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 "Sleep".
"You Are My Redemption…"
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Ishimura, Japan
The former medieval Japanese warrior, Usagi, sat quietly in the town's small police station. Merlin had been correct that the Ishimuran clan would help him. In fact Usagi had found that he got help from more than just the clan. At present he was working as a sort of apprentice with the small village's police department. It wasn't much, but it would allow him to acclimate to life in the twenty first century. Some things weren't all that interesting, as modern policemen apparently filled out as much paperwork as they patrolled the cities to stop or investigate criminals.
"You've done remarkably well, Usagi," one of the local officers commented as he came out of one of the offices, "your dialect is still a little out of date, but you've progressed very well."
"Thank you, Officer Saito," Usagi answered, "your village's gargoyles have been very helpful."
"Ishimura isn't my city," Officer Saito answered, "I help protect it, but I don't own or run it… and I lack the skill to be a politician."
Usagi sat quietly and processed what he had been told. This had to be a sign of how things had changed from the late 1200s to the present. In his time, men like Officer Saito would hold positions of power for their skill in either protecting their lands from foreign invaders as the Mongols had been or from criminals from within their borders.
"You are a good man," Usagi answered, "I would vote for you."
"Oh, don't start anything!" Officer Saito protested in a half joking tone.
Usagi was unable to answer as a new voice came from the bathroom.
"Don't worry, he won't!" came Marilyn's voice, as she opened the door to the men's bathroom and threw a dagger that caught Officer Saito in the chest.
The blade went deep and sent the modern police officer staggering back. Usagi was quick to check on him, but found that the blade had done its job. Saito was dead. He looked up to see the attacking woman, standing quietly in what looked like ultra-modern black commando gear. His accusation was based entirely on the group that Usagi knew of that dressed somewhat like that in his own time.
"Vile ninja," Usagi growled, "he didn't deserve that!"
"Of course," Marilyn nodded as she approached him and moved around the counter to face Usagi directly, "but leaving him alive would only interfere with the reason I am here."
Usagi looked up with a great deal of anger on his face. He was then perplexed, however, as the woman looked somewhat like Merlin.
"Who are you?" Usagi demanded.
"I am Marilyn," Marilyn replied, "aide and sorceress to Khan, and tasked to eliminate the Illuminati society and those that would defend them."
"I do not serve them," Usagi growled and lunged forward to deliver a punch to the woman that had just murdered the officer he had been talking with.
To his surprise, the woman caught his punch and smiled.
"My… how 'honorable' of you to try and strike a woman," Marilyn taunted and then gripped Usagi's hand with both of hers and then threw him against the wall near where she had entered the room, "Now, what is this of you NOT serving the Illuminati? The man I killed in Sapporo said that you their servant. Preserved through time to serve them."
"That priest," Usagi coughed slowly from where he landed, "awakened me from my enchanted sleep for that purpose, yes, but I did not serve and do not serve him."
Marilyn came close to look at him closely, "Oh… prove it, please. Serve me and serve Khan in taking down the Illuminati…"
"You serve that madman in China!" Usagi declared.
Marilyn smiled.
"I will not serve a madman who start's wars!" Usagi answered, "I will not dishonor myself…"
"You already have by trying to strike me," Marilyn taunted.
Usagi took her overconfidence to his advantage and swung his body to take her feet out from under her. Marilyn landed roughly on her rear while Usagi got up.
"I would call it justice," Usagi replied, "You murdered a man helping me acclimate to this time in cold blood. And so far, it is clear that you are not some weakling. Perhaps you are some deviant man that decided to undergo surgery."
Marilyn frowned and gave a frustrated growl. Apparently this medieval Japanese warrior had learned much since he had awakened. She hoped that he hadn't learned much about modern technology, and pulled a grenade from a pocket of the commando uniform she was wearing. The pin was pulled as she pulled it from her pocket and then tossed it to Usagi. She then disappeared in a flash of green light.
