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 immediately after "The Sorcerer's Game".
Powerless
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Macbeth's Mansion
"What?!" Arthur exclaimed looking extremely worried.
"I can't feel my magic Arthur," Merlin answered, "Six used Stonehenge to rob me of my powers."
"That can't be possible," Arthur spoke, in complete denial, "You're the most powerful wizard on the planet. That can't be possible."
"I'm sorry Arthur, but such things are quite possible," Merlin answered, "Remembered back to the end of the Unseelie War? Titania essentially had several of the leading Unseelie fey become mortal fey. They were still immortal in the fact that they would not age, and they even gained some strengths as iron would no longer affect them as it once did, but they could be killed by any way that would normally kill a normal person, and it also removed their ability to cast spells."
"But you're human," Rachel commented, "From what you've explained to me, Titania is the most powerful fey on the planet. You're the most powerful human magician on the planet. Shouldn't Six have been overpowered?"
"I'm not the most powerful," Merlin sighed, "Just the most popular. I'm also half fey. I use mortal spells as that's how I was educated, but that's not where my power comes from."
"But you're still more powerful then Six is," Arthur spoke, "He shouldn't have been able to drain you of you powers."
"He didn't," Merlin answered, "Stonehenge did."
"Pardon?" Macbeth asked.
"Apparently Stonehenge was created by the Unseelie Court during the first Unseelie War as some sort of tool to rob Seelie fey of their powers," Merlin explained, "And because I am a half fey, it effected me as well."
"Is there any way to undo this?" Arthur asked sounding nervous, and still barely believing that his childhood mentor had lost his powers.
"I do not know," Merlin answered, "We would need Six's exact spell in order to even begin and we don't even know where he is staying in England."
"This is just great," Arthur sighed, "Just great. Now we need to find where he's hiding."
"All we can do is look," Merlin sighed, "And I will do my best to check my research. There might be something in there that I have missed. Una might also have some information that would be worthwhile."
Elsewhere
"You're leaving?" Agent Anglo asked.
"Arthur is beaten," Six answered as he looked over at the Illuminati agent, "Without Merlin's power there is nothing he can do to defeat the full power of the Illuminati. My mission here is done."
"What do you wish me to do about the situation that remains, sir?" Anglo asked.
"The Council will expect you to continue your efforts to defeat Arthur and his allies," Six answered, "But my presence is no longer necessary."
"Very well, sir," Anglo answered.
"Good luck, Agent," Six responded as he left the office.
As Six left, Anglo silently sighed to himself. He was really out of options for dealing with Arthur and his allies. Lucius and his mutates were his best shot, but while they were still in the process of being trained for the final battle, they weren't of much use at the moment.
"Perhaps some sort of robotic device might work," Anglo mused to himself silently, "But that would require either placing orders to New York or Japan, which I would need the Council's approval for."
Macbeth's Mansion
Merlin sighed quietly as he placed one of his books back on the shelf. It had been fairly high up and he had to get on a step ladder in order to reach it. It was generally one of those moments that he would have used his magic to just levitate the book to him. It made him feel weak and insignificant. He never realized before just how important his powers were to him, until now, when he no longer had them.
"I wonder if this is how Chloe felt when we had to switch forms," Merlin thought to himself.
He then sighed again as he moved his ladder to get another book. As with his earlier research in attempts to figure out the prophecies related to Britain's Greatest Hour of Need, he hadn't found much that related to the mystical connections to Stonehenge, and most of them were more closely related to the various calendar systems then anything else. But he was determined to find out some sort of information. So much so in fact that he did not know the sun had set or that Una had quietly entered his study.
"Excuse me, Merlin?" Una spoke up from the doorway, "Are you alright?"
Merlin jumped a little bit, not used to not having his magic allow him to almost automatically sense the presence of anyone who came near him. He quickly sighed.
"Una, I didn't know you were there," Merlin spoke, trying to hide his nervousness, "Dusk already?"
"Yes," Una answered, "Arthur's already told us about what Six has done to you. Are you alright?"
"About as well as a man born half fey before the year 500 and lived his entire life with magical abilities can be after he's suddenly lost them," Merlin answered as he slumped deeper into his chair.
"That bad?" Una asked.
