"

"I mean you no offense, Titania, but Alexander has lived a sheltered life. His experience in the real world has mostly come from book reading and tutors. If any kind of situation should occur where he should require our assistance, I want to know that we will be allowed to leave ... considering that the Gathering is still going on."

"I see. I grant you this boon, David. Should Alexander require help on the Earth plane, he shall have it, from his parents or from any resources Avalon may offer."

"You were saying, Dad?"

David sighed again, as the image faded and the stone grew dark once more. Lina turned to David. "You told me once you would show me your world. Well, from what I've seen of it, it's not going to be around for long if you just sit here doing nothing."

David raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to call in a favor from the Lord of Avalon himself? Do you even realize how much patience that guy lacks?"

"From what Lina has told me, if we lose this war Avalon is lost. If he wants to save his sorry ass, he'd better pay up when you call in his favor."

In desperation he dropped his head upon Rosanna's abdomen, consumed in his frustration. His bitter tears fell in silence. Still she did not move.

But then suddenly, he felt her body shift. He felt her breathing return. Her body warmed back up. She fluttered open her eyes, trying hard to sit up but finally surrendering to her prone position.

Rain was instantly back at her head, grateful that she was still alive. "You're going to make it, Rosanna. Believe."

He clasped her hand in his. A sudden sunbeam caught the clasp in its light, as Rosanna began shrinking down into her human form. A last gasp of pain, and Rose Maza sat where Rosanna once had been.

Rain could not tear himself from the transformation, could not quantify the effect of a four-fingered talon turining into a five-fingered hand ... while he held it in his own.

Equally confused, though, Rose looked up at Rain, who had not turned to stone. "What happened to you?"

Rain showed Rose his amulet. "I don't remember where this came from, but all I know is that it lets me stay like this during the day."

Rose nodded. "We have a lot to learn about each other. Let's go, I feel better already." She stood up with no pain, much to her relief. Rain insisted, though, that he carry her, and she gently obliged him, allowing him to carry her up a side wall of the alley and into the full sunlight. Sunlight which gave hope to a brand new day.

Slowly, she placed a small electrode near the feet of the cyborg one, the one they had called Samson. Funny, after all these years, they still seemed monstrous to her. But their common enemy was even more monstrous. And that was reason enough to like them.

She tapped a button on the electrode. Soon a thin, electric shield enclosed the three sleeping gargoyles. Satisfied with her work, the woman turned and left. In the new day's light, the name stitched into her dark blue Quarrymen jumpsuit was vaguely visible in the shadow, the red thread blending in.

S. JASPER

She sat down on a convenient bench in the hallway. Looking back toward the war rooms, she suddenly saw her mother coming down the hallway. Eagerly, she stood up, rushing into the older gargoyle's arms.

The blue gargess only smiled, relieved that her daughter was as she always was. Slowly, she released her embrace.

"It's good to be home."

The daughter looked to her mother. "How went the battle tonight?"

"Not at all well. The troops are whipping into shape, but they're a long ways away from being perfect. A few more attacks and they should be adjusted well enough."

The daughter turned away from her mother. "Mother, I wish to go out tonight."

The blue gargess gave a sidewise glance to her daughter. "Why? I handle the combat here."

"Yes, but I want to try something ... different than a frontal attack."

The mother finally relented. "All right. But be back before it gets too light."

The daughter nodded. "I will, mother." She leaped out the window, into the late-summer air. The mother only stood at her window, a smile crossing her face. A smile of pride.

"She turned into a fine warrior." The mother sighed. "Good hunting, Angela."

This evening, however, she felt a strange pull to a room she had not seen on the tour. She remembered what Graeme had told her, when they were on the tour.

"That ... that's a storage space. You wouldn't be interested."

"Why not? It looks interesting ... for that matter it smells interesting, too."

"Let's move on."

Slowly, she opened the door, creeping slowly down into a dark space, a space that felt very warm and comforting. Her eyes adjusted to the light, and suddenly vague outlines in the middle of the room came into focus.

A doggoyle. A sleeping doggoyle ... guarding an egg.

A gargoyle egg.

She crept further into the castle, hoping to find some useful information that could be handy for the war effort. She was nearing the rookery when she suddenly heard it.

