All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. Characters and concepts from Star Trek are property of Paramount and created by Gene Roddenberry. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of SN.
Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. Also, I am altering large sections of the Star Trek storyline, especially concerning events like WWIII and the Eugenics Wars, which without the Cold War as a backdrop probably wouldn't happen the way Roddenberry wrote them, if at all. This story takes place one week after "Dark Magic".
Bigger Problems
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
London Airport
Arthur sat quietly in the waiting area of the principle airport as he looked at a copy of the Times. Some rather bizarre things had been going on in America, at least according to the paper's foreign correspondents. It was mostly things that related to New York and the Manhattan Clan, so Arthur, himself, didn't find it truly bizarre. It wasn't expected of a man who ruled over Britain in the early sixth late fifth centuries and was still alive, had had a powerful wizard as his chief adviser, and had associated with the clan of that time period to find things involving gargoyles, even it was an ocean away, to be strange.
That, however, was not his reason for being at the airport. He was there to pick up Merlin and Rachel when they returned, as he had received a phone the previous night from Merlin, in which the wizard announced that they would be on their way back from their quest. He hoped they were successful, as the only real reports that he and Macbeth received were largely only to say where they were headed next.
Arthur barely waited long before he heard a soft coughing sound. As if someone was trying to get his attention. He looked up to see Merlin standing in front of him.
"Welcome home, old friend," Arthur said warmly, "You're a tad early. According to your phone message, you didn't think you would get in until after twelve ten."
Merlin looked at his watch for a moment and then sighed, "Twelve ten, my time, not London time. Sorry."
"Is Rachel still with you?" Arthur asked.
"She's already gone downstairs to get our luggage," Merlin answered, "I cam here to let you know we had arrived."
Arthur nodded and got up, "I suppose we should catch up with her then."
That prompted Merlin to nod.
"So how went your quest?" Arthur asked, "Did you find out everything you needed to find out?"
This only earned him a sigh in response. Arthur looked on for a few moments before Merlin answered.
"I believe we have, but I believe it is something that everyone should hear," Merlin said slowly, "So, I'm afraid I will have to wait until after dusk to inform you on how my quest went."
"I take it that whatever you found out will be difficult?" Arthur asked.
"All I can say is yes," Merlin sighed and then changed the conversation, "So how have things been around here?"
"Fairly interesting," Arthur answered, "I'll tell you more about it when we're back to the car. Keep everything calm and all."
Merlin nodded and the two made their way towards a series of escalators.
Elsewhere
"What?" Anglo gasped as he focused intently on the phone in his hand.
"Yes," a voice answered over the line, "Merlin and his werewolf companion have returned to London. Pendragon just picked them up."
Anglo growled, "Keep following them."
He then slammed the phone down in anger and frustration.
"Problem's, sir?" Jeremy Irons questioned.
"Merlin has returned and has rejoined Pendragon," Anglo grumbled, "Which means the entire society failed to put an end to him."
"Perhaps he didn't find anything and has returned empty handed," Irons commented, "I mean he went around the world, and didn't visit any Illuminati archive."
"He could have," Anglo answered fearfully.
This made Irons nervous. Very little made his boss become fearful of anything. He doubted that Anglo feared the Council.
"What do you mean, sir?" Irons asked.
"The last know location where the two of them stopped for a fair amount of time was in Tibet," Anglo answered, "Where we have one of our secret bases. They could have gotten into our archives there."
"But isn't Tibet a political hot zone right now?" Irons asked, "The Council wouldn't keep a full archive, computerized or otherwise, in an area that is on the brink of war."
"The Council maintained offices inside Germany, Japan, and Italy during World War II," Anglo answered, "the base is safe from the insurgents. If Merlin has seen the archives there, we could all be in grave danger of losing the Mage's prophecies to Arthur."
"Shall I send Lucius, sir?" Jeremy asked.
"Not yet," Anglo sighed, "Mister Severus and his followers have not been fully trained. And his rantings about ruling the world have aggravated our trainers. I've had to break up a couple of fights already."
"Doesn't get along with others?" Jeremy asked.
"Doesn't get along with anyone when not in complete control," Anglo answered, "Severus is a most arrogant mutate."
"Then what shall you have me do to defeat Merlin, then?" Jeremy asked.
"For the moment there is nothing we can do but observe," Anglo answered, "and make sure that Merlin has returned with 'empty hands'. We'll just have to deal with whatever Merlin has learned when he reveals it to us. Keep observing him for now."
