Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Gargoyles characters portrayed in this story, except for Adam Maza. All others are owned by those geniuses over at Disney. Also, the name from this episode, it is taken from that godawful movie, a History of Violence. I didn't enjoy the movie at all, but the title seemed fitting to this chapter. As always, please don't sue me. Pretty Please?
7—Histories of Violence
Synopsis: Goliath asks for some advice from an unlikely source, Tachia tells her new clan about the horror beset upon her 1795 clan, and Jon Canmore AKA Jon Castaway goes over the deep end. Meanwhile, someone old and evil dies…
October 2, 1997
Goliath shook the remnants of the stone skin off his mighty shoulders and stepped down from his ledge. He glanced around him to see the rest of his clan, including the newest members of the clan, also awakening from their sleep, and had to smile at the scene. His clan was happy and most of all, his clan was safe. Nothing could make this moment finer. Well, he thought, there is one thing…
Tonight was Brooklyn, Tachia, Angela and Broadway's turn on patrol, leaving the others to relax for the evening. As they took off into the night sky, Lexington was already walking towards the Great Hall with Eosine to show his love the computers that he spoke so fondly of for all the years they had been mated, while Hudson and Bronx intended to take a walk in the courtyard.
Goliath bid everyone a good evening and walked into the castle purposefully.
He pressed the button on the elevator keypad and waited a few seconds before there was a beep and the elevator doors slid open to allow him entry within.
David Xanatos sat at his mahogany desk, reading some business reports on his computer when there was a knock at his door. Looking up, he realized that the knock hadn't been one that sounded like Owen.
"Yes?"
"It is Goliath. I need to speak with you."
David smiled briefly before saying, "Come on in, Goliath" and rising from his desk to greet his permanent guest.
Goliath walked towards David and stopped right in front of him.
"What can I do for you, Goliath?" David asked, somewhat intrigued. He never came into his office unless something was wrong, but the look on Goliath's face wasn't one of worry—more like indecision…
Goliath sighed and then replied, "I need to ask your advice about a matter that will concern you, as well..."
The rest of the clan went on their patrol. Thankfully, patrol was uneventful, and within a few hours, the entire clan, including Goliath, was back in the castle.
Hudson was seated in his favourite chair, listening to Eosine and Lexington tell him a story of their time back in 1795 England. As the rest of the clan filed into the Great Hall, they became intrigued by the last few parts of the story they heard.
Angela and Broadway sat down beside the mated pair and watched them intently. Angela had to ask her own questions when Eosine had finished her story.
"There is so much we still do not know about you two, Eosine."
"Angela, you may ask us anything you wish! We are clan, family." the rosy-pink female smiled cheerfully, obviously happy that they were taking an interest in their lives.
"Well, I have always been curious about your adventures, and you told us about the night Brook and Lex arrived in England, but I wanted to know about your clan. Why were there only five of you before the boys arrived?"
A sad look appeared on Tachia's face. She released Brooklyn's hand, left his side, and sat beside her sister. Eosine was relieved that Tachia came to her.
"That is a story that is entirely too sad for Eosine to tell herself. I fear that I must tell this story, for it must be told, lest we forget our fallen brethren."
Goliath recognized in Tachia the same look he wore when thinking about his massacred clan. He exhaled and allowed Tachia to entrance them all in her story…
"There was a time when our clan thrived happily in the caverns of England, with no cares in the world, save for finding food for ourselves and our young. When Eosine and I were but mere adolescents, we were a clan of 25, and Horatio was content,
newly mated, and a wonderful leader. His mate was already heavy with egg, as were the other five mated females. We were nameless back then, except for Horatio, as is the gargoyle tradition. One stormy night, we all stayed in the cave, waiting for the rain to stop, when we heard terrified screams.
