x-file/ gargoyle crossover rated:pg for mild cursing. This story is an X-file/gargoyle crossover. There is obviously a bit of info that suggests a previous x-file, but it is still in the works. It is not necessary to have read it anyway, to get the logistics of this story. But on the other hand, one of the main characters is not completely described, appearance wise. Zoe is a gargoyle, purple in color, and with feathered wings, instead of the traditional bat like, gargoyle wings. She was human, at one time, but was used as a guinea pig in a genetic experiment, against her will. Here DNA sequence now contains the genes of A gargoyle, dragon, gryphon, and unicorn. Disclaimer: The characters of Mulder, and Scully belong to Chris Carter/Ten Thirteen productions. The Gargoyles belong to Buena Vista/Disney. The Characters of Zoe and Merlin belong to me and my screwed up psyche. It was great to be back home. Zoe closed the door behind her as she entered the familiar white house. Her god-father had bought it for her, after her parents death, so that she could finish high school here in Cincinnati, and not have to move to New York her senior year. But that was past. After graduating she had flown through college, earning a masters in Film and television in only three years. She had spent the summer in DC assisting Mulder and Scully.Especially Mulder. Zoe smiled. There was defiantly a mutual attraction. He had invited her to live in his apartment after discovering that she was living out of her van. She had spent the last two months there. Sleeping on an air mattress, on the floor, in his living room. He slept on the couch, on account of him not owning a bed. The black ball of fur that she was holding stretched and jumped to the floor. Her new kitten, Merlin. Mulder had gotten it for her after that week in the hospital. "Meeoooow." "What's wrong, Merlin?" Suddenly a shot sounded through the darkness. A sharp pain stung Zoe in the neck. Shortly after, she was lying on the floor unconscious. The tranquilizer had taken over. **************************************** Mulder sat impatiently in his office, staring at the phone. "You look as if your waiting for a call from the president." Scully said as she entered Mulder's den. "Zoe was supposed to call when she got home." "You can't expect her to call immediately, There's no way to predict what the traffic is going to be like in several states.-What time was she supposed to call, anyway?" " Between 6 and 9 last night." "That's not like her, not I see why you're so anxious." "Ring!" Mulder grabbed the receiver, "Mulder." "Hello," The voice came in from the other end of the line. "This is officer Brown of the Sharonville County Police Department." "Yes?" Mulder said impatiently into the phone. "An officer was sent to 333 Chester road, a customary procedure that we offer when we know that someone will be away from their home for a long period of time. We found the door to the residents house wide open, traces of forced entry, and a small patch of dried blood on the premises. We have suspicion that this was a kidnapping incident." "Well be down as soon as possible," and with that Mulder hung up the phone and turned to Scully who was waiting for her explanation. *********************************************** Zoe started to come around, her head was pounding. She took a look at her surroundings. She was alone, chained to the wall in a small, dark room. Not again she thought to herself. This wasn't the first time she had been captured, twice since the genome experiment that made her what she was now, Three times if you count the experiment itself. She wasn't surprised with her predicament though. The CIA, certain high hats in the FBI, and a couple of independent organizations wanted to get their hand on her so that they could strap her to a dissection table, and see what made her tick. That Barbara Walter's special didn't do a lot of good for her either. Being the genetic mishap that she was, she wasn't surprised. But she was tired of it, and rather ticked as well. "Where the hell am I? Who the hell did this?" She looked down at herself and noticed that she was no longer clothed in the jeans and T-shirt that she was wearing last time she was conscious. " and where the hell do you get these white dresses that you keep on putting me in?!" She struggled against the chains. They were much stronger than the shackles she had been clad in, in the past. These would take a substantial amount more effort to free, but she didn't think it to be impossible. These people might actually have an idea of what they were dealing with, and that was the only thing that really scared her. She grabbed her right arm chain with both hands and pulled. It slipped a little, but it was still as just as tight. This was going to take a little longer than I thought. Oh, well, take it one thing at a time. ****************************************************** Mulder