A dialog opened by Eagle of Arabia (Cadence@inQuo.net)
with Lysander (CMorgan@MosquitoNet.Com).
                   *     Eagle of Arabia     *
     Hi Lysander! Here I am! I said I'd write! So, what else did
Obsidiana say about her story? Eagle of Arabia is a moderately
sized Gargoyle kid of 17 (compared to a human), with green/blue
skin, feathered wings, and the head of a large eagle. His tail is
marked with some magical designs that have been there all his life.
He's not exactly attractive, (I suppose, but that's because he's
me.) Lex and I were saying that we are all of the same rookery, I
suppose we are all the brothers and sisters of the Station Eight
rookery, the Clan of Castle Gorebash.
                          *     *     *
     Lysander stood, looking out across the landscape under the
newly risen moons, the Lesser moon barely a thing slip in the sky,
the Greater a large mound about to rise above the horizon into the
newborn night. She sighed, and let the wind ripple through her
hair, as she gently turned over the thoughts of the new day in her
mind.
     It was her dreams that troubled her most. Dark, horrifying
images that seemed to prophesy to her...
     A warm hand on her cool shoulder made Lysander jump a little.
     "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to startle you." her rookery
brother Eagle apologized. "You looked like you were shivering, and
I was concerned. Are you feeling alright?"
     It was a silly question, perhaps, as the sun had just set, but
Eagle asked it anyway.
     "Yes, I'm fine... just troubled." Lysander replied. Eagle
leapt up onto the balustrade.
     "The elder ones have asked me to accompany you this night,
sister. Will you come?"
     Lysander sighed. Best do something to get her mind off it all.
"Aye, I am coming."
     Lysander flared her wings, stepped forward, and glided off
into the night. Startled, Eagle swung out his wings and followed.
     For a few moments, Lysander coursed towards the area in the
sky where Greater moon was starting to rise. Hopefully it would be
and uneventful night.
     Eagle, however, was not sure that would happen. He could see
strange tracks below on the human roads. However, Lysander was
still lost in thought, so Eagle would not bother her... yet.
     The sounds of the fight came not long after. Lysander, as lost
as she seemed, heard it first. She paused in her glide, and began
to dive toward the sound. Eagle quickly followed.
     Below, masked humans were attacking a small caravan that had
stayed out late on the roads. The gargoyles roared, to repel the
attackers. The leader of the masked men turned, and smiled.
     "At last, I have you, monsters!"
     The caravan began to escape.
     There was a sudden burst of energy, and Eagle was suddenly
blinded in his offensive. Lysander quickly moved around to find out
what was going on, but Eagle had already collapsed to the ground.
     He grunted with the impact. The humans who were not already
occupied trying to shoot things at Lysander, were surrounding her
rookery brother.
     "Sister!" he cried out, a paw extended to her in a desperate
plea for help. However, his hand was immediately knocked aside, and
a mace was brought down on his head.
     Before Lysander could see if he was alright, someone up a
nearby tree tossed a net down on her. Lysander tried to shake it
off, but humans were already pulling her down. Arrows and spears
were flying through the air.
     The masked human's leader said a magic spell, and furled a
blast of magic at Lysander. She dodged the first blast. As she was
continued to be pulled down to the ground, the human turned to her
brother, hidden from her sight, and cast a different spell on him.
Lysander, touching down on the ground, tore through the net, and
rushed the human's leader.
     The blast of magic hit her again, and she felt herself
becoming suddenly weak, falling to the ground...
(your turn!)
                  DASHA ARIEL DEMEREDITH CLANCEY
 "Did you say '*that* human' or 'that *human*'? Oh, never mind,
     I'll figure it out. This just might be fun after all."
                     (Cadence@inQuo.net)
                      *     Lysander     *
Cool!!! Just the thing I need to knock some sense into me of a
morning...... uh, night.
Oh, very fun!!!
                              *********
She remembered nothing when her eyes opened, save the strange one,
and her brother falling. she sat strait up at the memory.
     " EAGLE!!" But the first blood to her head was too much, and
she had to sit still for a moment, Then she looked around to
achieve her bearings. 
     It was a strange place, darkly lit, and there seemed to be
something surrounding her. she rose, and inspected it as her night
sight slowly returned.
     " Carumba, where are we?" She said to herself, and she was
about to figure out some way to get loose, when a voice came to her
ears.
     " ah, you are awake, beast. Good. I had hoped top see the fear
in your eyes as you leave me"
     " Who are you? and where is my brother? Eagle?" She growled,
and raced the bars that kept her there, and was thrown back by
currents of electricity, and she screamed in pain.
     " ArrrrrrA!!  Where is He!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!" she yelled,
keeping her distance from the bars.
     " Lets us just say, I do not plan to keep the both of you for
long." He smiled, and the very sight caused her to shiver " I am
The Hunter, and you, my dear, are my prey."
     She gasped, for they had all heard of the Hunter, and knew he
meant trouble for all gargoyles. she looked around and snarled,
already thinking of ways to escape.
     " And Please, Little one, if you wish His safety, for the time
being I would Not try anything." And then, the man was gone.
     " Puh. 'I would not try anything' He knows me not." She said
under her breath, and then she purred slyly at a sudden Idea.

