Eye Of The Beholder
October 30th, 1995
The whole of Manhattan was getting ready for the following day: Halloween. Everywhere, there were Halloween decorations, candies and costumes being sold as everyone was getting into the Halloween spirit.
Both Liam and Elisa exited a shop where they bought costumes for themselves and Griff, as Liam wanted to share his first Halloween with Griff in public properly.
"You seem excited." Elisa noted as they put their costumes in Elisa's car.
"How could I not be? Griff and I are about to go on our first Halloween in public." He reminded her.
They were about to get in and drive off when both a scream and a roar was heard from the general store on the other side of the street.
They looked and saw something thrown through the window and the store owner ran for his life.
"It must be that creature again." Liam said, remembering how there have been sightings of a large and furry creature for the past month, though only on the full moon, making Liam realise that it must be some kind of were-creature.
The two pulled out their guns and ran to the general store right as they heard a crashing sound.
After taking a moment to steel themselves, they entered and aimed their guns out and scanned the dark and trashed general store as another crash was heard from the back.
An empty can rolled out and they walked right up to it, examining it.
Glass then shattered in the back and they quietly made their way there, seeing food items thrown around, including some shattered eggs.
They then heard panting from a large animal.
Liam peeked around the aisle and his eyes widened as he laid eyes on the creature as it was ravaging through a whole chicken. He was able to glimpse something around its neck but he couldn't make out what it was.
"Police, freeze!" Elisa shouted as she and Liam appeared clearly and aimed their guns at the creature.
It ran away and they tried to find it when it had been able to circle around to them.
Now Liam had a good look at it. It had red fur and had a familiar mark over its right eye. And it turned out that what it had around its neck was the Eye of Odin.
He just then realised that this creature was Fox. She was a were-fox.
Fox swiped their guns from their hands, but Liam kicked her right in the chest, making her stumble and give him and Elisa time to make some distance to some bags of flour, two of which had holes in them.
"Here you go, mutt!" Liam spat as he and Elisa swung the bags right into Fox's face when she approached them, disorientating her and allowing them to grab their guns.
Police sirens were then heard outside and their lights blinded the pair before they looked and saw that Fox was now gone.
Of course, this was made into a media spectacle when the news vans arrived shortly after.
Both Liam and Elisa wiped their hair as they were covered in flour as a police officer that Elisa knew named Morgan appeared by them.
"Happy Halloween. I can't get a shift this month without mopping up after that thing." He said.
"Yeah. Every night's trick or treat in the Big Apple." Elisa said as she and Liam walked off to her car.
After giving a witness account at the police station, Liam was dropped off at his penthouse with his and Griff's costumes and entered to find Griff in his gargoyle form out on the balcony as the sun rose.
"I heard about what happened. Are you alright?" Griff asked as he hugged his mate.
"I'm alright. But you're not gonna believe what I just learned of that creature. It wore the Eye of Odin and it had a fox tattoo over its right eye." Liam explained.
"So this creature is Fox?" Griff asked, to which Liam nodded. "Do you think she's part of some experiment Xanatos is conducting?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. He's willing to cross certain lines, perhaps he's willing to use the woman he loves as a test subject." Liam frowned.
"Well, moving on from this recent development, did you get our costumes?" Griff asked, which made Liam grin.
"Of course, I did. I'm so looking forward for later." He said, leading Griff back inside. "Now let's get some sleep and then we'll meet the clan at the clocktower."
After a day's sleep, the two mates woke up before sunset, grabbed their costumes, turned into their gargoyle forms and took off to the clocktower.
They arrived just as the sun had dipped over the horizon and the gargoyle awoke.
"Ah, Halloween. Tonight is the night." Lexington grinned eagerly.
"I can hardly wait. We can walk around on the streets, and nobody will know who we are." Brooklyn replied, practically shaking with excitement.
"Better yet, no one will know what we are." Broadway added, which made Brooklyn narrow his eyes at him.
"And considering the costumes you guys have, you'll be standouts, that's for sure." Liam chuckled as Elisa showed up.
"Hi, guys." She greeted them all. "Got a minute?"
"I know what you're about to say, Elisa and I know what that creature is. It's Fox." Liam revealed, surprising everyone except Griff.
"How do you know that?" Elisa asked.
"As it came right at us, I saw that it was wearing the Eye of Odin and had Fox's tattoo that she has over her right eye." Liam replied. "It may be because Xanatos is using her as some test subject."
"Oh, you two could have been hurt." Goliath said, looking mainly at Elisa, even holding her hand gently. "I should've been with you."
