"A Change In Character" by Ryley Breen A.K.A "Shadow Master"
E-Mail Address-rybreen@theberries.ns.ca
Just when you thought it was safe to download, I have returned! I hope you enjoyed the last story I wrote because it took me a long time to write. Even if you didn't I really enjoyed writing it for the fanfic readers who read my last fanfic. Getting back to the story at hand, it concerns greatly with Titania's and Oberon's adventures as mortals on Earth during the past millennia or so. Over such a long period of time you might wonder what they did and what were the results of their actions on the Earth realm. In this story we will meet one of the most dangerous beings that the rulers of the third race ever encountered. This being was so dangerous to the two rulers of Avalon, that not even they could subdue him for long. If this were on T.V they would show Oberon and Titania using their magical abilities and also Titania explaining what she, Oberon and the children of Oberon have been doing for since leaving Avalon a millennia or more ago.
"A Change In Character"
Kjolen Mountains, Norway, 8:30pm
The weather in this land was as always harsh and cold but what else could you expect in a land known for it's harsh winters and even harsher past.In the past this was a place that was home to a band of conquerors called the Vikings. For several years they plagued Europe with their plundering of castles and senseless murders. It didn't matter if there was or wasn't reason for the killings, the only thing that saved the victims of the Viking raids was their ransom value. Now you might ask "what unscrupulous desire caused these raids?" One answer was mostly for the riches that could be gained by the raid. Another was because of the religion that these Vikings followed, it set the ground rules by which their lives were ruled.In this religion there would of course been stories of gods and their adventures which were used to explain nature. One such god and probably one of the more well known was Loki, god of mischief and evil. There have been many tales spoken of this god, many adventures involving him and other Norse gods. Unfortunately his deeds of evil did not go unpunished for after the death of the god Baldur Loki is eventually captured and chained beneath the earth for all eternity. Though many who still believe in these gods say that Loki will someday arise from his imprisonment and that it will spell the end of everything, they also hope that they will not live to see that day. Unfortunately for them all their praying has been in vain for the time of his release is near.
Avalon, Present
Sleep.
It is usually the one time in a person's daily routine that peace can usually be attained, but not always. On the mystical island of Avalon there exists a people that do not require sleep but sometimes it do anyways. Titania for example rather enjoys sleeping, enjoys the freedom and serenity it produces. Her children and Oberon find this peculiarity of hers pointless and generally uninteresting. She doesn't care for she is Titania, queen of the third race and wife to the almighty Oberon. In these visions of fantasy she has seen a great many things. She has seen her mortal daughter Fox, her grandson Alexander and her son in law David and to all she felt feelings of joy and love. You would think that this particular night would be no different but if you thought this you would be making one hell of an understatement. In this dream the visions of past dreams were thrust aside and replaced with horrors unseen by Titania for a millennia. Now this powerful being is not one easily scared, she has seen every act of cruelty imaginable and then a few. Normally things like this wouldn't trouble her but tonight fate just threw her a curve ball. For this dream terrified Titania ,more so than ever before. So much so that with one heartfelt scream the immortal women woke up in a cold sweat.Even though she was awake and safe in her room the feeling of fright and horror never left her being.
So frightened was she that all she could manage to say, all she could manage to whisper was "Loki".
It had been quite a while since Oberon had concluded the gathering and his children and he had settled in. Though a few of the children were unhappy for being called back to their home so soon but this mattered little to him. He was their ruler as well as their father and as such he knew what was good for them. True he didn't feel entirely comfortable with allowing Fox's son remain on the earth realm nor Puck for that matter but what's done is done and there was no sense moping over it. Suddenly a wave of fear swept over him and he felt as thought he would scream if he had not the will power to stop himself. Unfortunately as the sound of another screaming reached his ears he knew that he was fortunate. Almost without thinking he teleported to the source and was shocked and concerned to find his wife sitting up in bed with a look of fear etched firmly on her face.Not wishing to startle her he walked slowly to his beloved's side and took her hand and placed it in his. Despite his efforts the emerald skinned beauty jumped at his touch and looked at him as though he was a formless wraith. This look remained only for a moment before Titania reasserted her normal calm and civilized appearance.
