Then the realization hits you.

Your sight isn't impaired.

You are.

Rokkans. Though these appear to be scientists, they still cut a figure of terror into your mind. But why can't you act on your rage?

You watch them pass some technological items between themselves. One adjusts some controls on it, passing it to another technician. They approach you carefully, and you can now see what the item is.

It's an eye.

The new technician in the lab takes the eye from his assistant, approaching you. The eye enters the dark area of your sightline.

And suddenly it becomes so much clearer. Your other eye works now. Though its sight line has made your entire right side red, you are satisfied with your full sight.

What does not satisfy you, though, is that you have no control.

You instantly recognize the face as soon as she approaches. And much to your chagrin, she is smiling.

Demona.

She approaches you, rubbing a talon against your cheek. For some reason, you don't feel it.

"How are you feeling?"

Like tearing your eyes out ...

"I'm fine."

Why are your words not coming out? Who has taken over your body?

"Good. We'll need you out on attack parties soon." She places a kiss upon your forehead. "My brave grandson."

Rage builds in your heart. Rage that you cannot express.

Queen of darkness, mother of despair ...

"Leave us." Her command to the technicians is quickly obeyed. They leave the two of you alone in the laboratory. She smiles again.

"That should make you more effective. That old Xanacorp thing did nothing for you. Truth be told, I think it was a piece of a Steel Clansman."

She holds up another appendage. Your old arm.

Give that back!

"Pity. Such a powerful young gargoyle, such wasted potential." She sighs. "I have such dreams and plans for you and your mother."

She clicks a lever on a nearby control panel. Your bindings are released. You can stand freely before the gargess. And you do.

You want so much to strangle her with your new arm. But you can't.

"Epsilon squadron is waiting for you. You're taking the Aerie Building tonight."

NO!

"Orders?"

NOT THE CLAN!!

"As much intel as you can on the Earth Forces and the Clan. We've received word that the humans have joined forces with the Clan, I want to know for sure."

You nod. You don't want to, but you nod.

"We will."

Demona comes closer to you. She places a hand on your shoulder.

Unhand me ...

"I know you won't let me down."

Let me go!!

"I won't. You'll see."

NOOOOOOO!!!!

You look over to the skyline. The Aerie Building is not too hard to find, being the dominant part of the horizon. You nod your head, leading the squadron to the castle.

"Tight formation, minimal casualties. We're collecting intel, not going in shooting."

Rosanna ...

You see in the distance, silhouettes rising to meet you. Hostile silhouettes. You don't recognize some of the defenders, but many of them you consider your friends.

"ATTACK!!"

The squadron disperses, taking their attack positions. You desperately want to control yourself.

Lina ...

The defenders rise to meet you. Two you can't recognize. But three of them are your friends.

Lexington ...

Graeme ...

Liberty ...

And one of them ...

ARIANAAAAAAA!!!

"I don't want to hurt you, Samson."

Don't make me ...

"You won't. It'll be the other way around." You raise your cyborg arm and fire a long beam toward the beaked green male who you consider your best friend. It hits him square in one of his shoulders. He tumbles through the air, back toward the castle, but regains his balance and zooms toward you.

"You shouldn't have done that!" Graeme roars. You respond by planting your metallic fist into his gut.

Don't make me kill him ...

You nearly let fly with a point-blank blast, but are interrupted by Lexington barreling into you.

"Don't! You'll kill him!"

"That's the idea, pipsqueak!"

Oh, God, Lex I'm so sorry ...

You watch yourself, horrified by your actions, your words. Words that come from your mouth, but could never be yours.

You see yourself hurt your friends. Graeme is only the first: you swat down Lexington easily with your tail. Liberty tries to restrain you while Lina cooks up a spell with her stone, but they ultimately fail. Your strength overcomes Liberty's grip, and a swift kick takes Lina out of the fight, swooping into a death dive trying to catch her stone.

That leaves you alone with Ariana.

Ariana ...

She snarls at you. "Don't make me kill you, Samson."

Ariana, my love ...

"Don't let the blue bitch control you."

Make me whole again ...

Ariana approaches, still in a combat stance. "Come back to us."

You struggle and fight, finally breaking through to the surface.

"Help ..."

Her eyes lighten from anger. "What?!"

"Help ... meee ...."

The magic fights you all the way. Unfortunately, the magic finally wins. You are thrown aside, as easily as your body throws aside Ariana.

You look around, seeing the surviving Rokkan forces regrouping. Quietly, you take to the air.

"Regroup and fall back! Behind me!"

The rest of the party joins you behind. As you glide off, you can faintly hear the sobbing in despair.

"Report."

"The attack was a wash. I think they were ready for us. I do have some useful information, though ..."

Demona nods. "Go ahead."

"The Avalonian gargess, Lina, has a vulnerability. She cannot use magic without a stone she has to carry."

Demona smiles. "Of course. She's so young and inexperienced, she can't use magic without an avatar." Her tones become hushed. "I must get my hands on that stone!"

"Other than that, we suffered many casualties, but no fatalities. Everyone came back."

"And that's the important thing, isn't it?" Demona strokes your face again. "Get some rest."

You nod, turning out of the room and leaving. But you don't want to. You want to strangle the blue bitch.

You want your freedom.

You want your body back.

Ariana ... help me ...

You cannot do it physically, but you shed silent tears of desperation. For all of your strength, you cannot fight this.

You are Samson. You are a Gargoyle.

You are a fish in a bowl, seeing but not experiencing.

And it saddens you.

Attacks upon the Castle were becoming a day-to-day routine for the occupants of high Castle Wyvern, overlooking a devastated New York City like a lighthouse upon the wasteland. This one had been no different.

Except that the enemy commander had at one time been the clan's second.

As the attacking party glided away, Graeme came to his grieving sister, kneeling beside her, one arm around her shoulders. Liberty came down closely behind, followed by Lina, her Avalonian stone freshly recovered. The scene itself was quite tragic to the casual observer; one passing upon this scene would never know that this party had successfully repelled an attack by themselves.

They were suddenly interrupted from their sorrow by two strange gargoyles climbing over the battlements to join them. They observed the scene, then quietly disturbed.

The younger one was the first to speak, though: "Which of you are Graeme and Ariana?"

The sorrowing red female and the green male consoling her looked up at the stranger. Graeme narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Not to be rude, but who the hell are you?"

"Later on the introductions. Rosanna just sent us up to tell you to hide. Your folks are here."

Ariana sniffled, looking up. "What do you mean?"

"They showed up in a big ball of fire ..."

The reply from the beaked fraternal twins was simultaneous and panicked: "OH CRAP!!" Hurriedly, they scrambled for a doorway.

Liberty observed this scene with an aloof fascination. "What is that all about?"

Lina shrugged.

"How bad is it?"

Rosanna sighed. "As bad as it looks, Brooklyn. Half the city's dead. The other half fights nearly non-stop against the invaders."

"Who are these invaders?" Sata's question brought a sigh from Morgan, clinging to her back. Rosanna stopped short and looked at the Ishimura gargess.

"Trust me on this one, it's better if a friend of ours tells you herself. Suffice to say, they are unlike anything you have ever faced."

"That's a stretch," Brooklyn quipped.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" came from the angry Steve Bluestone, on Rosanna's back.

"Hey, you got a problem, buddy?"

"Yeah, I've got a problem with your attitude, red ..."

"ENOUGH!"

Rosanna's bellow even stopped Buick short. A soft squeal from General Chavez restarted his ascent.

"Arguing is getting us nowhere here. Let's get up to the Castle and sort everything out there, okay?!"

Sensing agreement from the silence, Rosanna resumed her ascent. Sata cautiously looked at Brooklyn ...

... who was chuckling.

"What is so funny, Brooklyn-san?"

"She's Goliath's daughter, all right."

After all, no one who visits the Cloisters is sure to forget it anytime soon.

The Rokkans, though, towered over her, nearly towering over the varied medieval-style buildings. And in their midst stood a blue-skinned male cyborg gargoyle, stepping forward.

"We await your orders, grandmother."

She smiled at him. "Very well, Samson. Take a party and run a sweep along the East River. I want you to kill anything that moves."

"And the gargoyles?"

Demona narrowed her eyes to slits. Her eyes glowed red, and her Rokkan companions mirrored her appearance, their eyes glowing their peculiar deep blue.

