All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. Characters and concepts from Star Trek are property of Paramount and created by Gene Roddenberry. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of SN.
Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. Also, I am altering large sections of the Star Trek storyline, especially concerning events like WWIII and the Eugenics Wars, which without the Cold War as a backdrop probably wouldn't happen the way Roddenberry wrote them, if at all. This story takes place immediately after "A Brighter Future and a Darker Night".
Chaos
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Shanghai, China
Things were once peaceful in China, and Shanghai was one of its growing cities, with electric lights shining so bright that the city map could easily be seen from space at night. But now things were changing as a lone man ducked inside an old restaurant and joined a group of young men gathered around a small round table.
"Did anyone see you, Lao?" the apparent leader of the group spoke.
"No, comrade leader," Lao answered, "no one saw me."
"Good," the leader answered, "now it is time we discuss the information we printed off the internet about these Illuminati."
"The information all appears correct," another man spoke up, one who looked like he was good with computers, "nothing directly illegitimate about the posting. The only real concern is to whether or not what was posted was fact or propaganda."
"And what will your bosses in the government say when they find out you've been helping us?" the leader asked, "Will they help?"
"Jin, I can not trust them anymore," the computer man answered, "half of my office was listed as minor members. The Premier is a member. How can I trust them to tell the truth?"
"And your certain the list is real?" the leader, Jin, asked again.
"Yes," the computer man answered, "all the names are registered in the government's list of citizens. None of the names are fake."
"What do we do now?" Lao asked.
"We are to capture as many as we can," Jin answered, "if they fight, do what you must to survive. We must drive the Illuminati out of China. If we can talk them into fighting with us, that's one thing. If not, then they have betrayed their own people."
The others nodded and were about to ask more specific questions as to how things would be organized when a large explosion in the distance caught their attention. Many of them rushed to the front window of the restaurant to see smoke slowly rising over the horizon. The sounds of gunfire soon followed after the explosion.
"It seems you're not the only one to have this idea," Lao answered, "the smoke looks like its coming from the government section of the city."
"Soon China will be free!" Jin spoke with a smile.
Khan's Base, Tibet
"They're actually rioting?" Khan asked his second in command as they stood inside the base's communications and monitoring station reviewing the events that had occurred after his announcement to the Chinese as a whole.
"Yes," Khan's second in command answered, "our scouts throughout Tibet's cities are directly reporting increased violence being unleashed on both Chinese soldiers and those Tibetans that are on the list of Illuminati members that we posted."
"What about the Chinese soldiers that were not on the list of Illuminati members?" Khan asked curiously.
"Any actions they've taken against their Illuminati brethren is unknown," Khan's second answered, "and to be honest, the Tibetans are not really letting them go either."
"We'll need to calm them down somehow," Khan sighed, "inform them that our enemies are the soldiers that support the Illuminati."
"That may be difficult to do, sir," Khan's second cautioned, "You may have to resort to using Marilyn to enslave them and I thought you said you wanted to avoid doing that."
"I do," Khan nodded and was about to continue when he was cut off by a third voice.
"And why is that?" came Marilyn's voice as the clone sorceress entered the room, "It would make the masses so easy for you to command."
"It would, but it would also tip our hand that we intend to rule over the world," Khan answered, "I would prefer to reign much the same way Napoleon ruled over France. Remember that he is still a national hero in France."
"How would respect a little short man win indigestion?" Marilyn retorted, dismissing the argument, "We can do it, so we should do it, just to make our job easier."
"If we can not persuade them to do so peacefully, then we will allow you to try and use your magic on them," Khan answered, "but I want to take the path that will gain us the most long term success first."
Marilyn slowly nodded and let Khan's second in command continue with his report.
"What about our unit strength?" Khan questioned, "Has this given us any opportunity to advance our own lines?"