"I'm still trying to adjust to everything," Merlin answered, "being powerless is rather new sensation for me."
"I would not say powerless," Una commented, "Maybe not as strong as you were before, but certainly not powerless."
Merlin looked up.
"You have great wisdom, and as the saying goes, 'knowledge is power'," Una explained, "Plus the fact that you were trained in human sorcery, in theory you should still be able to practice magic."
"Yes but I used my fey abilities as my power source," Merlin answered, "Without something like the Grimorum, I can not do magic."
"Yes, you need a conduit, like any other mortal sorcerer," Una answered, "But you do not need a book like the Grimorum. Any object that can channel magical energies will do."
Una then held up the charm on her necklace that served as her conduit to serve as an example.
"True, but that is probably the only one of its kind that you have," Merlin pointed out.
Una sighed, "That doesn't make it the end of the world. Such items are far more common then one would think."
"You're probably right," Merlin answered, "I hid many such items away, largely to try and keep them out of the hands of Morgan le Fey, but I suppose I could search for them now… but then, I would need someone to open the barriers I placed on them, as without my magic they are not accessible."
"I would be more then willing to help," Una answered, "So is everyone else."
"I don't think there is much that they can do," Merlin sighed.
"I wouldn't say that to Arthur or Griff," Una warned, "Arthur has obviously been thinking of anything he could possibly do to reverse what Six has done, and Griff has already left to go looking for him."
"They are good people… person and gargoyle," Merlin nodded slowly.
"Always were, always are, and always will be," Una spoke.
"And hopefully we find a way to reverse what Six did," Merlin nodded again, "Finding a conduit might work for the short term, but when Britain's Greatest Hour of Need comes, I will need to be at full strength."
"Don't worry," Una assured the medieval wizard, "With all of us helping you, you can not fail."
Meanwhile in the kitchen, Arthur was involved in a very different conversation.
"I don't think this is a good plan," Arthur commented, "They're bound to know who you are and will try to kill you, again."
"We have their werewolf," Rachel countered, "They're bound to want a new one; I'm sure that I could get in and find out what we need to know."
"Six knows magic, he's bound to sense what you're up to," Arthur countered.
"Maybe, but I could just say that I'm there hoping for a cure," Rachel argued, "He'd then think that I'm some stupid ditz and that Merlin didn't teach me anything about lycanthropy."
"It's still too dangerous," Arthur answered, "and I don't want you to get hurt."
"I won't," Rachel replied, somewhat weakly as she noticed concern in his eyes, "I mean, if he does anything would truly put me in danger, I'd flee immediately."
"We'll find some other way, Rachel," Arthur answered, "Please trust me."
"I just want to help," Rachel told him.
"Do not worry, you've helped simply by being here and helping produce some ideas," Arthur answered, "I just do think that going 'undercover' in this case would be one of them."
Elsewhere, Over London
Griff and his group had again found no major sign of any member of the Illuminati. The fact that they had hidden themselves away so well already frustrated him, but the fact that they had no tricked Merlin into putting himself in a position where he could lose his power, no frustrated him even more.
"These Illuminati are really starting to make me mad," Griff growled, "They come out of nowhere and pull a dirty trick and then they hide."
"Best way to fight a foe they can't beat in the field," Octavia commented, "Strike when and where they least expect it and then disappear. But London is not an unlimited city and the Illuminati are only an organization of mortal beings. They're bound to make some mistake sooner or later."
Almost as if on cue, Griff looked down to see a man gazing upward from an alley below them. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but the man quickly ducked down into the alley where he couldn't be seen almost as soon as he saw that Griff had seen him.
"What luck," Griff commented, "I think we found one."
Griff and Octavia then backed down toward the alley, and found the man scrambling around trying to find a fire escape or an exit onto the street, but the man was finding that to be very difficult.
"Going somewhere, chap?" Griff asked as he landed on one side of the man and Octavia landed on the other.
The man screamed and tried to bolt away, but Griff managed to grab him by the collar and hold him up in the air.
"Now, you wouldn't be running off now would you?" Griff asked, "All we want to do is talk."
The two gargoyles then slowly approached the wall and began to scale it while the man still cowered in fear in Griff's grasp. Once they got to the roof the man finally spoke.