Marilyn reappeared on a rooftop across the street to see an explosion rock the small police station in Ishimura. The smoke and sound soon attracted at least two gargoyles. However, Marilyn could see that the Japanese gargoyles couldn't see her.
"And so the Far East is clear of Illuminati leadership," Marilyn smiled, "those that remain don't even have the clearance to warn the big boys that there is an assassin hunting the big boys."
With that, Marilyn walked away. She'd need to find another mirror to continue on her way, but that would be easy.
Tibet, Outside Khan's Headquarters
Outside the former Illuminati base that Khan had taken over and had run his war from, a small group of men had gathered outside the doors. Above them they knew the sun had long since risen, as they had seen the sunrise from the capital of Tibet. They had tried to contact Khan, as per the standard method for the day to see what the plan was for it, but they got no signal from Khan's radio. It was as if the system had been knocked out by something, and so they had drove up to the fortress to conduct the meeting. However, as they came up on the region, they found dense fog and even snow obscuring their vision. It forced them to slow down to make it to the fortress, and now they found that quiet.
"This is the Lhasa delegation!" the leader of the group called out, "It is time for the daily update on the situation in the war and how soon Tibet might be independent! Please let us in!"
There was no answer. The door didn't open, neither did anything else happen. The leader turned to his comrades, who only shrugged.
"Something has happened," the leader spoke to the others, "something happened during the night."
"What shall we do then? Knock the door down?" one of the others answered, "We'd need to go back to Lhasa to get our men and bring them back. It'd be nearly sundown by the time that happens. If something has happened, speed is of the essence."
"It won't be as if we have a choice," the leader of the group answered, "We'll go back for some of our free Tibet volunteers and we'll move in. If Khan is fine, we'll send a report to his soldiers. If Khan is not fine, we'll try to keep moving forward and free Tibet."
"Wouldn't Khan expect us to contact his men first?" a different man wondered.
"Maybe, but Khan has also come up with excuses to keep us tied to China," the leader answered, "If he is incapable of leading, we can finally free our people and restore our independence. It's why we backed Khan in the first place."
The others slowly nodded and began to move back to their vehicles.
"Now, here's hoping we can make it down the mountain with ease," the Tibetan leader then said nervously.
Their vehicles then slowly managed to turn around and slowly head back down the mountain. They ultimately arrived in the city of Lhasa, Tibet's capital, a few hours later. Again the sun shone brightly down them, but much of the day had passed. They made their way to a small base near the administrative building that the Chinese had once used. It served as the headquarters of the 'Free Tibet' army. Their forces had joined Khan's and the anti-Illuminati Chinese forces in the war against the pro-Illuminati Chinese, but they were small and were largely kept as reserves to the other forces. Most of them, at present were not even in Tibet.
"Ministers…" the present officer manning the front desk spoke in surprise as the leader of the Tibetan delegation spoke in surprise as he stood up and saluted.
"We need to speak with General Lao," the leader spoke, "there is an apparent situation at Khan's headquarters and a potential opportunity for us to secure our freedom and independence."
"I'll get him sir, do you wish to discuss in the conference room?" the officer asked.
The members of the delegation nodded. They then made their way up a flight of stairs and to a long office room dominated by a long desk. The building had been used by the Chinese army before Khan's war, and now Tibet was making use of it to build their fledgling army. After a few moments, a lone young man, who wouldn't normally carry the appearance of a soldier came in.
"You wished to speak with me?" the man, General Lao, spoke.
"Yes," the leader of the Tibetan delegation nodded, "there is a situation at Khan's base…"
"I had wondered… I got no answer on the radio when I tried to report in that all was calm in Lhasa," General Lao commented, "You don't suppose this is an Illuminati attack, do you?"
"We don't know," a different delegation member spoke, "We went up there to have our own daily meeting to see what progress has been made to secure Tibet's independence… but there was no response. Not even a sentry."
"As such, we believe something has happened, but we need to investigate what it is," the leader spoke, "If it is Illuminati related, we can then contact Khan's forces… and if he's only had some tremendous accident…"
"We can move forward to independence and freedom," General Lao finished, "could you get in in any way?"
