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Darlene: Mirror Images 2 (PART 27)	By : Storyseeker2 Category: +G through L > Gargoyles Views: 1867 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gargoyles, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Darlene: Mirror Images 2 (PART 27)
- 1
All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of Storyseeker.1.
* * * * *
The clan stayed close together, never taking their eyes off their counterparts.
Their doubles were doing the same, and looked almost ready to attack.
Lexington couldn’t help but stare at the Hudson-double. He couldn’t remember Hudson much back when he had two working eyes, so it was a little odd for him to see him with two healthy ones again. But he also couldn’t help but look at that damn ugly scar of his that went all across his chest. Whatever wound had caused that scar must have been atrocious. It looked like the top half of his body had been very nearly sliced off, and then sown back together with a blunt needle.
It was even harder not to stare at his own double… What on earth had happened to his ear???
“What have you done, Vene child?!” Goliath roared, rage overcoming him.
Cecile cocked her head at him. “What, senility already setting in, Gargoyle? I already told you, I brought these alternate versions of you and your clan from another dimension. Just something to spice things up a bit.”
Goliath snarled, and made to take one step forward, but never made it that far before his alternate self snarled back at him. The way he did so made Goliath realise that this Gargoyle was just itching for a fight, and was liable to start one for any excuse. So he chose to stay back, not wanting to needlessly start one, at least not until he got some more information from Cecile.
‘This is disconcerting,’ Goliath mused, his eyes glowing. ‘It’s worse then battling with Thailog.’
“These Gargoyles are some bodyguards that I brought for myself,” Cecile continued. “I brought them here to help out in case things got nasty between you, me, or possibly that new trans-dimensional thing that popped up around here. It doesn’t hurt to be prepared, you know.”
“And the humans that were needlessly terrified earlier tonight?” Goliath hissed at her.
She shrugged. “Hey, even a Gargoyle’s gotta have some fun some time.”
The clan in question smirked behind her…
Brooklyn grumbled beneath his breath. “Bitch.”
‘We definitely could do without this tonight,’ Goliath thought, before shoving it from his mind and focusing on her. “What do you want, Vene?”
Cecile smiled. “Only what any girl my age wants… fun, and plenty of it!”
Her own personal clan sniggered, and the way they did so made Goliath chill a little in fear. There was definitely something not right about these Gargoyles, and it wasn’t just that they looked like him and his clan, but the way they stared at them, the coldness and savagery in their eyes... It terrified even him.
‘Like I said,’ he thought. ‘Worse than Thailog.’
“”We won’t let you terrify anymore innocents tonight, Vene!” Goliath swore.
“You’re welcome to try and stop us if you can,” Cecile smirked. “In fact, I was rather hoping you would.”
“Fucking Bitch,” Brooklyn growled.
Goliath growled, his eyes flashing white-silver, as he bared his fangs and claws at her.
Cecile clicked her fingers, and the counter-clan were there at her side, their talons hooked and their fangs bared as well.
“I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me,” Cecile sneered.
The counter-Goliath was the first, as he sprang at Goliath, roaring as he did so…
He was fairly simple to stay one step ahead of him, as everything he did was exactly what Goliath would have done. The only difference was that he fought with a sheer ferocity that even startled Goliath.
The rest of the clan soon joined in the fight, each going after his own double.
Lex couldn’t help but remember the time when they had fought against their clones at Coney Island. But this was not like that time. The majority of the clones had been slow, dim-witted and stupid. All they had to do was use teamwork to defeat them, but somehow Lex didn’t think that would be enough for this lot. They had a savage, barbaric look about them, but they were definitely not slow, nor were they stupid. And they definitely knew how to fight.
“Remember, these aren’t clones!” Goliath shouted out to them all, as he fought his own counterpart. “They’re us from a different reality! Just remember what you would do if you were in their situation!”
“Oh yeah, that helps!” Lex shouted back, ducking as his earless twin swiped at him with his talons. His tail lashed out, attempting to trip his doppelganger, but Lex’s opposite self evaded the move, retaliating with a flurry of claws.
Goliath snarled, swishing his tail at his twin, striking him across the face. But all it did was anger the brute further.
The rest of the clan didn’t fair too well either, as they attacked their mirror selves.
Hudson brandished his sword at his own, glaring white at him. While his twin just smirked.
“Too scared to fight me with your own talons, coward?”
Hudson snarled, but his sense of honour told him it would be cowardly for him to attack a foe that had no weapon of his own to fight with, while he had a sword.
He sheathed it, and leapt onto his foe, claw to claw.
The fight went on, and would have carried on longer if not for the police helicopter that started to near them.
“Damn!” Brooklyn swore, as he evaded his double’s swipe.
“We must take leave!” Goliath ordered. “We can’t let… UGH!” Goliath hissed in pain, as his dark side grabbed him in a headlock, crushing him, uncaring.
“What… are you… doing?!” Goliath gasped for breath. “We can’t let the humans see us.”
“You may be too afraid of the humans, weakling,” the other Goliath replied. “But we are NOT!” He applied all his strength around Goliath’s head until even Goliath felt sure that his head was about to burst from all the pressure.
“Let him go!” Brooklyn yelled, leaping away from his alternate self, ramming himself into the other Goliath.
Goliath felt himself drop onto the hard concrete floor, gasping as fresh air filled his lungs again.
“So you need your youngsters to help you, as well,” his double sneered. “How pathetic you are!”
Goliath growled loudly, his eyes flashing. This time, the gloves were off.
He leapt onto his double, roaring louder than a lion, his talons and fangs seeking blood this time. Anyone who knew Goliath and had seen him at that moment would not have been able to recognise him. He tore into his dark double with an animalistic fury he’d never demonstrated before.
The sound of the police helicopter drew near, as each clan fought.
“Goliath,” Lex called to his leader. “We can’t stay here!”
Goliath swore, as he dodged another attack. Then with one almighty push, he shoved his counterpart right over the edge of the roof, and instantly retreated to the other side.
“Retreat!” he ordered. “We mustn’t let the humans discover our presence here!”
The clan each delivered another blow to their own counterparts, quickly following their leader’s example.
“Cowards!” the Hudson look-alike roared, racing after his own twin. “Come back and fight like a warrior!”
Hudson snarled at the ‘coward’ remark, but obeyed his leader’s word nonetheless, leaping over the side of the rooftop.
His counterpart, however, was not ready to give up the fight just yet, and hurried after him over the side, his wings springing open to glide.
Unfortunately for him, he didn’t notice the trio gliding around to him…
Broadway roared, as he dive-bombed on the extra-scarred Hudson, slamming onto his back, while Lex and Brooklyn tackled him from either side.
The aged warrior gave a loud “oof!” as Broadway’s immense weight sent him crashing to earth. Brooklyn and Lex kept a tight hold on him from either side, steadying him as Broadway leapt off from him.
“We’ll bring him with us,” Brooklyn stated. “Something tells me we’re gonna need all the info we can get.”
The rest of the alter-clan roared, as they watched their elder being carried off by their enemies, and were about to take off after them when…
“This is the police! Stand down and surrender!”
The Goliath-double snarled at the hovering helicopter, his eyes wandering from side to side, resting on the helicopter crew with the large weapons and then on the retreating clan with their elder.
“There will be a reckoning!” he promised, hissing loudly.
“Stand down!” he ordered his three young warriors, stopping them from taking flight after them “We will face them another night… Retreat!”
* * * * *
Destine Manor:
Darlene busied herself, as she washed Gem’s bowl, wishing that more of the food that had been in the bowl had wound up in Gem’s stomach instead of on her face.
She dropped a small fork, and bent over to pick it up.
A low whistle came up from behind her, startling her.