"The gargoyles ... the gargoyles will perish."

"Brooklyn, Sata, this is Liberty. Once a Rokkan."

"Pleased to meet you." Liberty held out her hand. Brooklyn suddenly seemed to go pale, his countenance turning to one of shock.

"Uhhh ... you're a new sight ... tall ... hoo boy ... "

"What Brooklyn-san is trying to say," Sata continued for her mate, "is that it is our honor to make your acquaintance."

Liberty nodded. "I have heard about you. Rosanna speaks well of you and your journey."

"OH!" Rosanna zoomed in front of Liberty quickly. "Uhh ... what she's actually trying to say is that Brooklyn is spoked highly of here."

"I see ..." Sata eyed the distance between her shellshocked mate and the tall female before them. A casual wave of her hand before Brooklyn's eyes told Sata that she had totally lost his attention.

"Okay ... Brooklyn's not feeling well right now, so let's go aside and discuss the situation in private, okay?"

Sata and Liberty nodded, following Rosanna into the building.

"How long to we have to do this?" Ariana harshly asked in a frightened stage whisper.

"As long as it takes before the Gate takes them away again. You know the deal, Rosanna told us a long time ago that they can't know who we are, or that we even exist, even if we're with them!"

"But it's frustrating!!"

"What's frustrating?"

A third voice in the shadows startled the siblings into sudden awareness, as they looked between them and saw the young gargess Cadillac between them.

"What're you doing here?!"

"Nudnik fell asleep, and the egg wasn't moving, so I started exploring again."

Ariana crouched down before Cadillac, eye-to-eye with the younger one. "You spend a lot of time wandering alone here, don't you?"

Cadillac nodded slowly, sadly. Ariana sighed and hugged the child, not so much to comfort the child but more to comfort herself. She allowed her tears to flow once more.

Rosanna leaned against the kitchen counter, shrugging her shoulders. "Them's the breaks, Sata. And you're in the thick of it now, as much as we are."

Liberty, leaning herself against the refrigerator, came closer forward. "My people are a violent race. They live for conquest."

Sata nodded. "There are many I know of like your ... Rokkans. But few with such ferocity as you describe."

"So will you help us? As long as you're here ..."

Sata nodded again. "I understand perfectly, Rosanna-san." She laid a hand on her katana, still in its scabbard. "My sword stands ready to defend this place, as does Brooklyn."

"Thank you." Rosanna finally smiled, as Liberty left the two native Earth gargesses alone in the kitchen. Sata's expression seemed pained, though.

"What's wrong?"

Sata smiled again. "It's nothing, Rosanna-san. It's just ... well, between two females, can I trust you?"

"Completely, Sata."

Sata sighed, relieved. "Good. I fear I may not be able to fight much for a while on our endless journey. If Brooklyn should ever know this, I fear he may not allow me."

Rosanna could see the announcement coming a mile away. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"

"Hai. I would calculate it as about the last two months or so. I've wanted to tell him for a while now, but I can't seem to find the time, or the courage." She chuckled sadly. "Imagine that. Ishimura's finest warrior, and she has not the courage to tell her mate she is heavy with egg."

This revelation brought a smile from Rosanna. "You know, Sata, there are worse things to fear. Death, for one."

Sata raised an eyebrow. "I don't follow."

"Tell him, Sata. Tell him what's going on. Even if he doesn't take the revelation well, it's better than letting him find out for himself."

The Japanese gargoyle sighed resignedly. "I shall think it over, Rosanna-san. Thank you for the advice."

But they were still disappointed.

Samson alighted on a nearby van, screaming into the night sky.

"ROSANNA!! We're here, waiting for you! Come and meet your doom!"

Nothing came. Nobody. Not a single gargoyle.

"COWARDS!! ALL OF YOU!"

Frustrated, he jumped down and swooped off again, followed by his attack party.

Finally, she had their eyes on her.

"Scouting party reports an attack squadron tearing a swath of gunfire through Midtown! Samson is at the lead!"

Rosanna turned quickly to the gargoyles assembled there. "Liberty, Graeme, you're with me. General, get a party and have Sata and Brooklin take you to the site."

Everyone mobilized at once, leaving the Castle mostly unguarded. Out from the shadows, Graeme and Ariana emerged, followed shortly by Cadillac.

"This is it. The big attack."

The sound of her former title drew General Chavez' attention away from her destination, and focused on the speaker: Peter Maza.

"Peter! How'd you get here?"

"Unimportant. I want in on your attack party."

"Now Peter ..."

"I insist, Maria. I want in. I'm useless just hanging around here." He came closer to Chavez. "I lost Diane to these bastards. I'm not about to go down without a fight."

Chavez smiled. "Fall in, sergeant."

Rosanna had managed to beat off a few attackers, when she saw a familiar face in the crowd below, within the human resistance forces.

"Grandpa?"

She swooped down closer to the action, focusing her attention on Peter Maza as he fought off the attack. Very well, she had to add. He was holding his own quite nicely.

Then she saw him. Samson, creeping up behind him, cyber-arm at the ready. Her eyes glowed in anger and panic, as she dove down toward her grandfather.

"GRANDPA!!"

He barely had time to react. Samson grabbed the old human's head, over his face. He pushed the cyber-arm into the small of Peter Maza's back.

He fired.

Rosanna's panicked cry became an enraged roar, as she tackled the cyborg and began viciously ripping into him.

He was smiling, for some bizarre reason.

"Three down ... two to go."

She glared at him, her eyes burning her fury. "You ... son ... of ... A ... BIITCH!!"

She viciously slammed herself into her former second, sending him flying across the street. Regaining his sanity for a brief moment of clarity, he rose to his feet, calling the Rokkans to his side and gliding off with them.

She approached her grandfather slowly, the shock only now setting in. She dropped to her knees, by his lifeless side.

Brooklyn and Sata alighted by them. Brooklyn was in shock once again, this time in horror. Sata sheathed her weapon, crouching by Rosanna's side.

"I am sorry, Rosanna-san."

The tears that fell were less tears of sadness than tears of rage. She sat back on her heels, screaming impotently into the night air all her rage and sorrow.

She didn't notice the bright fireball encircling Brooklyn and Sata, making them vanish into the mists of time.

Nor did she notice the older gargoyles that took their place.

"Hi, Rosanna. What'd we miss?"

Shaken from her grief, she looked across from her and saw Brooklyn and Sata, now much older, standing there before her. Her rage could barely be contained.

And finally, it broke free. Manhandling him by the chestplate he now wore on a regular basis, she roughly threw the elder gargoyle against a brownstone, coming nose-to-nose with him.

"All right, Mr. Time Dancer, I want straight answers right now,, because TOO MANY people have died because of this whole 'can't reveal the future' line of BULL CRAP! TELL ME!!"

"Rosanna, I can't ..."

"DAMN YOU, TELL ME NOW!!"

Brooklyn set his jaw and his eyes slamming away Rosanna's grip. "Fine then. Wanna hear the whole thing, that's fine with me. The invasion is going to last approximately one year. It goes back and forth like this for about another eight months, and eventually ends with a massive offensive by the Earth forces, where all the gargoyles and the humans attack at once. That attack is easily swept aside by the Rokkans, and the resultant defeat leaves the entire planet under Rokkan control, with all surviving sentients native to Earth being either enslaved or executed. It's not until about twenty years later that a counter-revolution can occur which will succeed."

Rosanna backed away from Brooklyn. He gritted his teeth in a savage snarl.

"In other words, Rosanna, you, me, and just about everyone here will die. There. Satisfied?!"

Rosanna did not take the revelation well. She staggered for a bit under the weight of the new load she now had to bear, as only the fifth person with the knowledge of this future.

Finally, a determined set appeared on her features.

"Fine then. If that's the way it went ... let's find a way to change the future."

"Keep fighting. They will not take us without a fight."

=Maybe we should retreat while we can.=

"No."

=Liberty, we must ...=

=Silence. You are prisoners of the Rokkan. Desist.=

"Never!"

=Guards, take them.=

=I do not know. We are very securely held, though.=

"That's a fine grasp of the obvious, Nokkar ... we appear to be in a Rokkan holding cell."

=Meaning we have been captured. Unusual.=

"Why is it so unusual? We ... the Rokkans took prisoners all the time!"

=Not in my experience, young one.=

"You don't really know very much then, do you?"

