All disclaimers in part one.

Unlike Selene, Phoebe decided not to opt for a dramatic entrance.

She merely stepped through the locked doors of the Hall, and stopped, surprised. Two hundred duplicates of Callista, each with the same bundle and wearing the same dress, complete with the gashes in the back, turned to face her. "I have no time for parlor tricks, halfling. Surrender the heir of Avalon."

"Forget it," the crowd of duplicates snapped in perfect unison.

Phoebe did not respond, but merely opened her mouth. A blue cloud of smoke spewed forth, engulfing the room. As it touched each of the illusions, they vanished until the room was empty. Then the cloud settled in a far corner, dispersing the cloak of invisiblity over the real Callista.

Confident now of her success, Phoebe floated over to the girl. "Interesting ploy. But not good enough." She snapped her fingers, and the bundle flew from Callista's arms into her own. "And now the heir to Avalon shall return to his rightful--"

She broke off, staring at the bundle. Furious, she tore at it, finding no child, but only a bundle of hastily wrapped clothes. "You!" Phoebe shrieked. "YOU TRICKED ME!"

Callista had just gotten the doors open when she found herself lifted off her feet and pulled towards the enraged Fae. Panicked, she grabbed onto the rim of the heavy oaken table, something that Phoebe wouldn't dare to pull as well because it would crush her.

"You tricked me," Phoebe repeated, in an angry hiss.

Callista gripped on to the table tightly, concentrating all her strength on the protective wards which were really holding her there. She glanced up to see a familiar figure standing in the doorway. She couldn't hear what he was saying, since it was drowned out in the roar of the storm, but she knew who it was. "Drew!" she screamed as her grip weakened.

Then, as abruptly as it had started, the storm was gone. Phoebe vanished with a startled shriek. Callista crashed onto the table, rolled, and hit the plush carpet with a dull thud. Drew was by her side in a second. "Callie? Are you all right?"

Dazed, she sat up, shaking her head to clear it, then threw her arms around him. "Thank you! Oh, Lord, Drew, I could have--"

He hugged her back. "Shhh. I know."

Getting her bearings, she pulled away and he helped her to her feet. "What did you do?"

Drew glanced down at the book in his hand. "It was a banishment spell. But she'll be back in maybe fifteen minutes. Any of the really permanent spells in here need some sort of prior setup."

"The Grimorum?" Callie gasped. "I thought you wanted to be rid of that!"

"I don't want to be rid of you," Drew said matter-of-factly. "Besides, we might need this to stop them."

She took the book from him, flipping through the pages and frowning. "Drew, where did you find that spell?"

"Somewhere in the middle. Why?"

Callista held up the book for him to see. "The pages are blank."

"What?" He snatched the book from her. "That can't be! I just--" He stopped short as the print suddenly faded back in on the withered pages, as bright as ever. "What the?"

"I don't know," Callista said, "but I suppose you should hold on to it for now." As Drew closed the book, she stared at him. "Let me guess. You had a run-in with them?"

"Yeah, but I was lucky." He whistled, and Bronx stuck his head around the door. "Bronx bailed me out. And he led me to you."

Callista scratched the gargoyle hound behind his ears. "Good dog!"

There was a crack in the armor.

After what had seemed like hours of exhausting guesswork, testing the boundaries of her prison, Luna had found a crack in the iron plating in the ceiling. It wasn't much of an escape route, really. She'd be in no shape to compete with any magic users once she squeezed through, but she would be free. All she had to do was widen the crack a bit.

She cast about the office, her gaze falling on the wooden padded chair. Perfect.

Gritting her teeth, she focused on the chair, lifting it with the remnants of her power. As it rose into the air, she aimed at where the crack should be. With a tremendous heave, the chair crashed into the ceiling, smashing through the thin tiling. The back of the chair hit the crack at just the right angle, hard enough to widen the opening before the chair splintered and Luna let it drop to the floor with a crash.

Not as wide as she would have liked, but it would do. Scrunching up her forehead, she concentrated as her form dissolved into smoke. A thin tendril sifted through the opening, careful not to touch the edges.

After what seemed like an eternity, Luna materialized. She crumpled to the floor, gasping for air as she lay there, too relieved to be free to care much for appearances. It was a moment before she recovered and stood up. She took a deep breath and began to float down the hall, weakened but intact, in search of her sisters. Perhaps Phoebe had gotten to the little witch, and captured Avalon's heir. Luna didn't think she could take much more of this.

But something, a ripple in the magical currents, stopped her short. Something was not right.

No, something was not as they'd thought. The halfling witch was nowhere nearby, but she could sense the child. The scent was weak, hampered by the proximity of iron, maybe, but it was there.

A condescending smirk formed on Luna's face. Callista Reynolds was not guarding the child. It was that other mortal girl, the one without a hint of magic, the one that they had all ignored and forgotten about. Which was exactly as the girl had planned.

Neither Selene nor Phoebe had realized this. But Luna knew. The lack of magic that mortal girl had was sufficient to keep her from sight, but left her wide open to attack.

"Clever," Luna murmured. "But not clever enough."

"Whoa," Sarah muttered as the invisibility surrounding her faded and she surveyed the wreck of the kitchen. Alex snuggled in her arms. "You've got to teach me that disappearing act sometime, you little bugger," she joked as she sidestepped the scattering of pots and pans and the rapidly spreading puddle of jam on the floor.

She shifted Alex to her left arm, using her right to pull a thermos from the cupboard. She unscrewed it and poured coffee into it from the pot. "Good Lord. All we need is a sign that says 'Bronx was here.' At least he didn't get into the java." She finished pouring and set the pot back down, pulling the small laser pistol out of her pocket.

Alex was almost falling asleep in her arm. "Now that you've got to teach me," Sarah told him with a sigh. "I don't know how you can sleep with the three witches after you."

"He'll be sleeping quite peacefully on Avalon."

Luna was standing in the doorway, leaning on the doorframe. Alex woke up and started to wail.

Sarah pointed the pistol at her. "How did you get out?" she spat.

Luna made a gesture, and the laser pistol turned to dust, crumbling in Sarah's hand before she could even pull the trigger. As Luna advanced, Sarah backed off, looking around for a weapon - any weapon. "I would get the only one that wasn't iron-plated," she muttered. Alex, still wailing, wasn't much help. Talented or not, he was only nine months old.

