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. All original characters are the property of SN.

Note: I'm disregarding the events in the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. This story takes place two days after "Getting Used to it All".

Gatherings and Kidnappings

By SN/TVfan

Email: Sam_Nary

Guatemala

Jackal ducked under another spear made by the gargoyles that defended the portion of the Guatemalan rainforest known as the Green. The stone tipped spear only traveling as fast as a gargoyle could through it would do no damage whatsoever to his cybernetic parts, but he wasn't about to risk having to go to a doctor to "repair" what little organic parts he truly had left.

"Damn it! You'd think those dumb lizards would give up after a while!" Jackal cursed to himself.

Jackal stood up again and fired his arm cannons. He aimed more at the trees around the gargoyle that at the gargoyle. His lasers destroyed the trees and began setting fires around the area where they struck. Zafiro meanwhile turned to Obsidiana, who was coming up with more spears, and motioned to the fire.

"No! He will destroy the forest!" Obsidiana cried.

"We must destroy him!" Zafiro yelled.

"How?" Obsidiana asked back, "He has somehow gotten stronger since last time!"

Jackal laughing to himself, charged, firing his laser cannons as he went, "Consider it a very nice Cyberbiotics upgrade, lizard. Now, DIE!"

"Never!" the two gargoyles yelled back.

"Fine by me," Jackal smirked, as he extended his cybernetic arms out and managed to punch the two of them.

"We'll never let you destroy the Green," Obsidiana growled, her eyes red.

"That doesn't mean he you can't stop him," came a deep mechanical voice.

"By Quetzalcoatl's feathers! What is that?" Zafiro yelled.

Above them all flew are large silver mechanical looking gargoyle. It's robotic red eyes shining through the smoke from the fires that Jackal had started.

"I am Coldsteel," the robot announced, "My master wishes a few words with Jackal."

"He must pay for his crimes here before you take him anywhere," Obsidiana yelled.

Coldsteel raised is arms and produced laser cannons, "Who said I was here to help you?"

Castle Wyvern

"Talon, I'm just trying to help you!" Xanatos protested.

"Yeah, by jabbing me and the others with needles!" Talon growled back, "The clan may trust you, but I wouldn't trust you with any of my blood, DNA, children if I had any, I'm tempted to take Elisa to the Labyrinth because I don't trust her with you either!"

"I'll admit I've done you wrong Talon," Xanatos argued, "But I'm trying to atone for it! I need the blood samples from each of you to try and turn you back! You have to trust me."

"The last time I trusted you," Talon growled, and then pointing at himself, "This happened!"

Talon didn't give Xanatos anymore room to argue. He departed and left Xanatos standing alone in Wyvern's courtyard. Owen came walking up behind him.

"Problems, Mr. Xanatos?" Owen asked.

"I'm trying to do good, Owen," Xanatos sighed, "I'm trying to help them, but I'm afraid my reputation has far preceded me."

"Life is never easy," Owen commented, "The gargoyles still have Demona caged, despite the fact that she seems totally willing to cooperate with us and them. They don't seem ready to entirely trust her."

Talon was visibly angry when he returned to the Labyrinth.

"What happened?" Maggie asked, "What did he want?"

"He wants our blood, and he wants us to live in the castle so his medical teams can 'examine' us to find a cure," Talon growled, "But I trust that man as far as his son could throw him."

"Do you think he's really trying to find a cure?" Maggie asked, almost sounding desperate.

"I don't know, probably, but I can tell you that he's taking his sweet time about it too!" Talon growled again, "Sevarius is out there. Xanatos was so willing to do illegal stuff to hurt us, why isn't he as willing to do illegal stuff to help us? I mean he could just send his 'Steal Clan' to Nightstone and pick up Sevarius at any time."

"Maybe that's part of his promise to Goliath's clan," Maggie offered, "Maybe we should do something to show that his efforts to reform are being noticed?"

"I'd prefer to wait for an immediate reform," Talon grumbled.

Maggie only sighed.

Central Park

Goliath and Elisa landed quickly in the midst of a pitched fist fight. Ever since they returned to New York from Beth's college graduation, their seemed to be no shortage of thugs to fight. These two men belonged to two rival street gangs. One was strongest in the Bronx, and the other was strongest in Brooklyn. Both seemed to moving in on what was Dracon's old stomping ground.

Elisa grabbed one of them by the back of his muscle shirt and lifted him to her face, "Now what would you boys being doing out this late? It's like what, midnight? Isn't it past your bedtime?"

The thug drew a knife and tried to stab her, but Elisa extended her arm and the man's knife struck nothing. She grabbed it with her other hand and wrested the knife from the thug's hand.

Goliath remained silent while dealing with the other two. He tripped one with his tail and punched another. The one he punched flew through the air and crashed through a park bench. The one he tripped scrambled to get to his feet only to be grabbed from behind. Goliath then threw him with the other one. Elisa turned and threw her thug down next to the other two.

The two gargoyles watched the three thugs lay there. Each out cold.

"No shortage of excitement, huh, Big guy?" Elisa asked.

"Yes," Goliath answered, "A bit more normal from what we've been used to."

"Yeah, no Canmore descendents, no insane gargoyles, no insane wizards, no fey kings," Elisa said, counting each villain on her talons, "Maybe we're making a deference in this city."

"Maybe," Goliath smiled.

Nightstone Unlimited

Alex Sevarius, the white haired clone of Anton Sevarius sat calmly at the desk that was once Dominique Destine's.

Suddenly his computer's mechanical voice chirped, "You've got mail."

Alex looked at it carefully. It had to be a communiqué from Coldsteel. It had no return address, but the sender was identified as CS#1. Alex opened it and read it slowly. He then left for Anton's lab.

Anton Sevarius was busy at work when Alex arrived.

"What is it Alex?" Sevarius demanded.

"We've had a communiqué from Coldsteel, sir," Alex answered, "He's located Jackal and is in route to New York."

"Good," Sevarius replied, "When does Coldsteel expect to arrive?"

"Sometime tomorrow, sir," Alex told him.

"Good, the new formula is ready," Sevarius grinned, "Now all we need to do is wait to reel in the fish."

Alex chuckled.

