The fact that they were there was a miracle in itself. NASA had declined to reveal where their funding for this had come from, although their caving in to the growing trend in orbiting billionaires was sure to be a major contributing factor.

Funding aside, in 2007 the asteroid orbital monitoring system had been launched with much pomp and fanfare. Wasn't it wonderful, they said-- no more would the people on Earth have to worry about the asteroids that encircled the inner solar system paying an unscheduled visit to terra firma. Never again would valuable man-hours be wasted in visually scanning the skies. The orbital monitoring system would do all that and more.

They were called the 47 Ronin. Forty-seven self sufficient units that travelled among the asteroid belt and kept an ever watchful eye on the status of their fellow travellers. Forty seven units that would destroy any rogue asteroid that fell to earth.

But now the ronin had something else to watch. Beyond the belt, in the space between it and Jupiter, a number of dark shadows hovered. The Tretramodean ships had arrived. The Earth, no more than a bright star in the distance, was their destination. But for now they would go no further. Their kind had no need to take on a planet of independent thinkers. When the minds of the planet were theirs, when there would be no resistance, then they would come.

For now all they had to do was watch and wait. Within one earth rotation, they would know if their endeavour had been a success.

Failure was not an option.

******

"Damn those creatures!"

Dawson terminated the communication with the fleet, slamming his fist down on the consol. He looked back up. The frozen image of the commander of the fleet was still on the screen. Dawson barked a command at one of the technicians in their make-shift communications base and the image on the screen went blank.

"They're not happy, are they sir?" Aynton stood a few feet behind his boss.

Dawson glanced over his shoulder at his assistant. Aynton backed up a step. 

"Do not state the obvious to me. I know all too well what they think of us at this moment in time."

"Was the destruction of the communications base such a great loss to us?" Aynton asked as he approached Dawson. "I mean, we can still contact the fleet and our operatives across the globe. Why the drama?"

"I shouldn't expect you to understand. You're younger than your host and know nothing of the way these minds we control work."

"Sir?" Aynton looked confused.

Dawson turned, and Aynton took another step backwards. "It is not the actual destruction of the base that hurt us. It's the fact that a very small group of natives with very limited resources ran rings around us. That's what hurt us."

"I see." Aynton looked thoughtful. "If they can achieve the destruction of the communications tower, then they may cause trouble for us when we release the mist. But-" Aynton looked up, "what can they do when the entire population of the planet will be against them?"

"We made that mistake before. I want to make sure that they will not be able to interfere. I want their weapons rendered useless. I want them found, and then..." Dawson turned and looked up at the blank screen.

"And then I want them destroyed...all of them."

******

"You're lucky you know."

"What?" Kahreen stuck her head out from the engine cavity of her ship. On the ground below her stood Harding. The human mercenary had napped briefly when they had arrived at their new camp. However, thoughts of what was happening around him prevented him from resting. He envied the gargoyles' ability to turn to stone; to sleep no matter what weighed on their minds.

"The mosquitoes--they don't bother you do they?" he asked as he slapped away one of the small beasts. The combined groups of both mercenaries and gargoyles had moved their camp away from the marshy ground of the night before. The move was aimed at never staying in one location long enough for the alien Dominion to find them. As successful as this tactic was at keeping their larger enemies from them, it had not saved them from the attentions of the small blood-sucking insects that had bothered them at their earlier camp.

Kahreen frowned and disappeared back into the cavity. "I've got nothing they want," came her muffled reply. There was a pause of a few seconds before she spoke again. "What do you want, Harding?"

"I want to know how the testing of the cure is going."

Kahreen's head appeared above the edge of the cavity once again. Harding caught a glimpse of the many wires that now extended from the base of her skull and from behind her ears. "The human came around about half an hour ago. Thaylog, Silver and Shaiya are with him now."

"Thaylog is with him? But I thought your leader turned to stone with the rest of the clan during the day?" Harding was puzzled. How many things were his new allies keeping from him and his men?

Kahreen smirked. "Harding, what you don't know about us could easily fill an entire hard drive." She jerked her thumb in the direction of the main hull of the ship. "They're in there." With that, she disappeared back into the cavity.

"Smart ass," Harding mumbled under his breath as he walked around to the rear of the ship. He soon found the entrance to the biomech's ship; a small hatchway in the belly of the craft. A dark skinned female gargoyle with five horns crowning her brow sat watch at the opening.

"Harding?"

"Silver," nodded Harding.

Silver glanced over her shoulder as someone within the ship enquired who their visitor was. She answered and looked back down at the human. "What do you want?"

"I want a report on the cure. It's almost midday."

"Thaylog is about to test the cure now. You'll want to watch?"

"Damn right I want to watch," Harding said as he clambered up into the main hull of the ship. "Now where are they? Where's Thay..." he was brought up short as a white-haired human turned to face him. "..log?" he finished, slack jawed.

"Don't be so surprised, human. You have seen me in this form before, I believe."

"I have?" Harding blinked and then remembered. "The Dominion tower! After we-"

"Hunted and then shot down one of my clanmates." Thaylog turned his back on Harding and walked over to where Shaiya was restraining the human they had captured from the communications tower. He turned back to Harding. "Would you assist Shaiya in restraining him please? I doubt that he'll sit still and let me administer this." He held up a mask which was attached to a gas canister.

Harding hesitated for a moment before joining Shaiya in holding the now violently struggling human. He had his mouth open but no sound came out. Harding frowned. "Why isn't he making any noise?"

"If he cannot talk, then he cannot object to the orders given to him." Shaiya grunted as the human lurched violently to one side. "I would have thought that was obvious. Silver?"

"Yes?" Silver looked up from her post at the entrance to the craft.

"Hold his head."

"OK." Silver moved towards them. The human began moving about more violently when he saw the approaching gargoyle. However Harding and Shaiya managed to keep him pinned down as Silver moved behind him, and holding either side of his head with her claws, held his head still. She looked at Thaylog. "We're ready."

"Then we shall see if all our efforts have been in vain," said Thaylog as he fixed the mask over the humans face and released the gas.

******

"Will this work?" Calun glanced at the images in the water before continuing his pacing.

Ceridwen didn't look up, her attention was solely focused upon the five figures that flickered in the water. "It will work. I have faith in them."

"And if it does work, what then? How do they expose the humans of an entire world to this cure?"

Ceridwen glanced at her companion. "What do you mean, Calun?"

Calun approached the bowl and looked down before looking back up at Ceridwen. "Is this medicine they have a cure, or a vaccine? Will it prevent the humans from succumbing to the mist, or will they have to wait until the world is under the newcomers' control before they can use it? Because if it is the latter, then our champions' victory may be more difficult than we think."

******

Dawson stood and looked down. Below him, the hangar was a hive of activity. For once, things seemed to be going according to plan, and the Dominion CEO wasn't about to risk his good fortune. Turning, he sought out Aynton. The gaunt-faced man was busy talking to someone on a cell phone. "Are all the ships loaded?"

Aynton  looked up and nodded. "They're ready to leave on a moment's notice, sir."

"Then launch them. We've waited long enough."

Aynton nodded once more. "Yes sir."

"What of the gargoyles?"

"We've narrowed the search area. Before the sun sets, they'll be dust."

Dawson smiled. "Good."

******

Sanderson didn't notice the biomech's approach until she tapped him lightly on the shoulder with a small piece of rolled-up paper. Trained responses came immediately into effect, and before Sanderson was aware that he had reacted, his firearm had been drawn and was pointing directly at Kahreen.

"Jumpy, aren't you? Kahreen remarked as she held out the rolled up sheet of paper to the human. Sanderson took it and looked at it suspiciously.

"What's this?"

"The delivery system for the gas," said Kahreen, already moving away. "Thought you'd like to make a start on setting it up."

"But we don't know if the cure will work yet.  Shouldn't we be waiting till we know for certain?"

"Did Noah wait until he was knee deep in water before he built his ark? Besides, have faith in what Thaylog can do. We do." With that, the biomech walked away from the human.

Sanderson frowned and unrolled the paper. Sure enough, there was a sketch of the hovercrafts that the mercenaries used, and below that...

Sanderson cocked his head to one side. It seemed to be simple enough, but he knew that the mercenaries wouldn't begin work until Harding gave the order. Nonetheless, a few of the mercenaries had sauntered over to where Sanderson was standing and were now peering at the sketch and instructions. Sanderson glanced over at the biomech's ship. Harding had gone over there about half an hour ago and still hadn't emerged.

"Has the commander given the all clear to go ahead with this?" said the mercenary who now held the paper.