"No general," a third member of the delegation spoke, "the doors are locked and no one is on the roof… at least anyone alive, anyway."
General Lao sighed and began to pace. After a few moments he looked to the delegation, "I can get one squad up and ready with ropes and grappling hooks and we can climb up to the top of the fort and go in that way… but it'll be close to dusk before we're even ready to leave Lhasa. Some of Khan's other forces might notice the lack of instruction."
"With as big of a war as he's run, I'd wager most might expect him to dealing with crises at the moment and that their orders are unchanged," the delegation leader responded, "and besides, if there is any major disruption, they'll contact you or our offices as a check in. If anything happens in that direction, we would get some hint at it…"
Khan's Base, Dusk
The inside of the base was as silent as a tomb as Khan and his followers that hadn't been killed in the previous night's battle slept peacefully on, as Demona's spell commanded, and the gargoyles slept through the day in stone. However, while the sleeping gargoyles couldn't see the sun sink below the western horizon, they could feel it. The 'tomb' that Khan's base had become lost its silence as stone cracked and the gargoyles all began to wake up for the night.
"It's a shame we had to knock out ALL of their power," Wedrington commented after a few moments and stretching out his wings briefly, "keeping the eyes at full glow is a bit of a strain…"
The gargoyles could all see, but it was only by keeping their eyes at a full glow which created some light for them to see by. With power off to the base, this was the only way they could see without destroying the base entirely to give them access to the night and the moon.
"We'll leave here soon," Shi La said in a consoling voice, "Demona's put Khan and his men to sleep with her magic, he is no threat."
"But Khan wasn't alone," Yoshi commented, "He had to have an awful lot of support to run this place and win a land war in China."
Demona stood quietly listening to this as they had gone back and forth. Her personal goal had been to avenge the destruction of the monastery that the Tibetan clan had lived in, but Yoshi's comment had made her think. She had avenged the monastery's destruction, but that 'vengeance' wouldn't secure the safety of the Tibetan clan. Khan's followers could easily return and make things miserable and things would get worse. In her past, she would have come to a rapid conclusion to solve the problem. She would have vowed to take over and rule, making sure the humans would be too scared to do anything.
But, as she recalled these solutions, Demona knew that she had changed. She could remember that her efforts in the past to accomplish this had met with failure, and commonly dead gargoyles. She looked to Wedrington with full knowledge that he was the reason she had changed. He had been there, talked and listened to her, and while he also gave his own judgment on her actions, he had remained. At first, she felt only respect for what she'd guessed to be bravery for his remaining with her and even vowing to protect her. But in time, things changed. It was as if Goliath's dream of humans and gargoyles working together would work and she was living it, even though that like Elisa Maza, Wedrington was no longer human.
He had become a gargoyle, thanks to Thailog's sorceress, and continued to protect her. And as he did his best to be a good protector and even guide her along, Demona found herself more and more attracted to him. That finished the changes in her. Destroying humanity would never be a solution, not while Wedrington lived.
"We may need to stabilize China, then," Demona finally spoke.
"Stabilize China?" Yama asked suspiciously.
"Yes," Demona answered, "Give some proof that Khan had plans that countered whatever he promised to the local Tibetans and the anti-Illuminati Chinese."
"Can you power their software?" Yoshi then asked, "With your magic? Given all the computers, it's doubtful that Khan had paper copies of his plans."
Demona nodded as Wedrington slowly approached her. The Tibetans looked on as the white lion-like gargoyle approached the sky blue Scottish female gargoyle.
"This will mean greater interaction with humans," Wedrington warned, "humans that will not see you as a friend at first. Anything that you say that might betray the hardships you've endured will not be taken well, and might even be seen as aggression."
Demona could only manage a half grumble, but strangely admitted that Wedrington had a point. She then nodded and placed on hand on his shoulder.
