Go!

By: Nabiki GMYW

Brief summary: After that unfortunate wedding incident, Puck earns a reputation as the fey that defeated Oberon (twice!). Now that reputation draws some of Avalon's less-that-distinguished gentlemen like a moth to a flame.

Disclaimer: Gargoyles and all the gang is owned by Disney. It sucks, I know. One of these days, their lawyers will storm down the 'Gargoyle Fanfic Archive', tear it down, and sue us all. Meanwhile, let's just keep writing. E-mail me at [email protected] for comments and stuff. This fic takes place after both 'Faerie Tale ROMANSU' and 'With this ring…', so go back and read those.

PROLOGUE

The fey kneeled in front of the throne, in front of Oberon, and said with his most pleading voice, "I beg you to reconsider, my lord. I only wish to honor our king."

While most of the fey court sat at the edge of their seats, Coyote, in Peter Maza's young guise, hurried up to sit down, wondering what was going on. "Hurry up!" he heard Raven call.

Stepping over foots and chanting incessantly, "Sorry, sorry!" He sat down next to Raven and asked, "What's going on?"

"Haven't you heard, man?" Raven told him, "It's only the greatest thing that's ever happened since the Gathering; you must have heard!"

"No, I don't know. I was busy." Coyote replied, "I got home to find everyone had come up here. Why is the court assembling?"

"They are not exactly assembling." A voice echoed, "This is more like gossip." A blue mist appeared in the empty seat, and it took the form of the blue-haired fey know as Banshee, complete with gold gag. "Pop quiz: who was the last person the lord got angry at and banished from the isle? Who was the last person that contacted three demon sorcerers to give him his magic back? Who was the last person that got married and completely embarrassed Oberon while he was at it? And incidentally, who is the only being on this Earth whose powers equals Oberon's?"

Coyote didn't even had to think hard on that. "What did Puck do now?"

"Nothing, actually." Said another voice. A small spider lowered itself near Coyote, "The question is, what will he do to Puck?" Anansi, yet another trickster, gestured to the kneeling fey.

The fey stood up. A red-haired youth with green eyes, he wore a dark greenish sort of ensemble, that seemed to match the emerald spark in his eyes. He had a quick voice filled with energy and stood up with a jump, "My name is Adrian, third strongest of the island, after our lord and queen, and I wish to challenge the Puck!"

"He has got to be kidding…" Coyote mumbled, "What sane mind would challenge the Puck?"

"Especially now that he got his magic back." Anansi continued.

"I don't know the whole story but from what I've heard," he paused to give himself dramatic momentum, "He's looking to be the Big Guy's next personal trickster. Fill the old Puck's shoes." he snickered, "And, of course, to get that job, the trickster before has to die…so that means…"

"He has to beat him in combat." Coyote finished, "Talk about being insane."

"I heard Puck now uses some kind of dark magic…" Banshee commented.

"I heard it's not even human magic, but something else entirely…" Anansi offered. "Remember that time Titania told us Oberon had 'gone back to Earth to finish some business'? I heard that's bullshit. I heard he tried to kill Puck but Puck got to him first." he grinned, "And then he brought him back from the dead."

"I heard his power rivals all of us put together!" Banshee added, "And because of his powers, he has gone insane and crushes all who oppose him with a thought!"

Coyote looked at them shocked, "And he plans to take him on? How did Puck become that in the first place?" Coyote muttered to his companions.

"Some sort of magical crystal." Raven replied, leaned over to get a good look at this show, "Now be quiet. Let's see what our lord has to say…"

"You don't know what you're doing." Oberon said to the three feys, "The Puck is not one of us anymore. If you want to be my servant, you only need to ask!"

"I would rather defeat him and win his task with my own merits." Adrian quickly replied, "That way we can make sure only the best of the best serves you, my good lord."

"Then consider the task already yours," Titania added, sitting next to her lord's throne. "You are our best tricksters now. Consider the Puck dead. Adrian… you are good enough. Just consider yourself the lord's servant."

The royals seemed completely opposed to the whole idea. "Puck must be that powerful," Coyote muttered, "Even Oberon fears him!"

But Adrian, always quick tongued, instantly said, "If you do not let me battle him for his place, then I think we should deactivate his new magic."

The fey lord arched an eyebrow and said, "What makes you think you'll be able?"

"Yes," Titania continued, "He's powered by some sort of magical crystal. You can't possibly take it out. It's infused with both his mind and soul."

"And if you take it from him, he'll be powerless again, won't he?" Adrian replied, and gave it the coup de grace. "And if I take him from him, the good lord could even keep it."

The court began to mumble among themselves. "Give Oberon more power?"---"Scary"---"We're screwed" many commented.

Oberon rubbed his shin and said, "Interesting. Yes. I'd like that." He smiled a smile that would send chills down a rational mind. "Such power is not for one like him. It should belong to the ruler of Avalon." but he got off his cloud and said, "But it's impossible. You will never make it. But if you wish to die, then, by all means, try." then he added in a cryptic tone, "But beware his wrath. The Puck is powerful indeed."

Oberon is scared of Puck…Coyote thought inwardly, as his master and his queen disappeared down Titania's mirror. He must be something else indeed. He sighed, as those around him began to mutter again.

"Adrian is so dead," Raven said, "Then again, he was always too stubborn for his own good…"

"Poor, poor Adrian." Anansi said, "Well, it was nice knowing him."

"I'm not dead yet, fools!" Adrian snapped, as he flew their way. The rest of the group looked at him with pity and he snapped, "What!?"

"Just what the hell are you trying to prove?" Coyote told him, "The lord just gave you his job, what more do you want?"

"He only gave me the job because Puck isn't here!" Adrian snapped, "I'm only second best!"

Raven rolled his eyes and said, "Here we go again…"

Adrian began to pace and say a speech that sounded as if he'd said it three hundred times before, "Puck, I want you be my servant! -- Puck, you're in charge while I'm gone! -- Puck, you're the best at everything! -- Oh, Puck, you're so powerful! Ooh, beware the big bad Puck, he's the best trickster on Earth!" he growled, "What about me! I'm always second best! I'm great trickster too! I'm the best trickster on this sorry island!"

" 'Island' being the key word here." Banshee added and would've smirked if she hadn't the golden gag, "Everyone knows Puck was --is-- the best on this planet. Sorry, Adrian. I guess Oberon simply pitied you."

"Gee, twist the knife, why don't you? Now he'll never shut up…" Raven muttered.

Adrian paced again, "It's always the same story! Even when we were children it was always Puck did this, Puck did that! All the girls were after him, all the guys wanted to be him…! I was only second best!"

"That's not so bad." Anansi replied, "And it's not like you can defeat him now. You didn't defeat him before! The sad truth is that you'll always be second best. Deal with it."

"I won't, I won't!" Adrian replied. He stomped his feet again on the floor, and the dashing main hall trembled. A few vases toppled over down where the elderly Princess Katherine stayed. "When I defeat the Puck, I'll get the respect I deserve! I will the best!"

He stormed off the stands and charged out the door, stomping his feet and making the whole castle shake.

"Brave." Coyote said, "Stupid, but brave."

"Don't go yet," Banshee called out, "You haven't told us what type of flowers you want in your funeral!"

The rest of the group began to talk among themselves. Coyote stared out a nearby window and watched Adrian walk away. "He's doomed… Puck will crush him like a bug…"

CHAPTER ONE

~ Weight problems and other annoyances ~

"Maggie, could you please open this jar? It's too tight for me." Owen Burnett complained as he made himself a sandwich.

"The mighty Puck can't open a mayonnaise jar! This is precisely what I'm talking about!" Xanatos commented.

Maggie gave her husband a bored look and opened the jar for him. "There you go, big guy."

Owen grunted as he poured some mayonnaise into a slice of bread. The kitchen was empty except for David Xanatos, Owen Burnett and his lovely wife, Maggie Watkins Burnett.

The sandwich was already a couple of inches tall when he opened the fridge and added more cheese, a few more slices of ham, some more lettuce and a bit more of ketchup.

"Hey," Xanatos continued, "If you keep going like this, we're gonna have to change lots of security codes in the castle. You know the lab elevator can only take so much weight--"

Owen slammed shut the fridge's door and said, "I'm not overweight."

"You're five pounds overweight!" Xanatos complained, "You know most of the labs here check your eyes, your fingertips and verify your weight to let you in! Five pounds is not a lot, but the computer is very picky! You've already triggered an alarm in the West Wing--"

"That was a computer malfunction…"

"--and to tell you the truth, I haven't seen your face nowhere near the gymnasium these last five months--"

"I've been busy…"

"--Busy lurking in the kitchen making yourself sandwiches! Ever heard of cholesterol?"

"And," Maggie added, "five pounds in just five months is a lot. By the end of the year, you'll be twelve pounds overweight, then I'll be married to a balloon!"

Owen tried his best not to groan too loudly. "I think you're blowing this out of proportion," he said, trying to sound dignified as he opened the fridge to take more stuff out. He tried to open a pickle jar and couldn't. Rather than risk another sermon from his boss, he placed the jar back in the fridge and shut up about it. "But if you really insist, I'll go to the gym first thing in the morning…"

He turned around to see his sandwich gotten tossed to the garbage. Xanatos smirked and said, "Never put for tomorrow what you can do today. Meet you at the gym at 8pm."

Meanwhile, Meg sighed. She thought it was a bad idea.

Maggie Burnett was the woman of Owen Burnett; a wonderful woman when she wasn't being a bitch like tonight. She was a little less tall than Owen, but the same height of Puck, sometimes beating him with high heels; much to the fey's annoyance. Her hair was short and brown, a little puffy and her face was pretty, a baby face. With the right clothes, she could make herself look as young as Puck. But with Owen, she tried to make herself look a little bit older, considering he was, in theory, ten years her senior.

They had been married for almost a year now, after lots of problems concerning an ex-wife and a blue man with magic powers that turned out to be her father-in-law. She'd rather not talk about. She'd rather not think about it. She fancied she had blocked it out of her memory.

Besides the problematic in-laws, other little annoyances became part of the humdrum of married life. The problem with being married with a colleague, or worse, a supervisor, or the worst of all, the vice-president of the company, was that their professional careers could get in the way of their personal lives.

She had started out as assistant manager somewhere in the 50th floor, and ever since she started a relationship with Darling, her ascension had been called meteoric up the company status. Thankfully, Darling was quite careful with that. He sent her to Fox, a considerably powerful businesswoman by her own right, and generally worked for her like an assistant.

Fox would probably have a good laugh once she knew of tonight's occurrences.

Meg had heard once a joke about married women gaining weight, but she supposed it could be true the other way around. By the way Owen immediately fell asleep with the kempo clothes, she could've sworn it was science fact.

Though science had nothing to do with Owen. Her husband was not human, he was a fey, often called 'The Third Race'. Well, Owen was human, but Puck wasn't, and Puck was Owen so she guessed Owen wasn't human after all.

It was complicated. He could've fooled her, anyway. After all, weight problems seemed awfully human problems. But then again, she got the feeling Puck wasn't a normal fey either.

She barely knew a thing about her husband, other than he had had some problems years before and he had lost his magic. Something about only working for Alex; Xanatos' son. But she was dubious. She had seen him do lots of magic before, with Alex sometimes as far away as California. She wasn't an idiot. She knew somebody must've given them back.

As to who, Owen was elusive at best. He always said 'They' had given him back his powers. " 'They'," he often complained, "almost made me go insane."

He was elusive about that too. She never learned what he meant. The gargoyles, however, had provided a few hints. Something about too much power.

"I don't know why you worry about it." Owen often argued, "The past is past. Forget it and let's move on. I belong to you and you to me. That's all that matters."

"I'm not the one that can't move on. And I still don't really know you." she replied, "You're the one with the secrets. You'll move on once you tell me, not a second before. If you're not honest, I can't have you completely."

That almost always made him quiet down. She knew he needed her; that he loved her more than anything else in this world. And she needed him too, but she wanted him wholly, not with half-truths and vague explanations.

When she came down to it, she really didn't care what happened before she met him or what would happen in the future. But she needed to know. And he needed to say it. He was too self-conscious. Even in bed, there was something he just couldn't let go. He just needed to let go.

Meanwhile, she watched the little kempo match sitting down in a corner of the fighting mat, and saw how poorly her husband did and how quickly he got knocked down, over and over again.

She was no martial artist, but she could tell it was a bad sign if the wife and the opponent had to drag the victim back to his bedroom and toss him in the bed.

He groaned as he tossed in the bed, grabbed a pillow and tried to make himself comfortable, "It's not fair…my body isn't doing what I want it to…God, I'm so hungry…"

"You're not sleeping in the bed unless you get your ass into the shower!" Maggie snapped, "So get to it!"

"Oh, spare me for today, Maggie…" he mumbled, "I swear I'll stop eating for a week if you let me sleep tonight…"

She sighed. All that mattered was having him asleep in her bed. Perhaps someday he'd finally answer all her questions. She was patient. "When he understands how much I need him, and he admits how much he needs me, he'll come around." With him by her side, all was well in the world.

* * *

He came to around six in the morning; his mental clock ordering him to wake even if his body didn't want to.

Owen just lay in the bed staring the ceiling for a couple of minutes, trying to gather his strength to get up. He couldn't. Damn. He looked at Meg, still asleep. And he wondered if he should do the same.

Last night's little match left him pulverized. It was as if he forgot twenty years' worth of martial arts training. Damn you, Subway! he mused.

So, ok, he admitted it, he hadn't really showed up around the gym, and he had been eating more than usual. And five pounds…oh, he didn't know how to explain the five months. Those six-inch subs were beginning to haunt him…

Meg, his lovely wife, was on Xanatos' side. In fact, they had teamed up this precise day to give him a chat about the dangers of cholesterol. They seemed hell-bent of not letting him enjoy a simple sandwich. Well, Meg was the one to introduce him to the realms of midnight snacks and fast food chains.

Now, she and his boss wanted him to lose weight. He couldn't believe five pounds could cause such a fuss. So an alarm did went off… he insisted it had being a simply malfunction. Owen Burnett overweight. The mere idea was ridiculous. So he had dropped by a Burger King more than once. Big deal.

He guessed it all began that day Meg insisted on stopping on that Subway. "Try something new," she said. She made him order a sandwich with four cheeses and three types of ham. He loved it. Then there was Subway on Tuesday, KFC on Wednesday, Domino's Pizza on Friday…

He stood up and walked to the bathroom. He felt tempted to wake Meg, but she was still snoring softly. She also worked at Eerie as Fox's assistant, like he was to Xanatos', but Fox didn't have as nearly as much responsibilities as he did. So it was perfectly fine for her to sleep until eight.