"Of course, sir," Jeremy answered and turned around to leave the office.
Macbeth's Car
"He loaned you his car?" Merlin asked in surprise as Arthur led him and Rachel to it.
"What?" Arthur asked, "Leo and Una provided the proper instruction before I found you."
"They know how to drive?" Rachel asked, "Why would they want or need to?"
"They never told me that Griff had gotten curious during the twenties and they were involved in fixing up old junked cars and driving them around the countryside," Arthur answered, "How they knew how an engine worked, I do not know."
"Sounds like an interesting story, but for another time," Merlin answered as they got into the vehicle.
"Of course," Arthur nodded.
"Anything happen hear while we were out?" Merlin asked, "At least anything that we should know of?"
"At the moment, I think the only things that need to be told is that Unseelie Court's former slaves that came from Britain have returned and are currently guests at the mansion," Arthur began, "Macbeth and I have been trying to help them establish their own shelter, like the one that the mutates in New York run. I should also report that Lucius and his followers have returned to London."
"Yes," Merlin shook his head, "Macbeth mentioned something about that when I called once."
"Yes," Arthur answered, "He jumped me while I was out on a case and knocked Griff and Octavia out. Macbeth had to command a rescue party I'm afraid."
"Lucius will be the least of our coming problems," Merlin replied.
"You sure you can't tell me more about this now?" Arthur answered.
"It would save us having to repeat it later," Merlin told him.
"There are other things that we can tell you now, though," Rachel spoke up, "If you're curious."
"That would be interesting," Arthur nodded, "I'm sure you've both had some interesting adventures that did not directly relate to the quest."
"Well, just about everything we did directly related to our 'quest'," Rachel answered, "There are just some things that Merlin believes should wait until the gargoyles have woken up."
"So what occurred on your trip that you can tell me?" Arthur asked.
"Well," Rachel began, "I suppose it's a bit of good news, actually. While were in Manhattan, I've actually gained full control over my… condition. I no longer have to worry about shifting when I lose my temper or anything."
Arthur gave a polite smile to the brown haired woman.
"That is good news then," Arthur replied, "When do you suppose you'll want to return to York?"
"York?" Rachel asked, sounding slightly confused.
"Merlin and I encouraged you to come to London so that Merlin could help you with your transformations," Arthur answered, "Wouldn't you want to return to your home, now that need Merlin to train you anymore?"
"I suppose," Rachel answered.
"And you've said that you don't wish to be in your wolf form all that often," Arthur added, "Remaining here would almost demand that you use your wolf form."
"I guess," Rachel sighed.
"That doesn't entirely sound like you want to leave," Merlin commented, "Don't you miss your sister?"
"I do," Rachel answered, "I'm just not sure if I should go back yet."
"You're not sure?" Arthur questioned.
"Let's just say I've been dragged into some things that I don't think it would be fair for me just to leave," Rachel answered.
"Ah," Arthur nodded with a polite smile, "Your help will be much appreciated then. If what Merlin says is to come is just as bad as a fear it will be, we will probably need your help."
Illuminati Headquarters, Undisclosed Location
"So even our supermen failed to capture Merlin?" Three asked.
"That is of no concern," One said, "It is quite possible that they found someone else."
"And gave them to us," Five grumbled.
"What?" One growled.
"Khan delivered two dead bodies to us," Five answered, "You don't suppose that…"
"That our greatest weapon is actively fighting against us and has sided with that wizard?" One growled again.
"It is not impossible," Five answered, "Khan and the supermen are our greatest weapons, yes, but unlike all our other weapons they are capable of intelligent thought. They have the capacity to betray us."
"So does every other Illuminati agent," Two countered, "It isn't likely that Khan is plotting against us. He knows we could obliterate him off the face of the Earth if he did."
"Our satellites identified Merlin and the werewolf," Five countered, "And Khan sent us two bodied. Now our agents in Britain say that Merlin has returned."
"Our agents there could be mistaken," One answered, "Or our watchmen watching the satellites that found 'Merlin' in Tibet could be mistaken. We can not jump to the conclusion that we were betrayed because Merlin showed up in London. There are many things that we can not control and thinks that he can not control."
Five was about to speak again when Three spoke up, interrupting the argument.
"This is not the reason we are meeting right now," Three said slowly, "We can debate over whether or not Khan is behind us or not later. Right now, we must deal with Merlin."
