((locked to dragon_paragon))

[reluctant_gargoyle]

It was Manhattan in the year 1995.  Nothing really remarakble about it, at least compared to some of the other Manhattan's of the multiverse, except for the Eryie Building, corporate headquarters and home of Xanatos, complete with a large portion of Castle Wyvern installed on its top.

It was early in the evening, probably only about 9:00 pm.  Plenty of hours of darkness left for those who turned to stone with the rising sun. 

She's reappeared outside a large tunnel, blocked by a hefty, although unlocked, gate.  It clearly led underground and did not smell all that well.  She gives her companion an appologetic smile.  "I know it looks bad, but trust me one this one." 

This would be the second time in not all that long that she'd be imposing upon her brother and his home, but there were few options.   She couldn't bring him back to the Clock Tower after all.  Refusing to help had also not been an option; it simply wasn't how she'd been brought up to act.  And, of course, there was the fact that for all the extraordinary things in her world, from Gargoyles to fey to Mutates, it was still much more normal than a lot of the ones  that connected with the Nexus.

Comments

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: *BBKakyoin nods sagely at the mention of Prague.* Belgium. Beatiful country. *The joke is given away by a slight smile and a laugh he can't quite stifle.* Get around is an understatement. You guys could get a show on the travel channel. (Or Cartoon Network.)

You never told me why he abandoned this place, though. I mean, using a lab complex you just stumbled upon can't be good. What if there was a safety breach and some microbe got loose? *BBKakyoin doesn't bring up some of the worst options that are considerable when dealing with a genetics company.*

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Trust me, after that magic boat ride from hell, I'll be very happy to stay here in good ol' New York for a long while," Elisa says.

"And that's... complicated. It was actually abandoned not long after the Clan came to the present. Xanatos tricked them into attacking several Cyberbiotics sites, this one included. Afterwards, they didn't seem interested in using them again. Sevarius, the nutjob who turned Derek and the others into Mutates, was using it for a while, but after we kicked his ass six ways from Sunday, he abandoned it too. And we gave it a good once over. They left a lot of supplies, but it seems like it was mostly technology research here, not germ-warfare or anything."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: Speakin' of which, how did that turn out? When I saw you on it, you said it took you where you needed to go or something like that. Did you convince it you needed to go home, or did you just abandon the thing in a ditch somewhere?

Yeah, I wouldn't be too keen on striking up a lab again after the Gargoyle Commandos tore it up. *BBKakyoin didn't doubt for a second that it was Elisa who had "kicked his ass six ways from Sunday." He almost felt sorry for the guy.* Ooh, did you find any nifty gadgets? *...What was that? Did he just hear a coarse voice say 'Stars'? Nah, couldn't be.*

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"It eventually decided home was where we needed to be. Oberon, king of the Third Race, had decided that Xanatos's son belonged to him, since the kid's grandmother on his mother's side was Titania. We ended up fighting him alongside Xanatos to protect the kid and the city," Elisa replies.

By now, Claw and Maggie had gone off to do other tasks, but Derek remained. "Nothing we could make any sense of," he says, "We locked most of it up. We did find some high tech guns, but we destroyed them."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: Woah, woah, slow down. I'm still new here. Ok, I think I know Oberon, he's the fairy guy, right? Xanatos was the guy who made the clones, but whose Titania?

...You did what? *BBKakyoin's visually disappointed.* But, imagine how awesome that could've been! Oh, well...Hey, let's take a look at the other stuff later, maybe we can still find a laser watch or something.

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Oberon's the fairy guy, yes. Xanatos didn't make the clones, but he is the one responsible for the Clan being here in the 20th century, and for turning Derek and the others into Mutates. Sevarius made the clones, and he was working for Thailog and Demona," Elisa says.

She pauses for a breath before going on. "Titania is Oberon's wife and queen of the Third Race. Former ex-wife, actually, but they got back together. She's also the mother of Fox, the woman Xanatos is married to. And Fox's father, is Halcyon Rennard, who's the head of Cyberbiotics. It's all a big circle around here."

Derek scowled slightly. "This is a safe place. No weapons down here."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Ok, so whose Sevarius, Thailog, Demona, and what are my chances of running into them? Yeah, I can see that. Must be fun, having half the group trying to kill you guys. How did you get so many enemies? Did you give them speeding tickets before you got Gargoyle-ified?

Sorry, Derek, I didn't know. If I had, I would've left my bare hands outside. *BBKakyoin throws a one-two punch into the air before holding up his paw/hand.* Come to think of it, these really aren't hands any more...

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Sevarius is a mad scientist, more or less. He's worked for Xanatos, but also for Demona and Thailog. Nutso genetisist. He'd probably love a chance to cut you open and see what makes you tick. Thailog was a clone of Goliath, but with an intelligence and ethics program modeled after Xanatos. He'd dead now, so him you don't have to worry about. Demona is a rogue, immortal Gargoyle who plans to wipe out humanity. She betrayed the Clan a thousand years ago, and has been nothing but trouble here in the present. She's also Goliath's former mate, and Angela's mother."