Devils Den Prison

Castaway sat in the narrow booth that the guards provided him. Dracon's deal was interesting to him at least. Castaway admired Dracon's craftiness. The deal he had worked out with Dracon was simple. Castaway would allow Dracon to use the Quarrymen as partial front to his crime syndicate. No Quarrymen had to participate in Dracon's crimes, but if necessary, the Quarrymen would have to cover them up. In exchange, the "profits" from Dracon's criminal activity would cover the bribes needed to maintain private discussions between Castaway and other Quarrymen and Dracon and his fellow mobsters. Dracon however, was yet to explain the particulars of how the two were to alternate, since one Castaway AND Dracon were granted only one meeting a week. The meetings would allow Castaway and Dracon to control their respective organizations from prison.

Castaway sat there for a few minutes before a form appeared on the other side of the glass divider.

"It's about time you showed up," Castaway growled, "I only have five minutes before they come back and escort me back to my cell."

"I'm sorry sir, your directions weren't entirely precise, sir," the contact responded.

Castaway sighed, the curse of being transported in an armored car with no windows.

"Regardless, you know now," Castaway warned, "Do not be late again. The meetings, that my cell mate was able to arrange, only last ten minutes maximum."

The contact nodded.

"What is the status of our crusade?" Castaway demanded.

"None existent, sir," the contact answered in a week voice.

"What!?" Castaway yelled.

"After you were convicted sir, some robot went wild, killing our members where it found them," the contact said hurriedly, "No one can agree on a new headquarters, and because of the robot, half of our members refuse to have any connection to the Quarrymen, sir."

Castaway sighed, "We're going to half to rebuild from scratch and quickly, before those demons realize how weak we are!"

The contact said nothing.

Castaway looked up, "All right, I'll arrange our next meeting for two weeks from today, same time, and same place. I want you to personally contact every free member of the Quarrymen inNew York. Tell them to gather at a location that no one would suspect to be a gathering place of our cause. I want a complete census of every the Quarrymen in New York. I want names, height and weight, gender, physical, the works!"

"Isn't that a tad much, sir?" the contact asked.

"No!" Castaway snarled, "It might even be too little. I need to know how many are left in New York. The rest of the United States doesn't matter for now. Census the Quarrymen in New Yorkand bring me the paperwork."

"Yes sir," the contact answered, saluting him, "Is that all, sir."

"For now," Castaway said, standing up, "See you in two weeks. Don't be late."

Castaway returned to his cell. Dracon was there, twiddling his thumbs.

"So how did it go?" Dracon asked.

"What do you care?" Castaway demanded, "We have a deal going. I've decided we will alternate each week. Your guy comes one week. Mine comes the week after. Then process will repeat itself."

"Whoa, there big guy," Dracon said quickly, raising his hands, "The guards want their payment for this meeting and next meeting by the time of the next meeting."

"Meaning?" Castaway growled.

"My guy will only be able to bring in the guards their money at the next meeting, and then I'll need to set up our routine," Dracon said, "I'm gonna need the next two meetings in a row!"

"I'm trying to rebuild an institution trying to save humanity from evil demons," Castaway yelled, "And you want two meetings in a row to tell "Curly" and "Moe" which banks to rob?"

Dracon smiled, "Or the guards could break our fingers."

Castaway sighed in frustration.

Matt Bluestone's Apartment

The sun had been up for about three hours when Matt was awakened by a series of desperate knocks at his door. Still in his work clothes from last night he ambled slowly from his couch, where he crashed after being too tired to make to his bed. When he opened the door, there was no one there. A small package lay at his feet. There was no return address, but the large envelope like package had the symbol of the Illuminati in its upper right corner.

Matt slowly looked around to see if there was anyone there. No one was. He picked up the envelope and left. He locked his door, and left his building. He carefully walked down to the east end of Manhattan, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. He was sure the package had a message and bomb within it. He had to hear the message, and the bomb had to be thrown where it wouldn't hurt anyone.

Inside the envelope was a small tape recorder. A 'post-it note' was covering the recorder's buttons. It read "play me".

After removing the post-it note and pressing play, and audio recording of Hacker's voice sounded, "Hello there Matt old buddy. You've screwed up ROYALLY! The Mage was the leader of our society, since you are a member, by fighting him, you've committed treason. Sorry to have to do this, but your apartment will explode in the next three seconds."

Matt's eyes went wide, and he began to sprint back toward his apartment. He had to warn the other people there somehow, but he barely took five steps when he heard a massive explosion.

Roof of the World Trade Center

Hacker watched the explosion with a slight frown on his face. He pulled out his cellular phone and dialed a number that only he knew.

"Who is it?" came a voice from the other line.

"Three, this is Hacker," Hacker reported, "Bluestone has paid for his treason. The bomb has gone off. Shall I proceed with Xanatos?"

"Not yet," Three answered, "Our reports indicate that Dr. Sevarius and Nightstone Unlimited have some plans of their own that concern the residents of Castle Wyvern. We have yet been able to certify whether it is Xanatos, his family, or the gargoyles."

"Does it matter, Three?" Hacker demanded, "All of them fought the Mage. All should die."

"The Mage's ghost has his own reasons," Three said quite calmly, "The Mage has an interest in the gargoyles that live there, and they will play an important part in his resurrection."

"The gargoyles that live there now?" Hacker asked.

"Yes," answered Three.

"That isn't possible," Hacker said, "The Mage won't be able to take physical form again for another thousand years. The current clan will be long dead by then."

"You never know what the future holds," answered Three, and then the line went dead.

Somewhere in Manhattan

Wolf edged closer and closer to the end of the alley. He had heard an explosion several blocks away. He could hear cop car's sirens as well of those of fire trucks and ambulances. He was mostly trying to hide himself away from their attention. Ironically, it never entered his mind to leave town. Suddenly he heard footsteps approaching. Fearing it was a cop, Wolf scrambled to find some sort of escape. But, there wasn't one, and Wolf was trapped. He turned to face the guy that cornered him, growling, and fists ready.

"Calmness, please, calmness," the man said.

Wolf looked the man over. He had white hair and was wearing a black business suit. He also looked fairly familiar.

"I am Alex Sevarius, twin brother of Anton Sevarius, and co-CEO of Nightstone Unlimited," the man smiled, "My brother and I have a business proposition for you."

