GARGOYLE TROOPERS:
THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY ALLY
 

December 25, 1996

        “Merry Christmas boss.”  
        Looking up from her desk to see who was talking to her, Demona saw a robot standing in front of her.
        Stepping out from behind the gargoyle looking robot was Demona’s chief robot designer.  “I told I would have the first production model ready ahead of schedule.”
        “I see Mr. Daystrom.”  Demona said as she walked around her desk too more closely inspect the first of her new “gargdrones” that was to counter Xanatos' “Steel clan”.
        As Demona ran a finger along the forearm to the face and down one of the wings, Mr. Daystrom briefed her about the gargdrone’s capabilities.
        “It has reinforced Kevlar as the outer skin over a new composite material that is twice as strong Cabol armor.  The internal skeleton is titanium and has easy to piece together arms, which allows it to remove a forearm and be mated with a heavy weapon.  In addition it can use both hands, and thus carry two weapons.  The power plant had to be modified to meet your power specifications, so it really sucks down the fuel.”
        “How much so?”  Demona asked.
        “With a full electrical charge it was an endurance of either one hundred miles at sixty miles per hour, or five hours of ground based operations.”
         Demona nodded her head in acceptance.  While the price that her gargdrones paid for achieving those performance levels was an operational endurance far below that of Xanato’s steel clan, Demona’s where cheaper and easier to make.  And that was what would make them marketable to armies around the world as effective shock troopers.
        “What about electronics?”  Demona asked.
        “This one was the full package like you asked for, multi-spectral optics, hardened circuitry against EMP shockwaves, universal data port and secure voice and data transmission capability, and an internal memory capacity of one terabyte, the other production models have just the bare minimum”.  
        “So why the double zero painted on the right shoulder?”
       “I figured you would want to keep this one for yourself.  I call him Gargdrone Wing Zero.”

***

December 26, 1996

       “Hello Mr. Vaisley, how nice to meet you today.”  Demona in her human form as Dominique Destiny said as the man in front of her took a seat.
       “Miss Destiny, no disrespect intended, but I was under the impression that I would be dealing with Demona.”  Mr. Vaisley answered.
       “Initially you were, however an issue came up that required her direct involvement.  I have been given full authority to speak on her behalf today.”
       “I see then, very well, lets begin.  First of all, please call me Hans.  Now as you probably already know I represent a group of overseas investors.  Up to this point they have been pleased with your work, but they beginning to become inpatient, which is quite a rare event for them.”
       “Impatient?”  Dominique said in surprise, “What ever could they be impatient about?  Her new small arms ammunition program is six months ahead of schedule, it’s only a matter of days before the United States Government grants her the contract to mass produce it for its military.  And where the United States military goes, so does most of the world.”
       “Yes, they are pleased with that.  But that is not what they are concerned about.”
       “Then is it her robotics program?  Yes it was expensive to start up, but her new gargdrones have a mass market apply, unlike Xanatos’s robotic gargoyles.”
       “While there are some concerns about that, it mostly comes from the more conservative investors.  So no, that is not the main source of concern.”
       Sighing, Dominique knew that she was cornered.  “Then it’s her chemical and biological weapons program isn’t it?”
       “Now you are getting to the heart of the matter.  A weapon that shots in one direction can kill the person it’s pointed at, and they have no problem with that.  However, both chemical and biological weapons kill indiscriminately.  Women, children, civilians, even wild life and plant life are all at risk if such weapons are used.”
       “So that is your concern, collateral damage then.”
       “Yes, we wish for Miss Demona to turn more of her efforts from area lethal weapons and more towards pin point weapons.  For example, her none nuclear Electro Magnetic Pulse weapon did appear to be quite promising.”
       “I see.  I will make note of that and pass it on to Miss Demona.  Was there anything else?”
       Resting his chin in his hand so that his fingers curled up in a way that obscured his lips, Mr. Vaisley sat there for a minute before responding.
       “Yes there is one more thing.  Are you free for lunch?”
       “Excuse me?”  Dominique asked as she was caught off guard.
       “Its not everyday that I get to meet a woman that is as beautiful, smart, and successful as you.  I would very much like to have lunch with you and a chance to just talk and get to know you as a person.”
       “Well let me check my schedule.”  Dominique said as she flipped through her calendar.  “It seems you are in luck, I don’t have anything planned this afternoon.”  She said with a slight smile.

** 

       After lunch at one of the more expensive restaurants in the state of California, and a delightful chat over various topics, Dominique enjoyed a ride back to her corporate headquarters in Mr. Vaisley’s limo.
       “That was quite kind of you to pick up the tap for lunch today.  I thought the way it usually worked was that corporations paid to wine and dine their investors.”  Dominique said.
       “Traditionally yes that is the case.  However, the group of investors I represent are, for the lack of a better term, quite old school.  They believe that a gentleman should pay for a lady’s meal.  In fact, gentlemanly conduct is one of their hallmarks, they believe that it sets them apart from the rest of the crowd.”
       “I see, well it is very difficult to find people that uphold such codes of conduct now a days.”
        “I’m sure there are a few out there.”  Hans answered.  “Here we go Miss Destiny, right up to the front of your office.  I’m sure this may cause just a bit of gossip among your employees though.”
       “Let them gossip, it will just give them an incentive to work longer to see if they can catch us again.”
       “You certainly are a clever one.”  Hans said as he offered his hand and assisted Dominique from the car.  “If you don’t mind I would like to call you in a week to see how the results of our discussion came out, and perhaps to have lunch with you again.”
       “And you are certainly the pushy type.”  Dominique smiled slyly.
       “Of coarse I am more than willing to pay.  I’ll just chock it up as a business expense.”
       “My, my, how in the world can I possibly refuse such an offer?  I look forward to it then.”
       “The pleasure would be all mine.”  Mr. Vaisley said with a slight bow as he watched Dominique walk in to her office.