"One of my brothers, a rather large blue horned gargoyle, went to see where the cries came from. He was such a good Samaritan…" Tachia stopped her story for a second to regain her composure, cleared her throat, and continued. "He left the cavern to find the source of the cries, as I have said, and when he returned, he carried a small child who was no older than 7 years old. He had lost his way and found himself in the woods. He was cold, hungry and scared to death of us. He had never seen gargoyles to be sure. My brother comforted him and took him to our cave.
"We all stopped what we were doing, and cared for the child in our way, in the way of our Lord. The night passed with us introducing ourselves to him, finding him some meat, helping him to clean up and we gave him shelter for the night. The weather was not fit for man, nor beast, nor gargoyle.
"The morning came, and the clan found the child sleeping beside one of our beasts. He had stayed with us the entire day. We were relieved, and a bit thankful that he hadn't left. We asked him if he knew where his home was, and he did not. He was sad and missed his parents, so we told him we would help him to find his way back home. Before that, however, he decided to name us all, saying that things needed names"
Goliath and Hudson smiled, remembering that those were the exact words Elisa used to justify naming Hudson.
"We were honoured that he gave us the names of his cousins, sisters, brothers, and neighbours. He named my brother who had carried him to us Thomas, like his own father. The next night, we glided to the village in search of his home. We spotted his home, and dropped him there. His parents were not very pleased to see gargoyles returning their son, and chased us away. We were saddened because we had grown close with this child, and some of the younger ones even had delusions of being his friend.
We left him alone with his parents after that." Tachia nudged her sister to see if she was alright with her version of the story. She was, because she gave her a faint smile, and urged her to go on.
"A few nights later, when some of the clan returned from hunting, we were told that they had seen the boy in the forest with his father and that the boy had smiled and waved. Perhaps, we thought, the child would be an ally to the clan after all. Our spirits were lifted that night, but the next night, Horatio, Elaine, Edwin, Eosine and I awoke to find a small band of humans in the cave with large hammers in their hands, and the rubble remains of the rest of our clan surrounding us. They had found our cave right before sundown, and decided to destroy us for taking the boy days earlier. Horatio charged at them, and pushed them over the edge of the hill, leaving us to examine the remains of our fallen friends and family."
Tachia looked over at Eosine, who had her head bowed and was saying a quick prayer for her brothers and sisters. The clan gasped at hearing the strikingly similar story to their own.
"That is terrible, Tachia."
"Yes, Horatio was a shell of his former self after his beautiful mate, Elise, and their egg were destroyed."
Goliath heard this coincidental name and shuddered to think about if the same were to happen to his precious love. Apparently, the clan heard this and thought the same thing, because most of them watched Goliath in quiet anxiousness.
"He became bitter, petty and mean. Nothing of the leader he once had been. Elaine and Edwin had lost their parents, as well as the rest of their hatchling friends and siblings, and, well, Eosine and I lost everything we held dear."
"How long after this massacre did Brooklyn and Lexington arrive?" Goliath asked carefully.
"We came a few months after this happened." Lexington answered.
"Yea, and when the girls told us about this, it accounted for why Horatio was such an ass to us when we came back to the cave after saving them that night." Brooklyn added. He watched his mate carefully, knowing that this story always brought back sad memories, much like his own massacre story did to him. Her eyes suddenly filled with unshed tears, and she looked up to the clan around her.
"That is why we thank the good Lord every day for Brooklyn and Lexington arriving. Not only did they save us that night from the humans that would see us dead, but they came to save us from our meaningless existence after the devastation of the murders." She smiled, and allowed the tears to fall from her eyes. She usually showed a thick skin about things like this, Brooklyn thought, but this story always makes her appreciate our love. She makes me appreciate everything, too…
He walked over to her and wiped a tear from her smooth green-skinned face. "We thank the heavens everyday too, my love." He commented gently, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Goliath rose from his seat. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Tachia, Eosine. As you know, we have a very similar story to your own. Everything seems to happen for a purpose, and our destinies have intertwined for a purpose. Your betrayal happened relatively recently when compared to ours, so the only advice I can give you in dealing with it is that it does eventually get less painful to think of. Yes, it is painful nonetheless, but your friends and mates will help you to deal with the pain." Tachia bowed her head in thanks, and Goliath nodded. "I must see Elisa now. I will return soon."
