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 one week after "Desperate Measures".
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Tibet
Khan stood quietly before the main communications screen with Marilyn and his second in command. He was not speaking with anyone at the moment, but was following the news reports of his co-opting the splintering Chinese Army into his own forces and using them to conquer China from those who followed the Illuminati. They were specifically watching a BBC news program.
"The resurgent civil war in China continues to become more and more violent as instances of direct combat are becoming more and more common place throughout China," the reporter spoke, "and now as the initial shock at the announcement of a secret third part ruling China has been erased, the major players have been clearly shown.
The screen then showed fuzzy images of some of Khan's followers walking along a path in the mountains.
"On one side are these troops," the reporter spoke, "the soldiers loyal to the man known only as Khan, who announced the existence of the 'secret third party', the Illuminati. So far, many portions of the Chinese army that are Anti-Illuminati have been flocking to the service of Khan, and that is partially responsible for his capture of Tibet earlier this week. There are other Anti-Illuminati forces in existence in China, but they are small and scattered, and only just holding on against a Chinese military which is beginning to recover from the shock of Khan's announcement."
The screen then showed the image of troops loyal to the Chinese government slowing making their way through a city street.
"On the other side is the Communist Chinese government, which continues to deny the existence of the Illuminati, and claims that Khan is nothing more then a rebel," the reporter spoke, "They are currently mopping up resistance and many parts of eastern China, mostly citizens launching ad hoc resistance efforts, and have mostly crushed these movements. There are some army units putting up fierce fights, but unless Khan's forces in Tibet are able to get to them, it is likely that these units are also likely to be crushed."
"We should help these groups if they are cut off and desperately holding off," Khan commented, "they'd be honor bound to at least fight with us."
"I think most of them are doing better then what these news people can uncover," the second in command corrected, "China's government is already a tyranny on some level with heavy state censorship, and since our struggle also involves the Illuminati, I'm sure they are also monitoring and censoring the news reports as well. This is merely what they will allow to be told to the outside world."
"You do agree that they will side with us against a common foe?" Khan questioned.
"If we are able to present our argument effectively, yes," the second in command nodded, "if we just show up and demand they help us, it's a coin flip and could go either way."
"Thank you for the word of warning," Khan smiled, "a little caution never hurt anyone."
"But too much hurts everyone," Marilyn answered, "The Illuminati are rallying their sorcerers to side with the Chinese. I know it. We must secure the entire country and quickly, before anymore trouble arrives."
Dukou, Sichuan Province, China
Demona sat alone in a quiet sector of the Illuminati bunker that the Shanghai agent, known as Pax, had let them know about. The sounds of armies echoed in the valleys above the bunker they were in, but did not appear to be very close to them. The fighting between the Pro and Anti-Illuminati factions was not what weighed on the immortal female's mind. Her mind, strangely, wasn't even thinking about what Khan had done to Je Lu's clan. It was about her experience with the Illuminati sorcerer and his 'time machine'.
In roughly eight years, she would have a new egg, fathered by the white lion-like English gargoyle that she first knew as a human and formed a relatively friendly relationship with, even before Thailog's sorceress transformed him. Things between them had been somewhat better after his transformation, but Demona had tried to keep their relationship as professional as possible, even though it had become obvious over time that she was seeing Wedrington as a friend. Now, according to what she had seen in the future, he would be her mate.
That made her wonder one major question. Why. Wedrington knew her past and knew of her temper. Not exactly things that would inspire a long term relation from a male such as she. And considering her past history with male gargoyles, she wondered if it was right for her to even consider the matter. Her only loving relationship had been with Goliath, but that pairing was now dead, mostly due to her own over reactions and their clan's one thousand year sleep. Now Goliath had taken and bonded with a new female.
Then there was Thailog. Outside of sensing someone she could manipulate and seemed willing to go along with Demona's plans at the time, she couldn't really place why she had been attracted to him. Yes he had Goliath's body and equipment, but thanks to the battle with the Clan over the clones, Demona learned that while she had been trying to manipulate Thailog, Thailog had been manipulating her. It was not a loving pairing. The memory of his betrayal still angered her, and a good part of her hoped Goliath would let Thailog be until she could return and punish him for what he did to her, and to Wedrington.