     The elders stood looking out upon the territory of the clan
from their Castle. The two had not returned, and dawn was near.
     " Come, Gain, we should not worry. Those two can certainly
handle anything. Do not worry."
     " I know, Camille, but, it is the waiting i do not like. Eagle
and Lysander are our finest fighters..... what happens if we are
attacked?"
     " Then we will fight. Do not worry, Love,  for the are all
right. " Then the sun took them, and stone lies silent.
                                   ******
You like? It is all i have so far. your turn, I believe.
Lysander
                   *     Eagle of Arabia     *
     (I like it -- Hunters in cyberspace -- it's going to be a long
night folks, because it's my turn!!!!)
     Eagle groaned gracelessly.
     He felt his head. There was blood in his feathers. He suddenly
yelped, as a shooting pain shot through his chest. Something was
broken... probably his keel bone. This could be nasty.
     "Oh, stop 'yer complainin', ya' big oaf." A tall female figure
in a mask with three red streaks across it, growled at him, kicked
him in the ribs. Eagle lurched again with the shooting pain. He
wasn't going anywhere.

     The guard was bored of watching Lysander circled her cage for
the seventieth time. She prowled the cage, well, like a caged
animal, appropriately. The guard leaned to one side... and promptly
fell asleep.
     Lysander, suddenly quiet to avoid waking him, leapt up to the
ceiling, and clung to the stonework roof. Her tail hung down
precariously, but she didn't care.
     Com'n! It had to be here somewhere! She dug and dug at the
rock around the edge of the ceiling. Suddenly, one block gave way,
and Lysander caught it reflexively before it could crash to the
floor. Behind the block and a bit of mortar were wires, leading to
the outside of the cage. Lysander tore the wires, and touched them
together. There was an arching spark, and the breaker tripped. The
cage was off.
     Softly as a cat, she dropped back down to the floor. She
touched the bars... very little came back to shock her. It was
enough. Her eyes glowing a menacing amber, she grabbed the iron
bars and pushed them apart. "They've yet to build a cage that will
hold me."
     Racing forward, she snatched the weapon from the grasp of the
guard, and drove the butt of it into his stomach.
     Hefting it, and setting to it's highest setting, she raced
down the hall.
     There the hunters were waiting for her, dropping out of
crevices in the ceiling.
     Their leader laughed. "At last, gargoyle. Now I may cut you
down like the evil monster you are."
     Lysander growled. She hated this one in particular. "You're
not exactly lovely either."
     Lysander was just a moment too late for the tazer blast, and
Lysander cried out when she felt the shock course through her. She
devoted here energy and recovered quickly, leaping across the
corridor on all fours. After she turned a corner, she turned back
and began firing the weapon she had stolen down the passageway.
     "This is the realm of Castle Gorebash! Futuristic people are
not allowed here!"
     "We've hunted your clan across The Boundaries, and now we will
wipe out your kind from the face of the earth!" the hunter
returned. His men charged down the corridor, but when they turned
the corner, she was gone.
     "Hurry you fools, or we'll never catch her!"
     As they hurried down the hall, anyone else with night vision
might have seen the plume of heat above the chamber, hanging from
the wall, with her wings draped about her.
     She dropped back to the floor and ran the way opposite the
hunters were trying to drive her.
     Eagle was a positive mess. However, she felt his groaning was
a good sign -- he still lived, despite the whack on the head. The
only guard was a woman whom Lysander turned and shot immediately.
     When Lysander stopped to help the eagle-gargoyle to his feat,
he cried out in pain. "Keel bone... broken." he muttered between
breaths.
     Lysander ran two talons along the center of his sport's wear
outfit that he had selected just because it fit over his wings.
Right above his heart the bone that a gargoyle's wing muscles
attached to was cracked, and every movement of his wings made it
worse.
     "Sorry... I hate to do this." she apologized, and promptly
whacked him across the side of the head with her fist. He lost
consciousness.
     She picked up the body, and began to climb the wall again.
She had learned long ago that the newer constructions of stone
buildings had iron girders. These men from a parallel future to the
Castle Gorebash obviously had built this lair from such methods.
She tore into the bricks of the ceiling near the wall she clung to,
with one spare claws. Finally, half the ceiling began to rain down.
Lysander balled her fist, and pounded her way through the layer of
steel rebar, to the outside of the wall. Luckily, when she pushed
through, they were outside.
     With the body of her brother, she leapt out into the night.

     "What were our losses?"
     "Only one person, number one brig, and a whole in one outer
wall."
     "The tracking device?"
     "Sending a perfect signal, sir. The male is unconscious and is
not yet aware of it. He is probably also unaware of the toxin."
     "Did we get it into her?"
     "Not yet sir."
     "Then keep tracking them. Be prepared to clear the bodies out
as soon as possible."
     "Yes sir."