"But you can't, anymore than I can be here guarding you all day long. Everyone's vulnerable, Goliath, but it helps to know somebody cares." Elisa replied softly, placing a hand on his chest and the two smiled.
Liam and Griff looked at each other knowingly.
Eventually, the trio were getting ready and put their Halloween costumes on while Liam, Griff and Goliath went to the library, reading some books on were-creatures to see if there's anything that can help them with dealing with Fox.
"Goliath?" Elisa's voice rang out until she appeared around the corner and found the three reading.
"I just got an anonymous tip about where to find Fox." She informed them.
"That seems a bit convenient." Liam narrowed his eyes in suspicion, closing the book in his hand and putting it back on the shelf.
"Looks like Xanatos wants us involved in some manner." Griff added.
"Then let's not disappoint him." Goliath snarled.
The four took off to where Xanatos told them to find Fox, which was a meat supplier called Felice's Meats and saw her jump out of a window and land where the loading dock was.
Liam made the first move by kicking her hard in the chest, throwing her back into some boxes as Griff, Goliath and Elisa landed.
Goliath let Elisa off right as Fox got back up and all three gargoyles stared her down.
She then made a jump for Goliath, but he punched her in the face and then Griff side kicked her before she grabbed his head.
Liam and Goliath tackled her off of him before she kicked them off of her.
Elisa pulled her gun out and tried to aim carefully as Fox was now pushing all her strength against all three gargoyles, which was quite impressive, but she just couldn't take a shot in fear of hurting them.
Liam roared at Fox before he used all his strength to push Fox away and into a metal shutter, denting it before she crashed to the ground.
All four walked up to her and Elisa pointed her gun at her when they heard something land several feet away. It was Xanatos in his Steel Clan exo-frame, but without the helmet and one of his wires being damaged.
"How nice of you to finally show up after bringing us here, Xanatos." Liam snarled as Elisa now pointed her gun at him.
Xanatos seemed genuinely surprised to see Liam in his new gargoyle form, recognising his voice instantly.
"You really are too smart for your own good, Mr. Gardner. It'll get you into trouble." Xanatos replied.
"Like it isn't for you after what you've done." Liam snarled again.
"Is this the latest of your mutated victims?" Elisa asked.
"Let's just say I feel a certain responsibility for it." Xanatos replied before he reached for the Eye of Odin. But upon touching it. It shocked him with red magical energy, making him scream in pain while the others moved back. Xanatos was then launched back into the same boxes Fox landed in earlier.
Fox got up and launched herself at Liam, wrapping around him from the back.
"Get off me, you mutt!" Liam roared before he elbowed her in the stomach and threw her over his shoulder at Griff, who punched her, making her crash on the ground.
Deciding she had enough of this, she suddenly ran off into a dark alleyway, disappearing in the shadows with a roar.
Xanatos got to his feet as Elisa pointed her gun at him.
"You're going nowhere, Xanatos." She told him.
"Sorry. Business. You understand." He replied with a grin before taking off.
"Xanatos is trying to get the Eye of Odin back from Fox, that's why he went after her. We'll have to gather the others and get it before he does." Liam told Goliath, who looked up at the Eyrie Building nearby.
"Let us first have a quick chat with Xanatos." He said.
After climbing high enough, they took off to the castle where they were able to overhear what Xanatos was telling Owen.
"They'll do all my work for me." They heard him say as he and Owen walked into a courtyard.
"I fail to see how it will be any easier to get the Eye from the gargoyles than from Fox." Owen replied.
"Your manipulations have failed, Xanatos." Goliath made their presence known as they jumped down to face him directly.
"And I bet you'll have a Plan D, which won't work out." Liam said. "Face it, Xanatos, we won't be your pawns again."
"Come, we're done here." Goliath then said, everyone turning to leave.
"Wait." Xanatos said, as though he was begging, though they didn't buy it. "This situation is out of my control. I thought I could handle it, but… the creature you saw, it's Fox."
"We already knew that, Xanatos. Don't bother giving us a sob story, it won't work." Liam spat.
"Please, she's been affected by the jewel she wears. Legend says the Eye of Odin is supposed to endow the wearer with power and insight. I had no idea it had metamorphic capabilities." Xanatos said.
"Perhaps it can give you some insight into Fox's real character." Goliath pointed out.
"Like the Eye made her into a primal version of her inner-self." Griff added.
"Goliath, please." Xanatos 'begged' again.
"Don't bother wasting your breath, Xanatos, we're not going to help you after everything you've done. You don't deserve it." Liam shook his head in disgust.
