Reawakening
February 3rd, 1995
It has been snowing non-stop since five days ago and due to this, the clocktower grew colder than it normally was, making Liam buy a heater for whenever he arrives.
He was currently decked out in a sweater, gloves, a scarf and a coat to try and keep warm. He and Griff sat on the sofa and read a book on Arthurian legends. Even though they know it like the back of their hands, it was more of a comfort read for them.
Hudson was watching TV as always on his armchair with Bronx by his side and Goliath stood on the walkway above, staring through the clock at the snow, deep in thought.
"Going to the movies, Hudson. Want to come along?" Broadway asked as he, Brooklyn and Lexington made their way up the stairs to go outside.
"Thank you, lads, but no. Why go out in the snow to see something that will be on cable soon enough. Besides, someone has to stay here and guard our home." The elder gargoyle replied.
"Hudson, we live above a police station. What could happen?" Brooklyn chuckled.
"You know the old saying: a gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle -"
"- than breathing the air." The trio finished Hudson's words, making him glare up at them as he was about to change the channel.
"You three better get out of here before Hudson gives you a lesson you won't forget." Liam teased them as he and Griff finished reading the book for the night and simply cuddled against each other.
"Yeah, yeah, we know." Lexington muttered.
"Heard that one before." Brooklyn muttered.
Goliath looked on at the trio as they exited outside.
"We don't even live in a castle anymore." Lexington said as Brooklyn opened the door, letting a rush of snow enter.
They turned and saw Elisa walking towards Hudson. She still wore her red leather jacket, but also had gloves and a scarf on.
"Bye, Elisa!" The trio all said before they started taking off.
"Do we have time to eat before the show?" Broadway asked as Lexington took off and then he did.
"Whoo! Nasty out there." Elisa said as the door closed. "So, how you guys surviving this cold?"
"Cold does not bother us." Goliath replied.
"Though something is, based on the tone of your voice." Liam said as he and Griff stood.
"Is it not time for you to go on duty?" Goliath asked Elisa as he looked back through the clock.
"Yeah, I guess it's time to do a little of the old 'protect and serve'." Elisa replied, making Goliath look back at her with curiosity.
"Protect… and serve?" He repeated.
"Yeah. It's the police motto. It's what they live for." Griff explained.
"Protect whom? And serve how?"
"The people. The honest citizens. We protect them and serve them. And we do the same for each other." Elisa explained.
"I've done the same thing since first coming to Manhattan. It's in a gargoyle's nature, after all." Griff added.
Goliath jumped down from the walkway and on level with the others.
"You mean the police. Your clan." He said.
"Right. My clan, who will disown me if I don't get to work." She then said as she's about to leave.
"I'll go with you. Perhaps I can learn something from this." Goliath said.
"I hope you don't mind us tagging along." Liam said.
"Yeah. I'd like to spread my wings tonight." Griff added, flexing his wings.
"Sure, the more the merrier." Elisa grinned.
And so, with Elisa driving around Manhattan with Matt in her car, Goliath and Griff, with Liam on his back, glided after them, following them until Elisa's car stopped in front of a grocery store.
Before they left, Elisa gave each of them communication devices so that they could hear her conversing with Matt.
"Come on, Matt. What's up?" Elisa asked her partner.
"Nothing. I know the guy who owns this place. He's been robbed three times this month alone. He's a tough old bird." He replied as they got out of the car. "Born and raised here. He won't let street scum drive him out. I just wish we could protect him better. Coming?"
"Go ahead. I've got some thinking to do." Elisa replied.
"What? Afraid your brain will overheat if you come in out of the cold?" Matt retorted as he pulled up the collar of his coat to cover his neck.
Elisa waved him off and he walked to the store and entered.
She then reached to her jacket's collar where a mike was placed and pulled out an earpiece into her ear.
"Guys?" She asked as they landed on a rooftop, where she saw them. "State of the art. I don't even have to talk loud. This thing picks up everything."
"The marvels of modern day technology." Liam said, very impressed.
"Yes, a most amazing device. We could hear you perfectly." Goliath added.
They all saw Matt talking with the owner of the store.
"Why does that man keep his shop open? He could be robbed again. Why does he not leave?" Goliath questioned, thinking it would've been better for the man to just move elsewhere in the city.
"This is a dying neighbourhood, Goliath. The big markets won't even come here. If he closes this store, people will have no place to buy food. That's more important to him than hiding in his own castle." Elisa explained just how important he is to the neighbourhood.
"Meaning his community needs him to survive." Griff said, making Goliath start to ponder about him and his clan and their role in the city, having only just kept themselves to their home.
"To survive." Elisa added.