Sanderson shook his head. "Not yet."

Another mercenary gestured over to the biomech's ship. "Are they testing that cure of theirs in there?"

"Yes."

The same mercenary frowned. "Should we be trusting those creatures, sir?"

Sanderson glanced at the sketch, then at the ship, and then at the assembled mercenaries before speaking. "In a situation like this, trust doesn't come into it. This," he gestured towards the ships, the mercenaries and the sketch, "this is the only option we have left to us."

That seemed to satisfy the mercenaries for the moment. But Sanderson wasn't sure that he had convinced himself yet. Some of the gargoyles had seemed friendly enough, but he knew now that the gargoyles would never fully trust the mercenaries, and some had made it obvious that they hated humans. He suspected that the gargoyles knew that their common goal was the only thing that kept the two groups working together. Otherwise, the very nature of the lives they led would keep them at odds.

His thoughts were interrupted as a loud shout coming from the biomech's ship. Seconds later, the gargess Sanderson had come to know as Silver  jumped down from the hatchway and began running toward the group of humans. The look on her face told the assembled mercenaries all they needed to know even before she began to speak. "They did it! It works! The cure! It works!"

Sanderson smiled as Harding exited the ship, pausing to help a very groggy looking human out of the hatchway. Silver had rushed back to assist them, and while the newly-cured human made his way over to the mercenaries' portion of the camp, Sanderson thought that sometimes the nature of peoples' lives shouldn't get in the way of a very good thing.

******

"You've told me what happened to me--what's happening now, but I can't believe it. I mean it's just too...too..." The young man  that they had released from the effects of the virus sank down onto the seat offered to him and held his head in his hands.

"Weird?" Harding offered. 

"That doesn't begin to cover it," he groaned. "I have a headache."

"At least you know you have a headache," commented Thaylog. He stood slightly apart from the two humans. "Be grateful you can still do that."

Shortly after it had become clear that the young man they had captured was truly free of the virus, both the mercenary commander and Thaylog had taken him aside as the remainder of the camp went to work on adapting their craft to distribute the cure Thaylog's research scientists had created. 

Harding dragged up his own chair and sat across from the human. Thaylog remained standing.

"What's your name?"

The young man was silent for a moment before raising his head a mere fraction. "Andrew...Andrew Edding."

"What do you remember last?"

"It was winter...I was hiking. Something was following me, and then I stumbled onto an airfield. I remember talking to this guy, and then...and then I can't remember anything."  He looked up at the two men before him. "But you say I was captured by a bunch of aliens and hypnotized-"

"Infected," corrected Thaylog

"- infected, and made to be cannon fodder."

"That just about sums it up kid," said Harding as he rummaged around in one of his pockets before bringing out a small flask. He unscrewed the cap and offered it to Andrew. The young man took it, sniffed at the liquid inside and then took a swig. Harding waited the moment it took for Andrew to savor the taste of the bourbon before continuing. "And the last place you remember being at was an airbase.  Do you remember where this was?"

"In the mountains." Andrew paused and shook his head. "I'm sorry but I can't tell you exactly where."

Harding glanced at Thaylog. The white-haired man looked thoughtful as he turned  from the pair and began to walk away. It was obvious that the leader of the gargoyles had made some kind of connection, and Harding needed to know what. He looked back at Andrew. "That's ok, kid. At least you've given us a direction to look in." Harding stood and gestured to one of the mercenaries before turning back to Andrew. "My men will look after you."

Andrew smiled gratefully. "Thanks."

Harding nodded and then caught up with Thaylog. "That airbase in the mountains--you know what it is, don't you?"

"It's most likely the same mountain base my clan discovered."

"The one we decided against attacking?"

Thaylog nodded. He stopped and glanced over at Kahreen's craft. The biomech and Shaiya were working beneath the ship. Kahreen was busy fitting something to the hull while Shaiya had a number of guns and laser weapons at her feet and was meticulously going over each one. Neither spoke or looked at each other.

"Yes, the one we decided against attacking. If we had attacked they would have overwhelmed us by sheer numbers."

"Once they figure out what we're up to, they'll be coming after us with everything they've got."

"Then we need to remain hidden until they have released the virus."

"Released the virus?" Harding rounded on Thaylog, his raised voice making all in the camp look in their direction. "What do you mean by that? I thought we were going to release this cure of yours and then the aliens' virus would be rendered useless!"

Thaylog took a step forward; the two leaders were now face to face. "Listen to yourself, human. You answered your own question. What we have," he pointed to one of the four canisters that lay on the ground by the biomech's ship, "is a cure. It's not a vaccine. We have to wait until the Dominion has released their virus." He drew himself up to his full height and looked down on Harding. "We will let the Dominion think that they have won. We will let them savor their victory. Then we will take that victory from them and ensure that they never threaten my kind," he gestured to the ship where his clan were sleeping, "or your kind again."

Harding scowled. "You had better be right, gargoyle," he said, before walking away from Thaylog.

Thaylog turned. Kahreen and Shaiya were watching him. As his gaze met theirs, the two females went back to what they had been doing. He looked back at the mercenaries' half of the camp. One or two of the humans were glaring at Thaylog. The others were in deep discussion with their leader. Their body language betrayed what they felt inside; what Thaylog himself felt despite his controlled exterior. The tension in the camp had reached it's peak. The humans wanted to fight, as did some of those he now called 'brother' and 'sister'.

And here he was asking them to wait, to let Dominion do what they had threatened to do. He was asking them to stand aside and do nothing, to go against their natures.

And they did what he asked of them.

Thaylog nodded to both Kahreen and Shaiya before climbing up into the cool darkness of the ship. Here and there in the shadows stood the sleeping stone forms of his clanmates. They had followed his requests without question, and had looked to him to keep them together. To keep them stable. And in a clan whose numbers were made up of individuals whose lives had been anything but stable, Thaylog realized that it required a great amount of trust on their behalf.

And that wasn't a trust he was willing to betray.

******

London

As summer evenings went, this one had been perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky, and a slight breeze had taken the edge off the day's heat. It seemed that the entire population of London was out that night. Some commented on the craft that crossed the city on a flight path no one recognized, but a few moments later, as the green cloud passed over the city and across the entire country, nobody really cared.

******

And the cloud moved on.

******

Pennsylvania

They saw a craft pass some distance to the south, saw the green cloud emerge. Within seconds, Harding and every other human in the camp had pulled on a gas mask and had locked themselves inside their hoverships.

******

And the cloud moved on.

******

Sydney

The morning rush-hour  was at its peak. Cars going into the city were at a standstill. Perhaps that's what prevented a number of motor vehicle accidents as a green cloud swept over the city and its suburbs and the people came to a stop.

******

And the cloud moved on.

******

Dawson looked up from the screen, a satisfied expression on his face. "Excellent."

Aynton looked down at the small pad he held in his hands. "From these reports we should have complete global coverage in a few hours sir."

"And the gargoyles?"

"The Pennsylvanian clan?" Aynton looked down at the pad. "There has been no sign of them after their activities last night. That is," he said handing the pad over to Dawson, "until now."

"You found them?"

"One of the distribution ships spotted their camp." Aynton glanced down at his watch. "There's still an hour before sunset. The gargoyles wouldn't be awake yet."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Dawson handed the pad back to Aynton with more force than was needed. "Dispatch whoever we can spare to deal with them!"

"That," Aynton smiled, "has already been done. Within the next few minutes the gargoyles and the mercenaries will cease to be a problem."

******

"We've got incoming!" Kahreen's voice cut through the tense silence of the camp.

Thaylog was at the hatchway before anyone else could react. "Who?"

"Who do you think?" she called back. The sound of the ship's engines starting up was already audible. "They couldn't have waited one more hour, could they?"

"We should be grateful they waited this long," said Thaylog as he ducked back out of the hatchway and looked in the direction of the mercenaries. Many of the humans were already in their ships, with the engines of their craft already warming up. It was a matter of moments before he spotted Harding. The mercenary commander was busy talking to the other three pilots of their hovercraft, but the second Thaylog's eyes found him, the human turned and met his gaze and nodded. He knew what to do. They all did. For a mere moment Thaylog found himself wondering if the humans would survive this. As quickly as it came, the moment passed, and Thaylog jumped up into Kahreen's ship, pulling the hatchway shut behind him. Several clicks told him that it had automatically locked itself. Inside the main hull was his clan, secured by a number of harnesses and ropes. Shaiya had made sure that they wouldn't be tossed about and smashed in the coming hour.