"The Chinese positions in front of us appear to have weakened in terms of their overall numbers," Khan's second reported, "but the field commanders have not advanced the lines as they have not seen any sign as to whether or not the Chinese troops in front of them would help us or fight us. And there's still the present danger of overextending ourselves if we advance without receiving reinforcements."
"I'll speak with the scientists, and urge them to increase clone production," Khan assured him, "In the meantime, tell the field commanders to send scouts to see which way the people in front of us are leaning. Either toward us or toward the Illuminati."
"Of course," Khan's second answered.
"If they are with us against the Illuminati, do what you can to insure that they make it into our lines where we can coordinate things with their commanders," Khan instructed.
"Of course," Khan's second answered.
In the Chinese camps outside Khan's fortress, things were no where near as 'peaceful' as they where inside the fortress. One young private clutched his weapon nervously as he peaked over a foxhole to survey the scene before him. The announcement that the Chinese government had been subverted by this 'Illuminati' and its subsequent proving by a young lieutenant had sent the camp into a war within a war.
The camp was alive with flying bullets and tossed grenades. Accusations of treason had been exchanged and now men were dying for their chosen sides, some pro-Illuminati and some anti-Illuminati. As the lone private peered out he saw two pro-Illuminati soldiers running forward, trying to get into a series of tents to try and fire on his position. They were already under fire from a couple of other anti-Illuminati troops, but the shots were poorly aimed as no one apparently wanted to actually shoot through the tents they had been sleeping in. Pulling his rifle forward, the private fired two shots, killing both pro-Illuminati men instantly.
"Good shot, Fung," a non-commissioned officer encouraged from a point behind him, "move forward, we've got to push them out of the camp. Once they're in the open, dealing with them will be easy."
Fung nodded hesitantly and began to advance slowly to a new position that would put the pro-Illuminati troops in a tighter situation and forcing them to withdraw. He barely took four steps when he was struck in the chest by a pistol bullet, which took him to the ground.
It was on this scene that two of Khan's scouts came across. They had easily advanced past where the Chinese sentry positions were supposed to be to find the soldiers in their camp, shooting each other.
"The master's plan is working quite well, no?" the first scout asked with a smile.
"So far," the second nodded, "but we must find out which side is which. They're all in the same uniform and therefore, not visually identifiable."
The first nodded, "We'll approach the group on the right first and find their commander. If they're pro-Illuminati, we'll decapitate their leadership and escape. If they're anti-Illuminati, we'll give to them Khan's offer of support."
The second nodded in agreement, "Let's go."
They slowly made their way down a slope towards the right side of the camp. So far, the soldiers fighting the battle were to preoccupied with their fight with their fellows to notice the approach of the two scouts. They approached a lieutenant standing near the back edge of the camp shouting to sergeants nearby. The first scout tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention, only to have the man whirl and try to punch him in the face. The first scout easily caught the fist and stopped the lieutenant's attack.
"Relax, lieutenant, we're scouts out trying figure out what is going on here," the first scout spoke.
"What is going on?" the lieutenant asked angrily, "where on Earth have you two been? China has been betrayed by those supporters of the barbarian Illuminati. I'm trying to remove their stain from my country!"
"Then it is good we ran into you," the first scout spoke, "my comrade and I can offer you a great amount of help."
The lieutenant looked at them suspiciously and then spoke, "you serve Khan."
"Yes," the first scout answered, "he offers to those who are against the Illuminati his assistance."
"Help us get rid of the vermin here, and then we'll talk," the lieutenant ordered and pointing at the pro-Illuminati side of the camp.
"Right away," the two scouts saluted and rushed to take over the fight directly.
Shanghai
Demona was surprised by what she saw as she and the rest of the gargoyles with her awoke to find the city of Shanghai literally burning before them. They had been sailing ever since they left Ishimura and had been looking forward to making landfall in China. The boat had been very sturdy as it easily supported their stone forms during the day and did not topple over when they awoke at night. On this night, after a few days of sailing and rowing, they wished they had not woken up.
"It's burning," Wedrington gasped, finding nothing else to say at the moment.
