"Hope"
by Lisette:  Lisette_1@lycos.com

Created on: 08/22/99

Revised on: 11/17/01

Legalese: Nothing here is of my own creation.  Goliath and his crew belong to Buena Vista and Disney.  The characters of Talika, Lisette, and Caleb on the other hand, are of the author's creation and should not be used without her express permission.  In no way will a profit be made from this.

Author's Note: This story is the ninth part of the Talika series. 

Brief summary: Hope is the one thing that everyone needs -- something that most can't live without and the one thing that someone will sell their soul for.

Rating: PG-13 due to language and content

"Please," Caleb pleaded as he fell to his knees before his savior... his master.  "I know that you have the power to bring her back to me!  Please, help me to do this," he begged to the only being that he would ever beg to.  "I'm not complete without her," he murmured as his bright blue eyes filled with unshed tears.

Sighing, the being slowly reclined into the shadows and pondered the protector's request.  The man was very powerful, and while Caleb owed a favor, it wanted more... it wanted to control the power that the protector possessed.  "I do have the power to return her to you... but what will you give me in return?"

Sighing quietly Caleb hunched lower.  He knew what his savior asked of him.  Though his soul begged him for Light, he had embraced the Darkness for too long now.  Without his savior, the Dark Matter that the witch had buried into his chest would have killed him for eternity.  And this was his final step in the descent.  "I swear my loyalty to you for eternity if you will bring her back to me."

At the man's words, a wicked smile formed on its lips.  "For your eternal loyalty, I shall restore Hope to your life."

Castle Wyvern

Stifling his yawn, Goliath slowly stretched his massive wings as he greeted the new night.  Smiling, he looked down and watched as his daughter joined Broadway and Brooklyn on the parapet, their voices lost on the wind as Lisette in gargoyle form joined them a moment later.  As one, the group then dove off into the dark night sky, obviously eager to get their patrol started.  Shaking his head, he idly wondered if the patrol team had anything to do with their enthusiasm.  He believed so, which was why he had assigned the four to patrol together before sunrise that morning.

"What?  Aren't you even going to kiss me good evening?" a playful voice called out from behind him.

His smile only grew as Goliath turned and hopped down from the parapet, his dark eyes brightened with love.  "There will always be a kiss waiting for you," Goliath murmured as he took Elisa into his arms and kissed her lightly.

"Hmmm," Elisa sighed as she snuggled into his warm embrace.  "Now that's more like it."

Smiling softly, Goliath relished in the feeling of her small body wrapped in his arms for a moment more before brushing a soft kiss against her raven locks.  "I was not expecting you this evening... I thought you were working," he murmured as she smiled impishly at him, her eyes twinkling.

"I am -- Matt's waiting down in the car," she said, laughing slightly at Goliath's bemused expression.  "I wanted to catch you before you went patrolling with Lex to make sure that we're still on for dinner tomorrow night at my place," she explained quickly.

"I wouldn't miss it," was Goliath's immediate rumbled reply as he gently caressed her soft cheek with his hand.  "Angela and Lisette are planning on doing something just the two of them while the trio goes out on patrol..."

"So you're all mine?" Elisa interrupted with a wicked grin.

"All yours," Goliath confirmed with twinkling eyes.  He liked it when Elisa got that look in her eyes, for it always meant that it would be a night to remember.

As the cool night wind carried the gargoyles high over the bustling city, the conversation was lively and animated.  From movies, to memories, to gossip of the clan, the talking was incessant as their eyes constantly roamed the streets below, scanning for trouble.  And then, the group slowly became aware of a strange pounding as the conversation died away.

"What is that?" Angela asked with wide eyes as she followed the sound down to a squat building nestled among others.  Curious, she glided down until she was settled on the roof of a building across the street.  With wide eyes, she watched as dozens of humans her own age milled outside of the building before being admitted by a large and intimidating man that stood before the sole door.  Each time the heavy wood swung open to admit more men and women the booming became louder as strange flashing and colored lights could be seen from within.

"It's music from the nightclub," Brooklyn replied as he, Broadway, and Lisette landed behind the gargess.  Only Lisette's pale blue face mirrored Angela's wide-eyed amazement.

"What is a... night... club?" Lisette asked, her eyes trained on all of the people, so obviously filled with happiness and excitement.

"It's a place where younger humans go to dance and have fun," Broadway explained slowly, not understanding what so fascinated the girls.

"Dancing?" Angela whispered softly, her eyes bright.  "Why, Princess Katherine and the Magus taught my rookery brothers, sisters, and I how to dance!"

"For some reason, I doubt that it's the same kind of dancing!" Brooklyn laughed, punching Broadway lightly as they burst out laughing.

Nodding his head, Broadway quickly wiped away his tears of laughter.  "Can you just imagine these two at one of these?" he added.  "They would stick out like a sore talon!" he cried, laughing and completely missing the miffed look that flashed across the girls' faces.

"And why is that?" Lisette asked indignantly as she straightened her shoulders and stood tall beside her friend, sensing that the dark-haired gargess shared her growing anger.

Noticing this, Broadway quickly tried to signal his unobservant rookery brother to stop before he unknowingly made matters worse -- all to no avail.  Cringing, he watched as the anger burned in their eyes as Brooklyn pounded in the final nail into their shared coffin.

"Well, if you ignore the whole being a gargoyle aspect," Brooklyn answered with a grin, missing Broadway's frantic signals, "there's still the fact that you two are the most innocent and naive people I know!  You'd just get... into... trouble..." Brooklyn trailed off as he finally noticed his love's anger.  "Uh oh," he mumbled, instantly contrite and wishing he could take back his thoughtless words.

"Well, I think that I have heard just about enough!" Angela fumed, her large eyes glowing red in fury.

"Come Angela," Lisette added, her own eyes glowing green, "let us finish the patrol on our own."

"Yes," Angela agreed as she turned her back to her love and followed her friend to the edge of the roof, "we would not want to cause these worldly gargoyles any trouble with our naiveté!" she called out as the two gargesses launched themselves into the night sky, their bodies rigid with anger.

"Whoops... we really blew that one," Brooklyn groaned as his love disappeared from sight into the dark night.

Sighing, Broadway slowly shook his head.  "You could say that again," he muttered as he turned to his brother.  "Well, do we go after them?"

Pausing, Brooklyn slowly shook his head.  "Nah, let's let them cool off for awhile first," he suggested as he turned and walked to the other end of the roof and launched himself into the night air in the opposite direction Angela and Lisette had gone.

"Good idea," Broadway muttered as he quickly followed.  An angry gargess was the last thing he ever wanted to face if given the choice.  Doing such a thing just wasn't beneficial to a gargoyle's health.

Stretching his stiff back, he slowly looked out over the bustling city, Manhattan at its best.  Smiling, he took in a large lungful of air... and quickly coughed it back out as the smog caused his chest to constrict painfully.  Smiling wryly, he realized that no matter how grimy New York City got, the Alps would always be a good place for healing and recuperating but it would never beat home.  It was good to be home.

Castle Wyvern

Sighing, Lisette slowly laid back on her large bed and glared up at the dark canopy.  The night had been a long one of constant patrolling, both too stubborn and angry to go back and face their loves.  Now, with sunrise only a few minutes away, Lisette found herself regretting some of her anger.  "We are not naive," she grumbled as she propped herself on her elbows and glanced across the room at Angela who stood quietly on her balcony, the morning breeze ruffling her long brown braid.

"What do you suppose that nightclub is like?" Angela asked as she turned her wistful brown eyes to her friend.  Smiling softly, she watched as the look of anger and sadness on her friend's kind face was instantly replaced by a look of wonder.

"Oh, it must be amazing!" Lisette whispered as Angela crossed the room and lay beside her friend on the large bed.  "If the humans go there willingly then it must be wonderful!"

Sighing, Angela couldn't help but agree with her friend as her eyes traced the pattern on the canopy above.  Something fun... it just seemed so unfair that she could never try or enjoy something that was so enjoyable for others.  "I wish that we could go to this nightclub -- just once to see what it is like," Angela whispered, her expression saddened by the thought that she'd never be able to make her wish come true.

Lisette, on the other hand, brightened considerably upon hearing her friend's quiet words as she quickly sat up and turned to her friend, her face flushed with excitement.  "Why do we not both go to this nightclub tonight?" she asked eagerly as Angela slowly sat up as well.

Smiling a small smile that she didn't quite feel, the gargess slowly shook her head, her brown braid slapping against her shoulders.  "The boys, oddly enough, did have one good point: I am a gargoyle.  I could not enter into a human establishment..."

"But I could turn you into a human!" Lisette interrupted quickly, her eyes shining as she jumped off of her bed and pulled Angela to her feet.  "Puck was bragging about how he turned all of the humans in Manhattan into gargoyles and vice versa for the clan and then he taught Alex and I the spell!!"

"Really?" Angela gasped in amazement.  The idea of being human, even if only for a night, was so mind boggling that it was beyond her.  Yet, at the same time, the idea was strangely alluring.

"Yes, I think so," Lisette gasped as she glanced at the rising sun.  "But if you want to do this then we must hurry!  I should cast the spell just as you are encased in stone so that you will still get your stone sleep."

Turning, Angela regarded the rising sun and felt a brief moment of indecision.  "Do it," she finally decided as she got down on one knee and draped her wings over her shoulders in preparation for stone sleep.

Nodding, Lisette didn't waste time on words as she quickly focused on the powerful energies swirling within her.  "Um... thy sight myself doth offend?... so.... Lisette will hasten to amend," Lisette murmured, stumbling over the words as she realized just how inappropriate they were for the time.  Ignoring Angela's bemused expression, she quickly continued.  "Angela, gargoyle born, be no more as you were formed!"  As the final words were cast, the magic quickly coalesced into a powerful shield of green that encircled the surprised gargess just as she was sealed in her stone sleep, showing no change.

And then, with the spell complete, Lisette felt the drain of the powerful magic as she stumbled to her large bed.  "Oh là là," she moaned, fully realizing for the first time how powerful and draining the innocent spell had been as the world dimmed around her and as she fell into a deep sleep.

As the sun peeked over the horizon, Brooklyn and Broadway spread their wings and took on ferocious poses.  "They're really mad," Brooklyn muttered between bared fangs.

"Yeah, let's hope they're over it by..." Broadway broke off as the bright sun finally made an appearance, sealing them both in stone for the day.

Elisa's apartment

Humming softly to herself, Elisa turned away from the pan of sizzling chicken on the stove before her to regard the setting sun.  Smiling, she quickly turned away and hurried over to the large pot of boiling fettuccine noodles.  Suddenly, a cold feeling slithered up her spine, stopping her in her tracks -- something was not right about the coming evening.  But then, just as quickly as the feeling had appeared it was gone again.  Puzzled, Elisa quickly shook the thought from her mind as she went to check on the bubbling alfredo sauce, its garlicky smell tempting her taste buds even as thoughts of Goliath warmed her heart.

"I warn you now, Protector," the being murmured as it glared at Caleb's eager form.  "Bringing Hope back into your life will not be easy and it will take some time."

"I understand," Caleb murmured as he tried to contain his impatience.  Sighing, he turned away from his savior as it began the process.  For Hope, he would do anything -- even sell his eternal soul into darkness.

Castle Wyvern

Sensing that sunset was drawing close, Lisette slowly opened her heavy eyes as the last traces of her deep sleep drifted away.  Yawning, she then crawled off of her large bed and glanced down distastefully at her rumpled dress.  Shrugging her shoulders, she then turned and rested her eyes on Angela's stone form.  Even as a statue, the young gargess radiated a feeling of excitement; excitement that soon became contagious as Lisette eagerly watched the sun set.

And then the moment was upon her as Angela's stone skin began to crack.  Grinning widely, Lisette watched in wide-eyed amazement as the layer of stone suddenly burst out in a flash of bright light, laughing gaily as the sharp stone particles clattered against her and to the floor, revealing the young woman within.  "Angela, we did it!" Lisette cried out happily as she clapped her hands together excitedly and admired her handiwork.  "You're beautiful," she murmured as the young woman standing before her indeed was.  With soft, creamy skin and a clear complexion, long and soft brown hair secured in a loose braid that haloed her face, and sparking brown eyes over rosy lips, Angela was indeed an enchanting figure.  Plus, with a curvy and vivacious figure that the American culture seemed to worship, Lisette knew that she would be a hit.

"I'm a human?" Angela gasped in amazement as she stared down at her pinkish-beige five-fingered hands.  Shaking her head, Angela quickly stumbled into her friend's large bathroom and admired her new body.  Despite all of the changes that had been made, her same brown eyes stared back at her.  Suddenly, a large smile curved her lips as she turned back to her friend.  "Now what?" she asked, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Now we get ready!" Lisette cried out with a matching smile as she pulled her friend to her large armoire which was overflowing with clothing.  The two were about the same size, Angela being a little more curvaceous, meaning that the bundles of clothing Fox had bought for her would work for Angela as well.

"I think that I am going to enjoy this!" was Angela's immediate reply.

Parapets

Yawning, Brooklyn shook the dusty stone particles from his long white hair as he hopped down from his perch.  Instantly memories of the events of the previous night flooded his mind.  Groaning, the brick-red gargoyle realized that his love wasn't waiting for him to awaken, which meant that...

"They must still be mad at us," Broadway groaned as he stepped beside his rookery brother, trying his best to ignore Lexington's snickering at their plight.

Shaking his head, Brooklyn winced at his friend's words -- he had been thinking the same thing.  "But Lisette can usually never stay mad for that long," Brooklyn mumbled as Hudson shook his head with a smile and headed into the castle.

"Angela either," Broadway mumbled morosely.

Laughing, Lexington quickly shook his head.  "Well, don't you think that now would be a good time to apologize and beg for their forgiveness?" he asked, his dark eyes twinkling, having heard about the couples' falling out the night before.

Sighing, Brooklyn slowly nodded his head in agreement.  "Come on Broadway," he muttered as he began trudging for the castle, "let's go humble ourselves before them and get this over with..."

Groaning, Broadway was about to agree when Goliath thudded to the stones behind him.  "And where are you two going?" he rumbled, one eye ridge raising as he awaited an answer.

"To talk to..." Brooklyn trailed off as Goliath curtly shook his head.

"Later," he interrupted.  "I want you three to get moving on your patrol."

"But..." Broadway began before Goliath cut him off as well.

"Now," Goliath ordered as he turned and stepped onto the parapet.  "I will be at Elisa's if you need me," he added before diving off into the cool night.

Sighing, Brooklyn slowly met Broadway's eyes as they turned away from the castle and stepped slowly onto the parapets.  "Apologize after patrol?" he asked as they both dove off into the sky, Lexington's laughter ringing out around them.

Stretching his wings, his dark eyes slowly roved lovingly over his city, like a soft lover's caress.  "Tonight, I shall see what changes the humans have made to my city in the few years I have been away," he murmured as he dove off of the roof of his new home and into the cool night sky.  It truly was great to be home.

Castle Wyvern

Smiling, Lisette and Angela admired their handiwork in the tall, full length mirror in her bathroom.  "How do we look?" Angela asked critically as she nervously smoothed the new clothing.  After a lengthy debate, the gargess-turned-human had finally decided on a pair of black leather pants that fit her like a glove, easily showing off her curves and long legs.  On top she wore a soft white cotton halter top that ended above her bare stomach with thin spaghetti straps.  With her long brown hair fastened back in her traditional braid, a few small wisps framing her face, a simple silver chain with a moon pendant around her neck, a dainty silver bracelet on her wrist, and black ankle boots her outfit was complete.

"According to those magazines, we look perfect," Lisette answered as she admired her own lean form.  After much debate the young mage had finally decided on a simple black dress with thin straps that hugged her slim curves and ended mid-thigh with two slits up each side allowing room for movement.  Over the top she wore a gauzy, white long sleeve shirt that she left undone.  To complete the outfit she wore a black choker, her pale blond hair hanging loose over her shoulders and down her back and small, strappy sandals.  Since both girls had great complexions, the only make-up that they wore was a small bit of lip gloss, only adding to their natural beauty.

Grinning, Angela quickly met Lisette's bright blue eyes that sparkled with excitement in the mirror.  "Shall we go then?" she asked as she played absently with the end of her long braid, her nervous smile growing.

"Let's!" Lisette agreed as she quickly raised her arms above her head.  A second later they disappeared in a bright flash of green light.