She glanced over at the lion-like gargoyle. He was practicing some meditation techniques, with various members of Je Lu's clan trying to correct possible flaws. He was nothing like Thailog, but he was not the warrior that Goliath had been, and still was, either. He was still adjusting to being a gargoyle for the most part, yet a good portion of her mind agued that that wasn't a bad thing and his friendship was more important. And that was something she was wary of, as it didn't make her look particularly tough.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Yama and Yoshi approached with Je Lu following close behind.
"Moving through this specific area may be difficult," Yama spoke first, "I believe we're entering the area where there are more Anti-Illuminati forces rebelling against the Pro-Illuminati Forces. A small group of what I would presume to be Anti-Illuminati troops hold the town, but the river and Pro-Illuminati troops have cut them off from any support to the north."
"They are fighting hard all over the area," Je Lu added, "We could not see what this fighting was doing to the people in the village or what losses have already been incurred on the soldiers fighting."
"The fighting between the armies is not our concern," Demona spoke in a low voice, "the Illuminati, since it has been exposed here, will fight hard to enforce its rule, regardless of what we do."
"If you're so certain that these Illuminati members are evil why do you ignore them, then?" Yoshi asked, "the current situation is tearing China apart. Khan may be the cause, but the Illuminati can not be entirely immune to the blame."
"They can not, but the problem with the Illuminati is that they are not entirely evil," Demona sighed, "many of them likely joined for similar reasons to why I did what I did in my past. Wanting to preserve peace and order, and finding themselves caught in some one else's scheme. As a result, not everything the Illuminati does is evil, and that there is a lot of things the organization does that is good."
"So what do you think we should do?" Je Lu asked, "If we ignore these army battles, what should we do?"
"We'll need to try and move around them until we find those who are actually fighting for Khan," Demona answered, "then we move to try and get to Khan's headquarters. Without Khan, I doubt that his movement will survive."
"His forces may be close," Je Lu commented, "according to the news report we saw on their communications screen when we arrived, he's taken all of Tibet under his control and may be moving on to absorb the various Anti-Illuminati factions into his command."
Demona was about to answer when the sun rose and they all went through the familiar transformation from living being to stone statue to sleep away the day in stone.
Meanwhile, an infantry colonel who had sided with the Anti-Illuminati factions in the Chinese army looked out over the town that his men held against several Pro-Illuminati factions that had practically surrounded the town of Dukou.
"How are our stocks of ammunition?" the colonel asked.
"Fair," a lieutenant answered, "since most of the 'Pro-Illuminati' troops are to the south, east, and west of us, and of them, only those to the south and west of us do not need to worry about crossing a river before attacking us. Our position is tough but not impossible."
The colonel then nodded, "Good. I want our strongest troops to ace the south and west. Those facing the north and east are to monitor any possible line of advance against us, but that is all."
The rest nodded in agreement. As they did so, however, a barrage of artillery landed all over the village and the lands immediately around it. The colonel looked on, horrified as several buildings were suddenly flying through the air after being directly hit by artillery shells.
"We've got to silence those guns, or else they'll just hold us here," the colonel spoke in a hurried voice.
"We can't target them, most of them are across the river to our east," the lieutenant told him nervously, "assaulting it would mean abandoning our hold here and allowing our units to the north of us to be surrounded and destroyed."
The colonel sighed heavily, "We're going to need major help if we are to survive."
Tibet
Khan and his second looked at a map of China showing the various pockets of Anti-Illuminati resistance and areas that the Pro-Illuminati factions held. Some of the map was drawn in thanks to the use of Chinese pilots who had sided against the Illuminati and were now serving as Khan's own air force, but most of it was done by hacking into the satellites in space that the Illuminati controlled and hacking into their system. They had been changing their access codes, but they weren't good enough to get past the hackers that Khan had routinely reading the Illuminati's mail.
His second in command and Marilyn stood nearby while he looked over the map. They came to attention as Khan finally began speaking.
"Now that Tibet is ours, we must press our offensive to gain control of all of China," Khan spoke, "The key will be gathering gaining a major port. Preferably Hong Kong. We can then use the ships there to speed up our advance to bring troops closer to Beijing."