"So long as you are with me, we'll be fine," Demona said to him.
Wedrington gave an encouraging smile. Demona then moved to establish what to do next, since Je Lu and Shi La had seemed to defer to her with regard to the fight against Khan.
"We'll need to expect someone to come here tonight," Demona spoke, "none of Khan's men have heard from him today and may have already sent representatives… or made some inquiry. Je Lu, I'll need you and your clan to do the bulk of this work. If they are friendly… or at least not openly hostile… try to negotiate with them and persuade them that Khan was deceiving them…"
"And if they are aggressive?" Je Lu asked.
"Then retreat and get to me," Demona answered, "we'll then find some way to get out and get away… and we'll do it together."
Je Lu looked to Shi La and nodded. Demona also turned to Yama.
"Yama, I would ask you to be our scout," Demona spoke, "Glide over the road down and see if anyone is coming. You'll need to work with Shi La and Je Lu."
Yama nodded. Demona then turned to Yoshi, who had moved to stand near Wedrington. The Japanese librarian gargoyle looked slightly nervous, but seemed to also know what the mission that he would be assigned to.
"The rest of us will be working to get what Khan's plans were," Demona spoke, "We'll need to go through computers and particularly those in Khan's office and other offices in his command area. There, we'll need to find proof that Khan had no intention of freeing China or Tibet… now, let's go!"
The movement carry out the plan was rapid and hurried. Demona and Wedrington found themselves at the rear. As they went, Wedrington was hit by a bit of curiosity.
"Do you think this will work?" Wedrington asked quietly.
"If what I saw when that Illuminati scientist tried to use time travel is accurate, I know we will," Demona whispered.
"What did you see?" Wedrington whispered to her again.
"Our future," Demona whispered back, "which for you and I is very good."
"It is?" Wedrington asked.
Demona didn't want to say this out loud, but she got the feeling that she'd had to. It wouldn't be fair to him to not know their future when she did.
"Their vortex took me to 2009, close to the spring equinox," Demona said quietly and slowly, "and I was pregnant with your egg."
"You and I…" Wedrington blurted, "As husband and wife?"
"Mates, in gargoyle terminology, but yes," Demona answered, "You've done a lot for me Wedrington… in ways that not even Angela could have."
"What I've done has been to help you get over your pain," Wedrington said slowly, regaining some of his composure.
"That's putting it rather mildly," Demona commented, "but you've more than succeeded. And you've more than proved yourself a warrior. You're taking on Khan to protect me, when you didn't have to, proved that. And you've given me honest company, something that I haven't had since before the fall of Castle Wyvern… before… before my mistakes."
"Thank you," Wedrington said weakly.
"You are my redemption," Demona said to him.
"If you two are done flirting we have work to do," Yoshi called back to them.
Demona grumbled a low growl while Wedrington blushed and the two moved to catch up.
Hotel Cabal, New York City
Duval sat nervously in his office. The Illuminati was supposed to be electing a new council to coordinate global affairs. Having Russia, North Korea, Vietnam, India, and Nepal attack China to oust Khan was the way to do so, as it would force Khan onto the defensive, but that could only be coordinated if the Illuminati had its Council and members in high office to run the expanding war effort all the more possible. And thanks to Khan's earlier actions, the Illuminati had no Council and thanks to events going on now, the Illuminati was losing men in positions that would know anything about what the Society actually did, or had the power to affect policy.
They'd been trying to hold elections within the Illuminati society to establish a new Council, but the process was slow going. Some of it was due to intense campaigning within the Illuminati for the six Council seats. Duval was up for the fifth seat, and faced decent competition from three other candidates for the same seat. The partisanship among members was something that even they couldn't remove. Duval found his service attacked and the facts that his promotion had been based off the failure of other agents to control Manhattan and the gargoyles that had taken up residence there.