“That’s why I love coming round here,” Griff said, grinning at her. “I always find something pleasing to look upon.”
Darlene smirked, throwing the towel at him. “I thought you were telling Jarred some more of your glory nights tales?”
Griff shrugged. “I thought I would take some time to come see how you were doing,” he said, but something told Darlene that he was hiding something. It wasn’t like Griff to shirk off from his stories, seeing as he loved telling them to Jarred.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing’s wrong, why would you think that?” Griff said hurriedly.
Darlene quirked an eye-ridge at him, bemused. “You know you’re an even worse liar than I am, Griff. Just quit it and let me know what’s going on.”
Griff sighed. “All right,” he relented. “I just heard back form the clan, there’s been some more trouble.”
“More?” Darlene asked, both in fear and a little in surprise. “Seems that troubles never come singularly.”
“They rarely do,” Griff admitted. “Apparently, the Venes have gotten themselves some new allies. They used their magic to bring in some kind of alternate version of the clan to aid them.”
“Alternate versions?” Darlene asked. “You mean from a parallel world?”
“Exactly,” Griff nodded. “From what Lex told me, they’re like evil versions of the clan, all of them except Angela and Bronx.”
Darlene moaned. “Wonderful,” she muttered. “What happened?”
Griff shrugged. “The clan fought with them, and from what they were willing to tell me, they…. Now what is it that Jarred would say? Oh yes… Ahem, they got their ‘butts’ kicked.”
Darlene smiled briefly, but then looked seriously at her beloved. “Was it really that bad?”
Griff sighed. “Well, it wasn’t pretty. But then if this new clan are really just mirror versions of ours, then I guess we couldn’t expect them to be lousy fighters… That would be too easy.”
Darlene rubbed her head almost in pain. “Nothing ever is,” she sighed.
Griff looked at her for a moment, and then embraced her. “Everything will be fine,” he said assuredly.
“Tell that to the knots in my stomach,” she moaned. “Look, you’d better get back to Jarred. He gets cranky if he’s left at the cliff-hanger of a story.”
“Sure,” Griff replied, releasing and then bowing before her formerly. “As you wish, fair lady. Maybe I should ask your mother if she would like to join in? Since she lived through the war herself, I’m sure she could add in some… “
“No!” Darlene said forcefully, almost startling Griff. “Trust me, that will definitely not be a good idea.”
Griff shrugged. “If you say so,” he said as he turned to leave, but then paused, turning back to look at her curiously. “If you don’t mind me saying so, Darlene… But you’ve always seemed a bit hesitant about your mother joining in any activities with Jarred and me. She doesn’t still have a problem with me, does she?”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” she assured him. “At least no more than any other mother would. It’s just… Mother tends not to look at the past with any personal favouritism.”
“Well, I can understand that,” Griff agreed. “I mean, I know I sometimes make it out like the war was some grand adventure holiday, but believe me when I say it was nothing like that. I make sure Jarred knows that as well.”
“It’s not just that, Griff,” she sighed. “My mother doesn’t like anything of the past that has anything to do with humans. Anything to do with humanity, my mother blames them totally, even when some of it was even her own fault. She just won’t admit it.”
“I thought she had gotten over her hatred of humans?” he asked.
Darlene scoffed. “You must be joking,” she replied. “She covers it up with a smile whenever the kids are around, but deep down she hates all humans just as much as ever.”
“What about your kids? They’re part human.”
Darlene nodded. “Yes, and I’ve seen the way she is around them. She definitely loves them and all, but… Sometimes I think it’s because she tends to blind herself to their human side.”
“How do you mean?”
Darlene leaned on the washer, stroking a lock of her hair. “When my kids and I first came to live with her, mother was a little hesitant on being around them. I suppose we all were really, but she… Well, even today, whenever she’s around them… Sometimes she’s the perfect granny. She’s warm and loving towards them, and she loves babysitting Gem. But then… “
“Yes?” Griff asked curiously.
Darlene sighed again. “Then something happens that changes everything.”
“Like what?”
Darlene picked up another plate, drying it. “Little stuff really. When she’s changing Gem, she notices that she has five fingers and toes, or when Lana used to go on about how cute some of her favourite boy-bands were, or even when Jarred talks about his dad… Each time they remind her that they are not full-blood Gargoyles, and whenever that happens she goes all stiff and cold. One time she even left Gem all on her own in the living room because she claimed she had an important phone-call to make to work, even though she never makes calls to work at night.”
Griff stayed where he was, uncertain of what to say. “Well, I… “
“Don’t get me wrong, Griff,” she said hurriedly. “Mother really does love me and her grandchildren, I know that’s true. She just… You have to understand, she spent over 1000 years hating humanity. That’s not something you get over in just one night, or even in a few years.”
“I suppose so,” Griff said, unsure.
Darlene looked at him. “She has changed, you know.” She promised. “Trust me, she won’t be doing anymore killer-viruses or anything. Those days are long over.”
* * * * *
From down the hall, in another part of the manor, Demona spoke into her telephone.
“Have you made contact with them yet?” she spoke.
“Not yet,” a voice from the other end replied. “They seem reluctant to speak with me for some reason. Probably up to something. I don’t tend to ask what they’re doing, if they don’t need me. I live longer that way.”
“Well, get over it!” Demona snapped. “I need you to start worming your way into their good books. Find out everything they know, and be sure you’re in a position to let me know when they go after the sword Excalibur.”
“I know, I know, I got it!”
“Just make sure you don’t blow this,” Demona hissed into the receiver. “I offered you a king’s ransom for this job, but if you fail… Not all the money in the world will buy you enough protection from me... Mr. Maza.”
A loud hiss could be heard on the other end. “The name’s Lightning, thank you very much, Miss Destine. At least when we’re doing business.”
“Fine, now first of all, I need some information on the Gargoyle living with them. The one called Thailog…”
* * * * *
Eyrie Building; Cell-room:
The door to one of the cells opened with a clash, as Brooklyn hurriedly opened it, making way for Goliath as he came in, carrying the heavy form of the alternate Hudson.
Goliath heaved the aged warrior down onto the cell-bed, its hinges creaking loudly in protest to the Gargoyles’ heavy weight, but remaining intact.
“The Hall,” he said, ordering everyone out of the room. “Now!”
A few moments later, they had all assembled in the once Great Hall of Castle Wyvern. Each of them had a troubled look, but Hudson most of all.
“We must find out all that he knows,” Goliath stated. “He has spent time with the Venes, with him we might… “
“Oh for the love of God, just forget about the Venes, will ya?!” Aster suddenly cried out, making everyone turn to stare at him. “Ever since I got here, you have done nothing but obsess about taking down these stupid Venes of yours! Has everyone forgot about the Entity I’m tracking, remember him? Trans-dimensional thing, can exist outside space and time, make your entire universe fold in on itself.”
Goliath frowned.
“I kinda think he takes priority over your supernatural kids, don’t you think?” Aster concluded.
“I do understand, Aster,” Goliath replied. “But the Venes are… “
“Oh for…!” Aster slammed his fist on a wall, cracking it upon impact.
“Look,” Brooklyn interrupted quickly. “How’s about we deal with one problem at a time, okay? We don’t even know where this Entity is at the moment, but we do have this guy in our dungeon. Let’s deal with him first, then we’ll sort out something with your guy, okay?”
Aster frowned, but nodded.
“All right, then,” Brooklyn looked around. “Now… who’s gonna be the one doing all the interrogating?”
Everyone just stood where they were, staring at one another…
“I’ll do it,” Hudson volunteered reluctantly.
* * * * *
Hudson made his way to the cells.
The young Sarah Foster had been moved to one of the guestrooms. She had assured them that the demon inside her was contained for now, but even so, Goliath had ordered Owen and Broadway to remain with her. If the demon did rear its ugly head then Broadway and Puck, to protect Alex, would be there to handle it.