"You felt it too I presume?"asked Titania as her night gown changed into her normal Arabian princess appearance.
"Yes and I can only hope that we can stop this evil before it can do any real harm" said Oberon as he helped his beautiful bride to her feet.
He knew how she felt and felt the exact sense of fear she did. It had been over a millennia since they confronted Loki and brought his reign of terror to a screeching halt but he could still remember it as though it were yesterday (pretty hard given the fact that you've been alive for so long). Loki had begun to secure power on earth as well as other magical plains and was preparing to seize the throne of the third race for himself. Though Oberon's forces were able to keep the challenger's forces from getting to Avalon for a moment it looked as if Loki would win. Only by summoning the combined might of the third race were Titania and he able to subdue him and imprison him with a combination of physical and magical barriers. They had hoped that it would be strong enough to keep him confined for all eternity but they should have realized that nothing endured forever.
"How will we stop him this time, he'll surely be prepared for us?" , asked Titania as she walked over to the window and gazed out into the moonlit night, "we barely defeated him the first time and mostly due to his arrogance."
Oberon agreed with this statement, Loki was definitely not the sort to repeat a mistake, arrogance or no arrogance. Before his treacherous acts began he always saw himself as being superior to his peers, superior to Oberon himself. He was always rather hungry for power, that much was shown when he rigged Baldur's death by mistletoe. By the same example he was also very clever and that was the basic means by which his army was raised. He searched for those he deemed to have the necessary resources and skill to fulfill his goals. Once he had them hooked he used their own vanity and greed to manipulate and reshape their needs to suit his purposes. A millennia ago this didn't amount to very much in terms of power but in numbers it more than made up for the difference. In this day and age Loki would be able to have both power and numbers if he so wished and that worried Oberon. He had been on the receiving end of what this era's science had to offer and it was as formidable as magic had ever been. With such power at his command he would give reason for both mortals and immortals to fear him. Something would have to be done and soon but at present Oberon was at a loss for a solution.
New York, America, 6:45pm
"Problem dear?"asked Fox Xanatos as she looked at the frowning face of her husband David Xanatos looking at his computer screen.
Their marriage had happened almost a year ago to the day and she had many a chance during that time to study the body language of her billionaire husband. She could tell when he was happy, sad, disappointed or angry. There was nothing that she could not immediately recognize in his behavior.
"Nothing serious I was just trying to figure out how I'm going to deal with my disgruntled investors" , said Xanatos as he changed his frown to a grin, "I can keep them in line for now but it won't stay that way forever, sooner or later they may take their money elsewhere."
At first Fox was puzzled by the mention of problems with the investors but soon remembered what it was about. A while ago David had rescued the gargoyles from the police and an angry mob and just a few nights ago was involved in a riot outside New York General hospital. His investors were none to happy about which side David had chosen to support but knew that they didn't have the leverage to force him to change his mind. The eccentric business man was right that he would have to come up with a way to cool their hot tempers before anything happened.
"Don't worry David, they know they wouldn't last long without you" , said Fox as she plopped herself onto his lap, "besides dwell on it and you'll only worry yourself...."
Fox was stopped in mid-sentence as a feeling of impending doom shot through body. For a moment all she did was sit there with a look of dread covering her face. David had obviously was a bit disturbed by this as he reached for the intercom to call for Owen.He was just about to press down on the button before Fox returned to normal and stopped him.
"No need to bother Owen David, I'm fine" said Fox as she tried to put on a confident and calm face on.
"You sure, you looked almost pale for a second there?" asked David as he removed his finger from the intercom button and reached up to feel Fox's forehead.
"I'm sure, just had that 'somebody walking on my grave' feeling that's all" , replied Fox as she got up to leave, "Well I'd better get ready if you don't be late for the party!"
All David did was give a medium sized grin as she walked to the door and left to get dressed. She wasn't sure that he had believed her but she didn't want to worry him over just a feeling she had. Still,ever since she had discovered that her mother was some sort of mystical immortal queen and that she had magical abilities all her own, she had always wondered what exactly were the limits of her powers. Did she have some sort of magical warning system or was she just acting crazy.