"What's the plan?" Kahreen called back from the cockpit. She was already hooked up to the ship's systems and controls. The wires that snaked down from the back of her neck covered the floor around her feet. Thaylog moved up to the cockpit's entrance.

"Evasion. We need to lose these ships before we release the cure."

"What about the mercenaries?"

"They're on their own now. All that matters to us now is that we survive."

"No problem." Kahreen's hands flew over the ship's controls, and within moments, they were airborne. "If the Dominion can't see us, then they have no option but to go after what they can see."

"Meaning the mercenaries."

"Yeah. Still, it seems a little bit cold for us to be doing this."

"We all have the same goal. With the forces that are against us, we cannot all use the same tactics. Harding knows this as well as I do," Thaylog said as he moved into the cockpit and took the vacant seat next to Kahreen. "Perhaps if Dominion believe that we have abandoned the mercenaries to save our own skins, then they will no longer consider us a threat."

Kahreen laughed. "If you believe that, then you're an idiot Thaylog." she turned to him and met the scowl on his face. "And you're not an idiot. Neither are the people in the Dominion."

"I know this." Thaylog glanced out of the window and watched as a number of Dominion aircraft passed them by. The low light of the evening sun flashed across their bellies and that of the planes, hovercraft and other assorted airborne vehicles that Dominion now controlled . And in the distance...

...and in the distance the four small specks on the horizon that were the mercenaries' ships split up and headed in four different directions. Thaylog sat back in the worn material of his seat and allowed himself the small satisfaction that he had been right about Harding's tactics.

"Where to now?"

"Head towards the city. That is where the Dominion made their first strike. That's where we'll make ours."

Kahreen nodded. "Ok."

Within seconds the red ship had changed direction and soon began to cut across the skies that separated it from the city.

******

Dawson moved closer to the monitor and watched as the five craft rose from the clearing they had secreted themselves in. He watched as the largest of the craft--a rusted red patchwork compilation--slowly turned in mid air so that it was facing directly into the camera mounted on one of the airships he had sent out. He frowned. Was it possible that this craft was going to sacrifice itself to give the other four craft time to escape? What  happened next was something that he didn't expect to happen. In the blink of an eye, the red ship had vanished.

What were they up to? Dawson wasn't sure, but he had a sudden need to know. He turned to one of the base staff. "Report."

The man started, and then catching himself, went to work. "There is no sign of the larger craft. No emissions, no radiation, nothing."

Dawson's eyes narrowed. "And the other four?"

"They've just embarked on four different destinations sir." The man's hands flew over the keyboard as he pulled in information sent back from the pursuing ships. "A number of our ships have reported seeing a large gas canister strapped to the lower hull of the hovercraft." An image appeared on the monitor.

Dawson gritted his teeth. This was something unexpected, and he didn't like it. "What is it?"

"Unknown sir. But I can tell you that it was not present on their craft during our last skirmish with the mercenaries."

Then what? That need to know had been replaced by an all-consuming urge to know what was in those canisters.

And then it hit him. Aynton had been onto something when he had pointed out that some of the gargoyles had been missing from their attack on his men that previous night. There had also been something else missing.

The red ship.

Where had that been last night? It hadn't been in the city and it certainly hadn't been involved in the attack on the communications base. 

Where had it been? More importantly, what had it been doing?

Panic began to creep into the edges of Dawson's mind. Was it possible that somehow either the gargoyles or the mercenaries had found a way to counteract the virus? He thought of the canisters that were strapped to  the mercenaries' hovercrafts. Did those canisters hold something which would destroy everything that he had worked towards?  Did they contain something which would ultimately destroy him?

The base worker looked up. "Do you want the hovercraft destroyed, sir?"

Destroy...was there any way to destroy the hovercraft before any of them released their cure, if that was truly what they had? Could he stop all of them from releasing it? Could he control them?

Control. The grimace that Dawson had previously worn on his face broke into a predatory grin as the simplest solution of all presented itself to him. "Send a message to all ships to break off their pursuit of the hovercraft and to return to base."

"Sir."

"And then put me in contact with the nearest distribution ship." Dawson's eyes flicked down to the radar screen. "Tell them to change their course and pursue that craft." He pointed to one of the blips on the screen.

The man nodded and began to relay the message.  A few moments passed before he spoke again. "I have the co-pilot of the nearest distribution ship on the line, sir. They've changed course and are now in pursuit. They want to know what their orders are once they've caught up with the hovercraft."

"Tell them this," said Dawson as he proceeded to relay his orders. It was so simple he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. But there was still the question of the red ship. Dawson knew that dealing with that would not be as easy as dealing with the mercenaries.

******

They  couldn't believe their luck when the Dominion ships that were pursuing them suddenly turned aside and flew back towards the city.

That was something they hadn't expected to happen. They had expected to be fired at, surrounded, shot down, anything but what had just happened. It wasn't right.

The appearance of a craft on their starboard side came as something of a relief to the four mercenaries. This was what they were used to. Being the pursuer or the pursued--it was all the same to them. They began maneuvers designed to shake off the craft behind them. But whatever turn they made; left, right, up, down, the Dominion craft stayed with them. They couldn't shake it, but it soon became clear that although they had not managed to increase the distance between themselves and the Dominion ship, neither had the ship made any attempt to close the distance between them.

It was almost as if it was playing with the mercenaries. Even the bullets which seemed to have been fired with pinpoint accuracy only just skimmed over the surface of their hovercraft.

The mercenaries were so concerned with losing the pursuing ship and making sure that the canister and it's precious cargo were not damaged, that they never heard the small thud on the rear of their hovercraft, nor did they notice the small device that attached itself to the hull and bore its way into the main cabin. The mercenaries had only a second to act as the green gas slowly filled the cabin. All they could do in that second was register the look of horror on each other's faces.

Too little.

Too late.

******

"There goes the sun," said Kahreen, as the star dipped below the horizon, momentarily filling the cockpit and main section of the ship with a blood-red light.

They had landed atop the helipad of one of the skyscrapers in Newbridge. It had proved to be the only safe vantage point in the entire city.  The sensors on Kahreen's ship had picked up soldiers and booby traps on each of the other possible landing sites in the city.

The scarlet light faded away and the shadows lengthened as twilight moved through the ship. Within seconds, the silence that has surrounded the sunset was broken by the sound of the gargoyles breaking free of their stone sleep. At the same time, Thaylog's form shifted back to its natural state.

"I'm glad you survived the journey unscathed my friends,"  he said as he rose from his seat in the cockpit and descended into the main section.

"Journey?" Flynt asked as he brushed a few clinging scraps of stone skin from his broad shoulders. "Where are we? What happened?"

Thaylog looked at his clan. The expression on each of their faces asked the same thing. 'What happened?'

"The Dominion attacked our camp," he explained. "We had to relocate." 

Flynt stepped forward. "And where are we now, brother?"

"The city."

"And the mercenaries?" The question had an edge to it that Thaylog couldn't quite place. It certainly was not out of concern for the mercenaries--he knew all too well what Flynt thought of them. No, the way Flynt saw things, there were only two possible answers. Either the mercenaries were all dead, or they had betrayed the clan.

"As we speak, the mercenaries are heading to the locations where they will release the cure," Thaylog said, carefully watching Flynt's face for confirmation of what he suspected.

The tan gargoyle's surprise only lasted a fraction of a second before he buried it beneath a serious expression. "The cure? It works?"

"Better than we could have hoped for," piped up Silver. "It worked so quickly on the human!  If it works as quickly on the others, then we may not have to fight them," she added, drawing Chaz close to her.

"That is something we can hope for, but it will not be," Thaylog said, ending whatever hope the clan may have had for a peaceful ending to the conflict. "Remember that some of the humans who will fight us this night are hosts to these slugs. The others-"

"The others will fight simply because they fear us," finished Diamond. She looked up at Thaylog. "When we fight them after we have released this cure of yours, are we to hold back this time? Are we to go into battle already crippled because we fear to harm the 'poor infected humans'?"

"Diamond." Flynt spoke softly, warning her to stop.

"No." Thaylog held up his hand. "Let her speak."

Diamond nodded to Thaylog, grateful to share with the others the one thought that had been playing on her mind the moment a cure had been mentioned. "I say this because once the cure is released, we will no longer be fighting infected humans. We will be fighting our enemy. We will be fighting humans who of their own free will want to harm us. What I want to know, Thaylog, is this--do we hold back?"

Thaylog shifted uncomfortably under the expectant gaze of his clanmates. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his clan were still there, still waiting for his answer. "No." he said finally. "We will not hold back. Once the cure is released we will do everything in our power to make sure that the Dominion is obliterated."