He entered the cell-lined room, wincing a little as he saw his double pacing the floor of his cell. He looked like a caged lion, ready to leap out and tear anything to shreds.
His counterpart soon stopped when he heard him enter, and spared him a glance, eyeing him distastefully. “So my weakling twin has decided to pay me a visit, eh?”
Hudson growled, but didn’t answer.
“What? Too afraid to talk to me?” he said mockingly.
“I fear nothing that’s not worth fearing,” Hudson said, coming up to the cell. “Especially one who’s in a cage.”
The twin growled loudly at him, but Hudson still would not turn away. They stayed standing like that for a minute or two, each eyeing the other until finally Hudson broke the silence…
“I wish to know,” he simply said.
“Know what?”
Hudson sighed. “That is, I wish to understand… Just what was it that turned you and your clan into the savages you are tonight?”
His twin grinned savagely at him. “Ohhh, so you want my life story, eh? Well, never let it be said that I’m inhospitable. All right, you want a story, I’ll give you a story… brother!”
Hudson growled lowly. “The name’s Hudson!”
“And my name’s Adhamh,” his counterpart replied. “Now that we’re properly introduced… Let’s begin with my tale, shall we?“
Hudson scowled at him, but said nothing, and just sat down on one of the chairs provided, and listened…
* * * * *
Alternate Universe; 1000 Years Ago:
The guards of Castle Wyvern stood at the battlements, their spears, bows and arrows, swords and shields ready by their sides. There was almost not a single one among them whose legs weren’t shaking with anxiety. One of the guards still had his bow and arrow out from over an hour ago… since sunset.
“Maybe they won’t come?” one guard whispered to another.
“Aye, and maybe the sun will make an unexpected return within the next five minutes,” his companion hissed at him. “Do you really think the bastards won’t make good on their threat? They’ve been terrorising our home for months. It was only a matter of time before they made good on it.”
“But do you think we’ll stand a chance against them?” the first guard said, almost panicky. “The way I’ve heard, they’ve massacred every one of their targets… “
Before he could finish however, a loud roar thundered through the night, echoing on the wind, or at least that’s what they thought at first. It turned out though that the first roar had been followed by the roars from countless others.
“THEY’RE HERE!!!” the guard half-shouted, half-screamed. He unsheathed his sword, handling it nervously.
A snarl behind him made him jump around in fright, which proved to be his first and last mistake…
The gargoyle that had frightened him, a lean beast with rusty-red skin, a long thin beak and no hair, wasted no time as it pounced on him. He rammed into the young soldier, slamming him against the battlement wall. The guard’s vision blurred from the knock to his head…
“Eyesight failing you, human?” the gargoyle sneered at him. “Here, let me help with that.” He held out his claw over the guard’s face.
The guard’s face went white, and his eyes widened in fear, but before he could even open his mouth to scream… the gargoyle sent his two talons straight into the guard’s eye-sockets.
His screams echoed throughout the entire castle.
The gargoyle then grabbed the guard’s upper jaw with his other two talons, still keeping his other two in the guard’s now empty eye-sockets. Then, with one almighty haul, the gargoyle ripped out the whole face of the young guard, leaving behind only the lower jawbone and a bloody window into the inside of the guard’s head.
“There, now ye don’t have to worry about failing eyesight no more, do ye,” the gargoyle laughed.
All around, there were echoes of screams from both the servants around the castle and even the soldiers. Horde after horde of gargoyles came swooping down onto the battlements, their sharp talons raking across numerous faces…
An old and large, heavy-set gargoyle with a large scar across his chest landed on the battlements, his sharp eyes quickly scouting the area. His sight soon picked up two guards rushing out of the castle to help their soldier brethren.
The old one smiled darkly, and pounced…
The first guard only had enough time to make a small squeak of terror before the large gargoyle fell on him. The heavy gargoyle made sure to land straight on his chest, his huge weight caving the man’s chest right in.
The second guard turned out to be none other than the Captain of The Guard himself.
He had a better chance, him being more mature to the ways of war, and wasted no time in unsheathing his sword and holding his spiked-mace up high, but still kept back, knowing better than to go rushing into battle unprepared. He took his time, studying the savage before him, anticipating his next line of attack...
The gargoyle he faced was old, but still very strong with years of battle experience at his talons. He could tell that by the large scar that covered his body. Its eyes flashed white as it circled him like a predator, growling deep within its throat.
The captain felt a cold drop of sweat sliver down the side of his head, as he waited in anxiety for the coming attack.
Sure enough, the gargoyle was quick to oblige…
It pounced, leaping high into the air, snarling as it made its way over to him, but the captain was quick. He leapt out of the way, swinging his mace around, nearly catching it on the beast’s shoulder by less than a millimetre. The gargoyle responded after landing on the ground by swinging its tail, knocking the spiked weapon out of the captain’s hand.
The captain hurriedly brought his sword around, striking at the gargoyle’s head.
For such an old and somewhat overweight gargoyle, the scarred warrior was very fast for its age. He dodged the sword’s blade, snapping his fangs at the captain, but there was no fury on his face. In fact, all that the captain seemed to see on the beast’s face was pure glee. It was relishing in this fight, like how a starving wolf would take in hunting and devouring its kill. It yearned for this, like the battle was somehow its water or air.
They continued like this for a few more minutes, each striking their deadliest blows at the other, and the other always staying one step ahead to avoid their foe’s death-strike.
“You’re good for a human,” the Gargoyle hissed at him finally. “No human has lasted this long with me before.”
The Captain gave a snarl of his own, brandishing his weapon. “Let’s finish this!”
“Glad to oblige!” the Gargoyle roared and rushed him.
The Captain yelled, as he charged forward…
The sounds that followed then were a combination of blade striking talon, roars and battle cries…followed by screams of pain and agony, echoing throughout the castle walls
* * * * *
One Hour Later:
The Gargoyle, who would one day be known as Hudson in another universe, paced through the hallways of Castle Wyvern. He had no sword like his counterpart, only his own talons and fangs. He preferred to use just those when diving straight into a crowd of his victims.
As he walked through the endless corridors of the castle, he listened to the sounds around him, the roar of the fires and the screams of the humans who were either being raped, tortured, or just having their entrails ripped out.
Listening to them only made him feel more anxious. The night’s battle had been far too easy for his liking, as it was more or less over now aside from a few cowering soldiers here and there around the fortress… The humans had put up almost no blasted resistance at all!
He had hoped to find someone who would give him a better fight like that captain had, but so far he had yet to find any who could come even close.
He smirked as he remembered the battle…how the captain had foiled some of his earlier strikes, only for him to be beaten down at the last second, his talons ribbing right into him, tearing him into ribbons.
The beast was now reduced to scouring the castle, seeking some of those cowering soldiers so that he could work off some of the tension and bloodlust that was even still building up in him, but there were none to be found. No doubt his young warriors had already found and dealt with them.
The rest of the clan were now busying themselves with reaping the fruits of their labour, by consuming the food and wine of the castle, together also with the servants…
“No!” a voice screamed down the hallway. “Get away from me, ye filthy beasts!”
The old leader recognised the voice instantly. He remembered it from one of the few dealings he had had with the former prince of this castle, the one who had seemed to be their friend, but had in fact stolen their home on the cliffs.
Prince Malcolm had come to them decades ago with the promise of building a new and more secure home for both their clans. It had started out well enough, but almost immediately after the castle had been finished, the humans had started revealing their true colours…
It wasn’t so bad at first. The humans had looked at them with nothing less than cold fear, which had suited them well enough. Fear was the best that any gargoyle could hope for in terms of respect. But then, the humans had started acting more and more hostile towards them, insulting their lineage, treating them like dogs. Apparently, they weren’t used to their ‘wild’ way of life…
The Gargoyles weren’t used to living among humans, so they didn’t know how to behave around them. Not that it mattered, as Gargoyles weren’t known for making compromises.