The partisanship, however, wasn't the only thing that was slowing down the election. Large numbers of the Illuminati leadership were turning up dead. Sometimes they were found alone and killed by physical means or some that were even rather inventive, and sometimes they were found killed in what could only be termed as a terrorist act that killed more than just the Illuminati target. Duval was certain Khan had to have something to do with this, but beyond tightening local security, he couldn't do much. Warning the other Illuminati offices was a job for the Council, not for a candidate. And while the election went on, each office would act as a semi independent agency within the Illuminati.
"It's an awful mess," Duval thought to himself as he looked at an online news page reporting a series of assassinations in Japan, including one in Ishimura that killed one officer of the law there and a trainee, "and beyond making suggestions… there's nothing that can be done. The members can't leave their offices and locales without giving up the election process and we can't bring in the lower ranking members in on the big things… or things would get out of control."
Duval then slammed his fists down on the desk in frustration, which made his keyboard jump under the impact. It also made a noise loud enough to bring his secretary into the room looking rather startled.
"Sir is something wrong?" the secretary asked.
Duval looked up and sighed heavily at the nervous woman. She didn't serve that high a role, but due to the needs for secretarial posts, she had the clearance to have access to facilities like the Hotel Cabal. Whoever this assassin was, Duval was certain his secretary would be targeted because of her clearance, which would mean he would have to expect a major attack.
"Just responding to the news online, madam," Duval said politely, "and I'm afraid it is not good news."
"Should we call in additional security?" his secretary asked.
"Have some commandos on duty in the area and in disguise," Duval answered, "if this assassin finds them, it'll end up a public murder case and the gargoyles will deal with the threat for us, even if they don't know it."
"At once, sir," the secretary answered.
"In the meantime, send a few of the higher staff members on a vacation for a month or so," Duval sighed, "tell them to cast their votes for me with me and I will take on their workload. If somehow this assassin kills me, we cannot be predictable and have our members be where they can be found."
"Of course," the secretary answered.
Tibet
Yama glided quietly, and despite the blizzard and fog, he managed keep his eyes focused on the road below him. He had to glide low to see clearly, but he doubted any human eyes would be able to see him well in the weather. As he did so, he noticed an army truck headed up the mountain with a more civilian motorcade following. Their progress was slow, but they still made progress. It puzzled him slightly, as he expected any attack to be solely military, but it seemed as though the people coming would also include politicians. He immediately banked away to make his way to the base to report this to Je Lu. Yama hoped the Tibetan leader could convince the politicians to have the soldiers hold their fire.
He arrived at the base to find Je Lu and Shi La and their clan quietly waiting.
"Is something or someone coming?" Je Lu asked.
"One army truck and a couple of politicians' cars, I would assume," Yama informed him, "You may have some negotiating to do with these people."
"You think they'd listen?" Shi La wondered.
"Why would politicians accompany soldiers investigating a base that they have not heard news from over the course of a day?" Yama replied.
"You'd best be ready, in case their soldiers decide to shoot," Je Lu spoke.
The sound of vehicle engines began to approach the base. One of the other Tibetan gargoyles nearby looked over the edge of the wall where headlights could now be seen approaching in the distance.
"I'll go warn Demona," that gargoyle spoke.
Je Lu and Shi La nodded and waited patiently at a point on the wall where they expected the soldiers to try and make their entrance.
Below them, the delegation approached the truck as the troops inside it began to disembark. General Lao did not come with them, as he was busy dealing with some calls that did come into his office from elsewhere in China. Khan's forces did want to know what was going on, but they all called the local base for answers. They also called the delegation's offices as well. Both the military and civilian groups asking questions all got the same lie for the moment. Something had short-circuited all of Khan's long distance communications and that he could only talk with Lhasa directly. The situation was 'in hand' but would take some time to repair. All orders are unchanged, and if anything new has come up, proceed at your own discretion.
"We'll go in first and secure the walls and investigate things," the leading soldier reported to the delegation leader, "If safe, we'll either haul you up, or make our way to where we can open the doors. Whichever you prefer."
"We prefer to walk in," a delegation member spoke up.
