All right, here is the final story in my Gargoyles series. It's been a long road for this series and I would like to thank you once again for sticking with it. Perhaps one day I'll do another Gargoyles story, but for now, this chapter in my fan fiction life has been drawn to a close. I wanted to do an epilogue piece because the series opened with Liz Maza and I find it fitting that it should end with her. So please enjoy In The End and leave a review for it or any of the other stories in the series.
Alex's fourth birthday party took place in the castle courtyard at night. The guests were family and close friends which included the gargoyles, Ariana, Morgan, Ruth, Iris, Petros Xanatos, Halcyon Renard, Queen Titania, Macbeth, and the remaining mutates. Currently Alex was playing pin the tail on the donkey with the gargoyle trio, Ariana, Morgan, and somehow Fang. Surprisingly, the loud mouth mutate was actually good with kids when a responsible adult was around.
From the tables laden with food and unopened presents, the older guests watched in amusement. Claw and Keahi were sitting together with Elisa next to them. The two women had a short conversation about what happened a few weeks ago when Diane Maza was kidnapped. Keahi had asked about how Diane was doing, which Elisa replied that she was fine, and Elisa asked if Keahi did have a hand in the suspicious death of one Dr. Anton Sevarius. It had only been hours after Diane had been rescued that Sevarius' body had been found. His death had been ruled a homicide, but some believed it was justified, an act of self-defense, since he was found with a gun beside him. Keahi's response was that she did what she had to do to stay alive and protect her family. Elisa let it go.
Ariana and Morgan split away from the group playing games to get drinks for themselves. Ruth kept an eye on her friends though she knew they were in no danger here. She smiled at Morgan, who had come out of her shell so much after meeting the gargoyles and making her home in Castle Wyvern. It showed not only in her personality even if she was still reserved, but also in her attire. She wore less black and showed off her arms, using a glamour charm in public to hide her scars. Ariana was doing very well, too. She was now the personal designer to Fox Xanatos. It was good money and Ariana even went as far as asking if she could pay rent since she and Morgan were living under Xanatos' roof. The offer had been declined, but Fox suggested that Ariana invest the money so she could travel later in life.
Halcyon Renard was speaking to Titania. Though they weren't on the best of terms, they still had been married. Renard asked Titania how things were on Avalon and Titania inquired about his health. It was no secret that Renard was not well and that his life would soon be at an end no matter how much Morgan and Ariana helped to prolong it. Renard was honest with her, saying that he was making arrangements for that time and that he was at peace with his decisions. His company, Cyberbiotics Corporation, would go to Alex, but until he was ready to take over, Preston Vogel would handle the company.
After his conversation with Titania, Renard went over to Petros. The fisherman admitted to Renard that he had some fish stories in his life, but none of them compared to what actually happened in his son's life. Petros didn't understand magic and was afraid of it. Renard was quick to agree, but added that magic should be respected, not just feared, pointing out the magical beings in the courtyard while powerful we're safe for the time being. Petros gave a nod at that, remembering Alex's last birthday. Magical gifts had been exchanged and Fox and her mother made up for the most part. There had been no fighting, physical or verbal. It had been a civil gathering.
It wasn't long before Puck wanted to have some fun. He put his own spin on pin the tail on the donkey, which led to people having to run away from the possessed tail as he had charmed it to try to attach itself to the party guests. Of course, the birthday boy was exempt from this torment. Alex laughed at his friends trying to escape the tail. Iris put a stop to it when poor Bronx got quite the surprise from the tail while he was chewing on a ham hock. Puck sighed, put out that his fun had been ruined. However, Iris knew that in the next twenty minutes Puck would find something to torment them with again, hopefully something that wouldn't send Bronx into a panic.
Macbeth watched the scene fondly, remembering his own children. He was soon joined by Ruth and the two of them talked about when they were young. They both were very close in age surprisingly and the blonde ghost had her own stories to share about her short life. After speaking of the past, they spoke of the future. Ruth had roamed the world as a ghost for centuries and she had thought about moving on and being at peace. However, she didn't want to leave Morgan alone. Macbeth understood. He shared he felt the same since he met Morgan and started teaching her. They both agreed that they felt needed and that they should stay until they were no longer needed.
What Macbeth didn't share with Ruth was that a certain gargoyle felt the same. Though they weren't inviting each other to tea or sharing late night drinks, Macbeth and Demona had spoken to each other. Demona told Macbeth that she wanted to stick around for her daughter and Ariana. She had so much to teach the silver sorceress that it would be a shame for all of Demona's knowledge disappear. The two would meet and Ariana would copy down spells along with pieces of history that Demona had witnessed and historians never got right. So one night, Demona and Macbeth came to an unspoken agreement that when they were no longer needed, they would meet on the battlefield one last time.