Pondering what just happened to him, he showered and got ready. He flinched at the fact that he had just gained five pounds. How humiliating. Then there was Xanatos, making it his joke of the week. He just wished to forget it.

"The way I see it, I got two options." Xanatos said, "Either I spent a few thousand dollars changing the weight parameters for your benefit or I whip you up to shape myself and save me a couple of bucks. I think I'm leaning towards option two…"

"You plan to take care of my problem? How considerate." Owen replied, deadpan.

"Hey, Meg and me did have to drag you to your bedroom afterwards, you know…"

He sighed. "I know…"

"You were incredibly slow… and clumsy… and sloppy…"

"I get the point, sir." He grumbled.

Of course, Xanatos refused to stop talking about it. Though Owen would've liked for matters to stay between the two of them, he was sure that by nightfall all the gargoyles, Detective Maza, Detective Bluestone and the mutates would know all about it.

He kept trying to do the damage control while doing everything that had to be done around the castle. Every time he passed by the kitchen, he felt tempted to sneak one of those bags of Doritos Broadway had hidden behind the fridge, but then Xanatos would give him a hard time, and rather than put up with that, he continued his way feeling sorry for himself.

But even the comforts of easy paperwork were denied to him. All his complains fell on deaf ears. Xanatos made him dress up to fight him, something he particularly dreaded, because unlike him, Xanatos spent all his mornings destroyed straw dummies just for fun.

One of said dummies was facing Owen just now. "I trust you still know your basics?" Xanatos snickered.

Mumbling to himself, Owen didn't waste time to deliver a swift kick to the poor dummy and make his head fly across the room.

Satisfied, he turned back to his boss and said, "It's dead. Can we go now?"

"You call that a kick, you wussy?" said the dummy's head. Xanatos looked at the head. Owen looked at the head. And the dummy's got off his stand and started searching for his head.

"Over here!" the head told the body. The body crouched and tried to feel out the head's position. After finding it, the body stood up and adjusted his head so that it wobbled a little.

Both Xanatos and his employee were dumbstruck.

"You call the a kick? My mama kicks ass better than you do!" said the straw dummy.

Owen looked at his master and said, "Did you do this?"

"Didn't you?" Xanatos inquired back.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!" the dummy snapped to Owen. It whacked him with one of its straw arms and said, "Didn't your mamma teach you some manners!?"

"Hey, that hurt!" Owen complained.

"It did? Well, its supposed to hurt, dumbass!" the dummy said and began to whack him over and over again.

"Stop it, spirit, and face me!" he barked, and managed kick his head off once again.

This time, green smoke started to come out of the dummy's body. It collected itself and transformed into a red-haired youth with green clothes. "He looks like…a leprechaun?" Xanatos mumbled, though he was not the height of faerie tale leprechauns, he was as tall as the Puck. "Must be from Avalon…"

The red-haired young man was facing Owen with a wry expression and inspecting him up and down. "Puck? You're the all-powerful Puck? But you're overweight!"

Than only managed to get Owen in the defensive. He crossed his arms and said, "And who are you supposed to be?"

The young man smirked and said, "I'm supposed to be the end of you!"

He was too fast for him. The mysterious fey had just popped a huge sword out of nowhere with intentions of lopping his head off, and he would've been successful, hadn't Xanatos interfered and pushed his assistant out of harm's way.

The two of them ended up on the floor. "I know you!" Owen declared, "Adrian? What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

Xanatos realized he hadn't saved Owen's life; he had saved Puck's life. Puck pushed him out of his way and stood up, "Well, that's not nice, popping in here with a huge sword and trying to kill me and all!"

"Puck, be careful!" the millionaire cried.

"Don't worry, I'll be just--" he hadn't finished the sentence when Adrian let out a war cry, and holding up his sword, charged at him with intentions of splitting him down the middle.

Puck barely had time to duck and move out of the way. Adrian managed to slash his hair and several locks fell down. Puck looked at his hair, then at the sword, then at Adrian, "What are you doing? You could've hurt me!"

"Die!" Adrian barked again and charged. Puck did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed him by the shoulders, stopping him, then kicked him in the family jewels.

The enemy doubled down and groaned loudly, "My future children…! Oh…!"

Adrian was wringing in agony on the floor, while Puck looked down at him, arms crossed, with a wry look on his face. "Overweight, my ass! I've never been in a better shape!"

But the Adrian grabbed him by the leg and twisted his ankle, and with his other hand, he took the sword, ready to finish the deed. Puck immediately intercepted the move and grabbed his arm. Both of them struggled about who would cut off whose head, when Xanatos finally put an end to it, pressing a gun in the back of Adrian's skull. "These are iron bullets! Drop the sword if you don't want a headache!"

Adrian did drop his blade so Puck immediately twisted his arm and pinned him against the floor. "Now," he said hotly, "What's this all about?"

"Ain't telling you nothing!" Adrian replied, "Not while you're still on me…those five pounds didn't vanish into thin air, you know…"

Puck looked at him viciously and twisted his arm further.

Xanatos stooped next to them and said, "Let's start with the basic. Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"

"My name is Adrian! And I'm here to challenge the Puck into battle!" he said, "To be the best trickster on this earth and be Oberon's personal servant!"

"Run that by me again…I thought I heard you say you want to be Oberon's servant…" Puck replied.

"That's what I said, you Shakespearean reject!" Adrian cried loudly.

"You… want… Oberon?" Puck mumbled, with a look of disgust. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not!" he snapped, "Get off me!"

Puck grunted but let him go anyway. Both of them stood up. Adrian rearranged his clothes while Puck stared at him incredulous. "So you want to work for Oberon? What the hell does that have to do with me?"

"You're his servant already!" Adrian snapped, "You know the ancient rules! Only the best work for him! I gotta beat you!"

"Hey, wake up call, that doesn't work if Oberon kicks me out before." Puck replied, "I'm not his servant anymore." then he added in a whisper, "I'm barely one of you guys in the first place…"

"Yes…" said Adrian dangerously, "We've all heard the rumors… something about you dabbling in dark magic." He grinned maliciously, "Something about you going insane? Almost, I assume…"

"Almost." Puck replied, deadpan.

"And something about being even more powerful than Oberon himself?" Adrian continued, also deadpan.

"Well, I don't know about that." Puck responded, a little uneasy. He was honest about it. Actually, he had no idea how powerful he truly was. But he wasn't about to mention it to Adrian. Instead, he changed the subject, "Why do you want to work for Oberon anyway?" he continued. "I guess even the devil has his advocates…"

"Excuse me if I want to further my career! I don't throw my life away for a--" he looked at Xanatos, "A big, hairy ape!"

"I heard that." Xanatos mumbled.

"Sheesh, fine, don't let me stop you. Go ahead, make your career!" Puck told him. "Leave me and my hairy ape alone!"

"Hey!" Xanatos snapped, "This hairy ape pays your salary!"

"I refuse to be a filler for Oberon!" Adrian snapped, "You insult my intelligence! You always have! I'm always the second best!"

"What are you babbling about?"

"997, the peasant girl! She was almost mine! The race in elementary school! That first place was mine! 1067, the crusades! You killed my parrot!"

"So what?" Puck cried.

"So what? That you've killed or taken everything I wanted! I've always had to stand all your hand-me-downs! Clothes! Posts! Girlfriends!"

"I see…" Xanatos interrupted, "One too many straws in one camel's back…"

"Adrian, that was centuries ago!" Puck continued, "It doesn't matter anymore. If you want my post, then go ahead, I'm not one of our…" he halted, "I'm not one of your people. Just go back to Avalon and forget about me."

"But I want to defeat you fairly!"

Puck groaned. "Fine!" he said, and raised his hands, "I'm beaten! You've defeated me with the daggers of your eyes! Congratulations!"

He should've gotten angry, but Adrian merely grinned maliciously…almost insane-like… and said, "Oh, I see…I see…you're pitying me…you're mocking me! You're going to woe the day we met!"

"Hey, man, I already do! Just go away!" Puck replied.

Adrian took out his long sword and pointed it at him. "Oberon is actually afraid of you, you know. Everyone in Avalon is. They don't fear me, though. They fear you. Well, after I'm done with you, I'll show them I'm the greatest on Earth. I'll be better than Oberon. Better than you!"

"O…kay." Puck replied while scratching his head.

"I'm not about to let some has-been, overweight freak humiliate me or Avalon." He said, then vanished in a violent burst of light, "Make your will, dark sorcerer! Ha!" His voice echoed.

Xanatos and Puck stayed quiet for a few moments. "Yep," Xanatos mumbled, "He came, he saw, he shouted a death threat…and it's not 8am yet."

Puck covered his head and groaned, "First Subway, then Adrian… the whole world is against me…"

* * *

"So there's a fey with grudge against Puck who swore he'd kill him?" Brooklyn commented after he heard the story, "Goliath, can I send him a thank-you note if he does kill him?"

Goliath groaned disapproving and said, "How can you think that?"

"Well, you know me." he replied, "Always rooting for the underdog."

"Thank you for your moral support, Mr. Brooklyn." Owen replied quietly, as he finished a small cup of coffee. "I'll be sure to remember that when I teach Alex how to turn gargoyles into garden slugs…"

"So how bad is this grudge? Is this guy going to be trouble?" Lexington inquired.

The clan of gargoyles, The Xanatos and The Burnetts reconvened at the tv room and discussed the morning's events over popcorn and a small Star Wars marathon of all four films.

Meg had learned about the attack when Owen told everyone else too. "I didn't want you to worry," he said with a yawn, "It's really nothing."

"I'm your wife!" she replied, "I'm supposed to know these things before everybody else! You never tell me anything. We're going to have a talk about this. I barely know a thing about you."

But Owen hadn't been listening. "Meg, this is not the time to have that talk. My head hurts and the gargoyles are waiting for us in the tv room." In fact, Owen thought the meeting was completely unnecessary. "He doesn't represent a great challenge for the Puck." he argued. "You shouldn't worry."

"Are you sure he's no challenge?" Fox asked dubious, "You really haven't done any sort of big, fighting spells since that… you know…incident."

The way Fox said 'incident' made Meg arch an eyebrow. But it was pointless to ask. She just kept quiet and tried to learn more about that Adrian guy.

"All you've done is teach Alex stuff." Fox continued, "Don't you need to, I don't know, practice something other than parlor tricks?"

"Those 'parlor tricks' will do just fine if the occasion arises." Owen replied coldly.

"But you haven' used your magic in years. Not really used it." Hudson added, "Fox is right. You've limited yourself to simple stuff."

"Need I remind you," Xanatos commented, "that from what Adrian let us know, it seems you are feared back in Avalon. They're under the impression you really are powerful. And they've got reason too. You made Oberon disappear for a week and thwarted his plans to destroy your wedding. You defeated Oberon twice. No wonder you're famous."

"Twice?" Meg mumbled, but she was ignored.

"I don't need to practice anything." Owen continued, "Parlor tricks will do. I won't use my other magic to deal with an idiot. God, I have a headache. Can we go now?" he sighed.

Other magic? Meg wondered, he has two types of magic? He's never told me that before…

By the time the meeting was over, he had a horrible headache.

Owen headed to the kitchen to find something, anything, but Broadway had already hid his Doritos elsewhere. He must've caught on that he had been eating them. And he didn't feel like searching the kitchen. Coffee would do.

Immediately, Meg joined him. She watched him fumble through the kitchen when she finally asked, "What other magic?"

He jumped, not having noticed her before. "What?" he said, "Magic? What about it?"

"Fox mentioned you had two types of magic." Meg told him. "Why didn't you tell me? What's that all about?"

"Meg, I have a headache. Let's talk about it later…help me make some coffee…"

"I want to talk about it now." she insisted. "Tell me!"

He sighed. "Meg, darling, I can't think straight tonight…" he responded, "We'll talk about it tomorrow…" He sat down on a stool and sighed. He felt too tired to do anything.

Meg grunted, frustrated, her features darkening. She would never learn about it if she didn't press the matter. "Come on," she said annoyed, "At least give me a small summary…"

Owen gave her a look instead. "A small summary?" he snapped, "Fine! Once upon a time, an idiot received a present from three strangers. Unlike most presents, this gift had teeth. He actually dared to take a peek inside and almost lost an eye. If the idiot completely opens that gift box, the gift will completely take over him and heaven have mercy on all your souls!"

"You don't have to yell!" she snapped back, "And I hate it when you hide from me! We've been married almost six months, but we lived together for almost a year and this is no different than day one! You never tell me anything! I'm always the last one to know!"

"You have no right to know!"

"I have every right to know!" She barked, "When am I finally going to have you? When will you finally give yourself to me, not as your wife but as your equal?! You are always so…so…distant!" she grabbed his hand and cried desperately, "Give yourself to me once and for all!"

He didn't reply. Without any sort of expression, he merely looked away.

She let him go. Eyeing him with no sort of resentment, she said, softly, calmly: "Fine. Be that way. I have all the time in the world to wait for you."

* * *

He made it to his office and took refuge in there for awhile. He knew he was being childish, but he couldn't help it. He just didn't want to talk about it.

"If she would just drop the subject…" he whispered as he stared at his hands. Two perfectly fine hands. He scoffed. It wasn't always so. He almost missed that once-familiar weight on the shoulder.

He didn't like to think about it at first, because it had hurt him a lot, but with time, he learned to put some distance between him and his memories, so much that he sometimes felt as a spectator of his own past. As if all had happened to some idiot a thousand years ago.

But then he remembered he was the idiot. He was the one to strike the deal. He was the one who received the gift. He was the one that couldn't get rid of it later.

But it didn't stop being some sort of movie for him. Mental detachment, they called it. Yes, detachment indeed. He needed to be far away or else he'd be pulled by the current once again. And he didn't want that.

"I shouldn't have snapped at her…" he mumbled. He felt he needed to apologize. She barely knew what had happened to him. He guessed he would have to explain it to her eventually. But he just didn't want to. It wasn't the right time.

I can't give myself to you yet, my lovely, he thought and sighed, not like this…

CHAPTER TWO

~ Hero worship! ~

They had not heard from Adrian for a week when the invitation suddenly appeared in the castle. With a bag of Cheetos, Puck almost choked when he read it.

"What the hell is this?" he grumbled. "A challenge letter?!"

It wasn't an invitation is the strict sense of the word. It was a pink xeroxed flyer reading, "Fight, fight! June 8 at midnight, Central Park! The match of the century! Who will be the greatest trickster of all time? A fight to the finish! Order your tickets today!"

"This is so cheap!" Puck growled, "I bet he's giving away flyers at Avalon as we speak!"

"June 8…" Xanatos read, "That's in two weeks. He probably wants to get ready. Are you going to accept his challenge?"

"Don't do it!" Meg pleaded, "Don't throw yourself into a pointless battle!"

