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 "Ice".
Surprise Inspection
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Avalon Mists
The mists parted to leave them in the middle of a slow flowing river that was in the middle of what appeared to be a massive rainforest. This raised some amazement and the group looked around in the hopes of finding out where they were.
"Anyone know where we are?" Rachel asked as she looked around at the thick forest and vegetation around them.
"The best answer would be a rainforest, at the moment," Merlin commented, "We'd need to do further investigation of the wildlife to determine what continent we're on."
"You don't suppose anyone lives here that we could talk to is there?" Arthur asked.
"Probably, although they're probably all part of some tribal group," Merlin commented, "And if this is Asia, it could very well depend on which part."
"What do you mean?" Arthur asked sounding somewhat puzzled.
"Most of the 'tribal' groups in Asia have vanished," Merlin explained, "Most of the groups living in remote groups are either guerillas or religious sects."
"And the Americas or Africa?" Arthur asked.
"Those would be the more likely have independent tribal group that would prefer to live outside the world that western world created," Merlin answered.
"Then we should move for the shore," Arthur commented, "Perhaps we can find one of these groups and find out where we are."
"If we don't know where we are, we should wait until dark," Rachel commented, noticing that Una was still in her stone form, "especially while since Merlin is lacking the full range of his powers for the time being. I might be able to fight off a tiger or jaguar or leopard in my wolf form, but snakes, spiders, and other creepy-crawlies might get any one of us."
"I'd agree," Merlin commented, "Especially since it would leave Una unguarded and these skiffs are not known for being incredibly stable."
"You're probably right, there," Arthur commented, "I guess I'd like to know why Avalon sent us here and if it is a mission that might help us restore your powers."
"That I believe we'll discover in time," Merlin commented.
Elsewhere
Three sighed as he stepped out of a helicopter that had taken him to a remote facility in the heart of the Amazon rainforest. Now, the Illuminati had done a lot of work to insure that no one knew the facility even existed. Unlike their facility in the Himalayas or similar facilities in other mountain ranges, which were built to look part of the mountain, even when viewed from space, the Amazon facility had required a fair amount of work from the Illuminati's sorcerers to insure that no one could spot the facility. Anyone who happened to stumble onto it, 'disappeared' mysteriously.
"Three!" an Illuminati agent said in surprise, managing a slight bow as the Council member departed his helicopter.
"I'm here to check on the progress here," Three spoke to the agent, who was likely only employed in guarding the roof of the facility, "You may escort me in."
"Yes, sir," the agent said again and moved over to a door and pressed a button to open it, "Right this way, sir."
Three nodded and then walked inside. The agent that met him on the roof then lead him through a maze of hallways and stairwells until they finally came to a central room about four floors down.
"Agent Eternal should be inside, sir," the agent spoke in a careful voice and then left to return to his post.
Three nodded and then walked in the door he had been lead to. He found a lone man seated behind a desk in a business suit.
"Well, Agent Eternal, how are our projects progressing here?" Three asked as he approached the desk and sat in a chair opposite the desk.
"Smoothly and calm," Agent Eternal answered, "The fountain is still working properly and our experiments on the natives still have not been detected."
"Good," Three answered, "We'll overlook the operation personally in a little while."
"Of course," Agent Eternal responded, "I've actually been rather interested in some of the events that have been going on. Not much in the way of news arrives here."
"As it should be," Three answered, "Mass communications allows for possible leaks of information to persons who shouldn't know that information."
"Of course," Agent Eternal nodded.
"And if the masses of the world knew what we have here, they would flood this place with millions of desperate and glory seeking people," Three continued, "and very few would be completely deterred from using it if they knew exactly how the process works."
"I understand," Agent Eternal answered, "I'm simply curious as to what is going on in the outside world, since my men and I have been permanently stationed here for a long time."
"Of course," Three nodded again, "What concerns us the most is the present unrest in the Chinese province of Tibet. Guerillas strike at both the Chinese army and at our Illuminati teams supervising them and then disappear. We also believe they're taking the Chinese equipment after destroying their units."