"Exactly, you can't tell the truth even if your life depended on it." Elisa nodded in agreement.
"But my life doesn't depend on this. It's Fox's life we're talking about." Xanatos said, placing a hand on Goliath's shoulder, making Liam narrow his eyes, thinking that he's planting a tracker on him.
"I have no more love for Fox than I have for you." Goliath replied, removing Xanatos' hand off him. "Even if what you say is true, why should I help her?"
"Because you know what it means to lose someone you love." Xanatos replied.
Instantly, Liam shoved him back so hard that he fell to the ground next to Owen and panted heavily in rage with his eyes glowing blinding white.
"Don't. You. Dare." He said dangerously calmly, holding back pure fury. "What you're going through is nothing like what Goliath has been through, so don't you dare try to relate to him with that cheap tactic."
"Exactly. This is his Plan D." Elisa told Goliath. "And if he fails, he'll move onto E or F."
Griff had to place a hand on Liam's shoulder to calm him down, which worked as his eyes turned back to normal and he, along with everyone else, turned to leave.
"A noble effort, Xanatos, but another failure." Goliath added as he picked up Elisa and they all walked up some steps to the wall. "Not a good night for you."
They then took off.
Liam got right next to Goliath and saw that Xanatos did indeed plant a tracker on his shoulder.
"An old but predictable habit." He said, taking the tracker off Goliath and crushing it instantly.
"Now that we got that sorted out, let's actually have some fun for tonight." Griff said, making Liam look at him with a smile.
They made it back to the clocktower, allowing Liam and Griff to change human, get into their costumes, as well as Elisa and they, Goliath and the trio made their way to the Greenwich Village Halloween block party.
Liam was dressed up like King Arthur, wanting to represent his love for Excalibur, one of his favourite films and Griff was dressed up as the T-800 from T2: Judgement Day, just so he could wear leather and sunglasses.
With the trio, Lexington wore a WW1 aviator uniform, Brooklyn wore pirate clothes, including an eyepatch and Broadway, of course, wore a detective's trench coat and hat.
"Relax you three, you look great." Liam tried to calm their nerves as he and Griff walked past them.
"Cool! Look!" One of the costumed people said upon seeing the trio. "Check it out. A costume over a costume."
Many other costumed individuals gathered around the trio.
"Hey, nice hat." A female costumer complimented Broadway.
"That's a great, great costume." A man in a witch's costume added.
Liam and Griff met up with other people in costumes, all of whom complimented them and even women eyed them both with interest.
Eventually, they saw Elisa and Goliath walking together. Elisa wore Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast, a very fitting costume to wear, considering the feelings her and Goliath clearly have for each other.
They watched the two eventually join other couples and danced.
"If only those two could just tell each other how they felt." Liam said as he got him and Griff some churro sticks with some chocolate sauce.
"You know how stubborn they can be, even more so with their feelings." Griff pointed out as he was eating his first churro. "Plus, there's still Demona to think about."
"True." Liam shrugged as he downed his second churro.
"I'd hate to ruin the good mood, though, and ask if you think Xanatos is able to change." Griff then said, making Liam groan.
"I don't know, Griff. All he's done ever since we've met him is lie and manipulate to the point that we can't trust a single word he says. I don't even think he's capable of empathy and love. If he had any of that, he wouldn't have made Derek, Maggie and those others into mutates." Liam reminded him.
"You're right. I just have faith that people can change." Griff sighed. "And maybe Xanatos is an example that some aren't capable of such a thing."
The two finished off their churros and decided to join up with Elisa and Goliath, who were walking away from the couples that were dancing.
As they caught up, they heard growling and while Elisa and Goliath were tense, Liam and Griff weren't.
"Don't worry, it's just a guy in a costume." Liam assured the pair, watching a man in a werewolf costume walk past them, growling playfully at them.
"Things are not always what they seem." Goliath contemplated.
"What do you mean?" Elisa asked.
"What if Xanatos was telling the truth? What if Fox is dying?" Goliath asked.
"You can't believe anything he says." Elisa reminded him.
"I know, but that creature is still a danger to my castle… my city. And if Xanatos speaks the truth, if someone like him can love, perhaps there still is hope for this world." Goliath reasoned.
Liam sighed, knowing full well what he's going to do and seeing that Griff mentioned the idea of Xanatos changing earlier, it would seem that something is trying to make him be more willing to help who is pretty much a villain.
"You're gonna help him, aren't you?" Elisa asked Goliath.
"Yes."Goliath replied.
"Then we'll help, just in case." Griff said for himself and Liam.