"Don't hurt me!" the man begged.
"That is not our intention," Griff answered.
"Who are you?" Octavia asked.
"Jeremy Irons," the man spoke weakly looking down at the ground below.
"What do you know about the Illuminati?" Griff asked him as he held Irons over the edge of the building.
"I don't work for them," Irons answered in a nervous manner.
"Good to know, but that wasn't my question," Griff pointed out, "I wanted to know what YOU know."
Irons gulped.
"What do you know about the Illuminati?" Octavia demanded, repeating Griff's earlier question.
"Do you know what they'll do to me if I tell?" Irons asked, knowing that his cover had been blown.
"Do you know what we'll do if you don't?" Griff asked back, gambling that he wouldn't know that they wouldn't intentionally kill him.
Irons looked down at the ground below and panicked.
"Alright, alright, I'll talk," Irons spoke quickly, "Don't kill me."
"What is your job in the Illuminati?" Griff questioned.
"Intelligence," Irons gulped, "I'm responsible for gathering all the information that is required about particular situations in the London area."
"And who do you report to?" Octavia demanded.
"A man called Agent Anglo," Irons spoke quickly, "He's a prominent businessman, but I don't know his real name."
"Where is his office?" Griff asked.
"It's on the north east side of London," Irons answered quickly, "The tallest building in the area."
"Thank you," Griff spoke with a smile, "Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"No," Irons shrugged weakly.
Griff and Octavia then took off, carrying Irons with them. He began screaming bloody murder as Griff carried him through the air.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to drop you, but we can't have you go warn Agent Anglo that we're coming," Griff said calmly, "You'll be perfectly safe."
The Mansion, Half an hour later
"You're sure he told the truth?" Macbeth asked as the door to the second 'cell' was closed behind Irons.
"Positive," Griff answered, "He seemed quite frightened by being so high up, I doubt he had the courage to try and either cover up his connections or deny his connections."
"Either way it is an opportunity," Arthur commented, "They've remained hidden from us so long, we've now finally got a chance to confront their leadership."
"And if he's correct in saying that he's the local intelligence gatherer, in all likelihood, Six will be at the same headquarters building," Octavia commented, "That would allow for better coordination."
"So what is to be the overall plan for this raid?" Merlin asked.
"We will go in, knock out Agent Anglo and put Six in a position where his magic won't help him," Arthur explained, "We will need to move quickly, but with the element of surprise, we should be successful."
"And who will be going with you?" Merlin asked.
"Since the rest of the clan is on patrol, I will take Griff and Octavia, as well as Rachel and Macbeth," Arthur answered, "That should provide us with sufficient numbers to deal with even the most basic security."
"Remember not to bite off more then you can chew," Merlin warned, "If it is an office building, it's bound to have some sort of security."
"Of course," Arthur nodded.
Anglo's Office, One Hour Later
Anglo looked at his watch with a heavy sigh as he saw it was nearly midnight. He had been waiting to Jeremy Irons to deliver his report on Arthur's activities for the night, but the spy had been more then an hour late. Irons had never been late before, and the Illuminati leader was beginning to become nervous that something had happened to him.
His fears were seemingly confirmed when one of his security men flew threw the door, with an electrical charge pushing him. He reached into his drawer to pull out his gun as Macbeth lead Arthur and a furious looking female werewolf into his office.
"On the ground, all of you!" Anglo demanded as he drew his gun, only to have it shot out of his hands by Macbeth's electric blaster.
Anglo then turned to flee, only to see two gargoyles crash through the window that was behind his desk and land right in front of him. The female, dressed in armor and resembling an eagle, right down to her tail-feathers, grabbed him by the collar and held him in the air.
"Where is Six?" Arthur demanded from behind him.
"He's not here!" Anglo answered, paralyzed with fear.
"Where is he?" Arthur asked.
"He's left," Anglo said quickly, "Returned to the Council this morning."
"He's left?" Arthur asked, almost sounding defeated.
"Yes," Anglo answered.
"I assume you know what he did to Merlin?" Macbeth questioned stepping closer to where Anglo was being held up in the air.
"Yes, he lured him to Stonehenge to use its original purpose and drain Merlin of his fey powers," Anglo answered.