The delegation leader nodded in agreement. The leading soldier then shrugged and moved to get all the grappling hooks ready to climb up onto the roof of the fort. They were about to launch them when a voice called down out of the fog.
"Hello, are you for or against the Illuminati?" a male voice called down.
The delegation leader looked up to see the blizzard and fog was losing its strength. He could make a figure in the dark, but it was little more than a dark outline in the night.
"Against the Illuminati, and looking for a free Tibet!" the delegation leader answered, "who are you? You do not sound like one of Khan's troops."
"We are not Khan's, that is true, but there is something you must know about Khan," the voice answered.
The delegation leader turned to the soldiers who had switched to their rifles. He motioned for them to stand down. There were times when Khan seemed like a mystery and at times the man took steps that seemed to block their attempts to free their people from Chinese rule.
"And what is this secret?" the delegation leader asked.
"You seek to free Tibet, correct?"
"Of course," the delegation leader answered.
"That was never Khan's goal," the voice stated, "he wouldn't free Tibet from China, he would replace Tibet and China with a new empire. We have defeated him to prevent him from doing so."
"Khan defeated?" a soldier asked.
"This might allow us to be free," the delegate leader spoke, "that may be of use to us."
"We'll need proof," a second delegation member whispered to the delegation leader.
The delegation leader nodded and then called up again, "Can you prove this? We do not wish to get into any partnerships where we are mistreated!"
There was a silence for a few moments, but after a few moments, the voice answered, "I believe we can. You may select one or two of your fellow delegates to join you in coming to see our proof… though you will need flashlights."
Inside the base, Demona, Yoshi, and Wedrington had had a fairly difficult search. Despite the growing attraction to the English male, Demona knew that Je Lu's clan would never know peace so long as Khan was seen as a liberator or a hero. They knew that Khan was not these things, but the Tibetans and anti-Illuminati Chinese did not. They had to find some plan or record to prove that Khan was not a liberator or hero, but so far, that was slow going.
They had managed to find a few battery powered flash lights, but Demona still had to use an awful lot of magic in order to get Khan's computer running. She had to use even more to get Khan's password, since she wasn't a computer hacker, and neither were Yoshi or Wedrington. Even with all her power, it was draining her, and Demona could feel it.
"Have you found anything, yet?" Demona asked to Wedrington.
"Khan has a whole host of files," Yoshi answered, "and despite his Caucasian appearance, the files are all in Chinese. I can speak and read it… but I cannot rush the translation."
Demona gave a groan.
"And how are we going to show this to anyone that comes here and doesn't attack us?" Yoshi then asked, "You maybe powerful in magic, Demona, but even I can see that this is a strain on you."
"This might work," Wedrington commented as he pulled something off a shelf.
Both Demona and Yoshi looked up to see Wedrington holding up some hand-held device. It looked far more advanced than many of the pieces of the computer technology that were sold to the people, but then, the Illuminati might have depended on having technology that was better than others in order to help control the world. Khan's base was a former Illuminati base and gave him the best technology the Illuminati couldn't remove.
"Can it hook up to the computer?" Demona asked
"I think so," Wedrington commented, "It has a cord with a port that looks like it links up with a port on the computer. We can then transfer the file, and sense it is battery powered…"
"It'll help," Yoshi nodded, "and I think I've found what we need… even if it looks like the Tanaka Memorial."
"Maybe Khan copied it," Wedrington commented.
"Possibly," Yoshi nodded.
On the Roof
The soldiers did have some flashlights, and Je Lu, Shi La, and Yama waited for the delegates to climb up to the roof, along with two soldiers who they had insisted on as guards for the Tibetan delegates. The men arrived quietly, but all seemed to be surprised at what they found waiting for them. The two guards immediately readied their rifles to fire. The delegates stepped back, as if in shock.
"Dragons!" one of the delegates spoke in surprise.
"Dragons took out Khan!" another spoke in equal surprise.
The two soldiers, while they had their guns ready, looked too frightened to do much. As if the shock was too much to do anything.
