Weekend Off
by Amanda Ohlin

Puck appeared across town, hovering just above a dark grey van that sped silently down one of the back streets. Quickly, he muttered a few words under his breath, rendering himself and Alexander invisible. As they vanished from all but arcane sight, he hovered lower, staying with the van and holding Alex tightly.

Coming close to the vehicle, Alex squealed, and Puck smiled. "Bingo." He floated close to the door, and made to reach through - and pulled his hand back with a hiss of surprise and pain. Iron! The inner walls of the van were coated with some sort of iron alloy. It wasn't pure enough to hide Callista from his sight, but there was enough to keep him from getting to her. For a brief moment, he wondered whether or not it was intentional; he didn't put it past John Canmore to have some inkling of the fay, or at least of their magic.

Intentional or not, he wasn't going to get through, and Alex - well, Alex might be able to, but the kid didn't have the experience to pull it off. The lessons on phasing objects through different substances selectively were a bit advanced for him. Puck could only float abreast of the van, trying to figure out just what to do. Despite his freedom and the harvest moon, Oberon was enforcing his law as best he could - which meant that conjuring a dragon right in front of the van was pushing it. Outside help was necessary in this case.

He briefly considered getting back to the Eyrie, but decided against it. Fox's temper was hot, and if she could take Oberon down, he wouldn't have better luck. Besides, the Quarrymen were quite obviously planning an attack; the signs all pointed to it. Staging a holdup in Macy's - Macy's, of all the damned places - and taking a hostage could only be the first step. The crew at the Eyrie would have their hands full with the attack alone. Besides, the Quarrymen wouldn't expect an attack from behind, would they?

Plans brewing in his mind, the Puck and his student vanished.

No one spoke as the van turned and pulled into the abandoned garage, the door grinding and creaking as it slammed shut behind them. Handsaw looked down at Callista's unconscious form, his emotions churning. He had been so sure that he was doing the right thing, but looking at her lying there almost changed his mind. He hadn't intended for her to get hurt at all. And she'd seemed so caring about Drew...it almost felt as if he'd used his cousin's disappearance to get to her.

In the darkness, he fought against a surge of apprehension. She wasn't quite the intended target, something that he was bound to get screamed at about later. Sarah, being so close to Fox Xanatos, was the hostage that they were supposed to have snagged. But being as close as she was, it was impossible to get to her with the crowd and her employer smashing mercilessly through. So he'd grabbed the next best person.

Either way, he would have gotten it; they would have had twice as much trouble hanging on to Sarah. Reaching down, he stroked Callista's cheek gently, and sighed. He had to admire her, the fight she'd put into it. Although, he regretted that it had gotten her whacked on the head.

What would happen when she woke up? Would she listen to reason? Would she try to forgive him? He really doubted it; were he in her case and woke up after being grabbed and knocked out, he would be screaming bloody murder. Handsaw sighed and pulled his hand away. Damn, but he'd really blown it.

He looked up as the lights outside the van came on, shining dimly through its tinted windows. As the door slid open, he swallowed as it revealed a small group of people, with John Castaway at the fore. Seeing that the captive was not the one he'd wanted, Castaway's tight smile faded. There was a long pause.

"I think you're gonna have to explain," Max muttered from behind him. Suddenly, Handsaw envied the unconscious girl lying next to him.

Broadway frowned as Lexington's voice laid out all the details of the riot, the disappearances, and the possible attack. The other two could hear it as clearly as he, and in a few glimpses he gauged their reactions. Angela's increasing worry was evident, as was Twilight's confusion. But all of a sudden, when Lex mentioned Callie, Sarah, and Callie's abduction, a brief flash crossed Twilight's face - of recognition and anger.

That bothered Broadway. How could Twilight know either Sarah or Callie? It didn't make any sense. There was a lot that Twilight wasn't telling, and Broadway was more and more determined to find out just what he was hiding.

Still, he wasn't exactly suspicious. Twilight's secrecy seemed more out of apprehension than anything else, and there didn't seem to be anything malicious about him. He almost seemed guilty about not telling them the whole truth, but was resigned to keeping his mouth shut. For a moment, Broadway wondered if he was an agent of the Quarrymen - but dismissed that immediately. No gargoyle in his right mind would ally with the Quarrymen, and no Quarryman would agree to it, anyway.

Whatever the circumstances, he wasn't talking, and not even Angela's powers of persuasion could coax anything concrete from him. As he finished talking to Lex and switched off the transmitter, he turned to the other two beside him. "We'd better stop and regroup. The wind's dying down."

"Are you sure?" Angela asked. "We don't have much time."

She couldn't disguise the fatigue in her voice, and Broadway and Twilight exchanged glances. "I'm sure. It'll only be a moment."

They alighted on the next clear rooftop, which was somewhat out of sight. Twilight was the last to touch down, and his landing was a bit wobbly, too wobbly for someone full-grown. It's almost as if he just started flying, Broadway thought curiously.

Angela sat down heavily on the rim of a closed chimney, inhaling deeply. Concerned, Broadway moved to sit beside her, and she leaned against him slightly. Twilight watched both of them with equal concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Angela answered for both of their benefit. "I think I'm just getting a cold."

Broadway put a hand on her shoulder. "Angela, if you're sick, maybe you shouldn't come with us. We could always drop you off at Elisa's."