"We'll need to recruit more Chinese soldiers into our army," the second in command spoke, "Even with our cloning cylinders operating at full efficiency, we don't have the numbers to hold a line running from here to coast and landing troops amphibiously near Beijing."
"Which is why I said we should continue recruiting when we followed the news broadcast," Khan answered with a nod, "At present that will include an extensive series of campaigns to the north of Tibet and to our southeast."
Both the second in command and Marilyn took a look at the map Khan had laid out before them. It was the second in command that actually spoke first.
"There is a greater percentage of Anti-Illuminati troops in the province they list as Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu then there are Pro-Illuminati troops," the second in command commented, "At our present strength, we could easily link up with them."
"However, if you're looking at Hong Kong, you'd have to drive southeast," Marilyn commented, "and it wouldn't be until we get close to Chengdu and Dukuou before you would come in contact with any serious Anti-Illuminati force."
"We are to let the regular Chinese units that have sided with us move north," Khan spoke, "they are to move as carefully as possible. If they run into anything they can't easily overwhelm, they're either to pull back and go on the defensive or go around them."
"I take it the overall drive to Hong Kong is to be the main goal?" the second in command asked.
"We've cloned enough supermen now and recruited enough Chinese troops to consider moving into Sichuan Province, and Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu Province," Khan spoke, "We can then reexamine our situation then. Besides, the strongest Pro-Illuminati forces are circled around Chengdu, which does not necessarily have to be taken."
"You mean to bypass them?" the second asked.
Khan nodded, "I will entrust the direct leadership of this attack to you Marilyn. You are to make sure that the Pro-Illuminati Chinese can not do anything to hurt us."
"I will do my best," Marilyn answered with answer.
Beijing
"When did this start?" China's premier demanded as he approached the group.
"About an hour ago," one of a cluster of generals answered, "It's mostly Chinese troops that flocked to Khan's cause, but they are advancing north, and considering that most of the soldiers in Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu are currently rebelling against our rule, it's likely that the province will soon be in Khan's hands without a massive redeployment of troops from other fronts."
"That would weaken our ability to crush these small rebellions elsewhere," another general commented, "there are some army units constituting parts of the rebellion."
There was a collective heavy sigh from all the men involved.
"Has Khan attacked in any other direction?" a third general asked.
"There has been some movement in a southeastward direction, but so far, these seem to be more probing attacks," the commander of that section of the line reported, "Allowing me to keep the main combat troops around the main rebel areas already in my sector."
"Be careful," the first general spoke, "this could be a faint and will attack in force when he senses either you haven't acted or if we transfer troops north."
"I intend to be careful," the sector commander spoke, "but I can't afford to leave the rebels at my back."
The other officers nodded in agreement while China's Premier only sighed as he listened to them discuss the options they had. After a few moments he gave a louder, somewhat depressed sigh.
"Does anyone remember when we did this to improve lives?" the Premier asked.
The generals all turned their heads to look over at the Premier with a slightly puzzled look on their faces.
"We're here planning battles on our own territory to insure that the Illuminati retain control of China," the Premier sighed, "I joined because I thought it was the best way to help China. Not to play some game of power."
"You know that Khan will kill you and all of us if you just step aside?" the second general asked.
"I do, but I don't think that doing this for the Illuminati will work anymore," the Premier answered, "we must win the war, yes, but it must be for something other than to preserve Illuminati rule."
"The Illuminati will never allow that," the sector commander warned, "they believe that their council knows how to move everything forward. If we refuse to follow their edicts, we will become the rebels and they will kill us."
"And that is what saddens me about all of this," the Premier sighed, "Let me know what you decide. I will go along with it."
Elsewhere in China
Marilyn smiled as several groups of Chinese soldiers fled before her. They were trained to fight soldiers, but when it came to a sorceress who went intangible the instant their bullets got close and then returned fire with lightning bolts, or turning their weapons into harmless objects, and in one or two instances, turning the soldier into some species of animal, the soldiers were not prepared for that sort of combat.
"You are quite effective," one of supermen commented, "we barely had to fire a shot."