"Do you know who's behind it?" Agent Eternal asked, "And is there anything we can do to help?"
"You can do nothing directly," Three commented, "Unless one of the natives exhibits magical talents."
"None of our 'volunteers' could practice sorcery," Agent Eternal replied.
"Pity," Three sighed, "Anyway, we believe they are part of a plot to destroy the Illuminati in some way, although we do not know specifically who is behind the plot. We thought it might be Arthur Pendragon and his adviser, Merlin, trying to fulfill the prophecies surrounding Pendragon, and we have dealt with him, but the attacks have continued. We currently believe the gargoyle named 'Demona' is somehow involved with these guerrillas."
"I wish the Council the best of luck in capturing her, then," Agent Eternal spoke, "We'll keep your supplies coming so that you can see it through the long war that is probably on the horizon."
Three nodded as Agent Eternal then stood up.
"Now, I suppose you'd wish to see how our progress is running," Agent Eternal spoke, "I'll lead you through the facility. I think we've even made some improvements that you will like."
River Channel
"It won't be much longer until dusk," Rachel commented, looking up to see the eastern skies begin to darken while the western ones held all the brilliant colors of sunset.
Arthur looked up through the same gap in the trees, which existed because of the river they were on. From what he could see it was clear that the sun was setting.
"Any idea as to which way we should go once the sun sets?" Arthur asked, "It could be some distance to any settlement, tribal or otherwise. It'd be best to at least have an idea of what we're doing."
"I'd think Una would have the best chance at finding someone and getting back to us," Merlin commented, "Several of these trees go fairly high, and she could use her wings to glide over a much large area of territory much swifter then we could on foot."
Arthur was about to answer as a loud voice called out that interrupted his conversation.
"Mali!" the voice shouted through the dense rainforest and water ways.
"What is that?" Arthur asked, startled by the sudden shouting.
"Sounds like someone is looking for someone else," Rachel commented, "Someone named 'Mali', I think."
"They must be part of a local tribe or settlement, perhaps we can figure out where we are," Arthur commented.
It was then that a small canoe came out from a smaller stream that lead into the river that they were on. Two men were seated in it and were looking around nervously. One spotted Arthur and immediately called out 'the Once and Future King'.
"You!" the man called to Arthur, "Have you seen anyone on the river? A young girl?"
"No is she lost?" Arthur asked back, thinking his response was rather stupid.
"We fear she's been taken from us," the other man answered, "We hope that she has just wandered off and is lost. We'll find her that way."
"Do you need any help?" Rachel asked from her seat, "We're exploring the area, but if this girl is a relative of yours, then we'd be more then happy to help."
"Thank you," the first man spoke, "Thank you. It would kill me if I lost my little Mali."
"What is that statue you have?" the second man asked curiously, "It isn't some demon is it?"
"No, she has special abilities and will not always be a 'statue', but she is a force of good," Merlin answered, "She will probably help you search for your missing child as well."
"It will be getting dark soon," the first man commented, "You'd best follow us to our village. There we can make plans for tomorrow."
Arthur then worked to change the skiff's course so that they would follow the small canoe back to wherever the two local people had journeyed from. They were lead to small clearing and village with a series of huts built in a small circle. As they arrived, the sun had set and Una broke free of her stone shell. This action and her awakening roar startled the two men and they fell out of their canoe.
"DEMON!" the first man shouted.
"I beg your pardon?" Una asked, slightly confused as to what she heard when she first awoke.
"My friends, I assure you, you are in no danger," Arthur said quickly hoping out of the skiff, "This is Una, she is a gargoyle, not a demon."
Merlin meanwhile turned to Una who was still somewhat confused.
"As you can see, we're somewhere in the tropics, and by the look of these people, either South America or Asia, but we don't know for sure yet," Merlin answered, "One of these men has lost a daughter named 'Mali'. We have volunteered to help him look for her."
"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Una spoke to the two men, "It is natural for gargoyles to sleep in stone during the day. I mean you no harm and I will do anything I can to help you find your child."