"Yummy, right, baby? Yes," Elisa cooed at her three month old son who was seated in his carrier on one of the kitchen chairs. She held a bottle to his mouth. As he sucked, she smoothed his hair to one side. "My little boy is so handsome." She added, admiring how sweet he looked in a pair of khaki pants and a golf shirt. His black hair seemed to be turning as black as Elisa's hair, which she loved. It made him look like her that much more. His deep set brown eyes were almond-shaped, as Elisa's. His nose, sharp and down turned, on the other hand, was completely unlike a Maza nose. She knew from where it came. Even still, his tanned complexion added to the total package. He really was her son.
When he was all finished, she got up and washed the bottle in the sink and then turned back to her son and held him against her in the typical burping position. She rubbed his back gently and walked back and forth in her kitchen until he finally burped quietly. Elisa felt it.
"Good boy." She laughed, cleaning his face up after the small bit of excess food that was expelled with the burp.
Still holding Adam, Elisa walked over to the large sliding door that led to the balcony and held Adam with his back towards her so that he had a front seat view of the city through the window.
"The city is really pretty at night, Adam. It's too cold for me to take you outside tonight, but we'll go for a nice walk tomorrow afternoon, and I'll show you off to all of my co-workers at the precinct. Would you like that, baby?" She lowered her head slightly and kissed the top of Adam's angelic head. Elisa still hadn't shown her son off at the 23rd house, like most other cops on mat leave did after they had the baby. She walked a few more steps towards the sliding door.
"And maybe tonight, before you go to sleep, our best friend will come to see us" She meant Goliath. "You always like it when Goliath comes to visit, right Adam? You and me both." She smiled. Elisa waited a few more moments at the sliding door before bringing Adam to his room and changing his diaper.
There was a slight knock at the sliding door. When she didn't answer, Goliath let himself in, and closed the door behind him.
"Elisa?"
He heard movement in Adam's room, and he went in.
The door was ajar. He moved it a bit to see Elisa hovering over Adam, just finishing changing his diaper.
"There you go, my angel. All fresh and clean…" Elisa lifted her son in the air above her head and brought him back down, laughing all the while. She then sensed someone standing behind her, and was not afraid. Without turning around, she said, "Hi, Big Guy. Let yourself in, I see?" She giggled and turned to face her lover. He wore a rare smile.
"I am sorry, Elisa, if I startled you."
"Not at all, actually. I was hoping you were coming tonight."
"Good. How is he tonight?"
Adam cooed in Elisa's arms and reached out to touch Goliath's massive talon. Goliath lowered it slightly and Adam took the digit in his small but strong hand. The lavender protector smiled again and looked up at Elisa.
"Excited to see you, I take it. The same goes for me." She grinned mischievously.
"Want to hold him?"
Goliath nodded. "Of course." He took Adam from his mother and held him comfortably.
She watched with curiosity as Goliath gazed at the infant.
"Let's go into the living room and sit down for a bit." She said, walking out of the room. Goliath knew the apartment inside and out, and walked behind her without taking eyes off of Adam. They reached the living room, and they sat down. The leather couch made a slight creaking noise under the weight of the gentle giant.
"How was patrol tonight, Goliath?" Elisa asked, wiping Adam's mouth of spittle with a small cloth.
"It was….uneventful." he lied. I cannot tell her that I went to Xanatos to ask for advice…Maybe after...
"Hmm. And how are Tachia and Eosine adjusting? I really should spend some more time with them. I feel like I know nothing about them."
"After tonight's patrol, they told us the story of their clan's betrayal. It seemed as if it was a mimic of my own sad tale." His eyes were flooded with a sadness that Elisa wished instantly she understood fully, and could wipe away. Her small and delicate hand went to his. He took it, and brought it to his lips. He kissed it sweetly and returned his gaze to her beautiful coffee eyes.