"They are pulling back," Marilyn told him, "but be ready. They'll likely regroup when they realize I've only punched the hole in their lines. If they stall your drive toward Chengdu, ignore it for now and turn south toward Dukou. The largest anti-Illuminati group in this province is in that specific area."
"Of course, ma'am," the superman saluted.
Marilyn nodded as the supermen troops moved on to continue the advance. She had been sent to not only lead the attack to the southeast, but to also help coordinate the attack and to insure that the Chinese troops on the front line couldn't hold them back. At present the mission for these men was to seize the Chinese province of Sichuan, with a primary emphasis on getting to the anti-Illuminati resistance groups in the province.
The initial attack on the Chinese lines had been very successful with Marilyn leading the way. The Chinese did not seem to have more then several infantry units, who appeared to be monitoring the front line, rather then defending it. This made it easy for Marilyn to attack with a system of 'firepower' that the Chinese soldiers couldn't counter. Through a series of specialized comm.-links, Marilyn could also tell that the units that she wasn't directly aiding at the moment were advancing with the same successes that this unit she was with was enjoying. As she supervised the advance, she turned to a small communications device to report in.
"How is your progress?" came Khan's voice as she made contact with the main base.
"Quite good," Marilyn answered, "their front troops have broken and your men are advancing. We should near Chengdu and Dukou by this evening."
"They likely have their heavy units closer to the resistance sites," Khan warned, "they do not expect us to attack, and likely do not think we have any heavy equipment. Once they realize that we pose the greater threat then the isolated anti-Illuminati resistance groups, they will move to face us."
"I'll keep in contact with your men," Marilyn nodded, even though Khan couldn't see her nod, "Right now, I'm about to see if I can make contact with the Resistance troops in Dukou. Let them know help is on the way."
"Good," Khan answered, "take no unnecessary risks."
"Of course, sir," Marilyn replied and terminated the link for now.
Dukou
The colonel crouched low in a makeshift bunker as pro-Illuminati artillery continued to fall on their lines. The barrage continued to be nearly continuous, and had destroyed much of the town, which had been evacuated when the battle began, and for that the colonel did breathe some sigh of relief. He didn't want he people harmed. He wanted to free them from a foreign influence of a regime that had no interest in China.
"Have any of them made any attempt to directly attack us?" he yelled into a radio, hoping he was heard over the sounds of the shells exploding.
"A couple of tanks tried to ford the river," came the answer from the soldier he had reached, "we destroyed them with rockets, but I'm afraid the Illuminati troops are getting confident that they can assault our positions."
The colonel sighed and then asked, "How are your ammunition stores?"
"Good sir," was the reply, "they haven't hit them yet with their artillery, but right now, our ammunition isn't the concern. It's whether or not we can survive this."
"Keep down," the colonel ordered, "and keep watch. If they're getting confident, they may try to attack soon."
"Of course, sir," was the reply.
The colonel then sighed again as he placed the hand held radio set down. He then looked over to an officer that served as his XO in their small 'rebel' unit.
"Do you have any ideas, Lee?" the colonel asked.
The other officer, identified as 'Lee', sighed heavily and shook his head.
"We don't have the numbers to attack and hold the town at the same time," Lee sighed, "and with their artillery lining the hills, we do not have much choice if we are to survive. If we do not attack their positions, they will crush us in our present state of siege."
The colonel only sighed as he knew that this would mean the defeat and capture of his men and the enslavement of the people he was trying to free.
"Isn't there anything we can hope for?" he asked in a frustrated manner, looking up at the ceiling.
"Possibly this Khan's forces coming down from Tibet," Lee offered, "that might be the only thing that can save us from total defeat."
The colonel then sighed again. Despite warning them of the Illuminati's manipulations, he was not too keen on Khan's movement. He did not know anything of this man, and he had appeared quite suddenly with a ready army and acted as the whistle blower. Something told the colonel that there was more to Khan then met the eye.
"I know you don't trust the guy, but he may be our only shot at freeing our people," Lee spoke again after the colonel did not immediately answer.
"I wish it didn't have to be this way," the colonel sighed heavily.
Lee was about to answer when a third voice cut into the conversation.
"I apologize if the current situation troubles you," came the third voice in a fairly polite and respectful manner.
