*We open in the devils' hideout under the ghost town. Alex is clacking away at a computer.*

Alex: *sits back, looking at the screen; folds his arms* Hmm, that could work. *He leans forward and clacks at the keys again; pauses and scratches his head* No, that isn't quite right...

(Sheila flings open the door, dressed impeccably in a fashionable gray suit, leather heels, and matching briefcase, her hair in a perfect French twist. She sighs and drops down in a chair across from Alex.)

Sheila: There are times when I hate my job. If I didn't need it as cover and for the money... (She leans back, then barks) Where's the handmaidens? I want a drink.

Alex: *mutters* They're around. *starts clacking again; pauses and drums his fingers on the desk; shakes his head* Ugh. I'll get back to this. *turns to Sheila* Other than asking where the handmaidens are, was there something else you wanted?

Sheila: Sex.

Alex: *nods* Understood. *grins* Speaking of, I had a rather evil idea earlier.

Sheila: What? (Rolls her eyes) If it involves another experiment, I'll turn you into a toad and forbid the girls from kissing you. Most of our slaves are already working on the three labs you've blown to pieces.

Alex: No, no, no. It’s more evil than that. How many times have we gone after the Guardians’ children and come up empty-handed?

Sheila: Twice, at my count. (Makes a face) Surely, you weren't asking me to...

Alex: *rolls his eyes* Uh, no. You KNOW whom I've had my eye on.

Sheila: The Mother. How do you plan on doing THAT? I know how fond you two are of going at it, but her husband will be guarding her at all times...

Alex: I've been working on the cloning equipment again and thought I could use it to expand our little family.

Sheila: (Smirks) I'm glad I kept the blueprints in storage. The university still has the actual equipment and refuses to donate or sell it.

Alex: *evil grin* I can finally have my very own evil Mother.

Sheila: And I'd love to have a White Knight you haven't damaged.

Alex: I haven't damaged him much lately.

Sheila: Ahem. Remember down (points downwards) there? I still haven't forgiven you for that.

Alex: *rolls his eyes* Fine, you can have an undamaged clone.

Sheila: Thank you. (Smirks) And I know the perfect place to put the new equipment. As fond as I'm growing of the complex, it's too far from the action. Oh, we'll keep it, but for now... (leans back in her chair as the handmaidens finally arrive with drinks and plates of small snacks)...how would you like another hotel?

Alex: I'd love another hotel.

Sheila: Good. I'm in the midst of trying to buy the Hotel Caprice in downtown Malibu Beach. It was heavily damaged in last month's flood, but it seems the nightclub and ballroom are still in decent shape. I believe it may be repairable, though it'll cost a pretty penny. (She turns her evil smirk to him) Once the repairs are completed, it'll be a perfect way to attract souls...including the Guardians. And in the meantime, you may use some of the undamaged rooms to work on experiments.

Alex: And play with that "man-eating mist." I love it.

Sheila: I'm not so sure I trust that mist. (Frowns) One of the reasons I wanted to buy the building was to investigate that mist. Yes, I know we've heard rumors the Caprice has that mist, too, but I want to know why. There was something strange about the Hotel California, and I feel the same vibrations from the Caprice. It's as if they're alive...and angry.

Alex: I heard the same rumor. That's why I hope it's there, too. It was rather helpful last time.

Sheila: Helpful, yes...but also dangerous. Alex, I know it slowed the Guardians and imprisoned the White Knight, but may I remind you it also tried to eat US?

Alex: We just have to let it know who's boss.

Sheila: I think there's more to it than that. I want to do some more research on it. There's a great deal of similarity between the Caprice and the California. I think they may have been built by the same person or firm.

Alex: You do the research. I'm gonna have some fun cloning.

Sheila: Oh, I'll be doing other things. After all, it won't just be the Guardians we clone.

Alex: You're building on my idea already. *sighs, grinning* I just want a Mother to call my own. One that doesn't already have a Savage attached to her at the lips and hips.

Sheila: (Sighs) And I'd love to have my own White Knight.

Alex: He'll be second. (Grins) I want a little one that I can mold into an evil little devil in training.

Sheila: I'm not so sure about that. As much as I want to train a Chief Devil, I have no particular fondness for brats, and the Guardians' brats drive me INSANE.

Alex: *raises an eyebrow* I could tell that the last time we nabbed those rugrats.