The humans had complained and continuously yelled at them for all the roaring, drinking, boisterous laughter, and taunts that they played on them. The clan had taken great joy in tormenting them in that perspective, particularly when the humans annoyed them so. One night, a soldier had been joking around with his companion, insulting the clan’s lineage, and the clan had taken that soldier, tied him naked and clinging right onto the backside of a horse, and sent the horse running off into the forest all night. (Some say this was where the word ‘Horse-fucker’ originated from)
Finally, the humans had had enough when, one night; a couple of young gargoyles had made passes at a young milkmaid, giving her a torn dress as a result… The following night, when they awoke, they found themselves with a few less clan-members.
Someone had ordered their clan to be shattered during the day. Malcolm had sworn it wasn’t he, but someone who must have conspired against him. Whether this was true or not didn’t matter because they took out their vengeance on him. He survived, though with only half a face, and the guards had attacked them, driving them out of their own home.
Since then, the clan had sworn to avenge themselves against not just Malcolm and the humans of Wyvern, but against all humanity. They had spent the next couple of decades travelling the country, attacking all who stood in their path.
Both Wyvern and the surrounding kingdoms had conspired to wage war on them, resulting in many deaths on both sides. Many of the clan had not survived, almost all of the females in fact. Only a few elder females were left now.
They had once returned to Wyvern, about ten years ago, when the old leader had learnt that Malcolm had produced an heiress…
Her voice had deepened a lot in the years since then, but he knew who it was.
He followed the echo back to its origin, and sure enough found its owner… Princess Katherine. The fair and spoilt princess yelled and screamed, as five young warriors, among which were the young trio who were always together, laughed and jeered at her, as they tossed her about like a ragdoll.
“Maybe I’ll find a way to quench my bloodlust tonight after all,” the old leader chuckled, and walked right into the group, grabbing the princess roughly, his claws piercing her dress and skin.
Katherine squealed from the pain.
“Well, well,” he smiled none too kindly at her. “Princess Katherine… Tis a pleasure to be able to stand in your fair presence once again, I must say.”
Katherine glared at her old one, recognising him. “You!” she hissed at him.
His face smirked at her. “Oh, so do ye do remember me?”
Katherine suddenly spat at him, her eyes flaring, which if she had been a gargoyle would no doubt be shining brighter than the fires of Hell. “Ye butchered my father right in front of me!”
“Ah yes,” he said, slowly nodding his head, releasing her into the arms of the large young aqua warrior behind her who held her too tightly. “I had forgotten about that.”
He actually hadn’t forgotten, as he didn’t tend to forget any kill he had made. He would certainly never forget the death of the Scottish prince who betrayed them, especially when he had pleaded for his life miserably, while his young daughter had blubbered in the corner.
He had never gotten around to the little princess then, as the guards had gotten to them before they could do anything, but not before they had left Malcolm’s corpse at his daughter’s feet.
“Ye filthy, murdering monster… OHH!” she squealed again.
The old warrior hadn’t known what was wrong with her at first, seeing as he hadn’t done anything to her yet, till he looked down at her chest where he saw the large aqua one, holding her, had grabbed both her breasts, squeezing them roughly. His long chin was resting on the top of her head, smirking brightly.
He looked around at the rest of them, and saw that many of the youngsters were also bearing that same kind of smirk.
“GET OFF ME, YOU DEGENERATE REJECT!!!!” Katherine screeched, as she struggled futilely in her captor’s arms but only provided an amusement for the others, who laughed loudly at her.
The aged warrior then took one large step forward, grabbing the princess by her arm, squeezing it with his powerful gargoyle strength almost to the breaking point, making her wail loudly at the pain. He then turned her sharply around, and slapped her on her rear.
“OHH!” Katherine yelped over the chorus of jitters.
“Mind your manners, youngster,” he simply told her, before releasing her back into the aqua one’s hold. “And incidentally, the name’s Adhamh, not degenerate reject.”
A long grin came over his face. “You know something, princess?” he said, treading slowly to her, his claw rising to her face. “There was many a time that my clan and I were hustled about, treated like dirt, all for your own pleasure… Indeed, you humans just loved fucking us over.” Adhamh never lost his grin. “I think it’s about time you let us return the favour, don’t you?”
Katherine’s eyes widened with this implication, followed by even more of her futile screams and struggles. “No, no, no, no, no, no…!” she screamed, and in her terror, managed something that even astounded the Gargoyles. Katherine broke free of her captor’s grip, slapping him around the face, doing no damage, but surprising him and running down the castle corridor as fast as her legs could carry her.
Adhamh just watched the whole scene with casual interest. “Interesting,” he said. finally. “So the wee princess has some spunk after all, does she?” He looked at the growling youngsters by his side. “It’ll be fun to break her of that, don’t ye think, lads?”
The young warriors all laughed along with him.
Meanwhile, Katherine continued running down the corridor, her leg muscles aching from the constant running that she was unused to… until she tripped over a large stone on the floor.
“Oof!” Katherine groaned, landing hard on her side, forgetting for a moment about the looming danger behind her, and no doubt on her trail right now. “Who…” she started to say, but stopped when she looked at the stone in question, and discovered that it was no stone… but a guardsmen’s disembodied head.
A scream echoed through the halls, but it had not originated from her…
Katherine tried to keep her sight centred away from the head, and crept quickly down the hall, hoping not to draw attention to herself. She came up to the corner, and peeked around… finding two gargoyles, one large and heavily muscled blue one with small horns, and another more thin and lean-based one with brick-red skin and a short beak.
The two of them had got one of her ladies-in-waiting between them, her dress totally ripped off, and her body covered with tiny cuts and slashes…
The blue one had his talons digging into the flesh of her rump, holding her tightly, grunting as he thrust into her, each time making her body slam forward only to be jerked right back against him. While the other one had one of his claws holding both her hands high above her head, as his other claw gripped her head, forcing it down onto his manhood, eliciting a low moan from his throat as she gulped and whimpered.
Katherine resisted the urge to squeal, holding her mouth shut with her hand. Part of her wanted to help, but there was no way she could ever take on two full-grown Gargoyles by herself. She resolved to leave, hoping that she would find some of her guards along the way to aid her. If she did then she would send him back to save the girl.
She rushed past the two monsters, which were too busy to notice her, hurrying to get to one of the corridors that would lead to the courtyard outside. Outside there, there was an old cavern that had at one time been used by the gargoyles, when they used to live there, as a rookery for their young. It had now been converted into a sort of treasury room to hide all of their family’s wealth. It was the most secure room in the entire castle, and where she would hopefully be safe.
Another scream echoed from one of the rooms as she ran past them, followed by even more and more of them.
Her curiosity got the better of her, and she couldn’t resist looking into one of the rooms as she ran past… just in time to see one of her guards screaming for mercy, as he was tied to a pillar with two gargoyles running at him with a burning torch, ramming it into his face, the flames licking his skin. And another guard was bound fast on the floor, with a long sort of pipe shoved down his throat, and three gargoyles, each holding a poisonous adder–snake, lowering the serpents into the pipe and down his throat.
Part of her wanted to curl up right there and block her ears, if only to escape the terrifying screams.
“Hellooo!” a loud voice boomed, and Katherine felt herself slam into what she thought for a moment was a huge tree. A tree that was the same colour as the fat Gargoyle who had held her not a few moments ago, and even the same ears, but looked older and was definitely better built.