A child. Screaming.

Out of pure fright, Cadillac had screamed, mostly from the surprise of the dog turning toward her. When she finally focused her eyesight, she saw the doggoyle for what he was, a watchdog over the lone egg in the rookery.

Yes, she decided, this must be the rookery.

"Who are you?"

The unknown woman's voice startled Cadillac once again. She whirled around to see a purple gargess standing behind her. Cadillac didn't recognize the uniform, but she was more scared of being found out.

"I'm sorry ... I didn't mean to hurt anything ..."

The purple one seemed to calm down, crouching down to eye level with Cadillac. "I didn't mean to frighten you, little one. I was just wondering who was bothering Nudnik."

Cadillac turned back to the dog, then to the female. "That's his name? Nudnik?"

"Yes." The older female motioned to Nudnik. "Come here, boy. It's me."

Nudnik eyed the purple one warily, then acquiesced, trotting toward her and licking her hand. The female responded to this affection by patting him on the head. "That's right, Nudnik, you love me, don't you? Even after all these years."

Cadillac approached the newcomer slowly. "Who are you? I didn't see you with the clan before."

She looked up. "My name is Angela, little one. Do you have a name? I don't recognize you, either." But she looked so familiar ...

Cadillac decided to practice her formal introductions. She stood straight up, proudly. "I am Cadillac, of Clan Detroit. I greet you, Angela of Clan ..."

"... Manhattan," Angela lied. True, she may have been a member of the clan at one time ... lived and loved among them, bore her child with them ... but she could no longer call herself one with her family. "Clan Detroit ... by any chance do you know Lexington?"

Cadillac nodded eagerly. "He's my daddy."

Angela smiled inwardly. "He finally found someone, what d'you know."

"What's our current status?"

Samson answered first. "All present and accounted for. Minimal injuries were suffered during the battle, but they were healed during our stone sleep."

A female Quarryman came forward. "I took the liberty of putting up a force shield around Samson's party so that they would be protected during the day. Quarrymen numbers are still at status quo from last night ... Jason and Robyn are in the medlab getting treatment for their injuries."

"And I seem to be none the worse for wear." She turned to Rain, giving him a wordless, thankful look. "That leaves only Alexander and Lina, who I am assuming are still at Xanadu."

Lexington suddenly looked around, soon joined by Pontiac. "Uh, guys ... anybody seen our daughter?"

"Why aren't you with the clan now, Angela?"

"I don't really know ... I just went to be with my mother, and as far as I can remember, I've been with her since. But for some reason, I don't think I can come back."

"Why?"

"My mother ... Demona ... is an enemy of the clan. I don't think Rosanna will let me come back, even if I asked to."

"Are you certain of that, sister?"

Angela's eyes widened in surprise. She turned around to see Rosanna standing there, with a lot of the clan around her. Immediately, Lexington and Pontiac rushed into the rookery, crowding around Cadillac.

"Rosanna ... how long have you been there?"

"Long enough." She entered the room, followed closely by Samson and Ariana. "Long enough to hear you say you wanted to come back."

Angela sighed, sadly. Rosanna continued.

"What ever gave you the idea that we didn't want you back? You would always be welcome here, you know that. Just because Dad got a little obsessive ..."

"You don't understand, Rosanna. For the longest time, all I had was Goliath ... and your mother. When he turned away from us ... I had nowhere to go ..."

Angela started sobbing. Rosanna came over to her side, placing an arm around her shoulders. Samson came to her other side, embracing her as well.

"Welcome back, mother. We missed you."

Angela let herself go further, grasping her sister and son to her as closely as she could. When she released them a bit, Rosanna started giggling a little.

"What's so funny?"

Rosanna looked toward the egg, where Nudnik had gone back to sleep wrapped around it. "I see you already met your grandson."

Angela looked over at Samson. "Is this true?"

He simply nodded. Ariana came toward her.

"And you, Ariana?"

"We missed you, Angela. We all did. But especially myself and Samson. After all ... we wouldn't want our son not to know his grandmother."

Angela smiled finally. She pulled her extended family into another embrace. Distanced from the family reunion, Lexington and Pontiac crouched down to Cadillac.

