Authors' Notes: GARGOYLES and everything associated with them belong to Buena Vista and Disney, not Clan LeFemme, Skydancer, or Lisette.  The characters of "Skydancer," "Lisette," and "Byrdie Fae" belong to the authors respectively, as well as the characters of Storm, Sunshine, and Shaylyn belong to Clan LeFemme.  All of the above may not be used without proper permission.  This is the next fic in the Clan LeFemme series.  Feedback is welcomed and appreciated, just be constructive please.  Hope you enjoy our story!  Also, credits go to Byrdie Fae for making a cameo appearance in the fic.  Thanks Byrdie!

Brief Description: Unexplained festivities bring rise to confusion for Lisette and the Skydancer as their Halloween takes a twisted turn.

Rated: PG-13

    The last feeble rays of the Autumn sunlight retreated from the gray visage of Janua Caeli as the gathering dusk overtook the fading day.  The bright colors of orange and red faded as the blackness filled the yard.  The soft night breeze was brisk and filled with the scent of wood-smoke, freshened with the cool, clean tang of newly smoked pine.  The manicured carpet of lawn sloped steeply away from the house to create the illusion of standing at a great height.  Against a velvet backdrop, eclipsed by the radiance of a rising full moon, cracks formed on a solitary statue high upon the balcony of the right tower.  As the pale light of the moon rained down upon her, the Skydancer awakened.

    Yawning widely, the gargess breathed in a deep gulp of the crisp air taking in the bright scene around her.  Though the sun had set, her gargoyle eyes allowed her to take in the deep warm tones of the season despite the darkness they were in.  Turning, she skipped through her room and headed down the tower determined to see where her two Clan sisters were.  Clan.  That had such a warm feeling to it.  Smiling, she stepped out into the living room from the bottom of her tower.  "Lis!" she called.  "Byrdie!"

    "Right here," Lisette spoke up from her comfortable position on the long couch that occupied the large living room, dragging her attention away from the bright array of images that flashed across the television.  Smiling, she lazily lifted her head from the cushion and peeked out from over the edge of the couch and motioned for her friend to have a seat beside her, curling her long legs closer to her body under the soft afghan and giving her friend room.

    Grinning, the she-goyle caped in her wings and went over to the other side of the room.  Sitting down along side of her friend, she swung her long braid around so she  wouldn't have to sit on it.  "Where's our resident fae?" Sky asked, looking around the room for their newest addition.

    "Checking out the egg," Lisette murmured in response in between a handful of hot buttery popcorn.  "Want some?" she asked as she passed the steaming bag over to her friend, her attention instantly swinging back towards the screen that had captivated her attention for the last hour.

    "Oh," the gargess said simply, bringing her legs up so that she could curl up on the couch.  Reaching out to the popcorn that the mage was offering, Sky held a kernel of the popped corn up between two talons for closer inspection.  "It never ceases to amaze me what wonders this world has in it... no matter how simple."  Looking up, the gargess glanced at the moving picture screen that Lisette's eyes were glued to.  "It also never ceases to amaze me how glued to that thing you are..... LIS!!" she half shouted, seeing that she didn't have the mage's attention.

    "Aghhh!" Lisette screamed in response as she promptly hid beneath the warm comfort of the afghan, her feet accidentally kicking the bag of popcorn that her friend held and sending the snack tumbling high into the air.. and onto her friend's head.  When she felt that her heartbeat had finally returned to normal, the young mage slowly peeked out from the cover of her afghan and surveyed the room, looking for any sign of the... monster that she knew had to be there.

    Sky looked down at her lap as kernels of popcorn continued to drop down from her hair.  Totally surprised at the flying corn, she had just watched as the bag had flown up in slow motion as Lisette had dive bombed into the afghan.  Shaking her head so that the last remnants of corn came out of her hair, she glanced over sternly at the quaking young woman underneath the cover.  Emerald eyes met those of sky blue as they looked around the room warily as if searching for something.  Picking up a piece of the corn, the gargess flicked it at Lisette.  "Thank you for sharing that," she muttered.

    Confused, Lisette stopped her mad monster hunting and turned back to her friend.. and froze as she caught sight of the mess that she had caused.  "Oh, mon Dieu!  I am so sorry, mon ami!" she cried as she quickly climbed to her feet, promptly clicking off the blasted television as she began scooping up handfuls of the kernels and began pouring them back into the now empty bag.  "I made the mistake of watching the.. television," she murmured in apology as she found the word that she was looking for, "and stumbled upon a program that was filled with.. with these horrible monsters!" she cried out, her eyes widening even further as she thought back to the abominations.  "Sky, I have never seen beings like these before!  They were hideously gooey monsters with.. with ooze dripping around them and they were hurting humans and.. and..."

    The gargess quirked an eyeridge at the mage's statement.  "Monsters?" Sky echoed.  "That ooze?  Must be perfectly horrendous creatures!  I certainly hope that none of these beings come to Castellum deGens!!  We would have our hands full with the lot of them."  Involuntarily, the gargess shivered as she pictured a ghastly scene in her mind.

    Blanching at the thought, Lisette vigorously nodded her head.  "That is exactly what I was thinking!  What if my magic or your command of nature was of no use against these creatures?!" she cried out as she jumped to her feet and quickly began pacing the room before she stopped abruptly and faced her friend once again.  "The death of all of the humans, our protectorate, would lie on our heads!"

    The Skydancer jumped to her feet and her emerald eyes flashed a warning glow.  "Such ghastly beings wouldn't dare enter our protectorate!!  I will zap them into a million pieces!!  They shall know the hot fires of Hades for their unjustly attacks!!"  Pausing, the gargess gazed at her mage friend.  "We must stop them before they enter the city gates.  I suggest we go out on patrol immediately.  Hopefully, such monsters have not entered the city yet."

    Immediately Lisette nodded her agreement as she changed into her gargoyle form in a flash of bright light, her popcorn mess forgotten.  "We will not allow it," she growled, her eyes flaring a deadly red color that contrasted sharply with her pale blue skin and blond hair.  "Not in our city," she hissed as she turned and stalked from the room and into the foyer, her sharp talons clicking on the hard marble, knowing instinctively that her friend would follow.  As she went, her eyes absently strayed and paid no heed to the calendar that was pinned to the living room wall, that day, the 31st of October, brightly decorated in orange and black marker, a celebration of a certain holiday.