"My love, I could not bear to lose you. I do hope you know this."
Eyebrows scrunched in confusion, she said, "Of course I know this. Goliath, I'm not going anywhere. Where is this coming from?" He drew her closer to him and Adam with his protective hand.
"Tachia and Eosine's story struck a chord with me, and I was reminded of how dearly I love you." He couldn't tell her also that he was planning something, and the story had made him realize that time means nothing when you are in love. "Elisa, I…" Just before his thought could be worded, Adam began crying tiredly. Elisa leaned over, took him from Goliath's arms and said, "Adam is tired. Let me put him to bed, and I'll be right back." She kissed Goliath's cheek and went to put her son to bed.
Nearly three minutes went by before Elisa returned. She sat beside Goliath again, and smiled, taking up his large taloned hand in hers. "Go on, babe."
His nerve lost, he smiled, drew her into a gentle hug and said, "I will love you for all of my life."
"Ditto. Nothing will ever change that. My heart is yours." She breathed in his scent, and kissed his lips.
October 3, 1997, 2:17pm
The newly acquired dark blue Chevy Blazers drove past the afternoon traffic, in search of a certain car…
"Quarrymen, we suspect the traitor is driving along this road." Jon Castaway said into the radio, which broadcast its signal to the other two cars full of Quarrymen.
"When we find her, we will be rid of this traitor to the human race! This will be her last day on earth!" Jon exclaimed maniacally. Robyn looked over at him and shook her head. Her brother's deteriorating sanity worsened with each passing day, and she could do nothing but watch and hope that he would do nothing stupid. Robyn did somewhat agree with the death of Maza, though she did help Jason with his slow and painful recovery. She knew he'd never walk again, but his spirits were recovering well, so she heard. Perhaps when Maza was gone, Robyn could care for her son. Robyn was nearly 30 years old, with no hope of having her own children, so maybe this child could signify for her a new beginning…
That afternoon, after visiting Derek and Maggie in their gorgeous home outside of the city, Elisa put her sleeping son in his carrier securely and began driving home.
In a quieter part of Manhattan, the two toned Ford Fairlane drove the speed limit in the far right lane on a two-lane road. Elisa looked into the rear view mirror and checked her large blind spot in the driver side mirror. Since becoming a mother, she had adapted safer driving practices, such as checking the mirrors, and not cutting other cars off when she drove. These practices were increased when Adam was in the backseat, as he was at this moment.
As she looked into the mirrors, something seemed wrong. Her rear view showed that behind her, there was a dark blue Chevy Blazer. Did they even make them in dark blue? Beside her on the driver side was another Blazer, and, for the first time, she noticed that there was one in front of her as well. Elisa was no idiot; she knew she was being boxed in intentionally.
She turned her head to see who might be going to great lengths to do this, and stared into the covered face of two Quarrymen in the Blazer driving right beside her. The passenger rolled down his window and pulled out a hammer, turning it on.
The electrified noise was loud enough for Elisa to hear it from her car.
Goddamn it, I have to get out of here.
She went to grab her long-dormant gun in the glove box, but it suddenly seemed miles away, and if she were to lean over and get it, she would have to lose her sight of the road and God only knows what would happen then.
Let's just concentrate on getting out of this in one piece. The guys aren't around to protect us now. It's the middle of the day.
Just then, the Blazer beside her suddenly swerved towards her car, causing her to swerve away, lose control of the car and go off the road. Luckily the area they were speeding through was practically deserted and a park was only a block away. Elisa tried as cautiously as possible to navigate her antique but precious car onto the cement sidewalk without being too bumpy as to wake poor little Adam up in the commotion. Unfortunately, she wasn't cautious enough, for his cries suddenly belted out through the air and out the open window of her car.
"Adam, please baby, stop crying, momma's right here angel," She attempted, reaching a hand back to him while still concentrating on getting them safely out of this predicament. Still, she saw, the Blazers followed. They no longer drove around her,
but they chased her mercilessly nonetheless. The park was only a few seconds away, she realized with a relieved sigh. She drove into the park, but she felt something rear end her car abruptly and then back away.