"She's right." Goliath continued, "You're in no position to battle. You haven't used your powers in years and you've been completely careless about your weight."

Puck hid the Cheetos bag behind his back. "I am not overweight! I'll show you! I'm as good as always! To the nursery!"

Alex was there, playing with his tin soldiers and stared curiously at his family, who suddenly charged in. He immediately smiled when he saw Puck, "Uncle!" and ran to him.

"Munchkin!" he replied as he grabbed him on his arms, "Guess what! We're finally going to have a magic lesson. A real magic lesson! How long has it been? --Don't answer that."

He let him down as the rest of the group walked in. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Goliath questioned, with a serious tone of doubt in his voice.

"Of course!" he said, "I'm sure Alex is more than capable to do what I'll teach him."

"He wasn't talking about Alex, he was talking about you." Xanatos quickly retorted as he crossed his arms.

"I'll let that one slide…" Puck replied acidly.

Meanwhile, Meg tried not to look too incredulous. "I have a baaaad feeling…"

Puck turned to Alex and said, "Here's what we'll be doing tonight… we're going to make things alive!"

"Alive?" Alex repeated, "Like my soldiers? Can you make 'em alive, Unca?"

"Of course I can! That's a wonderful idea!"

Alex gave him a big bucket filled him green little army men poised in several positions. Puck dumped the bucket onto the carpet and told everyone to stand back. Goliath felt tempted to run away, and stood near the door for the sake of precaution.

"You just watch me, then you'll do it, ok?" Puck instructed his protégé and Alex nodded.

"If I don't make it, please tell my wife I love her." Xanatos whispered to Goliath.

Meg elbowed him in the gut, "You're going to jinx him!"

Puck stood a few inches away from the bundle of soldiers and took deep breath. "Green soldiers made in China, stand up now and…" He suddenly didn't know what to say, "Do as I want!"

"That didn't rhyme." Goliath commented.

"I guess he's out of practice there too." Xanatos replied.

Though Puck heard them, they couldn't see his annoyed expression. Instead, he decided to focus on his task. He blew softly their way and said, "Stand up, soldiers! Your master commands you!"

The soldiers didn't do anything. They just lay there undisturbed. A few moments of silence passed. Alex looked up at his uncle, "Well?"

Puck wanted to bury himself alive. "Soldiers, I thought I told you to stand up!"

The soldiers were still toy soldiers; they were like a silent, mocking monument for him. "Guys!" Puck whined, "You're embarrassing me in front of the gargoyle…!"

He crouched next to the bundle and started to beg them to work. Alex turned to his daddy and asked, "What's he doing?"

"Giving a pep talk to the toys, Alex dear." Xanatos replied.

"I'm supposed to be out patrolling," Goliath added, "How long is this going to take?"

Meg groaned, shook her head and hid her face.

"Guys!" Puck told the toys, "Please stand up! Please? Win one for me?"

Then Alex walked next to Puck and told the soldiers, "You're bad soldiers! You're supposed to stand up!"

Amazingly enough, the soldiers stood up and faced Alex, while Puck watched with his jaws somewhere by his ankles.

"Bad, bad soldiers!" Alex continued. "What do you have to say to Uncle Puck?"

"Sorry," the soldiers chanted in unison.

Puck hid his face and cried, "Kill me now! I'm a klutz! I'm a klutz!"

Alex turned to daddy and asked, "What's he doing now?"

"Wallowing in self-pity, Alex dear."

* * *

"I'm a klutz! I'm a klutz!" Puck cried as he banged his head against his bedroom's wall. "A five-year-old can do better magic than me!"

Meg, sitting in their bed, quietly watched him hurt himself for a few minutes until he effective had given himself a headache. Then she walked towards him, gently pulled him away from the wall and made him sit on the bed. "Don't worry, darling, we all have our bad days."

"You don't understand!" he said, "The great Puck can't make toy soldiers stand up! This is it! This is rock bottom! I defeated Oberon twice and now army toys are making fun of me!"

"It's because you hadn't practiced," Meg argued, "You lacked serious practice, while Alex practices every day. All I've ever seen you do is simple demonstrations for Alex. No wonder you can't make a serious spell now…"

"I'm a loser, aren't I?" he grunted.

"No, you're not. I'm sure all you need to do is un-dust your skill! It'll come back. Let's face it: you're going to need them if you're going against Adrian…"

He reclined against her shoulder and whispered, "Yes, I suppose I have to. I can't believe I've let myself become so undisciplined… so wasted. I guess I have to work harder now, won't I, or else I'll be Avalon's laughingstock 'till the end of time…"

"Don't say those things." she embraced him closely and said, "Everything will be all right, you'll see."

He scoffed lightly, "Coming from you, I can almost believe it." he smiled, "In moments like this, I almost believe it's that simple after all."

"And in moment's like this," she added, "I have you closer than ever before."

He simply laughed, "Strange moments indeed!" he grinned.

* * *

Coyote was among the firsts who received the odd pink flyer. "A battle?" he read. "He has got to be kidding…"

Adrian's pink flyer was the talk of Avalon. After receiving it, the usual gang of tricksters met at Coyote's hut --a hut that changed place every twenty-four hours. They discussed it, fought over it, pulled it apart and glued it together. But the big question was, "How will he do it?"

And the biggest question was who would win, which resulted in a small pool. "I bet my best wand that Puck will win!" Banshee cried.

"Me too! I raise your wand with my Playboy collection!" Raven challenged.

"Put me down with a leg in Puck's favor." Anansi said.

"Some friends you are, betting against Adrian!" Coyote grunted. "Well, I too think Puck is definitely going to win." Coyote said, "And I'll bet my hut and everything in it that he'll kick Adrian's ass."

Something rustled outside the hut and called out Coyote's name. "It's Adrian!" Raven declared, "Quick! Hide the bet papers!"

Adrian walked into the hut and was pleasantly surprised to find all the tricksters there. "A social meeting?" he asked.

"More or less." Raven replied, "In fact, we were just discussing that interesting flyer you've been giving away…"

Adrian beamed like the sun and said, "Do you guys think I'll make it?"

Everybody looked at each other. Then they burst out at the same time, "Yeah, man," --- "Of course you'll win…" --- "We're all rooting for ya!"

"Do you want to check out the spell I created for the battle?" Adrian continued.

Coyote simply shrugged. "Whatever."

"Good!" he said, "I'll be right back!"

He promptly departed the hut. The gang moved to the two windows and saw Adrian circling the hut, marking his way with some sort of magic dust and mumbling to himself. "What's he doing?" Raven muttered.

After he finished circling the hut, Adrian stopped facing the front door. He crossed his arms and said, "I know what people are saying about me…I know you think Puck is going to win… I know that you're a bunch of hypocrites, all of you! But now… ha!… Now is the time of my revenge! The Puck will crumble at my feet -- and so will you!"

His eyes began to shine in that scary green way he had and his head stood on end. Faster than anyone could say 'Uh-oh', the hut blew up -- rather -- the ground below the hut blew up and sent Coyote's hut soaring through the skies.

The tricksters inside it flew with it and one by one crash-landed nearby. Anansi found himself hurled head-first into a pile of mud, Banshee on top of him, Raven on top of her and Coyote on top of Raven. And of course, the remains of the hut on top of all of them.

Coyote made his way out of the debris breathing hard and expelling small puffs of smoke out of his mouth. Still swaying from right to left, he managed to ask, "Why did you do that for!?"

"For always siding with Puck! Hear this: From June 8 on forward, Avalon will have a new top trickster and those who opposed me will pay for sure!" Adrian yelled at top of his lungs.

"You're nuts!" Coyote snapped. "You're gonna pay for this! You're going to pay for your insolent attitude -- and my hut!"

"You can't possibly defeat me this time, Coyote, or you'll end up falling apart like cheap plastic imitation of a hut!" He warned. "Only the Puck can defeat me, and I might as well proclaim myself victor already!"

Adrian vanished with an angry surge of light. The rest of the gang staggered to their feet. Dragging himself out, Raven snapped, "Where is the little bastard!?"

"Out there, plotting to murder the Puck." Coyote replied. "Of course…" he continued, staring at the remnants of his hut, "You know this means war."

"Don't agitate yourself. Puck's problem is not our damn business." Anansi complained.

Coyote stomped on the ground and snapped, "Well, I'm making it my business! You know how long it took me to make that hut!? I had my spells in there! You know what, I'm sick and tired Adrian's speech about 'second-best'. If I hear it one more time, I'll scream! I'm making sure the creep goes down and stays down! In fact," he added sinisterly, "I'm going to join the Puck!"

The other three tricksters stared at each other shocked, "You can't!" Banshee gasped, "You'd actually join a dark sorcerer to defeat Adrian?! It's a mistake, Coyote!"

"Don't you see? We must join the Puck! Do you really want a little pipsqueak like Adrian by Oberon's side, bossing us around for all eternity?! Well, do you!?" Coyote cried. "Puck is our only hope! I will join him!"

"But he's not even one of us! How can you even consider it!?" Anansi the spider god argued.

"You mean you'd rather put up with Adrian?" Coyote sneered.

Raven stared at him curiously and said, "Now that you mention it…you do make it sound awfully tempting…"

* * *

Puck the mighty was taking a nap when Coyote showed up. After trying for a few thousand times to make the toy soldiers obey him, the farthest he got was making one sneeze.

In Alex's bedroom, sprawled all over the rocking chair and snoring loudly, Puck was supposedly watching over Alex while he played with his toys and tortured a teddy bear.

It was Alex who first noticed Coyote floating by his window. Curious, he headed to the window and stood on tiptoes, saying, "Hi! Wanna play soldiers?"

"Are you the great Puck's heir?" he asked.

Alex just shrugged. "I don't know. Uncle is over there. You ask him."

Some twenty minutes later, Puck slowly awakened. He stretched, yawned loudly, and when he stood up, he stepped on a kneeling figure's hand. "What the--!?"

The figure, which turned out to be only Coyote, perked up and said, "Oh, great Puck! Your humble follower beseeches your attention!"

Puck looked at Alex, stunned, "What's he doing!?"

"I dunno." Alex replied. "He's been kneeling in front of you for half an hour…"

Puck looked down at Coyote, and with a dumbfounded face, replied, "Coyote, for the love of Heaven, get up."

"No!" Coyote replied, "I'm not worthy to face the great Puck!"

"You're making fun of me, aren't you?!" Puck complained, "Did Oberon sent you!?"

Coyote stood in a frenzy and quickly replied, "No, not at all! I've come to join you in your incoming battle with Adrian! I want to join the battle!"

Breathlessly, Puck asked, "What the hell for!?"

"Because I hate him too, my liege!" Coyote snapped, "He tried to blow me up! Since you've been gone, Adrian is strutting around, gaining Oberon's favor and blowing up stuff! Blowing me up! And somehow he's not the pathetic little jerk from when you left -- well, he's still pathetic, but that's not the point -- the point is that Avalon's tricksters have been forced to choose one leader. And I chose the lesser evil. Puck," he said, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder, "You're my lesser evil!"

Puck looked at his shoulder, Coyote's hand still on it, then back at Coyote with a mixture of incredulity and annoyance. "Should I be flattered or worried?" He retorted acidly. He pushed him away and said, "You're making a mistake. I'm forfeiting the match. I'm not the same Puck I used to be. I'm not strong enough to defeat Adrian. My powers are too atrophied. I don't want to explain, but…" Looking almost sad, he added, "Just go home. Please?"

Coyote just stared at him with huge awe. "Wow…" he breathed, "Powerful and humble! You are my new god!" and threw himself at his feet once more, this time grabbing his leg and holding him down.

"Haven't you been listening to a damn word I said!?" Puck growled enraged.

Still holding him by the leg, Coyote continued, "Do not forsake us, Prince! You can take over the tricksters' league! And eventually Avalon!"

"Not in front of the kid! Get the hell of me!" Puck continued, while trying to shake him off.

After a few moments of something that most people would look down to with an arched eyebrow and a malicious smirk, Puck managed to sit Coyote down in the carpet and try to make him explain himself.

"Well, everyone knows you're barely fey anymore. Everybody thinks you struck a deal with some three sorcerers to give you your magic back. And everybody knows you made Oberon disappear for a week, then defeated him once more at the wedding, not to mention the whole deal when the red-haired kid was born. We all know you're powerful beyond belief and are a bloodthirsty psychopath bent on revenge."

Slapping him upside the head, Puck cried, "What'd you mean a 'bloodthirsty psychopath'!? I didn't do nothing to give you those ideas!"

"It's just that there are lots of wild stories. Not that I believe them, mind you -- but if you did do it, I throw yourself at your mercy and beg you not to repeat them on me!"

Puck groaned, "I'm actually afraid to ask. Consider them untrue. Tell me -- why is Adrian bothering me in the first place?"

"Because he wants to be Oberon's second more than anything by his own merits. Thinks defeating you will bring him glory and what not."

"Right…" Puck sneered, "Defeat Puck the bloodthirsty psychopath and become a hero. Take justice and shove it down his evil throat. I get it. But I don't want to fight. I told him, but the prick doesn't take no for an answer!"

"I guess he wants to be a hero, wherever you like it or not." Coyote shrugged, "Anyway, its not like we tricksters asked for him. In fact, lots of us are will to help His Ruthlessness defeat the dumb hero."

"Gee," Puck growled, "whatever happened to your sense of justice, teaming up with the 'His Ruthlessness'?"

Coyote shrugged. "Evil is fun."

"I'm not evil, dammit! I just want to be left alone! I just want to walk into a Burger King and order those crispy chicken wings! Is that too much to ask? Why me? Why me?!" he cried to the heavens, "I just want to watch tvvvvvvvv!"

"Don't despair, leader!" Coyote assured, "I shall gather you a great army and we'll defeat those good-two-shoes!"

The Puck could've choked him, "Listen to me! I want you to try really hard. Its obvious you've lost a few hundred of brain cells since we've last met, but just try to listen to me," he took a deep breath, "Even of I were your mythical lord of darkness --which I'm not, by the way-- my powers are nearly gone. It's been years since I left them dormant, and I don't think they can wake up…ever again. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Coyote looked at him hopelessly. "No, my liege… don't act coy with me. You're all powerful and the only one capable of defeating Adrian! Don't try to hide it!"

"I'm not all powerful!" Puck shrieked with a high pinch, "Can't you get that through your thick skull!?"

"Yes, you are!" Coyote shrieked back, grabbing Puck by the shoulders and shaking him. "You're a god!"

"No, I'm not!" Puck continued, then shoved him off. "I'm not powerful!"

"Are!"

"Aren't!"

"Are!"

"Aren't!"