"Well no sense thinking about something so trivial" , thought Fox with a sigh, "I don't care if I have magic in me or not. I have never needed it before and I probably never will".
Saying no more on the subject Fox walked down the dark tiled hallway and changed her thoughts to those of what to wear and what's going to happen. Little did Fox realize that her magical abilities would be a key part in the battle to come.
As the sun drifted down farther beneath the horizon, a fiery glow covered the cloudless sky. Shadows finished their day long transformation and had already begun to fade from sight and be replaced by those of the night.People heading home after a long days work and others whose shift is just beginning. One group of people who are abundantly associated with the night are the gargoyles. Some of the populace believes them to be bloodthirsty animals who should be separated from their world. Others are still trying to form an opinion of their own, one based on fact rather then fear. Then we come to the remaining few who believe that the gargoyles have been a great aide to the war against crime. Out of all these opinions one can only assume that time will eventually solve this situation either through violence or peace. As night fell upon the stone statues of Castle Wyvern a feeling of anticipation filled the air. A feeling commonly associated with the transformation of things of myth and things of reality. At first it seemed as though the anticipation was in vain, that there would be no great transformation. That feeling was banished from thought as the sound of crumbling stone filled the air. Slowly, as if it were going in a particular order, the surface of each statue began to crack and fall to the ground. Then the eyes of the stone guardians opened to reveal glowing orbs of light, as if it were some robot that had been encased in solid stone.That theory was ripped apart as each of the winged forms burst forth from their stone skin, roaring with a volume that seemed to be a declaration of their awakening. A warning to all criminals that tonight just became a lot more dangerous and futile. With their warning issued each taloned figure moved about their business but two of the former statues remained atop their perches looking out into the night sky.
"Are you o.k Elisa?"asked Goliath as placed his hand on her shoulder.
It had been a few nights since Elisa had destroyed the sphere of Titania and sealed her fate as a member of the gargoyle race. She had reassured him that she didn't blame him for the fate, none of the others did either but he still couldn't help but feel a little guilty. If only he had pushed himself a bit harder, moved a bit faster, it might have been enough to return Elisa to her proper form.
"Sure, turning to stone at sunrise is getting less shocking and breaking out of the stone shell is easy" , said Elisa with a encouraging smile, "I was just thinking of how I'm going to tie up the loose ends of my human life."
So that's what had been troubling her since her first days rest here and it was perfectly understandable.Though Elisa's life as a gargoyle was just beginning she had left the remains of her human life behind. Her job, her friends, her family,everything that she had worked for in her years of existence. Somehow she had to find a way to salvage what she could from the past in order to proceed into the future. Slowly she stood up and spread her wings to open air and glided down to the courtyard.
Once she landed she turned around and looked at him and yelled "c'mon Goliath, it's time for breakfast".
Pushing his guilt torn feelings aside Goliath glided down to Elisa and accompanied her inside. Still, in the very back of his mind, a small tinge of guilt still scratched at his conscience. Even with the modern trappings of technology that Xanatos had incorporated into the castle interior Elisa could still envision what it must have been like back then. Feasts after every victory, minstrels playing their sweet melodies and warriors laughing over feats of bravery and feats of cowardice. Still amongst those feelings of joy and happiness there was the ever present wisp of tragedy ingrained into these walls. It was in these very halls and rooms that brave warriors, both human and gargoyle had breathed there last.
"It must have been horrendous for Goliath to return to find almost every last one of his people destroyed" thought Elisa as she gazed at the small closet size spaces in the wall.
As she spoke the words a hint of irony came up and brought a grin to the gargoyle's face.
"Funny,in a way I guess they're my people now" , thought Elisa as the grin was replaced with a sense of sadness, "so in a way I have lost my brothers, my sisters, perhaps even parents".
Sounds of conversation from the dining hall dispelled the feelings of mourning from the face of the matron gargoyle. When she and Goliath entered the room they could see Brooklyn and Broadway staring angrily at each other.
"Guess when one of them struck out both did" whispered Elisa to Goliath.
"Yes, it would appear so"replied Goliath with a wide grin.