"Not with that cat of hers," Angela answered tiredly. Cagney, Elisa had told them, did not enjoy being around sick people. "Anyway, it's not so bad. We have to get to the Eyrie before the Quarrymen do."

Twilight turned to Broadway, the confusion evident in his green eyes. "How long will it take to get there?"

"I don't know," Broadway admitted. "Unless the breeze picks up, we won't have enough lift to get us very far." Angela sighed again, and he took her hand gently. "And I still say that *you* are not fine."

As they sat there together, Twilight paused and surreptitiously slipped a book from the beat-up knapsack he'd been carrying. Flipping through the pages, he stopped at one, and read the words in a whisper. It was inaudible to his companions, who were too engrossed in each other to notice.

Suddenly, they noticed as the wind picked up almost immediately. "You think this will do?" Twilight shouted as a sharp gust blew into their faces. Angela smiled in relief, but Broadway's eyes narrowed as he saw Twilight slip a brown object into his bag.

Then again, there wasn't time to look a gift horse in the mouth. Broadway got to his feet and spread his wings, and Angela followed suit. "After you, my dear," he said gallantly as Angela, then he, then Twilight took off, rising with the sudden air currents. The brief look of pride on Twilight's face was not lost to him, and he wondered as they soared towards their home.

Elisa rubbed her forehead absently. What a depressing case. At least their jaunt into the Bronx hadn't been for nothing; they'd gained several leads, and she was willing to bet money that the kidnappee had actually run away with her abductor. After a home life like that, she couldn't blame the girl for taking off with the guy. Especially since she'd just found out that they were more than friends. It was amazing just how much the girl's mother had kept from her out of pride.

Oh, well. It could be worse; there wasn't a Quarryman in sight, and she could see Goliath tailing her discreetly in the side mirror. "What would I ever do without you, Goliath?" she murmured to the quiet air. She couldn't ask him that herself; their transmitters weren't working. If they hadn't gotten so many leads, she would have turned and headed back to the Eyrie to check them out.

The car was consequently silent; traffic at the moment was low, and devoid of the constant honking of horns and sirens common to downtown Manhattan. So when the radio suddenly crackled to life, she nearly jumped out of her seat.

Adjusting her seatbelt, she picked up the microphone with a shaking hand. Talk about paranoid. "Maza here."

"It's about time!" a familiar voice exclaimed, then slid back into procedure. "Bluestone here. Partner, we have problems. You'd better get back here pronto."

The police frequency was not the most secure channel, she recalled. "What sort of problems?"

"For starters, they're breaking up a deliberately provoked riot outside Macy's." Elisa almost choked. "And it gets worse. Not only do we have a missing person, an anonymous tip tells me that some of our friends are going to be under attack pretty soon."

One thing that Elisa prided herself on was her ability to catch on quickly. "Got you. I'll be there ASAP. Over."

She cut the connection and pulled over to the curb. As she parked and turned into the alley, she could hear the flap of wings as Goliath changed course to follow her.

As he gently landed beside her on the asphalt, his expression was concerned. "Elisa, what is the matter?"

Elisa sighed. "We're going to have to break off the investigation," she said as his frown deepened. Since she'd let him in on her latest case, Goliath had grown deeply involved in its ramifications. "I'm sorry, but we can't help it. If what Matt tried to tell me is right, I think we've got an impending Quarrymen attack at the Eyrie."

He wasted no words. "Then let us go."

As he climbed up the building to gain takeoff altitude, she bolted for her car before anyone else could get to it. Fortunately, two minutes wasn't long enough to attract any vandals or thieves, even in that area. She jerked the door open, hopped into her old car, and gunned the motor. Hurriedly, she pulled out of the space and sped down the street, Goliath flying close behind.

She was coming close to speeding, she knew, but this was an emergency. It was a windy night, and Goliath was keeping pace with her rather well. Elisa sighed, thinking just how lucky she was. He didn't stop to ask questions or make excuses. Just the fact that their friends might be in danger was enough.

Elisa turned onto Route 80, immediately glad for the increased speed limit. Her thoughts were spinning. How could she have missed it? Xanatos was away on a business trip. Fox had decided to relax for one evening. And the missing person? Did they have a hostage? If so, then who? Fox? Sarah? She shuddered at that thought, and just how Lex would react.

Lost in her thoughts, she only barely acknowledged the van driving towards her in the far lane. So when the driver suddenly pulled a course correction, zooming into her lane, she was barely able to steer out of the way. Goliath, however, saw it before she did, and swooped down on the van, distracting the driver enough to cause him to pull closer to his own lane. But not enough to stop him completely.

With a sickening crunch, the van's front bumper smashed into Elisa's left headlight, sending their combined mass skidding towards the shoulder. Despite herself, Elisa screamed as the windshield splintered and cracked into a jagged series of spiderwebs. She slammed her foot on the brake as she tried to shield herself from the flying glass and bending metal. Vaguely, she heard Goliath's horrified bellow, saw his dark shape swoop above as he opened his wings like sails, trying to slow their motion. As the brakes screeched madly and Goliath growled in sheer effort, the mass slowed to a stop inches away from the drop-off beside the road.

Before Goliath could do a thing, the other driver pulled his vehicle free with a squeal of tires and tore off into the night. Elisa closed her eyes, aware of a sharp pain in her side. She slowed her breathing as best she could, hearing Goliath's voice. As he tore at the wreckage, trying to peel her free, he was calling her name in frenzied panic.