     She came to rest in a large field of wheat and other oats.
Carrying another body was leaving a wide swatch in the grain and
she was easily visible. Sweating and anxious, she had decided not
to loose her cool, and had set down. The enemy expected her to make
as fast an escape as possible by air.
     This time, her caution proved a match for the Hunters. She
could see their flying machines tracking her down by air. They were
not looking down here.
     Trying to get out of the fields as soon as possible, she
changed direction.
     "Leave me here... I'm useless..." Eagle moaned helplessly as
he stirred back into consciousness.
     Lysander grunted. "Not if I can help it."
     Trudging down the hills on all fours, she finally found the
edge of the fields, and encountered the small cave she remembered
sat somewhere the eastern south of the Castle Gorebash. As she was
about the enter, the Hunters stepped from the shadows.
     Depositing the body, Lysander roared, hoisting the Futuristic
weapon. It was set to full power.
     She met the first hunter's charge with a roar. He resorted to
pulling out a small metal sphere, and throwing it at her. Curious,
Lysander caught it.
     It looked atrociously stupid. She threw it down the hillside
outside the cave. Then in exploded, rocking the ground violently.
Lysander flared her wings to protect her fallen comrade.
     The second attack was by a woman, and she took one of the
weapons and drew it around Lysander's neck. For a moment the two
grappled there, the Huntress atop Lysander's shoulders, until a
sudden flick of her wings sent the huntress flying.
     A tazer was shot at her. She was ready and it barely missed
this time. Lysander responded by taking hold of the weapon and
smacking it into the holder's stomach.
     With the momentary distraction, she scooped up Eagle and fled,
wings flared. No more time to be cautious, they were gaining on
them quickly and had lost the element of surprise. She knew where
she was again, and aimed for the Castle Gorebash.

     As she approached the site, something in her gut was telling
her something was very wrong. It may have been night, by as they
neared the land of their Lord and castle, there should have been
her rookery brothers and sisters in the sky. Anxiously, she rushed
forward with all possible speed.
     As they crested the last rise, staying close to the ground to
avoid being seen from afar, they finally were in site of their
castle.

     There was only a large hole in the ground where it had been
the night before.

     Eagle gasped in her arms, and Lysander cried out "NO! It's
impossible!"
     They circled the crater once. Their were signs of age all
around. Moss grew in the cracks and crevices of the pit, and small
animals popped in and out of sheltered holes.
     "Could it be...?" Eagle asked.
     Lysander was lost for words.
     The roar of the dragon-like flying machines of the Hunters
became deafening, and five circled the crater.
     "THIS is their lair?" said one hunter to another. "Castle
Gorebash was moved centuries ago."
     "Shut up, you fool. They don't know where they are in time!"
     Shots rang out from the choppers, small crimson streaks of
light. A net sprang out of one of the magical weapons.
     Without a moment to spare Eagle looked at Lysander and nodded.
Lysander responded, throwing Eagle above her head, and the net
instantly wrapped around *him*.
     Lysander curved away as they hoisted her brother away. She
quickly ducked out of the fray amidst all the fire that was being
shot at her.
     What on earth was going on?!!! Her home... her clan... her
entire family had vanished! These hunters had done something... she
didn't know what... but somehow it was their doing. She had to
respond to them.
     Lysander growled. She would take them on herself if it would
help. She was sick of running from them.
     "Hush, child. If they find you again, you will never escape
them alive." came a new voice, striking, feminine, and deep.
Lysander touched down to the ground, where a gargoyle crouched,
waiting.
     She was blue in colored with terrifically flared red hair,
dressed in a loin cloth,  bearing a gold crown on her brow in place
of horns.
     "If you will just be patient child, we shall stop these
hunters together." she said.
                                                   (he he he...!)
                      *     Lysander     *
     She paced the dirt floor. 
     " it will be all right. Please, just wait. My clan is coming."
     " But Eagle Is-"
     " Hush child. all will be fine, In due course."
     Lysander sat, and sighed. it had been an hour since the
Hunters had left, and She wanted to get Eagle back. Roshien, the
female gargoyle who had hidden her, Had called her clan through
something called a two-way radio. It spoke, and she spoke into it.
Lysander sighed again, and wondered to herself.
     ' It is all so strange. Magic i have never seen, The Castle
gone, and No clan....... What is happening? the Hunters had changed
the world so much.'
     She was not aware of the New gargoyles who had arrived until
Roshien Shook her.
     " Little one, are you all right?" She said.
     " Huh? oh, yes." Lysander rose, and looked at the others. They
all looked some how familiar, as if........
     " I am Lothas, Leader of our small clan. and you are?" the
oldest said, holding out has hand.
     " i am Lysander. And I am very confused. Where-"
     " Did you say Lysander? But how could that be? My rookery sib
disappeared 100 years ago yesternight. And you look so young...."
She stood, shocked. Rookery Sib? But Lothas was only......

     The sun set on the castle, and stone awoke. The clan was
alive.
     " Where is Lysander? She was gonna teach me some games
tonight!!" the small gargoyle said to Camelle.
     " we do not know. She and eagle never returned last night."
Camelle was worried. Lysander was her daughter. what would she do
if she never returned? 