Both the colonel and Lee turned to see a woman in black commando gear leaning against the doorframe of their bunker. Both were totally shocked by her appearance, as she didn't look Chinese and that the had not heard her come in.
"Who are you?" the colonel demanded, "How did you get in here?"
"I am Marilyn, an agent of the man you know as Khan," Marilyn said slowly, "He has sent me here to help you."
"And suppose we do not want your master's help?" the colonel questioned, "We know nothing of him. You're here to get us to join him. Fly HIS banner. Suppose he is just as evil as the Illuminati. We would be trading one dictator for another."
"Technically, China has no problem with dictators," Marilyn commented, "considering that the Chinese 'democracy' movement is in exile on Taiwan. And besides, being a dictator isn't one Khan's goals."
"How can we be sure?" Lee asked, "Colonel Zhu Ming is correct. Khan has told us little of himself or his plans. All we know is that he is a 'Tibetan native' who opposes the Illuminati and has proof of their existence."
"He has promised to work with all Chinese officers and Tibetan monks that side with him to form a new government once the Illuminati have been defeated," Marilyn promised, "I can not say for certain which officers will become part of the new government as the coalition is only forming just now, but I'm sure you have a chance to join it if you do join us."
Zhu Ming and Lee exchanged glances before Zhu Ming finally sighed and turned to face Marilyn.
"I don't know how you got here, but right now, that isn't important," Zhu Ming sighed, "and neither, really, is my concerns about your master's honesty. My men are surrounded by several pro-Illuminati units with heavy weapons. I doubt we can hold this town forever."
"I already have units moving in this direction," Marilyn explained, "they report that they can reach here by dusk. Can you hold until then?"
"We can hold off their infantry," Zhu Ming told her, "what we need to get rid of is their artillery."
Marilyn didn't answer, and quietly listened to the sound of the high explosive shells landing about the ground above them.
"I can deal with them for you," Marilyn said confidently, "as a symbol of good faith that Khan will honor his promises."
"Will you need anything?" Lee asked, fearful that the woman would demand valuable pieces of ammunition.
"No, I should be fine on my own," Marilyn answered and then gave a smile, "and besides, I'm sure they have plenty of artillery shells nearby that can be detonated beside the guns."
And with that Marilyn walked out of the bunker, leaving Zhu Ming and Lee to look on with some confusion. Eventually Zhu Ming spoke after a few moments of puzzled silence.
"Hopefully, she distracts them enough for us to put together a decent evacuation plan," Zhu Ming spoke, "I don't think we can realistically expect to keep fighting here. Maybe we can try to move toward Tibet and negotiate with Khan there."
"Maybe," Lee nodded.
On the hills above Dukou, the Pro-Illuminati artillery men continued to fire shells down into the village and surrounding area when suddenly, one of the guns literally exploded as the shell was being loaded. Other artillerymen looked up as the carnage destroyed two cannons to see Marilyn, alone, standing on the ruins of the first cannon.
"And this is where the fun begins," Marilyn smiled as she began channeling the magic needed to silence the guns.
Late that Evening
When they awoke for the night, the traveling gargoyles immediately noticed the absence of noises heard before they went into their stone-sleep. There was no artillery.
"The battle has stopped," Yoshi commented at the sound.
"Do you think they're still in the area then?" Shi La asked nervously.
"The victor likely is," Demona grumbled, "human wars are wars of annihilation. They don't stop until one side is entirely destroyed. Sometimes is a good move, sometimes not… It would depend on the situation and the point of view."
"No war is 'good'," Wedrington corrected, "necessary, maybe, just, maybe, but not good."
Demona nodded. Debating the issue would mostly be on one's definition of 'good' and 'necessary', which would have been pointless.
"I suppose our next move is to continue on to Tibet, to the ruins of our old monastery?" Je Lu asked.
"Yes," Demona nodded, "Khan is likely using the closest Illuminati base as his nerve center. Using their equipment to monitor the battles and communicate with his troops. Not to mention growing more."
"Kill the brain of this war," Yama nodded, "I trust that the operation will not be underhanded."