Her gaze suddenly fell on the open thermos on the counter as Luna came closer. Sarah snatched it up desperately, and Luna opened her mouth to speak the words of a spell. At that, Sarah sloshed the entire contents in her face.

Shocked, Luna stumbled back, forgetting the spell, and in her surprise, swallowed a good portion of the hot coffee that was thrown in her face. Sarah grabbed a broom, ready to beat back the Fae if she tried again.

Luna's face literally went through an entire spectrum of color before she crashed to the floor, choking and gagging.

Callie and Drew dashed into the kitchen in time to see one of the Sisters laid out on the floor, with Sarah holding Alex in one arm and an empty thermos in the other. "What--" Luna choked as she writhed, "was in that potion?"

Drew grinned as he realized what had happened. "Wow, Callie, you weren't kidding about the sludge."

Bronx growled upon seeing Luna, his hackles rising. Callista sighed. "Believe it or not, I think there's something here that will hold her. Don't let her go anywhere, Bronx."

She turned to the storage closet, opening it and hunting through. "Let's see, I know there's a toolbox here somewhere."

Drew turned back to Sarah, trying and failing to hold back his laughter. "What do you put in that stuff, battery acid?"

Sarah scowled and stomped her foot. "No one likes my coffee!"

All Luna could do was cough.

"Get down!" Matt screamed, shoving Sam to the floor as a stream of flames spewed over their heads, barely missing frying them to a crisp. As the fire vanished, Sam sat up enough to turn and fire off a few shots at Selene before they scrambled to their feet and tore off down the hall, rounding a corner just in time to miss being hit by a blast of energy.

Selene floated after them, eyes blazing with eldritch anger. "Stand still!" she shrieked.

"Yeah, right," Sam muttered.

Matt ducked another blast as they rounded another corner in the maze of hallways that Selene had herded them into. "Why doesn't she just turn us into gerbils?" he wondered out loud as Sam kicked at the door beside her.

"It's these things," Sam cried as she fired back at Selene, patting the laser rifle. "Iron-plated, remember? I figure if iron hurts the bitches, if we've got some on us they can't turn us into anything." She kicked the door again, but it didn't budge.

"Allow me," Matt said, firing at the lock. The doors swung open.

Sam snorted as she dashed inside. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"What are we doing here?" Callista cried as the three of them emerged in the courtyard. Sarah was still carrying Alex, and Callista was carrying some equipment Sarah had told her to bring under one arm.

"I'm going to try to reach the clan again!" Sarah shouted as Callista set the equipment down. "There's already electronic interference inside to deal with, and I don't know if they've managed to find Elisa, Goliath, and Hudson yet!"

Callista snapped her fingers. "I think I know how to stop them! That necklace the blonde is always wearing - it's some sort of talisman. Maybe it's behind what happened to Puck!"

Drew sighed, thumbing through the Grimorum. "There's got to be something in here," he shouted over the howl of the wind. "At least there's only two of them to deal with now."

But out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a green flash of light. Instinctively, Drew dived out of the way, still clutching the Grimorum. A blast of magical energy sizzled past him, hitting the stone floor instead. Phoebe had popped back into existence and was now hovering over the courtyard, more furious than ever. "Scatter!" Sarah screamed as Phoebe fired bolt after bolt, the energy raining down on them from above.

"That does it," Drew muttered. "I'm never going to open my mouth again."

Phoebe fired a shot at Callie, but missed. Instead, she hit the radio, frying it beyond repair. Still holding Alex, Sarah jumped back as the equipment burst into flame.

Then a pair of massive stone hands formed from the floor, grabbing Sarah by the ankles and holding her to the spot. "I don't believe this!" Sarah cried as Phoebe's form shifted and changed, and a falcon swooped down towards her. A crazy idea popped into her head. "Callie, catch!"

With that, Alex sailed into the air, borne more by his own magic than from Sarah's throw. The falcon swerved to intercept, coming between Alex and Callista. But Alex changed course in mid-air, flying through the swirling snow.

When Matt and Sam emerged in the courtyard, Matt wasn't expecting to have Alex fly into his arms. In his surprise, he dropped the rifle, barely managing to catch the little boy. They dashed further away from the castle, as the door was blown off its hinges and three of the living sculptures - a stone lion, an abstract of metal wires and rods, and a huge glass unicorn - stampeded out. Right behind them came Selene and a recovered Luna.

Sam paused for a second to fire off a few shots, shooting off one of the lion's front paws and blasting the unicorn into a million tiny pieces just as it was about to charge. Bits of glass rained down on Selene and Luna, who were momentarily distracted by the display.

But Phoebe wasn't. She spun to face them with an evil smile as Sarah struggled to free herself.

Before the fae could fire off another volley, she was hit in the back of the head with a snowball. "Who dares??" Phoebe shrieked, spinning around in time to get another snowball in the face.

"Who do you think?" Callista screamed over the roar of the wind. She wound up and pitched another snowball, but this one melted as Phoebe cast a warning spell. "Come and get me!"

"With pleasure," Phoebe hissed, spreading her palms. A ball of flame the size of a grapefruit formed, and Phoebe pitched the fireball at Callista. The girl tensed, casting a spell under her breath and crossing her arms before her face, with both fists clenched.

As the fireball came within inches of her hands, it suddenly bounced off an invisible barrier, sailing back to strike Phoebe head-on. The blast sent Phoebe flying through the wall of the nearest tower.

"Alex, over here!" Callista cried. This time, the child flew out of Matt's grip without any prompting, right into Callista's waiting arms.

As the Sisters' attention was diverted, Matt spied his laser gun lying in the snow a few feet away, hesitating. The crippled lion and the wire sculpture were advancing on them. "Go for it!" Sam cried. "I'll cover you!" As she spoke, she fired another shot at the stone lion, this time taking its head off.

Matt dived for the laser gun, scrabbling to get it in the snow as Sam drove back the lion and the metal sculpture.

Selene and Luna advanced on Callista, as Drew finally found a spell that would work and started to read the Latin. But he'd only spoken the first few words when Luna waved her hand, freezing Drew and the book in stone. Neither noticed that he was holding the Grimorum as they surrounded Callista, passing through the protection circle she threw up easily.