Alex watched their exchange with rapt interest. He didn't know exactly what was the discussion all about, but his uncle and the stranger were really pissed off with each other. They were so entrapped with themselves that only Alex noticed that all the toys and the furniture were beginning to levitate off the floor. "Uncle…" he began.

"Not now Alex," Puck replied quickly, without taking his eyes off Coyote, "Aren't times ten!"

"Are times a hundred times ten!" Coyote barked back.

"Aren't times infinity!"

"Are times infinity plus one!"

"You can't do that!"

"I already did!"

"Uncle!" Alex interrupted, when the furniture reached a dangerous height and moved directly on top of Coyote. The boy began to crawl away from Coyote and softly mumbled, "I wouldn't make Uncle angry if I were you…"

"Are times infinity times infinity times twenty!" Coyote cried triumphantly. Puck ran out of numbers and his face twisted in anger. "Ha-ha!" Coyote pointed and laughed.

"I… I… I hate you!" Puck finally snapped.

Puck barely had time to skip all the furniture that landed directly on Coyote the instant he finished the sentence. Alex's toys, drawers and bed buried the Kichina trickster alive before anyone could do anything.

The Puck jumped to his feet and took a few steps back, still stunned, "What was that? Where did those things come from!?"

"You did it, uncle!" Alex cried overjoyed, "You woke up your powers! You just needed to let it come to you!"

Still overwhelmed, Puck stared at the mess and at his hands, "I did it…" he whispered with disbelieve, then he melted into a smile, "I did it! I did it! In your face, Adrian!"

Both Puck and Alex joined hands and did a little happy dance around the bedroom, completely ignoring Coyote's pain-filled moans and groans. "I'm gonna be ok again, I'm gonna be ok again!" Puck sang.

He stopped for a moment to contemplate where Coyote was buried. "And it's all because of you, Coyote." He joined his hands and bowed respectfully, "I shall pray for your soul, my friend. You will be missed…"

"As much as I'm glad to be of help, I'm not dead yet!" Coyote shouted, as he struggled to get out of under Alex's racecar bed. Breathing hard, he said bitterly, "I guess I was right…" as a few bones crackled. "Now will you defeat Adrian for the good of Avalon?"

"You bet!" Puck stood on top of Coyote's mess and yelled to no one specific, "June 8 is the day! Revenge is mine, mine I tell you!" Then cackled loudly like a madman.

Alex and Coyote exchanged a look. "I think we've just created a monster…" the fey told the small boy. The boy nodded.

CHAPTER THREE

~ Strange days ~

When Meg encountered her husband in the morning, he was a new man.

Alerted by Xanatos and attracted by all the bickering coming from the gym, both Meg and the millionaire encountered a rejuvenated Puck beating the crap out of a young man with a black leather jacket.

"Stand still and let me hit you!" Puck ordered the other young man as several punching bags floated through the air, aiming at him.

"Somebody help me! Please! He's insane!" Coyote screamed as he headed Xanatos way and held the billionaire up like a shield.

"What the hell is going on!?" Xanatos cried, while being choked by Coyote.

"Guess what! I have my powers back! Congratulate me!" Puck replied.

It was Alex who settled the facts some time later, as Puck was too busy chasing Coyote up and down the gym in an attempt to 'practice'. A bruised Coyote latter confirmed it while Puck was still jumping around 'exercising' his magic.

All four of them watched Puck show off for awhile with annoyed expressions. "Don't you think he's over-doing it?" Xanatos grumbled.

"Let him." Coyote replied with a bag of ice over his eye, "The tricksters of Avalon are counting on him to defeat Adrian."

"You are?" Meg interrupted, "Is Puck aware of it?" she turned to her husband and yelled, "Stop prancing around and tell me if that's true!"

"What? The thing with Adrian?" he yelled back and he changed a dummy to an elephant and back to a dummy, "Yeah, that's true!" He dropped what he was doing and sat next to the group, "It's no big deal. I'm just doing Coyote the favor."

"I thought you were going to forfeit the match!" Meg complained, "Don't do this! If they want him gone, let them risk their bacon, not yours!"

"But can't you see?" Puck argued passionately, "He's never going to leave me alone. And besides, it's true I have let my magic rot because of inactivity. I want to use it again, I want to feel powerful again! I want to be the merry wanderer of the night again, not the merry wanderer of the McDonalds!"

"Great time you picked to make a come back." Xanatos replied. "Humoring a poor fool like Adrian. Nothing good is coming out of this… I can see it now…"

"All because you're an idiot, Puck!" Meg interrupted, agitated, "Why are you getting mixed up in this? It's not worth it!"

"I don't do it for my sake." Puck replied, trying to be serious, but sounding intolerably arrogant instead, "It's not my fault the fate of Avalon rests on my humble shoulders. I am, or could be, the most powerful fey on Earth, you know…"

He was replied with a scowl and hit with a slipper by his lady wife. "You idiot!" she barked, "Talk to me once you've returned to your senses!" Then she stood up, shot her husband a look filled with contempt and marched out of the gym.

"What did I do!? What did I do!?" Puck continued as he ran after his wife, running after her down the hall.

"Ooh, Puck the Mighty didn't see that one coming." Xanatos mumbled quietly to himself with an ennuyé sigh.

"Puck the Mighty bullied by the wife. It's almost sad." Coyote added and shook his head in disappointment.

* * *

She refused to even look at him. "Honey! Try to understand!" He begged. Ignoring him, she continued marching down the hallway, heading to their room. Puck appeared in a puff of smoke right in the threshold. "You're being unreasonable!"

"You're the one that's being unreasonable! Xanatos is right --why are you humoring the fools?" she protested loudly, "You're being a fool too!"

"Darling! Light of my life! Sugar of my coffee! You're completely missing the point!" he argued, grabbing her arm gently, even though she pushed him away, "I'm doing this the sake of our future happiness."

"Riiiight…" she mumbled incredulous.

"I mean it! You wouldn't like to have a psychopath like Adrian bothering us for the rest of eternity, eh?"

" 'Us' is one too many people. Adrian the psychopath would be after you only." she taunted with a sarcastic gleam.

"Semantics!" he cried. "I'm just asking you to understand. You don't have to like it, you just have to understand!"

"Understand what?" she snapped exasperated.

He took a deep breath and thought over it for a moment. "That I've been hiding from my own magic for too damn long. I want to be powerful and I want to feel good about it." He sighed, "I want to open the magic box and look at the monster eye-to-eye. Then I'll powerful again, and a better person. Just for once, I want to feel complete."

She looked at him and began to shake her head, "Oh, please…"

"Meg!" he continued and held her by the waist, "I know what I'm doing now. I'm ready to deal with the responsibility. Think of it like a little quest. A quest that when's its done, I'll return to you a better, a more complete person…please don't deny me this!"

"But I know nothing of this 'quest'. I barely know a thing about these three sorcerers you always talk about! And I don't care about them or how powerful you are! I just care about you… and I know, I know, that power alone is not going to better you without understanding."

"What sort of understanding is that?" he muttered perplexed.

"Sensibility, I guess. To understand that complete power is not all that's cracked up to be. To understand that to be a complete person, you have to be both physically and emotionally well. And that it all comes down to this: power without sensibility is worthless."

Puck simply didn't get it. "Are you saying that I'm an insensible person?" he hurried to ask, deeply disturbed.

She smiled. Then kissed him in the cheek. "Good night, darling. Sleep tight." and began to walk away.

"Wait! What do you mean? Am I an insensible person?"

She turned around and was ready to say something else. But then she changed her mind. She simply allowed words to turn into another smile. "Good night, darling." and continued her way down the corridor.

She left the Puck greatly confused. "I'm not an insensible person." he reassured himself. In some ways, she was being the insensible one, never understanding what he meant to say.

Then again, he never sat down to explain it word by word. It was too difficult. He merely wanted to feel good about himself, especially after letting himself waste his time at Burger Kings.

Power without sensibility is worthless. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Humans had a thousand maxims for these situations. He had an amazing power, and knew he could push himself further and become… well, he wasn't sure, but he wanted to be someone good. And becoming powerful was the only way he could do it. It was the only way he knew how to do it.

* * *

For the first time in months, Owen Burnett actually felt like waking up in the morning. He felt good, he felt refreshed, he felt energetic --and he had to admit it was a little frightening.

On the way to the bathroom, he shot a fleeting look at the counterpart of a mirror and kept walking --only to double back and stare at himself for a long while. Something was wrong… something was…

"Dear gods, what happened to my eyes!?" he mumbled amazed as he inspected his face and discovered he had a blue eye and a brown eye. "It looks like I'm missing a contact lens!"

He felt like hitting something. But it wasn't like he was unbelievably shocked. In fact, he saw it coming, no pun intended. He had awakened something in him and it tried to make itself just at home. And since he didn't understand much of it, he would have put up with these little annoyances.

I make it sound as if it's alive or something! he thought, angry with himself. It's my body and I'm the boss!

He blinked several times and both his eyes returned to the eerie blue he liked. Still, he sighed slightly annoyed, slightly worried. He continued to inspect his face and discovered a few lines that were there yesterday weren't there today.

If that power is making me stronger and changing my body, he considered sadly, who knows what could happen next…?

Feeling decidedly strange, he met with Xanatos, who insisted in another impromptu kempo match. He felt that his body was not an extension of himself, but something being moved by a remote control a thousand miles away.

So with this feeling of disconnection, Xanatos insisted to fight, even though he argued, "I don't think I'm feeling very well, sir."

"Then I'll go easy on you, ok?" Xanatos replied, then took an offensive position, "Get ready, here I come!"

It was clear to Owen that Xanatos meant to kick him, but he was shocked himself as to how quickly he avoided him, even after his boss made a 360 turn and cleverly tried to kick him again; something he avoided by merely ducking.

In fact, he managed to avoid every single attack his master launched until he tired himself out. "What's wrong?" he said, while trying to catch his breath, "Since when did you become so fast?!"

"I don't know." Owen replied, surprised with himself, "I think it has something to do with magic. I don't think it gets turned off even in this body."

"What's that supposed to mean? That the thing made you… I don't know… better?" Xanatos queried, still tired and bewildered --and annoyed he lost.

Unconsciously rubbing a side of his face, he replied, "It certainly begs the question as to how far it goes." He pondered it for a moment then said, "Excuse me, Mr. Xanatos. I'll be right back."

He marched out the gym without saying anything else. Xanatos, still a little peeved, immediately went behind him and followed him to the kitchen.

He saw Owen search through the kitchen and open drawers until he found a fairly big knife. He stared at it curiously and then he sliced his left palm without flinching.

"What do you think you're doing!?" Xanatos snapped as he instinctively grabbed a nearby towel.

"It hurts, but not as it's supposed to…" He replied absentmindedly, staring intently at his own blood.

"Gimme that!" Xanatos barked back and held Owen's hand forcefully, "Honestly! This is a deep cut! Next time you try to--" he trailed off. Yes, his cut still looked like a cut, but it wasn't the type of cut of someone that sliced it the way Owen did.

Perplexed, Xanatos bandaged it anyway, though it was clear he didn't need stitches… though he was sure that any other person would have needed lots of them, granted they didn't faint from the loss of blood that was supposed to happen.

In a few hours, he only had a faint scar, and Xanatos had a feeling that it would be gone by the same time tomorrow. "What does it mean?" he asked Owen.

"I'm not sure." he said inattentive, wandering, "Maybe that I'm not in Kansas anymore."

* * *

In an eerie sort of way, the rest of the day went rather normally. He still felt disconnected, but he was starting to get used to it rather quickly. It wasn't so bad, he realized, it's nothing worry about, anyway...

His boss looked more intrigued about it than he was. "Suppose you fall of a building," asked, "will you get killed?" Xanatos hadn't stopped asking inquires like those. Owen admitted they were clever questions, but he didn't know what to say.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "But I'm not about to try."

"Thank God." Xanatos sighed, "You're reckless enough as it is. You going to tell Maggie what happened?"

"No." Owen replied, "It's not that I'm dying or anything… I don't think it's important for her know."

Xanatos arched and eyebrow, "Not important? She is your wife. The least you could do is mention it to her."

The reason he didn't told Meg about the incident with the knife was because it would agitate her, and he didn't want that. Besides, Meg was somewhere with Fox at CyberBiotics, pestering Renard into selling the company to Xanatos so they could really become a 'big, happy family'.

It was nothing short of amazing that Renard wasn't dead yet. The tough old soldier was falling apart, yet he refused to give in. Last he heard of him, he'd spent several months in a hospital with pneumonia. It was almost incredible. Everyone thought he wouldn't make it pass Alex's first birthday.

And Alex was, what, seven years old already?

"Seven years and I didn't even notice…" he muttered, "Where does time go?" Seven years and he was married already. "That's right," he mumbled amazed, "I am married… it completely slipped out of my mind…"

It occurred to him that Meg had a right to know about the knife thing after all; and felt tempted to call her on the cell phone. Fox mentioned something about meeting with her father and Meg would probably be with her.

He was about to call her, but then realized he didn't know her number. He felt incredibly embarrassed about it. He should have her on speed-dial; for goodness' sake, she was his wife. Even Elisa was on his directory. Even Domino's Pizza Delivery was on the speed-dial, and he didn't have his wife's number?

Out of the pure guilt, he erased the pizza number. He felt rotten. I guess, he thought, I have been taking Meg out of the loop. So of course she's upset…

He just wondered just how deeply upset she was. She acted like a fierce creature every time she left something from a third person. But he wasn't sure if she was just doing it for show or if she really meant it…

It was simply that he didn't understand her sometimes. He was a long way of naming all the foods she liked, or flower that she appreciated. And he didn't understand those little things like anniversaries and birthdays. So what if he forgot about her birthday? It was just a date in the calendar…he didn't know his own birthday, and it didn't bother him a lot.

He sighed, because even though those sounded like good reasons, he wasn't entirely convinced about them. 'Sensibility', she called it…

…just another way of telling him, 'Please, pay attention to me.'

He suddenly felt really bad about it. What good is for her to have a powerful husband that can't remember a birthday…? he considered. He supposed that one of these days he would have to sit down and explain all she wanted to know. One of these days, anyway.

Maybe… maybe even today.

CHAPTER FOUR

~ Terror came from above ~

Lexington was trying to install the latest ICQ when he first heard it. He was in what could be considered as his room, with shelves full of magazines, CDs and various computer-related knick-knacks. He didn't have a bed, because that would be quite pointless, but he had a desk and a computer that took up much of the room's space.

Since he didn't want to be bothered, his door was closed. Somebody knocked and Lex tore his eyes of the computer to open it and…

"Hi," said a fairly big spider, with three other people that didn't look human at all, including a some sort of woman's ghost with a golden gag, a black haired guy that looked like an Indian, and young man with a black jacket. It didn't help that all of them were carrying shovels, pipes, and chains usually used to hurt people. "We're looking for the Puck so we can join his glorious crusade against Adrian the idiot. Have you seen him anywhere?"