Elisa's apartment

Shaking his head, Goliath couldn't help the small smile that lifted his lips as he landed gently on the balcony area outside of Elisa's large bank of windows.  Before him sat a patio table covered in a heavy white table cloth with gleaming white dishes set for two.  As the soft violin strains of Pachelbel's Canon in D drifted around him, Goliath stepped closer to the table and saw that a steaming pot and covered basket that wafted delicious scents sat amidst two candles whose flames danced upon two crystal glasses filled with sparkling champagne.  Smiling, he gently lifted one of the delicate glasses by the stem and sniffed the contents.

"You've never had alcohol before, let alone champagne, have you?" a soft, yet achingly familiar voice asked from behind him.

Turning, Goliath felt his reply freeze in his mouth as he drank in the sight before him.  Elisa looked like some sort of exotic goddess with her silky black hair trailing down her back, her eyes sparkling... and wearing a floor-length slinky red dress with simple spaghetti straps in a material that clung to her body and showed off her every curve.  He was positive that he had never seen the dress -- it was simply one that couldn't be forgotten.  Actually, Goliath was convinced that the dress was probably on the police's most wanted list in some states as being a lethal weapon.  Elisa not only looked beautiful and gorgeous, for the words were no longer quite right, but instead stunning and ravishing.  With that thought, Goliath finally managed to close his gaping mouth, which no doubt had been hanging open for the last few minutes as Elisa relished in his feverish stare.  "Uh, no," Goliath finally murmured, wondering briefly at his higher than usual voice.  "No," he repeated, getting his voice down to normal levels, "I do not believe so."

Laughing, Elisa finished off the distance between them in three long strides, revealing a long slit up one leg in the process.  "Good," she murmured as she reached up and kissed him lightly, his hands playing with her glossy hair.  "That means that it'll take even less time to get you drunk so that I can take advantage of you," she murmured in a low and husky voice as her eyes sparkled with laughter as she pulled away and slipped into the soft chair opposite of his.

Smiling wryly, Goliath took his seat and watched in amused silence as Elisa began uncovering the feast that she had prepared.  Instantly, his nose was assaulted with a multitude of tantalizing scents that caused his mouth to water and his stomach to rumble quietly.

"I hope that you like chicken fettuccine alfredo," Elisa said with a smile, her musical voice dancing over the Italian words and blending with their favorite classical song.

"It certainly smells as though I will," Goliath replied as he accepted a steaming breadstick that was smothered in a rich and creamy garlic butter.  Smiling, Goliath knew that the night would be as good as the food promised to be.

Over Manhattan

Brooklyn could easily feel the difference between the patrol this night and the one from the night before.  At first Lexington had tried to involve he and Broadway in conversation, but as the wind whistled in between the tall buildings, it quickly became apparent that conversation was a lost cause.  But Brooklyn couldn't help it -- his thoughts were too focused on Lisette and his thoughtless words from the night before.  Inherently he knew that if either of the even-tempered girls had been angered alone then the results would have been less drastic.  But together, Angela and Lisette only fueled each other's anger, adding to he and Broadway's predicament.

Suddenly, a bright flash of green light from an alley below broke the young second from his thoughts.  Surprised, he noted that they were right over the night club from the night before as he turned to his rookery brothers.  Seeing that they had seen the flash as well, Brooklyn quickly led the way down to a roof that overlooked the alley to investigate.

What he saw below surprised him to the point that he almost fell off of the roof.  "Lisette?!" he gasped, trying to close his mouth at her short skirt and the two slits that showed off her shapely legs.  And then his eyes moved on to the girl that was sauntering towards the nightclub with Lisette.. and felt his eyes bug out even further.  "ANGELA?!?" he cried out at the same time as Broadway and Lex.

"She.. she's human!" Broadway gasped, taking in his love's new appearance.  Gulping, he realized that even as a human with no wings and tail, his love was stunning with a figure that made his heart pound and his mouth go dry.

"We gotta stop them," Brooklyn croaked as he grabbed Broadway's blue arm.

Nodding quickly, he was about to agree when Lexington burst out laughing.  "What's so funny?" Broadway growled, his eyes flaring as he turned to glare at the small green gargoyle.

Unimpressed, Lexington quickly shook his head.  "You should've seen the looks on your faces!" he laughed.

"This isn't funny!" Broadway quickly snapped.  "Angela and Lisette are too naïve and trusting to be doing something like this!  They could get hurt!"

"And you don't think that we were just like them when we got here?" Lex quickly bit back, his mind wandering back to his own experience with the Pack.  "We had to figure it out for ourselves!"

"Yeah, and look at all the trouble that we got into..." Broadway trailed off.

"And got out of..."

"This time it's different," Brooklyn finally interrupted.  "We were gargoyles and scared off most of the humans and those we didn't we could handle.  They both look human and no one would be afraid of them."

Sighing, Lexington could see their point and frowned when he turned back to the girls.  "Well, it's too late now," he muttered as he pointed at the two who were busy mingling with the humans.  "It would be bad for the PR for a gargoyle to be seen kidnapping two humans."

Groaning, Brooklyn slowly hunched down and watched his love through slitted eyes.  "Then we stay here and make sure that they get back to the castle alright."

Laughing, Angela and Lisette made their way through the thick crowd towards the burly man that guarded the front door.  Already the excitement was high as the music pulsed around them, the young humans chattering aimlessly.  Occasionally a word was exchanged and the two young women noticed more than a few appreciative looks from the guys.  And then they were standing before the massive guard, his large muscles bulging beneath his tight tee-shirt.  Gulping, Lisette realized that she had never seen such a large human in her life!  He even managed to make the mighty Romans look like saplings!

"Ten bucks a piece," the man said, nodding at the girls with his arms crossed over his chest in a no-nonsense manner.

"Ten... bucks?" Lisette asked blankly before catching sight of the wad of five and ten dollar bills that the man clutched in one large fist.  "Oh, ten DOLLARS!" Lisette cried with a large smile.  Turning, she quickly glanced into Angela's worried eyes.  "Do you have twenty... bucks?" she asked, winking at her friend.

"Uh... yes I do?" Angela asked, confusion briefly marring her features as Lisette quickly reached out and gripped her hand tightly.  A second later, Angela felt her hand begin to tickle as a bright green light seeped between their clasped hands.  Understanding, she watched as her mage friend withdrew a crisp twenty dollar bill.

"Thank you mon amie!" Lisette cried with a bright smile, turning back to the man.  Grinning broadly she handed the bill to him.  "For the both of us, monsieur," she stated as she grabbed Angela's hand and pulled her through the door... and then stopped in her tracks.  "Qu'est-ce que c'est..."

Angela had much the same reaction as the music became so loud that she could feel the lively beat moving within her.  To her left she saw a long counter that stretched along the wall with numerous men and women working behind it, mixing and passing out drinks to customers.  Before them stretched a cluster of tables, all hidden under the cover of darkness.  But beyond that... that was what truly caught her attention.

Taking up the majority of the rather small building was a dance floor that was packed with humans, all hidden under the cover of darkness save for a strange flickering white light that made all of the dancers look as though they were moving in a strange and disjointed fashion.  Being too loud to speak, Angela caught her friend's excited eyes and nodded to the dance floor.

Instead of replying, though, Lisette quickly grabbed Angela's hand and began pulling her through the cluster of humans till they were both standing on the crowded dance floor.  And then they lost themselves to the pulsing music as the powerful beat consumed them.

Sighing softly, the Being, Caleb's savior, leaned weakly back into its throne as it regarded the protector through steeped fingers.  "It's done," it murmured, its eyes glittering in the dark light.  "Your Hope has been restored to where she belongs."

"But," Caleb gasped in confusion as he glanced at his desolate surroundings, "I don't see my daughter anywhere!" he cried, his blue eyes flashing in anger.  "You promised to resurrect my daughter to me!" Caleb roared, his anger building rapidly.

"No.  I said that I would restore her to where she belongs," his savior answered calmly.

"But..." Caleb trailed off.  "Hope is with Talika?..." he sputtered as cold realization dawned on him.  Suddenly, his face hardened as he clenched his fist angrily.  "Well, not for long!"

Elisa's apartment

Smiling, Elisa rose gracefully from her chair and crossed around the table before depositing herself in Goliath's lap.  "Hmm," she whispered as she nestled her head against her love's smooth chest, careful not to bump the table that sat so close beside her, "did you enjoy dinner?"

"The food was delicious," Goliath admitted as he wrapped his strong arms around her dainty form, "but the company was even better..."

Giggling softly, Elisa quickly turned her neck away from Goliath's teasing kisses as a soft piano tinkled and swelled around them.  "Ah, I love this song," Elisa murmured.  "Oceans apart, day after day," she sang softly as Goliath held her closer, "and I slowly go insane.  I hear your voice on the line, but it doesn't stop the pain."

Surprised, Goliath sat back in his chair and found himself surprised at how beautiful Elisa's voice was.  He had never before heard his love sing and the sultry low voice surprised him to no end.  She was indeed beautiful in every way as her beautiful voice mingled with the cascading piano.

"If I see you next to never how can we say forever?" Elisa continued, a small smile playing on her lips.  "Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.  Whatever it takes or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you," she half whispered, half sang the chorus as she looked into his dark eyes.  "I took for granted all the times that I thought would last somehow.  I hear the laughter.  I taste the tears.  But I can't get near you now.  Oh can't you see it baby?" she crooned as she laughed and snuggled closer.  "You've got me going crazy!  Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.  Whatever it takes or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you.  I wonder how we can survive this romance, but in the end if I'm with you I'll take the chance," Elisa vowed, meaning every word that she spoke.  "Oh can't you see it baby?  You've got me going crazy!  Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you.  Whatever it takes or how my...."

Suddenly Elisa's soft voice was cut off as Goliath pressed his lips to hers.  Surprised, it took her but a moment to react to his passion and his soft caresses against her bare back, but then she was returning the kiss full force as her small fingers played in his thick hair.  Idly, she relished in the sweet mix of garlic and wine that she tasted on his lips.

Suddenly, the soft tinkling of a small child's laughter caused Elisa to draw back quickly as though burned, her brown eyes wide and her face pale.

"What was that?" Goliath asked in confusion as Elisa bolted from his lap, her breath leaving her in huge gasps.  Concern instantly tightened his heart as it looked as though his love was about to hyperventilate.  "Elisa..." he trailed off as the quiet laughter rang out over the music once again, this time distinctly coming from Elisa's shadowed apartment.  Before Goliath could get out a warning though, Elisa was off like a shot.

As a mixture between disbelief and wild hope filled her pounding heart, Elisa tore into her apartment from the balcony and flipped on the first light switch she came to, flooding the apartment with light.  But what she saw was enough to stop her in her tracks and cause her to fall weakly to her knees.  "Hope!" she gasped in a strangled voice as the little four year old's curly blond head snapped up and away from the cat she had been playing with to regard her with sparkling blue eyes.

"Mommy!" the little girl cried out as she jumped to her feet, her white sundress swishing around her, and hurled herself into her mother's arms.

Gasping, Elisa felt the tears pour down her cheeks as she clutched the little angel to her that she hadn't held since near the beginning of time.  Turning, she met Goliath's shocked eyes.  "My baby's back..."

Roof opposite nightclub

Sighing, Brooklyn watched as Lexington slowly began juggling several small pebbles that he had found, doing anything to staunch his growing boredom.  Groaning, the red gargoyle turned his attention back to the hopping nightclub.  "I wonder what they're doing right now..."

Nightclub

As the pounding beat thrummed in their bodies, Angela and Lisette found themselves moving instinctively to the music.  Soon, two attractive human males found their way to the girls' sides and began moving in sync with them.

Suddenly, one of the guys leaned forward and yelled to be heard over the music.  Unable to hear a word he said, Lisette laughed and shrugged her dainty shoulders.  Both of the guys looked to be around her and Angela's ages, one with short and curly brown hair while the one she was dancing with had midnight black hair that was short and spiked softly.  Both were lean and fit, cute, and seemed really nice... yet Lisette found herself wishing that her red-beaked boyfriend was the one dancing with her right now.

Suddenly, the guy cupped his hand and brought it to his lips as though he were drinking from a glass.  Quickly, Lisette understood his question in a flash and nodded her head as she grabbed Angela and followed the two guys over to a shadowed table.

"Are you thirsty?!" the guy asked again, including Angela in the question.

Instantly both girls nodded their heads as the guys produced two glasses filled with a dark liquid.  "Thank you!" Lisette called out as she accepted one of the full glasses, her face flushed.

"What is it?" Angela called out as she accepted her glass.

Turning, the two guys exchanged subtle looks before the brunette answered.  "You'll like it!  Trust me!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Lisette smiled her thanks before bringing the cup to her lips and downing the contents of the cup, soothing her parched throat.  Sighing, she decided that their new friends were right and that the tangy drink WAS good as she placed her empty cup on the table.  Glancing up, she saw that Angela had finished her drink as well and was eagerly nodding at the dance floor.  Laughing, Lisette quickly grabbed her friend's hand as they rushed back to the floor, their new friends right behind them.

Elisa's apartment

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Elisa pulled back slightly and stared into her daughter's bright blue eyes that were clouded with confusion.  "How in the name of the Creator can you BE here?!" Elisa gasped as she quickly pulled her daughter close in another hug, almost afraid that the little girl would disappear from before her, some cosmically cruel joke.

Laughing her small laugh that sounded like bells on a clear morning, Hope quickly shook her small head.  "You're silly, Mommy!" she giggled as her small hands played with her mommy's pretty hair.

Smiling, Elisa could only reach forward and kiss her daughter gently on her small forehead.  Shaking her head, she turned her daughter so that she could see her love for the first time who stood off to the side.  Smiling, she saw that her daughter merely blinked at the large gargoyle in child-like wonder.  "Sweetie, I would like you to meet Goliath.  He's a... special friend of Mommy's," Elisa explained with an apologetic smile at her love.

"Hi!" Hope cried out with a bright smile before turning back to her mother.  "Mommy, where's Daddy?"

"Uh... Daddy is..." Elisa trailed off as she threw Goliath a panicked look.  In reply, he could only shrug his shoulders.  "Um... Hope, what is the last thing you do remember before you came here?" she finally asked.

At this, Hope's expression brightened even further.  "I died an' went to Heaven!" she said in the most matter-of-fact voice a child could muster.  "I really missed you an' Daddy," she babbled, her blue eyes shining, "but it was so nice up there that it was okay.  An' then Daddy had someone bring me back an' the... the..." she faltered as she searched for the word that she wanted.

"The Creator?" Elisa supplied, knowing only as a mother could what that illusive word was.

"Yep, the Creator told me to tell my mommy..." she trailed off as her eyes sparkled with laughter, "to take good care of me an' to... watch out for Daddy!" Hope finished proudly, happy that she remembered the LONG message.  Smiling and without giving her mommy a chance to respond, Hope continued breathlessly.  "So, where's Daddy?"

Biting her lip, Elisa pushed all thoughts away and focused on her daughter's single question.  "Hope, honey... after you went away Daddy and I... well, Daddy changed..."

"Changed?" Hope asked, scrunching her brow in confusion as Cagney, the gray cat from before curled up in her lap.  Giggling in delight, the little girl quickly forgot her mommy's strange words as she began petting the cat.  "He's just like Artemis was!" she laughed as she picked up the large cat in her small hands and stumbled away from her mommy.

Sighing, Elisa watched her daughter with loving eyes as Goliath held his hand out to her.  "Artemis?" he asked as he pulled Elisa to her feet, her satiny dress smoothing out around her.

Smiling wryly, Elise flashed back into her normal outfit of blue jeans, a black tee-shirt, and her favorite red bomber jacket almost without thought.  "I guess you could say that I've always been a cat lover," Elisa replied with a small smile.  "Artemis was our first cat..." she trailed off as she noticed Goliath's concerned gaze.  "What is it, Big Guy?" she asked, reverting back to her favorite nickname for her love.

"Are... are you positive that.. she is.." he murmured, wary of upsetting his love with what could be considered a thoughtless question.

"Hope?" Elisa asked with a small smile, instantly dispelling Goliath's fears.  "Yes, I'm sure that somehow she is my daughter."

"Then Caleb was not destroyed," Goliath murmured, his eyes growing dim as a frown tugged at his lips.

"Apparently not... but there is NO WAY that he has the kind of power to pull this off!" Elisa whispered fiercely, trying to keep her voice down and failing miserably.  "We now both have equal power, the power level that we started at, meaning that if I couldn't do it before when I had both of our powers combined, then he definitely can't do it now with half the power that I had!"