"Silence!"

=What is it you want, Demona?=

"Your lives. The location of your friends. Domination of the earth. Not very much to ask."

=You twisted fool, Demona. Allying yourself with these space spawn will achieve nothing.=

"Perhaps not, but it will assure me of one thing. The end of humanity. Chew on that while you simmer, Nokkar. And you ..."

"What about me, short one?"

SMACK!

"Insolent child. You are dead."

"Funny, I feel alive."

"You, come here. Did you not kill this little one?"

=Indeed I did. She should be walking the land of spirits.=

"A lot of good you did me! How could you have shot me? Wasn't I your mate?"

=You are not my mate. You are a gargoyle. An Earth gargoyle.=

"Come back. Leave them here to rot."

"I am ... now. I was born a Rokkan, though."

=You are my enemy.=

"No, I am not. I don't understand this whole war. I don't even understand why such an insignificant planet as Earth would be so vital to the Rokkan agenda."

=Because it is an outpost of my people. If the Rokkans take Earth, they are one step closer to my homeworld.=

"But that's the thing. We have no quarrel left with your people!"

=What?=

"What ever gave you the idea that our races were at war?"

=When I was first sent here, our races were in constant conflict.=

"But ..."

=Since that time ... I admit that I have been rather confused. I accused Goliath and Angela of being Rokkan agents. That was ... 26 years ago.=

"That explains it."

=What?=

"How long ago was your assignment?"

=By the Earth measure, over one thousand years.=

"Nokkar ... I hate to be the one to tell you this, but ..."

=What are you saying?=

"Nokkar ... the Rokkans destroyed your people over seventy years ago."

"What?"

=How did the Rokkans destroy my people?=

"Through avoidance. We ... they ... simply avoided your people's outposts defending your territory and staged a strategic strike on your homeworld."

=How did they get past?=

"They disguised a full fleet of warships as a medical fleet. Their spies staged a natural disaster on your homeworld, and this fleet came into your territory under the guise of offering aid. Instead of helping your people, the fleet launched a planet-scale attack when they were at their most vulnerable ..."

=... and systematically destroyed ... my home.=

"That's about the size of it. I am so sorry, Nokkar."

=You coudn't have been alive that long ago. How do you know about it?=

"It is part of our basic learning. The Rokkans celebrate that particular event as a turning point in the lives of the people."

=So turning loose a planet-wide invasion upon a helpless race suffering from a disaster is a cause for celebration? Now I am sure, the Rokkans are evil, pure and simple.=

"Are you so sure?"

=And what is that supposed to mean?=

"Maybe you know nothing of the atrocities your people committed on the Rokkans. Do you?"

=What ... atrocities are you speaking of?=

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. You're so patriotic, you wouldn't take the information at face value."

=What?=

"You heard me. Your people destroyed a three-thousand citizen Rokkan settlement to build an outpost."

=Which one?=

"Mars."

=Mars?=

"The outpost you had in this system shortly before your Earth outpost. Solely because of your destroying that settlement, the war raged on."

=Liberty ... my people never had an outpost in this system before the Earth outpost.=

"And why should I believe you? Because you and your people are the so-called 'noble' fighters in the war?"

=No. You should believe me because I cannot lie, and I am telling you the truth.=

"Then what happened to the Rokkan settlement on Mars?"

=A natural disaster. I monitored it from my station here over 900 years ago. There was a massive seismic shift on the surface of the planet, which left your outpost in ruins.=

"Settlement. It was a settlement, not a military outpost."

=Which would explain why the Rokkans would think that my people had done it. That would also explain why they perpetuated the war because of the incident.=

"I never thought of it that way."

=Neither, I believe, did the Rokkan leadership.=

"What was that?"

=Sounds like an Earth force counterattack.=

BOOM!

"Definitely a counterattack. I hope they find us up here."

BOOM! BOOM!!

=Look there. Someone's coming.=

"Move those prisoners right now!"

"Not who we wanted to come."

=Right away, Demona. Get up, you two.=

THUD!

"Nice one, Nokkar."

=I am a warrior. It is only my nature.=

"Come on, let's get out of these bonds."

"Allow me to help you."

="Griff!"=

"At your service."

CLICK!

"Now come on, they're waiting for us at the Castle. We've got a lot more fighters here."

=I am, Sir Griff.=

"All right then, I'll meet you up at the Castle."

"What's going on?"

=I need to prove my trust in you, LIberty. My honor demands it.=

"Your ... trust?"

=Now that you know the truth. For that matter, now that I know the truth. I know now that you are not my enemy.=

"Well ... thank you. You can trust me with your back, Nokkar, I will never stab it."

=I know now that I can. Take us back.=

These were the passages of the Labyrinth.

And to Slash, they felt like home. As they should have.

The mute mutant trudged through the murky darkness, almost on instinct. Behind him, his companions struggled to keep up.

"You're kidding, people used to live here?" The Avalonian gargoyle Rain's voice echoed through the darkness.

"Regrettably, yes." Alexander Xanatos, in a massive suit of armor, confirmed the information. "One of my father's more ... infamous enterprises was the Labyrinth clan. He's regretted his partnership with Anton Sevarius for years because of them."

Rain nodded. "So, why were they here?"

"Because they chose this place to live. Their leader, Talon, was a bit headstrong and he and Goliath really never did get along well. Even when Goliath and the Clan moved back to the castle, Talon and his clan chose to stay down here."

"Besides, it wouldn't be very good for little Rose if her father and uncle were constantly trying to kill each other." The resonating voice startled everyone in the tunnel. The owner of the voice wasted no time in making his presence known before the searchers.

Coyote.

With a wave of an arm, the entire tunnel became bathed in light. Alexander removed his helmet and glared at the Native American fae trickster. "And why couldn't you do that earlier?"

"It's all about timing, my friend." Coyote strode down the corridor, past Slash. "What exactly are we looking for, anyway?"

"Daddy dearest kept a cache of weapons down here for just such an emergency as an alien invasion. I'm hoping it's still here." Alexander caught up with Slash and Coyote, with Rain not far behind. "At any rate, he never told Talon or Maggie about it. He was afraid they would lash out at him, what with young Slash here a growing boy in those young days."

Once Rain had caught up, he noticed the strange looks he garnered from Coyote. Brushing them aside, he added, "then let's find them. We'll need them if we have any chance against the Rokkans."

Ariana sat watching her egg, in a funk. Even Nudnik placing his head in her lap couldn't shake her fog. Graeme sensed her sadness and approached her softly.

"You still miss him."

She shed a silent tear. "Yes. How can I not? Oh sure, he's a cyborg and rapidly-aged, but ..."

She didn't need to say any more. Graeme brought his sister into an embrace. "I'll always be here for you, Ari. You know that."

"And we will, too."

The deeper, older voice startled everyone, as they turned to see two very familiar older gargoyles standing there with them. The twins stood up, eagerly running into the older ones' embrace.

Lexington's question fell upon the unattentive ears of Rosanna, just arriving at the Castle from the cemetery, where she had freshly interred the remains of her grandfather. Distractedly she turned to him.

"What was that?"

"I saw Brooklyn and Sata land in the courtyard. How long have they been here?"

"About an hour. They arrived at the combat arena."

Lexington nodded. "Okay. I think I've got a line linked up to the Rokkan central computer, if you're interested. I can get you an in on all of their upcoming strategies."

Rosanna nodded numbly, turning back into the castle. Lexington roughly harrumphed, watching her enter. The footsteps behind him shook him out of his own funk and his attention toward his mate, Pontiac.

"She is mourning. Give her time."

Lexington looked at the blue gargess, the pain in his eyes obvious. "But that's the thing. She may not have any time left."

The sight of bones suddenly brought a start out of Rain. "What's that?"

"I don't know." Alexander motioned to Coyote to approach the bones with the light. As the light came upon the remains, their origins suddenly became crystal clear.

"These ... they're the mutants."

Slash turned and looked at the group. Alexander approached him. "I don't know if you remember this, Slash, but we brought you up to the castle because your parents had disappeared. We couldn't find them anywhere."

Slash was starting to comprehend. His face took on a sad hue as Alexander continued.

"We'd heard rumors of gunfire being heard down here, but we couldn't find any of the clan remaining. We'd assumed that they had left."

Alexander looked at the bones, whose owner had finally become clear by the clothes the skeleton wore.

