CHAPTER 1: HOME
On the 21st day of September, 2007, a mysterious ship appeared by Fisherman's Wharf. It was an old fashioned ship.
"A pirate's ship." Willie Velazquez, one of the ship's finders, would later claim, "Or a Viking ship."
But it was neither a pirate ship, nor a Viking ship. It was made of wood that was so bright yellow, that one would immediately think that it was made from gold. Its sails were snow white, and so ruffled, one would take them for being made out of feathers, though one man swore it was made from the finest silk. Even the vessel's very name was grand. It was called the Queen Titania. But the by-far most peculiar thing about the vessel was its passengers; Fourteen teenagers, six young women, nine young men, four men of middle years, two women of middle years, three elderly women, one very old man, twenty-two children, four peculiar colored cats, six dogs, a horse, a white moth, a tiger, a monkey, a parrot, a lemur, a wolf, a bison, a rabbit, a turtle, three mice, two rats, a fifth cat, an exotic bird, a sea gull, a hamster, a dormouse and a baby. It naturally provoked the presence of the media, but by the time they arrived the mysterious travelers were gone.
It was mid-morning when Alexander Fox Xanatos saw Fisherman's Wharf for the first time since Halloween of 2006. He was the only one awake, looking out over the vast blue ocean. He was sitting on the bow of the Queen Titania, thinking of his grandmother and his grandfather, his only two surviving grandparents both gone and his life torn apart in less than six months. His friend, Hudson, dead that fateful Halloween night, murdered in cold blood by his own son, Lucius. His friend, Goliath, lying dead in his own blood shot from the sky by Jedi Master Pong Krell only to be revived again by Alex's unknowing hand. And then the Gargoyles, were sent to live in a Castle in another world, while Alex, his parents, his father's loyal servant, Owen Burnett aka Puck and the youngest Gargoyle, the newborn Samson were shipped off to Avalon. And then when his family was finally reunited, he had seen Avalon broken and destroyed by both the Sith and a group of evil god-fearing humans called the Society of the Black Cross who had made it their personal mission to destroy all magic.
Slowly, but surely, Alex threw back his head, and shouted, "Land ho!"
Aelita Hopper was the next to wake up. Lying beside her was a small boy with curly dark hair and deep green eyes. He was her brother and his name was Roku. He was eight years old on the Autumnal Equinox. Their mother had given birth to him in the void. Aelita had first learned he existed on her sixteenth birthday when Oberon had freed from the void as a reward for the Lyoko Warriors for helping him see the light. Slowly she got up and put her arm around Alex.
"You finally made it home." She said softly.
"We're home." Alex answered and for all intents and purposes they technically were. They reached the tall broken down dock of Fisherman's Wharf. Suddenly, a fishing line reached down and almost hooked itself against Sebastian Silverstein's neck, but Alex deflected it skillfully much to the surprise of the handsome, Hispanic fisherman who was standing above them.
"Where did you come from?" he asked.
"From the ocean." Aelita answered, "We need help."
Aelita could not believe the party's good luck. After the party had left Avalon they had been warned by King Oberon himself, that once they left there would be absolutely no one who would be willing to help them. Now, they had fallen into the hands of a benevolent group of strangers who were willing to do just that. They gave the motley group a room at the back of the bait shop (although it was a bit too small) and food to eat. They also didn't ask questions even though everything from the Avalon refugees' survival to their "complicated" story made absolutely no sense. The children were, naturally, all too happy with their unexpected good luck. But the adults were more cautious. And this included the fourteen older Lyoko Warriors. Aelita found herself taking repeated and long looks at Roku as he slept in her lap. She wanted to believe that they were safe with their unexpected benefactors, but it all seemed, for lack of a better expression, too good to be true.
Alex's father, David Xanatos wasted no time getting straight to business with their "new friends".
"Where are we?" he asked the fisherman who had helped them. He knew where they were of course, but he seemed to think that it was best to play ignorant while in the hands of total strangers.
"New York City." Answered the Fisherman who had found them.
"What day is it?" That he really didn't know.
"September 21, 2007." The fisherman smiled amiably, "You do realize that we will have inform the Task Force about this?"
"The Task Force." Xanatos was livid, "What Task Force?"
"Senator Kelly's anti-mutant Task Force." Said the Fisherman, "I'm sorry, but you could be dangerous."
"The good news," reflected Goliath the tall and scarred Gargoyle clan leader, "Is that we have somehow made it back to Manhattan."
"And the bad news," Xanatos' wife, Fox said flatly, "We've successfully climbed out of the frying pan and into the fire."
"Well I have an idea as to how we can get out." Suggested Aang, "You guys want to hear or should I just shut up."
Disclaimer: I of course own absolutely nothing. If I did this would be on TV. Please Read+Review because I'm entirely sure if this chapter is "complete or not" and if need to add anything I need to know right away."