I do not own Gargoyles, or any of the characters which appeared in the cartoon. All original characters seen here were created by me, but everyone else is not. This writing is for pleasure, not for profit...Please don't sue.
The Nightmares Saga Chapter 6: "Rescue Mission "
David Xanatos' private jet soared through the clouds over the Atlantic Ocean, carrying seven gargoyles, Fox Xanatos and David Xanatos. Fox flew the plane as Xanatos was on his cell phone, making business calls. This had been an unforeseen 'business' trip for him, but his company still continued operation. Owen Burnett had been left back at the Eyrie building to oversee business in Manhattan if matters became more complicated in Portugal, and necessitated their stay to be extended. Also, he was a great babysitter for young Alexander Xanatos.
Fox sat in the pilot seat, steering the plane through the clouds and a patch of turbulence, listening to David as he wrapped up his last business call of the night. After he hung up, she looked over to him.
"David, what do you think we'll find when we trace the communicator's signal?" Fox asked, keeping her eyes on the sky ahead of them. Her husband looked over to her and frowned.
"I sincerely hope we find Detective Maza safe and sound. Otherwise, we will have to deal with seven very angry gargoyles. I tried telling Goliath to prepare for anything, but he is convinced that this is a rescue mission. I didn't have the heart to press the subject further." Fox shook her head sadly.
"David, if the situation was reversed and you were out there looking for me, would you listen to Goliath if he said the same thing"
David reached for her hand on the shifter and held her hand for a few brief seconds.
"…you're right. I wouldn't, of course. I would be as stubborn as he is." Xanatos smiled slightly, leaned over and kissed his wife's forehead. He then rose from his seat beside Fox and was about to walk into the passenger area when he turned his face towards his wife and completed his thought.
"I always had a feeling that Goliath and the detective shared an attraction for one another. It is clear now that this is the case since this situation is taking its toll on him. He's been quiet lately, and almost detached from the others. We had better find the Detective, sooner rather than later."
Meanwhile, in the passenger cabin…The gargoyles were amazed by the flight, but also that they were going to bring Elisa home. Broadway, Brooklyn and Lexington were busy discussing the latest Adam Sandler movie they watched, and what parts Elisa would like the best, while Hudson and Bronx were napping. Angela was also napping until about midway to the Azores. She looked around, noticing the others were chatting but seeing that Goliath was sitting alone, looking apprehensive. She walked over to the seat beside him and put one hand on his. At this action, the others stopped talking and tried to hear what was being said between father and daughter.
"Father, you seem quiet. Would you like to talk about what is troubling you?"
Angela asked Goliath. Goliath looked into his daughter's kind eyes, knowing that he could not shut her out from his feelings. He sighed and began.
"I am worried about Elisa, now more than ever. I have missed her so terribly, but if this signal gives us no clue as to her whereabouts, I fear that this will feel as if I have lost her all over again." Goliath said. He realised that the entire clan had been listening to what he was saying, since when he stopped talking, the rest of the gargoyles instantly began speaking, as if they hadn't been listening.
"We mustn't think like that. Wherever she is, we will find her. This signal that was picked up is a good start to finding her. I have a feeling that this communicator will lead us to her." She smiled at her father, hoping that her smile would ease his pain and apprehension, and bring him a sense of relief. Goliath did smile back at her.
"Thank you, Angela. I, too, feel that she is safe, though I fear that she may be injured or in pain."
"Well, we are on the right track to finding her, then. Now, let's get our minds off of this. Perhaps we should watch one of these iin-flight movies/i Xanatos kept telling us about…"
3 Hours Later…
"Everyone, please fasten your seatbelts because we are about to land in Sao Miguel. The local time is 4:48am. The sun will be rising in approximately an hour and a half." Fox's voice was heard over the intercom from the cockpit. Everyone on board took their seats and prepared for landing.
The plane touched down upon the island of Sao Miguel in a private clearing of land Xanatos had purchased specifically for the purpose of landing his private jet just that afternoon. After the landing, David and Fox were the first out of the plane to ensure that no one was around that would be unfamiliar with the gargoyles. When they saw the coast was clear, they signalled to the gargoyles that it was safe to exit the plane. One by one, they walked down the stairs of the plane and onto Portuguese soil. They were fascinated by the natural splendour they witnessed: luscious green grass, roving country sides, and clean, pure smelling air. Goliath took in a deep breath of this clean air and exhaled.