***

December 28, 1996

       Aries was only mildly pleased with his catch.  He had hoped to return with six captured gargoyles, but instead he only had four.  On top of that his causalities had been heavier than he had expected, not that he was concerned about the lives of the humans who worked for Demona, but more because he had to come up with a good excuse for why he lost them. 
       But then again, perhaps honesty was the best policy this time around.  Once Demona learned of the Roughwings betrayal to her, she wouldn’t care about human losses.
       Just then Ivan walked in to the room with Aries and the four bound and gagged Roughwings lying on the ground.
       “Aries, Demona’s looking for you, and she’s wondering why this place looks so deserted today.”  Ivan said.
       “Fine, I will tell her why.  In the mean time, post a guard on the Roughwings, and make sure you keep this under wraps; I don’t want  Mach to find them.  As far as he is concerned the story is that the Roughwings left with Brooklyn.”

**

       Walking to Demona’s office, Aries mentally prepared himself for the verbal onslaught he was about to receive.  And as if reading his mind, Demona was quick to deliver.
       “Aries, what is the meaning of this?”  Demona asked of her second in command.
        “The meaning of what?”  Aries asked, fairly sure he knew what she meant but playing dumb anyway.
        Throwing down a small stack of papers Demona looked Aries square in the face.  “You know what I’m talking about.  You have been making unauthorized use of personnel and resources.  I want to know why.”
        Sighing, Aries knew he was caught and decided that now might be a good time to come clean with Demona.  
       “Yes I have been making unauthorized use of your personnel and equipment to capture the Roughwings.”
        “Is that so?  How long have you been doing this?”
        “For the past couple of days.  In fact I actually just returned after capturing most of them.”
        “Most of them?  Who haven’t you caught?”
        “Athena and Brooklyn.”
        “Brooklyn?  He was here?  How long had he been here, living under my nose with out me knowing it?”  Demona demanded.
        “Only for three days.”  Aries replied.
        “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”  Demona asked angrily.
        “I didn’t find out until the third day he was here.  And it was Rick and his Roughwings that kept his presence here a secret.  After I confronted Rick about this he and the Roughwings left.  After all the time and money spent on them, I couldn’t just let them leave.”  Aries replied so that his volume increase matched Demona’s.
        “So that’s why you found it necessary to use some of my human commandos.  How did they fair?  What kind of causalities did they take?”
        “Ok considering a gargoyle’s superior strength.  However, they still took heavy causalities.”

***

January 3, 1997

       Dominique sat in her office and thought about the afternoon she had spent with Mr. Vaisley.  The lunch had been nice enough, much like the last one they had had together.  Mr. Vaisley has charming in his own way, or at least as much as a human could be.  Besides he had paid for lunch again, so it wasn’t a total waste.  
       Still the question was who was this Mr. Vaisley?  Despite her attempts at finding his identity, Dominique had pretty much drawn a blank, and this distressed her.  Sitting back in her chair, she turned on the television and began to flip through the channels.  Finally stopping at a channel that had some monster chasing after some teenager, Demona figured this would entertain her for a while as she tried to figure out this mystery.
       Who could this Mr. Vailsey be?  He obvious had contacts with a lot of wealth individuals, and he appeared human, yet she could find no records about him anywhere.
       Demona just happened to look up at the TV at that point and saw the monster in the movie was a vampire.
        A vampire?  Could it be?  It would answer a lot of questions.  Demona thought.
        Quickly turning back towards her computer Demona began to type in instructions and began a new search. 

 ***

January 15, 1997

       “Hello there, nice to see you again.”  Dominique said.
       “Same to you Ms. Dominique.”  Mr. Vaisley said.  “I have some information for you too.”
       “Oh, just what kind of information?”
       “Remember when I said that my “backers” didn’t like some of weapon systems you were working on.  Well I have finally received a decision from them.”
       “And just what is their decision then?”  Demona asked not really interested.
       “They continue to express interest in your non lethal weapons, and have given conditional support to your gargdrone program.  However, they are, how shall we say, less than fully supportive of your biological weapons program.”
       “I see.”  Said Demona.
       “I don’t mean to sound mean or anything, but I have been advised by my “backers” that if you don’t forgo your biological programs then they may make a hostile take over of your company.”
       To say the least this had succeeded in gaining Dominique’s full attention.
       “Are you serious?”  Dominique asked.
       “Yes I am quite sure.”  Hans said.  “However, that all depends on the report they receive from me.”
       “Oh really, and just what would it take to make you submit a favorable report then?”  Demona asked.
       “Well you’re an attractive woman, I’m sure you can figure it out your self.”
       “But what if I can’t?  Then would you be willing to let me know what it would be?”  Dominique asked with a seductive smile.

**

       “Hmm, that was certainly fun.”  Dominique said.
       “Yes it was.  More fun than I’ve had in a while.”  Hans said.
       “Some one as handsome as you, I find that hard to believe.”  Dominique said.
       “Well you must know how it is, it’s always hard to find someone that is worth spending your time with.”
       “Yes you’re right, it is hard to find some one worth while to spend my time with.”  Dominique said as she sat up and let the bed sheet that was covering her breasts fall off.
        “I’ll keep that in mind.”  Hans said as he leaned over and kissed Dominique.  “But now I must go, got people to see and things to do.”

**

        Watching the vampire glide through the air, Dominique smiled to herself as she enjoyed her latest victory.  That fool had truly thought that she was just a human and that he had been able to seduce her.  If only he could have known that she was already immortal, and that biting her would not bring her under his control.
       But even more important that that, she knew that the vampires did not trust her as an equal to themselves, and that they intended to subjugate her and her clan.  
       NEVER!  She thought.  
       She had worked to hard to lose what she had now.  But still she was not strong enough to tackle them head on, she needed some way to distract them, to buy time while she relocated.
       An evil smile slowly crossed her face as she realized the one asset she had that was most expendable.  All she had to do now was to make sure that Aries didn’t screw things up in the mean time.