She looked into the rear view to see one of the Blazers slamming into the back of her car. Still, Adam's cries persisted. Elisa looked back at her son for a split second before her car slammed head first into a tree. The force of the impact caused the windshield to shatter and Elisa's frame to lurch forward and her head hit the steering wheel stiffly, where she remained motionless. The car was too old to be equipped with air bags.
Adam's terrified cries continued loudly and terribly. The three Blazers came to a screeching halt around the wreckage. The first to exit the car, dressed in the entire Quarryman garb was none other than Jon Castaway, aka, Jon Canmore, and his big sister, Robyn. She walked almost sadly towards the steaming car towards the child crying in the backseat. She leaned over to look inside, and opened the passenger side door, pulled the seat forward and unbuckled the crying child's seatbelts. She scooped him up into her arms, and this seemed to calm him. His cries diminished. She pressed the baby to her chest.
"Shhh, little one. Everythin' is alright now, dear boy." She said, rocking him back and forth slightly. She looked up at Jon (not that she could tell by face, since he had his mask on, but his smaller frame and the hammer he carried was definitely Jon's). He walked over to the wreckage to view the damage he had caused. She knew that behind this mask, he was smiling sickly. He really does need help, she thought. Jon's hammer was fully electrified, and ready to smash something or someone. He leaned into the car to see Elisa unconscious upon the steering wheel, and a large bump was already forming upon her usually immaculate forehead. Her ebony hair formed a veil around her shoulders. Jon looked up at his sister, and pulled off his mask.
"Sister, dear, hand that brat to me. Let me eliminate him before finishing off his betrayer of a mother."
"What! Jon, we discussed this, and you agreed that the boy was not to be harmed at all. He is innocent in all this. Have ya gone mad!" She asked angrily in her Scottish brogue. Perhaps she shouldn't have actually said 'mad'…
Jon's eyes glistened with crazed anger.
"Mad, am I, Robyn? This child is meaningless. If he is allowed to live, what will me followers think? They will believe me pitiful towards traitors to the human race. I canna do that! Hand him over!"
Adam had begun to cry again, frightened cries echoing into the air. Robyn had tears in her eyes now. They were tears for her brother's sanity. Her brother had gone absolutely over the deep end. What would Jason think of him now? And what would he think of her for helping Jon in this endeavor? She just couldn't allow this.
"No, Jon! You need help! You canna do what yuir thinking. This is just wrong, no matter who his mother is!" Jon took another menacing step towards her, the evil in his eyes intensifying. He raised the electrified hammer close to her face. He stared at his sister with something similar to disbelief and rage.
"This is yuir last chance, Robyn. Give up the boy, or you shall join them as traitors to our cause." He threatened in almost a whisper. She gasped at the threat, disbelieving that he would actually do this.
As this scene unfolded, the other Quarrymen who were in the Blazers piled out and gathered around them to witness the sibling squabble turn into a deadly confrontation. Some gasped as Jon uttered this threat to his sister, while others were too appalled to make a sound at the fear that he would turn on them next. Two Quarrymen even took off their hoods, threw them on the floor and ran off in disgust.
This issue had ceased being about gargoyles for them.
The eight that remained watched the confrontation and shook their heads at Jon.
"There aren't any gargoyles even here….The boy could just come home with one of us and he'd never know his past…Jon's taking this too far." The whispers among the crowd came rushing to Jon's ears. He shot a vengeful look at his Quarrymen. He was losing them, he knew.
"What is this? Dissention in the ranks, is it? Traitors the whole lot of ya!" He suddenly aimed the hammer at the entire crowd of his followers. "I don't need any of ya to destroy the gargoyles, then!"
Ray, Robyn's Quarryman friend, was the one to step forward, take off his mask and confront Jon.
"Sir, there are none here. Let us destroy Maza and leave. We can take the child away from here, and he'd never know about the gargoyles or remember his mother."