"There is likely to be an open battle if that is what you are wondering," Demona spoke, "although, sometimes it is smarter to do something that doesn't involve charging headlong without thinking. Trust me. I've made the mistake of losing my temper far too many times."
"I'm not saying not to think," Yama answered, "I'm saying that it would be dishonorable not to beat him in direct combat."
Demona only nodded, "I doubt direct combat can be avoided" and then sighed heavily.
After a very quick breakfast, the group was quick to depart the bunker and continue on their way to Tibet. As they emerged from the bunker there were greater surprises in store for them. There was smoke visibly rising from various areas along the hills ringing the town below them, and the visual image of rifle fire could be seen from where they were.
"They're still fighting," Wedrington spoke in an almost depressed voice.
"There is nothing we can do here, other then keep the battle going," Demona spoke almost instinctively, as if trying to comfort the English male.
They then slowly began climbing a nearby tree and beginning to glide along the route needed to get them to Tibet. Once in the air, Je Lu and Shi La took the lead, both from the sense that they were the Tibetan clan's leaders, but that they were also the guides for the journey. As they did, they glided over the village that looked more like a cluster of ruins then actual town. Looking down, Demona noticed something in the town center.
"It's that woman who attacked us in Michigan," Demona exclaimed as she stopped in the air, bringing the whole formation to a halt.
"Are you sure?" Wedrington asked.
"I'd recognize that white hair anywhere," Demona growled, "I will take care of her."
"What of the others?" one of the Tibetan gargoyles, Gro Ling, asked.
"They are no threat to me," Demona answered, "the rest of you go on. I will catch up with you after Khan's witch has been defeated."
"Are you sure?" Je Lu questioned.
"Yes," Demona answered, "GO! I will catch up."
Demona then tucked in her wings and dove downward toward the figure of Khan's sorceress, Marilyn. Half way down she let out a loud roar to make her presence known and fired a pair of lightning spells downward on the two men closest to Marilyn. The spell sent both men collapsing to the ground, allowing Demona to dive low and rake her talons across Marilyn's face. As Demona landed she noticed that her arrival had startled all of the people there, although the gathered soldiers appeared confused. Apparently, Demona had knocked their commanders out in her initial attack. Unfortunately, Marilyn was not so surprised.
"She's a sorceress hired by the Illuminati to spread their evil!" Marilyn screamed in an accusing manner, "kill her before she corrupts you!"
Demona was forced to duck down as several shots were fired at her. The shots missed, but as she got closer to the ground, the ground itself suddenly came to life and wrapped itself around her. Marilyn then approached her as she struggled inside the cocoon of mud.
"I do like this better then the ending of our last meeting, gargoyle," Marilyn smiled, "perhaps all I was missing in that battle was a distraction. Now I get to kill you, and insure you can not interfere in the liberating of this country."
"I have no concern with the Illuminati struggle in China," Demona snarled back as she continued to struggle, "I am here to stop you and your master before you harm any more innocent gargoyles."
"The only gargoyle here is you," Marilyn chuckled.
"You're wrong there," came Wedrington's voice as he dove from above and physically knocked several soldiers backward and disarming them as he did so.
Wedrington then rushed to pull Demona out of the mud prison that Marilyn had tried to trap her in.
"I told you to keep going," Demona growled angrily.
"Everyone else has gone ahead," Wedrington answered as he helped her to her feet, "but I will not leave your side. I promised I would help, and right now you will need it."
Demona was somewhat surprised by the force behind the English male's voice as Wedrington swung a rifle he had taken and knocked three anti-Illuminati soldiers out with it. There was a great deal of determination behind the voice, which Demona had previously only heard from a gargoyle defending his or her mate. A part of her was touched, but she couldn't dwell on that at the moment.
"Can you distract the soldiers while I deal with Marilyn?" Demona questioned as she turned to face the white haired sorceress.
"I'll do my best," Wedrington answered.
Demona then charged forward at Marilyn, who was recovering from Wedrington's earlier attack. Marilyn had little time to react as Demona grabbed hold of an arm and threw her toward the river. Marilyn landed in it with a splash, and Demona quickly cast a spell that made the river freeze over. She then stood over the frozen water to see if she had actually beaten Marilyn.