"Agreed," Two nodded, "If Khan does betray us we can destroy him. Merlin, however, possesses powerful magic and has the knowledge to use his powers. Our most basic tricks will do nothing and it has been shown that even our more advanced tactics are not as successful in dealing with him as we would like."
Five and One slowly nodded. Merlin was their most important business at the moment.
"Khan can wait till another day," Five sighed, "What will we do with Merlin now?"
"Agent Anglo has 'recruited' some of Dr. Sevarius's creatures to fight Pendragon," Three answered, "And as been seeing to their training."
"A mutate's electric blasts won't do anything to stop Merlin's magic," One answered.
"Of course, but they could more then deal with Pendragon and his allies," Three pointed out.
"A sorcerer will need to be scent to deal with Merlin," Four commented, "He can lead the mutates on an attack against Merlin."
"That's where Agent Anglo has questions," Three sighed, "The lead mutate has dreams of world domination and the only way that he could get the mutates to ally with him was to promise that he would provide some aide to him in that regard."
"That is of no importance," Two commented, "We helped both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in their bids for world domination."
"We also supported the Allied Powers and the United States," One countered, "Dealing with the mutate leader will be somewhat tricky."
"It's still doable," Two said, "We never wanted Hitler or Stalin to take mastery of the world, we just helped them along until they confirmed our suspicions, and then we made sure they lost out. We can just string out this new would-be conqueror for a while."
"Very well," Three nodded, "Then who will be the wizard that we send?"
"I will go," Six volunteered, "We can then at least learn directly what is going on there."
"What?" Four gasped, "No Councilman has ever gone on missions. Ever."
"Can you name a living sorcerer with connections to the Illuminati that has the ability and knowledge to match wits with Merlin?" Six asked back.
The entire room was silent.
"I am barely a member of this Council," Six continued, "I will go. To prove myself, if you must think of it that way. We might be able to learn exactly what Merlin learned over the course of his journey."
"Very well," One nodded, "You will take an official inspection of all our offices in England. You will deal with Merlin over the course of this inspection."
"Of course," Six answered, "I will leave immediately."
London
Merlin and Rachel rested quietly after arriving at Macbeth's mansion. Arthur went about handling a few minor cases he had to work on while waiting for dusk and Merlin's final report. Rachel was watching the afternoon local news when Macbeth returned.
"I see you and Merlin have returned," Macbeth commented, "Did he find everything he was looking for?"
"He did, but he isn't going to say what it is until after the gargoyles wake up and Arthur returns," Rachel told him, "And I have been instructed to say nothing more on the subject until then as well."
Macbeth nodded, "At least we'll know what were up against."
Rachel then watched as the immortal Scotsman walked on into a different part of the mansion. Arthur returned about half an hour before dusk and after the gargoyles awoke, the gargoyles woke up, they and Chester, who represented the London mutates, gathered in the kitchen of the mansion to listen to what Merlin had to say.
"I'd first like to thank you all for waiting," Merlin sighed, "Because this will not be easy."
He paused to let the others prepare themselves for what had to be said.
"Our quest was only a partial success," Merlin sighed, "Rachel has learned to master her ability to shift forms, but we could find no written records that might indicate what Britain's Greatest Hour of Need would be and when it will come."
"So we're back to where we started?" Leo asked curiously.
"Not quite," Merlin answered, "Because in the course of our quest we came across an individual, who has the plan and possibly the means to conquer the world."
"But wouldn't the prophesy relate solely to Britain?" Lancelot asked.
"It would if the world didn't advance beyond the technology of the middle ages," Macbeth commented, "There were many powerful warlords that threatened large sums of territory throughout history, but in the middle ages and ancient world, the world was far larger then what people thought it was. People in ancient Rome had no idea, and didn't really care what the Chinese Han dynasty did in China. People in Africa could have cared less about the Vikings. The people of modern-day Vietnam wouldn't have known about the Mongols."
"But those peoples never came into contact," Griff pointed out, "At least not directly."
"Distances and other countries made that the case," Merlin answered, "But if they had come into contact, they would have been lead to fight one another. The Romans would have desired to addChina's wealth to their Empire and the Chinese would have found the Roman military too big a threat to be allowed to exist. The Vikings would have looted and pillaged any culture that had anything worth pillaging. And warriors of Genghis Khan would have wanted to conquer Vietnam if they came in contact with one another. But distances and time killed all of these. Rome didn't remain on top forever and the Han dynasty was eventually replaced. The Viking want for plunder eventually died off as they suffered a chain of localized defeats and eventually became more Christian. And while Genghis Khan's warriors were the most successful of each hegmonial power, they went in directions other then Vietnam, and they didn't remain on top forever."