"What was that, a tank?" she gasped as she found herself staring into his concerned and apprehensive face.

Gently, he pried the twisted metal away from her, extracting her from the wreckage as carefully as possible. "Elisa...are you all right?"

Cradled in his arms, she didn't feel a thing. "I'm fine, Goliath. Really." Actually, her side was bleeding, and her ankle had to be broken.

She swallowed as her gaze traveled to his shoulder. "You're hurt."

"It's just a scratch," he answered, wincing as he laid her on the ground, staring at her bloodied side, hands, and scratched face. "Elisa, you are not fine. I have to get you some help."

"Goliath, you can't - you can't just walk into a hospital and ask for help." She winced and closed her eyes. "The guys need you. Get to the Eyrie and help them."

"I won't leave you," he insisted, his eyes full of tears. Elisa took a few experimental breaths; as bad as it looked, she didn't think anything was lacerated. This would merit some stitches, a splint, and a lot of gauze bandages, but nothing more. "You have to. There's no way you can carry me with that shoulder. Someone's bound to find me out here, and it's best if I'm not with you. Not - not with the Quarrymen at large."

Goliath shook his head. "I refuse to let you--"

"Are you kidding?" She laughed weakly. "Goliath, I've been shot before, and that was worse." He frowned. "Just go already. I mean it." But he didn't move, and she felt like crying as her blurred vision fixed on the moon above.

Callista opened her eyes slowly, afraid of what she would see. For the past ten minutes, she had kept them shut while she listened to the vague sounds above her. "We'll have to bring the girl with us, then," a man's voice said behind her. "There's no time for technicalities."

"This was well planned," she heard someone murmur as she was grabbed by the arms. "Aw, shit! She's awake!"

A fist came into her line of vision, aiming for her head, but another hand caught it in its path. Handsaw glared at the tall blonde woman in fury. "You try it, bitch, you'll live to regret it," he hissed.

As she opened her mouth to scream, another hand slammed down over it. "The same goes for you, my dear," the blond man said as he moved into her line of sight. She noticed that they were all wearing dark grey uniforms, with the Quarrymen symbol emblazoned on the chests and sleeves. For some reason, she was reminded of those old reels of WWII Nazis she'd seen in school. The man standing before her looked like he would blend right in with the Hitler Youth.

She was silent and allowed herself to be herded towards one of two rather high-tech helicopters at the other end of the converted hangar. Suddenly, her eyes widened as she recognized one of them. "How the bloody hell did you get through Cyberbiotics?" she exclaimed, forgetting herself for a moment.

He smiled unpleasantly, ignoring the question. "My apologies, Miss Reynolds. We did not intend this in any way. However, since you are here, you might as well be along for the ride." He gestured towards one of the helicopters - not the one from Cyberbiotics. "Take her with Group A. If worst comes to worst, we'll need a hostage."

"Let's smash some stone!" a voice shouted as she was hustled into the helicopter with a group of Quarrymen and shoved down onto one of the seats. Somehow, in the crush, she found herself sitting next to Handsaw. His hand found hers, and she jerked it away in the darkness.

There was a pause. "Callie, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean this to happen. I just wanted to keep you safe. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Don't speak to me," she hissed. "You're beyond being sorry."

He said nothing, but pulled his hand away and stared straight ahead as the pilots climbed in and started the engines. As the floor vibrated beneath her feet, Callista wished that she were somewhere else - anywhere else. Why can't anyone help me? Christ, I wish someone could hear me! She bit back tears as the doors creaked open and they were lifted into the air. This never would have happened if I'd had some sense and gone with Sarah last night.

Oh, it would have happened, a mischievous voice said suddenly. But this is much more interesting.

Callista choked back a squeal; the faces around her were silent, impassive. She was the only one who had heard anything. "I'm losing my mind," she whispered, closing her eyes.

There was a fit of laughter. Sorry, sweetheart, but this is for real. Behind her closed lids, a shape formed in the darkness, a pixie with long white hair floating with crossed legs. As he grinned from ear to pointed ear, she wondered just how badly she'd been hit in the head. "Don't look so shocked," her visitor remarked. "You *did* call for help, after all, and the Puck heard."

Callista was beyond questioning the reality of all this. Call you? I didn't call.... She stopped at that, remembering her mother's strange habits, the way she used to know what was going to happen before the fact, her tendency to freeze with her eyes shut just as Callista was doing now. Oh, *no*, she moaned. I *am* turning into Mum!

"Would you mind not whining?" He glared at her. "This was supposed to be my night off."

Like he was the only one. Well, if you're going to help me, why don't you just pop over and DO IT??

Puck smirked. "Not so easy as that. For one thing, this lovely little contraption you're in contains enough iron alloy to keep me out. Second, this harvest moon is tossing the magical currents all out of whack." He jerked up. "And third, I just have another emergency to attend to."

You had better bloody stay!! The force of her demand sent him reeling. I don't know how to save myself from several dozen armed vigilantes!

He shook his head, to clear it. "I don't know about that. You are much more powerful than I thought." As he spoke, he seemed to be drifting closer, almost as if examining her. "Either way, you will know what to do."

She was about to protest, but there was a jolt, and her eyes snapped open to the darkened copter. Ignoring the suspicious stares from the Quarrymen around her (and Handsaw's concerned look), she took in a deep breath, relaxing into a deep calm. All of a sudden, she felt a strange energy running through her, and it almost seemed as though she was glowing faintly.