"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Llewelyn. "Let's release the cure!"

"There are one or two obstacles which face us when we do release the cure." Thaylog looked back over his shoulder at the biomech who leaned against the entrance to the cockpit. "Kahreen?"

She nodded. "Problem number one is that when the Dominion wises up to what we're doing, if they haven't done so already, they'll have every soldier of theirs wearing gas masks. We've got to get past those masks." She paused to to let that sink in. "Problem number two is that the Dominion rounded up a lot of civilians from this city and have them hidden away somewhere. They may use those humans as a shield to protect themselves from an attack by us." She stopped and moved down into the main section and swept a number of items from what looked to be a low glass-topped table. "This," she said as she flicked a switch on the side of the table, "is our biggest problem."

There were gasps of surprise from many of the clan as a hologram appeared.

"That's the underground base we came across the night we found Vash, Silver and Chaz!" blurted Sabrina. "That place is huge!"

"It's where we believe  the Dominion has moved many of the infected humans to," said Thaylog. "It is where their craft are based. It is also where their leader--the host human named Dawson--is."

"So once we release the cure here in the city, we have to take on the base," Kahreen finished.

There was a stunned silence from all gathered. They had believed that once they had released the cure, their battle would be over. No one had imagined that the release of the cure would only be the beginning of their struggle that night.

Finally Flynt spoke, voicing the thoughts of the entire clan. "What do we do?"

"I have a plan," said Thaylog. "I'll explain it to you all while we release the cure over the city."

Everyone nodded silently, occupied with their own thoughts as Kahreen returned to the cockpit. Soon the cloaked craft was airborne and heading to an altitude where the cure could be released. 

******

The sign they had been waiting for arrived in the middle of a thunderstorm. Harding had ordered the pilot of the hovercraft to fly straight into the storm in an attempt to lose their pursuers.

He needn't have bothered.

Between one lightening flash and the next the Dominion ships that had been almost on top of them had suddenly broken off the pursuit.

Harding lifted up a pair of night vision binoculars and looked out into the murk of the storm. He couldn't see any of their pursuers now.  Where the hell had they got to? From the corner of his eye he saw the flashing green light on the radio. He lowered his binoculars and looked at the other mercenaries. They all knew what that green light meant.

"The gargoyles have released their cure sir." said the mercenary who had been manning the radio.

Harding nodded "What about our men?"

"Nothing sir. They're continuing to maintain radio silence as you requested."

Harding remembered that request. Moments after their craft had taken off he had ordered his men not to use the radio until they had released the cure.. However now that the gargoyles had released their cure what was the point in running silent? Harding's eyes narrowed as he continued to watch the green light.

The mercenary at the radio noticed this and frowned. "Commander?"

Harding glanced from the light to the now empty skies. The Dominion ships had called off the chase for a reason. Harding needed to know why.

"Break radio silence, contact the other ships. Something isn't right here."

The mercenary at the radio nodded and began to contact the other hovercraft.

"You think Dominion might be up to something?" The pilot of the hovercraft asked.

"I know they're up to something." Harding said as he gazed out into the night. The storm had now passed them by and they flew alone in the night sky. "I just don't know what."

"I have Sanderson's craft." The radio operator said as he handed the  handset to Harding.

Harding nodded as he took it. "Sanderson?"

The reply was tinny. "I'm here. Why have you broken the silence?"

"Something's up. Are you flying solo?"

"How did you...?" Sanderson's voice changed from surprised to tense in a matter of moments. "What are they up to?"

"Unknown  but we might have to change our plans."

"Release the cure now?"

"We might not have any choice."

"Hmm..." Sanderson's voice trailed off as the voices of the other mercenaries in his craft suddenly increased in volume.

Harding frowned. "What's happening?"

"It's one of our hovercraft!" said Sanderson.

"What the hell are they doing there?"

"I don't know, they're not answering. I... What the f...?!" Sanderson's voice exploded into a number of crackles and hisses.

"Sanderson! Report! What's going on?" Harding picked up the radio and shook it. As if in response to that physical act Sanderson's words picked themselves out of the static. What Harding heard next made his blood run cold. 

"...us. Repeat. Goddamn it Harding, our own men are firing on us!" Suddenly there was a burst of static and then silence swallowed Sanderson's voice whole.

All Harding and the other three mercenaries in their hovercraft could do now was stare at the now silent radio. The unthinkable had happened and with a growing unease they realized that what had happened to Sanderson could just as easily happen to them at any time.

Harding swore under his breath. "Release the damn cure."

"The pilot blinked. "Sir?"

"Gain maximum altitude and release the damn thing!"  Harding swung his fist and punched the bulkhead. "And then set a course for the Dominion underground base. Dawson is personally going to pay for this!"

******

"If the aliens released the virus all over the world and all the humans are infected then how is the cure we're going to release reach everyone? The world is a pretty big place after all." Chaz's innocent question brought everyone in the craft into a thoughtful silence.

"The kid has a point there." said Llewelyn as she glanced up from the schematics of the Dominion base. "How are we going to get this stuff to each and every one of the billions of humans on this planet?" She looked towards the entrance to the cockpit for her answer.

A moment later Thaylog replied. "Let us deal with our own corner of the world before we take on the rest."

"He's right." said Flynt as he joined Llewelyn at the table where the hologram of the underground base still flickered. "The have concentrated their forces in the one area. Once we have defeated them we will be able to release the remaining vials of cure at our leisure."

Llewelyn shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

Flynt straightened up and turned to the remainder of the clan. Some like Vashkoda were sitting in silent contemplation.  Others like Silver were using the calm to spend some peaceful time with those they cared about. It was a scene he had seen played out before many years ago when his clan had fought alongside humans to overthrow a Warlord. It was funny how history seemed to love repeating itself he thought. He only wished that this coming battle had an ending that he would be able to witness this time. "Does everyone remember what they have to do?"

The clan looked up from whatever they were doing and nodded.

"And if you come across any Dominion soldier who have not been cured?"

"We smash these and then take advantage of the confusion to get away and find the people from the city who have been infected and then release the cure there." Sabrina said as she held up a small marble-sized sphere.

"But what about the humans who are hosts to the aliens? What do we do about them?" Vashkoda looked up and around at the others. "And what about their leader Dawson?"

"I will deal with Dawson." said Thaylog appearing in the doorway of the cockpit. "As for the others deal with them as you see fit."

"We're coming up to the base now." Kahreen's voice called back from the cockpit. "Two minutes till we party."

"Before we go into battle I want to say this." Thaylog caped his wings and gestured for the clan to come together. "As a clan we have known each other only for a brief time and yet it feels to me that I have known you all for an eternity. We are all survivors, coming together from pasts littered with hardships and yet we have prevailed. Although we may not be joined by matters of blood this clan has been brought together by something that is greater than that. Even through our outside differences deep inside we share the same soul. That is what it means to be a gargoyle, that is what it means to be clan." He paused and then continued. "Remember that in the coming moments and let it guide you." He held out his arms. "I am proud to call you all 'brother' and 'sister'."

"As are we you brother." said Flynt, the remainder of the clan also adding their affirmation.

Thaylog nodded. "Then let us show these intruders their folly in going up against this clan."

"It's time." called Kahreen as the hatchway opened and the warm summer night air blew through the ship. "Happy hunting guys."

Thaylog nodded to the others in the clan and then jumped out of the hatchway. One by one his clanmates followed.

Chaz hugged Silver. "Good luck mother. Glide back to me soon."

Silver smiled as she ruffled her sons hair. "I will. Look after Sirius and this ship for me. I love you Chaz." she said as she lightly kissed him on his forehead. In the next moment she turned and crouched over the hatchway, briefly glancing over her shoulder and smiling at her son before she launched herself out into the night to join the others.

Chaz's whisper was lost in the winds that swirled through the now empty main section.

"I love you too mother."

******

"Sir! One of the mercenary ships has changed course! They're heading towards this base."

"I had a feeling they would do that. What of the other craft?"

"The remaining mercenary craft have been neutralized."

"Excellent." Dawson sat back in the oversized leather chair that had been dragged into this small room and allowed himself the luxury of a smile. It didn't fade when the sound of a siren tore through the complex and the lights changed from white to red. He knew what it meant.

The gargoyles had decided to attack the base.