Talon.

"I guess we were wrong."

Slash dropped to his knees, crumpled up in a mournful ball. His grief spilled over into a howl that echoed throughout the tunnels of the Labyrinth.

"Don't look now, folks, but we've got company!"

A rush of Rokkans, hidden in the shadows, ran into the tight corridor and descended on the search party. Unfortunately, much too late they realized they had walked directly into a trap.

Rosanna stood in the castle's Great Hall with Pontiac. The purple gargess' tone was frantic.

"That's what he said. You'll have to ask him yourself." Lexington entered behind his mate, holding a stack of fanfold printer paper. "Lex, tell her."

Lexington cleared his throat uneasily, then looked up at Rosanna. She stood before him, waiting impatiently.

"Well?"

He looked down. "There's no easy way to tell you this, Rosanna ... when they took you captive after that first attack, the Rokkans injected you with a retro-virus."

Rosanna's face softened into a milder panic. "Retro-virus?"

"It works on cellular structural breakdown. They injected it into your right ear." Lexington fought his emotions as he spoke further. "Its gestation period has passed, so it should be at full strength now. Bottom line ... if we don't get the virus out of your system in two weeks, it will kill you."

Now Rosanna's face was even more panicked. "How do we get it out?"

He could hold it back no longer. Out of the one eye he had left that was original, Lexington shed tears. "The only way to destroy the virus is to take away its nourishment. To do that ... you'll have to have almost the entire right half of your face ... removed."

Pontiac nearly had to hold up her hysterical mate. Rosanna, as well, for she knew now why it had hit him so hard. The parts that had to be removed could be replaced, but the only way it could be done would be through cyber-implants. She entered the embrace with Lex and Pontiac, now shedding tears of her own.

Brooklyn still held Ariana in his happy grasp, as she showed her parents the egg. Nudnik and Cadillac stood there, as well. Sata stood a distance off with Graeme.

"I didn't want you to worry about me or us. We were fine ... at least until this invasion."

"Yes, Rosanna told us all about what happened to Samson. Aw, honey I'm so sorry ..."

"Save it, dad. The only way I'll feel better is if we get him back." Ariana lifted the egg out of its nest, handing it to Brooklyn. "Want to hold your grandson?"

Brooklyn smiled with pride, taking the egg from his daughter. "It's awfully big, Ariana."

"It's about two months away from hatching. I'm not sure I want him to right now, but if he comes, we'll deal with having a hatchling in a war zone. It's all we can do."

Brooklyn smiled wider as he rocked the egg in his grip. It wiggled, though, and suddenly he lost it. The egg began to fall to the floor.

"HEY!!"

The egg continued its descent to the floor. A strange glow from Sata's left arm distracted everyone from the falling object, just enough that they didn't notice it being caught ... by Sata.

"Cool, Mom, how'd you do that?!"

"Graeme! That was my kid that Dad almost killed!"

"Sorry ... "

Sata set the egg down in the nest. Pulling up her sleeve, she revealed the device attached to her left forearm, which flashed for a short moment.

"I decided that it was time to enter the 21st century."

Brooklyn came over to her. "And I didn't want you to get that thing." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

Graeme was nearly bouncing off the walls. "Well don't keep us in suspense, what's it do?"

Sata smiled. "It focuses my chi, Graeme-chan. In any time of danger, it speeds up my reflexes and allows me to do anything very fast."

Ariana wrapped her arms around the egg again. "Well, thank God you had it, mom. That's all I have to say about it."

Alexander, however, had continued to look for the weapon stash. Quietly, he looked around the arena of the battle, searching every crevice of the tunnel for any sign of a hidden compartment. Frustrated by a visual search, he replaced his helmet and began looking on the infrared level.

Finally, he spotted it. A slim glow, spherical in shape, against a dark far wall of the living quarters. He quickly zipped over to open it.

Meanwhile, Rain and Slash kept slashing away at the Rokkan attackers. Coyote stood back of the attackers, hovering in the air and commencing a Hopi chant. As a wave of rancid sewer water crashed over the Rokkans, they started motioning to try and escape.

An escape halted by a large-caliber particle blast from Alexander which left two barbecued Rokkan corpses lying in the water.

"Guess what I found!" Alexander quickly tossed weapons over to the rest of the searchers, who put them to good use in finally pacifying the rest of the Rokkans. Those who were still alive cowered in fear for the searchers.

Alexander took that opportunity to grasp a male Rokkan's ears.

"Take this message to Demona ... tell her we won't lie down and die, just because she says to!" A swift kick to the tail sent that particular Rokkan on his way. The other searchers came back over to Alexander.

"All right!" Coyote's enthusiasm was not equally met by the rest.

"Let's go. God knows I'm tired of this sewer, I wasn't born to tromp through the bowels of the city."

The rest of the party nodded in agreement, following Coyote's light out of the tunnel and back to street level.

Anxiously, the extended Clan stood in the courtyard of high Castle Wyvern, their poses and faces not belying their discomfort. A gust of wind passed over the group, making several lose their balance, and forcing most of them to cape their wings about their shoulders. Sister looked to brother, mate looked to mate.

Nobody knew what would happen next.

A shadow formed in the doorway of the Great Hall leading from the Castle. Nearly in unison, the entire Clan leaned forward, hanging on the silhouette's arrival and words.

When she arrived, though, everyone took back a gasp of shock.

Rosanna stood before them, proudly as ever. But her face ... the right side of her face had taken on the appearance of decay. The flesh had mortified to an ugly dark purple color, darker even than her natural skin tone. The right eye did not shine as it usually did ... rather it was darkened, its pupil turning lazier than its companion on the left. She looked over her troops as best as she could, through the driving rain.

Finally she spoke. And her voice also showed signs of the retro-virus ravaging her body.

"We've just heard that the Rokkans have parked that mothership of theirs over Times Square. It appears to be the main staging area for their troops. We're taking four parties, and try attacking from all sides.

"But first ... in the absence of Samson ..."

Rosanna looked to Ariana with all the emotion and sympathy she wished she could offer the daughter of Brooklyn.

".. and because of my current condition ... it has become imperative that I choose a new second. I have taken my time in choosing one, because I need a true leader who can take over at a moment's notice should I fall.

"That being said ... I choose Graeme as my new second."

The crowd rustled in the rain, as Graeme stepped forward toward his leader.

"Graeme, do you accept this responsibility I now give to you?"

He stood proudly, defiant against the storm. "I accept, Rosanna. You can place your trust in me."

Rosanna smiled. The moment was interrupted, however, as gunfire rained down from the sky. As the clan looked skyward, the attackers became all too clear.

Rokkans.

"Scramble and counterattack!! MOVE!"

Nearly in unison, the clan scrambled for weapons and armor. Rosanna hesitated, rasping with violent coughing, but finally took off, sidearm in hand, blazing away at the attackers.

Demona.

=The attack goes well.=

Demona nodded. "Where's Rosanna?"

A Rokkan male pointed out toward the melee. Demona squinted her eyes until she saw her nemesis stepdaughter, in the midst of the fighting.

"Field glasses. Quickly!"

The Rokkan on her left handed her a pair of digital binoculars. She put them to her eyes, carefully scanning Rosanna's features. She saw the disfigurement of the Manhattan Clan leader's face. Saw the struggle she had to go through just to stay in the fight.

The retro-virus was working.

She smiled. The unholy smile of a murderer.

Footsteps behind him distracted him from his watch. He turned to see Alexander Xanatos behind him.

"How long have you been watching her?"

"I wasn't ..." Rain stammered.

"You don't have to make excuses, Rain. You're watching Rosanna. Admit it."

Rain sighed. "You're right, I am. I can't help it, I'm worried about her."

Alexander smiled. If only he knew ... "Actually, Rain, I'd prefer it if someone would watch her back out there. If she falls, I want her down here at a moment's notice."

Rain looked at the industrialist. "All right."

"Just bring her to the medlab if she goes down. We'll be ready."

"We?"

"Myself and her father."

Rain nodded, acknowledging. He leaped off the tower and glided back into the midst of the fighting.

All were distracted with worry for their leader.

Rosanna, though, seemingly had no cares about her own well-being. She continued to fight with everything she had, tearing through the Rokkan lines.

"I hope she'll be all right."