"On top of this, none of these peoples knew about America, except for maybe the Vikings," Macbeth added, "None of them could have threatened the entire world, only the areas that were locally close. And many of the peoples, who they went to war with, didn't know they were at war until soldiers of a foreign nationality changed the banner or statue that represented who controlled the town."
"Over time, technology advanced to a point where the globe could be traversed in hours rather then in months or years," Merlin finished, "It is one of the things that made the Americans step out of isolationism after World War II. Potential enemies could be at their doorstep far faster then before, where as if Hitler was the German Fuhrer in 933 instead of 1933, he would have really been able to threaten the lands immediately bordering what is now Austria, rather then all of Europe. Today, any country with a strong industrial base has the potential to threaten the entire world, and the entire world includes Britain."
"So who is this villain?" Arthur asked.
"And what does he plan to do?" Griff added.
"Basically put, he is Khan Noonien Singh and he intends to conquer the world," Merlin answered, "And there is nothing simple about the operation that will need to take place in order to stop him."
"How so?" Julia asked.
"Khan and his immediate followers are genetically engineered supermen," Merlin explained, "They are stronger, faster, and above all smarter then all average human beings."
"Who created them?" Una asked.
"And how are they able to put us in such a position?" Guinevere asked, "Most of us here are gargoyles, already stronger then humans. So are the mutates, and Rachel's wolf form is much stronger then her human form. And Merlin and Una know magic, which being smart, or strong, or fast can not always counter."
Merlin sighed, "That can be answered in one word. The Illuminati. The Illuminati created Khan and his followers, probably to do their dirty work behind the scenes. Somehow, they did their work too well, however, and Khan has decided that they are not worthy of ruling the world, even if it is covert."
"Won't the Illuminati crush him when he makes his move, though?" Arthur asked.
"They won't be able to," Merlin answered, "Khan's move will be to reveal the Illuminati to the world. That will be the start of the war in the east. The revelation of the Illuminati will then be causes the monarchy to fall."
"Where is Khan hiding out, anyway?" Chloe asked curiously.
"Tibet," Rachel answered for Merlin, "We never found any text that lead us to Khan, but we did run into a group of gargoyles and monks from Tibet that had been attacked by Khan. They were the reason why we went there and encountered Khan."
"The conflict in Tibet has been going on months!" Arthur exclaimed, "It was only just escalating beyond a few small incidents when we learned that you were bitten."
"Khan has obviously made progress since then," Rachel sighed.
Merlin nodded in agreement, "Yes. He is responsible for the current unrest in Tibet. And if he is allowed to carry out his plans to their completion, the whole world will dissolve into anarchy with no one trusting any current government. Khan intends to replace them with himself, taking advantage of the chaos."
"But how could telling the world that Illuminati secretly control it destroy the Queen?" Leo asked, "They need to be able to influence policy, and the last monarch to have any real influence over governmental affairs was Victoria, and even her power was very limited."
"Connections," Merlin sighed, "While most ruling monarchs today among 'western' countries and Japan have little real power, the Illuminati have acted as advisors to them in the past when they did hold power. Arthur and Macbeth here are among the few medieval monarchs who never came to power on the backs of the Illuminati's various plots. The Illuminati didn't exist when Arthur was King of all Britain, and the Illuminati actually preferred Duncan to rule Scotland."
"How do you know this?" Macbeth asked.
"Remember where you found me," Merlin answered, "As a butler and aide to Queen Elizabeth II. I've seen and helped every monarch after Arthur on the British throne in whatever way I could. None, except maybe Victoria, ever lived up to Arthur's ability. Many were good rulers, but Victoria might be the only one that I could say was as good as Arthur. But over the course of my advising these monarchs, I have seen Illuminati agents advise each of them on their own. The Illuminati had the monarch's ear ever since their society was founded."
"And given how unpopular being the monarch is now," Una commented, "Revealing to the world that the King or Queen has dealings with a secret society that really controls the world…"
"Would shatter any faith the British people have in monarchies, and while Republics aren't a bad thing to have," Merlin finished, "We can not have a repeat of the French or Russian Revolutions where the monarchy and all connected to it were violently killed or driven out."
"So we will have to stop Khan then," Gawain surmised, "I suppose that means we have to go to Tibet?"