She nods. "Sevarius is probably the only one to give you any cause for alarm, but he'll probably be laying low for a good long while. We've also got another group of enemies, called the Pack. A brother and sister pair of cyborgs, called Jackal and Hyena, and a mutated human-wolf hybrid named Wolf. Mercanaries. Xanatos is at the origin of a lot of these bad guys, in some way or another. He created the Pack, Sevarius worked for him, Sevarius made Thailog, and Demona's worked with him, on occasion."

Derek cracks a small smile. "That's a bit different. But no guns, no knifes, nothing like that down here. People come here seeking shelter, I won't see the Labyrinth become a war zone."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: He wouldn't have to cut far to find out. *BBKakyoin smirks.* Wait, what? Did you say she was immortal?

Mercs. *BBKakyoin scoffs.* A hired goon's a hired goon. I've plowed through enough of those to last me a lifetime. This Sevarius guy sounds kind of interesting, though. *He'd remember to ask around, see if he could find anything on him.*

...Right, I guess that makes sense. *This seems to make BBKakyoin edgy for some reason.* Hey, umm, I probably shouldn't sleep in the same room as anyone. Or even the next room over. I get night terrors, sometimes, wouldn't wanna, you know, wake anyone up.

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, Demona's immortal. She can be killed, but she just comes back to life not long after," Elisa explains.

"You can have Fang's old room," Derek tells him. "There were four of us, originaly. Me, Maggie, Claw, and Fang. But Fang decided he wanted to rule down here, to turn the Labyrinth into a home for gangs... We've locked him up in one of the cells down here, now."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: ....*That sounded familiar. Reeeeaaaal familiar. BBKakyoin changes his natural response to feigned surprise a split second afterwards.* That's...weird. So you're stuck with her, huh?

Great, thanks! You still got him down there? Why don't you kill him? *BBKakyoin looks at Derek with a curious glance.* Oh, Elisa told you about the...the thing, right? *BBKakyoin's fearful shudder returns.*

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Unfortunately, yeah," Elisa replies.

Derek gives him another scowl. "We're not killers," he says firmly. "We won't sink to his level."

((Er... thing? My memory may have gone foggy here...))

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: ...Is there any way to stop it? Find out what it is, turn it off? Even if you guys don't wanna kill her, you'll have to make sure she's not immortal someday. Whose gonna stop her after you guys?

*Pacifism must be a family trait. BBKakyoin, however, knows when he's beat. Sometimes.* Okay, okay, I get it, won't sink to his level.

((He's referring to that cryptic warning about strange dreams.))

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"We don't know all the details, but we've got the basics. She's magically linked to MacBeth, a former enemy of ours. Both of them are immortal and can only truly die if one of them kills the other. But that would cause the deaths of both," Elisa explains.

Derek's scowl lessens. "Killing isn't an option taken up lightly," he says. "Sometimes, yes, it is the only solution... But often, it's not." He brushes the issue aside, going on the other comment. "Elisa mentioned that, yeah. But no one here's had any strange dreams like that."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: ...Isn't Macbeth the Shakespeare guy? I thought he was dead. Well, whatever. That's gonna be pretty damn hard to orchestrate, especially if they know about it.

You'll tell me if you do, right? *BBKakyoin seems pretty on edge. He nervously glances around.*

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Shakespeare got quite a few things wrong, when it comes to our universe," Elisa replies. "But both of them know about it and hate each other... but not enough to cause the end of their own life."

Derek nods. "We would. Don't worry."

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyion: I'm sure we could trick them into killing themselves, somehow. The evil types tend to be blinded by their own ambition.

*BBKakyoin doesn't seem very relieved. He's still pretty jittery, for some reason.* Ok, ok. Hey, is there an easier way to get outside? I'm not sure I can remember my way back in.

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"I'd prefer not to, even if it meant the end of Demona. MacBeth's not entirely a bad guy, just a guy who's made some bad choices. And according to the others, he's off helping King Arthur on a quest for the Holy Grail these days."

Derek nods. "There's several ways in and out of here, some more hidden than others. We'll make sure you get to see all of them. ...Hey, you ok, man?"

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: Damn, does that suck. He got the short end of the stick on that one. ...Wait, you mean Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade type Holy Grail?

*BBKakyoin nods emphatically when Derek speaks about the exits, but he visibly jumps when asked if he's ok.* I'm fine, I'm fine, thanks for asking. All good here. Hey, so lets go see those exits?

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, exactly like that. I think, anyway," Elisa says.

Derek nods. "Yeah, let's do that."

((Aaand a good place to wrap this up? Unless you have other plans?))

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

Big Bad Kakyoin: Well, I don't know much about history, but that was a good movie.

*BBKakyoin follows, silent.*

((Sounds great^^ I still have some shenanigans I want to pull, but those can wait for a new post. Mind if I occasionally update with BBKakyoin's misadventures in Manhattan?))

[elisa-garg.livejournal.com]

((Yeah, that's fine by me.))

[dragon-paragon.livejournal.com]

((Kk^^))