and Scully ducked under the police tape and entered the recent crime scene. Merlin jumped out of the arms of the officer he was struggling against and raced toward the familiar faces. Scully picked up the trembling cat, and tried to calm him by scratching him behind the ears. Merlin, soon, stopped shaking and settled into a steady purr. Mulder took a pair of latex gloves and began making his way around his friends house. He had only been there once or twice before, back during Zoe's original case. That was over two years ago, when she was turned into the creature him and his partner now knew. HE searched the area thoroughly, he had a knack for spotting things that the police had missed. Then, he saw what he was looking for. A glimmer in the crack between an end-table and the sofa, right above a window. Mulder turned around and signaled to a nearby officer. " I'm agent Mulder, with the FBI," Mulder pulled out his badge and showed it to the tall female cop. " Is this where the suspect entered the house?" "Yes, that is where we believe he entered." She answered. "You know it's a male suspect?" Scully piped in as she had just joined he partner. "Pretty sure," the officer replied, " Considering Zoe's . awkward size and shape, it's more likely that a male took her. That and we have reports that a man has been see sneaking around the premises the last couple of days." "Thanks," Mulder said as the officer returned to her rounds. Mulder crouched down and reached between the furniture. He came up with a shiny, gold lapel pin. He examined the face only momentarily, then sprung to his feet and rushed toward the front door. "Hey, wait up where are you going?" Scully yelled after him as she tried to catch up, carrying the sleeping, unbotheder Merlin the entire time. Mulder turned around to face Scully, "we're going to New York.' And at that the Two FBI agents, with Merlin, climbed into the car and hurried of to the airport. ********************************************** "Mr. Xanatos will see you now." Owen said as he ushered the Mulder and Scully into an enormous office. "I'm glad to see your on this case, Mr. Mulder." Xanatos greeted, " Only you can Imagine how worried I was when I heard of my god-daughter's disappearance." Mulder nodded in agreement, "But, I didn't come to offer my sympathy, or at least not the only reason." Mulder pulled an evidence bag out of his coat pocket. "I'm sure you'll recognize the symbol on this pin," He said as he handed it to Xanatos. Xanatos' face widened with shock, "It's the symbol of the Illuminati, but that can't be right." "Wait, the Illuminati? There's no may. It's just a figment of some paranoid persons imagination." Scully objected. "That's not entirely true, Ms Scully<" Xanatos corrected. He opened on of his desk drawers, and brought out an identical pin. "For you see, I am a rather important member. But, Being my god-daughter, Zoe is entitled to the Illuminati's Protection." Xanatos' phone rang> "Hello, David Speaking." You could tell by the expression on his face that he was not pleases with what he heard. ".yes I understand." HE hung up the phone and turned to the FBI agents. "I'm afraid you were right Mr. Mulder. That was the Illuminati, they have Zoe. They said that they were becoming wary of faithfulness." What are they asking? Mulder inquired. "They said they'd make an exchange. - they want a real gargoyle" Xanatos said grimly. "We should probably talk to Goliath." Mulder advised. "He still doesn't trust me, but he trusts you. Will you talk to him?" Xanatos asked, "for Zoe." "For Zoe." Mulder agreed. Mulder turned and exited the office, with Scully close behind. ` Mulder?.Gargoyles? Goliath?" "Yeah, Gargoyles, like Zoe." Mulder answered. "But Zoe was engineered with the characteristics of several different animals, I just thought you called her a gargoyle because her appearance resembled that of the stone statues on old buildings." Scully said. "Well, almost. I never told you the species used by the scientist when he created Zoe, did I?" Mulder asked. "No, why." "She's 45% gargoyle, 20% human, 15% gryphon, 10% dragon, and 5% unicorn." "You're kidding, right." Mulder shook his head. "and my proof is at the top of these stairs." He said pointing to a long curving stairwell ahead of them. Scully followed closely behind Mulder as they climbed the winding stairs. They emerged onto the roof of one of the castle towers. It was adorned with a huge gargoyle statue. Scully walked to the edge and saw six more statues on a balcony below them. "Mulder, there's nothing up here but a bunch of statues." Scully said. "Five minutes `til sunset." Mulder said. "What happens at sunset?" Mulder smiled with a menacing smile he often gave her. It ment that he knew something she didn't, and probably wouldn't like. Also she could tell that despite how much he was worried about Zoe, he was excited about something. "I would give