"Give us the child," Luna said.

Callista's eyes narrowed. "We've had this conversation before."

Selene's eyes literally glowed with eldritch light as she repeated, "Give us the child."

Sudden numbness filled Callista's legs like ice. Looking down, she realized that was because her feet were turning to ice, the transformation travelling up her calves. "No!" she shrieked, trying to reinforce the wards as best she could. "Help me, Alex!"

A stronger circle of protection burst out from the two of them, this time in a visible bubble of white light. It was enough to drive Selene and Luna back, but the ice continued to creep up past Callista's knees, slowed somewhat by the wards that were slowly submitting to the spell. But it wasn't going to work for long.

"Oh, lord, please let me get this right," Callista murmured. She held Alex up and began to chant, her voice carrying over the howling wind.

"Spirits of fire, spirits of light,
To save this boy from faerie spite
Take my power, heed my command
Send this child into safety's hand!"

In a flash of golden light, Alex vanished from her hands. Callista sagged, exhausted as the bubble of protection popped into nothingness and the wards fell away. In moments, all that stood in her place was a delicate ice sculpture.

Matt and Sam had blasted the two statues to bits by that time. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and Alex appeared in the crook of Sam's free arm. "This is her idea of safe?!?" Sam exclaimed. Phoebe, dazed but still intact, was emerging from the tower, and the Weird Sisters converged on the three humans. Matt tried to fire, but his laser rifle was out of power.

Without a word, Phoebe pointed a finger at Sam, firing a tiny burst of red light at her. This time, Matt dived into the line of fire, leaping in front of Sam and taking the bolt in the chest.

It struck him with a bright flash of light before fading out entirely. Letting out a choking gasp, Matt crumpled to the ground, motionless.

"No!" Sam screamed. "Matt!"

Before the Three could do the same to her, someone started firing at them. Fox burst through the doorway, firing at the Weird Sisters. Alex vanished from Sam's arms and into his mother's. Forgetting about them, the Sisters turned toward Fox as Sam dropped the rifle in shock, kneeling down beside Matt.

She nudged him, without getting a reaction. Not even a twitch. Panicked, she felt around his Adam's apple, searching frantically for a pulse. There was nothing. Horror filled her as she realized that Matt was dead. All it took was a flick of that blonde bitch's wrist to do him in. And he'd taken a shot meant for her.

Rage replaced her shock and sorrow as she stood up slowly, the odd buzzing feeling she'd experienced in the nursery returning. This time, however, it was increasing in intensity, rising to a roar in her ears. She clenched her fists, the anger seeming to clear her head for once as another jolt surged through her. It was as if a forgotten switch inside her had been finally turned on.

Her head jerked up as she glared at the Weird Sisters, who actually looked somewhat pleased with themselves. "You," Sam hissed. "YOU!!!"

Surprised, the Three turned at that, forgetting about Fox. Sam caught her eye and gestured with her head, implying that she should make a break for it. After a moment's hesitation, Fox dashed back into the castle.

Without thinking about it, Sam snatched up a chunk of the destroyed stone lion, hefting it to throw at them. The Sisters smirked in unison. "You must be joking," Selene snapped.

In Sam's hand, the chunk of marble began to glow with a blue light. "Trust me, doll," she snarled as three pairs of blue eyes widened in shock, "this is not a joke."

She hurled the stone at them with all their might, and as it came in contact with the Sisters' wards, it detonated in a burst of blue-violet light, the wards and knocking the startled fae to the ground. Sam grabbed another stone, and another, the blasts cancelling out the warding spells as soon as the Sisters could cast them. Forgetting Alexander, the Weird Sisters converged on Sam, recognizing a threat they hadn't known existed.

Finding herself out of stones, Sam snatched up one of the metal rods. Light flared up the length of the metal in her hands, infusing it with a bright blue glow. The Sisters kept their distance, shooting blasts of magic at her instead. Sam deflected them with the rod, hitting each bolt like a batter trying to get a home run. Their offensive was starting to wear her down as she found herself backed up to where Matt was lying.

"Help me, Obi-Wan-Kenobi," a voice croaked from below her. "You're my only hope."

"Bluestone?" He was stirring groggily, and trying to sit up. "But I thought--"

He rolled out of her way as he tried to get to his knees. "Not my fault you're lousy at finding a pulse."

She didn't comment on that, interposing herself between Matt and the sisters. He still wasn't in great shape, and another blast like that could kill him. She bunted the witchbolt Luna fired at her, deflecting it right back. Already weakened from her inprisonment, Luna was knocked to the ground trying to ward it off. Behind her, Matt had propped himself up on his elbows and was crawling towards the laser rifle that Sam had dropped.

"Sam!" Sarah screamed, trying to make herself heard over the howl of the wind. "The necklace! The one Blondie's wearing!"

Sam blinked. "What?" she shouted as Selene changed into a black panther and leapt at her, taking advantage of the distraction.

Selene never made it as a laser blast struck her, knocking the panther to the ground. "She said," Matt coughed, getting to his knees with the rifle in his hands, "get the necklace."

Turning back to face Phoebe, Sam spotted precisely what they were talking about. Hanging around the blonde woman's neck was a black obsidian pendant, which Sam had remembered seeing even when she was disguised as Gwen back in the nursery. How, she had no clue, but it was the key.

But the distraction cost her as Phoebe cast a small fireball at her hands, burning Sam's fingers and causing her to drop the rod. As it hit the stones, the light flickered out.

Another mild bolt knocked Sam flat on her back, and she found herself lying on her back with Phoebe standing over her. Sam tried to get up, but realized that her arms wouldn't move, stuck to the stone courtyard by some invisible force.

Luna and Selene got to their feet, and soon, there were three identically malicious faces looking down at her. A sword appeared in Phoebe's hand, a scimitar with a curved, sharp blade glinting even in the haze of snow. As she lifted it over her head to deliver the final blow, Phoebe leaned forward, letting the pendant dangle.

Suddenly, Sam returned the smile, startling Phoebe. The blade wavered, and Sam pulled her feet in and kicked upward. Her foot snagged the pendant, snapping the chain and sending the black stone flying to the stone floor. Even with the filaments inside the orb, the impact was enough to crack the surface.