He watched as his men ran about him, listened as voices were raised and orders given. When the large metal door of the room slammed shut he didn't jump. This was what he had expected to happen. He didn't need to lift a finger now. His people knew what they had to do. It has been so easy to play the mercenaries like a harp, control one ship, get it to destroy two others and force the fourth to release it's cure in a sparsely populated area. Such a small group of uninfected humans would be easy to deal with once it was all over.

And would all be over very, very soon. He didn't even need to go after the gargoyles and surviving mercenaries. They had come to him.

How very considerate of them.

******

Within seconds of leaving the safety of Kahreen's ship the clan had split up into three groups. The first group consisted of Vashkoda, Llewelyn, Sabrina and Silver. The second was made up of Flynt, Dayia and Diamond. The final group was the smallest. It would have been smaller but Shaiya had insisted on staying close to him; ' to keep the evil ones from harming him' was her reason. Thaylog hadn't argued with her. There hadn't been the time.

And now in the maze of corridors that ran through the Dominion base he was very glad that he hadn't. Because of her small size the Dominion soldiers that had stood between them and the base had all but virtually ignored her.

It was their first and last mistake. The small female had moved at such speed that many soldiers succumbed to the venom of her fangs and claws before they had known what had happened. Her small daggers had made short work of their gas masks. Seconds later she had smashed the vial of cure she carried with her and the soldiers dropped to the ground; a threat no more. Not for the first time Thaylog found himself wondering where she had come from. But this was not a time for thought. It was a time for action, for doing. They left the main corridors and raced towards the soldiers quarters. Dawson wasn't there he knew that. But what was there was something he needed if he wanted to get close to Dawson.

And he planned to get very close indeed.

******

Vashkoda cradled the small bundle in her hands and raced towards the large set of doors. She had found the right place, she was sure of that. The soldiers and security cameras that covered every inch of this part of the base could mean only one thing.

There was something that was very important behind those doors.

She crouched beside the door and  buried her mouth in her cloak, trying to catch her breath but trying not to make any sound. She risked a quick glance behind her. There set into the wall was an air vent. It had been sealed shut the moment the gargoyles had arrived. Dawson knew about the cure. There was no doubt about that now. Still. She glanced up the corridor she had just come down. It was filled with soldiers. Where were they? She looked back at the air vent. It would only take a few seconds for her to rip the cover of the air vent from it's bolts. She looked back up at the soldiers. It would take  an even shorter amount of time for them to hear the screech of metal and turn their guns on her and cut her down It wouldn't matter if she was invisible to them or not. Not good. She looked back up the corridor. Where were they?

The fire ball was impressive as it was realistic. The soldiers nearest to her shouted and dropped their weapons,  turning away from the flames that roared down the corridor. Vashkoda didn't see any of this. She had placed her small bundle on the floor and with all her strength had ripped the cover of the air vent away from the wall. As one hand threw the covering away the other had already picked the bundle off the floor and had placed it in the air vent. She stood and leapt away as gunfire raked across the ground  she had been crouched on only moments before. It hadn't taken the soldiers long to realize that the fireball was merely an illusion. It took an even smaller amount of time for her to attack. The explosions that filled the corridor with smoke followed soon after. Llewelyn and Sabrina had arrived.

Behind her the doors opened and Silver stood on the other side adjusting her clothes. Vashkoda ran through the opening followed by Llewelyn and Sabrina. Silver pressed a button and the door slid shut behind them.

"I don't believe it! It actually worked!" Sabrina said as she leant against the wall.

Llewelyn nodded "Yeah but we're not finished yet." She walked up to the door and laid her hand against it's lock. Seconds later it was no more than a molten mess of metal and plastic. "It should keep the wolves from our door  for a bit." she said turning back to the others.

Vashkoda nodded. "Now all we have to do is deal with them." she pointed into the darkness of the room.

Llewelyn lifted her hand and flames soon wound their way around it, illuminating the room.

After a moment Silver spoke. "Well." she looked back at her clanmates. "we found them."

The room was larger than any of them had thought it would be. But as they exchanged glances with the thousand or so humans who sat immobile on the floor before them they realized that these four walls would never be big enough to house the souls that should be free. In one movement the four gargesses reached into the small pouches on their belts and brought out a small glass vial.

Llewelyn glanced at the others and smiled. "Ladies first?"

Later on when it was all finished the four agreed that there had never been a sweeter sound than the noise the four vials made as they shattered against the cold concrete floor.

****** 

The soldiers slammed the door shut and bolted it seconds before the tan gargoyle crashed into it; buckling the door on it's hinges and creating enough space for the two female gargoyles that were with him to grasp the door and tear it down.

"Damn it! Just how long is this corridor?" Dayia shouted as she swung the door around and used it as a shield against the bullets that ricochet off it.

"Don't ask. Keep moving!" shouted Flynt as he knocked out the two soldiers nearest to him. Diamond was at his side; fighting the humans with a ferocity that unnerved even him.

Unnerving or not it was having an effect on the soldiers in that cramped corridor. A few feet ahead of them the few soldiers who were able to move had regrouped in front of a large set of double doors. All were wearing gas masks.

Flynt came to a halt, holding his hands out to halt the progress of the two gargesses. What are they up to?

The soldiers had thrown their guns and other weapons into a pile before them and now they stood waiting for something. It wasn't long before the gargoyles saw what it was.

Silently and without any warning a pale yellow gas began to seep out of the air vents that lined the corridor. Somewhere behind them came the sound of a door slamming home. The lights flickered once, twice and then went out and the corridor was plunged into a darkness deeper than that found in any tomb.

Then suddenly there was a blaze of light as Flynt's eyes burned and with a roar he lunged at the Dominion soldiers. The soldiers dived for their weapons and for a few mad moments there was utter confusion as one or two were lucky enough to get one or two shots off before their masks were ripped from their faces. They fired again and the talons that were ripping at their faces fell away.

Then there was silence.

******

The red ship circled the wreckage and then, almost reluctantly landed beside it. Inside the pilot swore softly to herself, mindful of the young boy now in her care who sat and gazed wide-eyed at the pieces of tortured metal before him.

Chaz blinked slowly and turned away from that sight. He held out his hand and Sirius moved to stand beneath it. "Is that one of the mercenaries ships?"

Kahreen pressed a button and the window blanked out, the wreckage hidden. She glanced down at Chaz. "Yes."

"Are they -?"

There was a pause as Kahreen  closed her eyes and then opened them again. "Yes."

There was another pause as Chaz slowly, almost absent mindedly scratched Sirius behind the ears. "Kahreen?"

"Hmn?"

"Can we go back to the base and help my mother?"

The biomech shook her head. "Sorry kid. Your mother would rip me to pieces if I took you anywhere near the base."

Chaz's eyes narrowed. "I want to go back! I know what my mother said but I want to go help!"

"What part of no don't you understand Chaz? There's a good chance that some of us might die tonight. They're adults, they've had a good shot at living. You're still a child. You still have a life to live!"

Chaz blinked and stared unashamedly at the biomech. "You want to be back at the base too don't you? You want to be fighting alongside the others."

"Yes."

"And we have to tell them about what happened to the mercenaries don't we?"

"Yes."

"The radio doesn't work does it?"

"No."

"So we'd have to tell them in person wouldn't we?"

"What's this 'we' business?"

"Wouldn't you?"

Kahreen sighed "Yes."

"And you can control this ship with your mind can't you?"

Kahreen's eyebrows arched in surprise. Was this kid suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? "Sort of."

"But you could send it someplace safe if you went into the base couldn't you?"

Kahreen sat back in her chair, obviously impressed. "Yeah, I can do that."

"And will you do it?" Chaz sat forward in his chair, his eyes pleading.

Kahreen looked at the dark screen of the window, still able to see the carnage outside. She looked back at Chaz and smiled. Why not?

The red ship ascended into the dark skies above it and flew back towards the base, leaving the wreckage of the downed mercenary ship behind it.

******

"Those gargoyles have been busy little monsters haven't they?" one of the surviving mercenaries commented as they ran through the smoking wreckage of the base's entrance.

"Damn it soldier, keep your thoughts to yourself for now." Harding hissed before pulling on a gas mask salvaged from one of the many unconscious soldiers that littered the main entrance. A short way into the building the corridor split up into four smaller corridors.

Four corridors, four mercenaries.

There was no need to speak. The four humans nodded at each other before choosing a corridor and walking down it. If a miracle occurred and all four saw each other again they would be thankful. If not...

...well at least they had tried.

******

The lights flickered before coming back on again. Dayia blinked before standing up, still holding the gas mask Flynt had thrust into her hands up against her face. Movement flickered in the corner of her eye and she whirled around, expecting to come face to face with a Dominion soldier. Instead she found Diamond struggling to her feet, her expression hidden by the gas mask she wore.