"Humans and their wars," Demona growled, "no respect for anything that lives."
"We don't know that," Yama answered, "besides, if this was a war, where are the attacking ships? Shanghai is a Chinese city. The only way it could be attacked would be by sea."
Demona looked back at the burning city before them. There was no sign of foreign invasion, but it was still clear that the humans of Shanghai had decided to burn their own city down, which she held as foolishness. It was still shocking though, as everything she had long read in newspapers and magazines seemed to indicate that things in Shanghai were relatively peaceful and a sign of China moving forward. The sight before her easily proved them wrong.
"Regardless, it is foolish to burn your own home down," Demona answered.
"How will we get through that?" Je Lu wondered, still horrified by what he saw in front of him, "We could choke on the smoke, or get lost in it."
"Perhaps Demona could use her magic to put the fires out," Yoshi offered as a suggestion.
Demona scowled at the Japanese gargoyle librarian, but then sighed as she noticed that Wedrington looked hopeful.
"We will need to get closer," Demona then answered, "I can not affect that large a fire from here."
"We'll be there soon enough," Shi La told her and began getting the other Tibetan gargoyles to their rowing positions to speed the boat along toward the inferno before them.
Demona then turned to look forward at the burning city. This was not part of her intended mission. It was a distraction at best. But, she was there and with Wedrington there, she was determined to show him that she was now different from the gargoyle that tried to launch a plague to wipe out humanity.
As they got closer to the city, they found that the fire was possibly the least of their problems. There was open fighting among the people there and as they approached a spot to dock their boat, they came across a middle aged business type woman fleeing a group of men armed with what looked like knives. What happened when the woman saw them startled them even more.
"Dragons!" the woman exclaimed in a surprised voice, "Dragons! Save me! They want to kill me!"
Demona was shocked by that outburst and could only stand there while Je Lu and one of the Tibetan males rushed forward. Je Lu managed to trip the first of the knife wielding attackers with his tail and his clan member managed to knock another down before the group pulled back in surprise at seeing the clan. This allowed Yama and two other Tibetan males to lunge forward and tackle the remaining attackers. They put up little resistance and were quickly out cold. That allowed them to turn their attention to the woman who had dropped at Demona and Wedrington's feet from exhaustion.
"Thank you, dragons, thank you," the woman spoke in a weak voice.
"We're gargoyles, not dragons," Shi La told her as she approached, "Why were these men after you?"
"You don't know?" the woman asked.
"We have not had the opportunity to follow the news for several days," Wedrington answered.
"The Tibetan rebel, Khan," the woman explained slowly, "he's exposed the Illuminati to all China. Now everything is going crazy. They're fighting in the streets over who is loyal and who is not."
"I take it you're an Illuminati member?" Demona questioned in a disgusted voice.
"Only a lower ranking member," the woman whimpered, "a secretary really. And it isn't like the Illuminati is truly evil. The world would be a much darker place without it to keep things together."
"Tell that to the countless innocents who have died because the Illuminati found some new way to insure that the world's governments loyalty to them," Demona sneered, "they are just as evil as this Khan person."
"But she does have a point," Yoshi spoke up, "If they've 'ruled' for as long as you say, the sudden destruction of the Illuminati could be just as dangerous as anything they've done. The destruction of this city is a clear sign of that."
Demona then looked up toward the flames that were engulfing large sections of one of Asia's largest cities and sighed heavily.
"A sign the world is far too complicated, and a sign that too many humans have fallen to the aspects that have made humanity dangerous to gargoyles through every century throughout history."
"What do we do?" one of the Tibetan females, named Hen, asked.
"For tonight we spread out and try to put these fires out," Demona answered, "we should avoid getting involved in the fighting as much as possible. If you come across fights, stop them, and make sure they get to a safe place Maybe when the humans see what their own madness has caused, they will stop and think."
"We're not to take sides?" Yama asked.