It was enough.

The orb exploded into tiny bits with a flash of green light. A white haze rose from the remains of the pendant as the Three were thrown back and away from Sam. Able to move her arms again, Sam leapt to her feet as a disembodied, deep voice spoke. "It's the ever impressive, the long contained, often imitated, but never duplicated..."

Suddenly, the smoke coalesced all at once, and with a hollow pop, a little white-maned man appeared, gaudily dressed with pointed ears and a mischievous grin. "Okay, okay, it's just me," he admitted, smirking at the Sisters, who were getting to their feet. Sam stared at him, speechless. "Don't everyone applaud at once."

"Puck," Selene spat angrily. "You will not deter us--"

"Give it a rest, ladies!" Puck interrupted. "You've been saying that all night, and they did manage to trip you up big time." A throw rug appeared beneath the Sisters' feet and was promptly yanked out from beneath them a second later, sending them crashing into a heap of white robes and arms and legs. "Too slow!"

There was a flash, and the Sisters were standing again, hovering a foot off the ground. "How dare you interfere in our plan!" Phoebe snarled. "You have no right--"

"Well, excu-u-use me!" Puck drawled, floating over to where Callista was standing, still an ice statue. "Let's see here, you trapped me in that cramped little talisman for hours, tried to kidnap one of my students, turned Dave into a gerbil, which I know he's going to pin on me." He pointed at Callista's frozen face. "And if that wasn't all, you had to ice my other student and stone her boyfriend. Can you say 'bad manners'?"

Sam was helping Matt to his feet. He was still unsteady, and shivering; his clothes were soaked. She draped his arm over her shoulders. "Bluestone, what the hell is going on?"

"Tell you later," Matt muttered as Luna whirled, preparing to fry them -

- and shrieked as she and her sisters were suddenly wrapped up in the throw rug. "Uh-uh-uh," Puck said, waving a finger at them. "Behave!"

The rug literally exploded off the Sisters like stone skin falling off a gargoyle. "Three of us against the Puck and two mortals," Luna said. "This is not over yet."

"Yeah it is," a familiar voice cried as Brooklyn swooped from the sky, landing a few feet away from the Sisters. Goliath was next, with Elisa in his arms, then Lex, Broadway and Angela, and last of all Hudson. The old gargoyle smiled as he brandished his sword at the three dazed and tired Children of Oberon.

Elisa slipped from Goliath's arms, training her pistol on the Sisters. "Sorry we're late. I had to get iron bullets for this."

Goliath stepped forward, eyes blazing white. "Leave our home. You are not welcome if you endanger our clan."

Puck leaned over to Phoebe. "I think you should listen to the big guy," he suggested, scooting quickly out of her reach.

There was a long moment of silence. "Very well," Phoebe said. "But we shall not forget this." Her cold gaze fell on Sam as she spoke. Then, with a shimmer of green light, the Sisters vanished.

"Finally!" Puck crowed. "I thought they'd never leave!" He snapped his fingers. "Oh, yeah." He floated over to Callie, tapping her on the head. In a second, she was changed back to normal, blinking in confusion. "You know, kid, you did a pretty good job tonight. I'm a better teacher than I thought."

Before she could smack him, he turned and pointed at the statue of Drew. Stone chips went flying as Drew burst free, back in gargoyle form.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Ahem."

"You too?" Sighing, the Fae snapped his fingers, and the stone claws holding Sarah vanished. "If you'll excuse me," Puck addressed the crowd of humans and gargoyles staring at him, "I've got to go clean up their mess." With that, he turned and made a beeline for the castle at high speed, leaving a trail of sparks and several stunned mortals behind him.

Brooklyn was the first to break the silence. "Yee-ha!" he crowed, pumping a fist in the air. "We had them on the run!"

"Lad, we didn't do a thing," Hudson admonished, sheathing his sword.

Sarah charged across the courtyard, slipping and stumbling and almost knocking Lex over as she hugged him. "It took you blokes long enough!"

"You're welcome," Lex said with a grin.

"All right," Sam said loudly. "Look, I appreciate you guys showing when you did, and I hate to interrupt this touching scene, but what was that all about?"

The clan exchanged uncomfortable glances, and Goliath peered up at the sky. The heavy snow was tapering off considerably, but the air was still frigid. "An explanation is in order," the lavender gargoyle admitted. "But it's a story best told inside."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Matt said, gesturing at his wet clothing.

Fox sighed. "Come on. You can borrow some of David's clothes. He won't mind."

"Not like they fit him right now," Sam added as she and Matt followed Fox towards the entrance. The three of them started chuckling despite themselves.

The others watched them go. "What was that about?" Angela wondered.

"Yeah, Harrison," Brooklyn said, elbowing Drew, "what'd we miss?"

"Everything," Drew, Sarah, and Callista said in unison.

Elisa shivered, shoving her hands into her coat pockets. "Well, you can tell us inside. Must have been interesting."

"You bet," Drew said as they headed inside. "And you wouldn't believe what happened with Sarah's sludge!"

Puck whizzed through the halls and rooms of the castle at high speed, like a miniature comet as he repaired the damage the Sisters had done.

In the kitchen, the chains that Selene had bound Bronx in vanished. Surprised, the garg-dog barked joyously and charged out of the kitchen, accidentally knocking several pots and pans to the floor, adding to the mess that had already accumulated there.

The art gallery was in ruins. But then a miniature tornado swept through the room, picking up the debris and destruction in its path, restoring the works of art to perfect condition.

The ceiling of the tactical lab folded back into place, although there was still a visible crack across the middle.

Fire burned through the tower, melting the frozen water away. A gust of hot wind blew through the hallways, drying out the dredges of the flood.

Puck came to a halt in the conservatory, shaking his head in disgust. "My, but this does need a good pruning," he commented as a large pair of silver hedge clippers appeared in his hand. Branches and vines went flying in little bits as he flitted about the room, restoring the plant life to its normal state.

Snapping his fingers, he tossed the clippers into the air, grinning as they vanished into thin air. "Oops. Can't forget the boss."

Xanatos blinked, finding himself sitting on the desk in the security office. He glanced around. "Robbins? Wilkenson? Are you all right?"