"Business?" Wolf asked.

"Yes, real business, and real money," Alex Sevarius smiled, "Unless you prefer mugging people at night for next to nothing, and risking ambush by all of Goliath's clan without backup."

"You had me at money," Wolf grinned.

Alex Sevarius smiled back.

The Labyrinth

Talon passed slowly outside the prison he and the others had constructed for Fang.

"Come on Talon," Fang pleaded from inside, "Lemme out! I swear I'll be good."

"I'm not going to risk letting you even if your blood cures cancer!" Talon growled.

"You're no fun Talon," Fang replied, "Ya gotta know that I'm yankin' your chain about being good."

Talon only growled.

"What? No right from wrong speech? No lecture on how I should have looked after those less fortunate?" Fang jeered.

"Shut up, Fang," Talon growled, "I'm only here because it's my turn to guard you."

"Something's bothering you, and for once it ain't me," Fang said, "I hate that. I try real hard to bother you, and here comes some guy on my turf!"

"Xanatos wants blood samples while he looks for a cure," Talon sighed.

"Yeah, I bet he already has the cure, and isn't going to share it with ya and your girlfriend," Fang mused, "I guess you better just beat it out of him. I mean what's all the mutate muscle for if you don't use it?"

Talon was about to answer when he heard the sounds of a fight in the main hall area of the Labyrinth. He ran as quickly as he could, only to find Jackal and a large robotic gargoyle standing in the middle of the room. Claw and Maggie were both out cold.

"Is that 'Fang'?" the robotic gargoyle asked, pointing at Talon.

"Nah, according to the Doc's files, this is Talon, the mutates's self appointed leader," Jackal answered.

"What are you doing here?" Talon demanded.

"Don't get yer fur in a not," Jackal laughed, firing a wide barrage of laser fire, bringing down a large amount of rubble on Talon's back, "We're not going to do anything to you, yet."

Talon slumped to the ground. Jackal caught him off guard and there was almost nothing he could do. As Talon struggled to get back to his feet the robotic gargoyle put his fists together and clubbed the mutate in the back of the head.

Eyrie Building, Half an Hour till Dusk

Xanatos was busy shuffling paperwork and filling out his own documents, when Matt Bluestone came into his office in a hurry.

"Detective Bluestone, you're a tad early, the gargoyles won't wake up for another thirty minutes," Xanatos said.

"I think the Illuminati are out to get me," Matt said, "Something to do with fighting their overall boss, the Mage. They blew up my apartment."

"Yes I heard the explosion," Xanatos sighed, "You are free to live in the castle if you need to."

"Thanks," Bluestone replied, "Mostly right now I haven't been thinking of that. I'm thinking, if they came after me for fighting the Mage, they'll come after you for fighting the Mage."

"If the Illuminati were to assassinate anybody, they would do it through the mail," Xanatos answered, "And with a fey as a personal assistant, I can easily get rid of any attempt to kill me."

Bluestone's eyes narrowed, "Puck can't do everything. Even he has his weaknesses."

"The Illuminati won't attack the Eyrie Building," Xanatos answered, "Many of the construction companies I hired to build the building are owned by the Illuminati. The Eyrie Building is therefore valuable to their organization. My biggest worry is trying to pay back my debt to Goliath and his clan."

"Ah-ha, so what project to save the world are we working on now?" Matt asked.

"I'm trying to find a cure for the mutates," Xanatos answered, "Since I fired Sevarius, I've been unable to find the man. And Talon isn't willing to give me a blood sample the doctors I do have need to try and find a cure."

"Do you think Talon's refusal to do that might have something to do with who you are?" Matt asked.

"I know," Xanatos sighed, "I'm the man responsible for making him a mutate. You wouldn't trust me either if I had done it to you."

"That's true," Matt replied, "But on some level, I'm sure he's willing to trust you. The problem is that your reputation has combined with the fact that curing the mutates has not been your major priority since you quit being the 'bad guy'. I don't think Talon believes you know how he feels. I mean you're a rich businessman, and thanks to you an Sevarius he has to live like an animal."

Xanatos only sighed.

Matt was waiting in the courtyard half an hour later as the gargoyles woke up. Shortly thereafter, Goliath and his clan descended from the tower to join him.

"High Matt, what's up?" Angela asked.

"The Illuminati blew up my apartment," Matt announced.

"What?" was the unanimous reply from the gargoyles.

"Hacker sent me a tape recorder with a message in it," Matt said, "I thought the tape recorder was the bomb. It turns out the bomb was elsewhere in the apartment. Six guys that live in my building are dead. Oh god."

Elisa stepped forward and placed a hand on Matt's shoulder, "We'll guard you."

"Thanks, Xanatos has offered to let me stay here until I can find a new place," Matt sighed.

Suddenly Talon and the Mutates landed out of nowhere. Each looking terrified of something.

"Goliath… Elisa… Labyrinth attacked… Jackal…robotic gargoyle," Talon said quickly, taking no time to speak proper English.

Goliath looked to his mate, raised a brow ridge and asked, "What?"

"The Labyrinth was attacked by Jackal and some robotic gargoyle!" Talon yelled, "And on top of all that they took Fang when they left!"

"Jackal and a robotic gargoyle?" Broadway asked.

"Is Coldstone back?" Brooklyn asked.

"Coldstone would be with Coldfire," Lex said, "This has to be Coldsteel. And just when things couldn't get any worse."

"What?" Maggie asked.

"The Illuminati Society, a secret organization said to rule the world covertly, is out to kill me and possibly Xanatos, Goliath, and his clan because we helped Oberon and Titania fight the Mage. One of their operatives, named Hacker, has destroyed my apartment," Matt explained.

"Things just keep going from bad to worse," Talon sighed, "So which unstoppable evil do we stop first?"

"Heads it's Jackal and Coldsteel, tails it's the Illuminati," Brooklyn offered.

"Hacker will be long gone by now or impossible to find," Goliath stated, "We can trace Jackal and Coldsteel. Plus the fact that if they broke Fang out of his prison, we will undoubtedly learn more of his activities in the near future."

Suddenly Owen came out into the courtyard from the castle's Great Hall.