The shields around her were off.

Matt scowled at the dashboard, frustrated. For the past five minutes, he'd been trying to get through to Elisa, with no response. He could only assume that she and Goliath were on their way. But assumption didn't really ease his anxiety. Besides, they were up in the Bronx, and he was already in downtown Manhattan - stuck in downtown traffic. Naturally, nothing had moved for twenty straight minutes.

As the clamor of horns honking and cab drivers shouting rose to a muffled roar outside, Matt quietly banged his head against the steering wheel. This was just not his day.

"Whoa!" Drew could not contain his awe at the sight of the Eyrie Building, with Castle Wyvern seamlessly built atop the tower of metal and glass. It was an amazing sight, a castle above the clouds. Any architectural scholar would have something to say about the merging of the medieval with the modern. David Xanatos may have really blown a lot of cash on this project, but the man knew how to waste money in style.

He could feel Broadway and Angela's eyes on him, and glanced over to catch the smirk on Broadway's face. "Impressive, huh?"

Shaking his head, he smiled. "That's an understatement. This is the last thing I expected - in this town, anyway."

Angela beamed at him, and Broadway was smiling. His awe at the castle had relaxed their suspicions towards him somewhat. They could see that it was genuine, and that made him less of a possible threat. He felt guilty for not telling them the truth, but he just didn't know whether he could yet. And he could understand their mistrust of him; with the treatment the Quarrymen had afforded them, they had every right to be suspicious. Maybe later, he could tell them the whole story. He was starting to like Broadway and Angela, the more he hung around them.

"This way!" Angela veered off, gliding down in a spiraling arc towards the main courtyard, where a few shapes had gathered. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Broadway followed suit, with Drew gliding after. His flying, like his shoulder, had greatly improved in the past hour or so. He didn't know if it had to do with the spell or his own natural talent. Drew smirked to himself; it was most likely to be the spell.

They landed softly in the center of the courtyard, and for once, Drew managed to touch down without a stumble or a wobble. Broadway and Angela caped their wings, and he followed suit, looking around him with curiosity and awe. An authentic Scottish castle, right in the middle of New York, and so perfectly restored! Drew had always been a fantasy and medieval history fanatic, and his eyes devoured his surroundings hungrily.

He was so engrossed in the castle that it took him a moment to notice the three figures coming to meet them: a tall woman with a mass of fiery red hair and a fox-head tattoo, dressed in some sort of black survival gear, flanked by two other gargoyles, and a sort of gargoyle dog padding behind. The woman he recognized immediately, having sporadically watched "The Pack;" it was none other than Fox Xanatos herself. He didn't recognize the other two, an elderly male with a scarred eye and a younger, crimson male with horns and a beak.

Angela threw herself into the arms of the older gargoyle, and he hugged her back. "It's good to see you, lass," he grumbled with a thick Scottish brogue. She hugged the younger one in turn and took Fox's hand briefly.

"Hey, Brooklyn, where's Lex?" Broadway asked the red gargoyle. "I'm still holding on to the fridge threat."

"He and Sarah are messing with a ton of gadgets," Brooklyn answered, jerking a thumb towards the open door behind him. Angela coughed, and he looked over at Drew. "You want to introduce us?"

Angela sighed. "Brooklyn, Hudson, Fox, Bronx, meet Twilight."

Drew shook hands with each in turn and patted the dog, glad that Sarah wasn't around. If she recognized him, he would have one hell of a lot of explaining to do. Fox he greeted last, and she looked at him skeptically. "Twilight, is it? Where are you from exactly?"

"New Jersey," he answered, truthfully. "It's sort of a long story, and I don't think we have time to go through it yet."

Hudson frowned. "Lad, 'tis good to meet ye, but we would like ta know a bit about ye."

"I have to agree with Twilight," Fox said brusquely. "We have to analyze our defensive strategy. Any sign of Goliath or Detective Maza?" Brooklyn shook his head. "Then we'll have to make do with what we have." She turned to Drew. "How good of a fighter are you?"

He paused. "Good enough, if it comes to that."

Fox turned back towards the door, herding them in. They silently filed down a set of spiral stairs, and at the bottom entered a room that was definitely not in the original castle blueprints. It was a high-ceilinged hall, its walls lined with computer consoles, one entirely comprised of security screens. In the center, a rectangular table lined with plush chairs was piled high with blueprints. A small, olive-colored gargoyle with webbed wings was poring intently over them.

Brooklyn nudged him. "You all right?"

"I feel like I stepped into an episode of Mission: Impossible," he answered, and the red gargoyle snickered.

Fox's expression was impassive. "Any sign of Alex or....Owen?" she asked, choosing her words carefully.

The gargoyle looked up suddenly, shaking his head. "None. But I think I may have the force-shield working sporadically. We can only flash it on in sporadic bursts, and not often."

"We'll save that for an emergency option," Fox said, nodding. "Lex, where is Sarah?"

Lex pointed at a pair of metal doors at the far end of the hall. Bemused, Drew looked up with the others as they slid open with a heavy creak, revealing a small hangar of sorts. In the center stood a huge silver e-frame, armed with lasers, appendages, and rockets. Yet somehow, it still managed to look sleek despite its great size.

From the cockpit, he recognized a familiar pale brown head. Sarah waved cheerfully. "Ready to rock, mates?"