Eagle, I hand it too you. It is not much, but i have only a few
more minutes.
Lysander
                   *     Eagle of Arabia     *
     Eagle awoke, suspended in mid air.
     "What the..." he muttered. He twisted his head around suddenly
and immediately regretted it. There was a strong light above his
head, but try as he might he could not flap his wings for the life
of him without killing himself.
     "He's conscious." a voice muttered, cursing.
     "Well then, perhaps we can do this the old fashioned way."
said another.
     There was a rush of air as a hunter appeared next to Eagle,
hovering in the air. Eagle could only growl.
     He raised his weapon at eagle. "Where is your sister?"
     Eagle had little idea where she could be. If they were to
meet, where would she go? The clan had a cave on the north side by
the sea. She would go there. It was their clan's ancient
stronghold. They still went there when they did not want to deal
with the humans. She would be there.
     The hunter swerved around behind eagle, and swung the butt of
his gun into Eagle's back..
     "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" he
screeched in a high pitched falcon's tone, in pain. "Stop it, you
bastards!"
     The hunters laughed. "Tell me what I want to know, you BEAST!
If we can wipe you both out, that entire clan will cease to exist!"

     Lothas and Lysander stared at each other, wondering over the
possibilities. The clan had finally arrived. Lysander's thoughts
strained for the words the hunters in the flying machines had said.
Not their... time?
     A figure came running up in the crowd. The crowd of strange
gargoyles parted to let the girl through. She had a deep midnight
blue complexion with small silver speckles in it. She was as tall
as Lysander, and incredibly well built.

     She had a raven's head, and black feathered wings.

     She slapped Lysander.
     "How dare you!"
     "What?" Lysander asked with shock. "What was that for?..."
     "You left him!..."
     "Who...? I don't know who you mean!"
     "My grandfather! He left with you on patrol and never
returned!"
     "Your... grandfather? He... had a mate?"
     "Hush!" Lothas cautioned her. "If she really is Lysander, then
your grandfather must still be alive.... how else could you be
alive today? Your grandmother did not choose him until long after
that night!"
     "He came here with me..." Lysander began.
     The girl began to rush forward. "He did?"
     "I... he... the hunters took him... he is badly injured..."
Lysander stuttered in confusion.
     A rush of leathery wings pushed the crowd back again. Another
gargoyle woman landed before Lysander, with bright sparkling eyes.
She was a deep magical green hue. She had two sets of wings, one
large and broad, the other small and carefully shaped. She had long
ears, and brilliant silvery hair.
     "You are Lysander?" she asked.
     Lysander nodded. "Who are you?"
     "I am Destiny, daughter of Christine and Phantom. Eagle is my
mother's brother, and he told me that this would be the day I
should repay the favor I owe him. Where is he?" She stated with
determination.
     Lysander gathered her courage. "Follow me..."

(Okay... so I'm taking liberty with my stories... believe me, I'm
making this up as I go!)
                      *     Lysander     *
Cool. I like what you did. *evil smile* My turn.
The Night just got weirder!!

                          ********************
     She ran silently, through the brush and bushes along the
fields. They ran after her, and she listened closely to all sounds.
     "This way. I remember this" She whispered, and trailed down
carefully through the wheat, slipping in and out.
     "I hope She knows what she is doing" Ebony said with a growl.
Lysander laughed to herself. The small raven headed member was
feisty. She liked that. Ebony was exactly how she would want her
own daughter to behave.... Had she one.

     Eagle screeched in pain again as the hunter prodded him.
     "Come on, Foul Creature. Tell us. WHERE IS YOUR SISTER!!!" He
growled harder. He did not know why, but She seemed very important
to them, as if she were the key.
     "I do not know!!! Or maybe I do, and will not tell you!!"  he
growled again, and the Hunter smiled.
     "Well, then. It looks like we are going to have to try a new
tactic."
     He nodded to his men, and three left the room.