Griff looked at Robyn, just as he threw off another attacker. "She's a tough one, Robyn. She's been through a lot. It'll take more than this to knock her off."

Robyn nodded. "I guess ... but I can't help but to worry. I share the burden of my brother's vow. If she dies with us here ..."

Pontiac was the first to speak, though. "This is going to kill him."

Her companions, Lina and Angela, looked at her. Lina asked, "Why?"

"He told me about his own ... problems. The ones he had so many years ago."

Angela knew. Her eyes darkened. "Madoc."

"Exactly. I know it tore him up telling me about what they had done to him, and it took all of his courage to let me into his personal world. But the prospect of Rosanna winding up the same way ..."

"It's frightening."

"More than you know, Lina," Angela added mournfully. "More than you could ever know."

Unconsciously, he admired her resolve. By his measure, it took a lot of energy and courage to deal with it as she had. He knew he would have never had the resolve.

Or the passion ...

He set his eyes firm, finding updraft after updraft in the wet night air, coming toward Rosanna.

Even the nausea had come and gone. Although she hoped nobody had been on the street below when she had been forced by her withering body to vomit while firing. But she had dealt with it.

She steadied the sight of her laser pistol, using her one good eye to aim it. The Rokkan came into her sights

And suddenly, she couldn't stop salivating.

Her vision began to blur ...

The gunsight wobbled ...

Her muscles failed her ...

And finally, in the midst of the convulsions, her wings inadvertently caped themselves around her, sending her on a fast descent.

"Goliath, I need you in the medlab now. Your daughter is dying."

And he caught her roughly, nearly sending himself into a death dive of his own. Gritting his teeth, fighting Rosanna's violent seizure, he opened his wings, desperately hunting for an updraft or a thermal to take him back up to the Castle. He watched the ground approaching ... faster ... faster ...

Finally, he found one. A strong thermal, probably created by the severe storm, pushed him back up toward the zenith of the Aerie building. He angled himself into a lazy spiral around the building: with the rain and the gusting winds, it was the safest way to get back to the top.

He became more relieved as Rosanna's seizure subsided. She was still once more. But she was unconscious.

Cradled in his arms, Rain pushed the hair away from her face where it had been thrown by her muscle contractions. He held her tighter to his body as he ascended.

"Hang on, Rosanna. Hang on for me."

In the medlab of Castle Wyvern, Alexander Xanatos checked his tools, nervously waiting for the arrival of the ailing clan leader. Alongside one exam table, Goliath looked around, as well. He looked to Alexander nervously.

"I'm concerned. I don't want to lose her like I lost her mother ..."

The human nodded. "I understand. Truth be told, I'm worried as well, it feels like I'm going to be cutting my own sister."

"All we can do is wait."

Alexander placed a hand on the concerned lavender gargoyle's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Though he doubted anything he could do would make a difference.

"Where ..."

"We're in the Castle. You're going to have your operation tonight, we can't wait any longer."

Rosanna looked up at the Avalonian gargoyle, focusing as best as she could with her right eye turning more sluggishly than the left.

"We can wait ..."

"No you can't. You had a seizure in the battle this evening, you'll be no good to us dead."

"The Clan needs me ..."

Rain stopped abruptly, frustrated with the gargess. "Rosanna ... for once in your life, can't you do a damned thing for yourself?"

She looked up at him, questioning.

"The war will still be here when you come out. The Clan will still be here. Graeme has them well in hand, but if you want to be of any use to the Clan, you need this. Tonight. End of discussion."

Rain continued down the hallway, carrying Rosanna with him.

Rain ran into the room, carefully laying Rosanna down on the table in the center. He took a place alongside the table, across from Goliath. The two males passed concerned looks between themselves. Finally, Alexander joined them.

"Gentlemen ... this procedure will require everything I have both technological and magical. Specifically, it will require soul magics."

Goliath now looked at Alexander. "Soul magics?"

Alexander nodded. "In particular, from you two. Earlier, I informed Rosanna what I would need, and I asked her to choose the two beings for whom she cared about the most. She chose the two of you."

They looked at each other again, then down at Rosanna. Weakly, she smiled, taking her father's hand.

"Father ..."

With her other hand, she took the other gargoyle's hand.

"Rain ..."

Alexander took the hands of the two male gargoyles. Dipping his head and closing his eyes, he began summoning fae magics, which began to swirl about the entire medlab.

Slowly, he began his incantation.

Alexander suddenly cocked his head back. The volume of his voice tripled as he recited the last line of the spell.

The flash consumed the entire medlab. Once it subsided, Alexander sighed deeply, looking up at the two gargoyles.

"She's under. Thank you, gentlemen, that will be all."

The two gargoyles looked at Rosanna worriedly one last time, then left the medlab. As they left, Owen and Coyote came in.

Standing on a far wall of the rookery, Ariana, Brooklyn, Sata and Cadillac stood, watching and waiting. The egg had rocked a few times since Brooklyn had accidentally dropped it, but had not hatched as of yet. This worried Ariana, as it was about due.

Nudnik simply slept in the corner. Once the egg had hatched, his job would be finished.

"When was the last time it rocked?"

"Two nights ago." Ariana approached it slowly. "Maybe he's caught."

"Give him time, Ari." Brooklyn approached his daughter. "If I recall, your egg took quite a while to hatch. It's kind of like punching through a brick wall."

Ariana looked at her father with an unbelieving expression.

"Okay, a really thick brick wall."

Ariana shook her head. Her mother came over to her, wrapping an arm around Ariana's shoulders.

"Patience, Ariana-chan. It is a virtue."

Ariana nodded, sighing heavily. "I know, but ... with everything happening lately ..."

Sata held her daughter tighter to herself.

"Where am I?"

Her call echoed throughout the room. Footsteps at the other end answered her.

"This ... is the landscape ... of your mind."

The footsteps approached closer, until the speaker became clear. Coyote.

"What are you doing in my mind?"

"Oh come on, Rosanna, surely you know my connection to your bloodline. So long as Maza blood flows in you, you have to deal with me."

Rosanna was confused. "How are you related to me?"

"Who do you think managed to get your grandfather off that reservation?"

Rosanna nodded. "True. But when have you ever been here for either me or my mother?"

Coyote's expression changed. "Well ... numerous times." He pointed at the walls of the hallway. "Pick a door, it will show you a time when I helped either you or your mother."

Rosanna suspiciously eyed the fae trickster. "If this is some elaborate practical joke ..."

"Please, would I joke around with a Maza? I think not."

Rosanna nodded, unsure herself, and chose a door. Carefully, she opened it.

When they pulled away, they noticed Coyote approaching them, in a brisk walk. They looked at each other, then at the fae.

Goliath, though, was the first to speak. "What are you doing here, trickster?"

"Guiding the blood, as usual. You know about my link to the Maza bloodline, and I'm here to help you out."

Elisa narrowed her eyes, as she looked at the Hopi fae. Her face appeared streaked. "How? What do you know ..."

"You wish to conceive a child. But your species are incompatible ... that is, incompatible without help. I can help you."

Goliath now narrowed his eyes. "Why would you help us?"

Coyote smirked a bit. If only he knew ... "It's my self-appointed duty to help the Mazas in any way I can. Sooo ... I'm here to help you kids."

Coyote raised his hands, entering a trance and reciting a Hopi incantation. Fae magics swirled about him and the two lovers, finally collecting into Elisa's body. When the lights had subsided, Coyote opened his own eyes and smiled.

"There you go. You have exactly 24 hours in which to conceive. Go to it, kids." Coyote snapped his fingers, disappearing.

It took a minute for the information to sink in fully. Once it did, though, Elisa frantically grabbed Goliath's hand and nearly dragged him inside the Castle.

Coyote nodded, smiling. "Yep. You couldn't have come into this world without my help. If I hadn't been there, you certainly would have been a twinkle in your father's eye ... but nothing more." He approached her slowly. "Now do you trust me?"

He held out his hand to Rosanna. She took it, allowing him to lead her further down the hallway.

He knelt in the Castle chapel, a place of aesthetic wonder erected near an outside wall. A huddled figure in prayer.

Goliath shook with all of the emotion he was holding. It was true, most gargoyles never took a religion, and most were still pagan in nature, but Goliath had always felt a need for something to believe. A need for faith.

He looked up toward a graven image in one of the walls, an image of the Crucifixion. Slowly breathing, he let out a great sigh.