Things had definitely changed since Angela and the remainder of the voyagers returned home. Bronx certainly seemed to be glad to be back in the company of Hudson and there was no question of the trio's 'appreciation' of Angela. All of them had at onetime or another tried to gain Angela's attention for a time but always had it ripped away by the others. Elisa knew that this made Angela a bit uncomfortable but she seemed to be handling it well.
"Whoa, look at all this food!" exclaimed Elisa as she got a better look at the spread, "is Xanatos expecting guests or does he expect us to eat all this ourselves!"
There was so much food on the table that you could barely see the table itself.
"Not really Detective but if you wish to invite anyone I'm sure an extra place can be set at the table" said Xanatos jestingly as he and Fox entered the room.
"Where are you to going?" asked Elisa with a quizzical look on her face.
"There's a party being held at the twin towers and we have been invited to attend" said Fox as she returned Elisa's look to a tee, "Why? Do you want to come along, I'm sure the other guests wouldn't mind."
"No, I've been to enough high class parties to know what goes on" ,retorted Elisa as she took her place at the end of the table, " 'sides I'm on patrol duty tonight but thanks anyway."
This seemed to amuse Fox a bit as a sly grin came across her face.
"Some people have all the luck" , said Fox as she gave the taloned vixen a fake look of envy, "see you later, if I'm lucky."
With that discussion finished the two wealthy business people left the room and left the gargoyle clan with a feast to pack away. Owen was not in a happy mood and that was easily visible by his faltering visage. His cool and calm composure was replaced with one of worry and intenseness. He recognized the feeling of fear he had experienced just a few minutes ago and even he could not shake his reaction from his face.
"Loki is breaking out of his prison and when or if he does there goes the neibourghhood!" thought Owen as he picked up a book from the shelf and tried to concentrate on its contents.
He would begin a sentence but even before he reached the middle of the page an image of Loki would present itself.
"Maybe a session of training Alexander would lift my spirits" ,thought Owen as he placed the book down, "his prowess at magic always cheers me up".
Quickly he shape shifted into the comical trickster Puck and teleported himself to Alexander's room in a flash. When he arrived he saw that the child had also felt the wave of terror but had expressed it in a different and particularly messy way.
"P U, we have got to get you potty-trained and the sooner the better" muttered Puck as he went for the nearby package of diapers.
After the mess had been cleaned up Puck began to ponder what trick he should teach the little rug rat. It took him a while but after a few minutes he decided on shape shifting. True this would be a bit of a stretch but with a bit of help he might be able to do it. Taking the young infant in his arms Puck floated to the couch and placed him on top.
"O.K Alexander, this is going to be quite a strain for your minuscule abilities but I'm sure you can do it" said Puck as his clothes changed into a lab coat and a clip board appeared in his hand.
Alexander simply sat on the couch, paying little attention to what the floating man was saying.
"You know you're not going to get a very good grade if you don't listen"said Puck as he floated over in front of Alexander so as to get his attention. To this the child simply drooled and giggled, obviously this was going to be harder than Puck had thought.
"O.k you asked for it. Little child who cannot read, fruits of wisdom I wish to seed, so listen you must and show concern, for now it is time for you to learn" chanted Puck as he gazed at the child.
For a moment it seemed as if the spell would work but then Puck received the shock of his life. Just as the magical light was about to touch the babbling child it did a complete 180 degree turn and hit Puck right in the gut.
"Why you sneaky little devil,you've been practicing behind my back!" exclaimed Puck as he overrided the spell and laughed.
"Ohhh, mother is going to enjoy your report card very much come the end of the month" said Puck as he proceeded to carry Alexander over to his play pen.
Alexander definitely liked Puck, probably because of his charming personality but Puck doubted it.
After placing a few stuffed toys in the pen with him Puck said "o.k, let's try your levitation skills kiddo then I'll leave you to play".
The billion dollar heir smiled and with no more then a gesture lifted a teddy bear a few inches off the ground.
"Good, good, now lets go for the really big prize and try for two" said Puck as he levitated over another stuffed object next to the teddy bear.
For a while it seemed as though he was going to hold it but then the toys dropped to the ground. With a frown Puck picked up the small child and floated back over to put the kid to bed.