The gargoyle, mute, pointed vaguely to his right, down the hall.

"Thanks. Cheerio!" said the spider; then his gang went on their way.

Lex gently closed the door…

* * *

Meg was greatly surprised when she found her husband waiting for her by the elevator. He was in the usual stand of when people dropped by to visit. And he had a bouquet of roses.

She looked at the roses, then at him. "What did you do now?" she asked, wary.

"What makes you think I did anything?" he replied, slightly offended, "You should learn to stop thinking the worst of me all the time."

Meg grunted softly and shot him a look. "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I bought you some nice roses?" he offered tentatively, "And I'm willing to go out for dinner at that restaurant you like and have a peaceful night for a change?"

Meg merely frowned ad said, "Why do I get this creepy feeling you're up to something?"

He sighed heavily and said, "Actually, I do have an ulterior motive. I just want you to know that I love you, and there's nothing else I want to do but to make you happy. But for the sake of our future happiness, I must---"

His speech was interrupted when somebody poked him in the shoulder. He saw Meg's expression turned terrifyingly deadly and spun around.

"Hey, man. After you're done with her, let's go to your gym and practice more magic for your big fight with Adrian." Coyote told him matter-of-factly with an iron pipe against his shoulder. "Then we can go get drunk at some strip club and light up some joints. You in?"

Coyote, Raven, Banshee and Anansi --the latter perched on Raven's shoulder-- just stood there waiting for a response.

"A-HA!" Maggie yelled at the top of her lungs, "You were buttering me up so you can plan your stupid fight and flirt with strippers! I hate you!" She grabbed the bouquet of roses and started to whack him with it.

"No, this is not what it looks like!" He yelled back, shrinking away from her hissy fit and trying to cover himself from her relentless attacks. "Help me, you imbeciles!" he yelled to his comrades.

The Banshee managed to pull Meg away from the hapless victim and Raven remarked, "Coyote! He's a married man! He can't go to strip joints!" He turned to Maggie and added with a sincere smile, "Don't worry, Mrs. Puck. We won't see the strippers out of respect for you…"

Maggie simply growled louder and tried to get away from Banshee, who said, "Boy, she's a strong little mortal!"

"Meg, darling! You don't understand! This is not what it looks like!" Owen pleaded to no avail.

Meg shook Banshee off and said dangerously low, "Oh, I see what's going on, alright. Go ahead, play with your little friends, see if I care!" Then she raised her mighty hand and slapped him, making him spin around and fall on Raven's arms.

Owen saw groovy patterns of colors flash through his eyes and a wobbling figure that looked like Banshee said, "How many fingers? Somebody look for a first-aid kit!"

Maggie departed in loud sobs and bumped into Xanatos, who had been attracted by the whole bickering. Xanatos turned back to see Owen lying in the floor with a nosebleed and ran towards him, "Now what happened?"

With a handkerchief Raven graciously provided, Owen pressed it against his nose and said, "I think I just destroyed my marriage…"

Xanatos shook his head and incredulously said, "Again?"

"Boy, she really got you good." Raven commented as he stooped next to him. "Should we get you an ice-pack?"

"Get away from me, Raven, this is all you people's fault!" Owen snapped and pulled himself up.

"Fine!" Anansi continued, "Walk around with a half-broken nose, insult your army, demoralize you men…"

Owen shot them all a freezing look and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked!" Coyote began, putting an arm around Owen and sounding like a used-car salesman. "It just happens that…"

* * *

When the tricksters finished their story, Owen merely stared at them with that angrily deranged way the Puck usually had. "Just when I think you guys can't sink any lower, you go ahead and surprise me again…"

"Don't be angry, Puck." Raven said, matter-of-factly, "We really had no other choice. They were putting you down! The public was beginning to join Adrian! We had to do something!"

"Did you had to hand out blue flyers with all of Adrian's crimes against Avalon and then fake my signature?"

It wasn't crimes, per se. It also included humiliating anecdotes, a list of everyone he ever had an affair with that included about twenty men, the fact that he slept with a teddy bear and an accident concerning the most valuable part of a man's body and a few jokes about it's size. And he hadn't read it completely yet.

It had for a tittle 'Puck's 95 Thesis' and according to the gang, they nailed a copy on Castle Avalon's front doors. They even bothered to fake Puck's signature for effect.

"This is outrageously unfair." Owen commented.

"Not to mention outrageously blasphemous." Xanatos added, still absorbed in the reading of the infamous document. "Ooh, boy… I bet he's completely pissed."

" 'Pissed' falls short, David Xanatos. We're talking angered beyond the limits of words." Raven replied, "Thank God I'm not Puck."

"Sure. Blame the Puck, who had nothing to do with the whole thing in the first place." Owen replied satirically.

"Which brings us to the other reason why we're here." Banshee continued as she made appear a shovel out of thin air. "As our leader and our living, walking, talking weapon, it is our job that all your senses are up and running the day of our glorious battle. And since the battle is dangerous close, we must work around the clock to ensure victory. That means we'll be working with you in an around-the-clock program designed to fine-tune your true potential, since it's come to our attention that you still feel unsure about your capabilities as our valiant leader."

"That's a lot of bullshit. Get to the point." Xanatos replied.

The tricksters began to take out all the weapons they had brought from home. "It means that to train the Puck, we must teach him in the heat of an actually battle…" Raven calmly continued.

"Oh, no…!" Owen said, terrorized, as he took a few steps back and hid behind Xanatos. "You don't understand! I can't fight Adrian if I'm already dead or missing a limb!"

"Hmm… he's got a point there. He can't fight if we break his legs…" Anansi thoughtfully commented.

"Actually," Xanatos unwisely remarked, "If you're healing almost instantly as Owen, why can't you do it as Puck?"

Everybody looked at Owen. "Is that true?"

"No, it isn't! It's a lie, a lie!"

"But your nose is all better…"

"David!" Owen exclaimed, unusually full of sentiment, ready to burst into tears, "What have I ever done to you!? Do you want me dead!?"

"Hmm. Xanatos has a point." Coyote admitted. "Thanks for the pointers, mortal."

"Yeah, thanks a lot, mortal." Owen snapped acidly.

Raven took out heavy iron chains and began to twirl them around. "Get ready, Puck. Ditch that mortal body and start running."

"Right now!? For the love of Heaven, give me a lead!" he pleaded.

The tricksters exchanged looks between them and shrugged. "Okay, okay…" Anansi said bored. "We'll start searching at the count to ten. Get ready." he closed his eyes and began, very slowly, "…One…two…three--"

The spider was cut short by the sound of Armani shoes bolting down the hall and running like there was no tomorrow.

"45678910! Get him!"

* * *

Even though ICQ had finished downloading, Lex remained locked in his room for another half-an-hour. He had tried to contact Goliath and the clan through the walkie-talkies, but he didn't receive a response.

Besides that odd apparition, nothing else had happened until he thought he heard Puck begging the gods to help him.

He dared open the door and saw a giant spider, as big as Goliath and a really, really ugly 6 foot monster with eight hairy legs, make its way down the hall. He halted when he saw the gargoyle. "Hi there again. Have you seen the Puck?"

Lex mutely pointed to the right.

"Thanks." said the spider.

He gently closed the door…

* * *

"This is not fair!" the Puck cried, as he flew down the hallway like a devil on fire, "Not fair, not fair! What did I do to deserve this!?"

Raven was hot on his trail and giggling like a madman while he was at it. "Don't run away! How are we going to fight if you keep running!?"

"Call me crazy, but that's the whole point!" Puck yelled back.

Puck dashed, ran, flew down the hallway, knocking over every vase and knight armor that happened to be in the way. Fox, who had so far been unaware of everything that was going on, dared to peek her cold-cream-plastered face out the door and only saw a blur leaving a trail of broken Ming vases in its wake.

He made it to the library and locked himself there. He flew to the window to discover that Xanatos must've activated the castle's defenses and the windows had iron shields. "Twenty years of service and this is how he repays me! I quit!"

He activated the intercom system, "David, if you're there, I just want red flowers in my funeral, to leave all my things to Meg and have the casket closed, 'cause I don't think I'll look pretty anymore…"

"Don't be dramatic!" Xanatos replied, obviously hearing him and probably safely locked somewhere in the castle, "Just get out there and get rid of those people!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you had kept your mouth closed!" Puck snapped.

"Look, those guys have a point! How else are you going to use your powers? I had to twist your arm just to get you in the gym! At least TRY to get rid of them by yourself!"

"By myself!? You're not gonna help!?"

"Adrian's your pet peeve, not mine. Best of luck!" he promptly hanged up.

"…and then he left me to die." Puck sighed angrily.

Raven, either attracted by the bickering or the scent of magic --probably the first-- burst the library's doors and yelled, "Heeeere, kitty, kitty, kitty…"

Puck ducked behind a long, tall bookcase and started biting his nails. Now what was he going to do? Raven starting to inspect all the aisles from right to left, and Puck just happened to be in the farthest one from the doors.

Magic being too risky, he went to all floors and tried to crawl to the exit. He felt like an idiot. He could try fighting, or at least floating out of the library. While he was pondering the question, he didn't notice Raven sneaking behind him.

"The Puck on his knees… this is quite a sight!" Raven smirked.

Puck turned to face him and Raven pressed a shotgun to his nose. Crossed-eyed, Puck looked at the gun then at Raven. "Do you want money? Because I have money!"

"You're under the impression I do this for personal satisfaction… well, I do, but I also do it because I care!" Raven replied, "The least you can do is defend yourself! Come on, what's the point of trying to kill you if you don't fight back?"

Still crossed-eyed, Puck said, "I'm sorry. I'm too frightened beyond the capacity of reason to answer that…"

Raven grunted and pulled the gun away. "You seem to forget that you're one of the most powerful beings in this earth, with or without Avalon's help. If you realized that, you could put an end to this chase very quickly."

"I know that! I've realized it! Can we stop now?"

Raven aimed the shotgun back to his nose. "I'm gonna count to ten now, and if you don't defend yourself, I'll really blow your head off!"

Puck gulped and said, "Ok, ok, I'll… dude… what's that?" he said, pointing behind Raven.

"What's what?" he said, turning his head.

Puck kicked him in the gut, and he staggered backwards. Grabbing the shotgun, he whacked Raven with it. Raven's eyes rolled all the way to the back and he slumped forward, semi-conscious, mumbling, "I'm a little teapot, short and spout…"

"Thanks for the speech! I'm feeling so inspired I could whack you all night!" Puck smirked, charged the weapon and got the hell away from the library.

* * *

The burst of courage didn't last long. Since he wasn't a believer of foolish chances, he played hide-and-seek with his would-be lynch mob. Still, he knew he had to get rid of them somehow.

Speaking of murder, he wondered where his wife was. Probably out there with the rest of the gang, grinding an ax by their side. It occurred to him to check out their room, and indeed, that's where she was. She had hanged a picture of their wedding in a wall and entertained herself by throwing darts at Owen's face.

Maybe it wasn't a good time to talk to her.

But she had noticed him first and said, "So. Are you done with your war games yet?"

"Not quite." he admitted unsure, "First of all, they're not my war games. It's all their fault! And second, I didn't mean to get you upset. And I admit this is getting ridiculous."

She snorted and replied, "Whatever happened to your glorious 'quest'?" she sneered. "One little problem and you're bailing out like that?"

"Don't twist my words around! This is not what I wanted!"

"Oh, really?" she said viciously, "How else are you going to be 'complete'? Xanatos is right --you do need to learn the hard way."

She smirked, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hey, Meg…" he stuttered terrified, "what are you gonna do…?"

"HEY, GUYS! PUCK'S RIGHT HERE! COME AND GET HIM!" she yelled at the top of his lungs, in an extremely high-pinch sort of way, which some janitors said they heard it a few stories down.

He immediately felt them locking onto him. Wide-eyed, he barked, "Why did you do that for!?"

"Just helping you on your 'quest', darling." she sassed back, and added, "QUICK, HE'S GETTING AWAY!"

In a fit of rage, he snapped the shotgun in half and said, low and icily, "I'm gonna get you for this, sweetie." he snarled and escaped their room.

* * *

Naturally upset because of that betrayal, Puck wasn't thinking when he made reached the main throne room, out in the open.

The rest of the tricksters immediately appeared --all but Raven, who was still having a bad trip while laying face down on the library. A 6-foot Anansi that took over much of the throne room's space was overshadowing Banshee and Coyote, armed with a shovel and a pipe each.

Before Puck knew it, they were surrounding him. Still upset, Puck snarled and said harshly, "I'm not in the mood for games anymore! This has gone far enough!"

"Gee, a little thing like this and you're already giving up?" Banshee taunted, "What kind of hero are you?"

"The lousy sort!" he insolently yelled back. "I don't know why I'm even bothering with this! Everything was fine until Adrian screwed it up! Hell, I'm not even doing it for Adrian!"

"Then who are you doing this for?" Coyote asked mischievously. He tilted his head just a little and smiled, "Oh, I see. You're doing this for the wife, who just doesn't get it."

Unconsciously, Puck turned a light shade of red, "That's stupid. Why would I even bother with her? I'm the boss here, aren't I?"

"I'm not an expert or anything," Anansi continued, "But you should do this for yourself. I mean, if you can't take care of yourself, how can you take care of a wife?"

Puck grunted and crossed his arms, "Such a pretty speech. Are you cheering me up merely to make me battle dear Adrian?"

"Eh, a little of column A, a little of column B…all in a day's work" Anansi shrugged.

"Which brings us back to the motive of our visit…" Coyote said as he twirled an iron pipe, "The good news is that you've mastered the art of running away. The bad news is that it wasn't the point."

"Are you going to beat me up?" Puck shyly asked.

"Yes." the tricksters said in unison.

He had two options, running away or making a stand. He tried the easy one first and bolted once more through the castle's dark pathways.

He made it to the courtyard, where the gargoyles usually hanged, but they were on patrol. Naturally, they weren't here when he needed them. The rest of his comrades were hot on his trail. In the desperate move of desperation, he hid in a nearby trash can.

So it's come to this, he thought, …a trash can…

The rest of the tricksters spilt up to look for him and Puck sighed in the momentary relief, but he almost choked on the nauseous smell.

"I can't go on like this!" he exclaimed. He could hardly belief it. This was It. This was rock bottom. "Look at me! I'm hiding in a trashcan, for goodness sake!"

He groaned and wanted to die. Still, he didn't feel like going out there to save his pride. Something was always tying him down. He just needed a reason to fight.