“Well, well,” the new gargoyle said drunkenly. She smelt the heavy scent of wine and ale on his breath. “To what do we owe this honour?”
Katherine fought to break free of him, but whatever strength she had had before that had saved her from the other gargoyles had now gone.
The new gargoyle laughed out loud. “Brothers!” he called out. “Looks like we missed one! There’s still one more here!”
A few moments later, a large number of gargoyles came staggering out of the rooms along the corridor. Some were unsteady on their talon feet, no doubt drunk as this one was, while some seemed clear, focused and had their sights on her… Some laughed, others cackled, while some just smirked or grunted at her, but the one thing they all did have in common… was that nearly all of them were covered in blood, human blood.
“Here’s the deal, wench!” the first one slurred into her ear, never easing his grip on her. “Ye make it down this corridor, past our brothers, and out of the door at the end with even one strip of clothing still on ye, then ye can go free, if not… “ he laughed, not even bothering to finish the statement.
Katherine’s eyes widened at his words, particularly at the part that ran, “with even one strip of clothing still on ye.”
“No, please… ” she pleaded, but the gargoyle just laughed, and then gave her a hard shove down the corridor where even now all of the gargoyles were lined up on either side of the corridor…
She had barely taken a few steps before one gargoyle walked up to her, grabbing her backside and squeezing it painfully. She squealed, twisting around away from him, only for another to do the exact same thing, but this time when she twisted away the other one ripped off the bottom-half of her dress, exposing her rear-end.
“Tut-tut,” he said, waving his talon at her. “No underwear, shame on you.”
The monsters laughed and jeered, as she tried to unsuccessfully cover herself, panic starting to overwhelm her. She tried racing forward to the door at the end, only to trip over one of the gargoyles’ tails.
She tried getting up, but stopped when she felt a big weight settle on her back.
“Giddy-yup, horsy!” a smaller, more rotund gargoyle said, as he sat on her back, his tail whipping her backside.
Tears burned in Katherine’s eyes when she tried throwing the monster off her back, but only succeeded in gaining more cheers from the crowd, as her backside was whipped by the beast’s tail, and fondled by several gargoyle claws, followed by… a gigantic mountain of a gargoyle standing in front of her…
He was tall, at least 7 feet, dark green skin, with the same fan-like ears as the two aqua-coloured ones, and seemingly built entirely out of muscle. He grinned at her, wiggled his eye-ridges, and then tore off his own loincloth, exposing himself and his huge member to her.
“Come and get it, lassie!” he cheered, thrusting his hips, right into her face.
Katherine backed away fearfully, but stopped when a group of gargoyles surrounded her from behind. The small fat gargoyle got off her back, but the others grabbed her by her back and legs, lifting her high above their heads.
”NOOOOO!!!!” she yelled, struggling futilely.
The clan cheered and hooted, as the group carried the princess forward, right up to the giant green gargoyle where they grabbed her legs and forced them around his head, his face buried in-between them.
Katherine wailed, as she felt the gargoyle’s face press against her, his hot breath pouring on her, followed by the touch of his tongue…
Katherine screamed, as they lowered her head back to the ground, but kept her legs around the gargoyle’s head, and found herself staring up at the rows of gargoyle faces grinning at her, together with the countless gargoyle-paws waving down on her, their talons wriggling, as they grabbed, groped, squeezed, tweaked and twiddled every part of her imaginable…
“ALL RIGHT NOW, THAT BE ENOUGH!” a voice boomed out.
The clan immediately fanned out, backing away from the fallen princess, her legs dropping straight to the floor.
Katherine looked up and saw the old scarred warrior coming towards her. He had a bemused look in his eyes, as he saw her now torn dress.
“Enjoyin yuirself?” he asked casually, smirking.
Katherine didn’t glare, shout, or even dare speak. She just kept her legs crossed so tightly together that they hurt, and her arms wrapped around her chest, tears in her eyes.
The old leader signalled some gargoyles behind him, who turned out to be the three young ones he had had with him earlier. “Bring her!” he ordered.
Katherine just kept still, as the red one with the long beak, and the huge robust one picked her up, dragging her with them, while the small green one just stayed behind, no doubt eyeing her now revealed backside.
They walked on for a while, but Katherine had no idea where they were going. Despite growing up in this castle, she had kept her eyes close to the ground, not watching where they were going. Eventually, they stopped… and the old one turned back to look at her.
“Well now,” he smiled. “What shall we do with you now?”
The three young warriors leered at her, their chuckles and cackles echoing in the princess’s ears.
“It would be such a shame not to let my three youngsters here have their first taste of womanhood,” the old leader said, stroking Katherine’s cheek with his talon. “Of course, they would have had it long since before now were any of their rookery sisters still alive, but naturally… you took care of that, didn’t you, young princess. You who ordered your army to scour the soil of your kingdom, shattering anything in their sights that even remotely resembled anything like a gargoyle.”
Katherine whimpered.
Adhamh grinned none too kindly at her. “What? Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to snuggle up to a Gargoyle? To feel him wrap his wings around you, his tail stroke you… To feel his long, huge weapon shove right up into your damp nest?”
Tears poured down her cheeks.
The old leader licked the tears off her cheeks. “Ah, if only I were a few years younger,” he sighed.
“Very well,” he stepped back, crossing his arms at her. “If ye don’t wish to enjoy the company of our clan’s young warriors, as well as the feel of their bodies, ye don’t have to… “ He continued grinning, as Katherine raised her head in great relief and mild shock. “But then again, I did promise them some entertainment, sooo…”
Just then, a door from down the corridor opened, and two Gargoyles, who were one generation above the trio, one who was a lighter red-skinned gargoyle with the same ears as the large aqua-one, and two horns from his head, and a dark reddish-brown one with two massive horns that seemingly sprout out from his forehead, and two huge tusks propping up from his mouth like a hog, approached them.
They carried between them a lone human male, his clothes torn and his body thoroughly beaten…
“M-Magus?” Katherine stuttered, as she stared at her oldest friend.
The Magus raised his head to look at her, the left side of his face swollen, bruised and bleeding. “Pr… princess,” he croaked, his mouth barely able to form the words.
“Oh, how sweet,” the aged warrior chuckled. “A reunion. Well now, princess… Ye can give your old friend a treat too, can’t you, as well as us.”
Suddenly, the old one’s claw reached out, grabbing onto to what was left of her dress, and tore the remaining garments off her, revealing her naked chest. And then his tail snaked out, grabbing onto Katherine’s leg, and pulled… crashing her onto the floor, with him smirking down at her.
Katherine stayed where she was, not moving or speaking.
“I said ‘can't you!’” he growled, pressing his foot against her ribcage, applying enough pressure that it almost broke her ribs.
Katherine squealed. “Yes,” she sobbed.
“Good, finish this for us, and you have my word these youngsters won’t violate and defile that pretty body of yours,” he swore, and then instructed. “Now, stay lying on your back, and rise yuir knees, keep ‘em nice and apart. Good girl… Now rise yuirself on your elbows… That’s grand. Now… stir that little temptress of yours around for us.”
Katherine at first looked blankly at him, but then quickly understood. She sobbed again, but did as she was told, twirling her body around, giving everyone a full view of her opening.
“Ho ho!” nearly everyone cheered. The young trio watched her with wide eyes and hanging tongues.
The Magus tried shutting his eyes, tears spilling from them as they were from Katherine’s own, but the two gargoyles holding him pulled his eyes open with their claws, scratching them as they did so…
“Don’t be so rude, human!” one of them growled. “Just relax and enjoy the show.”
The princess remained that way for a few minutes, stirring her body around like a honey pot, her head held back. She could see the glints in her captor’s eyes, the lust on their faces as they stared on her. But that was nothing compared to the way she felt when she saw the Magus being forced to look at her, making her wish she were dead.