"You know Alex you have a rather annoying family trait despite your potential" , said Puck as he placed the child in the crib and pulled the covers over him, "you always mess up when you strain yourself."
Apparently the child was tired for not a minute passed before he was fast asleep.
"Sleep well little one because one way or another your future will be decided soon." whispered Puck and with a slight flickering of light Puck vanished from the room.
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Avalon
"Have you thought of anything yet my lord?" asked Titania as she saw her true blue husband enter the room.
He apparently was not in the best of moods and it was not an easy task to upset him like this.
"Not really beloved, the only possible course of action is to try and strengthen his prison and hope it's enough" spoke Oberon in a dry somber tone.
"How can we do so, according to your own laws no immortal can leave Avalon once the gathering has concluded?" asked Titania as she walked to his side.
"I know, which is why I'm sending only the Weird Sisters to earth" , replied Oberon as he met his wife's gaze, "they have been waiting for a chance to redeem themselves for quite some time."
Titania only nodded with but a gesture summoned the three sisters Seline, Phoebe and Luna.
"Yes my lord?" they said in unison.
"I assume that you three have felt the same fear as I did?" asked Oberon.
"Yes we did my lord and it was very unpleasant" said Seline.
"That feeling of fear was a sign that the millennia old prison of magic and stone in which we confined the being Loki has become critical" said Oberon in a foreboding tone.
At this all three of the silk dress wearing maidens gasped in horror. Though they were young at the time he knew that the deeds of Loki were remembered by each and every one of them.
"I have decided that you three shall go to the site of his prison and use your powers to strengthen it so it will be able to contain him as it was meant to" , ordered Oberon, "In exchange for these services I shall forgive your actions and perhaps if the job is done well I may allow you to stay on the earthly realm and aid Puck in the defense and teaching of young Alexander."
The sisters seemed to have mixed emotions about the mission and Oberon expected that. They were probably pleased with the chance of being released from their labors but they didn't entirely like the fact that they may end up working with Puck. None of the children really liked Puck for he had played a prank on all of them at one time or another.
"As you wish my lord"said the sisters reluctantly.
Without a moments protest concerning the reward the sisters disappeared and went about to complete their mission.
"Do you think they can do it?" asked Oberon as he turned to face Titania.
"Only the timeless Fate can answer that and she hasn't said a thing since the beginning of time" said Titania as she held her husbands hand to comfort him.
This seemed to help a bit but nothing that Titania knew of could rid either of them of the feeling of doom.
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Kjolen Mountains
The site of Loki's imprisonment was unlike any other, for there was no marking of a grave. Not surprising since if anyone tried to dig him a way out it would mean the end of everything. High atop the tallest mountain of the Kjolener Mountains appeared the three sisters, who for the past millennia walked the earthly realm. The cold wind and snow blew by them with a vengeance but the sisters took no notice of it.
"Oberon has promised us much" said Luna.
"Yes but I could do without the addition of Puck!" said Phoebe with a bitter frown.
"Definitely but we can worry about that later sister, for now we must complete our assignment before it literally blows up in our faces" said Seline as she gave a sigh of frustration.
Oberon's punishment had been severe for their violation of Oberon's law and all three of them would just as soon forget about it as soon as possible. Forming a large triangle above the tip of the mountain the sisters began to chant and join their powers. In no time at all the three sisters had built their combined their powers to their peak and the time came for the final incantation.
"Loki whose power all should fear, your awakening would destroy all held dear, we imprison you now with utmost certainty, that you will remain here for all eternity" chanted the sisters in one vibrating voice and in one concentrated blast drove their immense collection of magic upon the mountain below. Instead of damaging the mountain below the rock and ice below seemed to soak up the energy, to suck it in like a thirsty baby sucking on a bottle. After a while all sign of the magic disappeared from the surface and all seemed as it had been before.
"Our work here is done" said Phoebe in a exhausted form of voice.
"Yes let us return to Avalon and await our reward" agreed Seline as she floated towards her two sisters.
Luna was about to join her sisters when her eyes caught a small flicker of energy coming from the mountain below them.
"What was tha..."spoke Luna but before she could finish her sentence the mountain top exploded in a flash of green magical energy.
