Since this is fanfiction, here's the legalese: All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder.

Chapter 1

Tucked deep within the tall buildings of Manhattan, only a few blocks away from Central Park, was a small brick building belonging within the ranks of the NYPD. The 23rd precinct, to be exact. Within its hallowed walls, many an officer had come and gone, dedicating their life to serve and protect those people living on the island of Manhattan.

They weren't the only ones doing so, however. High above the city, living amongst the ancient stone walls of a scottish castle, was a clan of Gargoyles. Not the hideous stone statuary that most people immediately thought of when they thought of gargoyles, but living, breathing beings.

Centuries ago, Gargoyles were considered guardians for castles and strongholds throughout the world. Mighty warriors, they were fearsome to look upon, and even more so to fight against.

Their species had a strong sense of right and wrong, and a need to protect any and all under their care.

During the day, however, they were helpless. Locked in the stone rejuvenating sleep that is unique to only the Gargoyle kind, they were under the care of the humans that they protected at night. For centuries, this arrangement worked.

Then, 100 years ago, that all changed for one clan. Betrayed by the humans that they had sworn to protect, all but five members of one scottish clan had been destroyed while they slept.

The remaining clan members were placed under a magical spell, only to reawaken when the castle that they stood upon was lifted above the clouds.

Fast forward to a few years ago, and one rich man found out about the spell and had the castle moved atop the tallest building in Manhattan.

When their home had been transported to Manhattan, the spell that had kept them locked in a stone sleep had been broken. While they had been encased within their enchanted sleep, time had continued to move forward, essentially leaving the clan and their ancient ways behind.

It had taken some time, but the clan had finally managed to adapt to the modern time in which they had found themselves. Due, in no small part, to their friendship with Elisa Maza, a Detective within the ranks of the NYPD who shared the same protective instincts that were held so earnestly by all Gargoyles.

The Gargoyles adopted the island of Manhattan as their new protectorate, and sought to make the streets safe for those encased on the island of stone and steel.

The night before had been no different. Elisa had gone on her nightly patrols and, with the help of the clan members, they had successfully made the streets a little safer for those in their protectorate. Now, with the sun rising, the Gargoyles had retreated to their home high on top of the Aerie Building in Downtown Manhattan and Elisa was once again inside the brick and mortar walls of her precinct station house.

It was Tuesday morning, and the meeting room within the 23rd precinct as filled to capacity. While not a rare occurrence, it was far from a regular one. It was rare when all available officers were required to be in attendance.

The message had come down the pipeline about an hour before, when most officers began counting down until the end of their shift. For every officer to be called, it was something big, and potentially dangerous.

The last time that had happened was after the World Trade Center bombing back in 1993. Elisa was still the "new kid on the block", but remembered the grim looks of all who had been in that meeting with her. Looking around, she saw much of the same expressions now, despite the loud chatter going on.

At least half of the officers in the room had been on the clock all night, and the rest were just starting their day. The officers were restless, wanting to know what had caused this meeting, what was going on, and to get this meeting over with.

Elisa Maza and Matt Bluestone had been on duty all night. Both NYPD detectives, they were among those hoping it was over soon so that they could go home. In reality, they should have been off the clock an hour ago.

The room was buzzing with the voices of the officers speculating what the meeting was about and why all the secrecy.

Finally, right on time and not a moment late, Senior Officer Morgan strode into the room. "Alright people," His deep voice boomed, commanding the attention of everyone in the room. "Listen up."

Officer Morgan had only been stationed at the 23rd precinct for a few years, but he had already become one of the more respected patrol officers in the station. We was a father figure to the rookies he trained, a friend to many others and a damn good leader to all. He had proven himself to be a natural leader, and as such, he was put in charge of running the meetings when higher personnel weren't mandatory or were unable to be there themselves.

He had joined up at the 23rd not long after the Gargoyles had first made their appearance in Manhattan. In fact, that was where he and Elisa had first met. Elisa still had a feeling that she was the only person outside of HR and the Chief who knew Officer Morgan's full name.

Morgan L. Morgan III.

Mind wandering a bit, Elisa had to admit that every time she thought about his full name, she cringed. Morgan's parents were either mean… or his mama had been on some heavy duty pain medication when she was naming him in the hospital.

Shaking her head over her fellow officer's unfortunate moniker, Elisa fell silent with the rest of the room and did her best to make her tired brain concentrate.

Morgan handed off a tall stack of papers to one of the officers in the front row to help distribute.