Then he remembered Meg's incredulous gaze…

"That little monster! She'd probably laugh till she choked if this ever came out…" he mumbled acidly. "So much for sensibility, eh, Meg?"

Inspiration came from an unexpected source. He clenched his fist and whispered, "I'm gonna prove them wrong. I'm prove her wrong!"

He got out of the trashcan and went out to the open field. The first and most obvious figure was Anansi in his 6ft form. The spider turned around long enough to see Puck coming straight at him.

"Smile, baby, the Puck's finally awake!"

* * *

Elsewhere in the city, Goliath was beating up a burglar when he noticed fireworks back at Wyvern. "What sort of sorcery is that?"

Elsewhere in the city, Xanatos was in a small coffee shop with his wife and son, eating some snacks while waiting for Puck's 'training' to be over so they could return to the castle. "How long do you think it's going to take?" Fox inquired, still upset.

Then they all noticed the green light coming from the castle and three figures departing like comets from the building. "Judging from that spectacle," Xanatos replied, "I'd say it's officially over."

"Bye-bye birdies!" Alex yelled to the three comets, while waving away with his chubby hands.

CHAPTER FIVE

~ Tomorrow's going to be a lovely day ~

Meg refused to wipe off the cynical look. "I don't think it's such a big deal." she said, sitting quiet elegantly with both her legs and arms crossed. "And you shouldn't think it's important either."

"Oh, Meg, Meg, Meg… poor rancorous little Meg…" Owen Burnett teased, "You're just upset because I won."

The damage was considerable and Xanatos was thanking his lucky stars it happened in the yard, not inside the castle. The green grass had been burned and was now little more than ashes. A nearby wall was about to topple over and a staircase had gone missing.

The place where Anansi had been standing was still burnt into the ground. Xanatos seriously doubted grass would ever grow there again. And Raven was found in the library, wondering what had happened. He mumbled a quick good-bye and was gone.

They had found Puck taking a nap in his office. When woken, he mumbled, "Are we there yet?" and staggered back to his bedroom to finish sleeping.

The next morning, sometime after the repairing crews started working, Owen Burnett dignified everyone with his presence in the gargoyle common and explained what happened with details. "This is as good as it gets." he said, "And I think it's pretty good after all."

"Perfect timing too." Xanatos added, "Because this battle is tomorrow night."

"So are the fireworks from last night the limits of your power or is there more?" Fox questioned.

"There's a lot more, yes…" he replied, "but what I'm happy with myself. I'm not completely powerless, but I'm not all-powerful either. Nothing in excess, I think."

"He's finished his quest, whoo-pee-doo." Meg mumbled to herself, while staring away from him.

Owen turned sharply and asked, "What did you say?"

"Uh-oh. Let's get out of here, Fox." Xanatos mumbled to his wife and the duo slithered away from the common room.

"Nothing, darling," Meg replied, with a little fake smile, "It's just that I'm glad you finally did what you set out to do. Good for you!"

"Is that sarcasm I detect in your voice?" he said coldly amused.

"Ooh, heaven forbid that I complain…!" She retorted, "I'm just the dumb mortal. Why should I care my husband does stuff behind my back and I'm always the last to know…"

"I can't believe it… I did it for us!" he retorted, "You complained that you didn't know me very well, but how could I begin to explain it if I wasn't sure myself? And now I know. I know myself and what I can and can't do."

"But you neglected to tell me, Owen!" she finally declared, "I would've been happy if you would've just told me and let me help you in your stupid 'quest'!"

He was about to say something, but then forgot what it was. "I did told you!" he said feebly, "It's not like you could've helped…"

"Ok, I admit I don't know any magic to help," She immediately replied, "But you could've kept me informed! What's that about a knife I overheard Xanatos talking about!?"

"Oh." he mumbled. "Just forget it. It doesn't concern you…"

"It does concern me, ok!? I'm married to you, remember? You know, the wedding, the priest, the guy with the ax…?" she counted with her fingers while giving him that look…

"It's not a big deal." he continued idly, "It's my life and I should do whatever I want!"

Meg's eyes widened and she looked ready to choke him to death. But then she calmed down. "Fine. It's none of my business. None of my goddamned business. That's what you always say. Well, I'm making it my business. It's my damn right to make it my business!"

Owen merely grunted. "If you wanted to know, why didn't you mention it before…?" he asked, very softly.

"I told you every single day, only you never noticed!" she shrieked enraged, "Insensible prick!"

She slapped him for the second time that week, pushed him out of her way and marched right out of the common room.

He rubbed his jaw and muttered, "That didn't hurt…"

And he hadn't noticed how upset Meg had become that week. He had had a hint only, but like the slap, it was merely a faint tingle. And it all but faded in five minutes.

But the memory of her words did not faded for a second, even though Meg made sure to get lost for the rest of the day. Considering it was such a big castle, finding her was a task. Fox delivered a message from her, "Meg told me to tell you to drop dead."

That Coyote showed up once more did not aid his cause. He appeared again by sunset and he was alone. It was then that he noticed one more thing: that Coyote had learned to respect him. Even fear him.

"What did you told the guys in Avalon?" the Puck asked him.

"That the rumors were true." Coyote replied, with wary admiration, "You are something else…" he looked at him, "I hope I didn't offend you with that."

"No, not at all." Puck sighed.

Coyote left rather quickly, and Puck knew that was a sign something had changed. Coyote feared him. The rest of the tricksters were probably terrified. He had the feeling he had screwed up something very important. But he didn't know what.

That night, Meg went straight to bed and completely ignored him. He tried communicating, but she said, "We'll talk tomorrow, Puck darling…"

He guessed she had gotten over it, because she called him 'darling' instead of the more appropriate 'bastard'. Maybe things hadn't gotten as screwed up as he thought.

"You know," he said tentatively, "I don't expect you to like the idea of the rendezvous with Adrian…or even understand it…"

She groaned…

"But it would be nice if you just pretended you're happy for me…"

She turned to face him. "And why is that?" she inquired intrigued, "I thought I heard you it's none of my business."

"First of, I never said that, you did. And second --yes, it is your business too. I just keep forgetting. And your opinion does matter to me --even if I don't show it. And about that thing about not understanding… well, it's very difficult to explain. You just have to trust me when I say I'm doing the right thing."

She arched an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that!" he said, "Now what?"

"Nothing" she said with a little smile, "It's just that I'm surprised that my opinion matters in the first place…"

"Of course it does!" he complained, "I do care if you hate something or not. I do care, even if I don't tell you often enough."

She looked at him, then melted into a cheerful laugh. She laughed for awhile, while Puck stared at her befuddled. "What?" he asked warily.

She stopped giggling and said, "To think all the troubles you could've avoided from me," she replied, "If you had only said that before!"

Her statement left him confused for awhile. Was that what Meg wanted to hear? Why didn't he figure it out before? It was so simple and he hadn't figured it out in all this time.

But he didn't mention it to Meg.

"It's just that I sometimes think that you don't really know me at all… you forget birthdays and anniversaries… heck, I thought you didn't have my cell number…"

"Don't be silly," Puck replied, suddenly uncomfortable, "Why… I've always had your number… heh…"

"And I get so angry when I have to sneak around to see what you're up to. I'd just wish you'd tell me about it. Let me in, you know." she sighed, "I don't really know what happened in your past… but I guess it's ok if you don't want to talk about it. But always know I'll be right here waiting for you, all right…?"

"Yeah…" he said softly, "You have no idea how much I appreciate you…"

He spent most of that night just watching her sleep. Boy, he thought, with a very perturbed expression, I'm not insensible… just incredibly brain-dead!

* * *

After the most agitated two weeks of his existence, the day of the battle he was allowed to sleep until noon, to try to make up the lost hours of sleep. Sprawled all over the bed in an odd position, the pillow by his feet, an arm over the edge of the bed, and his hair standing on ends, the first thing he saw was Meg's face once more.

"Are you going to battle Adrian or are you going to sleep all day?" she asked with a cocky smile.

Yawning loudly, Puck asked, "What time is it?"

"Around noon. The guys thought you should sleep all you can…"

"Hmm…" he grumbled, "That's nice. I'll be up in five minutes…"

He didn't show any further signs for life until around six pm. Meg attempted to wake him up, but he simply mumbled 'five more minutes', turned away and continued sleeping.

"Our big hero is still sleeping…" Meg commented to Xanatos.

"We're doomed." he replied.

He got up just about when the sun began to set. He looked out the window and said, "Huh. It's still night. Five more minutes would be nice…" and curled up in the sheets.

He started drifting away when Meg charged into the room. "Wake up, darling! It's time to get ready!"

"Don't be foolish, Maggie…" he mumbled back, "The battle's at sunset…"

"It is sunset, you idiot!" she snapped back, "And you're gonna be late!"

His eyes were wide as he read the numbers of his alarm clock, "Dammit, I'm gonna be late for my own battle! Why didn't you wake me up before!?"

He hurried to dress up, put on his boots, brush his teeth and, if possible, do it all below five minutes. Perhaps eating something was out of his schedule. Just when he was about to charge out of his bedroom, Meg began, "Darling, I think there's something you should know…"

"Not, now, Meg, can't you see I'm gonna be late? I--" he opened the door and the two hundred people that were waiting for him began to scream his name. He clutched to Maggie and asked, "Where did these people come from!?

From what he could tell, half of Avalon's inhabitants had been waiting for him right outside his bedroom. Some of them had put up camping tents in the main hall and a few others had settled up their barbecues and were roasting hot-dogs when he came up.

The instant he appeared, they all screamed their lungs out and started whooping. Some of them got out banners reading lots of things, 'You the man!' --- 'Kill, kill!' --- 'I wanna have your baby!'

"Ahem…" Meg continued, "They call themselves your 'fan-club'…"

"I didn't know so many people could fit in the castle!" Puck exclaimed.

"They don't." Meg replied, "There are more out in the yard. Some of them are collecting the burnt dirt from yesterday's huh-hah and saying it has 'healing properties'."

Puck hid his face and started to whimper, "Ohboyohboyohboy…"

With the fey still whooping and cheering loudly, jumping around and breaking stuff, Xanatos worked his way through the crowd, complete with exo-suit, yelling, "Security, security, get out of the way! You brake it, you buy it!"

He continued to kick people out of his way, with Goliath behind him, grumbling as usual. "You!" Xanatos pointed accusingly at Puck, "This is all your fault! Get these people outta here! Feels like the premier of Star Wars!"

Puck, completely ignoring him and the so-called 'fans', returned to the bedroom with a worried face and sat on the bed. "This is baaaad…"

Goliath and Xanatos struggled to close his door against the whooping fans, "What tipped you off, Sherlock?" the millionaire mumbled.

"Don't you see?" Puck continued, "They're praising me like…like I'm an idol singer or something…! They'll be giving virgin sacrifices next!"

"Those poor virgins." Meg commented.

Goliath growled softly and said, "Will you people stop those stupid jokes and do something about the mob out that door? They won't listen to the clan. Broadway asked them to leave the kitchen, but they pointed at him and laughed!"

Puck sighed and lay on his bed staring upwards, "They're praising me like a god… I don't want to be god… I want to hang out and get drunk!" he ran his fingers through his hair, "They're all afraid of me, aren't they?" he sighed even more deeply, turned to his right side and curled in a ball. "I don't want them to fear me… I just want to be one of the guys…"

Goliath, having heard his appeal, thoughtfully crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Tell me," he began after a moment of silence, "If Adrian wins, he'll get your post, right? He would leave you alone for all time, and he would be praised like the fey that defeated the Puck, giving him what he always wanted, respect…"

"But if Puck wins," Meg interrupted and continued, "Adrian would never give up, then Puck will be praised like a god or something…something he never wanted…" A devious thought crossed her mind, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Puck," Goliath said, with power and authority, "For the sake of everyone here, you must lose this match!"

Puck blinked startled and gasped, "You can't possibly----after all I've gone through? It doesn't make sense!"

"I think it's simply brilliant!" Xanatos spoke up excited, "I couldn't think of a better idea! By losing, you win." He grinned cocky and added, "Unless you want a fan-club and candles lighted in your honor…"

"But--but--but--" Puck stuttered in shock. He shook his head and grunted in desperation, "It's not fair!"

"It's going to work!" Meg cheered on, putting an arm gently around his, "The god Puck's debut and departure. Everybody would leave you alone."

"How is it going to work?" Puck replied acidly, as he gave the trio one of his cold, Owen-like looks, "Didn't you read the flyer? It's a fight to the death!"

Xanatos snapped his fingers in realization and exclaimed, "I knew I was forgetting something…!"

"That's for real? I thought it was a metaphor." Goliath added, slightly disturbed. "Well, can you play dead?"

"I don't know, Goliath, I've never died before!" Puck replied.

"You're gonna have to!" Xanatos argued, "That, or talk sense into Adrian!"

"Speaking about Adrian," Meg interrupted once more, "Aren't we awfully late for the big event?"

Puck stared at his alarm clock and yelled, "Shit, we're half an hour late!"

* * *

He had to be sneaked out the window, because the rest of Avalon's kin had covered all the other exits.

It was not a task for people with flying capabilities; Goliath had his wings, Xanatos had his exo-suit and Puck had his magic. But Maggie had to stay behind, under the excuse that somebody had to feed the BS to the crowd.

But before Xanatos and the employee took the air and after Maggie went on her way, millionaire grabbed Puck by the shoulder. "If Owen Burnett falls off a building, will he die?"

"What? I don't understand--" Puck halted and looked at him, "Maybe. I don't know if magic can restore that much damage."

"What are you two talking about?" Goliath inquired, annoyed and lightly intrigued at the confidential tone they used.

Puck turned to Goliath and said, "Happens whatever happens down there, you and the clan are not to interfere! Be sure to keep Meg out of this! She wouldn't understand, I-"

Puck stopped himself. He was doing it again. He groaned softly and added, "I'll explain it to her. Fill him in on the details, Xanatos, I have a date with destiny…"

Goliath shot Xanatos a questioning look. "Let's go, Goliath," the millionaire replied, "It's a long story…"

CHAPTER SIX

~ Heroes' dubious victories ~

Puck honestly didn't understand how so many people got Oberon's permits to come and watch the ridiculous battle, but they were there, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Adrian was already waiting for him, and he was unusually elegant with a long, emerald cape that contrasted with his fiery red hair. He was trying not to look too annoyed with many posters in the crowd favoring the Puck, or the fact that everyone yelled like maniacs the minute they saw him.

The opponents stood facing each other in a small clearing smack-dab in Central Park, and somehow the crowd made sure to make the whole battle invisible, much of the bewilderment of midnight joggers and muggers that couldn't tell where the cheering was coming from.

With a plan he wasn't particularly fond of, Puck decided to go ahead anyway. It wasn't like he had a lot of choices.