"I don't know how .. I don't know why ... but you've done something incredible here, Cadillac."

Cadillac smiled. "I know, daddy."

Pontiac could only smile, as they embraced their daughter with pride. She had proven to them the good that even an innocent warrior could do.

Her train of thought was disrupted as her companions joined her in her office, eight massive Rokkans.

=We await your command.=

Demona turned toward them. Her eyes began glowing.

"Attack. Now."

"Feeling at home yet, sis?"

Angela looked up to see Rosanna standing in the doorway, looking toward her. "I don't know. Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet. Maybe I still feel a little badly for Demona."

Rosanna sighed. "Don't. Believe me, it will be much easier for all of us if you can forget about the last six years." She approached her older sister, wrapping an arm around Angela's shoulders. "Listen, I just want you to know how much we've missed you here. When you came back ... everything seemed right, you know?"

Angela smiled. "I think I do."

Rosanna continued. "I just want you to know that ... if I ever did anything to make you feel unwanted or unloved ... then I'm truly sorry."

The two sisters pulled into an embrace. Angela looked out the window, over Rosanna's shoulder ...

She saw the signal. Demona smiled evilly.

"NOW!"

"Sorry, dear sister. But it's your fault. You let your guard down."

Almost instantly, the Rokkans had swarmed upon the clan, two Rokkans fighting each earth gargoyle. To the Rokkans, it seemed that the battle should have been short.

But Earth's defenders did not fall as easily as they hoped.

To the attackers' surprise, they were smiling.

"Just like old times, Ari."

She nodded, handing one end of her bo staff to her brother. The siblings couldn't help it: they started laughing.

"BANZAIIIIII!!!"

Simultaneously, the two siblings leapt toward their attackers, the bo staff making contact with three attackers and sending them off the side of the castle. Though they knew the fall wouldn't hurt them once they unfurled their wings, the siblings figured they wouldn't come back.

That only left the one. Graeme snorted, "He's mine."

The two began grappling, only to finish when Graeme pulled the Rokkan's legs out from under him. Grinning all the way, Graeme rolled his conquered quarry off the wall.

"Any of these guys friends of yours?" Rain quipped.

"I am not sure I even have friends among ..."

Liberty stopped short when she saw him. A medium-sized Rokkan, pale skinned and haired, was among the five attackers.

He certainly was familiar. And the feeling was mutual, as his face took on an expression of shock. For wasn't this his mate ... the very female that was killed in MacBeth's attack?

=You ...=

Liberty set her jaw, narrowing her eyes. They glowed red.

"YOU!" She lunged toward him, scratching and clawing, hoping to hurt him as much as he had hurt her. She clawed at him relentlessly, the fight merging into the rest of the Rokkans and disrupting them.

This of course gave Rain a perfect opportunity, lunging at the attackers and finally knocking them out. With impunity, he picked them up and dropped them off the sides of the castle.

Liberty and her ex-mate continued struggling for a few moments more, until finally Liberty had gained the upper hand, kicking the male off of her and sending him spiralling off the side of the castle.

"I see the war hasn't forgotten to go on without us."

"How can you be so aloof? Those are our friends down there!"

"Relax, we're almost there. We'll join them and give 'em backup."

"And besides that, our aid from Avalon will help us ... immensely."

The five fliers entered the beam of a spotlight. In the light's warm glow, their complement and formation could finally be seen.

One gargoyle.

Three battle-suits.

And one human with no aid at all, gliding effortlessly.

"You're a sentimental fool, sister." The elder gargess smashed a foot into Rosanna's back. "Did you really think that all this emotional garbage would actually turn me away from our cause?"

"You're insane, Angela! Why are you doing this?!"

Angela grasped Rosanna's ears, pulling her head back. "Because I can, little sister. Because I can."

"Does that mean you'll do this to me, too?"

She turned around quickly, seeing her father standing there in the doorway. Broadway was there, too, blindly grasping the door jamb.

"Father ..."

"Your mother has corrupted you into this. Would you destroy everyone, everything you love just to serve your mother?"

She stood wide-eyed, the proverbial doe caught in the headlights. She stammered, unable to think of what to do next. Broadway sniffed, approaching her.

"Remember I told you that you were always welcome back? I didn't lie to you. We all miss you."