"Is it reversible?" Arthur asked.
"I don't know," Anglo answered, "He only told me there's one spell to activate it and that that it would remove Merlin's powers."
"Did he have any documentation on the spell?" Macbeth asked, "Or its wording?"
"Maybe," Anglo answered nervously, "I do not really know for sure."
"Where would we go to check?" Macbeth asked.
"On my desk, in the drawers, in the filing cabinets," Anglo responded nervously, "Anywhere really."
"We better start looking," Arthur sighed and began rummaging through a pile of papers on Anglo's desk.
"You'd better hurry," Rachel commented, "I hear footsteps. I think it's night security."
"HELP!" Anglo screamed at the top of his lungs.
"Great," Griff muttered and slammed Anglo against the wall and then rushed for the door, "We'll keep them occupied."
Octavia and Rachel followed. Once out in the hallway Rachel took the lead.
"You sure you want to lead?" Griff asked, "The last thing we want is to create another werewolf."
"I'm not going to bite or claw them," Rachel answered, "But they're bound to have a gun, but the bullets won't be silver. I can be 'killed' by any non-silver round and survive. You could be killed by any bullet. I'll provide a better distraction for you to get closer."
At that moment, two men, each holding hand guns came running around the corner of the hallway. One took one look at Rachel and the two gargoyles behind her and fainted. The other fired two shots, but his fear was so bad that one shot hit the wall halfway between him and his intended target, and the other nearly hit his own foot.
Rachel gave a powerful roar and leaped at the guard and landed a blow that knocked him to the ground. She landed on all fours to see that he had fallen backwards over the other security guard and was knocked out. She quickly raised her head she heard more footsteps coming. Griff and Octavia also moved forward to make sure that any security couldn't catch Arthur or Macbeth.
Meanwhile, Arthur and Macbeth frantically looked through the office. Neither had found anything on the desk and Arthur was now going through the drawers that the desk had. Macbeth was going through a filling cabinet in the corner of the room.
"Find anything?" Arthur asked, sounding nervous.
"Only business records so far," Macbeth grumbled, "None of this mentions anything specifically on the Illuminati's activities."
Arthur sighed and moved to a small filing cabinet that was below the shattered window. Opening it up he looked rather surprised at the first file that was visible to him. It was titled 'Lucius: Mutates'.
"I think I found the right filing cabinet," Arthur commented.
Macbeth came over as Arthur continued flipping through files. Eventually he came to one marked 'Present to Six'.
"This will have to be it, as it's the last one," Arthur commented.
Arthur took out the file and placed it inside his jacket and turned to see Rachel, Griff, and Octavia return.
"Did you find anything?" Griff asked.
"We believe so," Arthur answered, "We can leave now."
"That's good, because they got guys who aren't normal security coming," Griff answered.
Macbeth's Mansion, Next Day
Merlin sighed as he put the folder down and gave a heavy sigh. He was exhausted, thanks to his lack of magical abilities. It again made him wish he still had his powers. While he could still feel tired, he could at least rely on his magic to keep him energized. Now he felt like he was going to fall asleep in the chair he was seated in. Thankfully however, the folder that Arthur and Macbeth had recovered from the Illuminati was providing some very enlightening information.
While the folder did not contain the wording of the spell that Six had used, it did seem to indicate that the spell could be reversible. Unfortunately, it didn't indicate how that could be done or what kind of magic was needed to perform the spell.
"So, is this all reversible?" Arthur asked as he sipped from a coffee mug.
"It would appear so, at least from what is in this folder," Merlin answered, "Although, this only contains partial information. It would be better if I could get some more information on all of this."
"I'm afraid that is the only file that they had," Arthur answered, "And since Six has apparently left England, I doubt we can get any information from him."
"And my library here doesn't cover the topic," Merlin sighed, "And that is only the beginning of our problems."
"Beginning?" Arthur asked.
"Even if we find a way to reverse what Six has done, it is likely that I will have to cast the spell myself," Merlin explained, "And without my fey abilities, I will need to find something that will work as a conduit."
"Like the Grimorum Arcanorum, the book you told me about?" Arthur asked.