"So whoever saved Caleb before and supplied him with the dark matter and the white stone had the power to bring Hope back to life as well?" Goliath asked slowly, fear tightening his heart.  Shaking his head, Goliath quickly focused on something else.  "And even if this person did have the power to resurrect Hope for Caleb, why is she here?"

"Whatever the reason, it had to be an accident," Elisa murmured as she watched her daughter play, worry evident in her eyes.

"Which means that he'll be coming," Goliath finished grimly, remembering all to well what had been the aftermath of Caleb's last visit.  Elisa, Matt, Brooklyn, and Lisette had all almost been destroyed -- and now it could happen again.

As if reading his mind, Elisa quickly stepped forward and lifted Goliath's hand to her cheek, her dark eyes boring into his.  "There will be trouble for the clan if we stay.. Hope and I should leave now before he comes," she murmured.

"No," Goliath said quickly as he drew Elisa into a hug.  "You are clan and a clan never deserts its brethren.  We will stand beside you," he murmured, his eyes caressing her and proudly showing his love for her.

Suddenly Hope's infectious laughter rang out around them.  Smiling, Elisa quickly stepped away and met her daughter's sparkling blue eyes.  Surprised, she realized that the girl's laughter was directed at herself.

"Why you wearing pants like Daddy?" she giggled as she brought her hands up to cover her little mouth.  "You look silly!" she laughed as she eyed her mommy's form fitting blue jeans.

Shaking her head, Elisa couldn't help but laugh as well as she snapped her fingers and was engulfed in bright green light.  A second later Elisa was daintily brushing away invisible particles from her royal garb that signified her royal personae.  Smiling, she patted her royal blue halter and veily skirt and looked up to meet her daughter's sparkling eyes.  "Is this better?" she asked with a small grin.

"Mommy!" was Hope's delighted cry as she launched herself into the arms of the mommy that she remembered so well.

Laughing, Elisa quickly scooped the small girl into her arms, remembering all to well how long it had been since she had last experienced this simple pleasure.  Smiling, she turned and watched Goliath's smile grow at her own obvious happiness.  For when she lost her child, there was forever a part of her heart that had died and was empty -- for the first time since her love had known her, her heart was finally whole -- SHE was whole once more.

Smiling, Goliath began turning off lights as he headed for the balcony, Elisa trailing behind with Hope in her arms.  "We better go back to the castle," Goliath suggested as they stepped into the cool night air.  "Perhaps Xanatos has some device up his sleeve to protect against..." Goliath trailed off as he noticed the little girl scrutinizing him with narrowed eyes.  Beginning to grow uncomfortable under the little four year old's intense gaze, Goliath found himself beginning to fidget nervously.

"You have wings," Hope finally announced, her eyes growing wide as she pulled out of her mommy's arms and gently poked the large wings that mommy's friend had draped around him.  "Does that mean you can fly like the birdies?" she asked, her voice filled with excitement.

Smiling gently down at the little angel that held no fear of him or his differences, Goliath allowed one of her little hands to clasp around one of his fingers, careful of his sharp talon.  "Not quite like a bird," he admitted with a small smile, knowing that the little girl wouldn't quite understand that they glided on currents of air.

"Can we fly with you?" Hope asked quickly, her eyes shining with her namesake.

Instantly Goliath knew that his heart belonged to the little angel standing before him.  With her shining blue eyes, curly blond hair, and bright smile, the girl could melt even the coldest of hearts.  Smiling, he quickly turned to his love who nodded her consent.  "Yes, we can all glide to the castle," Goliath replied as the girl quickly ran and jumped into her mommy's arms.

"Yeah!" she cried out as the large... friend, walked forward and lifted her mommy into his arms, her cradled within.  And then, Goliath... she was pretty sure that was his name, stepped onto the ledge and dove off into the dark sky.  Instantly, a terrified and delighted scream escaped Hope's tiny lips, echoing back and forth across the bustling city.

Nightclub

As the music pounded around her, Lisette slowly felt herself lose control as she jumped and moved to the powerful beat.  Before she even knew what was happening, the guy with the midnight black hair was pressing himself against her as they moved to the music, his hands on her bare thighs as Lisette ran her hands up the course of her body, over the black material of her dress, and twisted in her blond hair.  Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that things weren't right and that she shouldn't be dancing this way -- he shouldn't have his hands loosely clasped around the small of her back, his hips moving closely in sync with hers as their bodies grinded against each other.  But that wasn't all that was wrong, she was wrong!  Her mind felt fuzzy and it was hard for her to think straight.  And then the feelings intensified as her dancing slowed to a stop.  Groaning quietly, Lisette lifted one hand slowly to her forehead, the gauzy white material that sheathed her arm fluttering loosely.  She felt so dizzy, and with the brilliant strobe lights, the world began to swim.

Disoriented, her dancing partner's face swam before her as he grabbed her elbow and began leading her from the dance floor.  Briefly panicked, Lisette tried shrugging him away to find Angela when she saw that her friend was in the same predicament as she stumbled away from the dance floor as well, the brunette's arm around her waist.  Shaking her head, Lisette tried to explain that something was wrong, that she felt very weak and confused, so dizzy and disoriented.

But, as though he understood her problem, the young man nodded quickly.  Not to worry, his smile seemed to say, he would take good care of her.  Despite her own fear as to what was happening to her, Lisette managed a small smile before the world finally went dark.

Castle Wyvern

Laughing, Fox watched as Alex pushed his toy car as fast as he could until it smashed into the tall tower of blocks that composed David's 'skyscraper,' sending the blocks crashing to the plushly carpeted floor below.

Surprised, David's head jerked up and away from his next work of art as he stared in horror at the remains of a half hour's worth of diligent work.  "Alex!" he cried out, his unbelieving eyes snapping to his giggling three year old son.  "You destroyed my headquarters!" he gasped in disbelief.

Laughing gleefully, Alex quickly clapped his small hands together.  "Daddy's tower went BOOM!" he squealed, laughing joyously.  Turning, the little boy quickly made his car of destruction gain speed before he sent it crashing into another of his father's block fortresses.

"Fox!" David groaned as he turned to his wife who was busy snickering behind her hand, her eyes sparkling mischievously.  "He's destroying all of my buildings!"

"Well, they ARE his toys, David," Fox replied as her son used a magical earthquake to systematically level the rest of the block buildings.

Sighing, David looked around at the devastation that now littered the nursery floor.  "Those doctors are idiots," he grumbled as he began picking up the mess, shaking his head as little Alex began dancing around the room chanting "I will rule da world!  I will rule da world!"  Smiling at his son's words, David quickly shook his head.  "Two year olds are angels, but three year olds... definitely the terrible threes."

Hearing her husband's words, Fox couldn't hold back her laughter any longer.  Ignoring her husband's pointed glare, she quickly pulled her son into her arms, his red hair so much like her own.  "I will rule the world!  I will rule the world!" she called out, joining in her son's chant as they clapped their hands together.

"You would encourage him, wouldn't you?" David griped, trying not to smile.  It was a losing battle.  Soon, David couldn't take it any longer and quickly scooted forward till he was sitting across from his wife and child.  Together, as a family, the three richest people in the world began clapping their hands and continued the chant.  "I will rule da world!  I will rule da world!  I will rule da world!"

Soon, the family became aware of someone clearing their throat behind David.  Turning, David Xanatos quickly flushed red as he saw Owen with Goliath and Elisa standing behind him in the doorway, looks of amusement on their faces.

"Sir, I do believe that we should have a talk about what you do in your spare time," Owen said quietly, a small frown on his face.

Laughing, Elisa quickly shook her head, her black hair swirling around her.  "Really, Xanatos," she laughed, unable to resist, "I've heard of family projects before, but don't you think that's taking it a bit far?  World domination and all?"

Sighing, Xanatos climbed to his feet and adjusted his suit jacket.  "Goliath, Talika," he called out, his calm and collected expression returning as he used the name that went with the clothes, "what are you..."  Stopping, Xanatos stared in confusion as a beautiful little girl, about Alex's age, stepped out from behind the detective where she had been hiding behind the wispy royal blue skirt.  "Who's she?" he asked, pointing at the shy child.

Standing up slowly, Fox stared at the little girl and then turned questioning eyes to Elisa.  "She looks like she could be your..." she trailed off as the little girl slowly left the protector's side and moved across the room till she was standing before Alex.

"Hi!" she said brightly, her smile large as she took in the shorter boy, his eyes bright and his red hair sticking up in places.  "My name's Hope," she declared with a friendly smile, "daughter to Lord Caleb an' Queen Talika," she continued her introduction in the way that was custom for her.

At her words, Elisa felt a smile tug at her lips as Alex looked at his mommy in confusion and as Fox and Xanatos paled visibly as they stared at the girl in shock.

"Oh," Alex mumbled as his small brow scrunched up in a mix of confusion and concentration.  "My name's Alex... um... son to... my mommy and daddy!" Alex finished proudly as he smiled at Hope.

"You're funny!" Hope giggled.

"I'm gonna rule da world when I grow up!" Alex cried out, his eyes bright.

Laughing, Hope quickly brought her hands to her mouth, her blue eyes twinkling.  "I'm gonna be a protector like my mommy and daddy!" she giggled.

"Wanna play?" Alex asked, deciding that even though she was a GIRL, she could be fun.

Nodding her head, Hope quickly scurried after her new friend as Fox and Xanatos turned their attention back to Goliath and Elisa.  "Your daughter?" Fox asked, arching her eyebrow as she finished her earlier sentence.

Sighing, Elisa felt Goliath put a comforting arm around her as she nodded her head, her eyes locked on Hope and Alex.  "Yes, Hope is Caleb and my daughter," she confirmed.

"But, correct me if I'm wrong," Xanatos said as he thoughtfully began to stroke his neatly trimmed goatee, "didn't you say before that she had been killed a LONG time ago?"

"She was," Elisa said, wincing at the memory, "but it seems as though Caleb had someone help to bring her back."

"He's still alive and can do that?!" Fox gasped, her eyes involuntarily drifting back to her son.  What she saw was enough to temporarily drive the new threat from her mind as she nudged her husband and nodded in Alex and Hope's direction.

Seeing her movements, the group of adults quickly turned and felt smiles light up their faces.  Alex and Hope sat side by side in the plush carpeting with their eyes narrowed and faces scrunched up in concentration.  Above them floated five or six stuffed animals.  As giggles escaped their lips the two children quickly turned back to the group of adults.  "That's Unca Puck!" Alex giggled.

Almost simultaneously both tots pointed chubby little fingers at the stiff majordomo, sending the poor man into the air and floating with the toys.  "Children, put me down this instant!" Owen called out, trying to maintain his dignity while floating about five feet in the air, the children rolling around on the floor beneath him in laughter.

Snickering, Elisa turned away from the stranded man and smiled at her love, noticing the smile he was trying to hide.  "Goliath, do you know where Lisette is?  We may need her later when and if Caleb shows up," she explained.

"I'm not sure," was Goliath's thoughtful reply.  "Angela and Lisette were planning on doing something together, just the two of them, tonight."

"Hmm... and the trio?" Elisa asked.

"They're on patrol tonight, but we can just call them, for Lexington always carries a cell phone..." Goliath answered as a wicked gleam entered his eyes.  "Can we use your phone, Owen?" Goliath asked suddenly, turning to stare at the floating man who was busy glaring in return.

Roof opposite nightclub

Sighing, Brooklyn quickly realized that while juggling the stones was amusing for Lexington, the constant clattering of the stones as he missed them and fell noisily to the roof was grating on his nerves.  Clenching his beak, Brooklyn risked a glance away from the entrance to the nightclub to see that Broadway obviously shared his annoyance.  Then, as a few more pebbles rained down, Brooklyn finally lost all patience as he spun around... to find Lexington putting his cell phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked as Broadway and Brooklyn gathered eagerly nearby.

"Who is it?" Broadway asked, earnest for a distraction.

"What's up?" Brooklyn asked at the same time.

"Hold on a sec..." Lexington said into the phone as he shot his brothers a look of annoyance.  "Goliath, I'm going to put you on speaker phone," he said before pulling the phone away, pushing a button, and holding the small device between them.

"Goliath?" Brooklyn asked quickly, just as happy for the distraction, never noticing as the door that had so captured their attention earlier swung open, releasing two human males who were busy supporting two unconscious human females between them.

"Brooklyn," Goliath's voice rang out in the clear night, "I need you and the others back at the castle immediately."

"Uh... we can't," Broadway stuttered, watching his rookery brothers warily and completely missing the sight of the two human males depositing the two young women, one with silky blond hair and the other with a single brown braid, into the backseat of a white four-door car.

"What do you mean you can't?" Goliath asked, his voice sounding perplexed.  After all, it wasn't everyday that his clan outright denied one of his orders.  "Do you know where Angela and Lisette are?"

Gulping, Brooklyn quickly looked at Broadway and Lexington, both mirroring his defeated expression.  None of them wanted to get the girls into trouble, but lying to Goliath was out of the question.  A gargoyle just simply did not lie to his leader.  "Uh... Lisette and Angela are at a nightclub," Brooklyn admitted slowly.

"What?" Goliath responded, the confusion evident in his voice.

"We saw Angela and Lisette walk into a human nightclub earlier and are watching it to make sure they get out okay," Lexington explained as the little white car started up and drove unnoticed out of sight.

"WHAT?!?" Goliath's voice rang out, causing the young gargoyles to wince.

"They were human," Broadway quickly explained, not wanting to be in his love's shoes when her father got a hold of her.

A soft growl that issued through the phone's small speakers was Goliath's only response.  "What were they thinking?" he hissed, the quiet tone of his voice sounding only more ominous than had he been yelling.  "They do not know enough about the dangers and the humans of this time to do such a thing..." he trailed off as a muffled conversation took place.

"He's probably telling Elisa what's going on," Lex guessed as the muffled sound died away.

"Elisa will be right..." Goliath stated as a sudden flash of green light caught their attention.  Surprised, the trio turned quickly and watched as Elisa appeared before them, a tight frown on her face as the soft wind tussled her wispy skirt.  With the full moon haloing her black hair she looked like a figure straight out of 'Arabian Nights.'

Without a word, Elisa stalked to the edge of the roof and regarded the club through narrowed eyes.  Quickly, she snapped her fingers and disappeared in a flash, only to reappear a second later in her bomber jacket and jeans on the street below.  More worried than angry, she quickly stalked forward and flashed her badge at the bouncer, allowing her admittance.  Sighing angrily, she then began doing a magical scan for any trace of magic, Lisette's magical aura, while scanning visually as well for the pair.  She knew all to well what went on in these places -- the alcohol consumption, the intentional use of drugs like ecstasy and cocaine, as well as the more stealthy variety of date rape drugs that were slipped into victims' drinks.  They could be fun places to hang out -- if you knew what to watch out for, something that obviously wasn't going to be true for Lisette and Angela.

Sighing, Elisa quickly realized that Lisette's magical energy wasn't present, which meant that somehow the girls had alluded the trio's careful observation.  Shaking her head, Elisa quickly disappeared in a flash and reappeared beside the guys as Talika a moment later.

"Did you find them?" Broadway asked eagerly as Elisa stepped forward, her frown more pronounced.

"They're not here," she muttered as she drew her magic to her, preparing to teleport them all back to the castle.

Sensing her intent, Brooklyn quickly stepped forward and placed his hand on her arm, his dark eyes flashing.  "What are you doing?  If they're not here then we have to find them; they could be in trouble!" he ground out, his voice tight.

Sighing, Elisa quickly closed her eyes before leveling her somber eyes at her friends.  "Caleb is back and we need all of the help that we can get."

At this, Brooklyn felt his eyes darken with remembered pain.  His last encounter with the evil protector had almost cost him his life.  Shaking his head, Brooklyn quickly focused on the matter at hand.  "Even more reason that we should find them then!"

"How?" Elisa asked, her voice soft.  "Brooklyn, I'm not all-seeing or all-powerful!  In a city this large it will take more time and man power than we have... we gotta get back to the castle."

Slowly, Lexington walked forward and placed his small green hand on Brooklyn's red shoulder.  "She's right.  We're needed more back at the castle."  At his rookery brother's pained expression, Lex quickly continued.  "Besides, those two can take care of themselves."