Sheila: The Young Scholar does have some interesting energy, though. It's really more like her father's than her mother's. (Grins) And the Young Bard will be most useful.

Alex: Yeah, they will. I want a collector. Though I still believe the Young Savage would be fantastic, I think I could mold my own to be even better.

Sheila: You can mold two. The Young Savage could help you, being older.

Alex: In that case, I might as well grab my dear brother, too. (Sighs) One plan at a time. First, I just have to figure out how to separate the Mother from the others so I can clone her.

Sheila: That will be the difficult part.

Alex: I'll have to think on that one. It'll be tough.

Sheila: Nothing concerning the Guardians is ever easy. (Sips her drink) Which reminds me, how did retrieving crystal from that cave of theirs the other day go?

Alex: *sighs, making a face* It didn't. I even quadrupled myself and tried to use my brother as a bargaining chip. Nothing.

Sheila: You really need to be more careful. Choose a time in the day when they won't be there.

Alex: But if I show when they aren't there, I have to deal with the security system that my dear brother installed there. I don't feel like being flung out on my ass again.

Sheila: I find that highly amusing.

Alex: You would. *pauses* The only good part of that was that I was still tied to the Mother when that happened.

Sheila: I imagine you enjoyed each other's company after that.

Alex: Very much so.

Sheila: (Sips her drink) There has to be a way to separate them. Not just the Mother, but all of them.

Alex: We could use random demons grabbing them, or trap doors, or the mist...

Sheila: But they'll just go back to each other! No, I mean permanently.

Alex: *frowns* We'd have to turn them all to make it permanent.

Sheila: No, not all of them. What if it was just one of them? One who was hurt or troubled, and thus, vulnerable.

Alex: I'm intrigued. That would work better than in the past when we've just grabbed one of them for the sake of grabbing one.

Sheila: Right. Instead of just randomly kidnapping one or two in the hope of luring them all...why not take one in trouble and make some use of them?

Alex: I like it.

Sheila: One of our major problems has been a lack of strategy and the Guardians being so tight-knit. (Pulls a newspaper out of her briefcase) Rumor has it that our Monkees haven't been getting along.

Alex: Oh, really? How interesting.

Sheila: Seems making and promoting that movie took quite a bit out of them. There's talk of a live special for some local network in the fall, but no other scheduled appearances. They've been seen less and less in each other's company. (Makes a face) On the other hand, according to scuttlebutt in LA, this could also be due to the return of the MonkeeMen, who keep mysteriously appearing at the scene of burglaries and odd crimes just in time to stop them and save the day.

Alex: *also makes a face* You're kidding.

Sheila: That would explain what you saw at the cave the other day and their revival of interest in the Cave.

Alex: Yes, it would. *pauses* I need to try to get into the Cave again. I believe I heard my brother has been spending a lot of time there, minus the others. Perhaps if I can find him along there, I'd have an easier time getting a piece of the crystal.

Sheila: It could be possible.

Alex: Could be... *Grins* Sounds like you may have an idea.

Sheila: (Grins back) Why, yes. I believe I do.

Alex: Good.

Sheila: Making movies seems to be getting to the Guardians, and I imagine their nerves are frazzled from repairs after last month's flood as well.

Alex: They are still reeling from that flood. I could still tell when I dropped in on them.

Sheila: Thank goodness I was doing work here and not in LA when that hit.

Alex: *smirks* I used my surveillance equipment to watch some of the goings on during it. It was very interesting.

Sheila: I thought you said you lost a lot of your survelliance equipment in the storm?

Alex: I did lose a lot of it, but I still had enough to watch the radio station & the highway. *pauses* I was glad to still have had the radio station. Lots of interesting things going on there.

Sheila: I heard their banter, thanks to that radio of yours that can pick up signals from hundreds of miles away. (Makes a face) It was disguisting.

Alex: I kinda enjoyed it. *Smirks* I was glad to know my drug was a big hit, too.

Sheila: I told you not to pass that stuff around in Laurel Canyon! Those celebrity-besotted idiots up there aren't ready for it yet!

Alex: Oh, then you don't know that my brother was one of those idiots who tried it.

Sheila: And he certainly isn't ready for it. He can't even handle his own creations.

Alex: *snorts* No kidding.

Sheila: Why don't we go to the lab and work on more of our ideas? (Sighs) Besides, I need more drinks.

Alex: *nods* Let’s. I have a few more I'd like to share... *continues to ramble as they leave the room and we fade out*