The two men looked nervously as they didn't expect Una to speak to them in such a manner, and soon the first man's thoughts returned to his missing child.
"You'll help me find Mali?" the first man asked.
"And return her to you," Una answered, "You have my word."
"Thank you," the first man said again, although still sounding nervous, and began to lead the group into the village.
"I will hold back here by the skiff," Una volunteered, "There is no need for me to frighten the rest of the people in this village. If you can get the information required, I will then search during the night."
"We'll try," Rachel nodded and began to follow Arthur and the two men they had met into the village.
Illuminati Base
Three quietly followed Agent Eternal through several labs in which there were several people hocked up to various machines.
"You will actually pleased to learn that since your last visit in 1900, we've improved the methods which we use to collect the necessary ingredients," Agent Eternal commented, "Our volunteers no longer need to be killed in order to get what we need."
"Excellent," Three responded, "That means we don't have to bury any more of our volunteers."
"Yes, and we have been most grateful that the natives have not figured out that we are here," Agent Eternal replied, "We know they use the poison dart frogs to increase the deadliness of their weapons. Since my people here are generally scientists, we wouldn't last long if they decide to attack us in force."
"You have nothing to fear from men with blow guns, I assure you," Three responded, "Even if they do attack, the only entrance to this installation is through the roof. I doubt they have the ability to scale the walls."
"Yes, but manning this outpost has always been a nervous one for me, sir," Agent Eternal replied, "We can't spy on the natives all the time and for all we know, they might even know of our activities."
"They are stuck where they are," Three dismissed the comments, "The only organization they can turn to is the Brazilian government, which, like every other government on this planet is clandestinely controlled by us."
Village
The two men that they had met lead them slowly through the small village toward their own hut. As they went they passed a small hut in which there were several people laying in hammocks and looking very weak. This attracted Merlin's attention very quickly.
"What has happened to these people?" Merlin asked curiously.
The men they had met turned around to look at those that Merlin was currently looking at.
"They are why my friend is so worried," the second man spoke up after few moments, "for a long time, if someone strayed too far from our village without more then two escorts, he never returned. At least not alive. We would find the bodies floating about a hundred feet from where we found you and your 'gargoyle'. More recently, however, these people that have gone missing have turned up alive again, but very weak."
Merlin looked more closely at these people.
"What is it, old friend?" Arthur asked.
"These people have had their blood drained from them," Merlin answered.
"Drained?" the first man asked in shock.
"Well, not entirely," Merlin explained, "but they have to have lost a lot of blood. Why else would they be so weak?"
"How can this be?" the first man asked, "They have not been bitten or attacked by anything."
"One doesn't need to be attacked by an animal, or even 'assaulted' by another man to lose blood these days," Arthur commented, "if someone has drained enough blood out of these people to make them weak, it's probably done through modern medical techniques."
"Doctors drain people of the blood?" the second man asked.
"They take small portions, yes," Rachel answered, "but doctors are not legally allowed to take this much out of a person, and the ways they can take it is very specific. Either they take very small portions to test for diseases and things, or they take small portions in general, that are willingly given so that they can give the blood to people who've lost a lot of blood."
"So, these blood doctors can make our people well again?" the first man asked.
"Yes," Merlin explained, "It may take awhile, but these people need a transfusion. I don't know how much longer they will last laying here in their present condition. It is almost a surprise that they haven't died from exhaustion already."
"Where were these people when they went missing, or at least, where were they going?" Arthur questioned.
"These people here were going hunting when they went missing," the second man answered, "Just north of our village here."
"And where had your daughter gone before she went missing?" Arthur asked.
"She had gone…" the first man started, "… oh no… oh no… please let Mali be alright."
"She was picking flowers in the same general area that these hunters were taken from," the second man answered, his voice sounding nervous, "The people that have done this, they wouldn't kill her? Would they?"
"Given that these others haven't been killed," Arthur responded, "I wouldn't think so, although, given that these people are so weak, I doubt that whoever is doing this I really knowledgeable about how much blood can be safely removed from people. My friends and I will begin our search to find Mali. You should get some rest for the night."