The police radio in her car suddenly went off.
"All units, all units. Code 3 to Times Square."
"Matt!" Elisa shouted for her partner, who ran out and got into the car with Elisa and they drove their way to Times Square with Liam, Griff and Goliath following them.
Upon arriving, there were police everywhere and a crowd gathered around a bus that was on its side against a fire hydrant that gushed water everywhere.
The three landed right in front of a large neon sign and watched as Elisa and Matt took cover behind the bus.
They heard grunting and snarling from a figure by the fire hydrant. Liam narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out who this figure was as both Elisa and Matt charged in and pointed their guns at them.
The figure grabbed a car by the roof and the hood and lifted it over their head. Elisa and Matt shot at the figure, only for their bullets to bounce right off.
They were shocked and ran for it.
"We need to stop him!" Liam said and he got onto Griff's back as he and Goliath took off and tackled the figure off their feet, making them drop the car.
Liam got off Griff and gave the gargoyles distance as they fought against the figure, who launched them right into the bus, leaving big dents.
"Goliath, what is that?" Elisa asked as she and Liam joined up with Griff and Goliath.
Spotlights started beaming at the figure, revealing them to be a grey skinned gargoyle. But this one had robotic parts replacing a significant amount of his body. From his wings, part of the left side of his head, his right eye, right arm and most of his left leg. He also missed his left horn and part of his long hair.
"Looks like Xanatos' handiwork." Liam said, horrified to see that a gargoyle has been made into a robotic being.
"It is an abomination." Goliath said, drawing the gargoyle's attention to him and his eyes widened.
"Rookery brother? You betrayed us." The gargoyle said before he aimed a retractable laser cannon at Goliath and fired, though he missed as Griff and Goliath leapt with Liam and Elisa in their arms.
"What sorcery is this?" The gargoyle questioned, clearly unaware he could do that.
Both Griff and Goliath leapt and kicked the gargoyle in the chest, throwing him back before he aimed and fired his laser cannon again, missing the two but hitting the building behind them, causing rubble to fall down.
Liam hid from Matt, who grabbed her and pulled her away before he ran to keep an eye on Griff and Goliath, who were still fighting the robotic gargoyle.
"I… know you." Goliath said with recognition. "From long ago. You are my brother."
"And you are my betrayer." The gargoyle snarled back before he grabbed Goliath and Griff and threw them, the two landing on their feet in front of the cinema.
They dodged another laser blast, which hit the front of the cinema.
Inside, the trio were in the middle of watching Bambi when the whole cinema shook.
"Boy, that surround sound sure is great." Broadway said, mistaking the fight outside for the cinema's sound system. Yet Lexington was bothered.
"I don't remember any explosions in Bambi." He pointed out, making the other two realise that he was right.
The whole cinema shook again and they realised that it was coming from outside.
Back outside, a laser blast hit the building again, causing rubble to fall on top of Griff and Goliath.
Griff groaned as he crawled as the robotic gargoyle stepped up to the unconscious Goliath, who then woke up as he was being lifted up.
"Now you will pay for destroying me and our clan."
A hubcap was thrown and hit his right arm, causing it to spark, making him see that it was from the trio, who were with Liam, who helped Griff up on his feet.
"Put him down, ugly! And I mean now!" Broadway shouted as Lexington grabbed another hubcap and Brooklyn threw it, which distracted the robotic gargoyle, allowing Goliath to get out of his grip and join the others.
"Goliath, what is that thing?" Brooklyn asked.
"It is one of us… or used to be." He replied.
"More traitors! And with a human! You will all pay!" The robotic gargoyle spat in pure venom.
Goliath took some cautious steps forward, trying to reason with him.
"Why are you attacking us?" Goliath demanded an explanation.
"You betrayed the clan. Destroyed it."
"We were all betrayed." Goliath retorted.
"Too true." A familiar voice said from above.
Everyone looked to see that it was Demona, along with Xanatos in his mechanical gargoyle suit and a Steel Clan robot, who all landed on top of the cinema.
"Of course! You're the one who fed him lies!" Liam spat.
"I lived for my clan!" Goliath roared in fury, disgusted by how much lower Demona sunk in her evil ways.
"And they died for you!" Demona retorted. "Smashed to dust by the humans you trusted! We have each created our own clans now, Goliath. You have yours and I have mine."
"You don't have a clan! You don't even know the meaning of the word!" Liam passionately raged at her.
"And how would you know, human?" Demona spat in contempt.
"Because a clan is supposed to care for and protect each other! All you've ever done is lie and manipulate to your own kind, just like Xanatos! You are not worthy to be a gargoyle!" Liam replied, his anger growing by the minute. "And I myself am a proud member of the London Clan!" He showed off his amulet.