    Following the mage-turned-gargoyle out onto the front porch, Skydancer took a glance around.  The darkness around the mansion was absolute.  Against a velvet backdrop, the brilliant orange radiance of a ghostly moon shone overhead with pale argent stars flickering around it.  The distant treetops were held in an eerie reddish-orange glow given off by the resplendent moon.  A prickling she never felt before made its way up the gargess's spine.  For the space of an unfinished heartbeat, her eyes, chased with moonshadows thought they saw something moving in the trees.  ~Were the monsters here already??~ she thought to herself, shaking her head.  Spreading her fourteen foot wings, Sky glanced back over at Lisette.  "I suggest we get moving as quickly as possible," she said with a grim expression.  "There's no telling how many of these creatures lurk  at our doorstep already."

    Startled by the proposition, Lisette swiveled quickly on the wide front porch before moving quickly out into the bright moonlight.. the moonlight that suddenly seemed so cold and desolate.  "I am with you, my friend," she murmured as she spread her wings wide and leapt onto the tall, wrought iron gate that surrounded their property, and from there, into the dark night.

    Leaping up onto the fence that was connected to the gate, the gargess launched into the sky after her friend.  "Byrdie will just have to defend Janua herself if trouble arises there," Skydancer called out into the night wind.  "I'm sure she's more than capable of dealing with these ghastly beings.  I don't suspect that they would hold up much against the power of Avalon."  Flapping her wings a bit, the gargess rose higher into the sky, her loin dress borrowing a soft orange sheen from the moonlight as she moved.  Below her, the dense charcoal shades of the countryside at night soon gave way to the glittering cityscape of Castellum deGens.

    "Yes," Lisette called out above the soft night wind from beside her friend, her eyes roaming the city below, "from what you both have told me of the night of the attack by Shaylyn, Byrdie Fae should be able to well defend the manor from these monsters... or so I hope," she murmured, indecision crossing her features.  Shaking her head, she quickly tightened her resolve.  "Byrdie will be able to defend our home--right now, it is the city that we must protect!"

    "Exactly," Skydancer agreed, as she caped in her wings to dive a little closer to the city.  "Any of the three of us can protect Janua without a problem.  It's the city I'm worried about."  Holding herself steady in the Autumn chill, the gargess turned her emerald eyes towards the city, looking for any signs of trouble from the creatures that oozed.

    At her friend's words, Lisette couldn't help a small frown.  ~Well, almost any of them could protect the manor from harm.. so far she had failed miserably in that regard~  Shaking away the thought, Lisette quickly focused on the ground below and felt her eyes narrow as her sharp vision picked out a strange cluster of forms walking down one of the brightly lit streets in one of the 'housing division' below.  "Sky.. do you see that?" she whispered quietly, praying that she was hallucinating.

    From her vantage point in the sky, the gargess had to squint to get a good look at what Lisette was pointing at.  Suddenly, her eyes widened in astonishment.  Below her in a small square block she saw numerous hordes of-- something she could only describe as monsters-- crossing from one house to another.  She wondered what kind of creatures they were-- some with fangs, others with green skins, other's that had shiny illusions over their heads, but all of which had strange looking bags in their hands, as if they were collecting something.  "Oh my gosh," the Skydancer cried out in a harsh whisper.  "We're too late!!!"

    "Oh mon Dieu!" Lisette gasped in horror.  True, she saw none of the slimy oozing monsters that were evident on the 'television,' but in a way, this was worse.  The monsters were all small, about half of her size she would guess, but they came in so many different varieties!  Some had fur, while others looked like disfigured humans, while still others looked enchanting like fairies or princesses.  Suddenly, one in particular caught her attention.  "Sky.. that.. that.. that one.." she stuttered as she tried to keep from retching in mid-air, "that.. that one is a human..." she gasped weakly as she took in the large knife that was cleaved into the human's skull, bright red blood trailing down the child's face.

    "The demons must have attacked it!!!!" the gargess exclaimed.  Suddenly a green monster with a square head and bolts sticking out of its neck came up and took the bloody child by the hand.  "They've come back for more blood, the SAVAGES!!"  Caping in her wings, the Skydancer went into a steep dive, heading directly towards the 'injured' human child.  White hot coals lit up her eyes as she drew her fists together in front of her and charged up the magical electricity that she alone could command.  "LIGHTNING!!" she cried out, sending a deep charge of Nature's fury at the square-headed monster.

    "SKY!!!  WAIT!!!!" Lisette screamed in horror, watching in terror as her friend's lightning bolt flew at the monstrosity.  It wasn't that she was afraid of harming the vile monster that had attacked the child, but she was more frightened with the child being caught in the crosspath.  As amazing as it was, despite the large cleaver that split the child's head in half, the child still moved on its own volition.  "Noooo!" she screamed as she launched a magical blast of her own at the monster and the child, magically transporting them away from the path of the bolt even as it crashed against the sidewalk, leaving a large crater in its place.

    Totally startled by the disappearance of the monster and child by Avalonian witchlight, the gargess pulled herself up short from her steep dive.  Flabbergasted, Skydancer looked over at the one person she knew present that could accomplish such a feat.  Breathing heavily as she tried to reign in the rage she had felt, she glanced over at her mage friend.  "Would you mind telling why in blue blazes did you do that?!!" she exclaimed.  "That devil deserved being cooked for what he had done!!"

    Growling, Lisette quickly swooped closer to her friend.  "Oui, the devil deserved it but by some demon magic the child still walked!  We must be more careful of our att--" she cut off as her eyes grew wide in amazement.  "Oh mon Dieu, what in the blazes is that?!" she gasped as she pointed out a lumbering purple.. dinosaur?