***

January 29, 1997

       Now that Demona knew that the vampires where attempting to make a take over of her company, she knew what she had to do to prevent that.  The first step was to make sure that her clan was taken care of.  To that end, she had to make sure that her second in command knew enough about some of her secret projects to protect them.  Fortunately Demona knew the perfect person for that would provide a means to that end.
       “Aries I want to show you something.”  Demona said.
       “And what is that?”  Aries asked.
       “Like I said, it is something I want to show you, so please follow me.”  Demona said as she walked on to her balcony before jumping in to the sky.
       Wondering just what it was that Demona wanted to show him, Aries thought that he already knew all of Demona’s secret programs.
       Landing next to a non-descript mountainside, Aries was oblivious to the big picture, which would have shown four roads entering the mountain, one from each cardinal direction.
       “Please follow me, and don’t stray to far behind.  The guards here are under orders to shoot first and apologize to the survivors later.”  Demona said.
       As they walked deeper in to the mountain Aries became aware that Demona was showing him some of her other secret projects.  There were advanced weapons that made anything they were using look like toys.  Further along there was a secret testing area for her new gargdrones, but it looked as though there was an assembly line there too.  Even deeper in was something he didn’t know about, bio weapons.  These ran from the simple chemical agents, to biological agents, to what looked like experiments with DNA.  There were insects that were much larger than normal, and looked far more vicious.  At the end of the hallway were several large cylinders, and inside each cylinder looked to be some kind of creature, almost human looking, almost gargoyle looking.
       “Demona, are those cloning tubes there?”  Aries asked in surprise.
       “Yes they are.”  Demona said as she placed her hand to what appeared to be a plain wall.  Suddenly the wall slid to one side to revel something that looked like a deep, dark vault.
       “What is this place?”  Aries asked, as he looked around at all the items.  Some of them looked like ancient amulets, others like they belonged in B rate horror movies.
       “This is my most secret place.  And the most well protected.  It is here that I keep my magic hidden from the world.”
       “Magic?”  Aries asked sounding incredulous. 
       “Yes, the ancient art of matter and energy manipulation through spells, potions, and charmed objects.”  
       “Demona, Halloween was three months ago.”  Aries said with a silly grin on his face.
       Slamming her fist down on a table, Demona spun around and confronted Aries so fast that he was caught off guard.
       “You listen to me Aries and you listen good.  Magic does exist, I’ve been using it for over a thousand years now and I am quite knowledgeable about it.”
       “A thousand years?!”  Aries interrupted in surprise.
       “That’s right, I am a thousand years old, I’m immortal thanks to some damn magic spell that was put upon me.”
       “When did you plan on telling me this?”
       “I didn’t think there was a need before now.  Besides you knew I turned in to a human when the sun is up, shouldn’t that have been a clue right there.  Besides how do you think you became a gargoyle?  Hmm?”  Demona said sarcastically.
       “I don’t know; I just figured this stuff happens.  All I know is that we were stuck as gargoyles while you change back and forth.  I’m a soldier, what am I supposed to know about magic.”
       “True enough.”  Demona conceded.
       “So how was it that you knew it was magic that had changed us and not some chemical or genetic thing that did it?”  Aries asked.
       “The magic that changed you guys was very powerful, even now if I cast the right spell I can still see the aurora of it.”
       “What?  You mean you knew and didn’t even bother to tell us.”  Aries yelled.  “Damn it Demona how many secrets do you have?  If you can’t trust us then why should we stay here and work for you?”
       Feeling the anger with in her rising, Demona couldn’t believe that Aries was flying off the handle like he was.  Something was really bothering him, but she had no idea what it was.  Then with out thinking Demona fell in to her old routine of lashing out blindly.
       “Fine then if that’s how you feel then go ahead and leave.  Where do you think you’re going to go?  To Goliath’s clan?  Not after what you did to the Roughwings, and I don’t think you will last to long with out some one to provide sanctuary for you.”
       “We’ll see.”  Aries said as he slammed the door shut behind him as stormed out.
       As he stormed down the hallway that they had traveled not more than ten minutes ago, Aries thought about what had just transpired.  Sure he and Demona had shared a few nights of passion together, but this proved that she did not trust him as much as he had hoped for.  If this was the case than maybe Rick had the right idea to leave Demona’s employment.
       Taking a moment to calm down and collect her thoughts, Demona realized that she had just made a big mistake.  Quickly walking down the hallway after Aries, she was too late and found him already gliding towards the home she provided for her gargoyles.
       Taking to the air, Demona hurried as much as she could and had almost caught up to Aries when they landed on the balcony of her room.
       “Aries we need to talk.”  Demona said even as Aries turned to face her.
       Looking him right in the eyes, Demona saw a look of anger and hate in his eyes fade in to a look of awe and finally transform in to a look of regret. 
       “Yes we do Demona.  I apologize for losing my temper with you like I did.”  Aries said.  “Its just that it hurt to know that I had not yet fully earned your trust.  That is something I very much want to do.”
       Demona stood there in surprise as what Aries had said sunk in on her.  He had just explained how he felt for her in the terms that he understood.  Concepts like love were foreign to him, so he used terms like trust.  When you boiled it all down, that was all he was saying, that he loved her and that he was hoping she would return that feeling. 
       “I didn’t realize that you felt that way about me.”  Demona said.
       “You are my superior, it is only natural that you should trust me, even if I have to earn it.”  Aries said.
       “That is not what I meant.  You love me, and you are just now say this.”
       “I never said that.”  Aries said.
       Taking Aries hands in her own, Demona looked in to the eyes of Aries.  “In so many words you did.  I understand that concepts like love might be foreign to you, but basically that is what you told me, that you love me.”
       “I know the meaning of the term. But I am unfamiliar with it.”  Aries admitted.
       “Then how would you like for me to be your instructor?”  Demona asked.
       “And just what would it benefit me to learn what this love is?”
       “The trust you seek, and things that you do not even know that you are missing out on right now.”