"I know ... you don't hear a lot of prayers from gargoyles ... but I need you, more than ever ..."

He shuddered.

"It's just that ever since I lost Elisa, my daughters have been all that I had. And Rosanna was ... is ... all I have to remind me of her mother. This blight that her stepmother has placed upon her now threatens to take Rosanna away, as well."

His eyes closed, as a single tear fell from his eye.

"I couldn't live with myself if I were to lose Rosanna. Please ... if you never do anything else for a gargoyle, do me this favor and answer this prayer. Help my Rosanna. Heal ... my Rosanna."

In the deepest recesses of his heart, he fully agreed with the tall lavender gargoyle. He closed his eyes, dipping his head with the emotions he felt.

"You love her, don't you?"

The voice interrupted his own prayer. He looked up to see Angela standing there.

"What?"

"You love Rosanna."

Rain chuckled. "Is it that obvious?"

"It's only written across your face."

Rain smiled. "Why does it matter to you, anyway?"

"Rosanna is my sister."

"Rookery sister?"

Angela shook her head. "Sister as in Goliath is our father."

Suddenly the light came on. "You're the other daughter. Which means the stepmother ..."

"... is Demona." Angela shed tears of her own. "To think that my mother could have killed my sister ..."

Rain fully understood, as he and Angela held each other, trying to give one another comfort.

"Now this ..." He pointed toward the door. "This is another point when I helped your mother. And trust me on this one, she needed the help badly."

"How badly?"

Coyote opened the door. "See for yourself."

Elisa lay in an exam bed, legs bent and elevated, in a hospital gown. Her distended belly indicated her pregnant state. The screams coming from her contorted face spoke volumes about her pain. She cocked her head back and yelled again, squeezing the talon of Goliath, standing alongside her.

At the end of the table, watching the proceedings with growing anxiety, stood David Xanatos, alongside a doctor in scrubs.

"What's the problem, doctor?"

"It's ... it's the strangest thing I've ever seen. The baby's coming out breech, but the sharpness of its claws is tearing apart the birth canal." He looked up at Goliath. "If I don't cut her open soon, the effort's going to kill them both!"

Goliath turned to Elisa. The worry on his face was evident. "Elisa, you must ..."

"NO!" Her savage yell took everyone by surprise. "NO ... CUTTING!"

The doctor suddenly took on a strange, distant expression on his face. His eyes closed, as he began an incantation. Goliath and Elisa looked at each other worriedly.

"What is he doing? Xanatos, what is happening?"

"I wish I knew ..."

"That language ..." Elisa breathed out. "It's ... Hopi."

A fae glow in the doctor's eyes settled what had happened. The doctor was possessed. He completed the incantation, allowing brilliant fae magics to swirl about Elisa. She lapsed into a deep sleep.

At that moment, Coyote chose to make his presence known. In a flash, he replaced the doctor between Elisa's legs, grasping hold of the legs and tail which had already crested.

He looked up at Xanatos. "I could use some help here."

Xanatos nodded, also taking a grip on the legs and tail. On Coyote's signal, both men pulled mightily, but taking care not to hurt either the baby or Elisa.

A loud thump as both men fell to the floor announced the arrival of the wet baby, finally pulling free. At that same moment, Elisa roused from the quick trance, struggling to pick up her shoulders.

"Elisa ..." Goliath struggled for words. "Our baby ..."

Xanatos stood up, cradling the naked newborn in his arms. It appeared as a full gargoyle, but certain elements were strange: one claw, one finger on the wings, the horns weren't nearly as long as a full-blooded gargoyle newborn's would be. The newborn cried its discontent, as Xanatos handed it over to the new parents.

"Goliath, Elisa ... it's a girl."

Elisa took the baby from Xanatos, cuddling her in her arms. Goliath embraced both his mate and newborn daughter.

"Come up with a name yet, Big Guy?"

He smiled. "I can't think straight yet. I'm staggered by the rose of our love."

Elisa smiled, thinking it over. "Rose. That sounds good."

The new family lay together in the medlab, holding each other closely. Xanatos, Coyote and the doctor discreetly left the room.

"What? Wasn't that satisfying for you?"

She grabbed Coyote by the lapels of his leather jacket. "If you're so dedicated to furthering my bloodline ... then where the hell were you when my mother died?!"

Coyote sniffed. "Oh. You think I didn't hurt when she died? You think I didn't care enough to save her?" He slapped Rosanna's hands off of him. "You think I just up and abandoned you?! Well, think again, chickie."

He stomped over to another door. "Take a look. I didn't just abandon her."

Rosanna angrily opened the new door.

Elisa reached up and took Goliath's head in her hand.

"With your shield or on it."

She kissed him one last time, then breathed her last. The two gargoyles knelt back, roaring into the night their discontent.

However, beyond their sight, Elisa's soul rose to the sky, where she materialized in a long tunnel. A light shone at the opposite end, a light bright enough to nearly blind her.

"Hello, Elisa."

She turned quickly, hoping to find the speaker. She didn't find him.

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"You've died, Elisa. I'm here to help you."

"Help?!" She slapped her hands against her hips. "If I'm dead, how can I be helped?!"

The speaker finally materialized. Coyote.

"Oh, it's you."

"Yes, it's me. And I'm here to help you let go."

She looked toward the dark end of the tunnel, seeing Goliath and Rosanna mourning her.

"My husband ... my daughter ..."

"They will go on without you. You have to know that." Coyote waved his hand, and the scene changed. It was still nighttime, but it was now a large parade of black clad police officers, escorting a horse-drawn caisson carrying a casket, draped in an American flag.

"Mine?"

Coyote nodded. He waved his hand again, letting the scene shift once more. Now it was at the funeral itself. She recognized the speaker at the podium as her partner, Matt Bluestone. She watched as the honor guard fired a salute, gazed as Matt walked over to Goliath and Rosanna and presented the grieving family with the flag, now neatly folded into a triangle.

"How can I leave them?"

"You won't. You'll be in their thoughts, always. And the day will come when they will need your help. Just not today."

"Then when?"

Coyote gave her a stern gaze. "You will know."

Elisa nodded, turning back to the scene. Matt was now embracing Goliath and Rosanna.

"Farewell." She turned to Coyote. "I'm ready to go, now."

"It really did hurt you, didn't it?"

Coyote sighed. "Ever notice how you never see any fae cry? I think I was the first when Elisa died. It will hurt me even more if I lose you, as well."

"What do you mean?"

"Not right now. I'll tell you in a bit." Coyote guided Rosanna further down the hallway.

"Now comes the fun part."

Seeing his attempt at nervous humor lost on Owen, Alexander sighed, turning back to his task. Carefully, he pulled up on a piece of Rosanna's face, skull fragment included.

The diseased piece.

Owen quickly held the specimen tray underneath the bloody fragment, placing it far away from the orignal owner. Alexander breathed heavily once more, looking toward a monitor tracking Rosanna's vitals. Still normal.

"All right, that's over with. The implant, if you will, Owen."

Owen nodded curtly, handing a metal plate to Alexander. He quickly turned over the implant, removing the neural linkages. He turned back down to Rosanna's opened face, toward the small corner of her brain which had been exposed by the retro-virus' removal.

"Keep a careful watch on her higher brain functions. We're going good right now, the last thing we need is to lose her."

"I would assume, then, that Coyote is doing his job?"

"Admirably."

As the operation continued, neither man in the room noticed the cancerous fragment which had just been removed from the gargess. Neither of them noticed the magics swirling about it.

Nor did they see it vanish.

=The specimen has been collected.=

Demona smiled, evilly.

Cadillac, though, stopped their exodus. "It moved!!"

The entire group rushed back to the center of the rookery. Nudnik, excited by the movement, had joined them, as had Broadway and Angela. True to Cadillac's word, the egg was violently rocking back and forth, and looked moments away from cracking.

The excitement in the room was nearly tangible. Ariana was nearly in tears. Memories of her life with Samson began rushing to her as the egg had begun moving. Memories made all the more painful by his current state of servitude.

Brooklyn and Sata stood nearby, along with Broadway and Angela. The expectant grandparents had equal excitement over the first third-generation gargoyle born in Manhattan.

Lexington and Pontiac held each other closely as they watched, recent memories of Cadillac's hatching flashing in their minds.

And Cadillac herself stood close to Ariana, giving her something to cling to as she watched the struggle for life.