Goliath cradled Elisa's broken body in his arms. He set her on the grass, away from the highway. as gently as if she were made of porcelain. It seemed that his heart was twice as fragile, and his bleeding shoulder hardly a scratch. "I cannot leave you here," he said. "I will wait until the next car comes along."

"Or," said a sudden voice, "you could always just wait two seconds for the Puck to come along."

Surprised, Goliath turned to see the fay floating serenely a few feet away, holding Alex in his arms. "You!!" he cried, starting up in anger. The white fire in his eyes faded as he saw the uncharacteristically solemn expression on Puck's face. "What do you want, Puck?"

"To do you a good deed, you fool," Puck said scornfully. "That," he said, pointing up at the harvest moon, "may have given me a night off, but I still have to be on my best behavior." He paused, wavering, an odd look in his eyes.

Goliath's patience was almost gone. "Then help her already!!" he roared, infuriated, jolting the fay back to reality.

Puck shook his head, dazed, and smirked. "You'll have to get out of the way first, you dope." Grudgingly, Goliath obeyed, and Puck murmured something to the child in his arms, "pay attention" all that Goliath could make out. Setting Alex down, he raised his arms and began to chant rapidly in Latin, or at least a close approximation. Light sparked from his form and enveloped Elisa, and for a moment, it seemed as if she was caught in a spotlight cast by the moon above them. There was a sudden, brilliant flash of white-hot light, and then darkness.

It took Goliath's eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness again, and as he recovered, he gaped at what he saw. Groaning, Elisa pulled herself to her feet, completely free of any injuries. However, that was not the only difference.

Elisa stared at her hands, then looked down at herself, gasping. "How did I end up turned into a gargoyle again?!?!?" she exclaimed, staring at the two of them.

Goliath turned to Puck, and was surprised to see the fay whacking himself on the head, and letting loose with a torrent of obscenities that were fortunately too slurred and rapid-fire to understand. "This is your good deed??"

"I didn't intend that to happen!!" the fay cried. "Errgh! Now I know why Oberon always complained about the harvest moon." He took a deep breath and scooped up Alex, giving the two of them a baleful glare. "What are you staring at? It worked, didn't it?"

Elisa put a hand to her head as Goliath started towards Puck again. "Why don't you just change me back and get us to the Eyrie, if you really want to help?"

"Uhhh..." Suddenly, Puck froze again, and a brief series of sparks erupted around him. He shook himself out of it and shook his head violently. "I don't think I can. I'm starting to lose control already, and Alex isn't that experienced."

"So how do you propose to get us there??" Goliath roared, absolutely fed up.

"You can fly, can't you?" was the response as Puck - and Alex - suddenly vanished.

"Here we come!" someone exclaimed, and Callista squirmed to catch a glimpse out of the front window. It wasn't much, but she could just make out the castle before them - the one atop the Eyrie Building. Taking another deep breath, she tried to relax, not quite sure what she was going to do but determined to have a clear head when she did it.

The Quarrymen around her were getting to their feet, and passing down what looked like laser rifles. "Y' know, I just don't get it," someone was saying. "Why couldn't we just do this during the day?"

"Who's not gonna see us in broad daylight?" someone answered. "Couldn't shave at their day security, anyway."

As she stood up, she felt strong hands grab her and pull her down again. "Stay here," Handsaw said, grabbing a rifle and hooking on a belt for rappelling. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"What do you call this, then?" she muttered as the sound of laser fire erupted outside the copter.

The blond man was shouting orders into a commlink. "All right, men, we're here! Copter 1, you're going in for a straight attack run. We'll do backup and air drop."

As he spoke, the door slid open, and Handsaw and three others rappelled out. Another strong hand grabbed her, and she turned to a group of leering male faces. "It's just you and me now, hon," the closest said. "What to have some fun?"

"I don't think so," she snapped, slamming a fist into his face as the firing started in earnest.

Five minutes before

Brooklyn looked skeptically at the metallic wrist bands Lex handed him, inspecting them with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. Nearby, Twilight, Angela, Hudson, and Broadway were eyeing theirs with equal apprehension. Sarah didn't need one, and Fox didn't exactly care.

"Wrist lasers," Sarah explained through the e-frame's comm link, which was connected to the new headsets they'd all been fitted with. "I'm betting it'll put us on a level with the ammo they're packing. Any sort of heavy artillery, like bombs and missiles, are out; they aren't going to risk getting caught in a massive blast."

Hudson frowned. "If it's all right with you, lass, I'd rather just stick to my blade," he remarked.

Lex sighed. "Put it on already, Hudson." He was tapping at a console frantically. "We don't have much time; they're on radar. ETA in five minutes."

From the e-frame, Sarah spewed a colorful obscenity, and Fox smirked. "I don't think we all needed to hear that." Turning serious, she helped the four gargoyles don the wrist lasers, instructing them on how to fire and shut the lasers on and off. "All right, you know the plan," she said brusquely, adjusting a small jet pack. "We circle around them, try to separate the helicopters. If we're lucky, we'll be able to herd them into the path of the force-field burst. If not, we'll call for backup." She jerked a thumb at the e-frame and Sarah smiled. "I think we should save our secret weapon for a surprise."

"Wait a second," Angela said, gesturing towards the jet pack. "You're not going out there with us, are you?"