him some room if I were you." Mulder warned. "Give who." Scully started, but was halted by the cracking noise of something behind her. She scurried to a safer location, behind Mulder. The noise was coming from the statue. In only a matter of seconds, there was a huge creature standing where the gargoyle statue had once been. It resembled the species that Zoe was, but this was a new experience. She tried not to show it, but she was terrified. "Goliath!" Mulder greeted as he approached the huge beast. "Mulder," Goliath boomed as he took Mulder's outstretched hand, `It's been a long time." "This is my partner, Agent Dana Scully." Mulder introduced. "A pleasure," Goliath said to the obviously scared yet obviously amazed Scully. Who could only nod in return. The others will be happy to see you again," Goliath said. "That would be nice, but I'm afraid I'm here, tonight, on business," Mulder solemnly spoke, compared to his light hearted greeting only moments earlier ,"but the others need to hear this as much as you do." Once gathered back in Xanatos' office, Mulder explained what had happened to Zoe, and the Illuminati's demands. By this point Scully had pulled herself back together. She had decided that if Mulder could trust these magnificent creatures, she had no reason to fear them. Besides, they were not that different from Zoe, except for the fact that they were born gargoyles, and not made that way by some insane genius. Also, to ease her mind even more, Bronx had tromped over to where she was seated, and put his head in her lap, begging for it him be scratched behind the ears. Scully had spent the remainder of Mulder's story running her hand along the head of this gargoyle version of a dog. ".so, obviously, I don't plan on turning one of you guys over to the Illuminati, but I am asking for your help." Mulder concluded. She's a member of the clan, lad, helpin' is the least we cando," Hudson spoke. "Thank you, thank you all," Mulder smiled. "Your friend has been awfully quiet," Angela observed. Scully stood, "Believe me, this is not easy for me. You guys are exactly the kind of thing that, if Mulder hadn't shown me personally, I would be trying to explain away with science.' Mulder couldn't help but laugh as Scully's honesty. "Now, the only question is.What are we going to do to get Zoe back?" Scully asked. ******************************** Zoe had pulled herself free well over an hour ago. Exhausted, she had sat and rested, then searched the walls for a door, or something. The place was a tomb. Her eyes had eventually adjusted to the darkness. The room was not to big around, but she was unsure of how far us the ceiling was. She would try climbing one of the walls to find out haw far it went, but later. She was still exhausted. She had no idea how much time had passes, She didn't even know if it was night or day. All she knew was that her body needed sleep, and she was going to, at least try to, accommodate it. Zoe slumped into a corner on the cold, hard, concrete floor. She curled up like a cat, and wrapped her wings around herself for warmth. Despite the conditions, she was soon asleep, and softly snoring in a way that sounded almost like the purr of a cat. Zoe woke up suddenly, screaming Mulder's name. She quickly calmed herself and opened her eyes to the familiar, but unwanted, scenery. She had just had a horrific dream. The weird thing was, she couldn't remember a single thing about it, except that she was scared out of her mind. Zoe stood up and stretched. Her back ached, but it was to be expected. Her had just woken up from sleeping an a stone cold floor. She stared up at the towering walls. She had decided, earlier, that when she woke, she would scale these walls. To see where they went. She thrust her claw into the concrete, and begun her accent. The climb was rather easy, but was long, and soon became tiresome. After, around, fifteen minutes of climbing, she caught sight of the ceiling, and was suddenly renewed by a pious burst of strength and determination. She said a silent prayer of gratitude, and set of toward her goal. She was rewarded again with the discovery of what looked like an overstuffed air vent. It had to be a way out. She freed one of her hands, grabbed the vent, and gave it a shard yank. The vent dislocated with great ease, and fell for an eternity before clanging noisily on the floor below. Zoe fixed her free hand inside the vent, then did the same with the other. She released her toes from the wall, and pulled herself up into the shaft with her arms. She only had to climb a few feet before she finally found the floor above her. She rolled out of the vent and onto the firm floor. She laid there on the floor, tired and panting for an amount of time she was unsure of. It could have been anywhere from five minutes to an hour or two. All she could remember was thinking about how exhausted she was, but how much she needed to get