"A valiant try, but still futile," came Marilyn's voice from behind her.
Demona turned to take a bolt of lightning directly to her chest, which sent her skidding along the ice that she had magically summoned.
"I am your equal, Demona," Marilyn said confidently, "You can't kill me by putting me 'on ice'. And Khan's troops are on their way and will be here shortly. Can you beat me and them? Can your mate hold them off? I think not, and I will have fun watching both of you die!"
"NOOOO!" Demona roared, leaping up and firing a lightning spell of her own.
Marilyn managed to avoid taking the lightning spell, but could not get away from Demona's reach, and the sky blue female landed a strong punch to Marilyn's check, knocking the sorceress down.
"You will not harm him!" Demona growled angrily and kicked Marilyn, sending her flying back onto the back of the river.
Demona then began to advance again, trying to think of a spell that Marilyn couldn't avoid, deflect, or block in some way.
Wedrington, meanwhile, found himself in a much more dangerous situation. While surprise had allowed him to easily knock out or disarm several anti-Illuminati soldiers, they had more reinforcements coming and all of them were shooting at him. Thankfully for him, the fact that they were in a fairly small village and that these attacking soldiers couldn't just charge and fire.
He charged the closest conscious soldier and dragged him into an alley, primarily depending on a gargoyle's greater strength. He managed to disarm the soldier and then throw him at the first soldier to approach the alley from the outside. He then ducked down the alley and dove through the opening in a wall that had been made by the earlier artillery fire.
"Got to keep on the move here," Wedrington commented to himself, "If I stay still, I'm a goner."
A grenade was thrown in after him, and Wedrington found himself diving away to avoid being killed by the explosion. Wedrington then crashed through the door, which was still there, knocking a soldier attempting to enter the building through the door. Wedrington quickly dashed across the street and into the ruins of another house as the soldiers fired wildly after him. He hoped that Demona was having better success against Marilyn.
The fight between Marilyn and Demona was becoming rather violent as the two chased each other along the shore of the river. Demona was certain that the sorceress couldn't kill her, but she also found that Marilyn had good reflexes and nearly seemed to be as strong as she was. This would make dealing with her more difficult, as it was like fighting a fellow gargoyle with magical powers. All things were equal.
Marilyn's one real advantage was her ability to hover over the battlefield and fire on Demona from above, as she would need something tall to get back into the air. Marilyn quickly resorted to this tactic when she found that Demona's talons were too sharp for her to risk a close in combat.
"I have you now," Marilyn smiled and created an emerald energy cage, hoping to trap Demona in it.
The immortal female managed to dodge the cage, but only just barely, and returned fire with a lightning spell. It wasn't all that powerful, but it did succeed in getting Marilyn back to ground level. Demona then tried to burn the white haired sorceress, to at least prevent her from gathering her senses. She heard Marilyn scream with pain as the flames covered her entirely.
The hope of success was short lived however as the arrival of several rafts on the edge of the river a hundred yards away indicated the arrival of more soldiers. Marilyn managed to blast the flames off of her, and looked back at them and then looked toward Demona.
"They're more of Khan's super soldiers," Marilyn smiled, "You and I are at a draw, but you'll be too weak to beat them, and I doubt your mate can save you again."
Demona growled, but was hesitant to say anything. Their battle wasn't at a draw, Demona sensed that she was winning, but by the time the fight would be truly won, Khan's troops would arrive and shoot her, and possibly Wedrington as well. Their time had run out.
Demona then leaped forward and in a swinging kick knocked Marilyn to the ground. She quickly used a spell of her own to use the earth beneath Marilyn as a temporary shackle and then moved off.
"We will conclude this another time, sorceress," Demona vowed and moved back toward the town, hoping to get to Wedrington before Khan's reinforcements arrived.
Demona found Wedrington leading the anti-Illuminati soldiers that were there on a merry chase through the practically destroyed village. He only stopped to deal with anyone who got too close, but that was it. The process had lead to several unconscious soldiers and the rest of them spread out throughout the village. The sky blue female scaled a nearby wall and began to glide toward Wedrington's position.
Once she got close, she cast a spell that raised the ground behind the white English gargoyle, blocking the pursuing soldiers from firing.