Gwen crawled out from beneath the table as Xanatos stood up, helping her to her feet. "I'll live. I suppose."

"Man, that was in the nick of time!" B.J. exclaimed as he struggled out from behind the wall computer. "One more second and I'd have been toast."

Xanatos narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"You were about to chow down on a power cord, weren't you?" Gwen said knowingly.

B.J. turned bright red.

"You'll never learn, will you, Bronx?" Broadway sighed as he stooped to pick up the pots and pans scattered across the kitchen floor.

Bronx whined, and Drew patted the beast affectionately. "Hey, give him some credit. He pulled me out of a jam."

"Yeah, I know," the big blue gargoyle added. "But I'm just tired. After tonight, I'd rather rest than be on cleanup detail."

"You're telling me," Drew groaned.

"Knock it off," Brooklyn said. "We're inside, it's warm, and we're all suffering here."

"True," Drew admitted. "Wish I knew where Handsaw was."

Angela bent to pick something up. "Speaking of which," she added, holding up a small hand-held saw, "does anyone know where this belongs?"

The other four gargoyles shrugged. Angela was about to put it in the closet when it was suddenly wrenched out of her hand and spun into the air, trails of light running up and down the blade. "What in the blazes?" Sarah cried, looking up from where she was scrubbing the refrigerator.

The saw spun in the air like a tornado, then dissolved in a brilliant flash of light. Handsaw landed on the kitchen floor with a thud, lying flat on his back. Sarah and Broadway helped him to his feet as he blinked, dazed.

"I guess that answers your question, Angela," Lex commented as he finished mopping up the puddle of jam. Sarah laughed so hard she nearly dropped the sponge.

Handsaw groaned. "I really hate that nickname."

"Is it done yet?"

"Like I told you five seconds ago," Broadway shouted from the kitchen, "no!"

Hudson sighed, leaning back into his favorite chair contentedly. "After all th' excitement tonight, lad, I'm surprised you're so impatient. Relax a bit."

"I would if I wasn't so hungry," Brooklyn muttered. "I think Broadway lent me his appetite tonight."

"I heard that!" Broadway shouted.

Callista entered the living room then, carefully balancing several glasses and cups on a tray. She set the tray on the coffee table and passed out the drinks. "Three Cokes, one Sprite, two hot chocolates, and one tea." She passed the last mug to Hudson, then flopped bonelessly on the couch beside Drew as Sarah finished her cellphone conversation in the corner and rejoined the others.

"How's the search going?" Lex asked as Sarah picked up her "special" mug - naturally, the biggest one she could find - and took a swallow of the coffee.

She shook herself before answering. "Everyone and everything is accounted for except Lundy. Nothing's turned up on any of the security tapes, so there's a foot search in progress. I might as well help."

"That reminds me," Brooklyn added. "Anyone seen our fearless leader?"

"Goliath and Elisa are trying to explain this to Samantha," Hudson answered. "The lass isn't liable to take it well."

The others exchanged glances, but chose not to ask. "Well, I'll see you blokes later then," Sarah announced, starting towards the door with the mug still in one hand.

"Oh no you don't," Callista said. "Hand over the sludge."

Sarah sighed. "Not this again. Callie, you're overreacting."

"Excuse me, but was I the only one who saw that stuff nearly kill what's-her-face?" Drew interrupted.

"Come on. She probably hasn't built up a tolerance." The others merely looked grim. "What is so wrong with my coffee, anyway?"

Lex sighed and crossed over to her, taking the mug out of Sarah's hand. He went into the kitchen and came out again, carrying a wooden chopping board in his free hand. As Sarah stared at him, confused, he poured the contents of the mug onto the wood. "This is your brain." There was a hissing sound, and he flipped the board up to show that the liquid had eaten halfway through the wood. "This is your brain on sludge. Any questions?"

Sarah's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out. "I think I'm going to go help search," she finally managed, turning and stumbling out the door.

The rest of those assembled stared at Lex in shock. Even Broadway and Angela emerged from the kitchen. "Her coffee did that?" Brooklyn gasped.

"Not really," Lex said. "I switched it with some paint thinner. The real stuff would have eaten all the way through."

As Goliath finished the story, silence invaded the Great Hall. Sam merely stood there, arms folded, looking at Goliath, Elisa, and Hudson with undisguised skepticism. A few moments passed before she finally spoke. "Okay. Assuming I actually bought all of that, what's it got to do with me?"

Both Goliath and Hudson looked uncomfortable at that, so it was Elisa who answered. "Well, according to Matt and Sarah, you did manage to fend off three of Oberon's Children all by yourself, which means--"

"--that either the blood of the Third Race flows through your veins," Owen Burnett said, "or you had vast quantities of iron at your disposal." A glimmer of the Puck showed through as he smiled briefly. "We can eliminate the latter possibility."

Sam blinked a few times. She hadn't even heard the whisper of footfalls, and it was impossible to open the doors without making a sound. It was as if Burnett had appeared a foot behind her. "How did you do that?"

Owen removed his glasses, studiously wiping the lenses. "You could as well, with practice."

"Practice? What do you mean--" Then it hit her. "No. Forget it. You've got to be kidding me, Burnett."

Xanatos' majordomo shrugged almost imperceptibly, and in a wink, his form was replaced by a grinning Puck. "Well, I'd be the one teaching you how to use your gifts instead of Mr. Stiff."

"Oh, good Lord," Sam groaned. "I don't need this."

"What?" Puck was enjoying her exasperation. "Oh, I forgot. You prefer 'Bernie', don't you?"

Sam whirled on him, grabbing the Fae by the collar. "How the hell do you know about that?"

He was only intimidated for a moment. "Ooh, fiesty!" He vanished from Sam's grip and reappeared a few feet away, turning to Goliath. "Reminds me of your ex a little." Goliath growled, and Elisa immediately put a restraining hand on his arm.

"Look," Sam snapped, trying to rein in her temper. "I don't know what these 'gifts' are, but I don't want anything to do with them. And here you are, telling me you're gonna have me actually practice using them?" She stared at him incredulously for a moment before adding, "Is the sky green in your world??"

"Listen, Sam--" Elisa began, but Sam cut her off.