"Not dragons," Je Lu spoke, "gargoyles. We are gargoyles. Those of us that resemble dragons are of Chinese ancestry, but have lived quietly here for years before Khan's arrival."
"And the war began with Khan attacking and destroying our home before he even started his war against the Illuminati," Shi La added.
"But he promised us freedom," the delegation's leader spoke, trying to regain some composure.
"From what we've seen of Khan's actions, that was a lie he made," Je Lu answered.
"You'd certainly deserve your freedom," Yama spoke up, "and we'll try to help… but you will have trust us and put those guns down."
The two soldiers immediately turned their weapons toward the Japanese male, taking his line as a threat.
"How would you help us?" the one of the other delegates wondered, "I've never heard of gargoyles actually living before…"
"We generally try to stay hidden for fear four our own lives," Je Lu spoke slowly, "and my clan has traditionally been pacifistic. It's only Khan's attack that has convinced us to actually take a stand…"
"But how will you help us free Tibet?" the delegate asked.
"If you trust us… and help us earn the trust of the anti-Illuminati Chinese, we will try to help you negotiate with them for your freedom," Shi La spoke…
"Though you may need to accept some compromise that doesn't make Tibet politically independent of China," Yama warned, "but you would have self-rule and an honest voice in whatever city becomes China's capital now that Khan and the Illuminati are gone."
"How would we be free if we are still under Chinese rule?" one of the soldiers demanded.
"China as a whole would be a democracy," Yama answered, "Like Japan is. Like the United States is… your people would be able to vote and participate in the government rather than being ruled by it."
"You mean… a Tibetan being President of China?" the leader of the delegation asked.
"That would be the idea," Shi La nodded, "and if all is well… you would accept us as well."
The delegation leader looked to the Tibetan gargoyles. They looked very much like the drawings of traditional Chinese dragons with the long and slender body, a long thin neck, and a dragon's head that was practically identical to the depictions of a Chinese dragon. The one thing that was different was the relatively small wings on the backs of these gargoyles in comparison to Yama's wings. While the delegation leader could see some firmness in Je Lu and Shi La, he also saw a lot of calm and lack of aggression.
"If you can present us with proof that Khan wouldn't help us, we will do our best to help you and ask you to help us," the delegation leader spoke calmly, genuinely hoping that such an action could and would help move toward Tibet's freedom.
"If you come with me, we can see if we have found the proof of what we know," Je Lu said with a sigh, "And you do have flashlights?"
The delegation leader nodded. The Tibetan leader then turned and walked slowly toward the rooftop entrance that was on the base. The delegation and escorting soldiers moved slowly behind them as they descended into the darkness that was Khan's fortress. This startled them all, as not even the emergency lights were on.
"What happened?" one of the soldiers asked nervously.
"When we defeated Khan we took out the base's power supply," Je Lu admitted, "anything that isn't battery powered is presently offline. That is why we asked if you had flashlights."
"So this proof is on paper?" the delegation leader wondered.
"Possibly," Je Lu answered, "though one of our allies against Khan is well versed in magic. She might be able to get some things powered up locally…"
"Magic? You mean like…"
"Things that cannot be easily explained scientifically," Je Lu cut off the statement.
They continued toward where Khan's office had been and to the soldier's surprise found three more gargoyles. But these were not like the Tibetan gargoyles. One looked like a white sphinx, while another looked like the Japanese male they had seen outside, and the last was a female with sky blue skin and looking very much like a Christian biblical demon. It was the 'demon' that noticed them first.
"You think these humans are trustworthy?" Demona said to Je Lu, some hint of threat in her voice, just to make sure that the armed humans didn't pull something sneaky.
"They represent Tibet, Demona," Je Lu spoke, "we'll need their help if you truly wish China and Tibet to be at peace…"
"I desire to make sure your clan is left in peace," Demona answered, "granting humans a peace alongside you is merely a bonus that comes along with it."