The robotic gargoyle was actually affected by Liam's words, seeing how he, a human, knew what it meant to be a gargoyle and to be accepted amongst them. And hearing of Demona's true self, it caused him to question what he's been told by her.
Demona's eyes glowed red and she screeched at him, disgusted by the fact that a clan accepted a human among their ranks.
"Destroy them, Coldstone." She coolly ordered.
"Let's not be hasty. I want them alive." Xanatos reminded her.
"Destroy them and we will survive!" Demona ignored Xanatos and ordered Coldstone again.
"Survive? Like this?" Coldstone questioned, gesturing to his body.
"Appearances mean nothing! We are the true gargoyles! They have been corrupted by the humans, even allowing one of them to live amongst them!" Demona replied.
This made Liam and Griff look at each other, wondering how she'd react upon learning that they're mates.
Both Goliath and Coldstone looked at each other.
"There has been enough death. There are so few of our clan left, my brother." Goliath reasoned with him, making Coldstone look at him differently than before, like he was connecting with him.
Everyone heard a vehicle approaching and they looked to see that it was a news van with Travis Marshall and his news crew exiting.
"Guys, we don't want this on the 11:00 news." Elisa spoke to Goliath, Griff and Liam through their communication devices. Goliath then looked up at Xanatos.
"Xanatos, I doubt you want to see any more destruction done to your city. Perhaps we should move to someplace less… fragile."
"No! We finish this now!" Demona insisted.
"An excellent suggestion, Goliath." Xanatos shut her idea down with a hand on her shoulder. "I propose we reconvene at George Washington Bridge."
"I'll be there, Goliath. And I'll bring help." Elisa informed him.
Demona, Xanatos and the Steel Clan robot took off, followed by Coldstone with the rocket on his back while the gargoyles, with Liam on Griff's back, climbed up a building and once they were high enough, they took off after them.
They were able to arrive at the George Washington Bridge and land on the top. Liam got off Griff's back and pulled his gun out.
"Hey, looks like we beat 'em here." Lexington panted.
However, they heard something overhead and a laser blast was fired at them, making them all jump to avoid being hit.
Liam rolled to a stop as Griff landed on his knees while Brooklyn face planted in the snow.
"Remind me to be fashionably late next time." He groaned as he lifted his head up.
They looked up and saw Demona, Xanatos and the robot descending down at them, Demona firing a laser rifle, which hit behind Brooklyn, launching him in the air before he grabbed onto the bridge. He then jumped down onto Demona, making her fall and drop her rifle.
"Got any spells to save you now?" Brooklyn snarled with his glowing white eyes, still bitter about her manipulating him to get Goliath under a spell. They made impact with one of the suspension cables, which bounced them onto the snow covered road.
Broadway, having taken off, was being chased by Xanatos, who fired lasers at him. He made various manoeuvres to avoid being hit.
Goliath was still on top of the bridge, fighting Coldstone.
"I… don't want to hurt you." Goliath strained as he pushed against Coldstone's strength.
"You already have!" Coldstone roared at him.
Griff, Liam in his arms, and Lexington were being chased by the Steel Clan robot, dodging its laser blasts while Liam fired back with his gun.
"Time to give it a sudden surprise, don't you think?" He asked Griff and Lexington, who both grinned and they nose dived at the bridge before pulling up at the last second, making the robot crash right into it. They landed on top and looked down with satisfaction.
"They always fall for that trick." Lexington grinned.
"There's still Xanatos to worry about." Griff pointed at Broadway, still being chased by said billionaire.
Xanatos ended up hitting a couple of the suspenders, which wrapped around Broadway and held him in place, making him a sitting duck for Xanatos, who flew right at him and aimed his laser cannon.
But Lexington, Liam and Griff came to Broadway's rescue by hitting Xanatos in the back and Liam fired at the cannon, leaving a dent.
Xanatos crashed onto the road and Liam, Griff and Lexington landed on their feet. They saw that Brooklyn was out cold and made their way to him to wake him up.
Xanatos got on his feet, his suit steaming and malfunctioning slightly, resulting in him taking off his helmet.
"How kind of you to show your face and not hide behind a helmet, Xanatos." Liam snarled.
They heard screaming from above and saw that Goliath and Coldstone were still fighting before falling to the river.
"NO!" Broadway cried out.
"GOLIATH!" Liam cried out as well as he, Griff, Lexington and Brooklyn got up to the railing and only saw a splash down in the river.
"DAMMIT!" Griff roared, slamming his fist into the railing, bending it as Lexington and Brooklyn went to free Broadway from the suspender cables.