     She looked at the strange building. 
     "This is it. They hold him here. " She pointed at a place
where men were working on it, trying to repair something.
     "We got out that way. As long as they are working there, we
will not get back in that way. We will circle the building, at a
distance. I am sure we can find another weak point. Come, Follow
me." she darted silently back into the brush, and they followed.
Ebony found herself wondering where this Traitor, she still thought
of her as such, where she had learned all this. She was a good
tracker, and had known every step of the hunter's move through the
woods.
     She cleared away a bit of the brush, just enough to see from,
examined the Building. It was their fifth time around, and they had
found nothing yet. Then, she looked harder.
     "Ah. A Loop hole. Perfect!" Her tail twitched with excitement.
She pointed to a small opening on the wall near the roof.
     "There. If we open that, we can get in."
     "But it is so small!! Not one of us could fit in there but-"
Ebony stopped. Lysander was looking at her, and smiling.
     "You did say you wanted to meet him, did you not? All you have
to do for now is get in there, and find away to open that hole I
made. Two of us will distract them long enough for you to get in.
hmmmmmm" she thought for a minute.
     "I and Destiny will hold their fire. I know they will come if
I am there, and Destiny is another gargoyle. They are fond of
hunting us."
                         *********************
     Hehe. you give me a twist, and i will give you one back. Well,
Enjoy. And Safe journeys till we next see each other. Lysander
                   *     Eagle of Arabia     *
"Or maybe I do, And Will not tell you!!"
     ...hey! That rhymed! I love it when I have a new twist to work
with. I think your best twist was this line from early on:
     "Lysander laughed to herself. The small raven headed member
was feisty. She liked that. Ebony was exactly how she would want
her own daughter to behave.... Had she one."
     I don't know what you meant, but it certainly raised MY
eyebrow.
     Anyhow... the show must go on! Some music in the CD player,
and here we go!
                            *   *   *
     Ebony tore the grate off and wriggled away, into the small air
duct under the eaves. Lysander watched her go, idle feelings of
curiosity about her still trickling through her thoughts.
     As the other gargoyle paired off and began to carefully keep
guard round about the stronghold, Lysander observed her tall
companion Destiny with equal curiosity.
     She never really made much sense. At one moment she was stiff
and attentive, the next fanciful and playful.
     The strangest thing about her was that she could fly.
     Not just gliding, she would spread her wings from a dead stop,
and take off into the air without a puff of a wind. She would dart
back and forth in the air like a changeling. In fact, her silvery
hair and long ears almost made her resemble a changeling...
     "Destiny?" Lysander inquired. Destiny tipped her head to one
side with an inquiring expression. "Tell me about your parents."
     "*My* parents? My parents are not the issue today, but if you
wish. My father was called Phantom by my mother. Mother was born a
human, but lived over three hundred years as a gargoyle in another
life. Her name was Christine Shelton, but we knew her as Malcora --
Evil Heart."
     "Evil Heart?"
     Destiny hung upside down in the air before Lysander's face,
her hair hanging all over the place. "That was the meaning of the
name given her by the Spanish. She was not friendly to the humans,
who later executed her by burning at the stake!"
     "And your father?"
     Destiny grinned. "Guess." she shrugged.
     Lysander could not help but raise an eyebrow at the woman. "I
don't know about your father, but could your *grandfather* have
been Oberon?"
     Destiny gibbered excitedly. "Oh yes, you are _good_!"
     Lysander hoisted the hunter's weapon she still carried. "Well,
for now we worry about your uncle."
     Destiny dropped to the ground, folding her emerald wings, her
expression suddenly serious. "Yes... back to the battle at hand."

     Ebony of Castle Gorebash found herself having to deal with a
large fan in the ventilation duct. Eventually she simply slashed at
the spinning blades with her claws and the machine stopped. This
was not good, because someone would find out she had been here. She
had to hurry.
     "I do not know!!! Or maybe I do, and will not tell you!!" a
voice shouted deep within the bowels of the fortress. It sounded
like... her father, but lighter?
     That was him! It had to be! Ebony rushed down into the
ventilation control room. That hallways were very tall, and she had
less chance of being seen if she were up there. She climbed the
wall and carefully worked her way down the upper half of the
corridor. That woman... Lysander... had instructed her to head in
this direction.
     The next hall could be trouble there were light fixtures in
the ceiling here. Gently, she worked her way across the stone.

     Suddenly, a hidden explosive blew Ebony and half the ceiling
to the floor.

     Seven different arms hauled the dazed young gargoyle to her
feet, and began to lead her the remainder of the distance with
energy weapons trained on her.
     There was a gargoyle hanging in the air. His face was
battered, and his feathers were bloodied.
     His feathers?
     Ebony looked again. He bore brown and almond colored feathers
on his wings and on his head, face, and neck. His head was an
Eagle's head.
     The Eagle of Arabia -- her grandfather!
     The gun bolt struck Ebony across her head. She cried out.
"Eeeeeeyyyaaaah!"
     The Eagle's eyes snapped open. "Leave her alone, you heartless
bastards! Why would you beat on a child?"
     "That is no child, monsta'!" the hunters said. "That is one of
your own! Your very own demon spawn!"
     Ebony looked up. "Grandfather..." she moaned.
     Eagle's eyes were wide. "My...?" What on earth? "I have no...
I'm not even mated, you fools! How could she be my... child... if
I have none?"
     The hunters laughed. "Because it's been one hundred years
since your day, you fool."
     Eagle's thought were spinning. Magical weapons, hands which
bound you without touching you and held you in the air. The future?
The distant future? His... granddaughter?
     The hunter's lined up by the fallen young gargoyle, preparing
to form a firing line.
     "What... what are you doing?"
     "If you won't tell us..."
     "Her parents haven't even been born yet! You can't just kill
her!"
     "Would you rather your own death? If you die, then she is
never born!"
     "History is immutable! She will be born, only to different
parents!"
     "That's impossible. She would not be the same person."
     "Her appearance would change, but not who she is." Eagle
concluded with an eerie sense of finality.
     The hunters turned to Eagle. "Would you like to experiment on
that idea?" They raised their guns at him.

     Ebony carefully, silently sneaked away.

     "You murdered my father, and allied yourself with my enemies,
gargoyle. You and all your kind are evil abominations, and must
die!"
     "Well this *abomination* as out smarted you!" Ebony shouted.
     Heads turned as Ebony's stolen particle beam weapon vaporized
the control box holding Eagle. The room was plunged into darkness
save for the sharp crimson beams shooting across the room to where
Ebony had been.
     Stones clattered to the floor as the ceiling collapsed above
them, and a black fist punched her way through the next floor.