A struggle which ended sooner than anyone expected. A loud CRACK! startled everyone in the room. Slowly, a tiny blue talon broke through the shell, grasping the edge of the crack and pushing. Another blue talon joined it shortly, as the hatchling pushed the halves of the shell aside.

Ariana smiled through her tears. "Come on, baby ... come on ..."

The shell finally disintegrated, sending small shards in all directions. And the hatchling made his presence known with a tiny roar of determination. Ariana rushed forward to grasp the newborn and cradle him in her arms.

Her son.

She stood for a minute or so, just cuddling the hatchling tightly to herself. When she turned to face her family, she was smiling widely, as she held the tiny new life.

"Say hello to your grandson ... Solomon."

The crowd rushed in toward Ariana, embracing her and the new hatchling.

"Well ..." Coyote shuffled his feet, hesitantly. "I haven't had much chance, have I? But I have shown up a few times."

Rosanna looked at him expectantly.

"Remember your first date in high school?"

Her expression changed to a sarcastic smirk. "You're kidding."

"No, really. It would have been your last one had I not interfered."

Coyote led her to another door, opening it for her.

The phone distracted her thoughts, though. She walked back into the house, picking up the phone. "Hello?"

"Rose? It's Tommy."

Her eyes widened. "Tommy Walker?"

"Yup. Wanna go out tonight?"

She looked at the phone. "This is really a bad night, Tommy ..."

"I won't keep you out all night, just some dinner. I'll be over in ten, be ready." CLICK

Rosanna groaned. True, she had been looking with a lot of interest at Tommy passing through the halls at school, but a date would be next to impossible. After all, how would Tommy feel about her other form?

The elderly housekeeper chose that moment to enter the room. "Trouble, ma'am?"

Rosanna looked at her desperately. "Oh, I'm sorry, Mrs. Thorogood. It's just ... there's a friend from school coming over in ten minutes ... to get me for a date."

"Oh, how exciting!"

Rosanna slapped her hand across her face. "What am I gonna do? He can't be seen with me, he doesn't even know I turn into this!"

Mrs. Thorogood's eyes took on a different hue for a short moment, then returned to normal. "Well, I don't think that'll be a problem, dear."

The doorbell rang. "Oh, no, he's early!"

"Leave it to me, dear." Mrs. Thorogood approached the door, opening it. Tommy Walker, a mid-sized football player built teenage boy of about 16, stood on the other side of the screen.

"Hi, Mrs. Thorogood. Is Rose here?"

The elderly woman chuckled. "She's right here, and she can't wait."

Tommy opened the door and entered the foyer. He came straight up to Rosanna. She nervously chuckled.

"Hi, Rose. Ready to go?"

Her jaw dropped. Apparently, he couldn't see her for what she was. "I guess so."

"Great, let's go. Dad loaned me his car."

He reached his hand out to the gargess. She took his offered hand, allowing him to lead her out of the house. As they left, Mrs. Thorogood clung to the doorframe.

"Ah, young love."

She smiled, at the same time metamorphosing into her true form.

Coyote.

"What can I say? Your mom asked me to look after you as a favor. Puck ... er, Owen ... set me up with everything, including the house and the job."

"You ..." She continued back down the hallway. Coyote ran after her to grasp her arm.

"I wouldn't open that door."

"Why not? It's another time you helped me, isn't it?"

"Well, true ... but it's an especially painful memory of yours. You don't want to relive it, do you?"

"What could be more painful than my mother's death?" She opened the door.

And through the storm, a human and a gargess ran for their lives. Running from an angry mob.

Running from Connecticut Quarrymen.

The two hunted teens made their way to the edge of the cliff. They looked at each other fearfully.

"No place else to go!"

"Yes there is!" Rosanna unfurled her wings against the fury. Tommy almost leaped into her arms, looking back toward the mob.

"Can you glide in this?!"

"We'll find out soon enough, won't we?" Rosanna was about to leap when a gunshot interrupted her. She turned to see the Quarrymen mob fast approaching the cliff. At the lead was Geoffrey Walker, Tommy's father.

He was cocking a twelve-gauge shotgun and brandishing it threateningly toward Rosanna.

"You let go of the boy now, monster!"

She stood defiantly against both the wind and the mob, holding Tommy close to her, trying to shield him from the wind. "No! You don't understand, I'm a protector!!"

Geoff Walker, or "Captain" as the locals familiar with his Army career called him, leveled the gun at Rosanna.

"Bull! Let go of the boy!"

Tommy worked himself free of Rosanna's embrace, approaching his father cautiously. "Dad, don't you recognize her? This is Rose Maza! You know, the nice girl I brought to the house a couple months ago!"

Captain Walker didn't even flinch. "Rose was a nice, human girl. That thing you're with is a beast and an abomination."

The situation was tense, made even tenser by the threat of violence. Something was bound to give.

Eventually, it was Rosanna.

"Tommy ... I love you."

Tommy looked behind him as Rosanna leapt into the heart of the tempest. As she entered the leap, though, he heard the click of a hammer being pulled back on his father's shotgun.

"NOO!"

Tommy ran into the way between his father's gun and Rosanna. The gun fired.

A cartridgeful of lead shot pounded its way through Tommy Walker's body The pellets ripped through his ribcage and into his lungs and heart. He barely had time to turn around.

"Rose ... I loved you ..."

Rosanna's savage roar shattered the night, not the least Captain Walker. He dropped to his knees, the gun falling forgotten at his side. His face twisted into mournful sorrow. Rosanna swooped around, picking up Tommy's broken body and embracing him as he breathed his last. She approached his father, her eyes glowing red with an unholy anger she had never felt before.

"I hope you're happy ... Captain. Your hatred just killed your son."

She took off into the heart of the storm, still carrying Tommy's body. The other Quarrymen soon forgot about Captain Walker running and firing their weapons impotently into the storm, not hitting anything.

The storm had made sure of that.

"How did you help me there?"

Coyote crouched down beside where Rosanna knelt. "The storm. I was the storm. If I hadn't done that and hidden you from those bigots, you would have wound up as dead as Tommy did. And didn't I help you afterward, being there for you at every crying jag?"

Rosanna nodded. "Yes. I suppose ..."

"Now, I've got to show you the most recent time I've helped you."

Rosanna sniffled. "Most recent?"

Coyote nodded, pointing at the very last door of the hallway. "See for yourself. It should look very familiar."

The magics swirling about Rosanna collected into her, as she lay on the medlab table, still holding the hands of Goliath and Rain. Alexander collected himself, letting go.

"She's under. Thank you, gentlemen, that will be all."

Goliath and Rain turned away from the table, leaving the room. As they did, Owen Burnett and Coyote entered. Alexander turned to them.

"Ah, you're just in time. She's under the trance."

Coyote nodded. "You just want me to keep her thinking, right?"

Alexander nodded. "The key to this whole thing is to keep her higher brain functions working while I operate, so that the implant will take easier. I've already placed an enchantment over the implant, so that it will adjust to her transformations. The rest is up to you."

Owen blandly added, "When we performed this procedure on Samson, I was the one who kept him thinking, as the Puck. A small loophole I found in Lord Oberon's decree allowed me to do it."

Coyote nodded. "Well, better go while the getting's good." Coyote dissolved into mist, entering Rosanna's diseased ear. Alexander turned to Owen, who handed him a scalpel.

"All right, let's get this show on the road." Alexander lowered the scalpel to Rosanna's skin.

Coyote nodded at Rosanna's question. "Sadly, yes I must confess. And the procedure is almost over. In fact ..."

He looked to the far end of the tunnel. It was darkening.

"I believe they're ready to bring you out of the trance. At this moment, Alexander should be bringing Goliath and Rain back into the room."

Rosanna smiled. This would soon be over. "I suppose then that I should be thanking you for saving my life ... numerous times."

"No need. Really."

Rosanna placed a small peck on the fae's cheek anyway. "But it's only right."

"Hey come on, now. Save that for Rain."

Rosanna's eyes opened widely. "What?!"

"You can't hide it from me, Rosanna. I know the Mazas too well." With a enigmatic smirk, Coyote dissolved once more. Rosanna felt herself become drowsy, collapsing to the floor of the hallway and falling asleep once more.