Shaking his head, Broadway sympathized with his brother, for he liked the idea of leaving Angela alone in the city about as much as Brooklyn.  Then again, he knew that Angela was a strong warrior and that Lisette had powerful magic under her control.  Together, they would be able to handle almost anything that New York City had to throw at them -- he hoped.  "Let's go," he mumbled, speaking for the group.

Nodding her head, Elisa quickly raised her hands above her head and formed a circle of green energy around them.  A moment later they disappeared.

Numbly Caleb slid the thin chain over his head and felt the smooth white stone fall against the bare skin of his chest.  Although he felt no different, he knew that the stone's power now protected him against his one weakness.  Gulping silently, he then gingerly accepted the black, shiny pistol that his savior handed to him -- a savior of darkness.

"The Protector of Light is a police officer in this time," the Being said as Caleb inspected the gun.  "I find it poetic justice, then, that she be killed by the weapon that she uses to protect."

"The bullets are dark matter?" Caleb guessed as he eyed the weapon disdainfully.

"Retrieve your daughter and destroy the Protector," It answered as Caleb disappeared in a flash of light, Manhattan his destination.  "The punishment for failure will be severe."

Groaning, Angela slowly lifted a hand weakly to her head... and nearly screamed when she saw that she had five fingers and that her skin was a pinkish-beige color.  Gasping, she quickly looked down to see her legs enclosed in a soft, tight black leather, smooth pink skin covering her flat stomach, and a rumpled white halter on top.  Confused, she turned her large eyes away from herself and saw that she was riding in the backseat of a car... she had never been in a car before... with two humans sitting in front of her in animated conversation.  Shaking her head, she quickly turned once more and saw Lisette slumped against the other side of the door, her eyes closed.  And then, taking in her outfit once more and the tight black dress that was riding up her friend's tanned thigh, everything came rushing back to her.  "WHAT is going on?!" she bellowed, finally gaining the guys' attention.

As they turned around to regard her with shielded eyes, Angela easily recognized the two as the guys from the dance club.  "They're waking up," the brunette surmised from behind the wheel as he turned to his friend.

"Too early... someplace else?" the black, spiked-haired boy asked cryptically.

"Where are we?" Lisette asked quietly from beside Angela, never feeling so weak before in her life as she slowly woke up.

Feeling a small measure of relief that her friend was alright, Angela quickly turned back to the guys, her brown eyes flashing.  "Stop this car right now!" she ordered as she turned and began opening the car door.  Instantly, the guy with the black hair was diving over the seat of the small car as he pulled roughly on Angela's long braid, pulling her painfully back into the car.

As Angela's scream of pain ripped through the small car, the driver quickly whipped into a long and deserted alley that ended in a brick wall, sending the guy tumbling back against Lisette.  Crying out softly as the wind was knocked from her, she watched through hazy eyes as Angela's door was jerked open from the outside and as her friend was pulled from the car.  And then, the black-haired man was scooting across the seat towards the open door and pulling her roughly along with him.  Crying out, Lisette struggled weakly against him, only to discover that her legs were too weak to support her.

She didn't understand what was happening.  The world was spinning dizzyingly around her and she felt on the verge of passing out.  At first she was standing, the guy holding her roughly as she tried to struggle, tried to remember her extensive training.  And then one of her blows must have connected for she was tumbling to the hard ground and scurrying back until she was beside Angela, her beautiful braid in disarray with wisps of brown hair framing her face.

"The drinks..." Angela murmured thickly, her voice sounding distant even to her as she stared into her friend's vacant blue eyes.  "Change me back!" she half-yelled as the guys advanced on them.  At Lisette's continued blank look, Angela tried again.  "Gargoyle..."

Finally understanding what her friend was asking, Lisette tried to focus her muddled thoughts.  Searching, she could feel as her magic swirled around her, but as panic surged through her, she realized that she couldn't access it or use it.  It was as though the magic was there but the part of her that controlled it was inhibited.  "Can't..." Lisette gasped in horror as fear snaked around her.  Turning back, she barely had time to call out as the guy she had been dancing with reached her and pulled her roughly away.  And then he was on top of her and pinning her to the ground, her dress inching up her thigh.  Gasping, Lisette weakly tried to struggle as she turned her frightened eyes to her friend.  Dismayed, she saw that Angela was in the same position.

Gasping, both realized that they were completely helpless and simultaneously they did something that they've never had to do before... they screamed for help.

As the soft wind carried him low over the squat buildings that made up this part of the city, he remarked to himself that while some small changes had been made during his absence, overall the feeling of Manhattan was the same.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as two screams broke the quiet night from below him.  More curious than concerned, he quickly angled his wings till he landed softly on a roof and looked down into an alley that was lit by the twin beams of a car's headlights.  Instantly his eyes locked on two humans that were struggling with two females, their intent clear.

Shrugging, he was about to turn away when one of the young women cried out, her voice somewhat familiar as she called out one word: Broadway!  Shocked, he quickly turned back and stared at the dark-haired girl in amazement.  "Couldn't be..." he murmured as he slowly opened his wings and dove from the rooftop, gliding to the alley below.

Crying out, the two girls struggled as hard as they could as they tried to fight off their attackers -- all to no avail.  In their drug-induced weakened states, neither of them proved a challenge for the young men as darkness slowly threatened their dimming vision.

Suddenly, it was the guys who were crying out as a large shadow plucked them off of their victims and threw them into a nearby wall, knocking them into unconsciousness.  Gasping, Angela and Lisette glanced at the shadow through blurry eyes, the form slowly becoming clear.

"Father?" Angela gasped in relief as her head fell weakly back.

"Goliath," Lisette murmured as the massive gargoyle stepped into the light.

"No, Thailog," he laughed with a cold smile as a look of fear and confusion clouded the girls' features before darkness claimed them.  Chuckling quietly in a voice that mirrored Goliath's, Thailog stepped forth and squatted between the two young women.  With narrowed eyes he slowly roved over the brunette's body; over her curvy legs, her flat midsection, her white top, till they finally rested on her angelic face that was framed by her loose brown hair.  Shaking his head, he quickly pursed his lips and put one dark hand to his chin, pushing a stray lock of white hair from his eyes.  The girl was obviously human, yet he knew without a doubt that she was Angela, Demona and his brother's daughter.  But how was that possible?  Did that mean that the rest of Goliath's clan were human as well?

Sighing, he slowly turned away and then froze as he finally got a good look at the other girl.  "A clone of Elisa Maza?" he questioned as he took in the tight dress that showed more leg than it covered, the ripped gauzy white thing, and her face that so closely resembled the detective's that was framed by pale blond hair.  She obviously couldn't be a daughter.. far too old for that and a sister seemed unlikely.  But who would clone the detective?  Besides him of course.

From the first moment that Thailog had laid eyes upon the detective he had been quite taken with her exotic beauty.  At the oil rig it had been to the point that he was almost saddened to have to kill her.  And later, her lovely image had haunted him.  Even when he was with Demona, Detective Elisa Maza had been in the corner of his mind, making it no surprise when he later made a clone that was a mixture of Demona and Elisa: Delilah, his obedient and willing slave... he only wondered what happened to her and the rest of the clones after the amusement park catastrophe -- the incident that had cost him everything, almost his life, and made him hide in the Alps to heal his burns -- burns so severe that stone sleep couldn't heal them.

Shaking his head, Thailog focused once more on the matter at hand.  Even though the girl looked to be about ten years younger than the detective, and her fair blond hair opposite of her black, the clone possibility seemed the most likely, which brought up some interesting questions.

Smiling slightly, Thailog slowly reached down and gathered up both girls, one under each arm.  Due to his height, when standing straight, only the barest wisps of their hair would trail along the ground.  Moving easily under their combined weight, Thailog quickly hopped onto the roof of the white car, not caring about the puncture marks his sharp talons left behind, and from there into the dark night sky, his large wings taking hold of a wind gust and launching him high above the city.

With a wry smile he looked down at the two unconscious girls and heard his laughter echo around him.  "Obviously I have missed quite a bit during my absence after all..."

Castle Wyvern

Sighing, Elisa listened idly as the suggestions and comments flew in the room as the clan tried to decide on some sort of a plan.  In the end, there could be no plan of action to prevent her ex-husband's arrival.  In essence, there was little hope.

Smiling, Elisa quickly glanced down at the little girl that was curled in her lap and stroked her soft golden locks gently.  Soon after she had returned to the castle with the trio and had filled them in on the situation, her little angel had crawled into her lap and fallen asleep.  Then again, her sleepiness wasn't surprising seeing as how she had used quite a bit of her energy during her magical play with little Alex.  Because she was so young, even using the smallest of her magic tired her out, evident by her sleeping form and little Alex who was sleeping in his own mother's arms.  

Suddenly she became aware of a pair of eyes locked on her form.  Surprised, she glanced up into Lexington's even stare.  "What?  Do I have food on my face or something?" Elisa laughed as she relished in the feeling of her small daughter in her arms.  She could hold her daughter for an eternity, which was how long it felt that she had been without her.

Laughing, Lexington quickly shook his head as he rearranged himself on the nursery floor.  "No, but it's just so weird that you have a kid!" he exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Grinning, Elisa looked down fondly at her daughter as her baby's bright blue eyes slid open.  "I've been a mother for a long time," she murmured as Hope giggled and climbed out of Elisa's arms.

"I wanna play!" she laughed.

And then, as if on cue, Alex quickly scurried from his mommy's arms till he was tottering beside his new friend.  "I wanna play too!" he cried out, his bright blue eyes shining mischievously.

"Hey!  I thought that you two were sleeping!" Fox cried out as she stood up, her hands on her hips as she mock-glared at the two rugrats.

"We wanna play!" the two children chorused as giggles escaped their little mouths.

Before either mother could respond to their child's delighted demand, Owen cleared his throat from beside Xanatos, who was busy smiling widely at his son's antics.  "I can take Alexander and Hope to the arboretum for awhile," he volunteered, knowing that they'd love the indoor gardens, as the two children turned and threw themselves into his arms.

Sighing, Elisa felt a smile tug at her lips as she saw her daughter's eager and hopeful bright blue eyes.  Turning, she then glanced at Fox and saw her almost imperceptible nod of consent.  "Alright Owen, but be careful," Elisa warned as Goliath moved behind and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"Lexington, would you please accompany Owen?" he asked as he nodded at the small green gargoyle.

In response, Lex quickly hopped over to the overburdened majordomo and accepted Hope from the man.  Smiling, he saw that the little girl displayed no fear as she jumped up and down eagerly, his green hand clasped tightly in her own.  "You'll know if there's trouble," Lex assured as he, Owen, and the kids left the room amidst a jumble of excited voices.

Laughing, Xanatos quickly shook his head and muttered something about kids when Goliath turned his dark eyes on the man.  "What became of the dark matter and white stone samples that you were able to gather?" Goliath asked, his voice low as he thought of the one possible hope against Caleb.

Sighing, Xanatos slowly shook his head as he felt his trademark smirk slip from his face.  "We were unable to do any real tests on the substances because after being placed together for a few days they seemed to absorb each other till there was nothing left," Xanatos explained as a frown pulled at his lips.  After the group had arrived back at the castle after their confrontation with Caleb and after he was sure that their extensive injuries were being tended to, Xanatos had cornered a healed and distraught Brooklyn and learned of where they had been.  Knowing that time was of the essence and that the chance remained that the group would be assaulted by dark matter again, he had quickly dispatched a team to gather up the white stone box that contained the dark matter angel that the red gargoyle had described with Matt's help.  In the end, his scientists only had a few days to study it before the two canceled each other out.  All for nothing in an event that had even cost him two of his brightest scientists -- two who had gotten too close to the dark matter for too long.  "The only thing that we did learn was that the white stone and the dark matter are exact opposites."

"So, in other words there's nothing we can do to stop this guy," Brooklyn surmised as he ignored Goliath's glare.

"Basically," Elisa agreed as she leaned her head back against Goliath, still sitting quietly as her thoughts raced.  "The only thing we can do is somehow try and get whatever form of the white stone that he's wearing away from him..."

"Making him as vulnerable as we are," Goliath finished as he frowned thoughtfully.  "But how are we supposed to do that?"

"The billion dollar question," Xanatos murmured as he stroked his goatee.

"Million," his wife automatically corrected, breaking into her husband's thoughts.

"What?"

"It's 'the million dollar question'..."

"For us, my dear," David interrupted with a sly smile, "it will always be in billions..."

Sighing, Thailog allowed the gentle wind currents to carry him and the two girls high above his glittering city to his new home... new home.  Even the thought of any place other than Nightstone as being his home was irritating at best.  But even way off in the Alps he had heard that Dominique Destine had declared her business partner and cofounder, Alexander Thailog, missing and presumed dead, thereby gaining full control of his business.  

Well, not for long.  When the time was right, he would be making a reappearance.  Of that it was guaranteed.

Suddenly he felt the two girls begin to shift in his arms and realized with a start that they both were waking once again.  Growling, he quickly realized that he would never make it back to his home before they would awaken, meaning that he had to find a place to land.  Turning, he only had to scan for a few seconds before his eyes lit upon a brightly lit and busy building that would suit his needs perfectly.  Grinning a smile that could only be described as sadistic, Thailog quickly arched his wings and landed lightly amongst the debris of the demolished clocktower.  Laughing, he then threw his cargo roughly to the rubbled ground, bringing them instantly and painfully awake.

"Ow!" Lisette cried as she landed on a rough and jagged piece of stone, further ripping her filmy white blouse.  Groaning, she slowly turned and watched as Angela climbed to her feet and glared at... the Goliath look-a-like.  Shaking her head, Lisette stumbled to her feet and swept her long blond hair behind her, pleased to see that besides the fact that she couldn't use her magic and a slight dizziness, her strength was returning.  Looking around, she was mildly surprised to see that the alley was gone, replaced by the clocktower.  Shrugging her dainty shoulders, Lisette pushed all of that aside as she strolled forward and extended her hand to the gargoyle who was identical to Goliath in every way but color.  "Thank you, monsieur, for saving us from..." she began before she was roughly yanked back, almost stumbling to the ground once again.

"Don't go near him!" Angela cried out furiously, her long clear nails digging into Lisette's arm through her thin blouse until she drew blood.

Wincing as her red blood began staining the see-through material, Lisette gaped at her friend.  "Angela, what are you doing?!  This gargoyle just saved our lives!  He is a friend!"

"Thailog is no friend of mine or the clan's!" Angela bit out, her eyes flashing with anger.

As the blond clone stared at him in shock in confusion, Thailog laughed quietly.  Even though he was puzzled over the girl's thick French accent, he wasn't about to lose his edge.  "How true, Angela," he agreed in a voice that exactly replicated her father's.  "Now," he said as he began advancing threateningly on the two, both stumbling back just as quickly, "who cloned you?" he asked, his dark eyes narrowing as he scrutinized the young woman.

"Who cloned me?" Lisette repeated back, her brow creasing in confusion.  "Qu'est-ce que c'est... I do not understand... what is 'cloned'?" she asked blankly.

Roaring, Thailog quickly rushed forward and grabbed the girl's shoulders roughly in his hands and bodily lifted her off the ground and glared into her deep blue eyes, now hazed with pain.  "Do not play dumb with me, girl," he growled as he flung Angela away from him with his tail, stopping her annoying and ineffective attempts to release her friend instantly.  "Who made you a copy of Elisa Maza?"

Finally, as Thailog's question became clear, Lisette felt herself overwhelmed by a blinding and extremely indignant anger.  "I am no one's clone!" she cried out, wishing that she had access to her magic just so that she could fry this impudent gargoyle on the spot.  "My name is Lisette, born to Jean-Marc and Jasmine, mage to the Lord, taught by the powerful Craigen, and member of Goliath's clan.  I am not a copy of someone else for I am the original you stupide, arrogant, dègoûtant, horrible, hors-caste..." Lisette cursed as Thailog stared at her in shock.  Taking advantage of this, Lisette quickly drew her foot back and then kicked the gargoyle as hard as she could between the legs.

The next thing Lisette knew she was sprawled on the floor, Thailog hunched and groaning before her.  And then she was on her feet again as Angela pulled her deeper into the clocktower.

"Hurry," Angela hissed as she drug her friend over to the trapdoor she had been searching for, smiling the whole way.  She had feared the worst for them both when Thailog had tossed her aside like she was no more than a ragdoll.  But then, her friend's blinding anger at Thailog's question made even her pause in surprise.  "I didn't know you were capable of such anger," she murmured as she finally wrenched the old wood open, dismayed at her weak human body.