     "Destiny, you don't understand what I'm saying. My parents
were all the members of my clan. Eagle and I only had the same
mentor for the length of our youth. We have no relationship."
Lysander rebutted.
     "Yes, of course! This I know! Why else did Ebony react so
vehemently to you when she met you? She thought you murdered Eagle
so long ago."
     "If I had, Ebony would never have been born." Lysander pointed
out.
     "Exactly! There is a flaw in this time, and it must be
corrected?"
     "How can TIME be flawed?"
     "One time is leaking into another and events are taking place
which have no cause in our time. Ebony exists in a time where her
father was killed? What else do you think we are trying to do? The
nature of Castle Gorebash has always been to fortify and bridge the
gap between one time and another. With the destruction of Castle
Gorebash in this time, the barrier is deteriorating. You and Eagle
are being given the task of protecting that castle from the fate
you have witnessed today."
     "Fate? How do we stop this from happening?"
     "You will manage it, because this is only prophesy -- my
prophesy." Destiny smiled. "Your battle will save it."
     "Me... and Eagle? Why him? Why US? Surely there are braver
warriors!"
     "None greater at Castle Gorebash. None with greater magic
within them!"
     Lysander concluded.
     A thought occurred to her. "Then we must return to our own
time now."
     Destiny snapped her talons. "YES! These rings have been made
by my father and mother to allow you to return to your own time."
Destiny laughed, tossing two small jade and gold rings at Lysander.
"After that, do with them as you see fit. However, you and Eagle
will live long enough to protect Castle Gorebash from this fate."
     "What if that task takes longer than our lives allow?"
Lysander countered the grinning fey/gargoyle.
     Destiny shrugged. "This is not a problem... for us."
     "It is for mortals!"
     "Whoever said you are mortals *now*?"

     Lysander's jaw fell. "What?"
                      *     Lysander     *
OOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!! GOOD ONE!!!! OOO!! I have been sitting here for
the past ten minutes in complete and utter shock. Stunned out of my
wits!!! I send you a good one, and you send Better!!!!!
                       Here we go again!!!
                     ***********************
     Eagle was stunned. His..... Grandaughter? But she had just
saved him from the Hunters. He followed her in the darkness, and
tried his best to keep up. But the pain was great. 

     "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NOW!!!!!" Lysander shreiked, and Destiny
quickly Clapped a hand over her mouth.
     "Shhhh, Do you want to alert the gaurds to us? I think not!"
     "Sorry. What do you mean, Now? I am not fey!! And neither is
Eagle!! How-" She was silenced by a sound, and suddenly, two
hunters stood before them.
     " Well well. If it isn't the witch and a friend." One of them
said. Lysander recognised the Voice of the one who had guarded her.
She growled, and pulling Destiny with her, took off running, the
hunters in persuit.
     " I told you to be quiet!!" Destiny said as she finally was
able to start running herself. She was amazed at the speed of
Lysander, and even more amazed that the Hunters could not keep up.
Suddenly, She saw nothing as Lysander dove into the brush, and
disappeared from sight.
     " Shhhhhh, Don't say a word. I am gonna lead them away. *Stay
Here*, got that?" before Destiny could answer or speak, Lysander
had disappeared, and could be heard roaring in anger at the
Hunters.
     " YOU THINK YOU CAN ACTUALLY CATCH ME? HA!! "
     Destiny watched as she waited, then took off just as the
hunters neared. 

     Ebony was working hard. Her grandfather was hurt badly, could
not move fast, so she helped him. She had found the power box to
the castle, and immediately shut the place down. Now she and her
Grandfather walked silenlty through the place. But even as she made
her way through, she thought about the One who had helped her,
Lysander. If she had truely killed her father all those years ago,
then how come she was helping her? ...And why had her grandfather
asked of her when they had finally reached safe darkness? Her mind
raced. 

     She ducked down low in the brush, pulling her tail in. She had
always been a fast learner, and had helped Eagle when they were
young. Eagle..... She hoped deep in her heart that he was
safe....... She sat for a minute, listening, but thought of Eagle
entered her mind..... If he had children...... What of her? Could
there be gargoyles in the Clan, or could there *have* been
gargoyles in the clan who were her...... Grandchildren?
     She remained lost in thought until suddenly, a sound behind
her. She turned in time to be hit in the shoulder with a dart of
some sort. She roared, and rippied it out, but it worked fast.....
And soon, she fell to the ground unconcious.

     Destiny started. She had heard a roar of pain..... But from
Whom?
                            ********************
Enjoy!!
Lysander
                   *     Eagle of Arabia     *
CM=>OOOOOOOOOOH!!!!!!!! GOOD ONE!!!! OOO!! I have been sitting here
CM=>for the past ten minutes in complete and utter shock. Stunned
CM=>out of my wits!!! I send you a good one, and you send
CM=>Better!!!!!