"Oh, come on, Maza!" Sam stepped away from Puck, moving around the table. "Last night my biggest worries were the Quarrymen and some stoned drug dealer getting in my cab! Now I had to deal with elves and fairies and all this fairy tale bullshit trying to kill me!" She pointed a finger at Puck. "And now I get told that I might be one of them."

Puck spread his hands sheepishly. "Well, I didn't say that exactly...you might be one-hundredth Fae, for all I know..."

"That's not the point," Sam said in a lower tone. "The point is: I'm tired, I'm hungry, and I'm beyond stressed. I don't want to deal with this."

At that, Puck's brow furrowed, and Owen Burnett reappeared in his place. "You may not want to, Miss Denaro, but if Oberon hears of this, you may have to."

"If he hears of it," Sam repeated.

"Most likely the Three will air their concerns--"

She clenched her fists. "Look, all I'm asking for is some time!" Sam shouted. "Is that too much to ask?"

Whatever Owen was going to say was interrupted by the buzz of the intercom system. Owen cleared his throat. "Yes, Mr. Xanatos?"

"Sorry to interrupt, Owen, but I'd like you and all security personnel to report to the security office now."

Even over the intercom, the frustration in Xanatos' voice was clear, which was rare. Elisa frowned. "What's going on?" she asked suspiciously.

Xanatos almost sighed. "You can come and see if you'd like. We'll probably need all the help we can get." As they exchanged confused glances, he added, "We've found Lundy."

The four humans peered down into the trash chute with amused interest and curiosity.

"You think this would qualify for America's Funniest Home Videos?" B.J. muttered.

Sarah shrugged, rummaging through the pockets of her coat. "I don't think that show is even on anymore. I'd love to know how they got her in like that."

"Probably the same concept of getting a ship in the bottle," Gwen commented dryly as Xanatos ceased speaking into the intercom microphone and emerged from the security office. "Of course, folding her in half would be somewhat difficult."

B.J. shrugged. "Kind of a fitting place to stash her, though." Gwen turned to stare at him. "Well, it is."

Shaking his head, Handsaw knelt down to examine the seams around the trash chute. "I guess we'll have to pull out the paneling and insulation up here, and peel one side off of her." He paused uncertainly. "Uh, any volunteers?"

The other two security guards were still engrossed in their observations, enjoying the moment. Xanatos came around the corner and joined them, having finished with the intercom.

"She looks like one of those frozen Perdue chickens," B.J. observed. "With a head and hair, of course."

Sarah pulled a disposable camera out of her pocket, turning the flash on, and aimed it down into the chute. A thoroughly humiliated Vera glared up at her, having been stuffed in the chute with her ankles crossed behind her head. She was tied up like a pretzel, and if that wasn't bad enough, she was wearing nothing but a white undershirt and a pair of briefs.

Xanatos got a good look at the briefs and let out a snort. "Interesting, Lundy. I never figured you for a Winnie the Pooh fan."

Finally getting the flash to work, Sarah pressed the button. "Smile!"

Handsaw frowned at her. "Where did you get that?"

She grinned as she advanced the film and lined up another shot. "There's a gift shop in the lobby. Who'd have guessed?"

Vera screamed the only thing that came to mind. "Get me out of here, you idiots!!"

"I took the liberty of reviewing the security log in this office," Xanatos was saying as Owen walked in, followed by Elisa and Goliath. "It seems you were less than alert prior to the attack."

Vera was seated behind the desk, wrapped in a blanket, trying to discreetly pick bits of trash out of her disheveled blonde hair. Sarah was nowhere in sight, which was a lucky thing since Vera was on the verge of strangling her.

He pressed a few buttons on the remote in his hand, and one of the screens lit up with the tape of Vera sitting back in her chair with a Coke, putting her feet up on the desk. Vera looked slightly embarrassed before stammering, "Sir, with all due respect, there was really no way to be prepared for something of that nature."

Owen cleared his throat at that moment, and Xanatos looked up. "Detective, Goliath, Owen. Come in." He turned back to Vera. "Speaking of 'prepared,' you could have attempted to hit the alarms. Or perhaps bothered to keep tabs on Owen's office."

Vera snorted. "I can't do everything around here, and with this incompetent crew--"

"All you had to do was reach over and press a button!" Gwen cried. Everyone stared in surprise to hear an outburst from her. Handsaw literally jumped, and Gwen sighed. "Mr. Xanatos, I'm sorry. But you understand that this wasn't the most pleasant experience for us."

Xanatos nodded in understanding as Elisa asked, "What experience?"

The answer came from behind her. "They got turned into gerbils," Sam explained casually as she and Matt, wearing a clean change of clothes, appeared in the doorway.

Elisa and Goliath stared at Sam, then at each other, then finally at Xanatos, who looked rather uncomfortable. Goliath raised an eye ridge. "Gerbils?"

Slowly, reluctantly, Xanatos nodded. Elisa bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

Vera, however, wasn't laughing. "You," she hissed, getting to her feet and pointing an accusing finger at Sam. "Sir, this woman is the problem! This insubordinate, undisciplined, loudmouthed bitch directly threatened my authority, wouldn't follow my orders, and effectively caused me to lose control! I can't function with this crew of misfits! If I were you, I'd fire Denaro at--"

"Well, you're not me, are you?" Xanatos interrupted. "You haven't had your son's life threatened for the second time in two weeks, have you? And maybe if you'd been a bit more observant, and a hell of a lot more flexible, this whole crisis could have been averted." He paused for a moment, starting to pace. "You're right, you can't function with this crew, since they're apparently better qualified. In fact, I'm not sure you're qualified for this position."

"You can't fire me!" Vera exploded. "I have a contract!"

"I'm not going to," Xanatos said, regaining his usual calm. "Tonight's events notwithstanding, you still remain a valuable employee. I'm reassigning you to warehouse detail with Jake Ryder's crew. Same pay, the night shift, just not here."

Vera wrinkled her nose. "Warehouse detail? With Ryder?"

"Under Jake Ryder," Owen repeated.

At her expression, Xanatos added, "Mr. Ryder is the only security head who has not requested that you be transferred."

"Good luck finding someone to head up these freaks," Vera muttered.