"I will do what I feel is necessary, and this is necessary fer our cause! Out of me way!" He recharged his hammer, and was about to let it fall when the sound of a Beretta's hammer clicking startled them all. They turned to see a shaky Elisa Maza holding her gun, aiming it directly at Jon's head, and holding her badge. She leaned against the damaged car for support.
"Just because I'm on mat leave doesn't mean I'm not still a cop. You are under arrest, Jon, for attempted murder. Put the hammer down. Robyn, take my son over there," She motioned to a grassy spot under a tree about a hundred feet away from the scene. She conceded and began walking to the spot. Jon's eyes narrowed on Elisa's gun.
"You treacherous bitch, My Quarrymen are strong and follow only me. Without me, they are nothing."
Elisa allowed a condescending laugh to escape her lips. "You're full of shit, Jon. Look around you. They have left you. You're one sick bastard and they know it. They are all gone."
They had indeed deserted him. Around them, the grassy ground was riddled with abandoned Quarryman hoods. Jon cursed under his breath, looked at Elisa's gun, thought for a split second, and then took off running into the park.
Elisa tried to follow, but couldn't, as she nearly tripped on her shaky feet. Her head still hurt and her balance still had to be regained from her encounter with her steering wheel. Leaning a hand against the mangled hood of her beloved Fairlane, she took a deep breath of relief to see Robyn returning with Adam. His outstretched arms towards his mother made Elisa smile. She accepted her son from Robyn wordlessly, and hugged him protectively to her chest. Realizing that Robyn was still there, Elisa glared at her.
"You are also under arrest, Robyn. I can't let you go, you know. You're an accomplice."
She bowed her head in acceptance. "Yes, that I am."
The next few hours were a blur to Elisa. She had her precious car towed to the mechanics, arrested any Quarrymen they found wandering around, including Robyn, and put out an APB for Jon Canmore, aka Jon Castaway. Elisa decided she and Adam were going in the ambulance that came with the police. Her head still throbbed, and she knew she was lucky not to have another concussion. Just to be sure, she accepted the ride to the hospital…
…October 4, 9:13am, In New York State Maximum Security Prison…
The guard that brought the daily meal to each of the inmates who were in isolation made his rounds for the morning, rolling a service cart through the aisles and dropping the appropriate meals to the prisoners. He stopped at his first prisoner's door, rapped once, and held up the meal to the prisoner's waiting hands through a slit in the thick steel door.
"Thanks, ya fuckin' pig! HEY! Where's the chicken cordon bleu I ordered?" The prisoner shouted sardonically.
"Shut it, loser." The guard was accustomed to these usual taunts, so he continued on his rounds.
After 5 more taunts, he reached inmate D. Dracon's cell, looked on his clipboard to see what the chef had assigned for the elderly man today. "Hmm. I guess money does make the world go round…salmon and rice." He searched for the meal, located it on the lower shelf of the cart and rose to knock on the door. He knocked once, but the inmate did not extend his hand to accept the plate as he did every morning. He knocked again, annoyed.
"Dracon, your food is here." Nothing. "Dracon! Get your food or you ain't eatin' today!" Still nothing. He peered into the slit through the door, and saw Dominic Dracon lying on his bed, asleep. The regular prison uniform was fitted extremely loosely on the old man, and accentuated his frail and fragile frame. The guard dropped the plate on the cart, irritated, and pulled out his keys to open the cell. As he opened the cell door, he grabbed his gun in the other hand and walked carefully towards Dominic. "Dracon!" He shouted, expecting the old man to awake with a start as he had done a few times before. That was partially the reason he was in his own private cell; he was getting too old to do the regular prisoner things…
The guard got closer, and shouted Dominic's name again to no avail. He then checked his pulse on his wrinkly and liver-spotted neck. His eyes widened in shock. He grabbed his walkie-talkie and pressed the button.
"Hey, George, send the doctor into D. Dracon's room. He's dead."
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