"Excuse me Goliath, but I think there is something you should see," Owen stated.

The assembled group followed Owen into the great hall. Owen carefully turned on a television placed inside one of the rooms walls. It was a recording of a news broadcast played around noon.

"This Bennie Reward for YTTV News, I'm coming to you know from a helicopter over what is the worst forest fire in history," the reporter said.

The television angle changed to see a massive rainforest on fire.

"The Guatemalan rainforest, known as the Green to the natives, has been the victim of terrorist arson," the reporter continued.

"The Guatemalan clan!" Angela exclaimed, "Oh no!"

"Reports indicate that up to seventy five percent of the entire region was destroyed by the fire before firefighters could begin to gain control over it," the reporter announced.

"Is the fire still raging?" Elisa asked nervously.

"Local farmers have given sketchy reports that a robotic demon and a cyborg were responsible for this attack," the reporter finished.

Goliath grabbed Owen by the collar.

"Are the gargoyles there okay?" he demanded.

"We aren't certain," Owen sighed, "Mister Xanatos took no interest in the Green before. To him it's just a rainforest, and if he got involved, it would only attract more people that want to cut it down. He thought the best way to protect it was to ignore it."

"Another of Xanatos's ill-conceived plans to try and help," Talon growled, "What if they're dead?"

"We don't know," Owen answered, "All we know is that the robotic demon and the cyborg were most likely Coldsteel and Jackal."

"We would those two be workin' together?" Hudson asked.

"The must have a common boss," Brooklyn growled, "Someone bigger then them hired them both."

"What about Hyena and Wolf?" Broadway countered, "Jackal would never abandon his sister and having Wolf around would complete the Pack. Coldsteel would never willingly work with them. It is like trying to ask Demona and Brooklyn to become mates. It would never work out."

"Thanks for the favorable comparison, Broadway," Brooklyn joked.

"This is no time for jokes, Brooklyn," Goliath growled, "If Coldsteel and Jackal are working together, and have destroyed the Green, attacked the Labyrinth, and freed Fang in the process, then it appears that they are the most direct threat to the city."

Elisa looked to Owen, "You'll let us know if anything knew comes up?"

"Of course, Detective," Owen answered.

Goliath lead the group back into the courtyard.

"Matt, you and Bronx remain here and guard the castle, and be careful, Coldsteel may decide to come here on his own," Goliath warned, "The rest of us are going to patrol for them. We must remain in one group. Jackal has a jet pack that allows him to fly and so does Coldsteel, plus the fact that both of them have laser cannons. If Fang is with them that means that we can not only be shot at with lasers, but with electricity as well. There will be safety in numbers."

The group nodded.

Riker's Island

Hyena lay on the floor of her cell. Specially installed magnets held her cybernetic body to the floor. She couldn't get up if she wanted to.

"Damn gargoyles," she muttered, "When I get out of here I'm gonna-"

Her muttering was interrupted by the sounds of a very startled guard outside her cell.

"Holy- what are you?" the guard stammered.

"Your worst nightmare!" came Wolf's voice.

Hyena heard the guard scream one more time, and then nothing. Then the massive door outside her cell was ripped clean of its hinges. With the door gone, Hyena felt the magnetic locks shut off. Wolf stood in the doorway.

"Hey there, tin cheeks, care to escape?" Wolf asked.

"You read my mind, Rover," Hyena laughed.

Wolf led her out through the maze of passage ways.

"Come on," Wolf yelled, "Coldsteel and Jackal holding off the guards, we gotta get to them, they're our ticket out."

"What about Coyote?" Hyena asked.

"Xanatos hasn't built a new Coyote robot in years, and he's on the gargoyles side now," Wolf growled, "We got a robotic gargoyle named Coldsteel and a mutate named Fang on our side now."

"But I liked Coyote," Hyena muttered.

Wolf only sighed.

The group returned safely to the Nightstone Unlimited Building without incident. The cops strangely didn't send any helicopters. The gargoyles never intercepted them. As the group entered into what was now Alex Sevarius's office they whistled at the sheer size and expanse in the room.

Alex Sevarius sat at his desk, and Anton stood to the right and behind him. Both eyed the group before them. From right to left stood Fang, Wolf, Coldsteel, Jackal, and Hyena.

It was Anton Sevarius who spoke first.

"Greetings, and welcome to Nightstone Unlimited," Sevarius announced, "I have a business proposition for you."

"Like what?" Jackal asked.

Alex Sevarius pressed a hidden button on his desk, and a hologramitic image of the Eyrie Building appeared in front of the group of criminals.

"As you all know," Anton Sevarius explained, "This is the Eyrie Building. The headquarters of Xanatos Enterprises. We all have our connections to Xanatos. I was hired to create the mutates in Xanatos's quest to find immortality. Fang is obviously one of mutates that I created. Wolf, Hyena, and Jackal are all members of the Pack, a team created by Xanatos to secretly and covertly enforce his will on smaller businesses. Coldsteel is connected to Coldstone, Xanatos's attempt to gain unbeatable gargoyle servants."

"So what's your beef with Xanatos?" Fang asked, "I actually like this form. I spent too much time in various jails when I was human."

"Quite simple," Sevarius grinned, "We were all betrayed by him! Xanatos fired me when he learned that my experiments didn't yield the exact creature he wanted. In doing so he essentially decided to fire you, Fang. He fired the Pack when he learned that the gargoyles still proved superior, even after their upgrade. He also split the Pack up! Fox is now his wife, and Dingo is off in the outback!"

"Yeah, he did do that," Jackal said, "But Fox didn't want to escape with us and Dingo never really liked the fact that we permanently upgraded ourselves."

"Still, Xanatos wronged all of us," Alex Sevarius said, "My brother Anton and I have plans for him to gain revenge."

"I don't care about Xanatos," Wolf growled, "All I want is to kill the big gargoyle, Goliath, with my bare hands."

"Xanatos and Goliath have teamed up," Anton Sevarius pointed out.

"Keep talking," Wolf ordered.

Jackal, Hyena, and Fang chuckled.

Chrysler Building Roof

Goliath and the others landed at different points along the buildings roof. Everyone looked a little tired.

"Where could they be?" Lex asked, "We've gone from one end of this island to the other, and there's been no sign of them."