She suddenly began writhing. She staggered away from her mate, clutching her head like someone in trauma. Broadway held his ground, continuing to approach her.

"Try as you might, you can't forget us. You can't destroy us. You know it to be true in your heart." Broadway put out his arms, finally grasping Angela.

She trembled in his grasp, sweating profusely, almost like an addict coming down. She couldn't escape the grasp of the great blind gargoyle.

"We all love you, Angela." Broadway drew her closer. "I love you, Angela."

It was almost like a fog lifting from her mind. Her expression suddenly enlightened, her eyes stopped glowing red. She sighed loudly, then drew her breath in fast.

"I'm home. At last, I'm home!" Out of sheer joy, she kissed her mate.

The battle took its final turn in a most surprising way, though.

"Fire stream!"

A streak of fiery wrath showered down on the Rokkans from above. Looking to the sky, everyone saw the source: the diminutive female gargoyle, holding a stone in front of her.

Samson was the first to react. "Lina! Where the hell have you been?!"

"Long trip, tell ya about it later." She touched down, followed by three battlesuits and a strange man in a leather coat. "Where's Rosanna?"

"Don't know." He looked past her, toward her companions. "Who're they?"

"You know the Xanatoses, don't you? Well, they're all here now, and we brought help from Avalon, too!"

The jacketed man approached. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Coyote, please to meet you." He smirked.

Then suddenly she saw the cyborg. She smiled.

"Maybe ..." She pulled an ancient piece of parchment from one of her pockets, unfolding it before her.

Samson stood completely stiff. It was so sudden that Lina was taken by surprise.

"Yo, Sammie! You there?!"

Samson looked at her, cold and stiff. Before she could react, he picked her up with his cybernetic hand, tossing her aside. This act brought the attention of the other clanmembers, especially Ariana, who rushed over to him fastest.

"Samson, what happened?" She turned to see Demona behind him. "Oh, God, what did she do to you?"

"Only what should have been done in the beginning, child of Brooklyn. He belongs with me!"

Ariana screamed with her rage, speeding in to attack Demona. At the last moment, though, Samson gripped her by the scruff of her neck, pulling her away and tossing her into Lina and Coyote. She recovered, her rage building, her eyes now glowing crimson.

"Dammit, what did you do to him?!"

"Come to me, Samson. Come to your grandmother's side!" With those words, it became evident what had happened, as he silently approached the smaller blue gargess unquestioningly.

"No ..."

"He's mine, now." She turned to the other Rokkans. "Break off and regroup. We'll try this again some other night."

The other Rokkans took off. Ariana lunged one last time at Demona, only to be stopped by a laser blast from Samson. She collapsed into a ball.

"At least this defeat has some spoils. Come, Samson. Our destiny awaits!" She took to the sky, with Samson close behind her. Eventually the Rokkans and their allies were gone from the horizon.

At that moment, the clan came back to where Lina, Coyote and Ariana were. Ariana still had not risen from Samson's last blow.

The first one to speak was Angela: "My God, Demona has my son!"

David Xanatos, removing his helmet, came over to Angela and lay a hand upon her shoulder. "I'm sorry for your loss, Angela. I feel it as much as you do."

Those who looked to Ariana saw her form begin to move, in slow, bouncing, sobbing motions. She finally came upright, screaming her rage impotently into the night air.

"I swear, that blue bitch is DEAD!"

The alien scavengers searching around the wreckage were ill prepared for the shotgun blast that shook them away from their quarry. Dazed, they followed the trail of smoke to the blast's source ... an older, black man holding a police-issue riot gun.

"I said get back! You don't hear too good for Martians, do ya?!"

The aliens looked at each other, then stood back up.

=You will perish this day, human.=

He cocked the shotgun again. "Try it. I dare ya."

A Rokkan lunged, only to be met by another blast, this one point-blank in the face. The alien rolled backward, now newly headless. The other two looked at the third's killer, eyes glowing blue.

=You'll pay for that, pitiful ...=

The Rokkan was interrupted by a fist to the face. The human turned to see his savior, but didn't know how to react.

It was a gargoyle. Not like any of the ones he had seen so many years ago ... while he was on the force. This one looked kind of like he came from out of town. He put his amazement aside for the moment, seeing two others swoop in to assist, and finally drive the Rokkans away.