***

February 3, 1997

       “Aries this is my plan, we will turn over the Roughwing’s to the vampires.”  Demona said.
       “What?  You are willing to just sacrifice gargoyles like that?”  Aries asked in surprise.
       “In this case yes.  The Roughwings will never be loyal to me like you, Ivan, Genghis, and Machivalli are.  Besides, we have held them long enough to extract all the genetic material we need from them.  That is another reason I am willing to sacrifice them, we need to buy time to allow the clones we are creating time to finish maturing.”
       “How long do you think that will take?”
        “Probably another year.”
       “That’s a long time to keep something like that hidden.”  Aries commented.
       “I know, but there isn’t much choice in the matter, in order to make them as loyal as we want, the maturation process must be taken slowly so that the psychological conditioning can take effect.”
       “It sounds like a reasonable plan, however I would recommend that Machivalli be kept in the dark about this.  Although he has pledged to be loyal to us, he may not like the fact that the Roughwings are going to be sacrificed like they are.”
       “I understand.”  Demona said.  “In that case then you have permission to kill him if you think it is necessary.  After all we all ready have his replacement.”  Demon said as she waved her hand in the direction of several cloning tubes.

***

February 4, 1997

       “Lexington, can I ask you for a favor?”  Athena said as she approached the computer savvy gargoyle and his girlfriend one evening.
       “Sure, what is it?”  Lexington asked.
       “There is something I want you to find out for me.  It may involve hacking in to some top secret government computers, but this is something I need you to find out.”
       “Um OK, just what is it you want me to find out?”  Lexington asked.
       “Hacking in to government computers, isn’t that illegal?”  Tammy asked.
       “I do it all the time.”  Lexington said.
       “I want you to find all the information you can about something code named “Project Test Tube”.  Athena said.
       “Project Test Tube, OK, I can see what I can find.  But is there any thing in particular you are looking for?”  Lexington asked.
       “No, I just want all the information you can find out about it.  I’ll come and see what you have in a week or so.”
       “Why do you want to find out about something like that?”  Lexington asked.
       “It’s not for me, it’s for Rick and the other Roughwings.”  Athena said.

***

February 7, 1997

       Lexington walked out in to the castle’s courtyard and saw a lone gargoyle sitting peacefully and looking up at the moon.  His crimson skin and long white hair told Lexington that he was the person he was looking for.
        “Hey Brooklyn what’s up?”  Lexington asked.
        “Oh, hi Lex.  Not much really.”
        “Are you waiting for someone or something?  You’re just sitting here looking at the moon.”
        “No, just wanted a little time to think.  By the way I heard that Goliath made you his second in command while I was gone.  Congratulations.”
        “Thanks.  But funny that you should mention that, that was what I wanted to talk to you about.”
        “Oh?”  Brooklyn asked in slight surprise.
        “Yeah.  I was thinking now that you’re back and probably planning on staying for a while, then I would be willing to return being second in command to you.”
        “What’s the matter Lex, burden of leadership to much for you?”
        “Well yeah.  Its hard work being a leader, besides you were better at it than I was.”
        “I might have been, but that was in the past.”
        “I think you would do a much better job than me Brooklyn.  Why don’t you take it back?”
        Turning to look right at Lexington before continuing, Brooklyn changed the tone of his voice ever so slightly.
        “Do you want to know a secret Lex?”  Not even bothering to wait for a reply from his rookery brother Brooklyn continued.  “I don’t deserve to be second in command.  I’m not ready for it.”
        “I don’t understand.  What makes you think that?  I talked to Hudson and Goliath and they both think that you make a good second in command.”  Lexington asked.
        “Trust me Lex, Goliath doesn’t know everything, and the last thing they know is what is in my heart.  And right now my heart says I’m not ready to be second in command again.”
        “Are you sure about that Brooklyn?”
        Placing a hand on the small gargoyle’s shoulder, Brooklyn smiled a little.  “Thanks for having so much confidence in me Lex, but this is one thing I know for sure right now.”
        Standing up to leave, Brooklyn added one more comment to the conversation.  “Tell Goliath thanks for having faith in me.  I just don’t have as much as they do right now.”

**

        “Well how did it go?”  Goliath asked Lexington a few hours later.
        “He said he didn’t want it, that he didn’t deserve it.”  Lexington answered.
        “He did?  That was not an expected answer.  I wonder what could be bothering him?”
        “I don’t know.  Maybe you should ask Athena, after all Brooklyn did spend a few weeks with the Roughwings before coming back here.”
        “I did, but perhaps you should try it this time.”  Goliath said.
        As much as he tries to hide it behind a macho mask, Brooklyn really is a sensitive and emotional gargoyle.  I fear what may have happened to him that would make him turn down being second in command.  Goliath thought to himself.