Then, the leader signalled the youngsters to come closer. ”Now get upon on all fours, wench!” he commanded. “From this moment on, you… are a dog.”
Katherine stared at him in shock. She wanted to shout and yell at him in umbrage, but the feel of the Gargoyles behind her halted her strength of will. She swallowed again, and climbed onto her knees.
“Now it’s time for our young warriors to get a little taste,” the leader grinned.
Katherine looked at him in terror. “You promised you wouldn’t…!”
“Hush now!” the leader spanked her bottom with his tail. “I said our young ones wouldn’t defile you, that be true. But it wouldn’t be fair to them to not get a little action tonight after I promised them. But don’t worry, as I am a gargoyle of my word. I swore they wouldn’t touch you in that way, and so they shall not. Which means… you’ll be the one doing all the touching!”
Katherine gasped, and turned to see the trio unbuckling their loincloths, dropping them to the floor, revealing their long hard shafts pointing at her.
“All right now, doggie,” Adhamh chuckled. “Start licking!”
The large aqua-one was the first, as he raced forward, knocking the other two aside from him. He grabbed onto the sides of the princess’s head, forcing her mouth down on his manhood.
“Uhhg…” she muffled, as his penis filled her mouth. It felt strange, sort of a cross between leather and rubber, but rock hard.
“Ohhh… by the dragon!” he half-cried, half-cheered. “That’s it, wench! Suck it off! Suck it right off!”
Katherine’s whimpers were drowned in her throat, as she was continued her humiliation. As she did so, she felt the long beak of the red one and the little tongue of the small green one slither all over her body, as they licked and tickled her nipples and sides.
“Uh, uh, uh, uhhh…!”
A few minutes later, he ejaculated, roaring as he sent a high-pressure surge of semen into her face and down her throat…
“Ahhhhhh,” he sighed with a goofy grin on his large face.
“And now it’s my turn!” the red one cheered, clambering to get to the front.
Katherine sobbed.
“Unless you want my lads to find some other way to enjoy themselves,” the old leader remarked. “I suggest you cooperate.”
Katherine didn’t bother to turn her head to see him, mainly because if she did then she would see the Magus no doubt still staring at her. She could still feel his eyes on her even now…
She coughed out the semen she had left in her mouth, and immediately went to work on the red, beaked one next…
After she had done him, she went onto the small green one. By the time they were finished with her, she was soaked in their seed. She coughed, sobbed and choked, wishing there was a tub of scalding water nearby where she could leap into to get clean.
“Very good,” the leader commented, as the trio pulled up their loincloths, looking very relaxed. He walked forward and patted her head, just as he would have done with an animal. “Very, very good girl!”
Katherine glared up at him… and Adhamh slapped her face.
“Watch your look princess,” he warned her.
“Please, just let me go!” Katherine wailed. “I’ve done what you wanted!”
“Don’t worry,” Adhamh sneered. “You’ll be going soon enough... and coming, too.” He lifted his claw, signalling the warriors. At once, she felt the Gargoyles’ paws grab onto her, and begin to heave her up.
“What are you doing?!” she struggled against her captors, but the gargoyle’s grip could not be loosened. It wasn’t any of the young trio, as they were now holding onto the Magus, jeering and taunting him, so it had to be one of the other older males.
The one holding her lifted her up high over his head, spreading her legs wide.
“Just taking ye to yuir room, lassie,” the leader told her, and opened a door farther down the corridor.
Katherine finally noticed where she was. She was near the room that had once been her father’s bedchamber.
The door opened, and they carried her in…
Katherine immediately noticed the gigantic figure lying on what had once been her father’s bed. It was clearly gargoyle, but she knew that even before she noticed its wings and tail. No way could any human be that huge.
The figure was male, incredibly large, built seemingly entirely out of muscle, and was a deep lavender colour, with long dark hair. It seemed to be sleeping on the bed, snoring, with a large wineskin held next to its chest.
The leader went forward and slapped the giant on the head, waking him. He grunted, stirring slightly, and then stretched out its arms…
Katherine grew fearful. If she hadn’t thought he was big before, she certainly had no doubts now.
The leader whispered a few things in his ear, and then the giant grinned, his eyes rested on her, as he licked his lips.
“No,” Katherine whispered, and yelled as the giant got off the bed, scratching and fondling himself as he looked at her. The rest of the clan laughed, as they carried her over to the bed, laying her down upon it, grabbing her hands and feet, and tying them to the bedposts…
“No!” she screamed. “You promised! You swore no one would defile me!”
The leader just reached forward and cupped her breast. “I did, and I am a gargoyle of my word, lassie,” he said, as he leaned over and licked her nipple. “But recall what I said… I swore that those youngsters would not be the ones to defile you… I never said anything about the others!”
Katherine’s eyes grew wide, and the leader just laughed at her. She looked down the bed at the two other older gargoyles who waggled their tongues at her. Then up at the lavender giant as he stood before her, grinning and almost salivating at her. He jiggled his loincloth about a bit before unbuckling it, dropping it to the floor.
What Katherine saw then made her scream louder than she ever had before…
* * * * *
Manhattan; Present Time:
“I was surprised, actually,” Adhamh said, his tone uncaring. “I heard from the lads that she managed to hold out until the three of them, and at least three others who joined in the fun, were finished with her. Normally, human females barely last with even two of us, let alone six.”
Hudson looked at his double with an expression that was a mixture of shock, disgust and outrage. “You… how could… How could you do such a monstrous… despicable deed?!!!”
His double just looked at him as if he was stupid. “Weren’t you listening?” he said. “I told you how the humans mistreated us back at Wyvern. The princess brat was no exception. When any of us were taken prisoner, she took great pleasure in torturing that poor soul to death. We just got our justice! And she got what was coming to her. If we hadn’t have done it, someone else would have done eventually.”
“It doesn’t matter what she might or might not have done to us,” Hudson practically pleaded, his mind still not accepting what he had just heard in his own voice. “A gargoyle lives by honour and integrity. What you did… it is beyond sin and filth!”
His double just snarled. “Tell that to our fallen brethren who died in their sleep! Many of them were just hatchlings, not just our warriors. We swore to avenge them and we did!”
“And how did that work out for ye?” Hudson counteracted. “Speaking of which, just how did ye manage to end up 1000 years in the future?”
Adhamh growled under his breath. “It was that blasted Magus! During our… fun with the princess, he had somehow managed to escape his bonds. We didn’t notice until he came barging through the doors, attempting to save his beloved princess. Our brothers made short work of him, but not before he managed to cast one of his damn spells on us. The next thing we knew, it was 1000 years later, our clan were all gone save for us five.”
“At least the Magus made the right choice in another life concerning his spells,” Hudson remarked quietly.
Adhamh snarled at him. “Say what ye will, weakling! But at least my clan died strong! We fought for our rights, took back what was rightfully ours, and slew our enemies till the ground ran red with their blood!”
Hudson just looked at him with disgust. “You’re nothing but plain savages, the worst of the worst. You’re no better than the Vikings or pirates of ancient days. To hear that some of my own kind, even from another reality, could be capable of such vile acts of barbarism… I cannot even stand to stare at you!” He got up to leave.
“Is it me you’re afraid to stare at,” Adhamh grinned behind him. “Or is it yourself? Remember, no matter what you like to believe, I am you! Or at least you as you would have become if you had been raised in my world.”
Hudson paused briefly, but then quickly hurried out, trying not to listen to the mocking laughter of his double.
* * * * *
Great Hall:
“What can you tell us about these… individuals?” Goliath asked Aster, still refusing to call the strangers his clans’ counterparts. They had been trying to gather all the information they could about these strange visitors from Aster, seeing as he had travelled through numerous alternate worlds already.