"Not quite that powerful, but yes," Merlin answered, "Which means we may end up on another quest, in addition to the one we've had to add already."
"We won't fail you, Merlin," Arthur vowed, "The clan, Rachel and Macbeth, and I, we are all behind you."
"I don't think I will need everyone's help, but thank you," Merlin replied.
Anglo's Office
"They what?" Six's voice screamed through the phone that Anglo was using to contact him.
"They are trying to reverse what you did to Merlin," Anglo answered, "They took the information files you had me gather on Stonehenge."
"Do they know the wording to the spell?" Six asked.
"No," Anglo replied, "That was one of the things they wanted to know from me."
"Then we should have no serious concerns," Six spoke, "Without the wording or some outside information on what must be done to reverse Stonehenge's Unseelie links, it would take Merlin a hundred years. You need not worry."
"What about you?" Anglo asked.
"I will be taking the appropriate steps to make sure that Merlin does not get lucky," Six answered, "Maintain basic surveillance of Arthur and his allies for the time being."
Macbeth's Mansion, Evening
"So it could be reversible?" Leo asked as the group gathered around Merlin in the kitchen.
"That is what all the research appears to point to," Merlin answered, "But I need more information. And since there aren't any human records of the first Unseelie War, figuring out how Six's spell works might be rather difficult."
"There is the Seelie Court," Lancelot commented.
"Hmm?" Merlin asked.
"Titania's Court might know something about what Six has done," Lancelot answered, "Especially if Stonehenge was built by the Unseelies during the first Unseelie War."
"That actually wouldn't be too bad an idea," Merlin mused, "It also might clarify if its affects are in fact reversible if we can find a Seelie fey that had been subjected to it and later regained his or her powers."
"Thank you," Lancelot answered.
"Who will be going with you?" Guinevere asked.
"Arthur and Rachel will be needed to deal with any Illuminati opposition we may run into along the way," Merlin spoke, "And I will need Una's help in dealing with the process of restoring my powers."
"You're going with him, Arthur?" Griff asked.
"I feel I have to," Arthur answered, "As Merlin has been a friend to me, long before I became 'King' Arthur. I trust you can insure the safety of London?"
"Right-o," Griff nodded, "Nothing will get by me. Besides, if Una goes, Leo will need the company."
"You're sure you want to do this?" Leo asked his mate quietly.
"I have to," Una answered, "Arthur and Rachel do not posses magical talent, and until Merlin can find a conduit, he can not do magic himself."
"You'll be safe right?" Leo questioned.
"Probably safer then you will be with Griff," Una joked.
"My war stories aren't that bad," Griff grumbled.
"But they are repetitive," Leo answered with a grin.
"May we come along?" Gawain asked as he and Lancelot stepped forward.
"I believe you would be best served aiding Sir Griff," Arthur answered, "Especially since our raid last night is bound to anger the Illuminati in some way or form."
"Don't worry," Griff told the two Avalon males, whom Arthur had knighted, "I'm sure there will be plenty of excitement here."
"You will say hello to our brothers and sisters for us on Avalon?" Guinevere asked.
"Of course," Arthur answered.
Half an hour later, Arthur and Rachel slowly lowered a small wooden boat into the Thames river while Una and Merlin kept watch for any possible interlopers.
"It will be interesting to see if Avalon has changed since I was awakened there," Arthur commented, "Considering the second Unseelie uprising and all."
"I wouldn't know," Rachel answered him, "This would actually be my first visit. Are you sure it's real?"
"As real as you and I are," Arthur answered.
"Wow," Rachel said, half in awe.
Arthur nodded and turned his attention back to Merlin and Una who were now approaching the boat.
"Are you ready?" Arthur asked.
"As ready as I would every be," Merlin commented as he hopped into the boat, "Never thought I would be visiting Avalon again."
"You don't like the island?" Una asked.
"I've never liked the fact that the only season they have there is summer," Merlin replied, "There is beauty in each of the seasons."
"We should get going before we're spotted," Arthur commented.
"Of course," Una nodded and moved to the bow of the ship and held her hands out wide, "Vocante venti fortunate ex rege Oberonis et hic navis flugem regate ad orae Avalonis."
The boat was then covered in mist and they disappeared into it.
To Be Continued…