    Hovering next to Lisette, the gargess turned her emerald gaze towards the direction the mage was pointing.  There, lumbering down the street as if it owned it, was an purple color creature on all-fours with spikes trailing down its back and ending at its tail.  It turned up the walk and headed to a gaily lit human habitat.  "Another one!!" Skydancer exclaimed.  Again caping in her wings, the gargess went into another steep dive and drew forth her lightning magic.  "Lightning!!" she commanded, sending another shockwave towards the ground.

    Gasping, Lisette watched in horror as the lightning bolt crashed to the ground just behind the purple monstrosity, sending the thing crashing to the sidewalk.  Hurrying, before the creature could regain its footing, Lisette alighted on the sidewalk beside it and quickly weaved a sticky web of magic around the creature, capturing in its place even as the being screamed in fright and began blubbering a song.  "Qu'est-ce que c'est?" she asked in confusion as the panicked voice began spilling out the song.

    "I love you, you love me!  We're a happy family!  With a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?!?!?"

    Skydancer landed next Lisette and caped in her wings.  As the bizarre creature sung out its even stranger song, her browridges knotted in puzzlement.  "What kind of demon is it?" she whispered fiercely, trying to make some sense of the whole scene.  "Is it bewitched?!"

    Scratching her head in confusion, Lisette quickly shook her head.  "I have no idea, mon ami," she whispered back as she tentatively reached out a talon and poked it at the dinosaur's massive stomach.  "Do you suppose that it's eaten any of the humans?"

    Stooping down along side of the mage, Sky reached out with her own taloned fingers and poked at the creature's stomach.  "I do not know," she said grimly.  "But, I would not doubt it in the least."  Poking a bit more at the dinosaur's soft green belly a puzzled frown crossed  her face.  "This feels unlike any other creature's skin that I  have ever encountered in my wanderings..... at least none that ever lived in the forrest.  Shall we slice his gizzard?" The gargess posed the question to her friend.

    Shrugging her shoulders, Lisette magically produced a long blade and passed it over to her friend.  "Yes, but I leave this problem to you... it sounds a bit.. messy," she grumbled.

    Upon the appearance of the blade, the purple creature began blubbering incomprehensibly as Sky reached over and took the knife from Lisette's taloned hands.  "Quit your whimpering, you evil piece of slime!" Sky exclaimed to the monster in disgust.  "You should have thought about the consequences of your actions before you attacked the inhabitants of our city!"

    Sticking the blade partially into the creature's gut, she quickly cut it right up the belly.  Instead of the blood and guts she expected to come gushing out towards her, however, Sky watched in astonishment as rubber foam flew out at her and Lisette.  Quickly shoving the spongy substance out of the way, the gargess was further surprised to see human garments inside the belly of the creature.  "Oh my stars....." she started to say.

    The creature didn't give her half a chance.  A very clear "Mamaaaaaaa!!!!!" could be heard across the air as the monster let out an ear-piercing scream.

    Screaming herself, Lisette quickly jumped back in horrified surprise, dropping the magical binds on reflex as the thing scampered away.  "Was.. was that a human inside of its stomach?" she gasped, turning her large blue eyes to her friends as her legs began to shake.  "Oh mon Dieu, we were too late!" she gasped, tears coming to her eyes.

    Fury welled up inside of Skydancer as her eyes lit up in a flash of white rage.  Shaking her head with her long braid flying around her, she stood up and cast her head down in shame.  "We failed that one," she acknowledged.  "We must not fail anymore!"  Spreading her wings wide, she ran down the long walk and leaped up onto a car to launch herself back into the night sky.

    Nodding her head, Lisette forced back her tears, vowing that the time for grievance would be later.  Now... now it was time to take their city back.  "No more innocent lives!" she vowed as she took off after her friend, the sky her home once again as the cool wind dried her face.

    As the two rose higher into the shadowy night sky, Skydancer wondered what other sort of abominations they would encounter on this eerie night.  She was not left to wonder for too long, for much to her disbelief, a ghostly being in white was strutting down the walk about a block over from where the two gargesses had encountered the dinosaur.  "Oh my stars, what is THAT?!" she exclaimed, pointing at the white thing.

    "A ghost?!" Lisette squeaked in disbelief, barely believing her own eyes as she caught sight of what her friend had spotted.  "Please say that I am seeing things!" she pleaded.

    "I only wish I could, my friend....." the gargess said as her voice trailed off.  "Perhaps before attacking this thing, we should see where it goes?"  She cast her green-eyed gaze over to the bluish gargess gliding beside her.  "I want to make sure this time that we don't allow it to consume any humans."

    Nodding her head grimly, Lisette acknowledged her friend's words.  "A wise plan, mon ami," she murmured as she began to glide lower, her narrowed and glowing eyes closely following the ghost's disjointed movements.  "But the moment that it becomes threatening this ghost is mine," she hissed as the being suddenly turned and began walking up towards yet another brightly lit human establishment.

    "ARRÊTTE!!" she screamed in anger as she quickly called her magic towards her in blinding waves.  As her anger began to burn her blue eyes a bright green the ghostly being quickly swiveled in its path and stared up at the two friends in what could only be demonic shock and anger.  "You shall not harm any innocents in OUR city!" she proclaimed as she wrapped tendrils of magic around the being's waist, half expecting the chains to pass right through what HAD to be an apparition.  But when the bands held tight, Lisette turned confused eyes to her friend.  "Sky?" she whispered in surprise as she allowed her wings to gently carry her to the ground before the trapped being.

    Caping in her wings as she landed beside the gargess-mage, Skydancer turned quizzical emerald eyes upon the creature.  Stooping down so that she was more at eye-level with the ghostly thing, she hesitantly put out a taloned hand to poke at it.  To her surprise, her hand contacted a solid surface.  "Perhaps it knows how to solidify?" she pondered, turning her attention back towards Lisette.

    Shrugging her dainty shoulders, Lisette slowly advanced on the ghostly creature.  "You.. being," she murmured as she gently prodded the being with a single pale blue talon, "how is this possible?  What are your intentions against the people in this dwelling?" she asked quietly, her fine eyebrows scrunching up as she hugged her arms against her chest, warding off a sudden chill even as she maintained the magical chain that wrapped the being's torso.