"Except for the lack of moisture in the air, this country has similarities to Scotland." The others agreed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we don't have much time to scope things out before sunrise. I suggest that you all see what you can find while I find the source of the signal." He pulled out a little hand-held electronic device no bigger than a cell phone. He turned the device on, and it instantly began beeping. He looked up at Goliath.
"I assume you want to come with me?"
Goliath nodded.
Xanatos pulled his trench coat off to reveal his exo-suit. The thrusters turned on and he and Goliath glided off to locate the communicator. Fox, Angela and the other gargoyles were left behind. Fox looked at the others and said, "You guys should do some air surveys to see if there is anything unusual going on. I'll stay here and keep watch of the plane and await your return. Remember that the sun will rise in a little over an hour." The gargoyles nodded, and ran off to find higher ground to glide off of. Fox walked back into the plane and began tracking Xanatos with his own communicator.
High above the district of Feijao Baixo, David Xanatos and Goliath glided side by side, with David going in the direction of the arrows on his electronic signal tracking device and Goliath following him wordlessly. They glided through the early morning air for a good 20 minutes until David stopped in midair, pointing to an indistinct location on the ground below them.
"The signal is strongest down there. Let's go."
Goliath watched as Xanatos weakened his boosters and lowered to the ground below. He followed.
Once on the ground, Xanatos and Goliath were in front of a bakery. Xanatos looked down once again to his tracking device to see where they should walk to next. The beeping was the loudest across the street from this bakery. Since it was nearly 5:30am, there were no people walking the streets, nor were there any cars. In this small district, the morning didn't actually begin until after sunrise. Only on the farms did the day begin before. Goliath was hesitant of walking around, but after scoping out the street, and seeing that it was void of any movement at all, he felt Elisa was worth the risk of being seen and continued to follow Xanatos.
They walked towards the other side of the street until the beeping sound coming from the tracker was as loud as it had ever been.
"The signal is coming from…" Xanatos looked around the ground for the red blinking light that would be blinking on the communicator. Then he saw it a few steps away. "…there."
He walked over to the communicator and picked it up to inspect it. It was intact, and functional. He looked over at Goliath, who was walking over to inspect it himself.
"It's obviously operational. It's lucky that it wasn't driven or stepped on, and I highly doubt that it would be waterproof, so my guess is that it was dropped here ivery/i recently." He confirmed. Elisa was not found with the communicator, and that was something he had suspected would happen. Goliath looked around them for some sign that Elisa was nearby. His eyes wandered over the trees and cobblestone roads and stores and businesses nearby, but it was obvious that any trace of her would surely not be found within the trees or stores. Xanatos was still inspecting the communicator when Goliath finally spoke.
"What are we to do now? This communicator could have been planted here as a trap us. She may not even be here."
Goliath's disappointment was turning into anger. Xanatos saw this coming, so he was thankful that sunrise was just minutes away. He pointed to the sky and said, "Goliath, we'll have to get back to the plane now…we will discuss it with the others before sunrise. Let's go." Xanatos said decisively. Without an argument against it, Goliath followed him to the plane.
Back at the plane, the other gargoyles had returned with no news. Fox was talking with them when Xanatos and Goliath returned. The sun was a few moments away from rising, so Goliath had to be quick about what he had to say to his clan. "We found the communicator but no sign of Elisa. We will have to continue the search tonight." Goliath relayed to his clan in a downhearted tone. Their hope of finding Elisa quickly was dashed. Hudson, Angela and Broadway looked as if they were on the brink of tears, while Brooklyn, Lexington and Bronx seemed as if they were ready to attack the next person who spoke. Since Xanatos was the next one to speak, there would be no attack necessary.
"The perimeter is secure, however just to be completely sure, it would be safer if you all sleep in the plane in case we have any visitors during the day." He saw the sun beginning to rise off in the horizon, so he tried to summarize his words.
"Fox and I will be around to make sure you are alright, and see if we can get any word from the locals about any new people in town. But don't worry; we will search high and low until we find something." Xanatos said, walking to face Goliath. He placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly.