"And whose side are we to take?" Demona asked, "support the rebels and utter chaos? Or support the Illuminati and their tyranny in the name of order? In my own personal opinion I would prefer to rid the world of both. What they're doing here is madness. Therefore, I would prefer that we do not take sides."
The others then slowly sighed and then nodded. They soon began scaling the wall of the building they were near and began splitting up to do what they could to fight the fires. Demona and Wedrington glided toward the center of the fires, which happened to be the business centers of the city. The glass windows had already exploded as a result of being exposed to the flames and the two gargoyles could easily see flames consuming the framework of the building.
"Can you see anyone?" Wedrington asked nervously.
"If anyone is in these buildings, they're already dead," Demona answered, "the flames have already consumed too much. I will be summoning large sums of water from the rivers and the sea to try and drown these flames begin to spread. I will need you, Wedrington to direct the water, as I will be consumed in summoning the water."
"But I don't know magic, Demona," Wedrington said urgently, "I won't be of any use."
Demona chanted something in Latin and Wedrington soon found himself holding what looked like a fire hose and having a large pack on his back that felt like it was full of water or some other liquid.
"I will be transporting water into the pump, and you only need to use the hose to spray the water," Demona told him, "Don't worry. I will be doing all the magic."
Wedrington then fumbled with the switches and levers and was soon spraying water from the hose at a great deal of velocity at the closest burning building. He made sure to stay relatively close to where Demona was so her work was easier as he blasted away at the burning buildings with the hose, slowly putting some of the flames out.
It took the two of them several hours to get the first building out and insure that the flames from surrounding buildings didn't jump to the cleared building. In the time it took them to put the first building out, many of the surrounding fires had actually burned themselves out and were no longer as dangerous. They then moved to land on one of the buildings that had not been lit on fire yet.
"You okay?" Wedrington asked as they landed.
"Fine," Demona grumbled, "this is not what I intended to be doing tonight, but I'm fine."
"What do we do now?" Wedrington then asked, "Most of the fires in this area have burned out on their own."
"We move to put out some of the remaining hotspots until it gets close to dawn," Demona answered, "then we'll see what we can do to meet up with the others. For now, we're only taking a small breather."
Hours later, Demona and Wedrington glided out of Shanghai towards ground across the river from the city. They found Je Lu and his clan there, all of them coated in smoke and ash. Some also were noticeably burned, and one or two were wounded by knives or gunshots.
"You were right about one thing," Yama commented as Demona and Wedrington approached, "this whole thing is nothing but madness."
"And what do you expect from people who do not understand the way things are?" an unexpected voice spoke up cutting them off from their own conversation.
Every gargoyle present looked up to see a lone man in what looked like traditional Chinese monk's robes and holding a wooden cane, topped with what looked like a ruby, which had the emblem of the Illuminati carved into it. Unfortunately, they were unable to be appropriately shocked by the man's appearance as the sun rose and the gargoyles all turned to stone.
Beijing
China's Premier paced quietly inside a specially made Illuminati bunker as troops loyal to the Illuminati fought in the streets above him to regain order.
"This is completely unacceptable," the Premier raved in frustration, "I'm being made to hide while my nation is being torn to bits by some monster YOU created."
Six gave a slight sigh, "You should be grateful that most of your army officers are also loyal Illuminati soldiers."
"But many of the people aren't," the Premier answered, "and once they got the truth that most of their government officials consort with you people, they became very angry. Those of my government that weren't working with you have already joined the resistance and I suspect have taken leadership roles."
"They will be crushed in the end," Six answered, "The Council has authorized the use of direct force to stop Khan and to stop the rebellion that has sprung up around your country."
"And what will be left of it, and what will the people think of me?" the Premier shot back, "I may retain power, but they'll all hold me as some evil megalomaniac."
"We may be approaching a time when the Illuminati will have to reveal itself," Six commented, "educate the world why we've taken control over it. Khan was right when he said we controlled the world, but he was wrong in is assessment of why we control the world."