"And I thought Lex said these guys were tough!"

"Don't let an easy victory fool you, young one. They may be running back for more reinforcements."

The human cocked his gun, trying to get their attention. The three gargoyles looked at him, warily.

"Not that I don't appreciate the assist ... which I do ... but exactly who the hell are you?" The three gargoyles approached him, entering the light. One was really tall and seemed to be the youngest. One was almost his own height, but much older.

The third one looked vaguely like a dog.

The tall one regained the human's attention, extending his hand. "Greetings, human. I am Mustang, of Clan Detroit."

The human set down his shotgun, clasping his hand. "Never thought I'd be glad to see more of you guys. Name's Morgan, NYPD 23rd Precinct retired."

The gargoyles looked at each other. "More of us? Where would they be?"

"Over at the Aerie Building. Can't miss it, it's the tallest building in Manhattan."

The tall one turned to the elder. "What do you think, Dodge?"

"He seems trustworthy enough." Noticing the doggoyle had sidled up to Morgan for affection, Dodge nodded. "Buick seems to like him. That's good enough for me."

Mustang nodded, turning back to Morgan. "Please, lead the way."

"All right. We just need to pick up a friend of mine first ..."

The encampment stood near the center of the park, where joggers had once roamed, ran, and been mugged at. Now, however, it stood as a bastion of humanity's last defense.

Troops in police-style uniforms came in and out of the tent all through the day and night, getting new assignments and much-needed food and sleep shifts. They all knew that they were the last line of defense. If they should fall, the result would be too horrifying for any of them to even dream about.

And at the nerve-center of this operation sat one woman, one whose tireless sense of honor and justice had earned her the title of general among her troops, as she continued to bring in intelligence and send patrols out. Though she never seemed to tire, everyone knew that it was the threat to humanity ... her humanity ... that kept her awake.

That woman was General Maria Chavez.

Another scout party on this night came back into the tent to make their report before the General.

"Status." Matter-of-factly, she asked.

The party's commander came forward and saluted. "Ma'am, we suffered heavy casualties in conflict with the Rokkans near Times Square. Currently eight dead, twelve injured out of my company." The commander turned to the other three people with him. "Us three are the only ones left."

"And the gargoyles?"

"Didn't see but a few. Looked like a scouting party, there were a few that I didn't recognize from your descriptions. They had Quarrymen with them."

That was a twist, she thought sardonically to herself. "How long since you slept, captain?"

"Eighteen hours, ma'am."

"Take your survivors and get a meal and some sleep. We'll assign you another party."

The commander nodded, turning and dispersing the other two with him to the recoup area of the tent. Chavez sat back in her chair, rubbing her temples in a futile attempt to stem the oncoming migraine.

"Captain?"

She looked up, seeing a friendly, familiar face. "Morgan! How've you been, old man?"

"Retired, resting, fighting for my life, getting flown around. You know, the usual." He came forward, allowing Mustang, Dodge and Buick to enter. "These folks are dying to know where they can find our friendly neighborhood gargoyle clan."

Chavez stood up. "Great. More fighters. We could use them." She approached the three Detroit gargoyles, shaking hands with them. "General Maria Chavez, human Earth resistance."

"I am Mustang, this is Dodge and Buick." He took a casual look over at Chavez's desk and saw snapshots of fighting gargoyles that had been presented to her. One blue web-winged gargoyle especially caught his attention.

Chavez noticed his distractedness. "Anything I can help you with, Mustang?"

"I see you have already met my rookery sister."

Chavez turned and looked at the photo. Picking it up, she pointed at the blue gargess. "You know this one?"

"Her name is Pontiac. She was with us in Detroit before her mate convinced her to come here with him." Mustang pointed at the photo again, this time at the olive-skinned gargoyle flying closely by Pontiac. "That's him. Lexington."

"Lexington?" She looked at the photo again, seeing Pontiac and Lexington gliding together, then turned back to Mustang. "Lexington is her mate?!"

Mustang nodded, in all seriousness. Morgan stepped forward.

"If we could get back to the point of our visit ... I was wondering if the General of the Earth Resistance would be interested in meeting her gargoyle backup."