    "Jjjjusstt.....just....just wanted....wanted some...candy..." the being in white managed to stutter out.  The ghost was shaking like a leaf.

    The Skydancer's green eyes flashed an angry white.  "You lie!!" she belted out, giving the being a hard poke.  "We know all about you and the other creatures of slime that are going around killing innocent humans!  We will not allow you to continue your destruction!!  You might as well admit to your evil!" she demanded quite loudly.

    "Bbbuutt... but HONEST!!!" the ghost whined as it cowered down.. "Jjuuusst candy!" it whimpered, causing a small frown to color Lisette's lips.

    "Candy?" Lisette asked in confusion.  "So you beings are attacking the city in the pursuit of candy?  Why?" she asked, her thoughts skipping back to the remembrance of the evil she had witnessed on the 'television,' even as her magical hold on the chains ensnaring the being slowly slipped with her added confusion.

    "Lisette!!" the gargess hissed as the magical bonds totally disappeared.  With dismay, Sky watched as the ghost managed to stumble  to its feet and began running down the street screaming something unintelligible.  Turning, the gargess found her mage friend still in a somewhat confused state.  "Lis!  You let him get away!??" Sky whispered fiercely at Lisette.  Concerned filled her eyes as she notice the gargess-mage not responding.  "What's wrong?" she asked.

    "This.. this does not make sense," Lisette whispered as she scratched her head in confusion.  "Why would these monsters be attacking the city for CANDY of all things?  And if they wanted candy, why not rob a store as the common human thieves do?  Why go to human dwellings?" she murmured, her troubled eyes turning to her friend as she unconsciously shifted back into her human form.

    The gargess watched as the mage shape-shifted back into her natural form.  Brushing a hand through her bangs, the gargess turned confused green eyes to meet with Lisette's blue ones.  "Good question," Skydancer commented.  "Could the candy contain something they feel they need to sustain themselves, I wonder?"

    As a new light entered her eyes, Lisette slowly nodded her agreement.  "Perhaps there is some sort of substance within the candy that nourishes them... then what do we do?!" she asked quickly, her eyes growing wide.  "Sky, what if the candy helps them to multiply.. what if they are multiplying even now?!?"

    "Oh my stars!!  Heaven forbid!!" the gargess commented, shuddering at the thought.  "We must stop them before they have a chance to do so."  Scratching her chin as she pondered for a solution, the Skydancer's eyes suddenly lighted up as an  idea crossed her mind.  " I know!" she exclaimed, "we must go around to all the human dwellings and gather all the candy in each house!"

    Smiling at her friend's wisdom, Lisette quickly nodded her head.  "Bon idée mon ami!" she cried out as she clapped her friend on the back.  Without a thought she quickly changed back into her gargoyle form and nodded at the brightly lit house that sat before them. "Should we begin saving the city with this home??"

    The gargess nodded her agreement.  "What better place to start?" she said, more statement than question.  Walking up to the front door of the gaily lit home, she reached one taloned finger out and rang the bell with Lisette closely at her heels.

    As Lisette flashed her friend an expectant smile, the door before them creaked open revealing a dimly lit foyer and a... witch standing within.  Gasping, Lisette quickly jerked back, feeling her friend mimic her movements as she took in the woman's hunched shoulders, black garb, green face, large and disjointed nose, with a large bump marring the skin.  "Oh mon Dieu!" she cried out as she grabbed Skydancer's arms.  "We're too late!" she hissed as she evil thing smiled broadly at them, flashing them with her black and gnarled teeth.

    "Oh, what beautiful costumes!" the witch cried out before breaking into a hideous cackle.

    "You bloodsucking monster!!" Sky hissed at the green witch, her eyes turning to a blazing white.  Noticing a bowl that the witch was bringing forth from behind her back, the gargess reached out and snatched it from her hands.  Shoving it quickly into Lisette's taloned hands, Sky continued pushing her friend back down the walk.  "Run!!" she whispered fiercely into the mage's ear, ignoring the screeches of outrage that could be heard from the witch behind them.

    "Hey, come back here with that!!"  the hideous woman yelled from behind them.

    "Oh là là!!  What is happening to our city!?!" Lisette gasped as she hurried down the sidewalk and jumped into a large oak tree, cradling the bowl against her chest as she launched herself into the sky, turning her wide blue eyes to regard the brightly wrapped candies that filled the bowl to the point of overflowing.  "We even caught the beast in the act of stealing the candy!"

    The gargess glanced grimly over at the bowl as she glided up along side of Lisette.  "Well, at least she won't be able to enjoy the fruits of her labors," the Skydancer commented as she expanded her wings to rise higher into the black velvet sky.  "Let's ditch this bowl of candy and see if we can rid some more of these ghastly creatures of their cravings."

    Nodding quickly, Lisette angled her wings until she glided even higher in the night sky and then paused beneath the bright light of the moon.  "Les bonbons n'est pas bon.. pas du tout," she murmured as her eyes flashed green and as the bowl disappeared from her hands, replaced by a glittering mass of powder that sprinkled forth from her small pale blue hands and glittered down to the city below. "Now where to?" she asked, a small and determined smile pulling at her lips as she turned back to her friend.

    Skydancer flashed a bright grin as she watched Lisette dispose of the candy.  "That takes care of that," she murmured to herself as she turned her green eyes back down towards the city.  Suddenly, a sight caught her eyes.  "There!" the gargess exclaimed pointing down to a crowd of people hovering around a house.  Below them was a huge house surrounded by all sorts of creatures.  A mummy sat on the porch with another bowl of human candy feeding it into the bags of small pumpkins, princesses, gypsies, and werewolves.

    "Oh, mon DIEU!" Lisette gasped as she shook her head quickly in horror.  "That human dwelling has been surrounded by what appears to be evil and good all at once!  We must save the good and dispel of the evil!" she declared as she arched her back and began diving towards the house, her eyes locked on the small porcelain face of an adorable little princess dressed in pink who stood beside an ethereal child-like angel in white, who were standing in turn beside a ghoul of unimaginable horrors.

