Farewell to Fortune
By: Nabiki GMYW
Brief summary: After many years, Goliath and Elisa have a good long talk.
Disclaimer: All characters regarding Gargoyles belong to Disney. Everyone else is mine. I think you'd know that by now… mail at paganj@caribe.net
Tell me. Tell me, Goliath… how are things going…?
The imposing gargoyle grunted softly as he looked down. He rubbed his hands together, and they suddenly seemed so big and clumsy that he didn't know where to put them. He settled to place them behind his back.
Don't just stand there…sit… sit and talk to me…
Without words, he sat on the nearby bench. He tried to look up, but couldn't. He just stared down at his talons, not knowing what to say. What to think.
Why haven't you visited me before? Why now?
"It was only proper to visit you." He said, unconvincingly.
Proper? Why do you say that?
Goliath blinked in surprise and said, "Because it's proper." He replied absentmindedly.
She chuckled. I suppose it is, big guy. Our 20th anniversary.
He silently flinched. "I…" he began, trying to measure carefully his next words. "I'm sorry I didn't come to visit. I was… the clan was… I…was busy with the clan. And I couldn't come before. I'm not well."
Oh…
So…
"So?"
So how are the guys doing? Haven't seen them in awhile. Angela dropped by. I can't remember when, though… Everything has gotten… fuzzy.
She paused. But I never really forgot about you…"They're fine." Goliath said, not very enthusiastic. "Brooklyn is a fine leader. Our clan is stronger than before." He chuckled lightly. "You see the little ones. They're… not so little anymore."
He cheered up slightly as he stared off at the nothing and remembered. "Angela… she and Broadway… they will finally have a child. The egg is about to hatch. Xanatos… he and Fox threw a 'baby shower'. Angela has already told me… if it's a boy, they'll name him Goliath, like me." he chuckled and added, "I'm not sure how to feel about that…"
It's a fine name. You should be flattered.
Goliath nodded softly. "I guess…"
He smiled serenely and added, "If it's a girl… I want her named after you."
I guess it's ok,
she said. I'm glad to know there'll be another Elisa.Silence.
But does the clan think it's a good idea?
He grunted in disgust. "I don't see what's wrong with it. The clan needs hope after everything that has happened. You don't know… You don't know how hard is life for us now. The Quarrymen have a lot more following now. They made Canmore some sort of martyr for their cause… they say that…"
His voice trailed off.
"… they say things that are absolutely lies…"
What do they say?
"They say…" Goliath began, and his tone gradually charged itself with anger and frustration all at the same time, "…they say that we're not good enough… they say we're the cause of the petty problems of every human in the city…!"
Goliath…
…don't let it get to you…
…fight…
…fight the good fight…
…fight the way you fought when I was…
"Alive."
"I'm not well."
Silence.
"I'm not well."
"Everything was so confusing."
"You had fallen in the water. The waters were cold. Below zero. You were holding on to a tree branch. You were yelling at me, crying my name."
"He went after you."
"I went after you."
"He got there first."
"He fired."
"I yelled your name."
"I cried."
Hush, Goliath…
"He grinned. I cried. He stood there with his grinning face. I wanted to rip his face off. I wanted to kick him, kill him, break every bone in his body and leave it to rot in the middle of Times Square."
Hush, Goliath…
"Everything has been denied to me."
"Even my revenge."
"He was standing there, grinning. I cried, and yelled, and cried. He stood there with his grinning face. I wanted to rip his face off. He was yelling things. Horrible things."
Serves you right, gargoyle!
I told you, I had warned you!
This is for my brother!
This is my revenge!
"In his whooping and dancing, he slipped."
"In his cry of joy, he slipped."
"He slipped and the ice broke under his feet. The waters were cold. It was winter."
"The waters were cold. It was winter."
"The waters were very cold. It was a very cold winter."
"He looked ridiculous, in the water, sticking his hand out, yelling, telling me he's sorry, please help me, he'll be good."
"He kept yelling help me."
"The waters were cold."
"Even I felt cold."
"I only remember the cold."
"I only remember feeling only the cold, and standing there, wondering that maybe I should get out of the cold and into the fire."
"Wyvern has a fireplace."
"He kept yelling at me."
"I remember the furnace. I remember sitting by the fire in the chimney. I remember how warm and pretty the fire was. I remember how warm it was."
"He kept yelling help me."
"In Wyvern, next to the fireplace, I couldn't hear him crying my name. I could only remember hearing the fire burning."
"John couldn't swim."
"I am not well."
Hush, Goliath…
Silence.
"I miss you." Goliath continued. "I miss you so much it hurts."
"I miss your voice. I miss the way we talked. I miss those nights we just talked until sunrise. The times I took you in my arms and glided over the city."
"I miss the times we made love."
"Everything is so confusing now. I don't remember things as well as I used to. Just this morning I thought it was yesterday. I am not well."
"We've been so unlucky since you left. The Quarrymen just keep getting harsher and worse, telling lies, praising Canmore like a god, a martyr, a hero. In death, he is stronger than before."
"We've been reduced to cowering in the castle."
"When you left, our good fortune was over."
"To survive a thousand years to end up like this…?"
"It's not fair."
"I'm not well."
Don't give up Goliath…
Even though the odds are against us.
We must fight.
To give up would be letting Canmore win.
That's not fair.
Remember the good times.
Remember me.
I love you.
Silence.
Dawn would be soon enough. She spent the entire night searching for him. Some one in his condition can't go off by himself.
She found him in the cemetery.
Goliath, her father, never looked so helpless before. His once stern figure had vanished. He hunched over like an old man, thought he was, by gargoyle standards, still young. He was sitting on a bench, facing a grave.
The Grave.
"Father…" Angela softly called out.
Goliath softly looked up, with the eyes of a thousand-year-old man, "Daughter?"
"Father," she continued, "It's time to go home. You should be resting."
She softly took him by the arm and helped him up. Somehow, Angela noticed him older than before.
"It's no longer safe to be out here, father. We have to go home."
"Home?" Goliath said, absentmindedly, "Yes. Home. I lost track of time. Did I miss the egg's baby shower?"
Angela blinked.
"Father, Nashville is ten years old."
Goliath stared at her surprised for a moment. "Yes. Ten years. Time flies."
She gently pulled him from where he stood and began to walk away from The Grave. She sneaked around, seeking to avoid any humans that could've been there.
"The coast is clear." Angela declared, "Let's go home?"
"Home?" Goliath replied, absentmindedly. "Yes. Home. Hudson's there. Lexington will be fighting Brooklyn for the tv. Xanatos will laugh." He seemed to cheer up for a moment.
"Father, Xanatos is—"
She didn't finish the sentence. She sighed heavily and said, "Come on, father. Let's get you out of the cold."
END