Chavez smiled. "Tempting ... I think I'll take you up on that, Morgan. Lead the way." She looped her arm through Dodge's, allowing him to lead her out of the tent. As they left, however, she had to ask one more time.

"Lexington?!"

The place looked less like a police station than a hospital triage ward. Injured and dying people lined every wall, covered every desk. Medics frantically skittered around everyone, trying to prevent every problem from becoming major. Unfortunately, most times they were unsuccessful.

In the midst of all the chaos, Detective Steve Bluestone sat where his desk should have been (having been replaced long ago by a gurney holding a dying Asian woman), trying to coordinate his defenses and what was left of his life. A shout across the crowded room brought him away from what he was doing.

"BLUESTONE! OVER HERE!"

Steve turned around, recognizing the smiling face of Morgan. However, he didn't recognize the older woman or the three gargoyles with him.

"Morgan! I thought you retired!"

"Me? Never! I'm a lifer, remember?"

Morgan embraced the young detective warmly, releasing him just in time to see Chavez and the three Detroit gargoyles enter the office. Now being more used to the sight of gargoyles, Steve relaxed a bit more.

"Let me guess ... you're here to find the clan, right? I can take you to them."

Dodge nodded. "So we're all together. Good. Let's go, Mustang."

The younger humanoid gargoyle nodded, then turned to Steve. "Could you take Buick with you? He'll need to know where to go."

"'He'll need to know?' Why? Don't you guys carry him with you?"

Mustang chuckled. "Not really, but he wasn't too happy when we left his Skylark behind."

Steve looked at the gargoyle questioningly, putting aside his doubts for the moment as he followed the rest of the group out the door.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

Steve Bluestone sat in an unfamiliar place: the passenger seat of his '79 Cadillac. He turned to look at his human companions in the back seat.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Bluestone," Chavez suggested. "Mustang said he was an excellent driver."

All eyes turned to Buick ... behind the wheel, driving the huge car like a professional. The spedometer kept a constant speed of near 95 mph, zipping through the devastated streets of the city toward the Aeire building. A street sign came up that Steve soon reconized.

"Buick, turn left!"

Buick growled, yipped once, then banked the car into an 80 mph left turn, throwing the human passengers against the right side of the car. Steve let out a nervous sound that almost seemed like a whimper.

The Cadillac screeched to a halt before the front doors of the Xanacorp world headquarters, nearly standing up on its nose as the wheels locked with the brakes.

Immediately, Steve leaped out of the passenger door, laying kisses on the sidewalk and screaming "THANK GOD!!!"

"Stow it, Detective!" Morgan looked up toward the sky, searching for their companions. "Where are they ...?"

Chavez also scanned the skies, suddenly spotting three gargoyle silhouettes. "There they are! Who's that with them?"

The three gargoyles descended into the light, as the first two to land were Mustang and Dodge. The third, though, made Chavez smile widely and laugh in recogniztion.

"I thought you'd be here!" Chavez ran around the side of the car, hugging Rosanna. "Your mother would never have missed the chance."

"Captain, nice to see you." Chavez let go of Rosanna, allowing her to shake Morgan's hand. "Morgan, as always, a pleasure. Mustang and Dodge told me everything that's going on."

She then noticed the doggoyle leaping out the driver's side window. She laughed. "And this must be Buick. How was his ..."

"Don't ... ask."

Feeling Steve probably didn't want to say anything else, Rosanna turned back to the new arrivals. "I'm sorry that Pontiac and Lexington aren't here to welcome you, as well, but they're out on a scouting mission with Sara Jasper and Griff."

"Jasper's here?" Chavez's face showed her slight distaste.

"Don't worry about her, Captain. She's different now."

Chavez was about to add in a "we'll see" when a brilliant flash erupted just in front of the Cadillac. Rosanna narrowed her eyes: she had seen this before.

"It's about time he showed up!"

The light finally dimmed, and where once stood a fiery ball of light, there was only two gargoyle silhouettes, one male and one female. The silhouettes slowly approached the light, until those parties present could clearly see who it was.

Finally it became painfully obvious: the flash was from the Phoenix Gate.

These two gargoyles were Brooklyn and Sata.