"To preserve order, I know," the Premier answered, "I've been listening to you for nearly twenty years. Why did you even create that monster of a man anyway?"
"We initially thought Khan and his 'supermen' could better insure order and deal with the few minor irritants to the Illuminati society," Six replied, "we never thought that Khan would somehow be able to think for himself."
"And now all of China is paying for your arrogance!" the Premier accused.
"I would watch my tone, if I were you," Six answered, "You wouldn't want to be caught by the rebels, now, do you?"
The Premier visibly paled with fear.
"Khan was a mistake," Six then spoke, "and yes one that we are paying dearly for, but he is still beatable. The Illuminati as a whole has far greater resources then he does, even if half of your army joins him in Tibet. In the long run he will fail."
"That doesn't mean he can destroy us all before he's beaten," the Premier answered, "look at what Hitler did to Europe before he finally lost in 1945. Look at what the Japanese did to my people, and to their own people before the Americans finally dropped the atomic bomb on them."
"I know global history," Six answered, "I played my part in making it. Khan will be nothing more then a bad memory when this is all over."
"I do pray you're right," the Premier answered and then turned to watch several monitoring screens that displayed the battle raging above them.
Tibet, Khan's Base
"You're men are all infantrymen?" Khan asked the lieutenant that his scouts had brought to him.
"Yes, but they're all highly skilled," the lieutenant answered, "and I'm certain that there are other soldiers out there that have not be corrupted by these Illuminati tyrants."
"I'm certain of that," Khan answered, "How many infantrymen are under your command?"
"At the present time?" the lieutenant replied, "about four hundred men sided with me against the Illuminati when we got conformation of what you reported, fifty of them were killed in the battle to take control of our camp. 'My unit' is three hundred fifty men strong. Not enough to advance on a large front in any direction, and still I am only a lieutenant. Outside of squad level action, I'm afraid I wouldn't know what to do to command men."
"Relax," Khan answered, "You may have to accept greater responsibility, but I have access information that you could easily learn the skills needed to be a higher ranking officer, even if it not a formality."
"Thank you," the lieutenant answered, "but before we go any further, I must ask you how this association is to run."
"As an alliance," Khan answered, "We will fight to free Tibet and China from the influence of the Illuminati and create a new society where all Chinese are decide who leads them, not decide who the Illuminati wants to lead them."
"All Chinese?" the lieutenant asked.
"Yes, all Chinese," Khan nodded, "I do intend to unite mainland China with the Nationalists on Taiwan. They have been just as manipulated by the Illuminati as the Communists on the mainland have been."
The lieutenant smiled, "An alliance is acceptable. May we produce a future that is bright and prosperous for China."
Elsewhere, Dusk
Demona awoke to find herself in a large metal room with several large computer screens along the far wall. The strange man she had seen just before dawn was there monitoring the computers. She quickly checked to see that Wedrington, Yama, Yoshi, and Je Lu and his clan were still there, and none of them were chained. Once sure that none of her companions had been harmed, Demona turned her attention to the man, who she was sure was an Illuminati member.
"You!" Demona growled as she addressed the man, "How dare you kidnap us!?"
"Kidnap?" the man asked back, "Kidnap? Hardly, female. If anything I saved your lives by bringing you here."
Demona was about to growl something more when Wedrington cut her off quickly.
"Saved us?" Wedrington questioned, "from what?"
"The mobs of the uneducated," the man answered, "Khan's announcement has unleashed madness on China and it is a very violent madness."
"We know about the civil war between the pro and ant-Illuminati factions," Demona growled, "Why did you bring us here?"
"The fighting between the rebels and those who stand for peaceful order has been chaotic," the man answered, "If they didn't know you were gargoyles, you might have been accidentally destroyed by the combatants as they fought each other. If one side did know you were gargoyles, you might have been deliberately destroyed out of the paranoid assumption that you were sent by the other side in the war."