<Sigh...>
     *His wings are spread wide as he makes a graceful bow...*
My tremendous thanks, dear sweet sister...
     *   His eyebrow perks up...   *
...but I'm not done yet!
     *He puts on his headphones, touches the PLAY button, and...*
                            *   *   *
     Irilana and Raphael were on their way to report back to
Destiny and Ebony, but when Destiny raced by through the air, they
knew it was trouble. Irilana dug her paws through the small pouch
on her belt, and produced an interesting little whistle, which she
blew.
     All the gargoyle's ears pricked to the super-sonic sound
saying "Gargoyles! To me!".
     Raphael looked at his crimson arm-winged companion, and
nodded. Together, they raced across the windless plain on foot, in
pursuit.

     Destiny was hot on the heels of the sound. Was it Lysander
that had been hurt? She hoped not. If not, she would have to
explain to father and mother why her plan had not worked. It's not
that they were cruel or mean, but she resented not winning their
approval after an adventure.
     Touching down to the ground, the magic-hued gargoyle heard
laser blasts coming from the small grate in the fortress wall that
Ebony had entered.
     Scrambling, Destiny raced down the passageway. From a small
room, she found a passageway where crimson beams criss crossed her
path.
     Destiny's eyes began to glow with a brilliant magical hue as
she erected her protective field, leaped out into the hallway with
a loud cat-like growl.
     The humans did not fall back. Destiny raised her paw and made
a slashing motion. All of the masked hunters grasped their faces as
the marks upon their masks were cut into their faces my magical
claws. Each writhed in pain on the floor, dropping their weapons.
     Destiny picked up a particle beam laser in one paw, and pulled
the bolt down. "Next time know who you are dealing with, hunters!"
     Ebony, crouched behind the corner, ran to her elder sister.
Destiny tossed her a lightning weapon. "This way." Destiny said,
pointing in a new direction.
     "That leads deeper into the castle!" Ebony protested.
     "Lysander needs saving next. Would you rather sacrifice her?"
Destiny chided her niece. Ebony blinked, and hung her head.
     Destiny patted her shoulder gently, folded her wings, and took
the limp body of Eagle. He had sustained a direct hit in his chest,
which still smoked where the skin had been fried. He was
motionless.
     Ebony moved down the hallway as Destiny had motioned, as
Destiny drifted after in the air with the body of her grandfather.
     Ebony stopped at a crossing passageway. "Which way now?"
     Destiny scowled. "To your left... I believe."

     She screamed again, hissing vehemently and snarling like angry
animal. Each time they turned up the tazer's voltage, she cried out
louder.
     Lysander was not holding up well.
     "She won't die, sir!" one male hunter told the huntress
overseeing her 'execution'. "Any higher voltage, and we risk
burning out the powerlines of half the countryside."
     "Gah." the huntress sniffed. "Why couldn't that old wretched
dragon have chosen to build his castle in someplace just bit closer
to a major city? Very well, then move on to some of the more
difficult ones." Lysander, eyes glowing hotly from inside the cage,
struggled to lift herself from the floor. The huntress smiled.
"Take your time, gentlemen."
     They began to aim their laser particle guns.
     "Thank heavens for little girls." the huntress muttered.
     "And thank goodness for Xanatos Enterprises!" Destiny
announced, firing *her* particle weapon.
     The shot was absorbed into the huntress's chest, and she feel
backwards onto the floor with a jolting motion. The various other
hunters each took safe positions and began opening fire at them.
     Ebony leaned down behind Destiny and her magical forcefield,
and began taking directed shots with her Lightning weapon.
     Destiny aimed her weapon at the small powerbox atop Lysander's
prison. It sparked, and the humm of power in the bars died.
     Ebony missed the first few that would duck behind things, and
so turned to the more exposed ones. That ones that did not skip out
of the way she hit successfully.
     Lysander, enraged and pumped simply full of adrenaline,
smashed through the steel bars like icicles.
     The sedative had worn off, at least.
     "Sister!" Ebony cried out, hiding behind Destiny as the shots
start to crowd around Ebony. Destiny turned her head from Lysander
almost idly.
     "Oh... this is going to get messy."
     Destiny turned the energy weapon to full power, and swept
through the bits of equipment and stone standing between them and
the hunters. Ebony opened fire, and they took out the hunters that
did not surrender.

     Destiny decided the best route out was the direct approach,
and opened a holes in several walls in her march to outside of the
fortress, leaving a wide swath of molted metal and super-heated
stone behind as she floated along.
     Ebony and Lysander carefully picked their way through the
mess. Lysander madly slashed at the hunters with her claws, and
Ebony, still weak from her blow to the head, fired at them with her
lightning weapon.

