Volume #9: "Soulscape"

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.