    Reigning in her wings, Skydancer dove into a steep dive after Lisette.  "I'll get the candy that thing in the bandages has!!" she shouted out to the mage, the cold wind streaking through her hair.  "You try to get the little girl before she is consumed by the monsters!!"

    "The princess or the angel shall not be harmed!" Lisette vowed as she broke off her steep glide, trusting in her friend to handle the candy as she lifted the angel and the princess into each arm and continued her glide till she settled on the steeped roof above the assortment of monsters.  "You all shall NOT take this city!" she cried out to the monsters that surely stared at her in shock and anger.  Turning, she allowed her grim look to turn gentle as she took in the smiling and delighted grins on to the two that she had been able to save.  "Are you both alright?" she asked quickly as delighted giggles erupted from the small beings' mouths.

    Focusing on the bowl of candy while Lisette centered on the little girls, Sky went into a steep swoop directly at the mummy.  Before it knew what was happening, the gargess reached out her arms and snatched the heaping bowl away from the bandaged fiend.  Spreading her wings out to their full fourteen foot span, she caught an updraft and went sailing high into the sky.  "I'll teach these monsters what it is to feast on the labors of the humans!" she exclaimed.  In the brilliance of the white moon overhead, she tossed the bowl high above her.  "Lightning!" she commanded, sending a deadly zap of gleaming electricity at the unsuspecting bowl.  With a loud crackling sound it exploded, sending shards of ceramic and melted sugar spiraling down towards earth.

    "YEAH!!" the angel and princess squealed from beside Lisette as they witnessed Sky's artwork on the dreaded candy that would bring about the end of their city.

    Smiling softly, she turned and knelt down beside the two little ones and gently brushed brown and blond satin locks from their young faces.  "It will all be alright now, mes petites ânges," she murmured compassionately.  "We will save your city from this," she vowed before gently calling upon her magic, causing the two innocents to disappear in a flash of bright light.

    Caping in her wings a bit, Sky descended upon the roof on which Lisette stood.  Looking down around at the crowd that was looking up angrily at them, the gargess nodded towards her friend.  "May I suggest that we disembark this rooftop before one of these horrible creatures decide to come up after us?" she asked, quirking an eyeridge.

    Nodding her head, Lisette slowly surveyed the mass of ghouls.  "The princess and angel have been placed in a safe place until the city will is ours again," she murmured gravely before launching into the dark night sky, her friend by her side.  Closing her eyes, she repressed a shudder as she turned her bright eyes to Sky, eyes so filled with haunting.  "Sky, what if we had not arrived at that human dwelling in time?  What would have happened to the poor princess and angel then?"

    "They would have been destroyed if we had not intervened!" the gargess answered grimly.  Shaking her head over the possible tragedy that could have occurred, Sky began to scout the area once more at more potential monster situations.  "See anything?" she called out to the mage.

    Sighing, Lisette tore her thoughts away from the troubling matter and instead focused on the bigger picture at hand.. and then gasped in disbelief.  "Sky, not only to I see anything, but I see everything!" she gasped as she tugged on her friend's arm and pointed to a brightly lit neighborhood ahead.  Everywhere she looked she saw monsters of various sizes intermingled with beings that could only be described as ethereal.  Scattered about were beings wrapped in dirty bonds, fairies, pixies, beings with fangs and blood dripping from their pointed teeth, kittens, pirates... it even seemed as though some of Byrdie Fae's brothers and sisters were out and about as the Fair Folk were prominently displayed on the streets below.  To make matters all the worse, each of the ghouls and angels alike carried large sacks or buckets that were filled to the overflowing with candy.

    Skydancer's eyes widened in disbelief.  "They're everywhere!!!!" she exclaimed in dismay.  "There are hordes and hordes of them.  We're going to need help with this...fae help."  Sky looked grimly over at Lisette, her green eyes filled with worry.  "I think we'd better go get Byrdie to help us handle this situation.  It's going to take all of us to take back the city from these atrocities!!"

    "I agree," Lisette whispered hoarsely as she tore her eyes away from the multitudes of the evil ones and focused on her friend.  "We make a powerful team, but we need all of the assistance that we can get," she murmured.  "And if it is alright with you, mon ami, I shall bring her to us magically... we cannot waste a moment in our fight against the evil that runs rampant this eve."

    The gargess nodded her head in agreement.  "Bring forth our fae of Avalon, my friend," the gargess said with her emerald eyes gleaming in the moonlight.  "We'll need her powerful magic combined with our own to stop this havoc."

    Nodding her head slowly, Lisette quickly closed her eyes and paused in her gliding, extending her wings even further to catch the full extent of the wind current ad she concentrated on the matter at hand.  "S'il vous plaît... bring forth the dark child of Avalon.. bring forth our sister," she whispered as the magic burned at her fingers and coalesced into a single form before them.

    But Lisette and Skydancer's eyes widened to a considerable size as the green magic faded away and was replaced with... Byrdie Fae in nothing but a white bath towel.  Her hair was soapy and she was holding some sort of plastic tub over her head that had been filled with water to rinse herself.  After blinking for several moments in surprise, the Faerie's expression turned
from complete mortification to red-hot annoyance.  Growling slightly, she turned the tub of water towards the shape-changed human and the she-goyle, making ready to splash them both.  "Alright, what the big idea??  Can't a Faerie Trickster take a bath in PEACE???"

    Skydancer's cheeks took on a deep shade of tan as she realized that their Fae clan sister had been "interrupted" in the middle of her bath.  "Oh my stars...." she muttered to no one in particular as she turned an embarrassed gaze towards Lisette.  Green eyes met blue in a bashful look of surprise.

    The impatient Faerie turned to her gargoyle-shaped human friend, giving her a REALLY evil eye.  "Well?  I'm not gonna sit out here like this all night--what is it??"