Fox shook her head. "Not initially. I'm going to have to control things from the ground, since neither David - or *Owen* - is here to help." She snarled the word, and Brooklyn was immediately glad not to be in Puck's shoes when she found him.

A series of alarms suddenly went off, and Lex jerked up. "That's our cue!" The five gargoyles turned and headed up the tower stairs, launching themselves in separate directions as the shapes of the two helicopters came into view.

"Hope this works," he heard Twilight mutter as they took their positions.

Brooklyn crouched in a concealing shadow, watching the helicopters move in. Just another second and they would be ready -

A volley of laser fire caused him to jump. So much for patience. "Fan out!" he shouted into the headset, launching himself into the air. "Let's give them a run for their money!"

"Yee-ha!" was Broadway's response as he followed suit, swooping down on the closest, larger helicopter, dodging the blasts the Quarrymen fired. As he attracted most of their fire, Angela soared upward, then tucked her wings and plunged downward, coming almost on top of the pilot, who was not happy to have a gargoyle blocking his view. The helicopter suddenly did a 360 degree spin, knocking her off.

Brooklyn dived for the larger copter, seeing Angela in trouble, but the smaller craft blocked his path with a stream of laser fire that came close to singeing his wings. Veering off, he came in again, firing back. The damage wasn't that great; but it was a damned stealth helicopter, and he only intended to distract it. As he sideswiped the craft, however, the door slid open, revealing a group of laser-toting Quarrymen with rappelling cords and bad attitudes. "Hi, guys," Brooklyn said, barely dodging their fire and returning the favor.

Two of them were equipped with jet packs, and merely rocketed out of his reach, circling around him to trap him with laser blasts. Combined with that of the ship and the other passengers, it actually seemed to be working as Brooklyn found himself in a literal web of laser fire. Talk about a stupid command decision, he thought.

Suddenly, one of the Quarrymen shouted a warning as they were set upon by further blasts, and a tan form cannonballed into one of the Quarrymen, disabling the man's jet pack and dropping him unceremoniously to the stones. "Like I said," Twilight grunted as Brooklyn took out the other in a similar fashion, "if it comes to it, I'm good enough."

"Can't argue with that," Brooklyn answered, veering back towards the small helicopter. "Let's take out this hotshot, shall we?" He spoke into the headset. "Broadway! Hudson! We need some more weight over here!"

Twilight got the point and followed Brooklyn, landing squarely in the pilot's line of sight. As the helicopter guns turned towards him, Broadway, then Hudson, joined Brooklyn beneath the craft, holding on to the runners. "One, two, three," Brooklyn muttered, as the three of them folded their wings and hung on to one side, adding an ample amount of weight.

The sudden shift caused the pilot to veer off course, almost smashing into one of the castle's parapets and curving away from the Eyrie. Twilight took the momentary distraction to open fire on the cockpit, managing to fry a few circuits. It wasn't enough to fully disable the helicopter, but two of the Quarrymen panicked and bailed out. Broadway swooped down after them, and Brooklyn stole a glance at the other helicopter, which wasn't doing much besides occasional firing and dropping Quarrymen into the courtyard. Angela and Lex were handling them pretty well.

I don't get it, Brooklyn thought, and pointed it out to Hudson and Twilight, who were circling the smaller copter. "What's the deal? They should be playing X-wing with that one too if they want to get anywhere."

As he said this, someone in the other copter moved and the three gargoyles got a good look at the hostage raising hell inside. Brooklyn swore, and Twilight gaped. "Callista! Oh, shit!"

"How d' ye know her?" Hudson asked suspiciously.

"Long story," Twilight said again as the pilot recovered and opened fire on them once again.

At the same time, Fox was equally confused by the behavior of the Quarrymen. While the other helicopter had pulled some decent attack maneuvers, the one above her wasn't exactly stellar. She'd been kept on her toes taking out the teams that made it to the courtyard, but still! Castaway had an ace up his sleeve, she knew.

She stole a glance at the other helicopter. It was lagging behind the other one; if she ordered a force-shield burst now, only the front copter would be taken out. As she did so, she was almost hit by a bright blast from behind.

With a practiced motion, she backflipped out of the way, and landed on her feet, laser drawn, facing her assailant. "Nice try," she said as she fired a few well-aimed shots at him.

He dodged them - barely - and she recognized the rusty hair and thick face of the young man from the store riot. "I could say the same to you, traitor," he snapped as he blasted the ground beneath her, causing a miniature eruption of stone and mortar.

She leapt up just in time, and delivered a well-placed jump kick to his stomach. He dropped and rolled, still clutching onto his gun. Fox smirked, and as he lay there, trained her weapon on him. "Now we can talk. Mind telling me where your ex-girlfriend is?"

"GET YOUR BLOODY HANDS OFF ME!"

Fox didn't dare to look up, not with the man below her still armed, but she got the point. Castaway must have had some inkling of the force-shield plan; with his hostage in the lead copter, they wouldn't dare destroy it, leaving him free to drop as many guests in as he wanted.

Below her, the kid was chuckling. She snarled, spun, and kicked the weapon from his hands before he could react. Another kick, and he was out cold.

She adjusted the headset. "Okay, Adams. Bring out the heavy artillery."

"Another one?" a voice roared over the radio. "Since when did another one of those beasts appear?"

The pilot paused to let out another blast. "I don't know, boss. Just another fish to fry."