"We aren't on either side in this war," Je Lu commented, "We're here to seek justice."
"Justice? For what?" the man asked back, "the only injustice in China is Khan at the moment. If you're going to be here, you may have to take a side in the war."
"Some group of 'supermen' drove our clan out of its home in Tibet,' Je Lu told him, "they destroyed the monastery we lived in and we feared they would threaten the rest of the world."
"Supermen, you say?" the man asked.
"What is it?" Yama asked bringing himself into the conversation.
"Khan is a 'superman'," the man sighed, "a being the Illuminati Council though would serve their needs better. If these supermen destroyed your home, it is likely Khan who ordered it."
"Your war is not our concern," Demona said firmly, "The Illuminati's order has hardly been 'peaceful'. I've seen the activities they've encouraged or done to insure order."
"And actions you no doubt believed made all humanity guilty of some crime or another," the man answered Demona back, "actions you felt gave you the right to seek the annihilation of man kind. Do not forget that we know you as well, Demona."
Demona nervously glanced at Wedrington and then turned to face the man again.
"I have changed a great deal recently," Demona said defensively.
"Of course," the man gave a polite bow, "contrary to our differences, we do not… or at least I do not seek to fight you. The Council may, but that is only because they think you have ties to Khan. Your own testimony shows that you're also Khan's enemy. To me at least."
"You seek an alliance then?" Yoshi asked.
"If at all possible to defeat Khan," the man answered, "the survival of the Illuminati society and the restoration of its powers will not involve you, if that is even possible."
"Possible?" one of Je Lu's clan, Lee, asked curiously.
"The Illuminati has only survived for so many years because few people know of it, and those that do, usually are members," the man explained, "if the masses ever knew of us, it would mean the Illuminati's destruction. Could we crush them in direct conflict? Possibly, but it would weaken the Illuminati greatly, and we'd be sitting on edge the rest of the way, and no one has ever liked a tyrant over them."
The man then paused to chuckle, "they may prefer to rule over someone else, but they've never wanted someone to rule over them."
"So even if Khan loses…" Wedrington began to ask.
"He's already exposed the Illuminati in China, which will lead to some questions as to whether or not there are Illuminati elsewhere, and he could very well do this around the world," the man finished, "which will then mean that both the Illuminati and the world may have to adapt to a greatly changed world."
"Sounds quite difficult," Je Lu commented.
"It is and it will be," the man answered, "but it will be worse if Khan wins."
"I can assure you that Khan will not win," Demona spoke firmly, "we will defeat him."
"You will need help getting to Tibet then," the man answered, "as I said before, the fighting right now is chaotic and not even those that are pro-Illuminati know everything. I can provide you with the locations of various observation bunkers that the Illuminati has used in the past, but has likely abandoned because of the present fighting."
"And what do we have to do to gain this information?" Demona questioned, suspicious of the man.
"I am not like most Illuminati members, and certainly not like the Council members," the man answered, "I realize that the situation for the Illuminati in China is desperate and dangerous. I'm in no position to demand you do anything. I can only hope that you will help and ask that you try to keep both sides from killing each other."
"We can agree to that," Wedrington spoke, "None of us want to see needless deaths."
"Where are these bunkers?" Demona demanded.
The man sighed and turned around and typed something into the keyboard. When he finished, a piece of paper was printed out that held a map of China on it with a definite scale drawn in at the bottom of the map. He then presented the map to Demona.
"An 'X' marks the location of each bunker," the man answered, "they shouldn't be too hard to find. They are outside each city and on the north side of the city. The doors should open when you come near them with the map."
"How are the people in Shanghai?" Shi La asked, her curiosity about whether or not the city survived or not.
"The fighting continues," the man sighed, "My attempts to stop the fighting without bloodshed have yet to really succeed and I have heard reports that 'loyal' Chinese troops are on their way to retake the city. It is madness, and that is why you must help us stop Khan as quickly as possible."
To Be Continued…