up and get going again. He might have even fallen asleep and not have known about it. She suddenly thought of something. She was surprised that no alarms had gone off since she had gotten out of her cell. She had to have been there for more that 24 hours, and she still didn't know who her captor was. ************************************ Xanatos entered his office to the curious eyes of seven gargoyles and two FBI agents. " I just got off the phone with the Illuminati. Zoe is being held in the condemned hotel on the east side. The conditions are that one human and one gargoyle enter, and one human and one gargoyle exit. They say that the place is rigged to make sure of that." "I'll go," Mulder volunteered. "So will I," said Goliath. Merlin, who had accompanied Mulder and Scully to New York, gave out a concerned meow from his perch in Brooklyn's arms. Mulder stepped over to where Brooklyn was, "Don't worry, Merlin, we'll bring her back." He gave the feline a reassuring pat. "It's almost sunrise," Angela informed. "We will leave as soon as the sun sets again," Goliath told Mulder. "Between now and then you need to get some sleep." Lexington chimed in. the two agents followed the clan out to their perches to bid them a good rest. Brooklyn handed Merlin to Mulder, then jumped up onto his pedestal. Broadway turned to Mulder, " You should probably call Elisa and Matt; tell `em what's going on." Mulder nodded. Scully gave Bronx a last pat on the head before the group of Magnificent creatures turned into stone. They heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, behind them. Mulder and Scully turned to find Owen standing in the entrance way. "I'm sure you two are tired. Mr. Xanatos has had two rooms prepared for you. Follow me please." Owen was right. Neither of them had slept in over 24 hours. They were also glad accommodations had been made for them. They were o wrapped up in this case that they had forgotten to rent any hotel rooms. Owen lead the two agents down the stairs and through several long corridors. He stopped and opened two doors opposite each other. "Ms. Scully, you will be sleeping in here, and Mr. Mulder, you're in here." Owen instructed. Scully was pleased to find that her luggage had already been brought up. "Meoow." Merlin had followed her in. After closing the door behind her, Scully peeled off her work suit and slipped into her favorite pair of cotton pajamas. The bed was soft. The last thing she remembered, before drifting off, was the gentle treading of Merlin's paws, making himself comfortable on Scully's stomach. She hoped that Mulder slept well, and she prayed that he wouldn't have one of his nightmares. ******************************* Zoe opened her eyes. She had fallen asleep without knowing it. She was still staring at the same ceiling, next to the shaft. This was really starting to get weird. No guards, no alarms, no automatic fire. She had expected one, if not all of the above, by this point. Zoe rolled over, onto her stomach, and pulled herself to her feet. She began to wander around the compound. There were long hallways, lined with doors. Some had numbers on them, and you could tell where the numbers used to be on the rest. `It must have been an old hotel, or apartment building,' she thought. She tried a few doors. Of the ones that would open, the rooms were usually empty. Some still had pieces of furniture in them. She came to a door at the end of the hall marked #42. She turned the knob, and pushed open the door. Her eyes widened at the contents of this room, her stomach started to growl as well. The most wonderful spread was set out on a huge banquet table. Zoe crept toward it. There was a note in the center of the table. -HELP YOURSELF TO THE FOOD AND BEDS; JUST DON'T TRY TO ESCAPE. YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DO. -Your friends the Illuminati `Curiouser and Curiouser ,' she thought. Her stomach growled again, reminder her that she hadn't eaten in ages. Zoe picked up a role. She took in the warm aroma. `Italian bread' It looked safe. It smelled wonderful. She shrugged and took a monster sized bite. After swallowing she paused for a moment. She hadn't keeled over yet, the food was probably safe. After satisfying her stomach, she instinctively flopped onto a nearby couch and was dreaming within moments. ************************************ Mulder rolled over and glanced at the clock. 