"As a matter of fact, sir, I have a recommendation for that position," Owen put in. "I believe that Samantha Denaro would make an excellent head of our upper-floor security team."

"Her?" Vera sputtered. Sam almost choked in shock as everyone turned to stare at her.

"Does anyone have any objections?" Owen inquired. "Aside from Miss Lundy, of course."

Goliath looked thoughtful. "A wise choice."

"I'm all for it," B.J. added. Gwen smiled and nodded her assent.

Handsaw shrugged. "Better than Lundy."

"Whoa, hold on a second," Sam interrupted, holding her hands up to stave off any more comments. "I'm not so sure about this."

"I don't see why not," Xanatos said after a moment. "After all, the shift is the same." He paused, remembering her earlier comments. "And you are qualified for the job, if tonight's any indication."

Sam frowned, not convinced.

"You'll be paid twice what you're earning right now," Xanatos added.

Hearing that, Handsaw opened his mouth to protest, but Gwen silenced him with an elbow to his ribs. B.J. wisely kept his mouth shut, for once, as Sam stared at the multibillionaire.

She cocked her head. "Twice what I'm getting now. As in, four times the salary I had doing day shift?" Xanatos nodded, and her eyes widened in surprise. "No bullshit?"

"None," Xanatos said, adding, "I've got too many witnesses anyway."

Sam almost smirked at that, noting that one of the 'witnesses' was a seven-foot-tall lavender gargoyle.

She glanced back to Xanatos, who extended a hand. "What do you say?"

Silence answered him as Sam looked past the hand, turning the proposal over in her mind. A part of her was ready to wipe the self-satisfied smirk off Xanatos' face and run like hell from the Eyrie for good. Sure, she'd learned that Xanatos had ties to the gargoyles, so finding that the clan lived in the castle wasn't a great shock.

But everything else had made Sunday night's madness seem like a cake walk. Fairies on the rampage. Fox and Alex happened to be related to the three bitches. Burnett was one of them, which she still couldn't quite believe. On top of that - as if that wasn't enough - now they were insinuating that she might be one of them too. A freak. If Max even had a clue about that, she'd never get him to drop the hammer and come home. She had enough problems already.

Most of the other problems, though, had to do with making ends meet. Rent had gone up, even for the hole in the wall she lived in. Tips were getting hard to come by, as well as decent fares. Four times her old salary would be more than enough to cover expenses, enough to pull a shorter driving shift. Maybe enough so that she could get more than four hours of sleep a night.

Xanatos was looking at her expectantly, his arm still outstretched. Sam didn't take it, but she nodded, folding her arms. "You've got a deal." As he let his hand fall to his side, not quite satisfied, she added, "For now. I'll take the job, I'll take the pay."

Vera scowled. "I don't believe this."

Owen cleared his throat, a barely distinct sound. "Miss Denaro--"

"Don't even start with me on that." She lifted her jacket off the coat rack and pulled it on. "Look, if there's nothing else I need to do here, I'm going home. It's after three a.m. and I've got to start the day shift in six hours."

"Miss Denaro, you're welcome to use a guest room here," Xanatos offered.

But Sam was already gone.

There was enough room for two people, but Sam filled up the space deliberately. The subway car wasn't very crowded; there were maybe ten other people there, mostly night workers heading home as she was. There was a kid Rachel's age, his arms bare despite the freezing weather to expose a myriad of tattoos on his skin. Probably a wannabe gang member. His eyes traveled up the length of her body appreciatively, but his hungry smile fell as his gaze met hers. The cold, hard glare plainly told him not to bother.

She usually managed to stare people down like that. Now she found herself wondering if there wasn't something else behind it than attitude. Shoving those thoughts away, she got a better look at the others in this particular subway car. Aside from the tired folks in uniform, there was a teenage couple, maybe fifteen or sixteen, bunched together and all but making out right then and there in the seat. The girl, her purple-streaked hair matching her Press-On nails, was almost in her boyfriend's lap. One of them was in for it when they snuck home. In the back of the car, an unshaven middle-aged man was slumped in his seat, dead to the world. The bulges in his coat pockets looked like beer cans.

It was the typical crew. Sam pulled her wallet out of her pocket, checking to see if everything was still there. She hadn't gotten on with a crowd, but it was best to play it safe.

As she flipped through the money and the receipts she still hadn't stashed, Sam paused as she wrestled a photo out from beneath a stack of discount coupons. Stuffing the wallet back in her pocket, she held the photo in both hands, staring at it thoughtfully. The picture was only about a year and a half old, but the family in the photo seemed worlds away.

It was early summer, the last Father's Day she'd been able to celebrate, on the stoop in front of their old house. Rachel and Sam were sitting together on the bottom step, and above them, Max sat beside their father. Looking at it now, seeing her father and brother sitting side by side, Sam realized how much Max and Mario looked alike. Mario still had years left to go; his dark hair was only peppered with gray. You couldn't have imagined then that he had less than a year left. Then, they were one big, happy family.

To Sam, it looked like something from the Twilight Zone. That smiling twenty-year-old kid sitting next to his dad was far removed from the nutball with hood and hammer. She scowled, remembering the helicopter. Even without seeing his face, even with the background noise, she knew that was Max in the Quarryman gear. She'd suspected he was more than just a supporter for a while...but having that confirmed didn't make her feel any better.

Tattooed Arms got off at 23rd and Sixth, steering clear of her as he got out. Sam sighed and shook her head. At the next stop, the teenagers were making out, but realized at the last minute that it was their stop. Sam turned back to the photo as they dashed out, nearly knocking over someone who was actually getting on.

"Okay, it's not an original line, but is this seat taken?" She looked up to see Matt Bluestone grinning down at her, hanging on to the pole as the train shifted into motion.

"I was kind of holding out for Antonio Banderas," she quipped, swinging her feet off the seat, "but you'll do."

"Thanks," he said as he crashed down beside her. "Don't know if I can compete with that."

"Like I said, you'll do. What are you doing here?"

He shrugged. "Uh, my car's in the shop this week. And Elisa blew out a tire on her baby."

"Uh-huh." Either Matt was a terrible liar or he wasn't trying very hard.

Matt noticed the photo. "Your family?"

"Kind of. That's Ray next to me, believe it or not. Before she started dyeing her hair. And that's my little brother Max, and my pop."