A low laugh caused Callista to jump. "And they're about to be burnt to a crisp." Her gaze traveled to the other copter, which had recovered and was heading towards them to offer backup. The gargoyles - yes, they were real gargoyles - had been holding their own, but just barely. She could see Sarah's boss beating the hell out of the Quarrymen who made it down, and marveled at the woman's technique.

Where was Sarah? It was totally unlike the girl to miss out on any sort of fight, no matter how massive the scale. She looked back at the other craft, which was receiving heavy fire - but they weren't. Obviously, the Quarrymen had made it known that they had a hostage.

And as long as I'm in the belly of this beast, they can't cut it open, she realized with a flash of recognition. I could jump - but first, I'd have to get through six armed men to get to the damned door.

They'd taken their hands off her when she'd started raising hell, but she didn't think they would let her squeeze past them. The crush of bodies before her was a living dark wall, trapping her on the far bench. Even on a serious adrenaline rush, she wouldn't get halfway through before they pinned her - and she could only imagine what would come next, judging by the looks a few were sending her.

She slowly eased herself to a standing position, keeping a hand on the metal behind her to steady herself. No one paid much attention to her slow movements, too absorbed with the battle going on outside. Unsure what to do next, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, drawing on the energy that she had suddenly gained. As she opened them again, an odd idea came to her, and she turned towards the man beside her. He noticed her standing, and reached up to pull her down - and froze as their eyes met.

Callista had absolutely no clue what she was doing, but focused on him with all her might. As she did so, he blinked, yawned, and his eyes became completely blank, staring. She nudged him; no response.

She was about to try it again, when a sudden pain in her head stopped her. Whatever she had just pulled off, it had given her one hell of a migraine. But the guy beside her still wasn't moving.

A shout from outside caused her to turn, and the wall of bodies thinned somewhat. Edging forward, Callista gaped as she saw just who - in what - had joined the fight.

Well, at least now she knew where Sarah was.

"YEEE-HAA!" a familiar voice crowed as Drew dived out of the path of laser fire, forced to break off from the other three gargoyles. He turned just in time to see a silver e-frame rocketing towards the small helicopter, blocking its second run towards the Eyrie.

Sarah practically collided with the copter, grabbing one of the runners with a metal claw and knocking it back off course. At the same time, Brooklyn and Hudson, and Broadway knocked the weapons from two of the Quarrymen's hands with careful aim from the wrist laser.

The distraction did not last for long; the laser guns of both helicopters immediately turned towards the e-frame. Massive as it was, the e-frame was not indestructible, and Sarah was forced to break her grip, but not before smashing a hole in the belly of the helicopter. All but one of the passengers bailed, and the pilot steered crazily to regain control as the e-frame broke away.

"Twilight, take the other one!" Brooklyn ordered as Drew tried in vain to cut through the wall of laser fire. "Angela and Lex are gonna need some backup!"

Drew wasted no time, tucking in his wings and dropping out of range, then snapping them open and gliding down towards the hostage helicopter, firing at the figures dropping into the courtyard. To his surprise, he actually managed to slice through a couple of the rappelling cords. Damn. I am getting better at this! As the fire was directed towards him, he dropped beneath the helicopter, giving Sarah - who was right behind him - a clear shot at the invasion force.

There was a shout, and as Angela barreled into one of the Quarrymen heading for the courtyard, Callista came into view, struggling against the sea of bodies that threatened to push her back. Setting his jaw, Drew soared up to help, but was repelled by yet another volley of laser fire, and a particularly intrepid Quarryman leapt out of the copter, trying to land on top of him. Drew swore and maneuvered out of the way, gliding upwards, but his pursuer activated a sort of rocket pack and climbed after him, firing repeatedly.

With a sharp U-turn, Drew veered around, intending to fight fire with fire. As he attempted to fire the wrist laser, however, nothing happened. Swearing again, he swan dived out of the line of fire, but was easily pursued.

A bright beam grazed past his shoulder, singeing his wing, and he winced. He couldn't dodge forever, and unless he thought of something quickly, he was in deep trouble. I would have been better off in that home, he thought wryly as he soared up again, just barely escaping the barrage.

"Stay still so I can hit you, beast!" a voice roared behind him, and he groaned. "Damned filthy creat - AAAUGHH!"

Taking a chance, Drew stole a glance behind him, long enough to see a gargoyle he didn't recognize, a male even bigger than Hudson, grab the Quarryman's gun and slam a well-placed fist into his face. "Goliath!!" Broadway yelled cheerfully.

The large gargoyle deposited the Quarrymen on the cobblestones and soared up again, casting a quizzical eye at Drew, who sighed. "Can we save the introductions for later?"

"I don't think we have a choice," Goliath rumbled.

As Goliath disarmed the Quarryman in pursuit of the strange gargoyle, Elisa turned and soared upwards, heading towards the smaller of the two helicopters. It had been gutted a bit, and was not as populated, so she figured that it would be easier to go after. Goliath had turned his attention towards the ground, where Fox and Bronx were in desperate need of help dealing with the attackers in the courtyard. Nearing the helicopter, she was virtually undetected, as all the Quarrymen's attention and firepower were directed towards Hudson, Brooklyn, and Broadway, as well as Angela, who had broken away to help the three out.