"Our station was contacted less than an hour ago with information that there is going to be a protest today that may cause some issues downtown. Among other things," He continued, "These people have been very vocal in trying to get attention for their 'cause', and the may have people coming out to counter with a protest of their own. I don't need to tell you that is something that no one needs."

Every officer in the room nodded their agreement.

Elisa was nodding with everyone when she finally got one of the flyers herself. Taking one and passing the stack to Matt, she glanced at it. Freezing, her eyes were drawn to the name of the group and their mission statement.

'Join the Quarrymen,' the headline read in a bold red font across the top, 'Putting humans first, while removing the Abomination threat.'

Elisa shared an uneasy glance with Matt. There had been rumors of an anti-gargoyle organizations popping up, but the Quarrymen were the most vocal… and violent. If they were planning a protest rally, things could go very wrong very quickly.

And if the rumors were true and people were planning on countering their protest, the situation could get explosive.

"We are needing everyone available this afternoon to help keep this event under control," Morgan continued. "We want our presence there to be visible, so we need everyone in full uniform."

There were several groans in the room. A good portion of the people in the room were just ending their shifts. If they were able to go to sleep right this second, they might get a full 8 hours before having to be back at work for the rally. In Elisa's case, with commute times to and from home, she might get a solid 5 hours.

Despite the bitching and moaning, they would do it. They would do it because they were needed. They would do it because they loved their city. They would do it because they loved the job.

But the didn't have to like it.

The particulars were gone over. A city bus would be coming by the station around 4:30 in the afternoon to transport them to the site of the rally. Overtime had been pre authorized for this mess, so no one had to worry about their hours being cut later on to save on payroll. Finally, all officers were to report to one of four mobile stations that was going to be set up around the rally point. Everyone was to check in and check out in person, not just radio contact.

One more round of groans, and the meeting broke.

Elisa was slow to get up, digesting the information from the flyer about the "Quarrymen" group. They had been a rising name in the Gargoyle vs. Human debate, and was making a name for themselves. A good amount of them were in court or jail with frightening regularity in their increasing violent attacks on personal property.

They were smashing any kind of statuary that even vaguely resembled a Gargoyle.

The clan was safe for now, spending their days atop their castle, under the watchful eyes of David Xanatos, one time enemy and now friend of the clan.

Elisa was absently twisting the ring on her finger. It was an old ring, centuries old, in fact. The ring had somehow managed to survive, having been found wedged in between two stones when the castle had been uprooted and moved to Manhattan. Xanatos had given it to the clan as a token to remind them of their original time. It had a thin gold band with a large Alexandrite stone in a delicate setting. Goliath had presented it to her months ago, asking her to marry him in the human way. Elisa had loved the ring, especially the stone that seemed to change colors depending on the lighting. It wasn't a traditional ring, but they were far from a traditional couple.

Matt noticed the action, and was certain that she was agitated about the protest and the ideals of the group behind it. He thought to steer the conversation away from it to a less volatile one.

"So," Matt probed, gently. "Have you and Goliath finally decided on a date?"

"No," Elisa said, unconsciously frowning a little. She glanced down at the simple ring on her finger. It had been months since Goliath had asked her to marry him in the Human ways, yet there were times that she would forget about the ring and it would startle her anew. She had spun a romantic story about a busy business man that she had fallen in love with, who worked with companies overseas to explain the crazy hours and absenteeism to her coworkers. "We are still working on that."

Matt groaned inwardly. He'd had the feeling for a few weeks now that something was wrong in paradise, but was unsure how to get Elisa to talk about it. Granted, they would have possibly the first and only interspecies marriage in history, and it had to be wearing on her a bit. Every relationship had their challenges, but this one was a biggie.

"Yeah, well," Elisa ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "Stuff keeps happening, and we have to keep pushing the date back."

Matt nodded, choosing not to comment further. It was none of his business, really, but he considered Goliath a friend. Elisa was borderline family to him. He wanted to help them both, but was unsure how.

He decided to change the subject again, struggling to find a safe subject. He settled on work.

"Want to carpool back to the station this afternoon?" He asked.

"Sure," Elisa said, grateful that he let the situation between herself and Goliath alone.

"Sounds good," Matt said, trying to hide how awkward he was feeling. "I can come get you around three."

Elisa agreed and gave him a wave as she walked towards the employee parking area. She climbed inside her cherry red Ford Fairlane, and with a weary sigh, pointed it in the direction of her condo.

Dawn was only an hour away. If the traffic Gods were with her, she could potentially get to see her fiancee for a few minutes before he went into stone sleep for the day.