    Feeling her cheeks flame bright in embarrassment, Lisette quickly ducked her head, hiding behind a wave of pale gold.  "Our apologies, ma soeur," she murmured as she peeked out and quickly clapped a slender hand across her mouth, turning her giggles into a poor excuse of a cough as she once more caught sight of the fae in her bathtowel.  "You see, I.. we," she amended as she shot Skydancer a panicked look, "needed your assistance and we knew that this would be the fastest way to get you here..." she broke off as the fae slowly drew back the tub of water that she held.  "The city is under attack by these gooey monsters and fiends and are trying to steal all of the candy in order to multiply!" she quickly yelled out as she threw up a magical field to protect herself and her gargoyle friend from the water onslaught that she knew was coming, cringing as she pointed a slender finger down to the overwhelmed neighborhood below.

    The gargess looked sheepishly at the fae.  "We're really sorry, Byrdie," she said, trying to pacify the indignant fae, " but this is REALLY important or we wouldn't have summoned you."  Gesturing down towards the numerous abominations under them milling around the streets, Sky went on, "There are creatures down there trying to take over the city!!"

    Giving her two friends an exasperated sigh, Byrdie pointed at herself to change out of her "bath wear" into a  more suitable attire (their blushing  and sputtering was starting to annoy her).  Black jeans, a white T-shirt, boots and, of course, her dragon pendant soon took the place of her towel and her hair dried as the green magic disappeared--not her usual costume, but enough for now.

    Pushing back a stray tendril of her black hair from her face, Byrdie looked over at the cringing Lisette with her magic shield over her.  "Oh, please, Lis, stop that." Not sure if the Fae was bluffing or not, the shape-changed human complied, but still kept up her shield--she WAS a Faerie trickster.  Sighing again, Byrdie shook her head. "And I was planning on doing absolutely
nothing tonight.  Okay, let's see these 'gooey candy-stealing monsters' of yours..."

    But when the trickster looked down, all she saw were little people running around in complete chaos in their silly monster and fairy costumes.  ~Why do I get the feeling that my new 'roomies' have something to do with this...?~ she thought, her exasperation climbing.  Byrdie then looked back up to Skydancer and Lisette, a slight twitch in the left side of her face.  "Don't
tell me... that you brought me all the way out here... for this?"

    Not taking notice of the Fae's look of disbelief, Sky nodded in response to her question.  "Aren't they totally horrendous?!" she asked of no one in particular.  "They are stealing candies from all the human dwellings in the city.  Castellum is overrun by them!"

    Sighing, Lisette slowly lowered her shield the rest of the way and glanced morosely at their city that rested in chaos below them, understanding the contradiction of her words all to well.  "And of course we brought you 'all the way out here' for this!" Lisette added as she wiped a stray strand of white-blond hair from her face, her mind drifting back to the angel and princess that had been spared.  "Skydancer and I make a powerful team, but for such a task we knew that our three forces combined would have the best chance of ending this matter maintenant!" she stressed, unconsciously emphasizing her final 'now' in her native tongue.

    Byrdie's finely shaped eyebrow shotup in question as she looked down at the people scrambling around on the streets again. "What 'matter'?  Or do you mean the fact that you went down there terrorizing people for no reason?"

    "Terrorizing people for no reason?!" Lisette gasped in surprise as she shot her gargess friend a worried look.  "Can't you see the horror that has been unleashed upon our city?" she demanded as she pointed at a particularly foul ghoul that paraded around on the streets below as though it owned it.  Turning, she then flashed Skydancer a wide-eyed glance.  "Mon ami... perhaps they have reached our clan sister before us!" she murmured, realizing that the fae being under the enemy's control could be the only possible explanation to her obvious nonchalance to the matter at hand.

    Skydancer's green eyes grew huge as she contemplated the possibility of the Fae being possessed by one of the demons below them.  "Uh... Byrdie, did you leave Janua at all tonight?  Or did you get any..... strange... visitors?" the gargess asked, gliding in closer to the fae to see if she acted in any odd sort of way.

    "Whaddya you think I am--some 'chick flick reject'??" Byrdie retorted. "To think that I'd let strangers get a hold on me? Puh-leeze..."  Seeing the confused looks from her friends at her foreign choice of words, Byrdie started again.  "Anyway, no.  I just checked on the Egg most of the time and then I was taking a certain BATH.... What're you talking about?  Strange visitors? What've they got to do with the situation at hand??"

    Groaning, Lisette quickly turned her wide eyes to her gargess friend, her blond hair twirling turbulently around her slim shoulders.  "Sky, they must have gotten a hold of Byrdie!  Do you hear the nonesense she is spewing?  All this talk of 'chick flicks', whatever they might be... oh mon Dieu," she groaned once again, trying valiantly to fight back the pain that she felt coming.  If Byrdie had indeed been corrupted then she had failed her friend.  "The slime creatures must have somehow corrupted her!"

    Drawing in a sharp breath, the tan gargess gestured towards the glittering cityscape below them where ghouls, vampires, and other sorts of monsters ran below them in the charcoal shades of the night.  "Are you sure you haven't encountered any fiends such as these below us, my fae sister?" Skydancer asked again, her emerald eyes piercing her like the flawless crystal of a sparkling autumn day.  She was desperately trying to see if this was Byrdie they were talking to, and not some demon that had taken over the twixter's body.  "And what does 'chick-flick' mean?" the she-goyle continued.

    "Oh mon Dieu," Lisette murmured uselessly once more as she awaited the fae's response.  "Never mind the 'chick flick' confusion, s'il vous plait!  Just tell us if it is really you!"

    Agrrevated beyond words, Byrdie let out a short yell of frustration, waving her arms around as the most expressive gesticulation she could reall think of.  "AAAGGGHH!!!  It's really me!  It's really me!  Just tell me what the hell happened down there!!!!"

    Stunned for a moment by the Fae's outburst, Skydancer drew herself up short and gestured to the hideous creatures below them.  "Why, just look at them all, Byrdie!!  All those monsters are just literally over-running the city!!"  Turning frightened and concerned eyes to first, Lisette, and then Byrdie, Sky threw up her hands.  "We must do something!!"

    Growling again, the Faerie had another little outburst. "DO WHAT??  What is it that is making you two go insane??? Nothing is going on down there that needs our assistance!  WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!"