Putting on his best cheerful face, Puck yelled, "Another day, another annoyance. Speaking of annoyances, how's life been treating you, dear Adrian?"

"You took your sweet time getting here." Adrian sneered at him.

"Call it a dramatic entrance." Puck replied, crossing his arms.

"Two weeks and you've already brainwashed them into your side?" Adrian questioned hotly as he gestured to the crowd booing him.

He shrugged, "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."

Adrian walked up to him, and like a gentleman, he slapped him with a white glove he was carrying around. "What was that all about?" Puck questioned, rubbing the side of his face.

"I just challenged you properly!" Adrian replied, "Do you accept it? Or do you run away?"

"Sure!" Puck replied, popping a glove out of nowhere ---one of the gloves of Xanatos' ancient iron knights that were adorning all the halls at Wyvern--- and inelegantly whacked Adrian with it, sending spiraling to the floor. "I accept you challenge!" he said, tossing the iron glove aside.

Adrian, on his knees, adjusted his jaw while jabbering something about Puck dying a horrible death. 'Oooh', 'Aaah' said the crowd.

* * *

Elsewhere, miraculously able of seeing the battle, the gargoyle clan flew in circles around Central Park. Lexington, armed with high-powered binoculars, stared down at the site and informed his rookery brothers of the battle. "Hmm…I think Puck just broke the guy's jaw with an iron glove…"

"How about space? Somewhere we can watch the battle from?" Angela questioned as she glided by his side.

"Nope. Everything's full." Lex replied.

"See! I told you we should've gotten here earlier! Now we're gonna be stuck in the general public!" Brooklyn whined and grumbled. "It's your fault, Broadway!"

Broadway, carrying several bags of fresh popcorn, replied, "Ungrateful jerk, I did this for the clan! I don't think they sell refreshments down there!"

Hudson, a few meters behind them and carrying Bronx in his arms, mumbled, "New York. So many people, not a single parkin' space."

"Wait!" Lex interrupted, "I think I see Goliath and the others!"

They landed next to their leader, who was accompanied by his rich ex-nemesis and his whole family, not to mention the possible future window.

"What the hell is that?" Meg mumbled when he saw Broadway and the popcorn.

"Thought you guys might be hungry and brought a few things…" he replied.

"How can you think of food at a time like this?" Fox scolded with Alex in her arms, "Well, as long as it's here, fork it over. Does the popcorn have butter?"

Meg chose to ignore them, then yanked Lexington's binoculars off his neck. Focusing on a very distant Puck, she sighed, "Darling, what are you up to now?"

* * *

Coyote and Raven struggled against the crowd, the latter with a hot dog, nachos with cheese and a large Coke. "Over here!" Banshee called to them as she waved; Anansi was on her shoulder.

They all huddled together and started sharing the nachos. "What did we miss?" Raven asked as he slurped his Coke.

"I think they're finally gonna get it on." Anansi replied, "Pass the nachos, please."

It wasn't long before the scenery stopped spinning for Adrian and he got serious. Tossing his long green cape, he took a defensive position and yelled, "Get ready!"

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Puck questioned, "You will have my post if you just walk away right now… but I can't guarantee it if you do battle me…"

"You know what? You can take your pity and shove it up your ass! I'm sick of being treated like a second place! I'm tired being the filler for Oberon!" Adrian yelled back. "I'm going to prove myself!"

Puck snorted and replied, "Great time you picked to make your stand…" He pointed an accusing finger at Adrian and said, "As the one being challenged here, if I win, it's my right to kill you or just let you go on your loser way. Be nice, and I just might have the pity to take you out of your misery."

"If I defeat you, I'll make sure you die!"

"Now, now, don't make promises you can't keep. Besides, there are worst fates than death, you know!" Puck replied.

A kareoke machine appeared behind Puck, connected to a microphone he held in his hands. He turned to the public, stood atop the kareoke and a spotlight illuminated him, "This was heard while Adrian was sleeping: 'Oberon, make me your love slave! Oh, baby! Yes! Yes!' "

"Youlittlesonofabitchyou'regoingtoDIE!" Enraged, Adrian let out a battle cry in a very Viking sort of way and charged at him. It wasn't like he had a plan, he merely wanted to reach Puck and hurt him a lot.

Puck just a step to the right and Adrian landed in the mud. Puck stooped next to him and said, "I don't want to hurt you, but I'm not above humiliating you."

"Oooh, Aaah' said the crowd.

Adrian got up to his feet and shook off the mud. Snarling louder than Goliath on a bad hair night, he approached Puck and growled, "Who do you think I am?!"

"I don't think you wanna know." Puck retorted with a wry grin.

The public was at the edge of their seats, but there was something Coyote thought that wasn't right. "Why toy with him when he can blast him the same way he blasted us? He's just… pissing him off…" Coyote's eyes darkened, "What are you up to, cousin?"

Then the real battle started. Enraged, Adrian gathered his energy and yelled, "Plants and trees of this cursed city, wake up now and smite the wicked!"

Weeds began to form around Puck's legs, designed to hold him down. Puck took a deep breath and his eyelids fluttered. He was very still. "This curse I now return to you threefold," he said, in a very monotone way.

The weeds from Puck's legs returned to the earth and reappeared around Adrian's, but in greater quantity, covering him up to the waist. Adrian shrieked in panic, but said, "I won't give up so easily!" and tried to burn the weeds the best he could.

"You should give up, Adrian." Puck replied calmly, "How bad do you want to win? Tell me."

"It's all I've ever wanted! I'd do anything!" Adrian barked, "I want to be respected, I want to be praised!"

"Even if it means killing me? Would you go that far?" Puck replied, "Don't say anything yet. I want you to think about it."

"Yes," Adrian responded, taking out a long rapier and holding onto it forcefully, "specially you! Always strutting your stuff and showing off! God, I hate you! I wish you dead more than anything!"

Puck gave him a devious smile and said, "Good. I was hoping you'd say that."

* * *

"Puck, aren't you supposed to be out there?" Meg had told him when he popped out of nowhere.

The fans were beginning to move out of the castle, heading to Central Park to watch the 'great battle'. He sneaked back unnoticed and with a bit of aid from magic, he avoided the screaming girls begging for autographs.

"Let's go!" Puck pulled Maggie into a closet and took a peek outside to make sure no one had spotted him. He closed it gently, sighed and turned to Maggie. "Ok…how do I begin?" he clutched her shoulders and looked down at the floor, then at her, "I'm gonna die for Adrian, ok?"

Maggie looked at him funny and said, "…O…kay…"

"And I don't want you to be scared!"

She stared at him bewildered and shrugged. "Ok. I won't be scared."

"You don't understand!" he replied. He stuttered incoherently and moved his hands a lot, "I'm scared!"

Disbelieving, she asked, "Well, why?"

"Because!" he began. He ran out of words and laughed. He pulled away and shook his head, "Three times looking for death and when I don't want to, it comes. Isn't irony grand?" He laughed again, but in a more saddened manner. "I know I'm not making any sense."

"No, you're not." Meg replied with an arched eyebrow.

"What I mean to say is…!" he started again, "What I mean to say…I…" he mumbled incoherently and eventually gave up.

He simply hurried up to hug her, startling her. She hugged him back, not really understanding, not really caring to understand. "Its ok, darling. Whatever you have to do, go ahead and do it. I'll be right there next to you."

* * *

Coyote couldn't help but feel his cousin had something up his sleeve. "Why doesn't he blast him?" he wondered quietly as he stared intently at the battle. "He's up to something, alright…"

Every spell Adrian tried, Puck returned to him three times more powerful. That wasn't an easy task, but Coyote was sure Puck could've done better than that. Not that it wasn't amusing to see.

"Great Mozart, lend me your instruments!" Adrian yelled, a bit too punch drunk already. He was wobbling from right to left and seeing purple dots in the air.

A piano appeared hovering above Puck. Puck crossed smirked and said, "Well, you all heard him!"

The piano disappeared and reappeared above Adrian, along with twenty more orchestra instruments, like trumpets, violins, cellos and a whole battery just because. Then they all landed on him.

Adrian was standing in the middle of a garbage heap because, desperate that he hadn't gotten results; he got in the habit of summoning stuff to try to crush Puck. But the magic backfired thanks to his enemy; he asked for a microwave to hit Puck, but he got buried with a fridge instead. Wanted to run him over with a Toyota and got hit with a Ford in return.

"Boy, talk about a good ass-whooping." Raven commented, "He's so dizzy he just keeps going and going. Look at him. Reduced to throw pianos and foreign cars."

"Why doesn't he take Adrian out of his misery? What is Puck up to?" Coyote questioned.

Even though Adrian probably had a concussion that would leave anyone else with little to live, he continued struggling and fighting the best way he knew how, and getting angrier and angrier.

"You know, I'm never going to die if you keep losing, Adrian." Puck told him with a wry grin, "Hurry up and kill me!"

"Sheesh, you'd think you want to die! Then stop doing that thing you do!" Adrian called as he adjusted his back.

Puck sighed and mumbled, "I think it's time to begin the last act…"

He turned to Adrian and yelled, "You know what? You're no challenge to me! Let's face it… I'm an all-powerful god while you're the temp secretary! I've got more power in my pinky finger than seven Adrians put in line! I call this match officially over!"

Everyone started cheering while neat puffs of smoke came out Adrian's ears. Puck, meanwhile, bowed to the public and bashed in glory, while Adrian was forgotten in the mud.

Adrian looked up at him, and found he had reverted into the blond Owen Burnett, and with arms crossed, he said, "Even as a mere mortal, I'm more powerful than you." And in the ultimate act of contempt, he turned his back to him and began to walk away.

Adrian let out a guttural grunt and smiled to himself. Yes, he was humiliated, but the Puck shouldn't have let his guard down. He stood up and took out his rapier. It began to blow a soft shade of green and got a fair deal longer and stronger. It began to turn into a glowing green spear.

He let out a savage shriek and he threw it at Owen with all his might. "You're wide open!"

Everybody noticed at the same time and they all screamed at him to move out of the way at the same time, in a perfect unison only the fey could achieve. They were too slow.

Owen had a second to turn around before a spear of green light crossed his chest and went through him. It was so fast that even Coyote, who had been so attentive to Adrian's every move, didn't notice.

He didn't even scream. His glasses flew off and he seemed to try to regain his balance, but he tripped over his own feet and fell lying down on the ground.

But that wasn't the worse part. The spear grew bigger and bigger as it headed towards the crowd. "Uh-oh" said the crowd.

Anansi, munching on the nachos, had a second to seek cover as the spear headed straight to where the tricksters sat. The crowd gave a collective shriek, got up and tried to run away; they looked like an anthill under attack by insecticide.

Adrian melted into a triumphant smile and let out a maniacal war cry, to then start laughing and giggling and hopping on one foot. He went crazy and started throwing fireballs. The spectators surrounding them were the unlucky victims. In the distress, the fey crowd started to crash among themselves like Bumper Cars in the fair.

Raven grabbed all the popcorn bags he could find and headed for the hills. Anansi had a close call with death when Anubius almost stepped on him. Banshee had a bunch of opportunist cousins try to grab her ass and she had a hard time slapping each and every one of them.

Banshee's slapping gave way to a free-for-all in which old hatreds were discovered and old scores would be settled in a good old fashion brawl. A brawl with over two hundred people ducking it out for no reason, but a brawl nonetheless.

"Let's move people!" David Xanatos cried.

* * *

Goliath and Xanatos, working in unison for a change, started to work their way through the crowd; Maggie close behind them. The savage crowd of crazed feys attacked the rest of the clan. "Go ahead, guys! We'll cover you!" Brooklyn yelled to Goliath, while he broke somebody's jaw.

With the young gargoyles already busy, the trio was left to their devices. Apparently, the disorder was just an excuse to start grabbing women's chests and Meg would've been one of the victims, hadn't Goliath come to her defense. "You should've stayed with Fox!" he said.

"Not while Puck's still out there!" she yelled back.

They had a hard time avoiding the deranged feys, never mind the blasts of energy Adrian was releasing in his happy dance, that only served to add to the confusion.

They found him still lying down on the field. "Owen, you did it!" Xanatos said as he crouched next to him. He turned him around and stopped smiling. "Owen…"

He didn't appear to be breathing. Adrian's spear had burnt his chest, and there was a black charred mark in his clothes and body to show for it. The millionaire shook him around and Owen's eyes didn't open.

"He's not dead." Meg immediately said, "It's impossible. I've seen how powerful he is, he couldn't--- the power to heal, Xanatos, he told me, he ---well, are you just going to stand there or are you calling an ambulance!?"

Xanatos blinked and mumbled, "Sure…" he took out his cell phone, "Fox, we need you here now!"

"Come on, Owen, wake up for me!" Meg mumbled as she started to lightly slap him around, "Wake up! You're not going out like this!" then added, "Well, I guess it takes time, I mean, it was a pretty damn long spear, I mean, it's not like he will automatically can wake up, I mean… where is the damn car!?"

"It's ok…" Xanatos replied, already collecting himself, "You're right, it does take awhile, I'm sure he'll be fine…"

Goliath checked his pulse and said, "I assure you he lives, but we cannot push our luck. We need to get him out of here and into an hospital---"

Goliath felt a chill down his spine when a slippery voice said, "He's not going anywhere." He turned around to see Adrian point the green spear at his chest. "I think it's time for the Puck's eternal nap." he sneered, "Don't interrupt now…"

Xanatos got up to his feet with intentions of attacking him, but Adrian already took the precaution of gluing him down and place an iron gag on his mouth. "No more smart-assed comments!"

Meg did not leave his side for a second, and Adrian had to kick her out of his way. He gestured to the lifeless doll sprawled in the ground. and yelled in an unusually loud voice: "Hear ye, hear ye, Avalon's kindred! The Puck is at the brink of death!" he grinned, "So deal with it!"

Amongst the insane, order and silence ruled as they stopped choking each other long enough to pay attention. They gasped and began to mumble among themselves, pointing at the broken marionette Puck had become. The looks among them ranged from incredulous to bewildered.

The crowds parted as he approached the lifeless doll, for the fey had learned to fear him, and immediately got out of the way. Adrian loved every minute of it. The Weird Sisters reluctantly let him through, Lady of the Lake dared not look at him and even the mighty Odin took a few steps back.

Adrian looked down at him and said, "Well… all's well that ends well, that's what I always say…but this healing…" he looked at Maggie and added, "You won't mind if I keep him, right? Keepsakes?"

He vanished with the body before anyone could say anything. The fey looked at each other bewildered and began to mumble again. The mortals were no more useful.

And in Maggie, something broke in two.

CHAPTER SEVEN

~ The Angry Chihuahua ~

"God! You are dead weight!" Adrian grunted to himself and continued to pull him through the forest.