"Flynt?" Dayia turned, looking for the large warrior in the gas that still swirled around the corridor.

"I'm here." the gas swirled once more and the tan gargoyle stood, using the wall for support.

Dayia's eyes widened. He wasn't wearing a gas mask. She moved forward, meaning to go to Flynt when her foot thudded into something. She looked down, dread filling her mind as she saw the human who lay sprawled at her feet. He wasn't wearing a gas mask and the tortured expression that was frozen on his face told her only one thing.

He was dead.

Within seconds she was at his side, joined by Diamond who had also made the connection about the gas and the dead humans.

"Flynt!"

"Are you unharmed?"

"I'm fine." Flynt turned and spat on the ground. "Mouth tastes like a midden though."

Diamonds expression brightened. "Maybe the gas only kills humans?"

"Maybe." Flynt said as he suddenly turned pale and threw up. He sank back onto the ground clutching his stomach. "Then again maybe not." he groaned.

"Flynt!" both gargesses cried in unison as they rushed forward. Dayia grabbed a shoulder and attempted to lift Flynt off the floor. "Come on. we've got to get you out of here."

"No."

"What?" Dayia almost dropped him in surprise.

"Leave me here." he gasped. his skin had now turned cold and clammy. "You still have much to do before the sun rises. You can't let me slow you down."

"No!"

"Dayia."

"No! We can't leave you behind! We're clan! We don't leave each other behind!"

Diamond stood and moved away her head bowed. "He is right Dayia. We have to deal with the monsters that have invaded our home. We have to avenge those who have been lost." She laid a hand on Dayia's shoulder and then moved forward to lay the other on Flynt's. "We will be back. There is no safer place for him than right here." she stood. "Now let's go." she moved towards the door and began to work on opening it, her endeavors having a result, faster than Dayia would have liked.

She moved Flynt so that he could rest against the wall, away from the humans.  His hair had fallen across his face, she tucked it behind his ear. "We'll be back soon." she whispered.

But Flynt didn't reply. He had already fallen into the depths of unconsciousness.

******

It was working better than Thaylog could have hoped for. The Dominion soldiers they passed all but ignored Shaiya and himself as they worked their way through the labyrinth of corridors towards their goal. One or two had given themselves the luxury of a second glance but no more than that. They were looking for gargoyles not humans. And while the pair that hurried against the flow of soldiers looked strange they were human, not gargoyles.

Once again Thaylog gave thanks for his heritage. They would have never have gotten this far if both he and Shaiya had retained their winged forms. But if they were to get any further they would need more than a change in appearance. They ducked into a doorway as a large number of soldiers ran past. These were not humans that had been controlled by the virus, Thaylog knew that much. The soldiers that they would encounter now would be the hosts to their enemy and judging for the shapes of some of those soldiers not all of them were human.

"What now?" Shaiya asked. She had moved to stand in front of him, her gloved hands concealing the knives that Thaylog knew were there.

Thaylog risked a glance down the corridor. The hole in which Dawson was hiding wasn't far from here and to get to Dawson they had to first get past the soldiers that stood guard at the door. Thaylog reached into the pocket of the Dominion uniform he now wore and brought out two gas masks. "What else?" he said handing one to Shaiya. "We attack."

******

'The base is on fire.' Flynt thought as his eyelids fluttered open and all he could see was what looked like smoke. He sat up and looked around him and blinked. The corridor had gone, now from horizon to horizon all he could see were swirling mists. "Dayia? Diamond?" he called as he struggled to his feet. There was no answer. "Thaylog?" he called louder this time.

"Your clan leader is not here my friend."

Flynt turned at the sound of the low female voice, now approaching him through the mists were two gargoyle forms. Flynt took a step backwards. Was is possible that the amulet had failed to save him from the effects of the gas? Was he dead? "Are you-?" he asked of the two figures, unable to finish the sentence in fear that if he uttered their names then he would be trapped here forever.

"No we are not the wind guides." Flynt could almost hear the smile in that female voice. "You are not dead yet although you are close enough that you were brought here."

Flynt frowned. "Here? Where is here exactly?"

"This," said the female as she stepped out of the mists and was quickly joined by her male companion.. "Is the Between. You were here once before when you were taken from your own time to be placed where you needed to be."

"Who-?"

"I am Ceridwen, this is Calun." the female said indicating her companion. "We have been watching your clan, guiding them where we could."

"Why?"

"Because there is something that binds each and every member of your clan together. There is something that binds us to your clan. I cannot say what for I do not know why myself." she walked forward and laid her hands on Flynt's shoulders and held his gaze in her own. "All I know is that your clan has an important role to play now and in the future."

Flynt looked from Ceridwen to Calun and then back to the female. There was something that was so familiar about the female, something that he couldn't quite place. "Were you the ones responsible for bringing me into the future?"

"No." Ceridwen shook her head. "That was before my time."

"Then why? Who decided?" Flynt rubbed his side. It felt as if someone had just kicked him there.

"The Between did. In time it will reveal to us it's purpose for doing that." she said as she ran her fingers across his face and then stepped away.  "But you have other concerns now."

"What?" Flynt winced as the pain in his side flared again.

"There is someone back on Earth who wishes to speak to you. They seem to be quite persistent." Ceridwen said as the mists thickened and within seconds obscured her face. "I think you should go and see what they want." she added as her voice faded away and Flynt was left alone.

"Ceridwen? What do you mean? Once again there came the feeling that someone was nudging him in his side with enough force for it to be painful. He turned in that direction. "Who is... doing that? He finished as he found his angle of the world had changed and he was staring up into Kahreen's face.

The biomech stepped backwards and folded her arms. "Morning sunshine. What were you going to do? Sleep the rest of the night away?"

"What?" he sat up and looked around him. He was back in the corridor of the Dominion base. "What are you doing here? Where's?"

"The kid is far away from here. As for me do you really think I was going to let you gargoyles have all the fun?"  

"How long was I out?" Flynt stood.

The biomech shrugged. "How should I know? I only found you a couple of minutes ago. Gotta admit though for a moment there I thought you'd kicked it."

Flynt smiled ruefully and rubbed his side. He had died and once again the amulet had brought him back. It was something that he disliked but something he couldn't control. "Right. And here was me thinking that it was you doing all the kicking."

"Yeah well when someone groans when you put the boot in it's a sure fire sign they're alive." she glanced down the corridor before looking back at Flynt. "You able to go on?"

"Yes."

"Good because I think Diamond and Dayia are having themselves quite the party down in the hangar. I'd hate to be the one to miss out on that."

Flynt glared at the biomech as he moved past her and began to sprint down the corridor.

The biomech flung her arms out. "What?" When there was no reply she shrugged and picked up the large bag she had brought with her and followed the large male.

******

"Open damn you!" Thaylog cried as he charged once again and threw his full weight into the door. Once again it failed to buckle and all he succeeded to do was add another dent into the doors surface. He howled in frustration. The door had no keypad, no handle no nothing. The only way to get past it was to break it down and at that Thaylog was failing miserably. He punched the door once more. It was almost as if he could hear Dawson on the other side laughing at him, laughing at his failure, laughing at his clan.

"For all your planning you could only get this far, could you gargoyle?"

Thaylog swung around, there in the corridor stood Harding, Shaiya was already advancing on him, talons extended and teeth bared.

Harding's hand dropped to his side, where Thaylog knew he had a gun or some other weapon concealed. "You mind calling your female off gargoyle? I'm here to help."

"Why should we trust you?" Shaiya hissed. "You shouldn't be here. Have you decided to betray us?"

"Oh come on!"

"Have you?" Thaylog repeated Shaiya's question.

"Goddamn it no! Dawson just wiped out most of my men! Why the hell would I help him?" Harding strode forward, past Shaiya until he was standing directly in front of Thaylog. "We both want a piece of that son of a bitch so do you want to hold off declaring war until after we finish him?" Harding reached into his pocket, his sudden movement causing Shaiya and Thaylog to both adopt defensive postures. "Harding brought out a fist and then opened it. There in the middle of his gloved palm was an inconspicuous piece of plasticine. "Brute force isn't going to get us past that door but this will. Trust me on this gargoyle, I've had enough practice at getting past obstacles like this."

Thaylog nodded and moved away, allowing Harding to break up the plastic and lodge it in the door frame. He quickly ran a wire across all the pieces and then attached a small device to the end of the wire. He pressed a button on the device and then dove for cover. Thaylog grabbed Shaiya and did the same, shielding her with his wings as the door exploded into a thousands pieces.