"Yes, well I am having a very bad night," Lisette replied as Thailog's groan of pain changed to a muffled curse of revenge as she followed her clan sister down the ladder and into the stuffy supply closet.  Without wasting a second, she quickly threw open the door and burst into the 23rd Precinct's hallway... and right into another person, sending them both crashing to the hard linoleum floor.

Groaning, Matt Bluestone slowly sat up and rubbed his aching head before glancing at the person who had plowed into him.  "Lisette?" he asked as he took in her windblown hair, her very short black dress that had long slits up both thighs and was powdered in spots with dust, and a filmy white blouse over top that was ripped in many places with blood staining one sleeve.

"Uh, hi Matt," Lisette replied weakly as she climbed to her feet and winced as Matt's eyes slid to her companion in trouble for that night.

"ANGELA?!" he gawked as he took in her beige skin smudged with dirt, loose braid, dirty white halter top that revealed a beige stomach and beige five-fingered hands, and tight black leather pants over black boots.  All in all there was not one single gargoyle appendage to be found on the person who last time he checked, was a lavender gargoyle in full leather ensemble.  "What... what are you DOING here?!" he gasped as he stumbled to his feet.

"Um... Thailog's in the clocktower?" was Angela's weak reply.

Arboretum

Giggling, Hope quickly chased after Alex as they tore under trees, around flowers, and through the carefully groomed brush, all the while avoiding the tall man and the smaller green gar-goyle.  Suddenly, she came to an abrupt halt as the air before her shimmered with green.  Surprised, she felt Alex sidle up beside her as the tall form of a man took shape before them.  "Daddy!" she cried out in delight as she threw her small body into his arms.

"Hope," Caleb murmured brokenly as he easily lifted his small child into his arms.  With his savior's help, it was easier than he had expected to latch onto his daughter's different life force, making finding her a snap.  And she was here.  His angel, his baby that had been viciously murdered so long ago was whole again in his arms.  When last he had held her bleeding and broken body, he had realized that like any parent, his daughter was his life and her sudden death destroyed him.  And now, with her back, he was whole again.. and born into darkness from the light.  

Frowning at this thought, Caleb held his daughter closer as the little toddler that had been with her regarded him wearily through unusually bright blue eyes for such a young child -- such intelligence shined through.  But then his thoughts were disturbed further as a tall man with short blond hair and glasses and the small green gargoyle from before burst out from behind some trees.  The gargoyle, Lexington, if he remembered correctly, quickly snatched the red-headed toddler up into his arms before the blond man stepped between them and glared stonily up at him.

"Release the child and leave this place immediately, Caleb," the man ordered as Lexington placed the boy on his feet and gently pushed the child behind him.  What was strange was that Caleb was sensing a surge of fey magic within the boy.

"And who are you to demand this?" Caleb asked as he gently placed Hope on her feet, hugging her to his legs as she stared at him in confusion.

Suddenly, in a flash of green light the calm man's true form was revealed as a short man in a colorful tunic and leggings, long pointed ears, and unruly white hair floated between him and the others.  "Now, I know that this definitely falls under Daddy Oberon's wish to protect Alex!" he exclaimed as he fixed a steely grin on the protector.

"Puck!" Caleb cried out in surprise as he recognized the little trickster.  "What are you doing off of Avalon?  Do Lord Oberon and Queen Titania know of this?" he demanded quickly.  The last he had seen of his fellow protectors, before they had helped his wife to imprison him beneath the Earth, was when he and Talika helped them to create Avalon and moved the second, apparently now the third race, to the mystical isle.

"Of course they know!" Puck cried out, not wanting to reveal too much to the man of little Alex.  "Now, pass over Talika's daughter before I gotta get ugly!" he ordered with a sly smile as he eagerly rubbed his hands together, obviously hoping that he'd do anything but.

"Puck, your words sadden me," Caleb murmured as an iron chain appeared around the fey with a quick twist of his hand.

Dropping like a rock to the grassy floor of the arboretum, Puck moaned at his bruised bottom and glared at the man who had caused his entrapment.  "You would think," he muttered as he fidgeted in the heavy chains, "that after all the time I spent teaching Lisette and Alex how to avoid these types of situations I would be capable of following my own advice!"

Shaking his head, Caleb held back his laughter as he felt a quick tug on the royal blue sash that was draped over one shoulder and across his bare chest.  Looking down, he found his daughter's large and bright blue eyes, the shape so much like her mother's, filled with tears and locked on his own.

"Daddy, stop it!" she sobbed as the tears trailed and streaked down her pale cheeks -- pale because of the Dark and mean thing her Daddy had done.  "Leave Unca Puck alone!"

Before Caleb had a chance to even process his daughter's request, he saw the green gargoyle step forward, his eyes glowing white.

"Let Hope go!" Lex growled, seeing nothing but the tears and distress that was more than evident on the little girl's face.  While it was true that he had only known her a short time, already it was evident that she was a happy child with a continual bright outlook.  To see her in such despair filled Lexington with such a blinding anger that it outshined any caution he held for himself... not always a good thing he realized quickly as the ground itself seemed to turn against him as the very dirt surged up and formed a tight shell of a ball around him that left only his head free... and Alex unprotected.

As Hope watched her daddy do bad things to Lex and Unca Puck, the thick tears streamed down her young face.  Why was her daddy doing these bad things?  Why was he hurting people?  Then, a scary realization hit the little girl.  "You're not my daddy 'cause my daddy doesn't do bad things!" she cried out as she wiggled out of the Daddy look-a-like's grip and ran to Alex's side.  "Alex, we gotta go!  Help me!" she cried out as she took his little hands in her own.

Nodding solemnly, Alex focused on his magic as Unca Puck had taught him to, feeling Hope's different magic mix with his own.  "Take us away from the Bad Man," he whispered as his voice and words mirrored that of his first real friend.

Meanwhile, the Bad Man could only stare in shock as the two children began to glow with a green magical light, his daughter's words echoing and cutting deep into his heart.  "Not your daddy?" he murmured as the children.. his daughter, disappeared in a flash of bright green light.  "Hope...." he murmured, his thoughts whirling as he followed the children in a flash of his own.

NYPD's 23rd Precinct

"What are you talking about?  And WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!?" Matt ground out as he stared pointedly at Angela.

"A very long story," Lisette mumbled as she grabbed Matt's arm and began dragging him away from the supply closet, sending it wary glances as she went.

"For now you must take us to Elisa," Angela interjected as she latched onto Matt's other arm.  She didn't think that Thailog would be foolish enough to come after them, but that certainly didn't stop her from looking back every few seconds.

"Tonight is Elisa's night off and WHY do you both keep looking behind you like you expect something to come chasing after us?" Matt ground out as he ignored the sly looks he was receiving from his coworkers.  After all, despite their rumpled appearance, he still had two very beautiful young women on each arm.

"I already told you," Angela murmured as she thought of their next course of action, "Thailog is in the clocktower..."

"WHAT?!" Matt cried out, turning quite a few heads as he dared a quick glance at the closed door before grabbing each girl's hand and hurrying away.  "I thought you were kidding!" he panted as they rushed down the wide stairs, his trench coat flapping wildly behind them.  "Elisa said he was dead!"

"Well," Lisette replied calmly as they slowed to a stop, stepping into the busy squad room, "Elisa apparently was wrong.  Can you take us back to the castle?"

Sighing, Matt stared at the two girls in a daze.  "Why don't you just.. hocus pocus yourselves there?" he muttered as he ran a hand through his short red hair.

Turning, Lisette met Angela's eyes and saw her weary nod.  Sighing, Lisette briefly closed her own eyes before focusing on the detective.  "I changed Angela into a human so we could go to a nightclub and see what it was like," she explained, watching through downcast eyes as a large frown appeared on his face.

"And then two humans must have put something into our drinks," Angela continued meekly, "for we fell unconscious and awoke briefly in an alley with the humans..."

"And then Thailog saved us," Lisette continued, "and when we awoke again we were in the clocktower... and I still cannot use my magic," Lisette murmured in puzzlement.

Sighing, Matt groaned at their naiveté that easily bordered on stupidity.  "They probably put some sort of drug in your drink that contained a type of muscle relaxant that's blocking your ability to use your magic," Matt guessed as he forced back the lecture that was just waiting to be unleashed upon the two.  Somehow, Matt would wager that they would be getting an earful from Goliath and the clan soon enough.

"So how long until I get it back?" Lisette asked eagerly, her eyes shining.

"No way to tell since we have no idea what you drank," Matt muttered as he began leading the way past desks, cops, and criminals to the large front door of the bustling building.  "Come on, I'll take you back to the castle."

Castle Wyvern

Suddenly Elisa felt terror burn through her veins like fire as she and Fox literally jumped from their seats, crying out their child's name.  "He's here!" she gasped as Goliath, Brooklyn, Broadway, Hudson, Bronx, Xanatos and Fox quickly stepped forward, knowing instantly what was to follow.

"Alex is in trouble," Fox murmured as she squeezed David's hand tightly, knowing in a way that only a mother could.  "The arboretum..."

"No," Elisa murmured as she closed her eyes in concentration.  "The courtyard," she gasped as the group disappeared in a flash of green light, the quiet creak of an old rocking chair the only testament to their hasty departure.

Courtyard

With three bright flashes of light, the players of the deadly game arrived.  By sheer luck, it was the good guys who appeared beside the frightened children as the two mothers quickly scooped the little ones into their arms.

Turning, Elisa glared at her ex-husband as her little girl sobbed on her shoulder, staining her royal blue halter with her tears.  "What are you doing here Caleb?" she asked, her voice cold as she blocked the warm feelings that his curly blond hair and boyish-good looks stirred in her.  She had loved this man, her husband at one point, but that love had slowly withered and died with both his actions and the long passage of time till only memories of the love they had shared remained.

Sighing, Caleb slowly called forth his stone of Light and placed it around his neck before calling forth the pistol that spelled out his wife's destruction.  Even after everything that she had done to him and he to her, he couldn't help but love his wife... which was really messing with his head right now.  "I've come to take back what's mine," Caleb muttered thickly as he winced at the sight of his daughter's tears... and at the supporting hand that the large, lavender gargoyle rested on his wife's bare shoulder.

"What's ours," Elisa quickly corrected as she shifted Hope to her other shoulder, one hand gently tousled in her daughter's curly locks.  "She's my daughter too!"

"I'm taking her with me!" Caleb suddenly shouted as his gun arm straightened, pointing the muzzle of the gun at the woman who would haunt his dreams for eternity, not missing the group's slight wince of pain.  Even from this distance the dark matter had the power to work its dark magic on them.

"To where?" Elisa asked, her dark eyes flashing.  "You would take our daughter with you into Darkness?  Just so you could selfishly have her be by your side?"

To this, Caleb had no answer as his eyes regarded his small child with concern.

"She's afraid of you, Caleb," Elisa murmured, speaking his fears aloud.  "You've changed somehow and she can sense it."

Sighing, Caleb knew that his wife was right.  Even from the last time that they had faced one another he had changed.  And it wasn't something that one could see visually, but rather something that people could sense if they tried hard enough.  By bringing Hope back to life he had sold himself into darkness and that bargain had stained his soul.  And in that moment, there was a brief crack in Caleb's strong composure that, for an instant, allowed all gathered to see that dark stain hidden deep inside of him.

"Oh God, Caleb!" Elisa gasped as she fell to her knees, Hope now standing and leaning against her, her large teary blue eyes locked on Caleb.  "What have you done?"

Ignoring her question, Caleb quickly threw the damn gun to the ground as he glared at his family.  "Take care of our daughter, Talika... and Goliath, take care of my wife," he growled at the large gargoyle, forcing the words out.

"Daddy," Hope cried out quickly, catching the man's eye as she hugged herself tightly to her mommy, "there's more than just good an' bad, light an' dark, an' white an' black."  Ignoring everyone's baffled expressions at such profound analogies coming from such a small child, Hope quickly continued.  "You're right in th' middle an' still can choose which way you wanna go!"

Shaking his head, Caleb attempted to strengthen his resolve.  If only the words of his precocious four-year old daughter were true.  But sadly, in this case his Hope was wrong.  He had taken that final step from the gray to darkness only a few short hours ago.  "I'm sorry baby," he whispered as tears burned his eyes.  Growling, he quickly turned back to his wife.  "Talika," he spoke earnestly as he began to call forth his magic, "remember that I would do anything for our daughter and that I willingly give you all respite from my wrath this time.  But next time, if my MASTER so wishes," he called out as he began to disappear, his words causing Elisa's eyes to widen, "you all will not be so fortunate.  I may not be able to protect our daughter..."  And with a flash, Caleb was gone.

"Master?" Elisa murmured with a wonder that mingled with horror.

"Elisa..." Broadway murmured as he self-consciously began to rub his large blue stomach from beside Hudson and the others as they gathered around their friend.  At first all had hung back  -- all plans of distraction forgotten as they listened to the heated conversation -- unable to tear their eyes or ears away.  "Elisa.. what was he..."

"Caleb has sold his soul into darkness," Elisa interrupted as she pulled her sobbing child tighter against her.  "Shh... shh Hope," she murmured as she began rocking back and forth on her knees, holding her daughter close.  "Everything will be alright..."

Sighing, Angela slowly stepped out of Matt's car and into the quiet parking garage that sat beneath the Aerie building.  Shaking her head, she quickly met Lisette's worried blue eyes as the two moved to each other's side to begin the long walk to the elevator that would bring them home -- and most likely into more trouble than either had ever been into before.  In truth, it wasn't as though they had done anything really wrong.. just something foolish that had endangered them both in the end.  But how were they to know that in this world you didn't give one your trust until they earned it.  Instead, they were both raised to believe that the opposite held true: you willingly gave a person your trust until that person proved to you that they were unworthy of that honor.

"Matt, you really do not need to come with us," Lisette murmured as they stepped past security and into the elevator that would bring them to the very top.

Holding back his smirk, Matt quickly met their eyes.  "I'm not letting you two out of my sight until I'm sure that whatever drug was used on you two is out of your systems," he said as firmly as he could manage.

"But we feel perfectly fine!" Angela protested quickly.

"Lisette," Matt said as he turned to the young mage, "can you change Angela back into a gargoyle yet?"

"Well... no..." Lisette stuttered, knowing that at the moment she could perform no magic, let alone such a large and draining spell.

"Ha!" Matt cried out triumphantly as he grinned widely.  "See, you're still under the drug's influences!" he cried out smugly as the girls sulked in silence.  In reality, he was just being so persistent because he wanted to see the look on Goliath's face when he saw his daughter as a human and dressed as she was.  Yes, things were definitely going to fly soon enough!

Sighing softly, Elisa gently soothed her daughter, ignoring her own discomfort as sharp pebbles bit through her veiled skirt as her daughter clung to her, standing on shaky legs.  Inherently she knew that she could say no words to comfort her small child to ease her pain, but instead just tried to offer support through her hugs.  Yet through it all, she could still hear Alex's little voice as he spoke earnestly to Fox.

"Mommy!" Alex whispered as he tugged on her jeans to get her attention.

"What is it, Alex?" Fox asked as she hunched down to look into her son's startling blue eyes.

"Lex is stuck in da ground an' Unca Puck can't fly no more," Alex quickly explained as though his explanation would make perfect sense, which of course, it didn't.

"What?" was Fox's bewildered reply as Elisa snapped her fingers sharply from beside her.  Turning, Fox winced at a bright flash of light that was quickly replaced by Lexington and Puck, both looking none the worse for wear besides the fact that Lexington was covered neck down in dirt and that Puck had a very large frown on his pale face.

"Okay, that is the LAST time that I will be forced to listen to his bad jokes!" Lex muttered as Puck shifted back into Owen and approached his boss, his eyes on little Alexander with a look of immense relief on his pointed face.

"I take it, Sir, that the threat had been dealt with effectively?" Owen asked as he slowly began polishing his already immaculate glasses.

"You could say that," Xanatos said slowly as he watched Lexington hesitantly approach the small firearm that Caleb had dropped, his curious expression evident.

Immediately though, Lex winced as pain shot through him, causing him to scamper back in surprise before he had even gotten within two feet of the object.  "Well, the least he could have done was take his dark matter with him!" Lex grumbled as he turned away.  Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes Lexington saw movement where there should have been none.  Gasping, he turned quickly and watched as the gun seemed to float up into the air of its own volition, its muzzle pointed at Hope's back.

"If you want something done right then you must..." a strange and disembodied voice, so quiet that the small gargoyle barely heard it, seemed to whisper from the direction of the pistol.  Lex didn't give the voice any longer to finish the old cliché.