     Irilana and Raphael were holding up reasonably well,
considering each of them had probably at least been injured. The
fighting became sporadic, as gargoyle leapt from the sky or their
hiding place in guerrilla-like attacks.
     "Get out of our land, ya' animals!" the hunters bellowed as
they drove the gargoyles back.
     The gargoyles remained united, and would not scatter.
     "WRONG. THIS LAND BELONGS TO GOREBASH AND THE GARGOYLES." came
a voice, loud as thunder. Destiny emerged with eyes glowing magic
with the unconscious eagle-headed gargoyle in her arms, followed by
a torn, bleeding, and battered Lysander and Ebony.
     Destiny, with deadly aim only a sniper could achieve, begin
firing at each of the hunters, one at a time, each time pining a
hole through theirs chests. "IF HUMANS WILL EVER LEARN TO LIVE WITH
US, YOU STAND IN THE WAY OF OUR PEACE!!!"
     The gargoyles of the future-clan gathered around them carrying
Eagle, and escorting Lysander and Ebony between them.
     Destiny, like the goddess of all war, lifted her weapon in
triumph. "GARGOYLES TO VICTORY!"
     "GARGOYLES TO VICTORY!" the future-clan returned.

     "I still don't understand why the Hunters still come after
this Future-Clan, even if you are not living on earth as we know
it, but here in the land of Internet like we did." Eagle asked. He
was sitting upright against one of the cave walls, gently rubbing
his sinuses.
     "We support the Victory movement in the United States
Congress." Irilana explained. "That's... a measure that would give
gargoyles as equal rights as humans."
     "...and the fey." Destiny added, extending one talon in the
air.
     Lysander smiled.
     "I'm amazed I'm still alive." Eagle said.
     Lysander moaned similarly, "...me too. I never knew I could go
through that much."
     "You should, Lysander." Destiny added. "As I was trying to
explain earlier..."
     "Explain, dear? Uh uh. That was more like dance-around-the-
issue."
     "That's how a fey explains things." Irilana added.
     Destiny gave them both a dirty look for interrupting here.
"I'm trying to make a dramatic statement, here."
     "Sorry, I'm used to that." Irilana sighed in apology.
     "As I was *trying* to explain, the two of you are immortal."
     Lysander and Eagle looked at each other.
     Eagle groaned, as he stood up. "That may be so... but does it
have to hurt so much?"
     Destiny smiled. "Neither of you will age a day until the moon
rising that marks the first truly free gargoyle." 
     "Your words are unclear, milady."
     "Since when is a prophesy clear?"

     Lysander turned to each of the gargoyles. Eagle and Lysander
stood side by side considering the faces. None of them they knew,
but they all looked familiar. Both of them recognized traces of
families in the elders and youthful members of the future-clan.
Here was a small trait that struck Lysander as looking like Irial,
another which struck Eagle as looking like Mirror Fox. The arm-
winged girl Irilana bore a striking resemblance to Lex. Angela,
Aslan, Black Night, Demeter, Kai, Klio, Necavi, Obsidiana,
Sapphire, White Star... they all seemed to occupy the same space
with these others. Ebony... her feather appearance made it a dead
give away of her heritage.
     Lysander prodded Eagle. "Do you think I have any...?"
     They scanned the crowd. They looked and looked at their
children, and could not decide EXACTLY whose child was whose --
only speculate. However, none of the children present seemed to
suggest Lysander's parentage...
     ...except Ebony.
     Eagle and Lysander realized this, and caught each other's
glance for a moment.
     "Impossible." Lysander affirmed.
     "Quite improbable." Eagle echoed, turning from each other.
"Ebony's parents must have been mine and your's... that's all."
     "This means nothing." Lysander agreed.
     Destiny smiled, with an expression which seemed to know the
answer, but was telling them just-wait-and-see.
     THAT, more that anything, unnerved the two wing warriors.
                             *  *  *
     The magic in the rings deposited the rookery sibling in the
air just above the Castle Gorebash... but when?
     Eagle and Lysander snapped their wings open, and caught a
blasting current of wind, and gently drifted down. It was
strange... they were both healed completely. Eagle showed no sign
of his near-fatal experience when he moved his wings.
     As though it had never happened.
     Gain and Camelle were the first to greet them. Soon the elders
appeared, and the entire clan crowded round about. When the two
wing warriors began to speak of their tale, the little ones
gibbered about anxiously to hear the tale.
     Lysander feigned a bit of a spell, and they asked to have some
time to recover. Later, alone atop the battlements amid the
forewall of Castle Gorebash, Lysander had returned to a gentle
observance of the landscape.
     "Until the first gargoyle is born who is truly free." Eagle
mused thoughtfully.
     "What does that mean?"
     Eagle sighed. "How are gargoyles imprisoned, or in any way not
free?"
     "Can it be true, that she made us... immortal?"
     Eagle sighed. "I don't know."
     Lysander turned from the battlement to her old companion.
"Brother, I feel that there is still much ahead of us in this
battle."
     "Aye, my sister." Eagle nodded, before launching himself upon
the battlement.
     As the remainder of the clan clustered around, Lysander and
Eagle could not help watching them. Angela stood to Lysander's
left, and beyond Eagle were Lex and Kai, whispering in each other's
ears again.
     "Possibilities." Eagle muttered, for Lysander's ears only. "So
many friends, so many adventures, so many possibilities."
     "For the future." Lysander concluded the thought.
     She stepped forcefully up onto the battlement next to Eagle,
and stretched her arms. Eagle flared his wings, his beak wide.
Lysander and Eagle roared to greet the rising sun.