"Good." Xanatos said, coming out from the shadows, wearing a coat.
"I destroyed the tracker you placed on Goliath, how did you find us?" Liam snarled.
"I made a correct guess you'd visit a Halloween party." Xanatos replied, making Liam's eyes roll as he was right.
Xanatos then pulled out a tracker.
"She's not far from here." He said.
Before they went for her, Liam and Griff turned into their gargoyle forms, which meant their costumes changed as well to fit their forms and followed screaming from a nearby building where they saw the trio running to it, as Fox was inside.
"Stay there." Goliath told them. "We'll handle this."
They entered inside with Xanatos closing the doors behind them.
They all gathered in the centre of the building when Fox appeared on the railing above them and growled at them.
She then leapt down and Goliath, Elisa, Liam and Griff parted while Xanatos was still and was tackled by Fox and was about to be slashed by her when Liam and Goliath pulled her off of him.
Griff joined in and all three tried restraining her.
Elisa aimed her gun but Xanatos grabbed it and destroyed it.
Fox continued struggling, making her and the three gargoyles crash through stalls until she threw both Liam and Griff back and Goliath over her shoulder, launching him out through the doors and out into the street, crashing right into the car of Margot and Brendan, causing it to crash right into a lamppost, that fell and shattered on the road.
The trio went to Goliath's side as he stood.
Fox was then launched outside by Liam and Griff tackling her, but she was able to get out of their grip and stand, snarling at all the spectators.
"Run!"
"Look out!"
"Real monsters!"
Goliath had the trio step aside as Fox approached him, but she instead jumped over him and onto Margot and Brendan's car and climbed up the building in front of her.
Liam, Griff and Goliath followed after her as Elisa and Xanatos came out. Broadway ended up biting his hat in worry.
Xanatos pulled his coat off to reveal a suit. He was surprised when Elisa threw her arms around his neck.
"I trust you as far as I can throw you, Xanatos." She told him.
"I don't have time to argue." He replied before he wrapped an arm around her waist and they took off thanks to the rocket on Xanatos' back.
Liam, Griff and Goliath reached the rooftop and kept their eyes open for her as they didn't see her, but they could faintly hear her heavy breathing.
Xanatos and Elisa then landed on the rooftop, which was when Fox appeared before them.
"Fox, I know you're in there somewhere. It's David." Xanatos tried to speak to Fox, who simply growled at him until her all white eyes formed pupils, like her human self was brought forward. But then she noticed Elisa's presence and her eyes changed back to a glowing yellow and was back to being like an animal.
She then leapt at Elisa and was close to mauling her to death when Goliath grabbed Fox and threw her at the electrical sign and crashed on the rooftop,
Liam and Griff were at Goliath's side and the three pinned her against the sign, shocking her.
"NOW, XANATOS!" Goliath shouted.
Xanatos came and grabbed the Eye of Odin, causing more sparks and electricity to shock Fox, as well as him and the gargoyles.
Eventually, the four were thrown back with Xanatos having the Eye in his hand.
Elisa was by Goliath's side as they all watched Fox roaring at the tops of her lungs, still being shocked and electrocuted until the sign blew out.
Fox fell to her knees, heavily panting and then roared in agony before she changed back to her human self, naked and sweating before blacking out.
Elisa pulled off part of her dress and wrapped it around her as a helicopter approached and landed on the rooftop. Owen then stepped out in a coat.
Xanatos came up and saw Fox back to normal.
"She's alive." Goliath told him.
"It would be wise for you to hand over the Eye, Xanatos." Liam then said, holding his hand out.
"A trade?" Xanatos said, thinking this was in exchange for Fox's life.
"You're not to be trusted with it." Liam coolly pointed out.
"So now you know my weakness." Xanatos said as he gave Liam the Eye of Odin.
"For you to think of love as a weakness shows how you are a man who really knows nothing." Liam snarled, making Xanatos glare at him before he picked up Fox in his arms while the trio joined up with them. Xanatos then walked to Owen and the helicopter.
"Goliath?" Broadway asked.
"It's all over. Let's go home." Goliath replied, placing a hand on Elisa's waist before they all took off to the clocktower.
Liam was sure that Xanatos won't change, but who knows? Maybe he will.
Yeah, Liam can be pretty scary when he's consumed with rage in his gargoyle form.
Btw, Vows won't be retold in this story. Liam and Griff don't really have any reason to be involved in that episode, especially since their scenes would make for an extremely short chapter. So the next chapter is City of Stone, and like Awakening, it'll be a mammoth of a chapter.