He caught the slight sadness in her voice as she spoke. "What happened?"

"Pop died in March." She bit her lip before continuing. "Some gun-crazy Quarrymen raided a PIT meeting. He got caught in the crossfire when the cops showed up." Matt remained silent as Sam sighed, remembering. "All he did was dispatch; you know, calling in if the Quarrymen were getting a little too hammer-happy. He wasn't any great crusader."

Matt still didn't say anything, and she nudged him. "Hey, Bluestone, I'm done. I'm too tired to go into a crying jag." She leaned her head back, closing her eyes for a moment. "Okay, so now I've bared my soul to you, what about your folks?"

"Mine?" He shoved his tongue against the inside of his cheek, thinking. "There's not much to tell. Mom used to be a nurse at the local hospital; she's doing administrative work up there now. Dad taught Biology at my high school, which was just great because there's nothing worse than having your dad as one of your teachers."

Sam caught the past tense. "When did he die?"

"He didn't." Matt sighed. "Well, I don't think he did. Dad just vanished one night my senior year of high school. Drove down to the 7-Eleven to pick up some stuff and never came back."

"You never found out what happened?"

Matt shook his head. "No one could figure it out. The sheriff had the nerve to suggest that Dad ran out on us. I almost popped him one when he said that. I still think that it was some kind of setup."

"If you even suggest UFO's, Bluestone, I'm gonna jump off."

"That's what I thought back then," Matt said, chuckling a bit. "Now, I don't think so. But there was something behind that." He fingered the pin on his trench coat idly as he spoke. "And all he did was try to get a bunch of kids to stay awake long enough to understand the difference between osmosis and McDonald's."

Sam stared at him. "What?"

"I didn't know what he meant when he told me that, and I still don't."

Smiling, she shook her head. "Pop used to confuse the hell out of me too. I think he liked messing with my head. Now it's just me and Ray."

He paused a moment before asking. "What about your brother?"

"Haven't seen much of him since Dad died." She hesitated for a second. "He works nights too."

She was half afraid that he would press her for details, but Matt only nodded and dropped the subject. Unfortunately, the one he picked up instead was just as frustrating. "Are you really going to take the job?"

"What? Oh, that. Well, you heard what I said to Senor Moneybags back there."

"Yeah, I did, but that was Xanatos you were talking to. And you didn't play his game the way he expected."

She snorted derisively. "I'm just full of surprises." He remained silent for a few moments before she added, "I need the money anyway."

"Think you'll quit driving a cab altogether?"

"Hell no." She grinned wickedly at a thought. "Maybe less hours. I could just dangle my nice fat night salary in front of Eddie just to scare him into cutting me some slack. The blackmail angle is getting old."

They lapsed into a comfortable, tired silence as several more people got off at midtown. Matt finally spoke. "Okay, there wasn't a flat."

"Hmm?" She'd almost fallen asleep. Mentally, she kicked herself; it wasn't like her to doze off, especially on the subway. Of course, she'd never been so tired riding the subway home.

"I lied." At her smirk, he added, "Hey, you blew out of there so fast I didn't even have time to say thanks."

Her shoes suddenly became intriguing. "Yeah, well, I had to get out of there. I thought I'd seen everything driving a cab around here, but that was way too weird for me."

"Tell me about it." Matt shuddered. "Was it just me, or did those three have no pupils?"

She looked at him as though he'd suddenly sprouted a third ear. "What? No, I'm not talking about them, Bluestone. I think I can deal with them. It's just - all this weird shit was flying around, and some of it was coming from me."

"If it hadn't, we'd probably be roadkill by now," Matt pointed out.

"Yeah, I know, I know, but I would've liked a warning. I'm used to just being normal, but now, oops! Somebody forgot to tell me I'm actually a freak of nature."

"I don't think you're a freak."

She was about to brush that off, then caught herself and stared at him. "You really mean that? I zapped the living daylights out of those three, poof! You saw it."

"There are more things on heaven and earth, Sam, that are dreamed of in your philosophy."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Uh, it's Shakespeare."

"Yeah, I know. Hamlet or somebody, I paid attention in school. What's that got to do with anything?"

Matt sighed, speaking in a lower voice. "I used to believe in UFOs. My partner's best friends have wings and tails and turn to stone during the day and live in a castle on top of a skyscraper. A trio of masked nutcases on hoverbikes smashed up the station like Swiss cheese when I was there. I saw Owen Burnett turn into a little guy with Vulcan ears, tights, and an attitude and go insane a while back. Finding out about that was weirder than anything that happened tonight. Honestly, Sam, you're actually pretty normal."

"You're serious." He nodded. "Dios mio. You're crazy."

"Crazy about you," he blurted out. His eyes widened, and he smacked his forehead. "I said that out loud, didn't I? I really need some sleep."

Sam smiled, yawning. "Don't sweat it. Guess I needed to hear that, huh?" She sighed. "You jumped in front of a whatever-it-was to keep it from hitting me, you deserve the rest."

He looked at her curiously. "You know, lying there in the snow, thinking I was a dead man, I could've sworn you called me Matt."

She grinned. "Dream on, Bluestone."

"I'm sure I was wide awake, the way you screamed it like that."

"I think you got snow in your ears."

Matt made a face. "I got snow in just about everything." She laughed at that. "Well, either way, taking a bullet or whatever for you ought to have earned me that cup of coffee you promised."

"You know something?" Sam said as the train slowed to a stop. "You're right. Not tonight, though. I got to work, and we're almost out of midtown."

Matt looked up and groaned. "Dammit. I've got to get off here."

She spread her hands, looking as innocent as possible. "Not my fault. But I'll get back to you on the coffee. Really."

He sighed and stood up, getting off the train. "I'm holding you to that!" Sam grinned, and he turned away.

She got to her feet, hanging on to the pole, and called out one last parting comment before the doors slid closed. "Hey, Matt!" As he stopped, she shouted, "It wasn't your imagination!"

Hearing that, Matt spun around, a priceless look of surprise on his face. Sam burst out laughing as the subway train pulled away from the station. She flopped back into her seat, ignoring the stares of the other passengers, still chuckling to herself.

Perhaps it hadn't been such a terrible night after all.