Goliath sighed.

"What if breaking out Fang wasn't their only prison break?" Broadway offered, "What if they went to get Hyena out of Riker's?"

"That is one place we didn't check," Talon added.

"We must stay out of sight," Goliath sighed, "Come on."

The gargoyles and mutates then quickly took to the air. By the time they were over Riker's Island, they found the prison lit up like the Fourth of July. Search lights were lit and there were sounds of desperate yelling coming from the prison.

"We're too late," Hudson grumbled.

"What do we do now?" Elisa asked.

"We return the castle," Goliath sighed, "Perhaps Xanatos has some means of tracking them."

Eyrie Building

Xanatos was just closing up his office, when suddenly a large form crashed through the large window behind him.

"What the?" Xanatos yelled.

Fang got up slowly, shaking the shards of glass off of him, "What's the matter boss? Don't ya recognize your old pal?"

"What do you want?" Xanatos demanded.

"Just you," Fang answered hitting Xanatos with a powerful blast of electricity from about ten feet away.

Xanatos crumpled to the ground, unconscious, and muttered, "Fox…"

Above them, on Castle Wyvern's battlements, Matt Bluestone was sitting on an old bench and taking a look at the skyline of the city. The sound of breaking glass below him startled him to his feet, and as he got up to investigate, he heard to jet engines land behind him. He turned to be punched in the face by Jackal and Hyena.

Hyena extended her cybernetic claws and prepared to kill Matt, when Jackal grabbed her arm.

"No," Jackal said, "We need to focus on our mission. Goliath and his clan will most likely return soon. We can not risk missing our target."

Hyena looked down at the unconscious Matt, and snarled, "He might shoot us later."

"Better than Goliath tearing us limb from limb while we try to carry off our quarry," Jackal retorted, "Come on."

Jackal and Hyena began running toward the main part of the castle.

Fox was busy in Wyvern's nursery keeping an eye on young Alexander. Owen came in now and then to check on the boy, and offer Fox any assistance, but not much was needed. The young toddler knew enough magic to levitate various objects. Elisa's cat Cagney also seemed to enjoy the castle. Since the cat arrived, Fox had not found a place that the cat had not either napped in or sat. Including the gargoyles's perches.

Fox watched Alex calmly pet the cat, and she herself scratched it lightly behind the ears.

"Alex, do you want to go for a walk?" Fox asked.

Suddenly a growling voice came from behind her, "Sure, I'd love to go for a walk Fox. I don't need a leash, but I'm not Alex."

Fox turned to see a large robotic gargoyle holding Wolf in the air outside of the window.

"Wolf!" Fox yelled.

"Miss me?" Wolf snarled.

The robot threw Wolf through the glass window, and Fox picked up Alexander and ran. She could hear the robot itself tear its way through the castle's stone walls.

"Owen! Owen! Help!" Fox yelled.

Owen appeared in the form of Puck as Wolf and the robotic gargoyle crashed through the door behind her.

"Wolf and Coldsteel!" Puck yelled.

Coldsteel raised an arm, produced a laser cannon and fired. What came out, wasn't a laser, strangely, but a large netlike bola. Fox dodged, but the net was able to trap Puck completely.

"Iron!" Puck exclaimed, struggling to even stand, "The net is Iron! Fox run!"

Fox looked at the helpless fey and then at Coldsteel and Wolf. She then turned to see Jackal and Hyena approaching from the opposite direction.

"You're not going to harm my son!" Fox yelled and ran toward the nearest stairwell.

Castle Wyvern's Dungeon

Demona sat on the bench in her cell. Her mind dwelled entirely on what she felt to be her one true goal now. To become a gargoyle again. Her earlier talks with Goliath, Puck, and Elisa showed that the clan wouldn't trust her outside the cage, considering their past.

"I've royally screwed my life," Demona thought, "Maybe if I did demand that all humans die or if I didn't constantly attack Elisa because of her love for Goliath, maybe they would have tried to help me get my gargoyle form back."

Suddenly she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Fox Xanatos then appeared in the doorway. She pressed a button that sat near the light switch. Soon afterward, the force field that held Demona in her cell flickered off.

"There's no time for explanations, Demona," Fox said quickly, "The Pack and Coldsteel are after me. Puck has been immobilized. I need you to guard Alex. I'm desperate."

"I-I-," Demona stuttered.

Fox handed Alex to Demona and then ran for the far door, "Quickly, go to the Steel Clan storage center. You should be safe there. David says the Steel Clan is wired to activate as soon as someone invades the room. The doors code is three one three."

Demona left slowly, but hurried up when she heard the sounds of footsteps on the far stairs. Her mind was wondering many different things. One, where was Goliath and his clan? They surely would never allow the Pack to kidnap Alex. Two where was Xanatos? He was also quite protective of his son.

"She must be truly desperate to leave you with me," Demona said to Alex.

"I'm scared," Alex said.

"I'll protect you," Demona sighed.

Fox returned the door that she entered the dungeon from. She could hear the Pack and Coldsteel closing in on her.

"Come on she went this way," Hyena yelled.

The first one to burst through the door was Wolf. Fox caught him by surprise by jumping and twirling in the air in a karate style fashion, and kicking the mutate werewolf across his face. Wolf stumbled backward, slowing down Jackal and Hyena behind him.

"Hey there Wolf, get outta the way!" Hyena yelled again.

Fox gave Wolf no time to react. She charged and kneed Wolf in the groin. He slumped to the ground crying in pain.

Hyena and Jackal both looked down, and muttered, "Damn."

They then raised their arm cannons at Fox, "Okay Fox, don't do anything stupid."

Coldsteel then came crashing through the roof and grabbed Fox's arms from behind.

"Let me go," Fox yelled.

"In due time," Coldsteel said evilly, "In due time."

Coldsteel then motioned to Wolf, "You two will carry him."

The Battlements

It was hours latter when the gargoyles returned to the castle. What they say frightened them. Xanatos and his family were nowhere to be seen. Owen was absent. And Matt lay unconscious on the battlements.

"Matt!" Elisa cried.

Elisa dove toward her old partner. She kneeled close to him, being careful not to disturb the cast on his left arm. She checked everything that there was to check. He was alive, but it looked like he would have a large bruise on his forehead for some time. Slowly Matt awakened to see the gargoyles and mutates standing over him.