1:15 p.m. He slid out of bed and stomped into the adjoining bathroom. He turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature. He was in soon after. The hot water rolling over his shoulders was refreshing. He stood there for a while, just thinking. He remembered the time she had come down with some unknown disease, after being sprayed with something on a case. Scully had insisted that Zoe be admitted to a hospital, and reluctantly, she agreed. Of course when the sun rose the next morning, Zoe turned to stone, the gargoyle cure-all, and woke up at sunset perfectly fine. The doctors held her for the rest of the week anyway; testing, and questioning. They wanted to know what had happened. He had gotten her Merlin out of pity. Mulder sighed, this was not the first time she had been abducted, but for some reason, this time he felt helpless to do anything. Sure Goliath and him were going to try, but neither of them had any ideas as to what they were going to do. Neither of them knew what to expect when they got there, an honest deal, or a trap? *********************************** Mulder and Scully both ate a late lunch. Mulder had retreated back to his room to prepare. Dressing in a pair of comfortable jeans and a black shirt. He checked his gun and put it in it's holster. All he could do now was wait. Scully took the rental car to the NYPD to search out Elisa Maza and Matt Bluestone, like Broadway had advised. She sat patiently in the interrogation room, waiting. The door clicked open. A tall red headed man, and a shorter, black haired, female entered the room. "You must be Maza and Bluestone. My name is agent Dana Scully. I'm with the FBI." Scully pulled out her badge and showed it to the two wide-eyed detectives. "How can we help you ms. Scully," Matt asked. "Just call me Scully, and I need to talk to you about something rather serious. A hostage situation to be exact." Scully started to explain. "Hostage situation!?" Elisa exclaimed, " We were never told of any hostage situation." "That's because none were reported, for particular protective issues." Scully stated. "What do you mean?" Matt asked, intrigued. "I'll answer your question in a moment, but first I need to ask you one. How much do you know about gargoyles?" Scully inquired. She listened for a moment as the two Detectives began to deny and knowledge. Scully observed that their stories were probably pre-planned and memorized." " Trust me, you have no need to hide anything. Broadway sent me." Scully hinted. Matt and Elisa exchanged glances. Scully told them of the predicament, and soon after the three were on their way back to Castle Wyvern, atop Xanatos's massive skyscraper. Mulder, Scully, Elisa, Matt, David, and Fox, holding her baby Alex, stood out in the warm summer air waiting for the sun to set. As the sun disappeared the clan began to awake. Scully leaned over to Elisa, "Do you ever get used to this?" " Nope, even though I've known them for over a year, it still amazes me," Elisa smiled. Goliath turned around to Mulder, "Ready?" Mulder nodded. Elisa and Scully both knew it would be useless to try to talk their friends out of this. When they put their minds to something it was impossible to change it. After a round of short good-bye's, Mulder climbed onto Goliath's back, and the two were off. Lexington looked up at Scully and saw the concern in her eyes. "Ms. Scully." "Just Scully is fine." "Scully, would you like to join me while I watch Alex? You look as if you need something to occupy you mind." Scully smiled. These creatures were so similar to humans, in a mental and emotional sense. Some of their values were even higher than human standards. Their concern really changed their outlook on them." "Sure," She answered. ******************************************** Zoe woke up to the sound of machinery. Two automated robots were busy cleaning up the mess from earlier. Zoe grabbed an apple and another small loaf of bread before continuing out the door, to continue the exploration of her prison. So far she had found no windows and no indications of a way in or out. She opened a metal door at the end of the hall and found the emergency staircase. The `down' had been sealed off, but she could still go up, and if she could make it to the roof she was home free. The stairs went up three floors then stopped at another metal door. Zoe opened it to a huge ballroom. The room must have been the entire length and width of the building. Right in the middle of the room was an open skylight. Zoe raced for the opening; ready to leap out and spread her wings as soon as she got close enough. But, in mid-bound, common sense caught up with her. She stopped in mid air, and came crashing to the floor. Something didn't feel right about that window. Having dragon in her genetic makeup had some advantages and disadvantages. Both having to do with the ability to breath fire. The down size is if you were in fifteen feet of her when she sneezed, you could expect anything from sindged hair to third degree burns. But at the moment she could use her abilities. Not so much the fire she could breath, but the smoke it produced. Zoe, mentally, reached down within herself. The process was a lot like trying to make oneself burp. Zoe lifted her head to the skylight and blew out a big cloud of white smoke. When the cloud passed through the opening in the ceiling, Zoe saw the intricate web of laser lights. Most likely trip