Before the dust even had a chance to clear Dominion personnel streamed through the door. They didn't get far as Thaylog, Shaiya and Harding attacked, mindless of the cuts and blows they received, pushing forward past them.

And when it was all over and the dust had time to settle they found themselves face to face with the leader of Dominion enterprises. The one who they had fought to find.

Behind them a shout signaled the arrival of yet more dominion soldiers. Shaiya turned and raced to close the gap now left by the blown door. Dawson was best left to Thaylog, she knew that. Still it didn't matter, there were others she could deal with. 

Dawson rose from his chair, swore as he brought up a gun and fired, Harding's right arm exploded in a shower of blood and bone. He screamed and dropped to the floor, clutching the wounded limb. Dawson moved the line of fire towards Thaylog and pulled the trigger. The ivory gargoyle moved and the bullet missed him, striking a computer consol which then exploded. Dawson aimed and pulled the trigger again and was met with a series of empty clicks. Dawson screamed, a combination of frustration and hate and threw the gun away. When he looked up again he found himself staring straight into the burning eyes of what he realized was his own personal nightmare.

Thaylog picked the man up by the collar of his shirt and held him at arms length as if the very touch of the possessed human disgusted him. "I'll give you two options creature." he growled. "Call your kin off. This world is not theirs for the taking."

Dawson grinned at him. "And my other option?"

"You really want us to tell you that?" gasped Harding from the floor. The human had used his belt as a tourniquet to stem the bleeding from his shattered arm. Using his good arm he pulled himself upright and stood unsteadily, using a nearby consol for support. "You know the gargoyle will simply rip your head from your shoulders. But me-" he reached into his pocket and brought out a switchblade, the cold steel of the blade flashing red in the dim light. "Me, I can do so much more to make sure that you and your slug suffer and hey," he grinned "Guess what? I only need one arm to do it too."

"I seriously doubt you  could stay alive to finish what you started nevertheless extract any kind of promise out of me." Dawson said, regarding Harding much like something that had been dead for a very long time. He looked back at Thaylog. "And tell me gargoyle, do you think that killing me is going to get you what you want? Why do you place so much importance on my head? Don't you realize that there are others like me all over this globe? Defeat us today and you only delay the inevitable. In time we will find a way to control all of you and then with your own hand you will strip this planet bare."

"He's lying." said Harding. "I've seen how he operates. Tells his people to jump and from all over the world you can hear a thousand voices asking 'how high?'. He's the one giving all the orders around here. Kill him and the others will scatter to the four winds."

Thaylog threw Dawson down onto the ground with enough force that the sound of bones breaking could be heard through the sound of fighting in the other room. The Dominion leader screamed and curled up into a ball, clutching at his shoulder. "All debts should be repaid in kind human. If you were weak enough to let this monstrosity control your body and mind then you will suffer the same fate."

Dawson looked up "Who are you talking to?" he hissed. His eyes had glazed over, the milky white of the treatmodean's control spreading now not only across his eyes but also across his body.

"I am talking to the human. " Thaylog said as he lifted his foot and kicked Dawson so that he was now lying flat on his back. "I do not wish to speak with you."

"I am this body! I am all you will speak with. I am the one you are going to beg to end your miserable existence monster!"

"I wonder," said Thaylog, a thoughtful expression on his face. "I wonder where you are hiding slug? Shall we find out?" In one motion he had flipped Dawson over so that he now lay face down on the ground. The human tried to get back up but Thaylog had him pinned down. One sweep of his powerful talons made sort work of the thousand dollar suit Dawson had worn. He looked up and around for Harding. The mercenary had sunk back to the floor but had managed to drag himself over to where Thaylog and Dawson now were. "Can you see it?" he asked.

Harding nodded. "Big lump at the base of his spine. Damn, that thing can't half move." He whispered as Dawson's flesh rippled as the slug tried to bury itself deeper within his body.

"Kill it." Thaylog instructed.

"My pleasure." said Harding as he drove his switchblade into the lump. Dawson screamed and began thrashing his body about with such force that Thaylog had trouble holding him down. Harding withdrew the blade and drove it in again that it lodged itself in Dawson's spine, pinning the slug. Dawson screamed once more and then to the surprise of both his assailants began to cry,  a harsh sobbing that caught in his throat and then exploded into the air.

"Thank you, thank you, oh God thank you."

Harding arched his eyebrows in surprise. "I think we have a result."  He moved away as Thaylog turned Dawson on his side.

"How do we stop this?" Thaylog asked of him. 

Dawson shifted his head and looked up at him, his brown eyes surprisingly clear. "Destroy this base any everything in it."

"How?"

"Cargo bay, there...there's a generator there, overload it and it'll blow....trigger explosions in the ships next to it. House of cards...chain reaction." He closed his eyes and grimaced as his body stiffened. "You didn't kill it...it's regaining it's strength. You'll have to move quickly gargoyle."

Thaylog nodded and stood, he turned to Harding. The human had brought his gun from it's holster and was busy emptying all the bullets from the clip. He picked one bullet up off the floor and placed it back in the gun. He then released the safety and laid the gun beside Dawson.

"You know what this is for?" he asked the grey-haired human.

Dawson nodded.

"It's your choice but make up your mind soon." he said as he turned to Thaylog. "You mind giving me a lift? My legs kinda feel like jelly."

"I owe you that much," the white-haired warrior agreed as he picked Harding up. As he reached the door he turned and looked at Dawson. The human was now sitting upright, the gun in his lap. There was silence as the three males exchanged nods.

"Thank you." Dawson said "Now hurry."

Thaylog nodded and left the room. He found Shaiya standing in the middle of a pile of unconscious soldiers "Come." he told her. "We have one more thing to do this night."

"Did you defeat Dawson?" she asked.

A single gunshot from the other room was her answer.

"Dawson defeated and then saved himself." said Thaylog. Now let us go."

******

"Where did everyone go?" Said Sabrina as she teleported back into the room where the others were waiting. "There isn't a single soldier to be seen. I think they've all gone somewhere else."

"This ship is sinking." said Vashkoda. "They've fled to save their own hides."

"Or they've gone to protect something that is more important to them than these humans." supplied Silver.

"Or we have option number three." said Llewelyn as she dropped down to the floor. The halfling had been busy trying to melt the bars on the windows of the room without much success. "They've planted a really big bomb somewhere and are going to blow us up while we stand around here yacking." She spread her arms as the others glared at her. "Well they could!"

"Are you sure there are no soldiers in the corridor?" said Vashkoda, turning to Sabrina.

"Not a single one."

"Then we should take this chance to lead these humans out of here. If Dominion is going to destroy this base. If some of our own are going to destroy this base then we should try to save who we can."

"Sounds good to me." said Silver. She looked over her shoulder at the humans and frowned. Since they had released the cure and the humans had come to their senses they had maintained a distance between themselves and the gargoyles. "But will they follow us out of here?"

"They may not follow a gargoyle." said Vash as she rounded Silver and cut the dark-skinned gargess from view of the humans. "But they would follow a fellow human." She extended her wings so that all the gargesses were cut off from view. "Wouldn't they?"

"I can change into human form." said Silver. "But they would remember what I was before. Even if you did shield the transformation from their eyes."

Sabrina smiled and looked at the others. "But if I create an illusion of other humans, humans who had been say held captive in another part of the base and had escaped, I bet they would follow them. Silver could go with them to guide them and the rest of us could go and find the others." she smiled at the pleased expressions on the faces of the others. "Shall we?"

"It sounds like an excellent plan." Vash nodded in agreement and glanced around at Llewelyn and Silver for their thoughts. The two gargesses nodded and smiled.

"Let's do it then." said Silver as her form began to change. 

Llewelyn ran to the door and with Sabrina's assistance they pulled it open. The four gargesses then sprinted out of the door and around the nearest corner. There they waited as Silver finished her transformation. Seconds passed before the first human, a grey haired man in his late fifties stuck his head around the corner. Vash nodded at both Silver and Sabrina. Sabrina closed her eyes and concentrated. Seconds later the illusion of a woman carrying a small child appeared beside them, shortly followed by the illusions of a young boy and elderly man.

"The others won't find these as threatening." she whispered.

Vash nodded and looked back at Silver. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready." said Silver as she pulled a plain white t-shirt over her head, completing the illusion of a young female human. "I'll see you guys outside." she said as she sprinted around the corner, shortly followed by Sabrina's illusions.