"All the same, you will need our help," the delegation leader spoke firmly, "now; my escorts say you have proof that Khan was not who he said he was?"
"Yes, and we've managed to find on a piece of technology that was not dependent on the main power to the fortress," Demona said slowly and motioned to Wedrington.
The delegation leader watched as the sphinx like gargoyle handed some plastic device with a screen to Demona. Demona then handed it to the delegation leader. He looked at it carefully and saw a line of words and even some maps for the long term plan that Khan had laid down. It was a plan that no one had seen before.
It read: "The natural order of all things is that the strong and the superior rule over the weak. It was true when the Han Chinese ruled over the East and the Romans the West. It was true when the Mongols ruled the ENTIRE world. It was true when the Soviets, British, and Americans faced the Nazis. And now, we, the supermen created by the Illuminati are in that position of strength. As such, the world is OURS to rule.
To do this, the first thing is to take the world piece by piece; making sure that the Illuminati is sufficiently divided and cannot overwhelm our superiority through sheer weight of numbers. The first shall be China, since it is where our base is located. With China under our rule, we shall have the manpower to collect genetic samples to create billions of supermen that will be superior to all other humans.
The method of this conquest shall go in stages. First we must divide the Chinese people from the Illuminati. This shall be done by making it appear as that the Illuminati are tyrants suppressing their freedom and responsible for every calamity that has befallen China. In addition, we can use the fact that the Communist Chinese conquered Tibet. With those against the Illuminati and Tibetan nationalists wanting their own independence we will gain access to the raw numbers needed to overwhelm the pro-Illuminati soldiers.
Once China is ours completely, we are to secretly collect genetic samples through blood donations, vaccination drives, and if necessary, kidnapping. We will then use these efforts to rapidly increase the number of supermen in our army. In addition, as our army grows, we are to remove those that would oppose us within China piece by piece. In the end, China will be under our complete control and those normal and inferior humans that remain will either serve us out of fear, or will have truly turned to our banner and serve us for some share of the spoils of our conquest…
The process in China will then repeat in the Koreas, Nepal, Bhutan, Indochina, and Mongolia, setting a power base from which we may move to control the world. And control it we will."
The delegation leader gasped at all of this. It was clear that Khan had never intended to keep the promises he made as he saw the electronic signature of Khan at the bottom of the page.
"What have you done with him?" the delegation leader asked.
"In an enchanted sleep that he will never awaken from," Demona answered, "Khan and his followers here are not the concern. It is his followers outside Tibet."
"Yes," the delegation leader spoke, "and we'll need to work with the Anti-Illuminati Chinese to deal with them… I'm afraid I do not have enough Tibetans to deal with them all."
Demona was quiet as the delegation leader looked to her.
"But, for your help in revealing Khan's treachery," the delegation leader spoke, "we will see to your protection."
"Not MY protection, Je Lu's and his clan's protection," Demona answered, "and ideally, your help should be a respect and support for gargoyles. Not simply repaying a debt…"
The delegation leader looked at Demona for a moment.
"In my experience, I've known humans to respond in fear and turn on gargoyles when they feel the debt has been repaid," Demona said slowly, "which means there was never any peace. Peace will only come… will only come when you and Je Lu's clan can live together as friends and not just seeing one as some political tool."
Wedrington gave her a slight smile, which Demona noticed. She inwardly smiled at that. In the past she would have thought that impossible and wouldn't have even bothered to mention it, but she was changing. She was changing for him, to keep him with her, to have real companionship, which Thailog never gave and she had thrown away in frustration with Goliath. She wouldn't repeat her mistakes with Wedrington.
"That will take time when we know more," the delegation leader spoke in response, "we've only just met and learned that dragon like gargoyles exist. Show us that our races are the same… and that ideal may come about."
"We'll do our best to work to do that," Wedrington spoke up, "but it is work that will have to go both ways."
The delegation leader reached out to Demona. She hesitated, but ultimately did take his hand.
"Then let us work together," the delegation leader spoke as he and Demona shook hands.
The End…