She kept her distance as Hudson and Broadway rammed the helicopter, throwing it off balance and giving Angela and Brooklyn a chance to go for the last couple of passengers. As they did so, she swooped in, landing on one of the runners and pulling in her wings. At their shocked stares, she put a talon to her lips and eased up until she was standing beside the door. Taking the hint, Angela broke away, veering off to attract the pilot's fire. Brooklyn followed suit, dipping and wheeling as Broadway and Hudson kept the pilot off balance.

So engrossed was he in the two targets before him that the pilot was rather surprised to find hinself staring down the barrel of her gun, and even more surprised to see what was aiming it. Elisa grinned. "NYPD. You're under arrest. Just keep us where we are."

She kept the revolver trained on him as Brooklyn scrambled into the now-empty helicopter. "What happened to you?" he gasped.

"I'll explain later." She didn't dare take her eyes off the pilot. "Get a hold of our host here so I can try to land this thing."

Brooklyn grabbed the man by the shoulders and yanked him out of the seat as Elisa squeezed in, careful not to entangle her tail as she did so. How the clan managed these things was a mystery indeed.... "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" she heard Brooklyn ask as he shoved the pilot into Hudson and Angela's custody.

"Derek took me up a few times. I think I can handle it," she fibbed as she gripped the stick tightly, guiding the helicopter slowly towards the courtyard. The wind from the open hatch was throwing her off a bit. "In or out, Brooklyn. That hatch has to be closed."

He nodded and bailed out, pulling the hatch shut behind him. Elisa swallowed and continued her wobbly descent towards the castle. The Quarrymen, realizing what was going on, opened fire on the helicopter. Out of the corner of her eye, Elisa spotted the e-frame moving to block their fire, shadowing Elisa as she gathered her wits and headed towards an empty stretch of the courtyard.

"Oh god oh god oh god," she muttered as the cobblestones loomed closer. Desperately, she tried to remember everything Derek had showed her the few times he'd taken her up in the past. She flipped the switches she recognized, pulled the stick back just a bit to level out -

There was a sickening thud, and a screeching noise as the helicopter managed to skid a few feet somehow. A sudden flash of memory caused her to flip a familiar-looking series of switches, and the engine stopped.

After a few moments of heavy breathing and mentally coaxing herself to loosen her death grip on the stick, she struggled out of the pilot's seat, yanked the door open, and stumbled out into the cool night air. She noticed that she had come within inches of smashing into the tower, and sighed. No matter how she flew, her landings were still lousy.

A sound behind her caused her to spin and lash out instinctively, her tail catching the attacking Quarryman by the throat and knocking him to the ground. She whipped out her gun and trained it on him, catching his wrist with her foot as he reached for his laser. "Don't even try it."

"Need a hand?" Behind her, Fox knocked out the Quarryman attempting to ambush her with a series of well-placed kicks, giving Elisa time to deliver a blow to the head of the prone assailant. Turning, she returned the redhead's grin with a weak smile. "That's a good look for you, Detective. What happened?"

An answering flash, and Puck appeared, with Alex in hand. "Good evening, ladies!"

"I should have known." Fox glowered at him, and he immediately deposited a squealing Alex in her arms. "Why the hell don't you give me fair warning?"

"It's much more fun this way," Puck said as a couple of figures headed towards them. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have business to attend to." He soared up towards the remaining helicopter.

Fox and Elisa turned towards their next challenge. "Get Alex to safety," Elisa said. "I'll cover for you."

For a moment, Fox paused, unsure whether or not that was possible. As Brooklyn, Hudson, and Broadway landed gracefully nearby, she decided. "Back in a minute," she shouted, making a mad dash for the nearest door.

Elisa sighed as the gargoyles and Quarrymen circled each other. Well, at least this hasn't been a dull night. "All right, boys, let's rock and roll."

As the other helicopter landed in the courtyard, the full force of the gargoyles was turned on Callista's prison. Unfortunately, the Quarrymen only fought back harder. The crew outside really couldn't do too much damage, not with her inside, and that thought only made her angry. She was sick and tired of always being in the way and always being unable to do a thing about it.

But now it was different.

Her headache had faded, and she felt awake again. The anger seemed to heighten her adrenaline, and she struggled harder against the hands on her shoulders that tried to force her down. The pilot was trying to land in the courtyard, and once they did that, it would be open season on the Eyrie. She didn't understand why they just hadn't gone and done the standard hostage routine: putting a gun to her head and coercing the gargoyles to let them land and invade. But they hadn't planned it, and besides, the Quarrymen seemed to live for the rush of fighting. For these trigger-happy freaks, the standard hostage situation was just too easy.

It looked like they were about to try it, however. She pushed her way to the edge of the hatch to find herself looking down thirty-plus stories at the pavement below. Looking out at the battle, she realized that no one would get anywhere as long as she was in the Quarrymen's hands.

An arm grabbed her elbow as she leaned forward. "Uh-uh-uh, sweetheart," a voice said. "No suicide attempts on this flight."

Callista bit her lip and struggled, but he was stronger than she. Not knowing what to do, she glanced out at the night sky again.

As she saw a familiar figure floating up to greet her, himself invisible to all but Callista, she got an idea. "NO!" she screamed, channeling all her fear and slapping the man in the head. The resulting bolt of light caused him to stagger backwards and pass out, loosening his grip on her arm.

Unfortunately, it caused her to pitch forward, and with a shriek, Callista found herself in free fall, heading towards the aforementioned pavement.

God, I forgot, she thought dazedly. I'm afraid of heights.