beams. Who knew what kind of death device they were set to trigger. Zoe sulked over to the nearest wall and slumped down against it. Not two seconds later a huge form came crashing through the skylight. Zoe braced herself for an explosion, or fireworks, or a twenty cannon salute, something. But nothing happened. She looked up to see Mulder and Goliath climbing to their feet. At first Zoe was ecstatic to see them, "Mulder, Goliath," she cried in joy. Then her mood suddenly changed to anger. "Do you two have any idea how much you scared me just now? I thought the building was going to explode. Do you know how many trip wires you just went through?" Mulder and Goliath just gave each other understanding looks as if to say, "Women, go fig." Mulder coolly walked over to Zoe and put his hands on her shoulders. "Please calm down. We need to figure out how to get you out of here. "Well, if you two just went through there (pointing to the skylight) without causing any harm, then why don't we just go back out that way?" Zoe asked. "The Illuminati said, `one human and gargoyle enter and one human and gargoyle leave,'" Mulder explained. "Great, this whole place must be monitored by computers. That would explain the automated maids." Zoe surmised. "Zoe," Goliath chimed, "You possess the ability to shape-shift, am I right?" "Yes, why?" "I've seen you do large creatures like gryphons and dragons, but can you do a small animal." "I think so, but small animals take more energy than large ones. That's why I don't do them very often. If you can get me out, I'll be drained by the time we get back to-wherever we're going, the castle I suppose. There is also the possibility of me wearing out before we get to our destination. If that happens I will immediately return to this form, because I will no longer be able to control my assumed one." "I will carry you then, to conserve as much energy as possible." Mulder said. "I'll try. The smallest thing that I know for sure that I can do is a cat. Is that OK?" She asked. Both Mulder and Goliath nodded. Zoe crossed her legs and sat down on the floor. She went deep into concentration; the crystal in the center of her forehead began to glow a radiant white. Soon Zoe was engulfed in the light. When it finally faded, Mulder and Goliath looked down onto the strangest cat either of them had ever seen. It was tiny, it's fur was purple, and it had two tiny angel-like wings. Mulder picked her up gently, and put her inside his jacket, zipping it up so that only her head was visible. Mulder climbed onto Goliath's back, and they were off again. Once on the roof, Goliath made his way to the ledge. Suddenly an alarm sounded from inside the building. "They've discovered were carrying a stowaway," Mulder yelled above the noise. Goliath bound for the ledge, and leapt into the night sky. Only a few seconds later the hotel went up in a blaze of fire and smoke. ******************************* Scully rocked baby Alexander, humming softly. "He's been sleeping softly for almost half an hour. I think it's to put him to bed now." Lex joked. Scully ignored the comment from the little green gargoyle. She rose gently to her feet and tiptoed over to Alex's crib, laying him gingerly in it. "Yeah, my mother's constantly on my case because I haven't settled down and gotten married yet." Lex smiled. Fox crept in to check on her little angel. "You may go up with the others, now, if you wish." Scully and Lexington complied. Scully and Lexington emerged out into the castle courtyard to her the calls of the others. "Look, here they come." Scully looked up to see the huge form of Goliath circle in for a landing. Once on the ground Mulder slid of Goliath's back and turned to meet eighteen curious eyes. "Are you guts OK?" "Did you fin them?" "Where's Zoe?" Mulder pulled the fragile cargo out of his coat. He motioned for everyone to stay back while her laid the violet feline on the ground. In the same radiant light, but a shorter period of time, the ball of fuzz turned into the rescued Zoe. Once transformed, she lost her balance, and fell backwards. Only to be caught by the ever alert Mulder. "I told you I would be drained," Zoe yawned. Mulder picked up his purple friend and gave her a loving kiss before carrying her to bed. She needed the rest. Mulder then returned to his bed to catch up on his Z's as well. Soon everyone filtered away leaving only Elisa and Goliath standing alone. Elisa put her arm around Goliath's waist. They both had expressions of hope and understanding knowing that they were not the only bi-species couple trying to make thongs work. Back home, Scully sat staring at a blank computer screen. `Hoe am I supposed to put this without Skinner thinking that Mulder has had a profound effect on me?' Scully thought laughing silently to herself. `Mulder has nothing to do with my view of gargoyles, and I'm going to make sure skinner understands that,-completely.'