**

        Sticking his head in to the library, Lexington called out to see if Athena was there.
        “Over here Lex.  So how did it go?”  Athena asked Lexington.
        “You already knew that I asked Brooklyn if he wanted to be second in command again?”  Lexington asked in mild surprise.
        “Yeah, Goliath said that you were going to ask him tonight.”
       “Any ways he said he didn’t want it, that he didn’t deserve it.”  Lexington answered.
        “He did?  I guess it still must be bothering him.”
        “What’s bothering him?”  Lexington asked.
        “Something that happened to Brooklyn.”
        “What is it?  Maybe if I knew what was bothering him I could help him out.”  
        “I’m sorry Lexington, but I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”  Athena said as the two exited from the library.
        “Why not?  What could be so bad that he’s keeping secrets from us?”
        “Trust me Lexington, if he wants to talk about it then he will, but don’t try to force it from him.”
        “Then how can we find out?  It’s obviously not doing him any good to keep it bottled up like that.”  Lexington said sounding concerned for his rookery brother’s mental health.
        “Maybe you can do what he and I did, we traded secrets.”
        “Trading secrets, that doesn’t sound like something two people who care for each other.”
        “Oh I do love Brooklyn.”  Athena said before pausing for a moment before continuing.  “I just can’t love him wholeheartedly is all.”
       Stopping in his tracks as the meaning of Athena’s statement began to dawn on him, Lexington watched the female gargoyle disappear down the hallway.

 ***

February 10, 1997

       “Well what do you think of the clan so far?”  Angela asked Athena as the two sat down with Tammy to enjoy some mixed drinks.
       “You “real” gargoyles are a very close knit group.  Brooklyn is lucky to have you as family.”  Athena said.
       “What do you mean by “real” gargoyles?”  Angela asked.
       “Oh sorry, I guess you didn’t know.  That’s what Rick always referred to you as.”  Athena explained.
       “Well better to be called “real” than to be called a monster.”  Tammy added.
       “Yeah I guess so.”  Angela conceded.
       “Speaking of real, what’s the real deal between you and Kenny?”  Tammy asked Angela.
       “What do you mean by that?”
       “Is it my imagination or have you and him been spending a lot of time together lately?”  Tammy said.
       “No, its not your imagination, I’ve seen them holding hands and what not.”  Athena added with a slight grin.
       “So what?  You two both do stuff like that with your boyfriends.”  Angela said sounding a little defensive.
       “Oh so he is your boyfriend now.”  Tammy said.
       Taking a sip from her drink, Angela simply said, “Well I never claimed he wasn’t.  Besides, its no big deal if you catch us holding hands, I’ve caught you and Lex in more, shall we say, engaged activities.”
       “Ahh you’re just jealous because I’m getting some.”  Tammy snickered before turning her attention towards Athena.  “And what about you Miss Athena, what about you and ole Brooks?”
       “Yeah that is a good question.”  Angela chimed in, glad that attention was being drawn off of her.  “It seems like you two are sort of reclusive in your relationship.”
       “It is what works for us.”  Athena said.
       “What works for you?  Girl I hope you two are at least on intimate terms.”  Tammy chided.
       “Oh yes, we’ve had a few nights of passion.  I remember our first time, it was after we had arrived at the castle.”  
        “Well I bet that was a short show.  Oh well boys get better after they are up to bat the first time.  I know that since our first time that Lex has learned to do this really cool thing with his tail.”
       “Yes that was my first time, but not his.”  Athena explained.
       “It wasn’t?”  Angela asked in surprise.
       “No, he told me that he had been intimate with a female gargoyle named Amanda.”  Athena said.
       “And where is this ex of his?”  Tammy asked.
       “She was accidentally killed by some hunters.”  Angela explained.  “I remember hearing about that when Brooklyn told his encounters to father and Mr. Xanatos.”
       “I guess he never told you Angela; because he didn’t want to hurt your feelings.” 
       “How would that have hurt my feelings Athena?”  Angela asked.
       “You were his first lover right?  Brooklyn never told me the name of who his first time was with, but I assumed it was you since you were the only female gargoyle here at the time.” 
       “But we were never lovers.”  Angela said as two thoughts formed in her head.  The first one was disturbing, but the second one was sickening.  Looking at her half finished drink for a moment, Angela quickly downed it to numb away those thoughts.

***

  February 22, 1997

        After a few inquires and some legwork, Brooklyn soon found the one gargoyle he had been looking for.  Walking up behind Broadway, Brooklyn could see that the larger gargoyle was unaware of his presence.  Instead Broadway was focused on Angela and Kenny walking hand in hand together.
        “Hey Broadway, how are you doing?”  Brooklyn asked.
        “I’ve been better.”  Broadway said flatly.
        Talk about the cold shoulder.  Brooklyn thought.
        “Broadway, I’ll cut to the chase then, you’re still pretty hurt by your brake up with Angela aren’t you?”
        “And what of it?”  Broadway asked defensively.
        “Nothing, but I just thought that maybe you could use a vacation is all.”
        “A vacation?”  Broadway asked perplexed.
        “Look Broadway, its not doing you any good to hang around here where you can see Angela and her new boyfriend all the time.  You need a chance to get away from this place for a while.  Athena and I are planning on leaving for a couple of weeks to go and search for the Roughwings.  We would be more than willing to have you come along with us.”
        Looking his rookery brother in the face, Broadway wasn’t quite sure what to make of the offer.  Sure the two hadn’t always gotten along, they had even traded blows a couple of times.  So why was he offering to help him out like this?
        “Did Goliath put you up to this?”  Broadway asked.
        “No he didn’t, I’m doing this on my own.”  Brooklyn said.
        “Are you sure Athena wouldn’t mind me tagging along then?”
        “I’m sure, if you want to come with us, just say so.”
        “Sounds good to me.  Count me in then, when do we leave?”
        “As soon as I tell Goliath.”

 ***
 
 February 24, 1997

       “Goliath, I have something I need to tell you.  Broadway, Athena, and I have decided that we would like to leave for a while to search for the Roughwings.”  Brooklyn said.
        “I understand.”  Goliath said.
        “You do?”  Brooklyn asked surprised at the easy with which Goliath had agreed.
        “Yes.  Finding the Roughwings is something important to Athena, and I know that you would be less than willing to let her go by herself.  Plus I thing it will do Broadway some good to get away from the castle and Angela for a while.”  Goliath answered.
        “Thank you Goliath.”  Brooklyn said as he accepted the wisdom of his leader.