Rosanna's chest heaved a great breath. New air was drawn into her lungs for the first time in almost three hours. Slowly, she opened the one eye she had naturally remaining, and looked to either side of her.

Weakly, she spoke. "Father ..."

Goliath's happiness shone brightly on his face. She had never seen him so happy, as he tightly embraced her, father and daughter reunited once more. As she pulled away from his embrace, she watched him turn to stone with the dawn.

At the same time, she went through her own metamorphosis, turning her human once again. She looked up at her other side and saw Rain, still awake because of the pendant around his neck. He was smiling.

And nearly in tears.

"Rose ... I ..."

She sat up, looking up at him. Slowly, she stroked his face, following the traces of the worried tears he had shed.

"Don't say anything. You don't have to."

She brought his head down to her level, approaching him slowly. She placed a quick kiss on his lips before she brought him into her embrace.

Reunited from death's grip.

"Rosanna ... I ..."

"Don't say anything. You don't have to."

The two gargoyles briefly kissed, then embraced. From a nearby passage, the young green gargess called Lina watched them. Watched with growing sadness. Jealousy.

A tear rolled down her cheek, just as the sun's rays hit her and forced her into her stone sleep.

Just as she reached the mouth of the passage, she saw them. Rain, the male she had found in the deep forests of Avalon. Rosanna, the leader of the clan that they guested with at this moment.

In each other's arms.

She felt the tears rising again. She tried, but failed, to hold back a mournful scream as she leaped out a nearby window and into the cold night.

Rosanna looked up at Rain, her new cyborg eye glowing with life in the darkness. "What was that?"

Rain looked behind him. "I ... think it was Lina."

Rosanna looked at him. "Oh no. Lina?"

Rain looked to his feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Damn it ... he was mine!" She repeated it over and over to herself. She was the one who found him on Avalon. She was the one who brought him to Manhattan. Sure, he hadn't been too happy about it, but still. And now he chose Rosanna over her!

Lina was so blinded by her anger and jealousy, she didn't realize until it was too late that she had flown right into the center of a Rokkan patrol. As they banked in to attack, she pulled her Avalon stone, the one he had given her, and reared back.

"FLARE CIRCLE!"

A ring of fire spread from the stone in her hand, immolating the Rokkan patrol. Unfortunately, she didn't notice the patrol commander, swooping down on her from above, thereby avoiding the fire.

A swift blow to the head, and Lina was down. The patrol commander easily carried her with one arm, turning back toward the Rokkan central command station. He looked down on his unconscious quarry, his artificial eye glowing red in the night.

"Grandmother will be pleased." Samson continued on his way.

"Keep it down."

"If I weren't in here, Sammie, I'd ..."

The sound of a door ahead of her opening cut Lina short. She looked toward the end of the corridor and saw the blue gargess approaching at a fast clip.

Demona.

"I picked her up with the scouting patrol, Grandmother. She was carrying only this." Samson handed Lina's Avalon stone to Demona. Lina snarled.

"Give it back!"

Demona looked down on the younger gargess, sneering. "I think not, little one. You don't realize the power you carry in this small pebble, do you?"

"I know enough!" Lina focused her line of sight at the stone. "Backfire!"

Nothing happened. Demona laughed loudly.

"And what did you expect to achieve?" Demona focused her eyes at Lina, clutching th stone. "Levitation."

Lina's prone form suddenly began floating in midair. Her cries of panic went unanswered by Samson or Demona, save with laughter. Demona turned back to the stone.

"Gravity."

Lina suddenly dropped like a rock, pressed to the bulkhead like a huge weight had been dropped on her. The force of the fall itself, though, had been enough to knock her out.

"That's enough for play time. Normalcy." Lina's body returned to a normal appearance, save her unconsciousness. "Samson, take her to a holding cell. I have ... plans ... for this stone."

Samson picked up the limp gargess again, dragging her down the passage.

The doors opened on the opposite side of the cell, allowing Samson and a Rokkan escort to walk in. Lina snarled at the two.

"What do you want?"

"Leave us." Samson's order was quickly followed by the Rokkan guard. The door closed behind him, leaving Samson alone in the cell with Lina. He approached her, slowly, threateningly.

"Well now ... what on earth would make you assault a whole party without backup? Or better armaments, for that matter?"

"Better armaments? Why don't you ask all those crispy Rokkans out there what kind of 'better armaments' I was packin'!"

"There has to be some reason. Could it be ... something to do with your companion?"

"Don't go there, Sammie. You won't like what you find."

"Oh, I'll go there. And I'll like it. Call it ... satisfying my morbid curiosity." Samson chuckled. Lina strained against the restraints again.

"You bastard!"

Samson came nearly nose-to-nose with Lina. "He wound up with Rosanna, didn't he?"

She spit in his face. He didn't move.

"I knew it. I could see it coming."

Lina strained again against the shackles, to no avail. Her struggles were less strenuous this time, though, as her eyes began to tear up.

"You bastard ..."

"I knew as soon as you two arrived, that they would be together. I saw it in his eyes. He never liked you, and you know it."

"LIAR!!" Now she was crying louder. "I found him! He had no memory, I told him all about the clan!"

"And what good did it do you? You come to New York, and he goes to shack up with a beautiful hybrid, who I might add is much easier on the eyes than you are."

"SHUT UP!!"

Lina hung her head, letting her sobs take over.

Samson smiled. She would break easily. He walked out of the cell, letting the door's closing ring out through the cell.

From within the core of the light came a woman. A dark-skinned, raven-haired woman, wearing a red bomber jacket and blue jeans.

Lina squinted against the light. "I think I know you. Didn't you come to Avalon?"

"I did." The voice echoed further than Lina thought it could. "And now I'm here to help you."

Lina sighed. "How?"

"The Rokkans are trying to break your spirit. Demona thinks that you will turn against the Clan and fight with her."

"Why ... me?"

"I don't know, Lina. But I do know that you can't let Demona win. Resist, with all your strength. The Clan needs you."

Lina drooped her head again. "Why should I believe that? Rain abandoned me."

The woman approached closer. "Then why should you punish Rain for his choice? There's one thing he chooses above everything else, including my daughter, and that is protecting life. All life here in this city. You know this in your heart. After all, you are a gargoyle, and gargoyles live to protect."

Lina's eyes narrowed again. "Your daughter ... you're Rosanna's mom?"

The woman nodded. "She was heartbroken when I died. So was Goliath. There wasn't much I could do for him, but I did guide Rain toward Rosanna. I knew about him. I know a lot about him, but I can't tell you right now."

"Why not?"

"Because you will tell Rain, and he has to find out for himself."

Lina nodded, understanding. "But I still can resent him, right?"

"Please don't. It'll make everything easier, Lina. Trust me, you'll find another, and he'll stay with you."

Finally, Lina smiled. "Okay then. How do I get out of here?"

Elisa smiled. "Leave it to me." Her spirit dissolved into the air again.

Suddenly, Lina felt her bonds open. She clicked her talons on the metal floor of the cell, immediately taking on a defensive stance. Much to her surprise, the door opened easily, as she worked her way into the passage.

It was empty. Except ... Lina sped into the room and snatched the stone off the table. The Avalon stone.

As soon as she touched it, however, alarms went off all around her. Speeding down the hallway, Demona and Samson were the first to reach the room. Lina took a threatening pose, gritting her teeth.

"Stay back!"

Demona smirked. "Try it, little one."

Lina curled her lip into a snarl, focusing her eyes and her life energy into the stone and the blue gargoyles before her.

"SINKHOLE!!"

A hole popped up in the bulkhead below Demona and Samson, dropping them to the next deck below. Before they could recover, Lina closed her eyes, holding the stone close to her chest.

"Teleport."

She vanished in a brilliant flash.

However, she made her appearance behind them in the courtyard, accompanied by a brilliant flash. Rosanna and Rain turned fast to see her there.

"Lina!"

Lina, for the first time in what seemed like a while, smiled. She eagerly ran into the embrace of Rain and Rosanna. After a while, though, Rain pulled away from her.

"Lina ... I'm so sorry I hurt you. I didn't know ..."

Lina lightly brushed his apology off. "Don't worry about it, Rain. Me and Rosanna's mom had a little chat while I was out, we're square."

"My ... mom?"

Lina hugged Rosanna again. "I'll tell you about it later."

In each other's arms, Rain, Lina and Rosanna walked back into the Castle's Great Hall.