    Startled by the fae's intense reaction, Lisette blinked slowly in surprise before gently laying a calming hand on the petite faerie's shoulder.  "Perhaps, mon ami, you should tell us what you see," she suggested, wanting to get to the bottom of things once and for all.  "What do you see that is going on below us?"

    Sighing, Byrdie pointed down to the streets of Castellum deGens, trying to get this thing straight once and for all.  "Look, guys, all I see down there are little humans and possibly their parents in silly little costumes. All I see are bright eyed children--or maybe not so bright eyed, due to your confusion--going aroung the city with little baskets and bags asking politely to either 'give them a treat, or they'll trick you'.  Not overruning the city eating people's sugar so they can grow and destroy the city. 'Kay?  That's ALL."

    Flabbergasted, the Skydancer turned wide emerald eyes down to the scene below her.  "But... but.... but, they are monsters!  They are overwhelming the city!  Look!" she exclaimed, pointing to a purple colored reptile-like creature waltzing down a sidewalk towards a human's house with a bag in hand.  The brightly lit house was decorated with orange and black crepe paper, cobwebs hung from the porch railings.  The purple monster rang a button on the door as Skydancer watched in astonishment as a human opened the door and dropped candy into the creature's bag. "Do you mean to tell me that... that..... that THING.... is not real??!" the she-goyle exclaimed, giving a look of disbelief at Lisette.

    Byrdie nodded, seeing that she was FINALLY getting to them.  "Exactly.  Guys, this is a tradition that the humans rehearse every October 31st called 'All Hallow's Eve' or simply 'Halloween'.  It's completely harmless.  That person in the purple excuse for a costume just said 'Trick or Treat' and voila!  Enough sugar to make the dentists thank their lucky stars for such a holiday. Simple as that."

    "Oh my stars!" exclaimed the Skydancer, shaking her head.  She couldn't quite believe her ears.  "I cannot BELIEVE what we have just done!!  Oh good grief, we just..... we just....."  Not knowing what to say, the gargess continued to shake her head as realization set in.

    Breaking out into a short fit of laughter, the Faerie did a backflip in midair--so THIS is what those two were so scared of? "Ha ha ha ha ha!  Oh my, my, my, my, my!  You're naivete is quite refreshing!  But if this is all that you need for this poor Faerie to do, I guess I'll be on my merry little way!  Au revoir!"

    And with that, the Trickster began to glow a bright, magical green and a circle began to form around her.  The sphere of Avalonian magic then began to disappear as Byrdie retreated back to Janua Caeli, her laughter still resonating throughout the night.

    Shaking her head slowly, Lisette could only mutter the first words to come to line.  "She stole my line," she murmured, shaking her head once again as she turned back to her friend.  "So all of this time?  All of those.. monsters?  They were humans?" she asked, unable to believe the fae's words.

    The Skydancer spread her wings wide as she circled around Lisette from where they were hovering in the air.  "I cannot believe this!" she said, shaking her head in disbelief.  "How could we have been fooled so easily?  The two of us?  Seasoned warriors, no less?!"  With a sigh of defeat, the tan gargess angled herself up and began to drift higher in the coal-black sky as she turned back towards Janua Caeli.

    Feeling her face flush in embarassment, Lisette quickly turned her head away from the sight of the merry children below and followed her friend, nonchalantly snapping her fingers and causing the little princess and angel that she had 'saved' earlier to reappear in their rightful place with their parents and friends.  "I do not know, mon amie," she murmured as she winged beside her friend, watching the city of Castellum deGens flash below her in a blur of lights and sounds.  "This concept of 'Halloween' is one that is unfamiliar to me.  Now that I think about it, in my time this eve was common for the evil spirits to come out and walk the land... in this time it is but a child's fancy--a time for fun."

    The green-eyed gargess nodded as she and the mage continued to glide back towards their mansion home.  "I remember reading about that in one of the books of my library," she said.  "It is known as All Hallow's Eve, or Saihin-- when the walls between the worlds grow thin.  Spirits walk the night, the dead come back to life...but I never associated the paranormal with this 'trick or treating' stuff."

    Sighing, Lisette quickly nodded her agreement.  "What to us was a time of fear and superstition is no more than a play time for these humans..." she trailed off as she saw their manor loom into view above the tops of the trees.  "And now our newest clan member sees us as the fools that we have acted," she added wryly.

    "Probably," the Skydancer agreed.  She was silent for a moment as they continued over the colorful treetops that greeted them with their warm colors in the moonlight, then the gargess burst out laughing.  "When you think of it, we were kind of funny, weren't we?" she questioned, chuckling.

    Unable to hold back her own laughter, depsite the fact that her giggles were aimed at her own expense, Lisette quickly nodded her agreement.  "We were completely foolish!" she laughed, shaking her head as she landed gently on the soft grass that lined the front of their home, the bright red and orange leaves from the surrounding trees crackled beneath her feet as she changed back into her human form.  "Imagine what we looked like: the valiant gargess and mage off to save the world from harmless children!" she proclaimed, raising her hands and gesturing widely as she broke into laughter once more.

    Skydancer continued chuckling as she landed beside her mage friend.  Amusement danced in her eyes as she caped her wings in around her and shook back her head, her long braid swinging behind her.  "I don't think Byrdie is ever going to let us live that one down," she stated firmly, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.  "And I highly doubt that the citizens of Castellum deGens are going to forget our 'noble' efforts anytime soon either," the she-goyle finished as she began to head towards the house.

    Shrugging her dainty shoulders, Lisette followed her friend into the manor, pausing within the foyer as she closed one of the two large doors behind her.  "I would agree, mon ami... Byrdie Fae does not seem like the type to allow our.. mistake to die easily...." she trailed off as she quickly wrapped her arms around her torso, a look of puzzlement filling her large blue eyes as she turned to her friend.  "Mon Dieu... why is it so cold in here?" she asked, noticing that her breath fogged out from between her tightly closed lips.

    An eerie chill inhabited the foyer as the gargess caped her wings in closer around her.  "Oh my stars," the gargess whispered, watching her breath form in the icy air.  "It feels like the artic in here..... what on earth is that?!" she exclaimed suddenly, pointing to something at the top of the stairs.  Before them, at the top of the staircase, a misty smoke was beginning to appear.