 ***

March 1, 1997

       As the three gargoyles made their final preparations before leaving castle Wyvern, Brooklyn couldn’t help but to feel a certain bit of irony about the situation.  The last time he had been in a situation like this he had been seen as a sort of black sheep of the clan, now he was seen as the wise leader that would take care of the two other gargoyles under his command, such as it was.
       Strapping his pack on to his back, Brooklyn was as ready as he was going to get when he suddenly heard Lexington ask something.
       “Hey Broadway, were we expecting any company tonight?”  Lexington asked.
       “None that I know of.  Why do you ask?”
       “Then what does that look like approaching the castle over there?”  The little gargoyle asked as pointed.
       “It looks like gargoyles.  Could Xanatos be out testing some of his steel clan?”
       “Or maybe it’s Rick and his clan.”  Broadway said hopefully.
       “Sure what ever.”  Kenny said as he pointed towards several unfamiliar gargoyles approaching the castle.
       Suddenly the gargoyles broke hard to the right and attacked Lexington and company.  Taking the trio by surprise with the unexpected movement, Lexington and Broadway soon found them selves being forced to land face first in to the castle.
       Pulling out his sword, Hudson confronted the newcomers.
       “Who are you?  We have no quarrel with you, but if it’s a fight you be wanting?”
       Not even bothering to respond the unknown gargoyles pulled out batons that extended to a length of six feet and charged towards Hudson and Tammy.
       “Get out of here lass, get the rest of the clan.  I’ll hold these creeps off.”  Hudson shouted as he parried a thrust.
       “What about you?”  Tammy demanded.
       “Don’t worry lass, I’ll have help soon enough.”  
       Evan as he spoke Tammy could see both Broadway and Lexington rising to their knees.  Nodding in understanding, Tammy dashed towards the center of the castle and for help.
       Dashing down a hallway, Tammy nearly slammed in to Goliath and Athena.
       “Tammy, what is wrong?”  Goliath asked.
       “Quickly, outside, Lex, Hudson, Broadway, attacked, help.”  Tammy said between breaths.
       Eyes widening in surprise, Goliath rushed outside followed closely by Athena and Tammy.  
       Arriving in the courtyard, it was easy to see that things were not going well for the clan.  Hudson had his back against the wall as he parried blow after blow from his opponent.  Broadway was being pummeled by two of the attackers while a fourth was about to smash a large brick on an unconscious Lexington’s head.
       “NO!”  Tammy screamed as she dashed across the battle zone to tackle Lexington’s attacker and wrestle him to the ground.
       Rushing to his old friend’s aid, Goliath grabbed the gargoyle facing Hudson and swung him into the wall.  Holding up the stunned gargoyle, Goliath was about to lay in to him when he heard Athena’s voice. 
       “Goliath, wait!”  Athena screamed.  “These are the Roughwings, my clan.  We can’t destroy them.”  
       “Then we had better do something quick, because I sure don’t think they have the same feeling about us.”  Hudson said.
       “If these are the Roughwings, then where is Rick?”  Goliath asked.
       Not more than fifty feet away, Angela walked in to the courtyard to see what all the commotion was about.  Suddenly she felt something drip against her face.  Wiping her finger against her check, Angela saw what looked like blood.  Looking up she was horrified at what she saw.  Holding a scared looking gargoyle in the air, Rick slashed his knife across Kenny’s face one last time before casually slitting Kenny’s throat and dropping the body to the ground.
       “Oh my god, they killed Kenny.”  Shouted Angela.
       “You bastards!”  Shouted Brooklyn as he very roughly kicked one of Broadway’s attackers off of him.
       Shoving the other gargoyle aside, Broadway rushed to where Angela sat weeping as she held Kenny’s body.
       “Angela, are you all right?”  Broadway asked.  “If we hurry we can still save Kenny.”
       Shaking her head slowly, Angela lead Kenny’s still warm body on the ground before looking towards Rick with a look of hate that Broadway had never seen on her face before.
       Before Broadway even knew what happened next, Angela had sprung towards Rick as he rushed to join his other Roughwings in battle.
       In a state of blind rage, Angela threw her self at Rick with such force that he was knocked back against a wall.  After struggling for a few seconds, Rick broke from Angela’s grip and decked her in the stomach before elbowing her in the back of the head.  Rick was about to kick her while down when Broadway tackled him from behind.
       Snapping his head back suddenly, Rick head bunted Broadway and was quickly released from his grip.  Grabbing a lose brick from a wall, Rick smashed in to Broadways head and watched as the large gargoyle fell to the ground and did not move.
       “You monster.”  Angela screamed as the fury of her renewed attack caught Rick off guard.  After seeing two people she cared about hurt already, Angela became a she devil as everything that she had inherited from her mother suddenly came to the for front.
       Meanwhile at the other end of the courtyard, Goliath, Hudson, Brooklyn, Athena, and Tammy were holding their own against Harper, Duke, Hannibal, and Mach.
       “Tammy, go and help Angela, we will take care of these four.”  Goliath instructed.
       “I don’t think she really needs any help right now.”  Tammy said after looking in the direction of Rick and Angela.  Seeing Rick on the ground and taking blow after blow, Tammy added  “She’s give him bloody hell right now.”  
       “But why would Rick attack us?”  Athena asked.
       “Because of me.”  Answered a lean, attractive looking man who hovered several dozen feet above the ground behind the Roughwings.
       “Who are you?”  Goliath demanded.
       “Such impotence.  I am your master.”
       “We have no master but ourselves.”
       “Then it is time you gained one.”  With that the strange man ordered the Roughwings to attack as he struck Goliath with an energy blast from his hands.
       “What manner of sorcery is this?”  Hudson asked as Goliath went to his knees.
       “I don’t know, but I think we all might be in big trouble now.”  Brooklyn said.  “Heck of a time for the Xanatos family to be away, we could sure use their help now.”
       Even as Brooklyn spoke two steel clan robots swooped low and fired their lasers at the unknown stranger.  Not expecting the attack, the stranger took both blasts in the back and was knocked to the ground.
       Quickly recovering, he leapt in the air and chased the robots until he caught one.  In less than a minute he had managed to destroy the machine and was about to go after the other one.  However, the machine was faster and managed to land another energy blast on the stranger before he counter attacked and disabled it with two shots.
       But the victory was short lived as the stranger realized that Goliath was now chasing him in the air.  Darting away, the stranger decided to get his pursuer off his tail by distracting Goliath.  Spotting a lone gargoyle wrestle with one of his slaves, the stranger shot a ball of energy towards them.  
       As Angela and Rick struggled for the gun that he had pulled out; they suddenly shifted left just out of the impact area of the ball of energy.  As the two gargoyles flew across the air for several feet, the gun they had been fighting for slide next to Brooklyn’s foot.
       Picking up the weapon, Brooklyn mentally asked Athena, Rick, and Hannibal to forgive him as he shot Hannibal in the leg.  Watching as the gargoyle went down, Brooklyn took advantage of the situation to break from the fight and leaped toward the sky. 