"Look out!!" he cried out as everything happened at once.

As the muzzle flashed on the gun, Elisa reacted on instinct as she twisted her body sharply so that Hope was smashed against her chest as her bare back faced in the direction that Lex's voice had come from.

And in that instant, a fine spray of red blood flashed out from the middle of Elisa's back as the dark matter bullet tore through her skin, her back arching in pain even as she convulsively clutched her daughter closer.  Not even a second later that same bullet tore its brutal exit as it ripped out of Elisa's chest and then lodged itself in Hope's small body even as the gun disappeared in a flash of light.

Gasping in pain as the sharp copper taste of her own blood filled her mouth, Elisa slumped forward to the ground as she heard the pounding of footsteps of the others from all around her.  Crying out as the blinding pain made her immobile, Elisa looked down with dimming vision and watched as a faint trickle of blood trailed out of Hope's lips, her small eyes closed and her features relaxed.  "No," Elisa moaned as she clutched at her daughter, Hope's blood mixing with her own as it made her hands slippery.  "No," she whispered as she caught sight of the bloody hole high in her daughter's chest, quickly staining her white dress red.  The scene was too familiar as déjà vu swept over her.  She was losing her daughter for a second time.

"Elisa," Goliath whispered hoarsely as he frantically knelt beside his love.  She was tilted on her side with her body sheltering Hope, making the bloody hole in her back the only thing visible.  Quickly he reached out his hand as his love's whimpers greeted his ears.  But the second that his skin touched her own, a wave of power that was of ungodly proportions radiated off of her prone form, sending him and the others hurtling painfully away from her.  Tumbling end over end, it was a long flight away until a wall of brick broke his fall and sent him cascading to the hard ground.  Groaning, Goliath slowly picked himself painfully up on the other end of the courtyard and shielded his eyes from the bright light that radiated out.  Shaking his head, he tried pushing forward towards her only to find the magic pushing him back.

"Ach, the lass will kill herself an' th' child if she don't stop this nonsense," Hudson muttered as he slowly picked his aching bones off of the hard stone.

"She can't," Goliath murmured as he stared at the bright form in horror until spots appeared in his vision and he had to look away.  "She can't stop."

As the three stepped out of the elevator and into the Great Hall, all were immediately assaulted with a sense of wrongness.  Then again, having the large doors that led into the open courtyard blown inward with a bright light radiating in from outside was a huge clue.  As one, the detective and the two young women broke into a run and dashed across the large room and into the open courtyard beyond and froze at the sight.  The power that was surging around in the night air was almost palpable as it seemed to spread out from somewhere in the courtyard that was hidden behind a blinding light.

Shaking his head, Matt slowly looked at the mess in wonder, watching as members of the clan that were scattered along the outskirts vainly tried to struggle forward, only to be held at bay by whatever power was being unleashed.

"Detective Maza can really put on a show, can't she?" a voice called out from above that was all together too cheerful for what was obviously a serious situation.

"Elisa is doing this?" Matt asked in amazement as he glanced up at Puck who was floating nonchalantly a few feet above him, a teary-eyed little boy sitting in his lap.

"Well, Talika actually," Puck admitted as he patted Alex consolingly.  When the Protector had... well, erupted, Owen had barely enough time to change into Puck and zap he and Alex out of his mother's arms and to safety.  Now, he believed that Fox was probably thrown to the other side of the courtyard.

"Puck, how did this happen?" Lisette asked quickly as she and Angela stepped fully into the courtyard.

Gasping at the sight of the two, Puck became so surprised that he almost dropped Alex.  "What are you two doing here and what happened to you?!" he quickly asked as he regarded the girls with curiosity.  "Where have you been?!"

"Long story," Lisette replied as she waved away his eager questions.  "Now, what's going on?"

"No time!" Puck quickly interrupted as hope flared within him.  They had a chance now.  "Quick, stop this!  I don't think that Talika can control herself," he ordered as he swept down and landed before the startled girl, setting Alex on his feet.  "What are you waiting for?!" he cried out as he pushed Lisette closer to the fray.

"I can't," Lisette whispered quietly as she turned to her teacher.  "You see..." she trailed off as she realized that she had no idea where to even start.

Sighing, Matt quickly pushed Angela aside and hurried to the two magic-wielders' sides.  "Someone slipped something into her drink, probably a muscle relaxant, that's blocked her access," Matt quickly explained.

Pushing aside his worry, concern, and questions for his student, Puck quickly nodded his head.  "Then she needs a muscle accelerate to counteract it," Puck quickly muttered as a very long needle appeared in his hand, filled with a clear liquid.  Grinning as Lisette's face paled considerably and as her eyes grew wide, Puck quickly squirted the contents into the air.  "It'll only sting a bit," he sang out as he jabbed the entire length of the needle into his student's exposed thigh, emptying the contents into her body.

Crying out, Lisette quickly pulled away and glared at the little trickster, her eyes glowing green.  "That hurt!" she cried out angrily as Puck shifted into Owen.

"My apologies," Owen replied dryly as he pointed at the surging magic that she was only now beginning to sense.  "Now, if you would..."

Biting back her anger, Lisette quickly hurried forward as far as she could before she encountered a wall of magic.  "Do not fight me, mon amie," Lisette ground out as she focused on the energy that was running rampant within her own body.  Gritting her teeth, her tan legs braced wide for support as her short black dress pulled taut, she slowly stretched her arms out and then brought them together as she strained against the effort, her eyes glowing bright green.  A second later everything coalesced into one as the wall of magic disappeared with a flash of green light.

As the flare disappeared, Lisette and Owen quickly rushed across the courtyard to the single form that lay at what used to be the center of the storm.  As they knelt beside the familiar figure, the rest of the clan quickly overcame their hesitance and hurried forward.

"Elisa?" Lisette asked quietly, worry filling her eyes with tears as she reached forward and brushed her hand across the wound in the woman's back that was oozing a dark red blood.  Already she could sense that it was dark matter that had caused the wound, preventing Elisa's healing magic.

"Move," Owen quickly ordered as he pushed Lisette to the side and then gently turned over the unconscious woman, revealing a small child that had been hidden up to this point by Elisa's body.

"Oh, mon Dieu," Lisette whispered as she quickly sat back on her haunches, the world blurring around her as she caught sight of the golden haired child.  The little girl, so pale and stark against her wet blood, was so angelic and so very familiar.  As the clan appeared around them, Goliath and some going to Elisa while Fox and others gathered around the child, Lisette felt strong arms lift her to her feet and support her as everything died away but the little girl.  She should know this petite ânge somehow... for some reason.. and then it hit her.  The little girl looked like her.  Save for the curly hair, the little girl looked exactly like she did when she was young.  Who was this...

"Lisette!" Owen cried out sharply, breaking into Lisette's confused thoughts.

Instantly the real world came crashing back as she heard the panicked voices of her clan.  With a start she realized that Elisa was now awake and weakly struggling with Goliath, Broadway, Angela, and Matt in an attempt to reach the child.  Shaking out of Brooklyn's arms, she quickly hurried to Elisa's side and placed her hands on Elisa's bloodied chest.

"No!" Elisa ground out fiercely as she grabbed Lisette's wrists with a strength she didn't know that she still possessed.  "Can't help me... just a shoulder wound.. no dark matter... I'll be alright," she gasped as the pain seared within her, knowing that by taking her pain Lisette would just be the one suffering from the wound that gave her an equal chance of survival.

Confused, Lisette lifted her hands and turned her uncertain eyes to Matt, he being the only one capable of verifying or denying Elisa's claim.

Wincing, Matt slowly nodded his head as he took in her partner's grisly wound.  "With medical attention, she should be alright," Matt admitted haltingly.

"Help Hope," Elisa pleaded as Matt pressed down tightly on her wound, trying to slow the blood flow as Goliath squeezed her hand gently.  At Lisette's look of confusion, Elisa felt the tears well in her dark eyes.  "My daughter," she moaned as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

Gasping in understanding, Lisette quickly hurried over to the little girl and knelt beside her in Lexington's place, her black dress inching unnoticed up her thighs.  The little angel, la petite ânge before her was Elisa's daughter?  But she was to have been killed long ago... how was she there and dying now?

"It's too late for her," Fox whispered grimly as Lisette lifted her hands and placed them on the girl's slowly moving chest.

"Wha... what?" Lisette murmured weakly as she tore her eyes away from the child's pale face, blocking out Elisa's agonized wail as she slowly looked at the fiery red head, her own face streaked with tears as Alex clung to her side.

As the hot tears burned in Fox's eyes, she looked down at the bloodied hole that rested high in the little angel's chest -- a fallen angel.  "She's too little to survive this," she murmured, wincing as she realized that Elisa had overheard her words and her earlier cry was from the agony of Fox's words and not from pain.

"No," Elisa sobbed brokenly, her voice thick with anguish of her wound and daughter as Goliath tried to soothe her and keep her still.  Not that she could move anymore.  She couldn't move to her daughter and save her by killing herself, for not only would the wound itself probably kill her, but the dark matter within her small child surely would... she had failed her baby again.  "Nnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooo!" Elisa screamed, the pain blinding her.

"But... but I can help her," Lisette murmured weakly, her eyes blurring with tears as she slowly drew her shaking hands to her chest, her eyes searching for an answer.

"No, you can't," Owen interjected, his cold voice hiding his sadness as he moved to crouch beside his student.  "The bullet pierced her lung and is still lodged in her chest," he explained matter of factly, able to tell because of the millennium of experience he had gained during his exile.  "Saving her will only result in your own death," he murmured as Elisa sobbed brokenly from behind them.

"It's not fair," Lisette murmured softly as the tears burned in her eyes, making the angel blur before her.  The little girl was fighting for a life that she had never been given a chance to live, her chest slowly rising up and down as the dark blood stained Fox's hands, still trying to save the girl in what was obviously a futile gesture.  Without thinking Lisette brought the group to the infirmary in a flash and stumbled numbly to her feet as a group of physicians, paid to always be at hand, swarmed around the group, far too used to the oddities of Wyvern to do more than blink an eye at the group or their sudden appearance.

And then Brooklyn was pulling her to her feet and back out of the doctors' way as Elisa and Hope were quickly lifted onto the hospital beds as the experts tried to save their patients' lives.  And throughout it all, Lisette watched with empty eyes.  She stood tall, her long blond hair cascading around her shoulders, her short black dress covered meekly with a tattered, blood stained shirt while Brooklyn, with his arms wrapped securely around her waist from behind, had his eyes locked on the horrifying scene.  To anyone else, it looked as though she were numb with shock and lost to the loud beeping of the life support machines, the frantic words of the doctors, the crying of her friends, Goliath's anguished pleas to his love, and Elisa's desperate cries for mercy.

"It's not fair," Lisette murmured hollowly as Elisa struggled weakly with the doctors, fighting their efforts to help her, Goliath restraining her as she became frantic to reach her daughter.  All around her Elisa's sobs mixed with the tears of Angela as she cried on Broadway's shoulder, Fox and Alex as they clung to Xanatos, and the rest as they supported one another.  "Not again," Lisette whispered as her eyes locked on Hope's face, pale against her matted blond hair.  The child, so young, had been destroyed once before, and now, so soon after her resurrection this child was to be killed again?  Was Fate so cruel that it was determined to prevent this girl from ever living?  Wasn't she ever to have a chance to grow up and taste the world?  Would she ever be destined to live?  Poor Elisa... her baby, after just getting her back, was getting her taken away yet again.  What a cruel joke.

And then the doctors were hustling them out of the room, needing privacy and quiet to perform the delicate operations that could save both mother and daughter's life.  But by the grim expression of the faces that surrounded the bundle of gold that lay surrounded in turn by white and red, all knew that one wouldn't be surviving to see the sun's rays that were too long away.

As Brooklyn began pulling her towards the door, Lisette felt her eyes slide over to Elisa's haggard form until she was staring into her haunted brown eyes.  In those eyes Lisette saw a world of pain that was tinged with madness.  Elisa had lost her daughter once before in a horrid situation that had caused her to lie the blame on herself -- she had barely survived that loss with her sanity.  In that moment, in those eyes before the door was closed between them, Lisette saw that Elisa was incapable of doing it again.

"Oh Father, what's going on?" Angela sobbed as she drew away from Broadway and moved into her father's embrace, his lost expression breaking her heart.

"Angela?" Goliath asked thickly, his numb mind trying to get past Elisa's tormented grief to focus on the human girl standing before him.

"Mommy!" Alex cried as he buried his face in Fox's shoulder.  "What's wrong wit' Hope?"

"Hope has got a big owie, honey," Fox whispered, her voice cracking as David held her close.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"I don't think so, baby," Fox choked out as she hid her face in David's shoulder.

"But she's so young," Lex whispered as Hudson lay a consoling hand on his shoulder.

"It's not fair," Broadway added as Bronx mewled in agreement.

"Aye, laddies," Hudson agreed slowly, his old bones feeling even older this night.  It seemed so unfair when he had lived so long and this child hadn't even been given that chance.

"Please save my baby," Elisa whispered fervently as her eyes squeezed shut.  "Save my baby.  Hope must not be lost... not lost... not lost... not lost... not lost... not lost..." she repeated like a mantra.

As if it were a tangible thing, Lisette could feel the grief and sadness that permeated every surface in the room.  It wasn't right.  Hope's death couldn't be what Fate had written for this night.  She knew that life wasn't supposed to be fair -- her own tortured past proved as much, but this seemed to go above and beyond that.  It was just wrong.

Slowly, bit by bit, Lisette began to feel it with every pore in her body and through her entire being.  She knew that this wasn't the way it was to be.  The small, golden haired child was the hope for their future and she could not be destroyed.  She wanted Hope to survive with every fiber of her being.  Hope would survive.

Shuddering at the remembrance of so much blood, Brooklyn held Lisette closer.  She seemed so small and delicate as her thin frame shook like a leaf in his embrace.  She felt so different from before -- so weak that his protective instinct kicked in full force.  He wanted to shield her from the world and keep the hurt from her past, the present, and any that lay hidden in the future far, far away.

"Shh, Lisette, I'm here mon amour," he whispered gently against her ear as she hid her face from the world in his chest, her arms at her side as he gently brushed his mouth against her soft, golden hair, his arms holding her tight.

And then, her small arms slowly raised and wrapped tightly around Brooklyn's back as she stiffened in the red gargoyle's arms.  Before he could react though, she went limp in his arms, they being the only thing that prevented her from falling to the hard linoleum floor.  Confused, Brooklyn quickly lowered Lisette to the ground and stared at her unconscious form in shock.  "Lisette?" he asked slowly.

"She's not going to make it," one of the doctor's said flatly as one of his colleague's lifted the scalpel over the small child.

"It matters not," Owen interrupted as he checked over the anesthesia that was slowly bringing the detective into a legarthic state so that the doctors could work on her without interruption.  "Do what you're paid for and provide a valiant effort to save this child!  And where's the head physician?" he snapped.

Duly chagrined by the harsh reproach, the outspoken doctor quickly nodded to his companion who once more readied the gleaming scalpel over the child's chest, ready to start the operation.  "She's been paged!" a nurse called out.  Suddenly, all thoughts of procedure were scattered as the child flashed a bright green, sending the four men and women stumbling away from the bed in surprise.

When the light had faded, the group once more slid cautiously forward.  "The bullet hole is gone," one woman whispered as she clutched the scalpel tightly, eyeing the soft and smooth skin of the little girl.

"Why aren't you operating?!" Owen suddenly bellowed, losing his calm façade as he stepped away from Elisa's bedside and towards the silent doctors.

But just as Owen's words startled the doctors, they also served to awaken the small child from her slumber.  As the group stared in wonder, Hope's small eyelids began to flutter before they slid open to reveal a pair of startling blue eyes -- that slowly narrowed as they focused on the gleaming scalpel that a doctor held in her hand.

"Aaagggggghhhhhhhhh!!!" Hope screamed in terror as she quickly sat up and stumbled off of the high table.  Ignoring the flash of pain that she felt as her knee hit the hard floor, Hope was on her feet again and tearing through the large white room.  "Mommy!" she wailed as she avoided the hands of the people that were going to hurt her with the small knife, hot tears streaking her face.  And then she saw her mommy lying on another table with strangers all around her holding more knives... that dripped with her mommy's blood.  "Mommy!!!" she screamed as she stopped in her tracks, her tears pooling in her large blue eyes.  "Stop hurtin' my mommy!" she screamed as fear and anger boiled in her blood, causing her eyes to glow green as bolts of magic flew from her tiny fingers, zapping the Bad People and scattering them.