"Khan's fortress is too strong to assault on our own," Merlin sighed, "And his numbers would eventually defeat us if we were to try an all out battle."
"But you're a wizard," Guinevere protested, "The greatest there ever was. Couldn't you just make them all go to sleep?"
"I am the most written about," Merlin answered, "Not the most powerful. Most full blooded fey are stronger in magic then I am. And the Mage was and Demona is a more powerful 'mortal' sorcerer."
Merlin then gave a heavy sigh and looked down.
"And the fact that we have a sorcerer on our side may no longer be advantage that we have," Merlin spoke slowly, "Khan had his doctors take samples of my blood."
"Blood samples?" Macbeth gasped, "You're not suggesting that the he's attempting to clone you?"
"If he hasn't already," Merlin answered.
There were collective gasps heard as Merlin finished that sentence.
"Khan could already have a clone of me ready to perform acts of sorcery for him," Merlin said slowly.
"We must head for Tibet at once," Arthur said firmly, "And stop him."
"That would not be possible," Merlin said, "Khan's principle enemy is the Illuminati and any who would back them. The Illuminati believe his insurgency to be merely some unknown factor that somehow knows of their existence. To them it is nothing to be truly concerned with, other then that 'he' is causing them some minor trouble. That means they will maintain their 'business as usual', which means that Communist China will not allow four humans and a clan of gargoyles and potentially a group of mutates to be operating within their borders, especially when none of them are ethnically Chinese or members of the Communist Party."
"So what can we do?" Macbeth asked.
"We must do what will be the most problematic," Merlin said slowly, "We must contact and ally ourselves WITH the Illuminati. We give them the information behind the insurgency in Tibet and promise to help them. They would ignore all about the prophesy relating to Britain's Greatest Hour of Need and focus on stopping Khan, allowing us to fulfill that prophesy."
"But the Illuminati have tried to kill us," Griff pointed out, "What's to stop them actually doing so if we make this overture?"
"Is there any other way?" Arthur asked, "The Illuminati may not be truly evil and may even have some good qualities, but they are not a group that I would trust."
"There is no other way that wouldn't help Khan or make our task far more difficult," Merlin said slowly, "Especially since most of them would have us fight the Chinese Army, the Illuminati, AND Khan."
"Doesn't exactly sound like a fair match," Octavia commented.
"Which is why we must ally with the Illuminati," Merlin sighed, "Otherwise we will have no chance of saving Britain in the long run."
World War II British Army Training Facility, North East of London
"They're horrible," Six spoke slowly as he and Anglo watched Lucius and his followers go through basic combat training that would help them fight with Pendragon and his allies in the future.
"They're better then where they were at when they first arrived," Anglo said defensively.
"Then they weren't worth the effort of hiring them," Six growled.
"Their leader wanted to defeat Pendragon and the Council was urgent that I find a way to defeat Pendragon," Anglo answered, "I killed two birds with one stone."
"That would be fine if these were some lowly street thugs who would be willing servants," Six pointed out.
"Most of them are street thugs," Anglo shrugged, "The rest are homeless people that feel they've been cheated."
"Led by a man who worships Ancient Rome and expects to be treated as an equal partner, if not as a superior," Six said firmly, "First of all, the Mage gave up the Roman style of government when the Middle Ages began to advance into the Renaissance and a more complex system of government had to be created."
"Some could argue that the Ancient Roman government was more complex and effective then anything the Renaissance produced," Anglo answered.
"But it would not have survived under the societal changes that would occur during the Renaissance or even after without undergoing drastic change," Six reminded him, "Which all the governments of that time period went through. This Lucius is trying to live out some strange fantasy."
Six then looked at Lucius in particular.
"Two, that mutate is an idiot," Six growled, "It's not that he's trying to resurrect a long dead system of government, but I'd swear he believes that he's descended from Roman Emperors, when his history proves that the last descendents of a Roman Emperor died between 1917 and 1920 in Russia, although the Romanovs were tied to the Eastern branch of the Roman Empire, which became the Byzantine Empire. The last Western Roman Emperor died between 470 and 500. Their leader is a fool."
"Even a fool has his uses," Anglo said weakly, "Even if we are not to support him in his plans, couldn't we at least humor him? At least until we've gained what WE want?"
Six sighed, "Their training will need to be tripled, and Mr. Lucius is in desperate need of an attitude adjustment. He needs to learn that if we are to be 'equal partners' he can not parade around as if he were Caesar."
"Yes, Council Member," Anglo said with a slight bow of submission.
The End…?