Aster shrugged. “Only what I’ve observed. Obviously, Hudson… their Hudson that is, or Adhamh as he calls himself, he is the leader of this clan, not Goliath.”
“Funny name?” Elisa remarked.
“It’s Scottish,” Hudson told him, as he entered the Hall. “It means ‘Red Earth.’”
“Did he tell you anything?” Goliath asked.
Hudson snarled. “Nothing that I care to repeat.”
The others looked at him curiously, but judging by the way Hudson was standing, his fists clenched, his fangs gnashing and his eyes slightly flaring, it was clear he didn’t want to talk about it. If the prisoner had revealed anything useful, Hudson would have been sure to tell them.
“Why would he choose a name like that?” Elisa then asked, still curious about the name.
Hudson scoffed. “Red earth? I think the meaning says it pretty clearly, lass. The blackguard sees himself as making the earth he walks on turn red with the blood of his enemies. It sounds just like the kind of name he’d choose for himself.”
Elisa shrugged. “Have to admit, he does have creativity when choosing a name.”
“Aside from him and their Goliath,” Aster continued, “who bears the same name as ours, the others have no names. They seem to have stuck to that old gargoyle tradition.”
“I’m not sure about Adhamh,” Goliath said curiously.
“How do you mean?” Brooklyn asked.
“Oh, don’t get me wrong, as he is obviously the one with power. They all look to him, but they also look to my… to their Goliath.”
“It’s possibly a joint operation,” Lexington suggested. “You know, Adhamh is the brains, but Goliath is the brawn, the muscle. It might be the way they ran clans in their world.”
“Anything else you can tell us, Aster?” Goliath asked.
“Only that they’re definitely no warriors,” Aster replied grimly. “They’re just savages, plain and simple. They’re pretty much like what I know of the Vikings of ancient times. They live for battle, attack, kill, and reap the pleasure of their conquest… food, wine… women.” He said the last part with some noticeable disgust.
“That I know all too well,” Hudson muttered as he entered the hall, remembering his talk with his dark twin.
“How did the talk go with your… with him?” Goliath asked.
Hudson only responded with a low deep growl, his eyes flashing briefly.
“I’ll take that as a not so good,” Brooklyn guessed.
“Oh no,” Elisa suddenly said, thinking about Aster’s words and remembering something.
“What is it, my Elisa?” Goliath looked at her concerned.
“How long have these counterparts of yours been here for?” she asked hurriedly.
Goliath looked at the rest of his clan who simply shrugged. “We are unsure,” he admitted. “We believe Cecile Vene might have conjured them here only fairly recently, but we have no direct proof of that. For all we know, they could have been here for weeks before revealing themselves.”
Elisa had a cold look of dread upon her face.
“What is it?” Aster asked her curiously.
“There’s been a spree of murders and rapes recently in New York,” she told them. “People’s apartments have been broken into, some of the victims were savagely ripped apart, mostly the men, and the women… The forensics said they were all raped. Some of them were suffocated or crushed during intercourse, others were just almost completely clawed up and left for dead, and others were literally raped to death… possibly by more than one male.”
Goliath looked at her in mute horror, realisation dawning on him. “How many of these murders have there been?”
Elisa sighed. “At least eight… that we know of so far that is. But we don’t know for certain that it was them, Goliath. I mean, sick things like this happen all the time.”
“It would be consistent with what we know,” Aster added.
“What do you mean?” Elisa asked, looking at him.
“The clawing up parts, what we know they’re like with women.”
“Yeah, but what about the suffocating part?” Lex queried.
Aster sighed. “That might have something to do with their counter Broadway.”
“Hey!” Broadway yelled in indignation. He had been summoned to the Hall to commune with the clan, leaving Owen with Sarah Foster who assured him that he was quite capable of handling her, should her alter-ego return.
“Sorry, bud,” Aster said calmly. “I don’t want to be rude, but we have to face facts… For a human, your weight is literally a killer. If your counterpart got on top of a woman, she’d be lucky to come out of it with just a crushed ribcage. The only difference between him and you is that whereas your weight is both of fat and muscle, his is mostly muscle... No offence.”
“Offence taken,” Broadway mumbled, glaring at him slightly.
“What can we do?” Lex asked. “We have to stop them!”
“Aye, that we must,” Hudson agreed.
“I don’t understand how these things could possibly be us,” Lex fumed. “I mean, not just the scars all over them, but… If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear they were Vikings in gargoyles’ skins, the way they act.”
“Obviously their clan and yours made some different choice over the ages,” Aster told him. “At some point in your clan’s history, your clan decided to live to protect, choosing honour over all things… This clan apparently chose the opposite, deciding that mere survival was better than honour. And along the way, their clan’s values and such must have degenerated.”
“Sounds like something out of an H.G. Wells novel,” Elisa muttered.
“Did he mention where we can find the others of his clan?” Goliath then asked his mentor.
Hudson looked guilty at his leader. “I’m sorry, lad… But to tell the truth, I didn’t really ask any worthy questions. I was too disgusted with the blackguard to ask any.”
Goliath sighed but understood his mentor’s feelings. He too would have no doubt had the same reaction with his own doppelganger. “I will question him then,” he said.
“I fear you will have no more luck than your former leader, Goliath,” Aster noted. “This guy doesn’t seem like the type who’ll give information willingly.”
“Probably not,” Goliath admitted. “But I will try, nonetheless.”
“I’ll go and see if I can get anymore information about the murders from work,” Elisa said helpfully. “I’ll meet you back at my place later,” she added in a whisper to her husband.
Goliath nodded. “I’ll see you then,” he replied, gratefully accepting the warm kiss from her, before she left.
Goliath took a deep breath, and turned to his clan. “I’ll go talk with our ‘guest’ then.”
* * * * *
Bedford Hotel:
“Well that’s a bitter disappointment,” Cecile moaned, as she gazed into the small Crystal Ball she held. “I really thought this new clan would give Goliath and his cronies a real challenge. After all, who better to fight someone than themselves?”
“Looks like you’re beaten then,” Thailog smirked behind her.
Cecile spared him a glance. “The show’s not over yet, lover. They still have time to prove themselves.”
* * * * *
Eyrie Building; Cell-Room:
Goliath entered the cell-room, but kept his distance away from the prisoner’s cell. If this gargoyle was even half the warrior that Hudson was, he was taking no chances.
“So now the leader pays me a visit, eh?” Adhamh gave the Manhattan leader and ugly smirk. “I am honoured tonight.”
Goliath said nothing at first, and just stared quietly at him, his eyes peering right into him.
Adhamh appeared non-pulsed, but inwardly he was on guard. His own Goliath was quite the warrior, and especially dangerous when he was angry, or even when he had had a bit to drink, so it paid to be cautious around this Goliath.
“Where are your fellow clanmates?” Goliath finally asked.
“Gone away, haven’t you noticed?” Adhamh smirked at him.
Goliath ignored him and just asked the next question. “Why did the Venes summon you here? And how?”
Adhamh shrugged. “Beats me.”
“Don’t tempt me, villain,” Goliath growled lowly. “Now tell me what I want to know, now!”
“Are you willing to fight me, youngling?” Adhamh growled back.
Goliath took a menacing step towards him. “Do you believe you could actually stand a chance against me?!”
The two of them stood like that, each glaring at the other, their eyes brightly glowing, and growls that would shudder a lion.
“You think you’re gargoyle enough to fight me,” Adhamh snarled. “Come on then! Show me what you’re made of, child!”
Goliath roared, releasing the lock on the cell…
* * * * *
Elisa’s Apartment:
Elisa moaned as she entered her apartment, taking off her gun and holster. She immediately started heading over to her drawer in the kitchen where she now kept her gun. Her experience with Broadway had taught her to take better care about where she left her weapon.