"Did she faint?" Fox asked quickly as everyone gathered around the fallen mage.

"I don't know!" Brooklyn cried out as he knelt helplessly beside Lisette.  "She just collapsed!" he exclaimed.

Suddenly, a new sound leaked into the room as the sound of clanging metal and the screams of a small child filtered in through the closed infirmary door.  Surprised, all but Brooklyn, Angela, and Broadway rose and rushed into the other room, just as Lisette's breath turned ragged.

"Hope?" Goliath cried out in amazement as he stared at the small child that was busy zapping anyone who dared go near her mother's operating table, looking none the worse for wear besides her blood stained dress and teary eyes.

"'liath!" Hope wailed as she turned and threw herself into the large gar-goyle's arms.  "Make 'em stop hurtin' my mommy!" she cried desperately as she sobbed into his purple chest.

Amazed and confused beyond belief, Goliath gently held the small girl in his arms, so unaccustomed to the feeling, and rubbed her small back as she sniffled.  "Hope, the doctors are helping Elisa to get better," Goliath said slowly as the clan stared at the little girl in shock.  Only a few minutes ago she had been knocking at death's door and now she seemed perfectly fine -- distraught but healthy.

"Who?" Hope whispered quietly as the tears dripped down.

"Your mommy," Goliath quickly corrected as he turned to see Owen staring at Hope in a mix of wonder, horror, and shock.  Startled by the manservant's intense gaze, Goliath impulsively held Hope closer as he took a halting step towards them and the door, his face white as a ghost as his eyes seemed to slide past them.

"Lisette," Owen whispered quietly as he looked beyond Goliath and saw her form spread out on the linoleum floor in the waiting room, surrounded by her friends.  Ever since Hope had awaken in apparent good health, he had stood in a state of shock, trying to figure out how the impossible had been made possible.  Now he knew.  "Foolish, foolish girl," he muttered quickly as he brushed past the large lavender gargoyle and strode angrily into the waiting room.

"Owen, what's wrong with her?" Angela asked quickly as the manservant knelt beside her.  In the last few seconds Lisette's tan skin had turned a dusty white as her breathing became low and ragged -- it sounded as though she had to fight for each breath she took.

"She saved Hope," Owen muttered as he quickly reached forward and placed his hand high over the smooth black material that covered her breast.  When he drew his hand away, his pale skin was sheathed in red blood that the black dress concealed.

"But... but she wasn't anywhere near Hope!" Brooklyn quickly argued as his own face became ashen.  "She didn't even cast a spell!!"

"Which means that she finally learned the lesson that Puck has been trying to teach her and Alex -- that words and spells are human inventions not needed by the third race and that a true fey need only want the magic to be done with all its being," Owen explained quickly as he placed Brooklyn's hand firmly over the bullet wound, hoping to slow the bleeding as he checked her pulse.

"But the fey use spells..." Broadway murmured quietly.

"For amusement and appearance's sake only," Owen quickly said as he leaned forward and lifted the young woman into his arms.  Without another word he quickly turned from the three and hurried into the infirmary.  For some reason, Owen felt an irrational anger towards the younger part of the clan, especially for Brooklyn for not stopping her from doing this to herself.  Yet at the same time he knew that the anger was unjustified and just a way to cover up for his own frustration -- his frustration towards Lisette for selflessly endangering herself yet again and at himself for being unable to do the same thing for a young life that so obviously deserved saving.  "Over here!" Owen quickly barked as he gently deposited his student on Hope's empty bed.

As the clan turned towards Owen in shock, Hope's experienced doctors quickly swarmed around the bed, rushed by the urgency they heard in a voice that was usually so calm and collected.  "Another one?" the head doctor asked as she took this opportunity to make herself known, turning away from the resumed work on the detective to inspect the new patient.  "What do we have here?"

"The same thing that was wrong with the child -- a bullet wound that has punctured the lung," Owen said quickly in a voice that welcomed no questions.

Not that she was going to ask any, for after serving as head physician at the Aerie Building for the last two years, Doctor Tasha Rider had quickly learned that it was best not to comment on or question the oddities that were seen.  "Fine, prep her for surgery," Doctor Rider quickly ordered as she turned and walked briskly up to the odd group.  "I'm not running a circus here," she stated quickly, ignoring Mr. Xanatos and his wife's looks of surprise.  "I want everyone out NOW!"

Ignoring the woman's hostility, Brooklyn quickly pushed forward till he was staring hopefully into her steel gray eyes.  "Will Lisette be alright?" he asked quickly as he tried not to panic.

At seeing the unmistakable look of love in the gargoyle's eyes, Rider felt herself soften slightly as the rest of the group began filing slowly from the large room.  Sighing softly, she turned and watched as her crew began cutting away the filmy white blouse that modestly covered the beautiful young woman that was busy fighting for her life.  "Her chances are better than were the little girl's because of her older age and stronger body," she said honestly, bringing hope to the young gargoyle as he too quietly left the room.

"But?" Owen asked quietly, knowing that there was more to the story than that.

Sighing, Doctor Rider slowly turned to regard the majordomo and Mr. Xanatos's right-hand man with even eyes.  "Her chances are slim because of the punctured lung," she answered, telling the man what she had been unwilling to tell the young gargoyle.  Instantly, his expression became stony as he turned and headed back towards the table where surgery was about to be underway.  "I'm sorry, Mr. Burnett," she cut in quickly as she gently grabbed his elbow and began leading him to the door, "but I'm going to have to ask you to wait in the waiting room as well."

"But..."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Burnett," she interrupted firmly, "but it's obvious that you have an emotional attachment to the girl that will only serve as a distraction for us.  You will wait outside with the others."

Sighing, Owen knew that she was right as he slowly turned away and towards the door.  "You will..."

"I will notify you of all changes in the patients' conditions," she promised quickly as the man nodded once before slipping from the room.  "Although I have a feeling that not all of my news will be welcomed," she murmured as she slowly turned back to her patients.  There was work to be done.

As his thoughts swirled around him, Goliath slowly stepped into the waiting room, Hope cradled in his arms.  As the small child shook with huge sobs, he tried to comfort her while listening to the conversations of the others.  Everyone was just so confused, distraught, and disorganized from one shock after another.  First they were all hoping and praying for Hope and Elisa, both seriously injured.  And then Hope was perfectly healthy and using her magic against the doctors.  And now, Lisette was injured somehow and the one fighting for life.  And he couldn't make sense of any of it!  All around him were confused voices and the confused and loud crying of Hope and Alex.  Growling, Goliath had to fight the urge to roar for silence, knowing that it would only make Alex and Hope cry even more.

Suddenly, Goliath's eyes lit upon Owen who had quietly entered the room from the infirmary.  Nodding his head, the massive gargoyle quickly moved across the room till he was towering over the blond man.  "Owen, watch over Hope while I sort through this," Goliath ordered quickly as he handed the little girl over, his duties as clan leader always having to come before his personal needs -- like the need to comfort the daughter of his love.  His clan and duty would always have to come first.

Without saying a word Owen accepted the child and then turned away, settling in a chair on the far side of the room.

Puzzled by Owen's actions, Goliath quickly shook his head and then turned and regarded the rest of the room with a critical eye, checking out his options.  Upon entering the waiting room, the group had quickly split into four smaller sub-groups, six counting he and Owen and Hope.  Xanatos and Fox were huddled together in one corner trying to comfort their son while Brooklyn sat alone; Hudson, Lexington, Bronx, and Matt in another; and Broadway and... Angela in another.

Sighing, Goliath slowly lumbered across the room and settled heavily in a hard chair beside his human daughter.  "What happened?" he asked, the weariness evident in his low voice.

"Owen said that Lisette used her magic to save Hope's life," Broadway quickly explained, his usually jovial face downcast.

"I figured as much," Goliath said heavily as he met his daughter's eyes.  "I meant with you."

"Oh," Broadway murmured as a single tear streaked down his love's face.  "I... uh... I'll be back," he muttered as he made a hasty retreat.

"I'm sorry, Father," Angela whispered quietly as she lifted one ivory hand to wipe her tears away.  "I... I asked Lisette to turn me into a human..." she trailed off, unable to believe that only a few short hours ago she and her friend had been having so much fun dancing at the club... now Lisette was hurt and... dying.

"Why?  Why did you want to be human?" Goliath asked slowly, afraid of his daughter's answer.  Gargoyles had always been proud, proud to be a gargoyle and proud of their heritage.  He would never forget that Angela and the other hatchlings had been raised by humans, many aspects of their lives modeled after them like names and the recognition of biological parents.  Secretly, he had always feared that as a result his daughter would be more human than gargoyle... now he was worried that his fears were justified.

"Oh, I don't want to be human," Angela quickly countered as she regarded her father with solemn eyes.  "I just wanted to see what the nightclub was like, and to do that I had to be human... I actually despise being human," she admitted as she inspected her five-fingered hands.  "They're so weak and fragile... I had no chance against Thailog..."

"Thailog?" Goliath asked in surprise.  Up until then, Goliath had felt a small smile growing because of his daughter's words -- a smile that instantly vanished at the mention of his clone.

"Another long story..."

Sniffling and hiccupping from her long crying jag, Hope slowly snuggled closer into Unca Owen's arms.  "Is... is my mommy gonna be okay?" she asked quietly as she looked up into his bright blue eyes.

Sighing, Owen rubbed his forehead wearily before meeting Hope's poofy red eyes.  "I think so," he murmured absently as he thought of his student.

As if she knew where his thoughts rested Hope slowly turned her sad eyes to the closed infirmary door.  "Who is the pretty girl?" she asked quietly.  "The one with the yellow hair that was sleepin'?"

Smiling slightly, Owen gently squeezed the little girl's hand.  "Her name is Lisette."

"She looks like a nice girl," Hope said quietly.

"She is... Lisette is very, very nice."

"As nice as my mommy?"

"Yes, Hope, as nice as your mother."

"Well, why was she sleepin'?" Hope asked curiously.  "Was she tired?"

"No, Hope.  Lisette is hurt like your mother."

"Will she be okay like my mommy?"

"I... I don't think so, Hope."

"Are you sad?" Hope asked quietly, her little hands gently squeezing his own, she trying to comfort him now.

"Yes Hope, I'm very sad," Owen admitted quietly.

"It's okay, Unca Owen.  You can cry if you want to," Hope said quietly as she reached forward and kissed his cheek.  "Mommy said that it's okay to cry when you're sad."

"Thank you," was Owen's whispered reply as a single tear trailed unnoticed down one pale cheek.

As the hours rolled by, the waiting room slowly and unwillingly, in most cases, began to empty.  First to go was Xanatos and Alex, the latter needing his bed and sleep more than any other having long since cried himself to sleep.  Next to go was the clan, minus Angela, having no choice but to answer to the rising sun's call.  And then it was Matt Bluestone, barely awake and knowing that not only did he work that night, but he also had to cover for his partner as well.  And then went Fox, unable to stay awake any longer.

In the end, only Owen, Angela, and Hope remained, Owen and Angela unwilling to leave and none having the heart to take Hope away.  Besides, as Owen had repeatedly pointed out, he would be needed to call and wake the others the moment that there was word.

And then the waiting was over as an exhausted Dr. Rider stepped out of the door that had been closed for the last ten hours.  Instantly Owen was on his feet, Hope beside him and clutching his hand tightly as he tried to read the doctor's expression, Angela standing quietly behind them.

But the doctor's weary gaze was unreadable as she met his eyes.  "Well, I have good news and bad news," she said quietly, her stormy eyes flat as six of the eight doctors, surgeons, and nurses stepped around her and stumbled towards the break room, hoping for a few hours of sleep before they were called upon again.  "Both pulled through the surgery okay and Detective Maza, your mother," she said, leaning down to look in the little girl's eyes, "will make a full recovery and be just fine.  She's a very strong woman and her injuries should heal nicely..."

"And Lisette?" Owen interrupted, not sure that he wanted to hear the answer.

"We were able to repair the damage to her lung," Doctor Rider started slowly as she ran a hand through her short, auburn hair.  "But the bullet is lodged near her heart in a place where we wouldn't be able to remove it without killing her."

"So she still has the bullet within her?" Angela asked slowly, her blood feeling as though it was freezing over.  "But she can live with it in her, right?"

"I'm afraid not," Rider replied quietly, hating this part of her job.  "If it was a normal bullet, then yes.  But the material that it's made of is slowly killing her..."

"But because of her heritage the matter shouldn't affect her as badly as anyone else..." Owen muttered slowly.

"Which just proves to me that if it was possible to remove the bullet then I and my colleagues would be dead now due to the exposure and that the patient would have then been left unattended and would have bled to death," Dr. Rider interrupted quickly, her eyes flashing.

Startled, Owen took a step back as Hope looked up at him with wide eyes.  He hadn't even thought of the fact that exposure to the bullet would kill the humans.  "I.. I am sorry.  I didn't realize..."

Smiling sadly, Doctor Rider quickly shook away his apology.  "It doesn't matter..."

"What are her chances?" he interrupted, wanting to get to the point.. to the part that really mattered.

"I'm sorry, but we don't expect her to make it to sunset."

"I see," Owen mumbled as Hope squeezed his hand gently.  "May we see them?"

"Of course," the doctor replied quickly.  "Detective Maza is awake and eager to see her daughter..." she trailed off as she saw the question in Owen's eyes.  "We don't expect the other young woman to regain consciousness again."

"Thank you," Owen murmured hoarsely as he heard Angela's choked sob from behind him.  Turning, he, Hope, and Angela then brushed past the doctor and slipped into the infirmary.

Instantly Hope was off like a shot as her short legs carried her across the room and to her mommy's side.  Gone was the hard steel table from before, having been replaced by a tall bed with metal railings and starched white sheets.  "Mommy?" Hope whispered as she stretched up on tip toes, her eyes barely peeking up over the mattress.  "Mommy?" she whispered again, finally catching sight of her.  But what she saw scared the little girl.  Her mommy's face was really white and she looked sick!

And then Hope was being lifted into the air as Angela stepped up behind her and set her gently on the edge of Elisa's bed.  Grimacing, the young gargess-turned-human realized just how bad off Elisa must have been just by seeing her pale skin and haggard appearance.  "Elisa?" Angela asked quietly as she reached forward and gently brushed a stray strand of black hair from her face, unnerved by the stark silence that was softened only by the soft beeps and whirs of the machines that surrounded Elisa's bed.

"Hmm?" Elisa murmured as her dark and tired eyes slowly focused on the two standing before her.

"Mommy!" Hope cried out in relief as she quickly began scampering across the bed, completely missing her mommy's look of panic that was only softened as a strong pair of arms encircled her waist and halted her mad dash.

Sighing in relief that her shoulder had been spared from one of her daughter's bone-crushing hugs, Elisa weakly lifted one hand and squeezed Hope's small hand gently.  "I'm sorry sweetie, but we'll have to wait for the hug till I'm feeling better," she murmured as she turned her eyes to the person that had saved her from additional torment.  "Thank you... Angela?" she asked, squinting her eyes up at the beautiful young woman standing before her.

Having long since abandoned her grimy club clothes for a more comfortable pair of khaki pants and a plain white tee-shirt, Angela slowly nodded her head.  "Yes, Lisette... changed me into a human," Angela murmured, faltering at her friend's name as fresh tears wet her large brown eyes.  "Oh Elisa," she murmured as hot tears coursed down her cheeks, moving forward as she gently placed her hand over Hope and Elisa's, "the doctor said that she... she..."

"I know," Elisa murmured sadly, tears burning her eyes.  "I know," she whispered again as she turned and once more regarded the hospital bed that had so captivated her attention since she had waken.  If they thought that she looked worse for wear after her ordeal then there had to be something magical about Lisette.  Her pale skin looked like porcelain that was off-set by her pale blond hair that shimmered like spun gold under the dimmed lighting.  Perhaps the coming of death to those who were undeserving also brought the gift of perfect beauty in the last bit of their life.

"She did this for Hope," Angela murmured, turning to regard her friend for the first time.  While Owen had immediately gone to her side upon entering the room, Angela had been unable.  Even from this distance the sight of Owen with his arms clasped tightly behind his back as the machines worked around them was too much.