**

       Coming up as close as he could to the stranger, Brooklyn aimed his gun and squeezed the trigger.  The first round struck in the middle of the back and severed the spinal cord, the second hit the left shoulder, and the third struck in the back of the head.  Turning to face his new attacker, the stranger summoned up the last of his strength and sent an energy blast towards Brooklyn.  
       Striking him dead center, Brooklyn fell to the ground and lay there for a moment before rising to his knees.  
       As he struggled to his feet, Brooklyn was able to see Athena bash in the head of the stranger several times to ensure his death.  Then acting as if it was an afterthought, she picked up a large piece of wood that happened to be near by and drove it deep in to his heart.
       Gently placing a hand around Athena’s, Hudson stopped her in mid swing as she was about to repeat the action.
       “He’s dead already lass.  Now let go of the anger and step away from this evil being.”  Hudson soothed the younger gargoyle.
       Despite the tears that were streaming down her face, Athena nodded and backed away from the dead body in front of her.
       “Athena, are you ok?”  Brooklyn asked as he came to her side.
       “Yes, I’m much better now that I know you are ok.”  Athena said just before the expression collapsed.
       “Where are the Roughwings?”  She asked in a frantic voice?
       “They are over here.”  Goliath said as he indicated towards four gargoyles that lay unconscious on the ground in the middle of the courtyard.

***

March 7, 1997

       A week later the Roughwings had all emerged from their spells and had their own free will again.  Some were faster than others in over coming the lingering effects of the spell they were under, with Rick being the first to emerge.
       Sitting up slowly in his bed, Rick slowly looked around the room he was in as he took in his new surroundings.  Not knowing where he was, or how he had even gotten to where ever it was that was now at, Rick began to count gargoyles.
       Harper is one, Duke is two, and Hannibal is three.   He thought.  
       Again no answer except for a groan or two from his fellow Roughwings as if the shouting was disrupting their sleep.
       Hopping out of bed, Rick made his way to where Harper lay and began to gently shake him.
       “Harper, Harper, wake up.  It’s me Rick.”
       Stirring slowly for a moment before achieving full consciousness, Harper’s eyes flew open.  Staring at his commander, leader, and friend, Harper was both relieved and concerned at the same time.
       “What happened, where are we?”  Harper asked.
       “I don’t know.  All I know is that we aren’t were we started.”  Rick answered.  “Quickly now, help me to revive the others, we need to find out where we are and how we got here.”
       After a few minutes, the remainder of the Roughwing clan was awake and moving around.
       “Ok guys, I don’t know where we are, how we got here, how long we have been here, or who captured us.  But I do intend to find the answer to these questions, so lets get ready to move out in a couple of minutes.”  Rick said as he briefed his gargoyles.
       Taking flanking positions by the door so they could cover each other, Harper and Hannibal prepared to open the door that was before them.
       Suddenly the door slid open and in stepped a large blue gargoyle.
       Reacting on instinct alone, Harper jumped at the person that had just entered through the door and quickly pinned him to the ground.
       Roaring in anger that Rick had not seen before, the blue gargoyle managed to shake off his attacker and turned the table by pinning Harper against the wall.
       “Hold on Harper, I’ve got him.”  Hannibal said as he put Harper’s attacker in a chock hold.
       “Roughwings, stop, I said stop.”  Rick yelled as he separated the combatants.  
       Looking at his once friend, Rick was glad to see that look of reorganization cross his face.
       “Broadway, are you ok?”  Rick asked.
       “Rick!  Good to see you buddy.  Glad to see your ok.  Now who are these guys that attacked me?”  Broadway asked while shooting Harper a dirty look.
       “Relax Broadway, this is my clan.  Meet the Roughwings.”  
       “Your clan?  Brooklyn said you had one, but I didn’t believe him.”
       “Brooklyn is here?  When did he get here, and was Athena with him?”  Rick asked excitedly.
       “She arrived at the same time as Brooklyn did.”  Came an unseen voice.
       “Who said that?”  Hannibal asked.
       “Hello Rick, nice to see you again.”  Angela said as she walked in and slapped Rick’s face.
       “Angela.”  Broadway said in surprise.
       Glaring at Rick, Angela spoke to him in a cold voice.
       “You killed Kenny.  I will not forgive you for that.”
       With that Angela turned and walked away.
       “Sorry Rick.”  Broadway apologized.  “Angela hasn’t been herself lately.”
       “I killed Kenny.  Who’s Kenny, what is she talking about?”  Rick asked confused.
       “You mean you don’t remember what happened last week?  You guys attacked us here at the castle.”  Broadway explained.
       “But why would we do that, and how come we don’t remember?”  Harper asked.
       “I can see its going to take a lot of explaining then, come I’ll take you to the rest of the clan and fill you in along the way.”  Broadway said.