A low growl of seeming approval sounded behind her.
Elisa spun round, but relaxed when she saw Goliath standing behind her.
“Oh, Goliath,” she said, sighing in relief. “I thought you were patrolling with the clan? Did you find those counterparts of yours?"
Goliath shrugged his massive shoulders. “The clan has done all the searching it can,” he told her. “There is nothing more we can do. I was hoping you had found something tonight on your… patrol?”
Elisa sighed. “Afraid so,” she replied. “There’s been another rape and murder, one that’s a few days old.”
“Oh?” Goliath said, as he came nearer her.
Elisa held her gun to the side, sighing as she rubbed her forehead. “A woman was found in her apartment tonight… A neighbour reported he had not seen her or her husband for a few days, and called it in. When the cops entered her apartment, they found her tied up in her room, her husband’s head plopped right in her lap. Other detectives say someone must have broken into her home, killed her husband, and molested her in practically every kind of way they could think of.”
“Has she said anything?”
Elisa shook her head. “No, and I don’t think she ever will.” She turned her head up to him, her eyes watering slightly. “Goliath, it was awful. You should have seen the poor woman… She’s completely catatonic, won’t say a word or do anything. She just sits there, doing absolutely nothing. She won’t even eat. The orderlies have to feed her themselves.”
“Yes, terrible,” Goliath agreed, as he came up to her. His long arms embraced her, holding her close to him. “Try not to think about it.”
“How can I not?” Elisa asked, snuggling into his masculine chest. “When those sick bastards are still out there, doing God knows what.”
She felt Goliath’s heart pounding in his chest, followed by a low growl rumbling from within. “We will find a way… together.” He said, as he cupped her chin with his talon, and lowered his face to hers.
“Elisa!”
Elisa turned her face not just at the sound of her name being called out, but because of the voice doing the calling.
“Goliath?” she breathed out in surprise, seeing her mate standing at her window.
“Awww, and just when we were getting better acquainted, too,” the counter-Goliath said mockingly, still holding onto her, crushing her now, against his chest.
“Speak for yourself,” Elisa said, followed by the sound of a gun-click, right next to her captor’s ‘personal’ area…
The dark Goliath looked down to see Elisa holding her gun straight at his genitals, the safety off.
“When you’re married,” Elisa told him. “You tend to notice little things about your mate that no one else does.” She then pointed to the little scar over his right eye. “This is quite the giveaway, pal. How could you think I would ever believe you were my husband?”
“Maybe that’s what you want,” he smirked. “Someone who’s not your husband.”
A snarl interrupted him, as Goliath rammed into him, grabbing his flailing arms and securing them behind his back, while his knee held his wings down.
“When did you get here?” she asked the real Goliath.
“After I had my ‘chat’ with Adhamh,” Goliath scoffed. “He revealed a few things about himself and his clan, some of which I already knew or suspected. He also made me realise that my counterpart here might possibly come after you, as a sort of jest on me, something to make me suffer. It seems to be the focus of this clan’s entire existence.”
“Adhamh would never betray the clan!” his dark twin hissed, showing off his fangs, as he tried in vain to throw Goliath off of him.
“You’d be surprised what secrets any warrior will reveal after they’ve spent a few minutes in battle with me,” Goliath smirked behind him, still holding his arms down. “But enough of that for now… Adhamh was kind enough to divulge some information for me, and now I want the same from you… Where are the other members of your clan?!”
“How should I know? And even if I did, why should I tell you?!”
Goliath applied some pressure to his back, particularly on the sensitive part between his wings, making his prisoner howl in agony.
“Alright! Alright!” his victim cried out, making Elisa realise that although this stranger maybe Goliath’s counterpart, they were definitely not the same person. She knew that her Goliath would never give in to interrogation so quickly, particularly when the safety of his clan was at stake.
‘Then again,’ she suddenly thought. ‘Who’s to say he wouldn’t?’ This could be a trap for them, so Elisa chose to remain ever vigilante and careful, with Goliath no doubt doing the same, as he viewed his twin with a cocked eyeridge, but never easing his hold on him.
“I don’t know for certain where they are,” the alternate admitted. “It’s the way of our clan. We always split at the end of a battle, go our separate ways for a certain amount of time, then we all meet up at a rendezvous point.”
“Where is the rendezvous supposed to be?” Goliath demanded.
“At an old abandoned building with the words ‘Crossfire’ on it.”
“I know that place,” Elisa remarked. “It used to be an old gun shooting club that went bankrupt. Nobody’s used the place in years.”
“Contact the clan and have them meet us here,” Goliath told her. “And also tell Xanatos to have another cell made up… One with plenty of bars and electricity.”
His alternate snarled, bucking underneath him, but Goliath remained where he was, twisting his arm to breaking point.
“You won’t find any of my clan easy to find, fool!” his prisoner hissed. “Even with the information I have given you, all of my clan know the art of stealth. And they’ll be sure to keep an eye out for anyone who comes near the rendezvous point!”
Goliath twisted his arm again; applying more pressure to the dark one’s back, making him hiss in pain.
“Then I guess I’ll just have to be very careful with them, won’t I,” Goliath simply replied, and signalled Elisa to bring him something to bind his claws with.
* * * * *
Somewhere Downtown:
Veronica Simpson sighed, as she carried what felt like ten loads of her shopping down the road, making her way to her apartment building.
‘Don’t get a car,’ she said mentally, mimicking her mother. ‘They’re bad for the environment; think of the ozone and your health. Without a car you’ll get plenty of exercise, fresh air as you’re walking… Yeahhh, right.’
Her arms ached from all the carrying, feeling like they were ready to drop off any second.
‘It’s alright for her,’ she moaned. ‘She gets dad to do all the shopping for her, and he drives. But what about me, do I catch a break… noooo. I have to do it myself, and bust my arms doing it, too.’
She groaned, as she rounded another corner, as there was still another two blocks to go before she got home.
“Should’ve taken the bus,” she grumbled. “To hell with the rent.”
A loud whooshing sound suddenly went over, startling her. She looked up, but saw nothing.
“Okay, Veronica,” she berated herself. “You definitely need a lie down. You’re jumping at shadows now.” All the same, she hurried a little further down the road, wishing there were some more people sharing the sidewalk with her.
“Need some help with those?” a voice came out of nowhere.
Veronica gasped, almost dropping her shopping, and spun to her left…
In the alley next to her, she could just make out the dark outline of what looked like a large man. He kept to the shadows, not coming near her.
Veronica stuttered a little. “Th-thank you, but no,” she backed away, hurrying down the road. “I’m fine, I have… “ She never got to finish…
The same whooshing sound came as before, only this time it was a lot louder, mainly because it was a lot closer this time.
Veronica shrieked, as she felt something hook her from under both her arms, and lifted her straight up before she could breathe.
“Well, let us give you a lift at least,” a snide voice sniggered.
Veronica looked up in fear, and saw what she at first thought was a large bird, until she noticed its red skin and long mane of white hair.
“HELLLLLLP!!!!” Veronica screamed, but didn’t struggle, seeing as how high they were now. “PUT ME DOWN!!!”
“As you wish,” the Brooklyn-look-alike complied, and released her.
Veronica screamed as she felt herself fall to earth. She didn’t fall very far though, as another gargoyle (as she figured that was what these creatures must be) caught her by her legs, hanging her upside down.
Three voices laughed out loud, as her skirt fell over her head, revealing her legs and underwear.
“I hope you got enough rest tonight, wench,” another voice spoke, his hot breath on her crotch. “Cos you’re going to be needing it!”
To Be Continued…
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Darlene: Mirror Images 2 (PART 27)