"Jackal and Hyena!" He cried.

The clan looked around, as if they were nearby.

"Jackal and Hyena attacked me," Matt repeated.

"Where are they?" Lexington demanded.

"I don't know," Matt answered sitting up slowly.

"Angela, you and Elisa watch Matt," Goliath ordered, "Lexington, Talon, Maggie, and Broadway, you go check on Alex. Hudson, Claw, find Bronx. Brooklyn, you're with me."

Goliath and Brooklyn dove into Wyvern's courtyard to go check Xanatos's office. Hudson and Claw headed for the tower, and Hudson's TV room where Bronx probably was. Lex, Talon, Maggie, and Broadway ran in the direction of the nursery. Elisa and Angela struggled to get Matt to his feet.

"Are you alright?" Angela asked.

"I will be as soon as all this madness ends," Matt sighed, "I bet Hacker will show up any minute now with a bazooka."

"No, that's Demona's weapon of choice, and she's safely locked in her cell," Elisa answered.

"What if Jackal and Hyena were after Mother?" Angela asked.

"I doubt it," Elisa answered, as they set Matt back on the bench he was earlier sitting on, "Jackal's been in Guatemala until recently. Hyena's been in Riker's. They can't possibly know Demona is here. Besides they wouldn't recognize her in her human form. The only targets I could think of are-,"

"The Xanatoses and Owen!" Matt exclaimed.

Lexington, Broadway, Talon and Maggie found Puck lying unconscious wrapped in an Iron net. As Lex and Broadway pulled and tugged, and then broke the Iron netting, they noticed that Puck had a fair number of bruises covering his face.

"Sheesh, life isn't easy for him is it?" Lex commented, "First Demona using magic kicks his butt, and now someone wraps him in an Iron net and bashes his face in."

"Coldsteel and Wolf," Puck muttered, starting to regain consciousness.

Talon and Maggie came back from inspecting the nursery.

"Neither Fox nor Alex are there," Maggie said.

"There are also a hole in the window and a hole in the wall," Talon added, "Both are too big to have been made by Jackal or Hyena."

"Wolf and Coldsteel were with them," Puck said weakly, sitting up.

"So the whole Pack and Coldsteel are involved in this," Lex growled.

"What happened to Fox?" Broadway asked.

"She and Alex ran down those stairs," Puck sighed, pointing at the open door to the stairwell, "I couldn't stop Wolf and the others from chasing her."

"We better follow," Talon said, "Hopefully Fox has been able to keep them going around in circles, as it where."

Lex helped Puck to his feet. The elf was still woozy from being attacked and could barely stand. Once Puck was on his feet, the group went as quickly down the stairs as they could.

The stairs led to the door that leads to Castle Wyvern's dungeon. The door however, was flung open.

"I don't like the looks of this," Talon grumbled.

They slowly entered the dungeon. The first thing they noticed was Demona's empty cell.

"Demona's gone!" Lex exclaimed, "The Pack must have freed her."

"I don't think they would have known it's Demona," Broadway said, "I don't think they ever saw her in human form if they even saw her at all."

"That far door there is open," Maggie said, "They probably went through there."

"This is bad," Puck commented, "If the Pack freed Demona, that means they've also captured Fox and Alex. The spell I placed on her that keeps her from using the powers she gained under the Mage's tutelage only affects her while she's in the cell. Now that she is out, she can use her magic again."

"Can she restore her gargoyle form?" Broadway asked.

"No, the magic she uses is the same type of mage the Mage used," Puck answered, "His spell is permanent, and so the Mage's type of magic can not reverse it. Since the Mage also spent his life fighting my kind, his magic and our magic counteract each other. If I were to try and change her back, her form may change back, but because fey magic and the Mage's magic cancel each other out the results would break the Weird Sisters's spell, and thus killing her. The real problem is that Demona can teach Alex just as well as I can. If young Alex were to be trained by Demona…"

"She could have him turn himself into a gargoyle and finish her genocidal plans against humanity," Talon finished.

"Yes," Puck replied, "Come on, we gotta get Alex back or Titania will kill me!"

Xanatos's Office

Brooklyn and Goliath edged their way silently into Xanatos's office. The large window behind his desk was shattered.

"I don't like the looks of this," Brooklyn muttered.

"Neither do I," Goliath sighed.

"Someone came through the window," Brooklyn noted, "And that someone probably left the same way."

"We'd best return to the courtyard and meet with the others," Goliath sighed again, "As Elisa might say, 'we need to put the pieces together'."

Brooklyn nodded.

Steel Clan Storage Center

Demona sat huddled behind one of the control consoles that linked Xanatos's computers to the Steel Clan. The young baby Alex sat crying nearby for his mother. Her head between her knees, Demona sat trying to think of what to do. She could feel her magic return to her, but she was too busy with the battle that occupied her mind to pay attention.

Her mind wandered to the child near her. Fox Xanatos, one of her enemies among the human race had entrusted her to guard her son. Her mind then questioned the word enemies. Elisa, Goliath, and Puck had all made their arguments on the basis that her views were wrong. Things were crossing her mind now that she had never even noticed before. The eyes of boney victims who had been starved to death by humans. Years ago her mind would see these boney victims as gargoyles victimized by every human on earth. Now she was seeing not gargoyles but humans. Humans victimized by humans.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Puck, Talon, Maggie, Broadway, and Lexington burst in.

"I can hear Alex," Puck said.

Demona stood up, "Oh, it's only you."

"Hand over Alex," Broadway growled.

"I have no intention on keeping him," Demona answered, "Fox told me to guard him since Puck was 'immobilized' and she couldn't stop the Pack and Coldsteel with him."

Puck moved quickly and picked up the crying toddler. He eyed Demona carefully. Demona continued to back away.

"All I want is to be a gargoyle again," Demona sighed.

"We can't help you," Puck said.

"I'm a gargoyle," Demona growled back, "I shouldn't look like this!"

"You've made your own mistakes Demona," Talon said, "From what I've heard, if you didn't listen to the Mage, you would still be a gargoyle."