**

       Walking in to a room full of gargoyles, the Roughwings were quickly set upon by the occupants.
       “Rick, its good to see you lad.”  Said an older looking gargoyle with a solid white beard.
        “Rick it is good to see you again.  To bad it couldn’t be under better circumstances.”  Goliath said as he greeted the Rick and the Roughwings.
        “I’ve gathered as much.  Broadway has filled me in on some of the details, but not all of them.”  Rick answered.  “Now let me make the introductions, Roughwings, the big guy is Goliath, the old one is Hudson, and the little one is Lexington.”
        “Did you get a chance to meet Angela yet?”  Lexington asked?
        “Yeah they did, and boy is she still mad at Rick.”  Broadway said.
        “No need to make any further introductions, as we already know who the Roughwings are.”  Goliath added.
        “That’s what I’m confused on, how is that we got here and what did we do?”  Rick asked.
        “So who’s the red head?”  Duke asked.
        Noticing the female red headed gargoyle sitting next to Lexington for the first time, Rick could only shrug his shoulders.
        “Guess there has been a few additions since I was here last.”
 
 *** 

 March 10, 1997

        “As near as I can tell from my research in the Illuminati archives, there are no such things as vampires by the traditional definition.”  Xanatos said.
        “By the traditional definition?”  Goliath asked.
        “You know, Count Dracula and all that.”  Rick said.
        “No I’m afraid I do not.”  Goliath responded.
        “You spend all that time in the library and you never read Count Dracula?”  Rick asked.
        “No, should I have?”
        “Ok, so we know what he isn’t, but do what he is then?”  Xanatos asked as a way of keeping the discussion on track.
        “I’m afraid we know very little at this point.”  Owens interjected.
        “And there is anything that Puck would be able to tell us about him then?”  
        “No I am afraid not.  Vampires have always been a fringe group.  They are a fairly secretive group that preferred to keep to themselves.  Plus the fact that they are not true immortals, nor as powerful as they fey, the other immortals preferred to ignore them.”
        “Sounds par for the coarse.”  Elisa snorted.
        “If I may continue Detective Maza, there is some information that I can share about the vampires.  First, as I said, they are not true immortals such as the fey or even Demona for that matter.  While they’re life span is quite long, perhaps several millenium, they can be killed even with conventional means such as sword, bullet, fire or poison.”
        “So they have the same weakness as the fey.”  Goliath said.
        “That is incorrect, as I said, they can be killed be conventional means, it just takes a lot to do it.  Remember Brooklyn shot him at point blank range several times, even after such injuries vampire still did not die until after Athena had bashed in its head and then punctured the heart.”
        “We now know who they are and how to kill them.  But the most important question is what do they want?”  Xanatos said.
        “We may know part of that already.”  Goliath said.  “The vampire had the Roughwings under his control like slaves.  Also he said that we should learn respect for our masters, implying the same fate was in store of us.”
        “If it isn’t Demona, or Quarrymen, or magical god like beings, then its something else.  At least my life has never been boring since meeting you guys.”  Elisa said.
  
 ***
 
March 22, 1997

       Demona rolled over in her bed and felt something brush against her skin.  Not even bothering to open her eyes, Demona lazily ran her fingers over the muscular arm of her lover.  So at ease was she that Demona didn’t even realize that someone else was in the room until a hand suddenly covered her mouth while several other hands held her pinned down to the bed.  After struggling for a few seconds, Demona was then lifted from the bed and restrained by several pairs of hands.
       “Hello Miss Demona, or maybe we should call you Miss Destiny.  Not that it really matters one way or another.”  Came a strange voice from the shadows.
       “Oh were are my manners, my name is Dracura, Yuri Dracura.  Perhaps you have heard of me, perhaps my subordinate Mr. Vaisley mentioned me.  No, he didn’t?  What a shame.”  As he spoke, Yuri stepped out of the shadows and allowed Demona to see that he was a vampire too.
       “Yes quite a shame.  But he was young and some times ill mannered, and oh yes impatient.  That is probably why he played in to your hands so well.”  Walking over to the other side of the room were several vampires held a struggling Aries, Yuri continued to speak to Demona.
       “Quite simply put you took something from me that I cared about.  You see Mr. Vaisley was my son and protégé.  So you can imagine how heartbroken I was when I learned he had been killed in a battle you help to set up.  In addition to losing my son, my vampire clan lost the services of several gargoyles, that also upset me.”
       Turning from Demona so that he fully faced Aries, Yuri continued.
       “I intend to show you how upset I was.  Like I said I was heart broken.”  
       With out warning Yuri shoved his hand in to Aries chest and pulled out his heart.  Holding the still pumping heart in his hand, Yuri made sure that Demona saw it before he began to casually munch on it.  
       “There, I believe you have an idea of how I feel.  Think of this as a warning, don’t cross us again.”  Yuri said as he dropped the half eaten heart on to the bed.

**

       After all the vampires had left, Demona sobbed with grief as she held the dead body of Aries.  Despite all the pain she felt, all the sadness that was raging in her mind, in one little corner a different voice spoke.  In her own voice, speaking too softly to be heard above the grief and almost in her subconscious, she knew that war had been declared, and the best ally she had was on the other side of the country.
  
***