It was a cute place he had found over a hundred years ago. A forest around a deep, deep lake that remained frozen through most of the year. They were in the heat season, though, at it was only a mere 30 degrees Celsius.

"I suppose I could just dump you in the North Pole, but that would be a tad too extreme…" he commented to the load, "or one of Santa's obnoxious elves could find you and then what am I gonna do?"

Grabbing him by the shoulders, Adrian hauled him to the shore of the lake and dumped him in the sand. Adrian rearranged his clothes and told him, "Jimmy Hoffa is in the bottom of the lake too. Maybe you two could get together and play poker. Heh!"

He looked at that pale imitation of his foe and sighed, "You know what your problem was? Overconfidence! Turning back on me like that…what were you thinking? Ah, well. Spoiled milk. Time to arrange your little bath. I can still hear your heartbeat. If the water doesn't take care of it, the cold will…"

Two pairs of handcuffs and an iron ball with a chain. "The old 'ball and chain.' Ha! Cliché, yes, but still effective." Owen didn't laugh. Adrian gave him a look and added, "Well… I supposed it's all the same to you anyway…."

* * *

The box was at the other side of the room.

'Room' wasn't the word. It was merely a void. A big, large void. It was black and very voidly-like. The ground existed merely because he imagined it. Otherwise, it was a run-of-the-mill void place.

Suddenly, someone shone a flashlight in his face, "Get that thing off my eyes! Sheesh!"

"Oh, sorry!" Coyote appeared and turned off the flashlight, "It's just that's so dark here…"

Puck blinked and looked around the big, voidly-like void. He seemed confused. He couldn't remember where he was or how he got there. The last thing he saw was a green spear cross his chest then… nothing.

He looked at Coyote and said, "Where are we? What am I doing here? Where's Meg? What the hell just happened!?"

"Well," Coyote began to explain, "first of all, that plan of yours worked. Because you meant it to happen, didn't you? You wanted him to hurt you, right?"

Puck couldn't help but smile, "How'd you guess?"

Coyote shrugged, "Because you didn't blast him when you could. But why?… Oh, wait!" he grinned and said, "And you did it so we thought of you just as a plain old fey, didn't you?"

Puck nodded and sighed, "Did it work?"

"Yeah. Nobody thought they could defeat you as a mortal. If you planned to play dead, it didn't work, we could still hear your heartbeat; but you just mortally hurt your popularity. You had become Frank Sinatra, Puck… but now… Just look at you! You're a Spice Girl! All jiggle and no substance!"

Across the room, the box jumped. It was a rather small box too, around the size of a toaster. It was settled on a chair and it was wrapped in a happy birthday gift-wrap. It had a red bow and a tag spelling, 'For you.' It seemed to be half-opened, but not much. Something violently shook inside.

"What the hell is that?" Coyote asked surprised.

Puck looked at the distant box and said, "Those are my true powers. They're stuck in there until I open the box and embrace them." He sighed heavily, saddened, "It's like a bomb… ready to blow up if I touch it…"

"Or an angry Chihuahua struggling to get out." Coyote added absentmindedly. Puck shot him a look he didn't seem to acknowledge. "Like the Taco Bell dog, only nastier…"

"Why do I even bother…?" Puck mumbled, then scoffed. "Well, at least I finished what I set out to do. I must be unconscious in an hospital, right?"

"You are unconscious… but not in an hospital." Coyote explained, "Adrian stole your body and took it away. Last I checked, he took you to a lake near the Canadian border, because he knew you were still alive. Puck, I think he plans to drown you!"

"What?" he snapped exasperated, "What are you waiting for!? Hurry up and save me!"

"I can't! Once the show was over, Oberon hauled all our asses back to Avalon. I can't even warn your clan…!"

Puck began to pace and cry, "Now what am I going to do? I'm unconscious and in a bad shape. I can't take Adrian like this! God, I need a cell phone!"

"Forget about it. Use the Chihuahua, Luke!" Coyote replied as he pointed at the jumping box.

"You don't know what you're asking," Puck replied indignated, "That Chihuahua will bite my head off!" he sighed and shook his head. "I can do this. I did this with my normal magic and I can do it again."

"But why bother when you have the box! A nice collar, a toy bone, some dog food and you're all set!" Coyote argued, "Just use it and get over it!"

"But it's not what Maggie wants!" he whined loudly. "She wants someone that remembers birthdays and gives gifts and stuff!" he grunted to himself and said, "Someone that has her on speed-dial at the very least…and all the Chihuahuas in the world won't make me remember an anniversary…"

Coyote just stared at him in sheer astonishment. "Wow…" he said, his voice filled with awe, "You'd be willing to give up an angry Chihuahua's power for the love of a woman…?" he asked.

Puck allowed himself to smile proudly.

"…You're more housebroken than I thought…" the Coyote added, then he made a mocking whipping sound.

Puck stopped smiling. Clutching his fists he said between teeth, "Just help me wake up, Coyote…!"

"Chances are you won't make it." Coyote said neutrally. "Not in your condition. Owen will die and you'll die with him."

"If I don't make it, then I don't make it." Puck replied, "And I'd be worried if Owen couldn't die. That would be a tragedy."

Coyote looked at him sternly. But then he laughed lightly. "Boy…you're my favorite person right now. Stubborn as a mule and twice as stupid. But still…" he smiled and said, "So you wanna wake up. Ooookay. It's your damn body, be far from me to stop you from doing an horrible mistake…"

"No…" Puck replied, "Just staying here and having your face be the last thing I see before I die, now that's an horrible mistake…"

* * *

When he woke up, Adrian was busy dragging him through the snow by his feet, making him bump his head with all sorts sharp rocks.

It was a gray day in the lake area, and it looked as if it were about to rain or snow again. The clouds filled the sky and the snow gave the setting an eerie feeling of calm. There were snow filled mountains far, far away. All the pine trees were covered in snow. Everything was covered in snow. It looked beautiful.

It took him awhile to focus, but he immediately noticed it was some sort of forest near a lake. It was cold, very cold. His hands hurt and his toes were freezing. But what hurt most was the burn on his chest. He could hardly breathe and the cold didn't help.

Owen could feel his heart slowing down. He guessed that answered Xanatos' question. No, if Adrian threw him off a building in top-notch shape, he would never make it. And if he threw him at a freezing lake in that lousy condition, he'd be dead in five minutes. Not that he was in a hurry to test that theory…

Adrian continued to haul him next to a small wooden boat. "Step right up, ladies and gentlemen," he joked to himself, "Adrian's boat ride is about to start!"

"You don't mind if decline, right?" Owen managed to sneer.

Adrian dropped his feet and said annoyed, "Great. You're still alive." he kicked him in the gut and added viciously, "I'll fix that soon enough!"

Though he noticed he was handcuffed, Adrian still hadn't tied up his legs. He kicked him in the side and jumped to his feet, even though it was agonizing to move.

"The doll still has some spark!" Adrian taunted, "You'd think your battery would've run out already in that wretched body, Puck." He took out his green spear again.

"What are you going to do, Adrian?" Owen replied coldly. "You think I'll let you hit me with that thing again? What is stopping me from changing to Puck and finally finishing you off?"

"Then hurry and change, so we can finish this!"

Breathing heavily, Owen replied, "I won't. I'm not going to waste my time any further. Oh, you could kill me right now, but it'll be only because I allowed it. And that, I think, would be the ultimate act of condescension from my part." he smirked and said, "Still want to kill me? Should I die out of pity for you?"

Adrian charged his green spear and fired a green blast at him, something Owen barely managed to skip; inwardly, he had to thank Xanatos for his impromptu lessons. But even ducking took a lot out of him, and he fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Ditch that mortal body and fight, Puck!" Adrian warned, "Have you lost your pride? Come on, change!"

"My…'pride'…" he said between gasps, "…it's still here…and because I don't want to lose it…" he took a deep breath, "…I won't sink as low as to humor you…"

Adrian merely whacked him in the back with his green spear and continued, "Change, dammit! Don't you dare look down on me! Face me like an equal, not a wind-up doll! Face me!"

"If I change, you'll die…" Owen said morbidly.

"If you don't, I'll kill you!"

"Then do it!" he snapped, "Hurry up and do it! Hit me! If it makes you shut up once and for all, hit me again! I'd rather be dead than hear your pathetic whining ringing in my ears for the rest of eternity. But you'll kill me merely because I allowed it!" Owen turned a fair deal more sultry and said seductively, "And you'll still be second best. Go ahead and do it. Come on, I dare you! You'll always lose and I'll always win. Why? Because nobody likes you, Adrian. You'd probably set a mass suicide in Avalon if you become Oberon's servant. Be a man and accept that even though you may defeat me, nobody's going to like you. You're not a Prom King, you're the geek at beverages."

And Owen Burnett, master of the art of looking like the biggest jerk alive, sat straight, crossed his arms the best way he could while still handcuffed, and gave Adrian a look. "So…" he said, taking the upper hand for a moment, "What do you have to say for yourself, young man?"

Adrian started stuttering incoherently, and the best he could come up with was, "You… stupid…boy!"

Owen wanted to smirk. Yeah, he had a feeling Adrian would shut up is somebody louder than he put him down. Still with that smug look on the face, Owen added, "Come now, don't blubber… you're not worthy to even look at me! Get out of my presence before I get angry…!"

Now that was a long shot, considering Owen was the one handcuffed, cold and in badly need of medical attention. But Adrian seemed to buy it.

"You were always such a bully, Puck!" he said between sobs, "Walking over other people's feelings!"

"Boo-hoo." he replied neutrally.

In a fit of rage, Adrian whacked him again in the back, making Owen fall to the ground. But then he snapped his spear in two and tossed it at Owen's feet. "Insolent little creep." Adrian growled, "Have it your way! But I'll return someday, and I'll demand my battle!"

He smiled menacingly at Adrian. "I thought I told you to leave! Haven't made myself clear?"

Adrian growled like a savage gorilla and snapped, "Screw you, doll!" Then he stumped his feet on the ground and the snow of a nearby tree landed on him.

He struggled to get out of the mountain of snow and looked at Owen with eyes ablaze, "You meant that to happen!"

"I told you I wouldn't sink low…" Owen replied smugly as he looked away.

The rest of the snow fell on him, with the snow of the neighboring trees, effectively burying him alive. Owen could hear him gag under the mountain. "Not too low…" he mumbled.

Adrian growled and eventually got out, ready to leave. "Have fun getting home. You would've been better off in the middle of the lake with Jimmy Hoffa. He's lonely down there." Then he vanished into the mist…

After making sure Adrian was gone for good, he got up. Staggering slightly, he stood watching over the lake for a long time. The back didn't hurt as much as before, even though he had a nosebleed. That was too close for his tastes, but at least he pulled it off. "And I didn't need the Chihuahua…" he chuckled.

He could've taken care of Adrian rather easily, but what was the point? He finally saw him for what he really was; a man dedicated to the cult of defects. He couldn't waste his time of people that didn't love themselves. Adrian was not an enemy, he was a poor victim of his own mind. It was tragic. But amusing to give a good tongue-lashing.

He needed to call Maggie. She would be glad he was alive, and would probably run to his arms… run to hit him with a baseball bat, since she was probably worried to death and extremely angry. And then he'd have to deal with Xanatos, who was capable of billing him for the repairs his 'fan-club' made in the castle.

"…then he's going to make me call every contractor in the city for the rest of the week…and Maggie is going to hate me for awhile…right after she wished I really died."

He suddenly didn't want to go home yet. But that certainly begged the question about how he was going to get back to New York when he did feel like it.

"Jimmy Hoffa's lake? But nobody knows where they buried Hoffa…" he looked around confused and snapped, "Where the hell am I…?"

EPILOGUE

" …and on other news, Jimmy Hoffa's body was just found in a lake near the Canadian border after almost 25 years missing…" Travis Marshall's dull voice reported at the eleven o'clock news some days later.

"Oh, darling, I'm so proud of you!" Meg told her husband as she cuddled him her arms, "You defeated Adrian and you've solved one of the 20^th century's biggest mysteries…!"

"Oh, don't squeeze me so hard," Owen complained, "My chest still hurts…"

Celebrating Puck's victory… or rather… 'negotiation' with Adrian the fey, peace and quiet returned to Wyvern… right after Maggie gave him a piece of her mind. She laughed, slapped him, cried and then laughed some more. Then slapped him again.

Anyway, things got as calmed as they were going to get, all this considered. But the worst part was now over. Sure, the mystical battle on Central Park had baffled the authorities, but soon it would be forgotten, like the stories about a missing night, or that time everyone fell asleep or… well, the point is that it was over.

Coyote returned for the last time, bringing some interesting news. "Adrian's not gonna be Oberon's second after all. He turned down the post."

"That idiot." Owen replied, "Still dreaming about a glorious battle…?"

"No, not at all." Coyote responded, "He just ate three buckets of Buffalo wings, watched a Jerry Springer marathon, pouted and went to bed. What did you do to him? He's never looked so sad…"

Owen arched an eyebrow and smirked, "Really?"

"I also took the care of 'explaining' your situation for our kin. I think they finally understand that you're not a god after all. It took some convincing, though. I think two or three people starting a church…and then there are those bags of fan mail… wanna have 'em?"

"No, thank you!" He hurried to add, "You just get those stupid ideas off their heads…and have a good time."

" 'Til we meet again?" Coyote asked.

" 'Til we meet again!" Owen laughed.

Coyote was gone, to not return in some of time. Matters settled in Avalon, there was no need to return to Earth. Just as well. There was nothing to look for here anymore.

Owen looked at Meg and said, "Before I forget… I just want to say I'm sorry. You know. For being a jerk, getting you worried and all that. And for all the things I hid from you all this time. I just want to make it up to you."

"Don't worry, Owen. You're here and you're alive. That's all that ever mattered." She held him close and whispered, "Just having you here is a reward by itself. I don't want anything material. Just you."

"Actually," Owen had the imprudence of adding, "I was thinking of something along the lines of a trip to Las Vegas… I have the two plane tickets right here, but if you don't wanna--"

She grabbed the tickets and pushed him away. "A trip to Las Vegas?!" she squealed as she held onto the tickets, "I love Las Vegas!" Meg cheerfully, but strongly slammed Owen in the back and said, "Come on, babe! Let's go look for Elvis!"

Then she stood and ran to the closet, "What am I gonna wear? What am I gonna wear…?" while Owen, clutching his chest in pain and gasping for air, was writhing in agony on the floor…

FIN

Author's note: Fluff, but a charming piece of fluff nonetheless. No morals, no ideals… just fluff. Special thanks for all those proofreaders, who go above and beyond the call of duty. Email me at [email protected] for comments or money donations. I could use the extra bucks, you know…