"Fine, you don't want to help me, that's fine with me," Demona replied, pressing a button on a nearby console, "I'll become a gargoyle again on my own."

The large doors that lead to the outside opened after Demona pressed the button. Talon, Maggie, Lex, Broadway, Puck, and Alex watched her walk out onto the platform, chant something in Latin, and then disappear.

"We'd better tell Goliath," Lex sighed.

"The good news is that Alex is safe and fine," Puck sighed, "The bad news is that Fox has been abducted by the Pack. Mr. Xanatos was probably also abducted. And on top of all that we have a former gargoyle redhead that wanted the destruction of the human race on the loose with a mind in turmoil."

"Huh?" Maggie asked.

"Ever since the Mage's destruction and the end of the spell that made Demona his slave, Demona's mind has been questioning itself," Puck answered, "Her purpose for living. Her very existence itself. She's lived so long as a gargoyle trying to destroy all humanity that that is all she knows. There is nothing the third race can and will do to restore her gargoylehood, and I doubt that there is any human magic that is capable of safely overpowering what the Mage did to her. Demona must look inside herself and decide if becoming a gargoyle again to destroy humanity is really worth it."

"How do you know all that?" Talon asked.

"I'm a fey, and my full powers have been restored to me," Puck sighed, "Reading minds is quite easily within my grasp. Now come on, Goliath will probably want to know what's going on."

Nightstone Unlimited

Alex Sevarius was waiting when the Pack, Fang, and Coldsteel returned. Coldsteel held the squirming body of Fox Xanatos, while Fang held the unconscious David Xanatos. Jackal and Hyena were holding Wolf.

"Sevarius!" Fox sneered, "You'll never get away with this."

"My brother and I already have," Alex Sevarius smiled, "Anton will have his revenge on you for firing him and ruining his own plans."

Fox raised an eyebrow, "Brother?"

"I am Alexander Sevarius," Alex Sevarius told her, "My brother Anton has plans for you and your husband."

Alex Sevarius turned to Coldsteel and Fang, "Take them to Holding Cells 19233. Anton will deal with them when he is ready."

Castle Wyvern's Courtyard

Goliath sighed heavily as the clan stood around him.

"So, Coldsteel, Wolf, Hyena, and Jackal were here," Goliath sighed, "Xanatos and Fox are missing, presumably kidnapped. Alex is safe, but Demona has escaped her cell."

"We don't know where she teleported herself to," Talon added.

Goliath sighed again, "Do you think Fang might be involved to?"

"If the Pack or Coldsteel offered him enough money, he'd do anything for them," Talon answered.

"I don't think the Pack or Coldsteel are in charge," Lex said.

"What?" Matt asked, "What makes you think that?"

"Simple, Coldsteel when he escaped from Xanatos last time with Coldstone and Coldfire in pursuit, he didn't seem to have the intelligence to be a big time boss," Lex answered, "He could outmuscle human opponents, but he doesn't have the brains to run an organization or keep the Pack from destroying each other. Fang has the same personality as Coldsteel in many ways, and the Pack are mercenaries. I think there is someone who has hired them!"

"Who would hire Coldsteel, the Pack, and Fang?" Broadway asked.

"Mr. X. has the finances to do it, but he hasn't mentioned anything along those lines," Puck commented, "He would have talked to me about it. And when I say "me" I mean Owen."

"Plus Xanatos wouldn't have himself kidnapped and leave Alex with Demona, even for a short time," Brooklyn added.

"Who else knows about all these guys and would be willing to use them?" Angela asked.

"Sevarius might have interest in Fang," Maggie said, "But I don't know about Coldsteel or the Pack."

"Castaway, if he weren't in jail would probably be willing to use the Pack," Elisa commented, "But he wouldn't use Coldsteel because he is a robotic gargoyle."

"What about Demona?" Talon asked, "She might have interest in all three. Coldsteel is a fellow gargoyle to her and she used Fang before."

"She was also Sevarius's boss fer awhile too!" Hudson added.

"Impossible," Puck said, "Demona couldn't have contacted anyone outside her cell. But Sevarius sticks in my mind an awful lot."

"Huh?" Brooklyn asked.

Elisa's eyes widened, "Remember when the Quarrymen took over New York? They attacked Nightstone first to kill Demona! I bet that Sevarius took over Nightstone after Demona was 'dead'!"

"I think Macbeth also mentioned something about a robotic figure on a lab table when he awoke in Thailog's body," Broadway mused, "But I'm not sure."

"It's Sevarius!" Talon exclaimed, "It has to be. If Macbeth saw Coldsteel, and you'll need to explain to me later how he got into Thailog's body, I bet that he's recently hired the Pack and freed Fang."

"This is just great," Matt muttered.

Guatemala

Zafiro and Obsidiana had reawakened in the Mayan pyramid. Turquesa and Jade stood over them. Each looking concerned.

"Amigos! What happened to you?" Turquesa asked.

"Robotic human and a robotic gargoyle ambushed us," Zafiro snarled, "The one called Jackal has a new ally. We must find them to save the forest!"

"The Green is gone!" Jade exclaimed, "We awoke this evening to find it gone! Burned!"

"Jackal's lasers," Obsidiana snarled.

The sounds of jet engines were heard outside. Obsidiana and Zafiro quickly leaped to their feet.

"The robots have returned!" Obsidiana yelled, "We must stop them!"

Outside Coldstone and Coldfire examined the sides of the pyramid.

"The fire has scorched the stone," Coldstone commented, "Coldsteel is not capable of such destruction."

"Shouldn't there have been a forest here?" Coldfire asked looking at the expanse of blackened earth.

"There was! And you destroyed it!" came the angry voice of a female gargoyle.

Four gargoyles came charging out of a passageway on the other side of the pyramid and knocked Coldstone to the ground. One managed to shove Coldfire off of the ledge, but her engines took her into the air immediately.

"We didn't destroy anything!" Coldfire protested, "Our scanners picked up a news television broadcast that said a 'robotic demon' was in the area!"

"Aye," added Coldstone, "The 'robotic demon' is our enemy. He is evil and we made a promise to our clan to hunt him down and stop him."

"You look a lot like the 'robotic demon'," Obsidiana snarled, holding Coldstone down with her foot, "I don't trust you. You two have come here to help the man called Jackal and the robotic demon by destroying us!"