Standing up on what she considered Goliath's tower, Liz Maza watched the party from above. However, the girl out of time wasn't smiling or really enjoying the party. People actually didn't know she was there. Yes, she had been invited and she had said that she would come, but that she would probably be running late. Liz had no reason to run late since she wasn't doing anything important earlier in the day. To be honest, she had arrived before anyone else had. She had stayed out of sight while they set up for the party. Liz had intended to go meet with everyone when the games broke out, but she couldn't bring herself to move from the tower.
"Funny. I thought you'd be down there having fun."
Liz whirled around and found Coyote standing behind her with a smirk. "Scare the daylights out of me, why don't you!" she snapped.
The trickster put his hands up in surrender. "No need to bite my head off. Why the attitude anyway?"
Liz turned back to the courtyard.
Coyote came up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Come on. What's wrong? It's not like you to be sullen. You should be down there giving them grief with Puck. Brooding is what Goliath does from what I understand from my cousin."
"My middle name is Goliath," Liz said plainly.
Coyote wrinkled his nose at that. "There are days I forget that. Why didn't they come up with something else? Elisabeth; beautiful. Goliath; not a name I would associate with a girl. Then again, you're hardly ordinary."
Liz hummed.
"Seriously, what is it?" Coyote asked. It made him nervous that Liz was acting like this. She wasn't one to let bad moods get to her. She had her bad days like everyone else, but she would go out of her way to try to make them good.
"Did it matter?" she asked.
Coyote frowned. "Did what matter?"
"Coming back to the past," Liz replied. "Did I really change anything?"
"What are you talking about? Of course! If you hadn't come back, this time period would be evolving into the one you grew up in."
Liz turned around to face him. "Would it? I mean, Ariana, Morgan, Keahi, Iris: they didn't exist in my time."
"But if it weren't for you, they would not have come together," Coyote argued.
"Would they?"
Coyote shook his head. "What is with you? You're never like this."
"That's because I've always had a purpose," Liz answered. "I've always had a goal to work for. But now I don't. Elisa's alive and well, which saves the Manhattan Clan. The guys have girlfriends. Derrick and Maggie are back to their original selves, mostly anyways. Sevarius is dead. Keahi's the leader of the Labyrinth Clan now. What's there left for me to do?"
"Be an amazing cousin to a certain birthday boy," Coyote replied.
Liz gave him a deadpanned expression. "I'm being serious."
"So am I," said Coyote. "Liz, just because you didn't have a direct hand in all of the gargoyles' major changes, doesn't mean you contributed to them. One small change can create an entirely new future. Think about it. If something had happened to Elisa, it could have had an impact on her career, maybe even contributing to her death. Goliath would have faded after she died and you know the rest because you lived it. You saving Elisa, that one thing, changed the outcome of the future. It's the butterfly effect. You started the changes that led to this moment. So in the end, it did matter."
Coyote gave Liz a hug. She really needed one at the moment.
"Thanks," she said. "I needed that."
"Now, how about we go down and enjoy the party?"
Liz smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I would like that."
Coyote smiled. "Feeling better?"
Liz nodded.
"Now let's give your family a trickster's greeting," he smirked.
Liz grinned. She let her magic come up to the surface and it stirred up the air currents.
Below them, guests were surprised by the sudden gusts of wind that sent some paper goods tumbling off the tables. In a small twister, Liz and Coyote appeared.
"Liz!" squealed Alex.
Liz picked him up and swung him around before settling him on her hip.
"I thought you wouldn't come," he told her.
"And miss all the fun? The more, the merrier. Isn't that right, Puck?"
"That's right," Puck agreed. "And you look great, Lizzie. You don't look like you've been run over by a truck recently."
Liz scowled. "Oh, hush."
Fox got up from her spot at the table. "Then I guess it's time for cake."
Broadway, Morgan, and Iris went inside to fetch the large cake.
Liz tweaked Alex's nose. "Happy birthday, imp."
Alex gave her a hug. "I'm glad you came, Liz."
Liz put her head on top of Alex's. "Yeah, I am, too."
And she was. Liz was glad she came back to the past because the future here was very bright and she was going to do all in her power to keep it that way.
And this is the end. Leave a review and check out my profile page for updates with all my projects. There have been some changes since the last I updated my profile and you should be aware of the posting schedule. Feel free to click on over any time, leave me a review, write a PM if you have any comments or questions about what is happening. I'll try to get back to you as quick as I can.