"It is time to go," Demona spoke.
"Did you get her?" Wedrington asked.
"Not permanently," Demona gave a growling sigh, "but she has reinforcements coming that might be able to battle a gargoyle more effectively then these standard anti-Illuminati troops. We'll likely see her again."
Riverbank
Marilyn looked up to see a couple of Khan's troop come up to her position, and quickly pulled her out of the mud trap that Demona had left her in.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" the first commando asked.
"I'm fine," Marilyn answered, "although there is something that I must report to Khan about."
"Illuminati defenses are strong?" the commando inquired.
"No," Marilyn smiled, "I crushed them, and the soldiers here will side with Khan. The problem is a blue skinned gargoyle sorceress who apparently holds a grudge against me. We will have to be ready for her.
Illuminati Bunker
Demona and Wedrington found themselves back in the Illuminati bunker that they had spent the previous day in, as they waited for a sign that Khan's troops had either moved on, or had at least given up looking for them. Alone with the white male, Demona's thoughts drifted back to what she had been thinking about before dawn before. He remained behind to help because he 'wouldn't leave her'.
"It was very brave of you to return to deal with those soldiers," Demona said after a few moments.
"I promised I would help you, so long as you gave up genocide a method of protecting gargoyles," Wedrington answered, "I would have gone back on my word if I had left and let those soldiers shoot you, regardless of whether or not they could truly 'kill' you. Not to mention that I think we've become more then just allies."
"More?" Demona asked curiously, nervous about what was coming.
"Friends," Wedrington answered nervously, "companions."
The immortal female was slow to answer.
"They way you spoke earlier was more like a gargoyle defending a mate," Demona said slowly after a few moments.
Wedrington only backed away embarrassed, "I'm sorry if I offended you. I think it's some instinct or something of that sort. You've been the only one I've been with since I was transformed."
"You needn't apologize," Demona said sharply, "I have the same instincts, and have been without a truly loving companion since Castle Wyvern was razed by the Vikings… which was partially my own fault. I lost Goliath because of that, and jumped on to Thailog when I met him. I don't know why, especially considering that he had been using me the entire time."
"Some people are like that," Wedrington commented carefully, "regardless of their species. Some people are just needlessly manipulative."
"You aren't," Demona answered as she turned to face him, "and you've stuck around even after learning about my past. My former clan may trust me to reform on some level, but outside of my daughter, none of them would go as far as to invite me in. You've stayed around, and that weighs on my mind, along with the instincts."
"They could invite you back, in time," Wedrington commented.
"That isn't our concern at the moment," Demona said firmly.
Wedrington nodded slowly, and looking visibly nervous.
"I'm not entirely sure where to go from here, though," Wedrington spoke.
"I believe the 'human' term is dating," Demona said weakly after a few moments, "Giving each of us a close companion to be with. Although it may take a little while to get used to it. How rapidly things have changed for me."
Wedrington only nodded in response, while Demona decided to keep quiet on what she had seen in the future. This was only a start, and things could change.
Tibet
"She is on her way here?" Khan asked as Marilyn hurriedly finished her report.
"Yes," Marilyn answered, "Likely out of vengeance for the attack on the clan that lived near our base here."
"The Illuminati ordered that attack," Khan's second in command corrected, "Khan hadn't been awakened yet."
"I doubt Demona knows or cares that," Khan commented, "The Illuminati Files on her indicate that she has a history of wanting to protect gargoyles, largely at the expense of the human race. If she is fighting us, we must be ready to counter her moves."
"Of course," the second in command saluted.
Khan then turned to Marilyn, "and you, Marilyn will need to train and practice hard. You are the only one of us at he moment who can directly fight her on a one on one basis."
"I will be ready," Marilyn answered.
"Good," Khan answered, "Now, did she impede our progress in the advance?"
"No," Marilyn told him, "Her sole interest was in me. The advance of your troops was not slowed in the slightest. Sichuan Province is ours, along with the anti-Illuminati troops that were in the province. They, however, will require some additional assurances before they truly decide to follow your banner.
"That can easily be arranged," Khan spoke, "Despite Demona's interference, you have done quite well. Soon, all of China will be ours."
To be Continued…