Their plan worked beautifully, after a few moments of hurried conversation with the grey haired human Silver had gestured towards the long corridor that led to the outside. The old man disappeared into the room and there was the sound of hundreds of voices raise in discussion. Seconds later the humans began to emerge from the room and ran down the corridor Silver had indicated. Sabrina's illusions and Silver herself were lost in the throng.

Vashkoda smiled and then turned to the others. "Come on." she gestured down the corridor they now stood in. There's still time to go help the others."

"Where are they?"

"The cargo bay I think."

"Well then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Llewelyn grinned and turning on her heels, raced off down the corridor.

Sabrina smiled. "You'd think she was going to a party or something." she said as she ran to catch up. Vashkoda joined her.

"I wish she wouldn't be so impulsive." Vash answered frowning. "If she runs off like this then she may  run into trouble before we have a chance to help her."

"Llewelyn get into trouble?" Sabrina smiled and shook her head. "Not while she's got you and me to look after her she won't."

"Maybe." said Vash as she increased her speed. "But to be on the safe side let's not let her get too far ahead."

"If you say so." Sabrina answered "I wonder how the others are getting on?"

"We'll find out soon enough." Vash said and she looked up at the corridor ahead. A short distance ahead of her was Llewelyn, the fiery gargess had slowed down so that her clan sisters could catch up with her. Ahead of Llewelyn the corridor stretched away into darkness. Here and there she could make out the prone form of a human. Her clanmates had been this way, of that she was certain. But what would they find at the other end of this corridor? Vashkoda glanced at the determined expressions on the faces of both Llewelyn and Sabrina and became aware that she was wearing the same expression herself. "Fate." she whispered to herself. For good or bad, wherever you went, fate was always waiting for you at the end.

****** 

"Whoever made these ships didn't do a very good construction job on them." said Kahreen as yet another one of the ships in the hangar exploded in a ball of flames.

"Maybe that's because someone keeps using their own portable rocket launcher on them!" Flynt shouted as  he landed atop a craft that was trying to take off. Seconds later he had smashed his way through the cockpit window and had dragged the pilot. For a moment he stared at the creature that now twisted in his grip. "This one isn't human either!" He said as he dropped the creature on the floor. It landed on the ground with a squeak and then bounded into one of the dark corridors that radiated out from this combined hangar/ cargo bay.

"Who cares!" shouted Dayia as she dropped a grenade into the exhaust vent of a nearby ship and then glided away as it exploded, taking half the ship with it. "This is an equal opportunities battle!"

"This is no battle!" cried Diamond as she dispatched a human who had been foolish enough to attack her. "All we are doing is picking off those who are two slow to flee!"

"She's right." commented Kahreen as she loaded, aimed and then fired a small rocket at a departing ship. "These guys aren't even trying to fight back." she dove out of the way as the ground next to her exploded. "Shouldn't have said that," she mumbled as she picked herself up off the floor.

"But those that can leave this place are."

Flynt, Dayia, Diamond and Kahreen looked up as Vash, Sabrina and Llewelyn glided into the cargo bay.

"You made it!" shouted Dayia, obviously delighted.

"Where's Silver?" asked Flynt as they landed.

"She's leading the humans from the city out of here."

"Excellent."

"Thaylog!" they shouted in unison as the white-haired gargoyle entered the room. He was still carrying Harding although the human had now passed out.

"My brother." Flynt strode forward and grasped Thaylogs free arm in a warriors handshake. "Did you find him?"

"Yes." Thaylog nodded.

"That explains why all the chickens are flying the coop then." said Kahreen. "These guys really don't like it when someone fights back."

"If they fled or if they were called back. It doesn't make a difference." Thaylog said as he lay Harding down on the ground. "What matters is that we destroy everything they left behind."

"What about the humans?" Sabrina said as she stepped forward. "The soldiers, who were under the control of the slugs and the virus."

"It is as you said. Those who can leave have already done so."

"Yeah." agreed Llewelyn. "This place is deserted. Kind of an anticlimax if you think about it."

Vashkoda laid a hand on Llewelyn's shoulder. "It's an ending, be grateful for that."

"Not quite." said Thaylog. "There is one other thing we have to do."

******

"Damn,would you just look at that place go!" Llewelyn rushed to the window of Kahreen's ship and pressed her face against the glass. Below her the Dominion underground base exploded in a ball of flame.

"Is she always this excited when something blows up?" Harding asked. He had been propped up against a number of bags, his wounds dressed. Kahreen had injected him with something that not only took away the pain in his arm but had also made him forget he even had any arms and legs.

Vashkoda looked at him and smiled. "In short. Yes."

"It figures." he said and laid his head back and closed his eyes. "So what are we doing with the rest of the world?"

"In twenty-four hours the world can take care of itself." Thaylog said, he was sitting on an upturned crate as Shaiya dressed his wounds "All we have to do is release the cure in each major city and let it take care of itself after that."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that the cure is an extremely contagious virus. I'm sure I don't need to expand on that fact."

"And after that Thaylog. What are you going to do after that?"

"My clan and I are going to return to our home and repair the damage Dominion inflicted on it."

"So you're not going to go after those Dominion slugs that are left on this planet?"

"No."

"No?" Harding tried to sit up. "Why?"

"Because I believe you have already started to make plans to do that yourself. Our fight with Dominion is over human. This planet, our home is safe. We have no more need to battle, but you-" he stood. "You still have a score to settle with them for the loss of your men."

"Can't do much avenging at the moment." Harding said, his words beginning to slur, "Difficult to be an avenging angel when yer drugged up ter the eyesh balls..." his voice trailed off as the drug administered earlier kicked in and he passed out.

"Thank the dragon for that. I didn't think he was going to ever shut up."

"Let him be Flynt." chided Dayia. "He's earned his rest."

"As have we all." said Thaylog. He stood and looked at each member of his clan in turn. "We won a battle that should have been impossible to win."

"If it had been anyone but us; if we had been led by anyone but you Thaylog then I think we would have lost." said Silver as she cradled Chaz in her arms. "But we came together and you did lead us," she paused as she stroked Chaz's hair. "and we saved all that is precious to us."

"Hear hear!" said Sabrina as each and every clan member smiled and for the first time in a long time relaxed. There would be other bridges to cross in time but at that moment in time it didn't matter. They knew that as long as they were together then they could overcome anything that life chose to throw at them. They settled down, ready for the day's sleep that lay ahead. Tomorrow held so much promise and they would see it together.

For after all when everything was said and done there was one fact that stood head and shoulders above the rest.

They were clan.

Finis

******

Epilogue.

"I'm sorry, but we seem to be out of stock on that particular book Mr. Aynton. I can order if for you from one of our other stores though."

The storegirl looked up from the computer screen and smiled prettily at her customer. In the past few months after those horrible blank days life had returned to normal. Of course there had been all those talkshows where those silly people would argue about what had happened to the world on those few days. She didn't really care. After all she had been able to get this job after the person who had the person who had previously held it had quit without warning. 'Post traumatic stress disorder' he had said. She didn't care. She loved this job. You got to meet so many interesting people. Like this Mr. Aynton.

"Yes that will be fine." he said as he riffled through his briefcase and brought out a small card. "When it arrives could you have it delivered to this address and have the amount debited from my account?"

She smiled. "Of course Mr. Aynton. Shall I call you when it arrives?"

"Yes thank you." he nodded and smiled at her as he left the store.

She smiled back. She was already looking forward to talking to him again. Perhaps she could invite him to dinner when his book arrived. She quite liked Mr. Aynton.

Not like this next customer. She smiled at him and took his purchase, a book on the myth behind the gargoyles. She suppressed a laugh. There had been many books like this written over the past decade. All of them were rather silly in her opinion. Still she wasn't going to say that to this man. Covered in scars and missing one arm this man had a rough look to him she didn't like. "Will that be all sir?"

"Hmn?" the man turned back to her. He had been staring at the door her Mr. Aynton had just exited.

"Will that be all?" she repeated.

"Yeah," he reached into his coat pocket and brought out a credit card. she swiped it, half expecting the computer to tell her that it was stolen. Unfortunately it wasn't. Slightly disappointed she handed him the receipt and watched him sign it, carefully comparing it to the signature on the back of the card. They matched. She handed the card back to him and then put his book in the bag. She smiled as she passed the bag to him "I hope you enjoy your book sir." she said completely not meaning it at all.

"I'm sure I will." he said as he took the bag from her and exited the store.

"Have a nice day sir!" she called after him, sincerely hoping that this 'John Gregory Harding' had anything but.

If she only knew.