Soon after, Coldstone flew out of the river with Goliath in his arms and landed on the bridge as Broadway was finally freed.
"Is he…?" Broadway hoped he wasn't dead.
"He lives." Coldstone replied.
Liam saw that Xanatos was watching with a displeased expression as Coldstone walked up to the gargoyles and Liam, placing Goliath by their feet, who was coughing from all the water he inhaled.
"He's okay." Brooklyn said with relief as he, Lexington and Broadway knelt by their leader.
"But you're not." Demona sneered as she stood on a platform, her laser rifle aimed right at them.
"Thank you so much for saving Goliath for me." She then said.
"Wait!" Xanatos told her, clearly not wanting her to destroy Goliath and his clan.
"You said that destroying my brother is the only way to survive. Is that all there is for us? Mere survival?" Coldstone questioned her.
"Isn't that enough?" Demona questioned back.
"No." Goliath disagreed as he stood. "Gargoyles protect. It is our nature. Our purpose. To lose that is to be corrupt, empty… lifeless."
"And what do you protect?" Coldstone asked him.
"Enough of this!" Demona snapped, wanting to end this once and for all and fired her rifle, which made Coldstone stand in front of Goliath to take the shot and fall off the bridge.
"NO!" Goliath roared and jumped into the river after him.
The trio, Griff and Liam went to the railing and watched as he did. But then Demona jumped down and aimed her rifle at them.
"At least I can finish you five - Argh!" Demona's rifle was shot out of her hands by Xanatos.
"I told you before. I want them alive." He told her.
Growling was heard behind him and it turned out to be Bronx, who launched himself onto Xanatos, throwing him to the ground. Xanatos threw him off, but Bronx got back up and pinned Xanatos to the ground.
"Don't move!" Elisa shouted as she and Hudson arrived. She and Liam aimed their guns at Xanatos.
"You lose this time, Xanatos." Liam pointed out.
"Maybe." He replied before he took off, leaving Bronx and grabbing Demona in the process.
Liam and Elisa put their guns away as the trio looked sad and depressed.
"It took me to lose Matt and get Hudson. Is everyone okay? What happened to the monster?" Elsia asked upon seeing their expressions.
But when everyone heard footsteps in the snow, they looked to see it was Goliath, who just came out of the river.
"He was not a monster. He was family. And now he's gone." He said with a heavy heart, having not been able to save Coldstone.
"I'm sorry." Elisa said, feeling bad for him.
Goliath walked up to them and looked at the trio, Liam and Griff before sighing.
"Let's go home." He said before they all got to the top of the bridge, looking over at Manhattan.
"Goliath? When you told Coldstone that gargoyles protect…." Lexington said.
"Like we breathe, boy. You know that." Hudson told him.
"But what do we protect?" Brooklyn asked.
"The clocktower." Hudson replied, like it was obvious.
"No. That is merely where we sleep. This island, Manhattan, this is our castle." Goliath corrected him, which made Liam, Griff and Elisa grin, while Goliath's gargoyles all looked surprised.
"From this day forward, we protect all who live here. Human and gargoyle alike." He then said, making everyone feel renewed with a purpose.
"Are you alright?" Elisa asked Goliath. "Is there anything you need?"
"Yes. I need a detective, a friend and his gargoyle mate." Goliath replied, making him, Elisa, Liam and Griff smile.
With Liam and Elisa in Griff and Goliath's arms, and Bronx in Broadway and Brooklyn's, everyone took off into the night.
The following morning, the grocery shop that Matt entered the previous night was visited by a burglar, who ran in and closed the door, like he was running from something.
"Not again!" The owner groaned as he put his arms up. "Can't you rob somebody else this time?"
"I'm not robbing you, man." The burglar said, sounding and looking frightened. "Do me a favour. Call the cops so I can turn myself in." He then placed his gun and the money he stole from the owner on the counter.
"What? Why?" The owner asked, completely baffled.
"'Cause seven monsters and a kid that packs a mean right hook just told me to." The burglar said, cowering by the counter and removing his sunglasses to reveal the black eye he got from Liam.
Outside, on the rooftop of the building opposite the grocery store, the gargoyles were situated as statues with Liam and Elisa standing amongst them.
"You know what, guys? The city feels safer already." Elisa said.
"And this is just the beginning." Liam added before they left the rooftop.
And this marks the end of retelling the episodes from season 1. From this point on, it's season 2! And as a heads up, Liam and Griff won't be on the Avalon World Tour. There's a very specific reason for this.
And if any of you are wondering why I have dates in these chapters, it's because I'm using GargWiki's timeline.