"Thank you Xanatos for your help. We will resume our search for Elisa on this island tonight." The sun rose just as his final word was spoken.
The Dracon Compound, 9:15am
Tony Dracon sat in the dining room of the compound, awaiting Elisa's arrival at breakfast. He was feeling quite self-satisfied this morning after this face-off with her the night before. He had shown her who was boss in this marriage, and was expecting a different attitude this morning from her. He wasn't disappointed, either. When Elisa came into the dining room, she was quiet, but her demeanour was not as unpleasant as it usually was at breakfast. She sat down at her normal place beside Tony, and was served her breakfast of scrambled eggs, buttered toast, two thin pieces of bacon and a glass of orange juice without incident. Tony began his usual routine of asking Elisa how her sleep had been, and much to his surprise, she actually answered him this morning.
"I slept well, thank you." She replied simply. Dracon's eyebrows rose a little at her neutral response. He decided to continue asking her questions.
"How are you feeling this morning? Any more nausea?" He asked, with genuine concern in his voice. Elisa looked up from her breakfast and tilted her head at him. His tone amazed her. She was taken aback for a quick second, then remembered that he had asked her a question.
"Uh…yea, actually. It's going to be hard for me to keep this breakfast down." She answered honestly. At this, Dracon clapped his hands once. Instantly, his employee, Glasses, appeared.
"Glasses, when you are doing your deals today, go to the pharmacy and grab some of that stuff to stop nausea. And while you're at it, get some Band-Aids and some antiseptic solution to clean her cuts. "
"You know I won't be back until dark, boss. My jobs are going to take me all day."
"Don't worry. We won't need that stuff until later anyways. Just get it." Tony replied. Glasses nodded his head and left the dining room.
"Thanks, Tony, but I don't think Gravol will help this type of nausea." Elisa said, looking down at her plate of nearly untouched food. Just the smell of the food was causing her stomach to revolt.
"Damnit...I'm going to have to go to the bathroom. That bite of bacon is already making me sick..." She had one hand on her mouth after she uttered those words. Tony understood that meant that she had to vomit now, so he got up, grasped her forearm gently, and escorted her back to her room.
After the gargoyles had turned to stone, Xanatos removed his exo-suit and dressed in his usual outfit which consisted of a black suit. He then called a taxi to pick him and Fox up and drop them off in the village where the communicator had been found. They had breakfast, did some shopping in a private clothing store, Fox gathered some local newspapers, and then she took a taxi back to the plane. Xanatos stayed behind in the village to gather information, if any, on any unusual happenings lately.
At around 11:13am, after Fox was already in the jet, Xanatos began walking the cobblestone streets of the village of Feijao Baixo, hoping to get some clue of Elisa's whereabouts. By lunchtime, he was window shopping and seeing if there was anything else his wife would like in the meantime.
He was in a women's undergarment store finding some expensive lingerie when his attention was drawn to a dark man walking into a pharmacy across the street. He looked very familiar to David, as if he had seen him on the news before. Xanatos decided to seem completely engrossed in the items on the lingerie rack nearest to the window facing the pharmacy and wait until the man left that store. He waited for nearly twenty minutes, and then the dark man walked out of the pharmacy with a plastic bag in his hand. Xanatos had just enough time before the dark man turned a corner to see his face and recognise him from Manhattan: that was Tony Dracon's employee, Glasses.
Xanatos waited until Glasses was walking a few blocks away before leaving the lingerie store and following behind him. After a few minutes, Glasses turned into a restaurant. Xanatos decided to wait for him to finish his meal. He had a feeling that he had something to do with Elisa's disappearance. Even if his hunch was wrong, it wouldn't hurt to find out why he was in Sao Miguel.
Xanatos' Plane, 12:18pm
Fox Xanatos sat alone in the private jet, reading the morning paper from Portugal. True, it was in Portuguese, but she was skimming through it for any sign of Elisa at all. She had been flipping through the paper now for a little over an hour, and still nothing. She dropped the paper down and picked up the next one. Just then, there was a ring of a cell phone. She walked over to where her cell phone was, on the seat nearest to Angela, frozen in stone. She knew the only person calling her would be David.
"Yes, David. What have you found?"