"I figured as much," Elisa whispered as she slowly squeezed her daughter's hand.  Upon awakening from her drug-induced sleep, Elisa had been hysterical and frantic to find out about her daughter's condition.  The only thing that she knew for certain was that before she had been drugged her daughter had been near death, the dark matter bullet that was meant for her having passed right through her body and into her daughter's... a cursed move that had turned her attempt to save her daughter against her.  It took three of the doctors to hold her down long enough to be told that no, the person that they were operating on across the room was not a little blond toddler but instead a blond young woman.  From there it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.  Although she would have done anything, and even would have sacrificed anything to save her daughter's life, she still wished that her salvation wouldn't have come at such a high price.  Lisette was almost like a daughter to her, so while one had been saved, she still felt as though she were losing another.

"Why you both cryin'?" Hope asked quietly as she reached forward and brushed a tear away from her mommy's pale cheek.  "Is it 'cause the nice lady is sleepin'?" she asked, her bright eyes unusually solemn.

Slightly surprised, Elisa slowly nodded her head.  "Do you know Lisette?"

"No, but Unca Owen is sad because he loves her," Hope replied as she turned to look at the man that hid Unca Puck, his face cold and impassive.

"Loves her?" Angela asked in surprise, her eyes growing wide as she stared at the little girl in shock.

"Yep!  Like he loves Alex or like you love her," she explained patiently as she slowly turned to regard them with shining eyes.  "But why you so sad 'cause she's sleepin'?"

Sighing, Elisa closed her eyes briefly before focusing on her daughter once again, idly noticing that the blood stained sundress had been replaced by a beautiful dress fully decked out with satin and lace... probably something that Fox had bought in case she had a girl.  "Because.... because she's never going to wake up again," Elisa choked out, the tears now streaming down her face.

Puzzled, Hope's small brow crunched up as she considered her mommy's words.  "She's gonna die?" she asked in that blunt way of all children.

Biting back her sob, Angela quickly nodded her head.

"Well why didn't you just say so?" Hope cried out in exasperation.  When she got no answer she quickly continued.  "But why are you so sad?  You should be happy cuz' she can go to Heaven an' be happy there!"

"Because we don't want to have to say goodbye to her yet, like your daddy and I didn't want to say goodbye to you," Elisa explained as she smiled weakly down at her daughter.

"Oh, and that's why you're so sad?" Hope asked quietly, her eyes sad once again as Unca Owen slowly stepped beside them.  "Well... why don't you make her better, Mommy?" she asked, her expression bright once more.

Sighing, Elisa slowly shook her head.  "I can't sweetie... do... do you remember what your daddy and I told you about dark matter?" Elisa asked slowly.

Instantly Hope's blue eyes widened as she nodded her head slowly.  "That what hurt her?"

"Yes, that's what hurt both of us," Elisa sighed wearily as she turned to look at Owen.  Despite her daughter's words, she could detect no sign that the ice man loved the mage, now dying.  Still, deep down under the cold façade she knew that her daughter's perceptive observation had been correct: Owen did love Lisette as a teacher, uncle, and friend.

Noticing the detective's gaze, Owen slowly averted his tired eyes to the hard linoleum floor.  "Doctor Rider was correct," he murmured his voice rough and uncaring, "she will not survive until sunset."

"The others won't be able to say goodbye," Angela murmured sadly as she turned to look at her friend, lying all alone.  "Brooklyn won't be able to say goodbye," she added quietly, knowing that Lisette's death would most likely shatter the second.

As a heavy silence fell once more over the room, Hope sat on the scratchy white sheets and thought about all that had been said.  As the big machines beeped and whirred, a solution finally came to the small girl.  "Why don't Unca Puck make her better?" Hope asked, turning a toothy grin on Unca Owen.

"I only wish that Puck could," Owen murmured as he turned to stare at his student.  "The dark matter has no effect on the third race, but Lord Oberon has restricted the Puck's actions so that he can only become Puck when Alex is endangered or in his teachings..."

"Well can't you just make a lesson out of it?" Angela asked eagerly, hope lighting her eyes for the first time.

"As a part of Lord Oberon's restrictive spell I am unable to teach Alex any spells that will directly result in endangering his life," Owen responded automatically, his blue eyes dead and lifeless.

Sighing through her tears, Elisa gently hugged her daughter to her side.  So then there was no hope.  With the dark matter draining on Lisette's already weakened form, they all knew that the end wasn't far away for the young mage.  Turning, she watched as Angela visibly struggled with herself, her face pale as she tightly gripped the cold metal railing that lined her hospital bed.  "I.. already had a chance to say goodbye," Elisa murmured as she thought back to her own heartfelt goodbye to the young woman who had grown to be such a large part of their lives.

When she had first realized that the girl may not survive, Elisa had forced the medical personnel to wheel her bed beside Lisette.  It was then that she whispered all of the words that she had never had the chance to say, knowing that somewhere deep inside Lisette was listening.  Over and over again Elisa had reminded the young French mage of how much she was loved and urged her not to be afraid -- everything would be alright.  She promised.

Elisa had stayed beside her as long as they would allow, finally relenting and allowing them to move her back to her side of the room.  She had lied.  Nothing would be alright for a long, long time.

"Goodbye?" Angela asked weakly, her legs feeling instantly weak.  "But..."

"Angela, I know it's hard," Elisa interrupted sympathetically as she weakly raised one hand and placed it gently on Angela's, still curved tightly around the railing.  "But we should feel lucky..."

"Lucky?!" Angela asked in disbelief, her mind whirling.  This was only her second experience with death and the kind of goodbyes that would last for eternity, the first being with the Magus.  But this was different than then.. at least the Magus had been old and had lived a full life... Lisette was only nineteen years old.  She hadn't even been able to see her still friend -- deal with the fact that she was going to die.. and now Elisa was talking about goodbyes?

"The others won't even get this chance," Elisa responded solemnly as she turned and took in the cold and calm mask that resided on the face of the man that stood beside her.  "She doesn't have much longer... it's time to say goodbye," she finished gently, grateful in the saddest of ways that Hope was curled in her arms and not the one that was quickly slipping away.

Nodding slowly, Angela felt the tears burn in her eyes as she turned and walked mechanically across the large room, Lisette's borrowed-white tennis shoes tapping loudly on the linoleum floor.  It wasn't fair... this whole night wasn't fair Angela realized as she looked down at her still friend.  She looked like she was already gone... her black dress was no where to be seen and instead Lisette wore some kind of white and blue checkered material that circled high above her throat and ended loosely around her forearms.  Over top, she was covered in scratchy sheets, almost exactly the same as Elisa's with her arms resting lightly over top.  Blinking back her tears, Angela gently reached down and took Lisette's pale hand into her own, wary of the padded bandage that was evident under the clothing, careful of the many wires.

"Hi Lisette," she murmured quietly as she gently squeezed her hand.  "I... I don't know what to say besides... I don't want you to go," she sobbed as the tears began to trail down her face yet again.  Ignoring them, she gently reached out with one hand and brushed a pale lock of blond hair away from Lisette's face.. even her face showed what she was going through, the pain, as circles darkened the skin beneath her closed lids, her face chalky white with a tube of sorts pushing air into her straight nose, her pale lips pursed slightly.  "But the doctors say that you can't stay with us," she whispered hoarsely, quickly brushing the tears aside as she tried a weak smile.  

"Do you remember all of the fun that we've had?  I've never.. never had a friend quite like you before," she chuckled.  "Look at all of the trouble that we've gotten into together..." Angela trailed off as the tears coursed down her cheeks, her voice no more than a choked whisper.  "Why did you do this?  Lisette, you have lost everyone close to you in your past life.. sometimes.. sometimes I think that you would rather die yourself than ever lose someone close to you again..." she sniffled.  "What you don't understand is that all of us.. me, Brooklyn, Elisa, the clan.. even Owen, I think, would rather die than lose you," Angela murmured as she gently returned her best friend's limp hand to the scratchy sheet.  

"Au revoir, mon amie," she whispered, the French words, the only French words that she had been taught, somehow fitting.  "Goodbye, my friend," she repeated as she turned away from the bed quickly.  As the sob ripped at her throat, Angela quickly bolted from the room, not daring another glance back at her friend.

Sighing, Elisa held her daughter closer as she watched Goliath's daughter's hasty departure.  "Poor Angela," she murmured absently as she began to stroke her daughter's fine and curly locks.

"Yes, poor Angela," Owen spat out quietly, immediately annoyed at himself for the sharp retort that had slipped from his lips, blowing the cold comfort that his hardened exterior brought on.  As Detective Maza's head snapped in his direction, Owen quickly averted his eyes from her piercing gaze.  "If you will excuse me," he murmured, his careful mask of nonchalance returning as he slowly stepped away from the detective's bedside and made the long trek across the infirmary.  When he was at Lisette's bedside he slowly and mechanically began dragging the long curtain around her bed, affording them the most privacy that the infirmary could afford.

Once that was done, Owen felt himself sigh in relief as he stood stiffly beside the young woman, his shoulders melting under the weight of his emotions.  Alone at last, Owen finally let the mask of solitude drop as he reached down and took Lisette's soft hand into his own.  Only now could he allow his true feelings to show -- his love and his grief.  But neither Owen, the shell-man who showed only coldness and loyalty, nor the Puck, who allowed himself only to feel happiness, laughter, and anger, knew much about the intense feelings that they were faced with and knew not how to express themselves -- himself, quite right.

"What you did, although stupid and foolish, was the right thing to do," Owen began haltingly as he held her hand gently.  Even now, he watched as the blips and the bleeps that coldly showed her life force began to slow and ebb.  The end for the young woman, his student, was closer than he had feared.  "While we all... care for you... young Hope must survive to ensure the success and protection of the mortal world... two protectors will always be better than one," he commented wryly as a grim smile lifted the hard lines of his mouth.  "Any and everything must be sacrificed... to... ensure that..." he trailed off as he faltered in his perfect speech.

Sacrifice?  Was that all that her young life amounted to?  Her life sacrificed for a greater purpose?  A greater good?  She looked so young.  Her face was pale and unlined, her eyes closed as though sleeping with her pale blond hair cushioned beneath her.  She looked so much younger than her nineteen years... or so much older.  This woman, a girl really, contained a hardened and wizened knowledge that extended past her nineteen years.  She knew that her life meant nothing, was nothing, in comparison with the life of Hope, a young protector.  But if that was so, then why did it feel so wrong?

And then Owen knew.  Thinking back, he couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when his feelings for the young French mage had changed, when her kindness had finally broken through his cold shell and had warmed his heart with her love.  Love... his feelings had changed into a kind of paternal love for her -- and he didn't want her to die no matter how good the reason.

Shaking his head, he realized that if one smile from the precious girl was enough for his cold exterior to crack, then he had indeed allowed her into his heart.  He would now risk Oberon's wrath for three people: David and Alexander Xanatos and Lisette, the young French mage.

He had realized that so many months ago when Lisette had been near to losing her mind in the dream spell that she had taken from Elisa and Goliath in order to save them all.  Why was he so surprised now?  "Je t'aime, mon étudiante," he whispered as a single tear streaked down his cheek.  He knew what an effort it was for the native French woman to express herself in English all of the time, a language not of her own, and found himself slipping into her native dialect.  "Pour toi, je vais faire quelque chose.  Je vais te faire bien... je promis," he whispered as he slowly bent down and brushed a soft kiss across Lisette's cool forehead.

Sighing, Owen slowly closed his eyes and straightened, focused on the ever-present barrier that restrained himself.  His true self.  "For you, I will do anything.  I will make you well... I promise," he repeated as he began to tug at the barrier, trying desperately to make the invisible wall go down.  He needed to escape Oberon's prison... he had to, for Lisette's young life depended on it.  "Damn it, where are you?!" he suddenly seethed through gritted teeth as a bead of perspiration broke out on his forehead, Lisette's pale hand gripped tightly in his own as though he could draw strength from the dying girl.  He needed to find the hole in Oberon's wall, no matter how small, so that Puck could escape to save the day.  Only a fey could survive the drain of the dark matter.  Only his kind was unaffected.  "Where are you?!" he hissed as his search became frantic.

"Whatcha lookin' for?"

Surprised by the small voice, Owen quickly dropped Lisette's hand and stepped back, straightening his tie and stepping back into his emotionless shell in one fluid motion.  Turning his rigid shoulder, Owen's cold blue eyes swept the curtained room for the owner to the question.  Surprised, he finally found the person in the form of Hope's small face peeking beneath one corner of the curtain.  Sighing, Owen slowly allowed his façade to drop slightly as he found a relieved solace in the toddler.  He needn't hide with her.  "What can I help you with?" Owen asked pointedly as he concentrated on the young mage, once again taking her small hand in his own.

Sighing softly, Hope took that as an invitation as she quickly crawled forward on the cold floor and slid beneath the curtain.  "I asked whatcha lookin' for," Hope repeated as she moved to the tall bed, up on her tip toes as she tried to see over the sheets opposite of Unca Owen.

Sighing, Owen ignored the child's pouted lips and restrained himself from lifting the small girl onto the bed as she so obviously wanted.  "I was trying to find a way around Lord Oberon's spell that prevents me from becoming Puck," he scowled as the girl shrugged her dainty shoulders and used her own magic to lift her and gently set her on the hospital bed, perched beside Lisette.

"Why?" Hope asked simply, a child's favorite question.

"So that I can save Lisette," Owen answered irritably, annoyed at seeing the blond child, so exuberant and alive, perched beside the young mage as she lay dying.  Growling softly, he averted his eyes from her sparkling blue orbs, wanting none of the peace or calm that she radiated as Lisette wasted away.

"But Unca Obe'ron and Auntie Ti'tanie will be mad at you if you do that," Hope replied solemnly as her eyes grew wide.  "Why you do that?  Why you help her?" she asked as she jutted a chubby finger at the pretty lady.

"Because she's dying because she helped you -- she doesn't deserve that," Owen answered honestly, tears burning in his eyes as he realized that there was no hole through which Puck could escape.  He was indeed in a prison through which he was forced to watch his student die, forever living with the knowledge that he had the power to save her.

"Oh," Hope mumbled quietly as she turned her large eyes to the pretty girl's face.  Idly, she wondered what color her eyes were as she struggled to understand Unca Owen's words.  She didn't know this Leeze.. Lis.. this Lee-zette.. but Lee-zette had helped her.  That made her really, really nice.  She liked nice people, and earlier Unca Owen had said that she was even nicer than her mommy.  And while she doubted that anyone could be nicer than her mommy, she still understood that she had to be really nice.  Biting her lip softly, Hope slowly turned back to Unca Owen.  "But you'd get into big trouble..."

"I don't care," Owen cried out bitterly as a sudden flash of light blinded him.  Startled, Owen quickly blinked away his spotted vision as he turned back towards the young girl.  Surprised, he saw that Hope was now bathed in a green light, her eyes squeezed tight in concentration.

"Then I will help you," Hope whispered as she felt the magical barricade that surrounded the antsy fey, just as her mommy and daddy had taught her to.  But, like Unca Puck, she could find no hole.  Unconcerned, she merely concentrated harder and began tugging at the top of the invisible wall, gently pulling it down.

Surprised once more, Puck wasted no time in escaping from his prison.  Even as his true form began to float above Lisette's unmoving body, Puck knew that Oberon was aware of his escape and that his time was short.  Quickly he drifted lower and placed his smaller hand on the thin material of the hospital gown that covered Lisette's right breast, directly over the bullet wound.  Without wasting time on silly rhymes and other such nonsense, Puck quickly concentrated on the dark matter that was busy draining the life force from the young mage.

A second later, two things happened at what appeared to be the same instant.  Right before Puck, infamous trickster and caring teacher, disappeared in a flash of light, yanked back to Avalon by a furious Lord Oberon, the dark matter bullet disappeared from its place beside Lisette's caring heart and reappeared harmlessly in a mirrored position inside of Puck.

Blinking her eyes slowly, Hope felt her mouth stretch open in a wide yawn.  Sighing softly, her breath smelling like the sweet milk that Fox had given her earlier, the small girl slowly crawled forward and then nestled herself down in Lee-zette's arms.  Warm and snug, she gently laid her tiny hand on the pretty lady's owie and smiled as a warm sleep pulled her down.  Lee-zette would be okay... she only hoped that the same could be said about Unca Puck -- Unca Obe'ron's anger was notorious even to her.  

And with that, the heavy hand of sleep clamped down on the small child, warm and snug in a stranger's arms -- safe and protected until the coming of the new night.