    "I do not know," Lisette murmured as a clock struck the hour somewhere deep within the manor.  "But I do know that the witching hour is upon us," she whispered quietly as she stepped closer to her friend, even as the bright chandelier above them began to flicker wildly, its haunting quality affecting the cold marbled foyer even as a piercing scream rang through the house.  "The egg's room!" she gasped, knowing instinctively where the blood-curdling scream originated from... a scream of agony.

    "What the devil.....?" Skydancer began as she started towards the staircase.  Suddenly, she froze in her tracks when an ear-splitting scream resonated throughout the house originating from the egg room.  Chills ran down the gargess's spine as she cringed at the sound.  It was enough to make her blood run cold.  "Oh my stars...." she whispered, turning frightened green eyes to Lisette.  "Who or what was that?!"

    Shaking her head, Lisette found herself slowly backing towards the door leading back out towards the dark night and the safety that would be found there.  Yet at the same time, she found herself drawn forward to stand by her friend, ready to face the unknown.  But then, before she even had a chance to reply she heard another scream rip throughout the house, only to be abruptly cut off as the house fell into a death-like silence... in a way, the silence was even worse than the horrible, pain-filled screams.  Transfixed, Lisette found herself staring up, her eyes locked on the third floor foyer above as she gently reached out and gripped her friend's tanned arm tightly.

    The gargess reached out and locked Lisette's hand in an iron grip.  Transfixed, she listened as the screaming stopped and there was nothing but the haunting echo of silence. BOOM!  Skydancer jumped as a loud thumping noise, like something falling overhead shook the house.  Then the sounds of heavy footsteps could be heard coming from the third floor foyer.  With her entire body shaking from fear, but curiosity getting the best of her, the gargess inched forward to look upward with the mage close at her heels.  There, directly above them, Sky could make out the ghostly apparition of a man standing with his back towards them next to the third floor railing.  "Who....?" the gargess started to say.

    Shaking her head, Lisette watched in horror as the man slowly turned away from the third floor hallway and looked down into the foyer, right through them it seemed.  With coal black hair and even darker eyes, Lisette found herself chilled by the coldness that seemed to emenate from his very soul.  "Oh mon Dieu," she whispered quietly as she began to back away, towards the library entrance, dragging Sky along with her as her sharp blue eyes focused on his hands which gripped the balustrade tightly... they were dripping with bright red blood that pooled along the shining oak before dripping down, drop after drop, until they splattered on the white marble so far below.

    "Great Mother Earth....." Skydancer whispered as she allowed Lisette to drag her away from the steps.  Her emerald eyes never left the image of the man as the blood continued to drip from him, forming a tidal pool at the bottom of the stairwell, and then slowly with a look of horrid fascination, the gargess and the mage watched as the man quickly leaned forward and with a stunned expression on his face, fell forward and off the balcony, landing directly in front of them on the foyer floor.  The gargess let out a scream.

    "Oh no!!" Lisette screamed in horror as she tore her hand away from the Skydancer's death-like grip and struggled forward, stopping brokenly in the middle of the foyer.  The man's neck was obviously broken in the fall as his eyes stared up at her lifelessly, a pool of deep blood quickly flowing forth from his broken form and pooling around him, smearing the cracked, white marble floor with its gore.  Gagging at the sight, Lisette quickly turned away and stumbled to her knees, her eyes tearing up as she shook her head uselessly.  "What is going on?!" she sobbed as she pressed her hands painfully against her closed eyes.

    The tan gargess let out a blood-curdling scream that matched Lisette's as the man hit the cold marble floor.  As she watched the red blood pour out from under him, Skydancer took several big gasps of breath as clutched her stomach, hoping it would not heave from the ghastly scene in front of them.  Reaching forward, she grasped Lisette's shoulder in a gesture of comfort as she drew the mage away from the body.  Taking another big gulp of air and swallowing it slowly, Sky reached down to shut the man's eyes, only to be stopped short in stunned amazement as she watched her talons go directly through him.  "What...??" she croaked out, not quite knowing what to say.

    Tearing her eyes away from the cold marble floor that sat beneath her, Lisette hesitantly glanced towards her friend.. and jumped back in horror as she watched Sky's taloned hand pass right through the man's face.  "Oh là là," she whispered hoarsely as she moved to stand beside her friend, a curiously clinical look covering her features.  "He is a ghost, no?" she asked as she gently reached forward and kicked at the body, only to have her foot pass straight through.

    "I do not know..." the gargess said, curiousity beginning to take the place of the fear in her emerald eyes.  Stooping down to get a better look at him, Sky took notice of his dark eyes and hair.  There was something sinister about him that she just couldn't put her taloned finger on.  "I wonder if he's the one behind that fanatical laughter we're always hearing in the foyer?" she questioned, nervously pushing a loose tendril behind one ear.

    Suddenly, as those a light bulb literally went off in Lisette's mind she quickly turned to her friend, her bright eyes shining with questions.  "Do you suppose that he is... and that scream was really... Irma and her late killer.. her husband?" she asked in amazement as she turned to stoop beside the ghostly apparition, even as it faded away to nothing.

    "Great Mother Earth...." the Skydancer whispered in amazement as the figure melted away into nothingness.  Running her hand over the marble floor, the gargess found it to be cold and smooth as it had been before.  No trace of the cracks or blood was apparent anywhere.  Shaking her head in wonderment, Sky stood up and glanced up to the third floor part of the foyer where their visitor had fallen from.  "I'd be willing to bet you ten to one, Lis, that you are right on the money with that guess," she said.

    Nodding her head slowly, Lisette found her gaze wandering back up to the third floor foyer that towered above them, a small frown on her face.  "It does seem as though we have just had a peek into the death of Violet.. of Irma," she quietly agreed as the bright moonlight of All Hallow's Eve drifted in through the large stained glass window above, staining the shiny marble floor in a myrid of blue, green, and blood red hues as the cold wind rustled the skeleton branches of the trees outside.  "And only time will tell what other mysteries, visitors, and surprises Janua Caeli will bring to us....."