"Not what, my dear. Whom. You remember Tony Dracon's hired thug, named Glasses, don't you?"
"You have got to be kidding me? What the hell is Glasses doing in the Azores!" Fox nearly shouted into the phone.
"I intend to find out. I'll report back when I have something."
"Be careful, David."
"Always." Xanatos replied confidently. He hung up.
Xanatos Plane, 7:19pm, just after sunset…
Xanatos sent a taxi to pick Fox up from the jet just after sunset so that the gargoyles could follow the car through the night sky to Xanatos' location in the village. Before leaving, Fox had explained to Goliath and the others that David had seen Glasses in town and was following him. He did not stop following Glasses because Glasses was involved in some shady dealings with some shady gentlemen all day. Xanatos could spot these types of transactions since he had done some jail time, and was until recently, a part of that underbelly of society. He suspected Glasses' presence in Sao Miguel had something to do with Elisa because he had never heard of Tony Dracon's operation extending all the way to Portugal. It couldn't just be a lucky coincidence, could it?
Everything had gone according to Xanatos' plan, and the taxi dropped Fox off where Xanatos was having a coffee, keeping an eye on the door that Glasses had last entered. All the gargoyles had followed the taxi and were now perched on a rooftop of a taller building, though most of the buildings in Sao Miguel were quite low to the ground when compared to Manhattan skyscrapers. Fox joined him and David Xanatos filled his wife in on everything he had seen; a trip to a pharmacy and many drug deals and sales of other types of merchandise that he could not see from his distance.
Unexpectedly, Glasses left the building Xanatos had seen him walk into and pulled out a cell phone. After a few seconds, he stuffed the cell phone back into his pocket, and a black limousine pulled up. He hopped in and the limousine drove off. Right away, both David and Fox jumped up, threw some American money on the table to pay for the coffee David had drank, and hailed a taxi, ordering it to follow the limousine. Above the action, the gargoyles had seen everything and followed the taxi, taking care not to be seen by anyone below, especially Glasses in the limousine.
After following the limousine through winding roads for about ten minutes, the limousine stopped outside an enormous house whose grounds were fenced off. The limousine had stopped just for a few seconds, long enough for the gates to open. The limo drove into the compound and the gates closed behind it. The taxi in which Fox and David were stopped a block away from the house at David's orders. They paid the driver, waited for him to drive off, and then flagged the gargoyles down. They all seemed excited and riled up to kick Glasses' ass just for being in Portugal selling drugs. Broadway was the first to speak after the chase.
"I would bet anything that Dracon is in that house, too. Glasses never goes anywhere without his boss." Broadway mocked. Xanatos agreed.
"Yes, but you can't just charge in there. If they even think you all are here, they may stop whatever is going on in there before we have a chance to stop it."
Goliath nodded.
"Aye. We should check this place. If you find anything that relates to either Tony Dracon or Elisa, do not engage. Wait for backup. Understood?" He asked his clan. They nodded, understanding that words were superfluous right now. They began walking towards the house. Angela, Broadway and Goliath found higher ground and caught a current of wind, while the others began to run on all fours until they were closer to the house. Xanatos and Fox walked cautiously towards the house, each with a gun in their hands, just in case David's hunch was right.
Goliath was the first to get to the garden surrounding the house. To make himself less conspicuous, he draped his wings over his shoulders and walked along the perimeter of the house, again, making sure no one would see him. He came across the window of a room with a strong light on. The room was painted a pleasant shade of yellow that reminded him of Elisa—perhaps it was just because he missed her so much. In this room, there was a dining table and two chairs. Strange Goliath thought, that such a large home would only have a dining room with two chairs in it. He continued walking.
He walked for a few minutes until he came across another room, where the light was a little fainter. Upon first inspection, there were a few bookcases along the walls, a large screened television and a king-sized bed that had the covers pulled back as if the owner of the bed had gotten up in haste. In this room, there were two doors: one door was closed, and the second door was ajar. He could see the white porcelain of a toilet bowl between the crack between the door and the doorframe, and a light on in this room. He began walking away from this window when he heard it: the sound of something crashing to the floor. He rushed back towards the last window to see what the cause of the noise was. That's when he saw Elisa lying on the ground, who fainted after another bout of vomiting.