So intense was the blast that it slapped the Weird Sisters from the sky and sent them hurtling to the icy mountainside below.
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Twin Towers, Manhattan
The party had been just as Fox had predicted, stale and boring. The 'big' bash was being hosted by the Hardy Foundation and also as expected the party was just an excuse to unveil some of their latest achievements. David was doing an admirable job of pretending to be interested but Fox knew that he was just as miserable as she was. The only thing that would be interesting tonight would be when David made his speech concerning his new endeavor into the field of archeology. Ever since the gargoyles made their live appearance on television the entire city was asking questions about them. "What are they like?", "How long have they been around?" and "can anything hurt them?" were just a few of the more popular ones. Though Goliath or Hudson could probably tell David everything but he didn't want to be connected to the gargoyles officially just yet.
"I wonder what Mrs.Hardy would have said if David had shown up here with Goliath and Elisa?"thought Fox with a grin as she got up to escort David to the podium.
Fox stumbled as the feeling of dread that she felt back at the tower shot through her, except this time it was ten times worse. Her body felt as though it were being filled with thousands of volts of electricity with more on the way. David caught her by the arm and it was a good thing to because at the moment she wasn't sure she would be able to stand on her own. "What's wrong?"asked David as he brought her slowly down into her chair.
At first she wasn't able to speak at all, her mouth was forming the words but no sound was coming out. It was if she had forgotten how to speak but at the same time knew how.
"Alright, nod once for home and twice for a hospital" said Xanatos with an obvious look of concern on his face.
Though it was shaky Fox was able to nod once and no sooner did she make her choice known then David helped her to her feet and helped her to the exit.
"Is Mrs.Xanatos alright Mr.Xanatos?"asked the announcer who hadn't left his spot by the door.
David didn't answer the man, all he did was give a "what kind of a question is that" look and continued to help her toward the door. As she slowly began to regain control of her legs she couldn't help but feel as though these were her last moments on earth. She hoped that she was wrong and that the bad feeling was just the food but she knew it wasn't.
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Kjolen Mountains
"Are you all right sisters?" asked Luna as she looked around to find her sisters.
The others seemed to be none the worse for wear but as she caught sight of what was left of the mountain she knew that they wouldn't be that way for long.
"Oh they're all right now dear Luna, but soon no one will be right at all" bellowed a sinister voice above her.
Luna searched for the source of the voice and found it almost immediately. Hovering a few feet off the rocky ground stood Loki, wearing traditional Norse armor and a sword in one hand. All of the Weird sisters knew that they must act now or they may never get another chance. Quickly teleporting next to each other the Sisters rose from the snow covered ground for a final assault. Loki seemed oblivious to this attack and was simply floating in front of them with a look of boredom on his face.
"Go ahead Weird Sisters, do your worst!" said Loki with a sly grin on his face.
"Your eternal prison have you escaped, to reek havoc at a fast rate, with fury high and great disdain, we give you now great agony and pain" chanted the Sisters and with amazing resiliency an array of energy charged down at the arrogant god. For the next few seconds the sisters strained to unload all they could upon their enemy, hoping that it would be enough. Unfortunately like all batteries of power even the Weird Sisters have their limits. With one final grunt of energy the barrage of magic came to a halt and the sisters slowly floated to the cold snow below. Luna groaned as she tried to get to her feet, she wasn't in the best of shape. Looking at her sisters Seline and Phoebe she could see that they were in pretty much in the same shape as she was. She hoped that they had accomplished their mission because she was virtually dry of Avalonic magic. Sadly her heart sank as a loud resounding laugh filled the air. Turning to find the source she gazed at ground zero of their attack and saw Loki standing defiantly at them.
"Nice try ladies but no cigar" , gloated the god of evil, "but as a reward for such a valiant effort I shall let you sleep...forever!"
Almost immediately Loki unleashed his powers upon the three sisters and all three screamed with pain. Luna struggled to fight the volley of magic but it was no use. Suddenly the pain went away and the world began to grow dark.
The last thing Luna heard was Loki saying "Well if I'm going to reign supreme I'd best see what progress man has made over the past millennia."
Then the darkness enveloped her and all thought came to a stop.
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