"Coldsteel works with no one," Coldfire corrected, "We don't know who this "Jackal" is, but I can assure you that the robotic 'demon', named Coldsteel, would not work with him!"

"Well, 'Coldsteel' attacked Obsidiana and me," Zafiro growled, "And then he burned down the Green. You are robots! Just like 'Coldsteel' is. You are here to destroy us."

Coldstone had finally had enough. He felt deeply sorry that these gargoyles had been attacked by Coldsteel and this 'Jackal', but to attack him and his mate was uncalled for. Using all the strength that his cybernetic body had, he stood up, causing the blue gargoyle, Obsidiana, to fall back into Zafiro.

"I am a cyborg," Coldstone growled, "Created as a mixture of science and sorcery. Steel and stone. I am Coldstone. That is my mate Coldfire. We have not come here to harm you. Is Coldsteel still here?"

"Does it look like your friend is still here?" the green gargoyle asked.

"He is not our friend," Coldfire protested, "My love, Coldsteel has wronged this clan and done great damage. We must find him."

"And stop him," Coldstone added, "We can not return to our clan if we do."

The Guatemalan clan braced themselves as the cybernetic gargoyle, Coldstone, activated his own jets and followed Coldfire into the night sky.

Obsidiana looked Zafiro, Jade, and Turquesa.

"They have a clan of those robot demons," Obsidiana growled, "We must follow them and destroy them all! We must do it before they attack and burn other forests."

The others nodded, and the four then took off in pursuit of Coldstone and Coldfire, who were already nearing the horizon.

Eastern Long Island

Fifty men piled into a small warehouse near Long Island's docks. There were also about fifteen or so women. They all crowded around a small podium where Castaway's contact stood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if I may have your attention please," Castaway's contact said, "May I have your attention please."

The room quieted.

"As you know, our leader and many others are in prison at this time," Castaway's contact began, "Our cause to protect humanity must continue. The gargoyles are demons that are out to destroy humanity! Our leader's plan had be enacted the way it was because of the fact the gargoyle demons are quite clever at hiding their plans. The law has abandoned us to the forces of evil."

There were hushed whispers throughout the crowd.

"Our leader has learned of our situation, and the problems that were caused by the robot," Castaway's contact continued, "He instructs us to continue our mission! Not even prison can end his leadership of the Quarrymen! He has given us new instructions! I have left some note pads by the door. When we adjourn tonight, he wants you to put your name on the paper and any and all comments you have."

Castle Wyvern, Dawn

The gargoyles were all very anxious as they turned to stone for the day. Matt, Talon, Maggie, Claw, and Puck, with Alex in his arms, stood in a semi-circle stood in the center of Wyvern's courtyard looking up at the tower. The gargoyle's faces even looked anxious.

"Okay we've all agreed that Sevarius and Nightstone Unlimited is the real evil here," Talon said, "But what would he want with Xanatos and Fox?"

"I'd imagine revenge," Puck mused, "When Mr. X. found out that Sevarius's mutate experiments didn't yield the exact results he wanted, he demanded that Sevarius create a serum that would cure you. Sevarius however refused, and so Mr. X. fired him and shut down all his projects at Gen-U-Tech. That's why Sevarius went to Nightstone. Demona may have been a genocidal maniac and Thailog may have been manipulative, but both of them really lacked the conscience to consider what Sevarius did and how he did it. The virus that he engineered that Demona thought would kill off humanity was really a massive mutagenic formula that would transform any human it came into contact with into mutates like yourself."

"What?" Maggie asked.

"You don't think that Sevarius would actually give Demona a weapon to destroy all humanity when he himself is human?" Puck answered, "Sevarius's plans have never changed. But since we have the virus here at Xanatos Enterprises and are trying to destroy it, Sevarius has been sort of stuck at the ground level in Nightstone until now because Demona blamed him for losing her 'virus'. Now that he's in charge, he has the opportunity to gain what he wanted, revenge for being fired and losing his earlier research because of Xanatos."

Puck began to move back into the castle with Alex.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Puck said, "I need to put Alex down for the day. He's been up far too long."

Nightstone Unlimited

David Xanatos woke up slowly. He found himself wearing a jumpsuit, much like Wolf's, with the Pack logo across his chest. He was also tied down to a large metal examining table.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Xanatos demanded.

"Why Mr. Xanatos, I thought you'd never ask," came a familiar voice.

"Sevarius!" Xanatos snarled.

Anton Sevarius chuckled, coming into Xanatos's field of vision, "How are you?"

"What do you want?" Xanatos demanded.

"Ah," Sevarius sighed, "You want to know what I want! It's quite simple really. Even you can figure it out."

Xanatos watched the mad doctor.

"Tickle us do we not laugh? Prick us do we not bleed?" Sevarius quoted, "Wrong us shall we not REVENGE?"

"I've done nothing to you," Xanatos answered.

"You fired me! You forced me to abandon all my original research," Sevarius yelled, "And working here for Demona has not been much better, but at least she was easy enough to manipulate. With you, I had to meet so many damned quotas! With Demona, I only had to say what progress I'm making. It's taken me a long time to rebuild my research, and now I will have my revenge! You and your lovely wife will work for me! I would have liked to get your son, but… the Pack is not as good as it once was, now is it?"

Xanatos glared at him, "I serve no one."

Sevarius laughed evilly, "You serve no one? Ha! You're going to serve me!"

Sevarius came close to Xanatos, holding what looked like a dog's collar. Sevarius slowly and carefully put the collar around Xanatos's neck.

"There, that should keep you under MY control, and now for phase two," Sevarius chuckled.

"Phase two?" Xanatos questioned.

Sevarius moved to a far corner of the room, and grabbed a syringe filled with a greenish-blue colored liquid. He also pressed a button on a remote. Soon afterward Xanatos heard gears grind as the table moved into an upright position. Opposite from him was a large glass wall. The glass was kept quite clean, and in fact Xanatos could make out a figure on the other side. After a few seconds, he caught sight of something about the figure and screamed.

"Yes," Sevarius grinned, slamming the syringe into Xanatos's shoulder, "Phase two! HA HA HA HA!"

To Be Continued…