Chapter Four- Self-Sacrifice

Macbeth stayed home over the next day and night before deciding to go out for a glide the following evening. He wanted to enjoy having wings what with his chance to be human again looming before him. He wandered far from his home, enjoying the sights of the city greatly. He felt a sense of joy inside him. He probed this sense and realized that it came from the fact that he had enjoyed being a gargoyle now that full humanity was close at hand.

He glided over to the Natural History Museum, which was now closed, and hovered over it, thinking about how by morning, Xanatos will have the stone. He believed Xanatos may want to test it first before using it on Macbeth. Movement out of the corner of his eye snared his attention and turned to see Angela approaching. "Angela, what a nice surprise," he said when she got closer.

"I was wondering what you were doing."

"I read in the paper that the stone is in the museum below us. Xanatos has received permission to have it in his possession for a brief time. He could have it as soon as tomorrow morning."

"That's wonderful. So, that means that…Wait. What's that?" She pointed at a car that pulled up in front of the museum and two black-clad people got out.

"I don't like the looks of this," Macbeth stated. "They look like thieves."

"Yes," Angela agreed. "But, we can't go in to stop them."

"What!?" Macbeth couldn't believe his ears. Since when did the gargoyles stop helping to protect? Why were they just going to let a robbery occur?

"Goliath says that we should not be seen at the scene of a crime, particularly when the object targeted is gone. We can follow them and get the object back and give it to Elisa and she can return it to the museum."

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

They alighted on a nearby building and waited for the people to emerge. It felt like a long time when, in fact, it was only thirty minutes. They soon re-appeared, one of them holding a small sack. They got back in the car and took off with Angela and Macbeth following from above.

He had to admit that these thieves were good. They went in through the back door, avoided the guards, and didn't set off any alarms. Thieves of that caliber weren't cheap, which meant that their employer had a lot of money. He doubted it was Xanatos, not when he had already gotten legal permission to have the stone. His intuition told him that what was stolen was the stone; after all it was a new addition to the museum and the sack he had spied earlier was small enough to hold it. He voiced his suspicions to Angela and she agreed that it made sense. The only remaining question was, who hired the thieves?

He saw the car stopped at the front of a tall building and looked at their destination whose name was on one wall: Nightstone Unlimited. "Oh, no!" he said. "If it is the stone, Demona must not get it! She'll wish for the end of humanity!"

Angela gasped. "You're right, she would."

Macbeth looked down and felt his heart sink: The thieves were already inside and he had no idea where Demona's office was located…or did he? His eyes traveled up to the top floor. Yes, it would be like Demona to be on the top floor. Besides the fact that she was the CEO, it would give her enough height to glide away after hours.

He rose up the side of the building with Angela right behind him. There were lights on at the top with large windows providing a good view of the western sky. Macbeth sank his claws into the brickwork on the side of one window and cautiously peered in with Angela doing the same on the other side. He saw the thieves approach a desk where a piece of paper sat under a white envelope. One of the men picked up both items, looked at the paper, and passed it to his partner who held the sack. He too looked at the paper, put the sack on the desk, and both left the room.

A hidden door behind a bookcase opened and Demona appeared, grabbed the sack with a wicked grin, and retreated to her hidden room which was also lit. Macbeth released his hold and glided over to the next window. He saw Demon reach into the sack and pull out the stone that Macbeth had suspected the thieves had swiped. His intuition had been right!

He growled low before backing up to build up speed before aiming for the window, and heading straight through it. He felt slight pain from the glass, but he didn't slow as he plowed into Demona, snagging the stone from her hand. Both hit the floor, their pain rebounding to the other.

Macbeth scrambled to his feet as did Demona while Angela landed just inside the shattered window. The red-haired gargoyle glared at the male before anger gave way to outright shock. The skin color was different, but the hair color, beard, and face structure were unchanged. "Macbeth? How…?"

Macbeth held up the stone. "It was this. I meant to wish for our link to break, but I was thinking of that time I saw you change in Paris at the time I was chanting. As a result, I'm like you now."

Demona gave a derisive snicker. "Don't flatter yourself. I am a true gargoyle. You are a mere human and once I get that stone, the human race will be no more!"

Macbeth had only seconds to think and act. He could glide away and head for Castle Wyvern as fast as he could. The clan could deal with Demona while he became human again. But, the stone would have to be returned to the museum where Demona could steal it again and still make her wish. Suppose he couldn't glide fast enough to avoid Demona who would surely follow him? After all she had been a gargoyle all her life and he had been one for only a month or so. There was only one way to stop her: He would have to crush the stone and truly accept that he would be a gargoyle at night for good. He couldn't ask Xanatos to destroy it; he would surely land in trouble for it. Yes, there's only one way.

"Your plan ends here." He put his hands together with the stone between them and squeezed them together. He felt the stone crack and shatter in his grip. He opened the base of his palms and a trickle of white powder poured onto the floor.

Demona looked at the powder and then at Macbeth before her eyes flared red. "You fool! Without it, you can't be fully human."

"I know. But, you can't threaten the human race with it, either."

"You'll pay for this!" Demona screamed before launching herself at her longtime enemy.

Macbeth met the charge. He locked hands with her and pushed, his strength against hers. He felt Demona's strength weakening, but then he felt her tail snap across his legs, knocking him onto his back. He heard Demona cry out as she shared the pain. She recovered first and landed on top of them. She drove a knee into his stomach while her hands locked onto his throat, seeking out the chokehold with ease.

His air being cut off, he reacted with desperation: He gripped her arm and slashed his claws down it. She screamed and so did he. He managed to get his tail out from underneath him and used the club end to strike her in the gut and off his body. He got to his feet, rubbing his arm and stomach where Demona had been struck. He glared at Demona while she glared at him, both of them growling and eyes flaring.

"Mother, stop please!" Angela cried, coming between the two combatants, facing Demona. "If you keep fighting, you'll both die!"

"Demona doesn't think about that when we fight, believe it or not."

"Can't you both get along? For me?" Angela pleaded.

Demona sighed. "I can't promise to get along with him, but for you, Angela, I'll stop fighting- for now."

"That's something I can agree on as well," Macbeth said.

"Besides," Demona flashed a sadistic grin. "I rather like the idea that you'll remain a gargoyle at night. I find it ironic. You save humanity, but you lose half of yours in the process. That has to hurt."

"You're welcome to think it hurts. I, however, believe losing my humanity is a sacrifice I was willing to make to save the human race. Angela, can I ask you to tell Xanatos what happened here tonight?"

"Uh, of course."

"Good." He strode to the window, leaped out it, and started for home. His hope for nighttime humanity was shattered along with the stone, but it didn't hurt like Demona thought it would. Yes, he couldn't go out in public at night, but he was able to glide and that filled him with a joy he hadn't known for a long time.

Yes, giving up half my humanity is sort of like a type of self-sacrifice. But, it was a sacrifice I was willing to make. I do like being a gargoyle and I intend to help them be accepted by humans. After all, I'm a gargoyle, too.

The End