"Come along," the second man said to his compatriot, "We'd best get some rest. We may have more searching to do tomorrow, and we will definitely have to make a journey into the towns."
The man slowly nodded and joined his friend in heading off. Arthur, Rachel, and Merlin then headed for the northern end of the village. Una, who had been watching their interactions in the village quickly too the long way around and meet up with them.
"So, who do you think could have done all of this?" Rachel asked, "Stopping the kidnapping and experimentation on these people is probably the reason we're here. We can't round up everyone who isn't a part of this village."
"We don't have any power in he government here," Merlin commented.
"And it'd be too wide a net," Arthur commented, "We'd catch far more innocent people then we'd catch guilty."
"So who could have done all this?" Una asked.
"The Illuminati," Arthur answered, "They're the only ones who could have done something like this. The local government would have done something to get itself caught by now."
"If it's the Illuminati, then maybe they'll also have away to restore Merlin's powers," Rachel commented.
"Perhaps, if the right person or persons is there, or we can gain access to their computer files," Merlin commented.
"Then let's get going," Arthur commented, "We have a girl to rescue."
Arthur then began walking north with the others closely following him. As they went, Arthur began to explain his plan.
"Una, this will be fairly difficult with all the trees here, but I will need you to glide ahead and see if you can find the place they're operating out of," Arthur began, "that way we're not wandering around all night looking for their headquarters."
Una nodded and moved toward one of the larger trees so she could get the height needed to start gliding. Arthur and his group advanced further into the jungle, although they remained on a path that was already there.
"We will move forward along this trail until we're far enough away from the village that they can not hear us," Arthur continued.
"I would prefer not to shift forms until we know exactly where we're going," Rachel commented, "They might have other hunters out in this area at the moment."
"Understandable," Arthur answered, "but if it is the Illuminati we will need your wolf form when the fighting starts."
Rachel nodded. Una, meanwhile, struggled to get above the branches where the wind would be stronger, but after a few minutes of careful maneuvering, she got above the treetops and began her search for wherever the Illuminati were operating. As she looked down at the ground below her, it all looked very dark behind all the tree leaves. However, after a few moments she found something that was rather surprising as far as she could tell. At first look, it looked just like the rest of the rainforest, but what little of the ground was visible through the branches looked just as bright as the top most layer of tree branches.
"Odd," Una commented and moved closer, looking to see if there was anyway for direct sunlight to enter the forest floor.
As Una came lower in altitude, she suddenly passed through some shimmer of light, and as she did so, she came across something that was very different from what she saw from higher up. It was a large multistory metal building with no ground level entrances. On top of the building was a helicopter and a lone guard walking back and forth.
Una quickly dove down and grabbed the guard by the collar and carried him into the air. He screamed with shock and surprise as he was carried off, but fortunately for Una, he had dropped his intercom when Una grabbed him.
"Is that an Illuminati base?" Una questioned.
"Wha… what do you…" the guard began to stutter.
"I know," Una replied, "Is that an Illuminati base?"
"Yes," the guard said nervously.
Path
Arthur and the others sat on exposed tree stumps waiting patiently for Una to return, and hopefully with good news. After about half an hour, Una slowly made her way through he maze of branches and landed in the middle of the group.
"Did you find anything?" Merlin asked.
"Yes, there is a large facility about half a mile north of here," Una answered, "It's run by the Illuminati."
"That, I was fairly certain of," Arthur replied, "How to we get in?"
"It has only one entrance, which is on the roof," Una answered, "I'll need to carry you up to it, which would mean, miss Rachel that it would be better that you waited until we were on the roof before you shifted forms."
"Okay," Rachel sighed, "Hopefully they don't have any guards on the ground outside the compound."
Illuminati Compound
"Are you sure this is necessary?" one man asked, armed with a handgun asked as he and three others began walking up a flight of stairs toward the roof of the facility.
"I told you, I heard a noise," the second man replied, "It sounded like something howling or something."
"There are no dogs or wolves in this area," a third man commented, "How could you hear something howling?"
"I did hear howling," the second man insisted.
"You're delusional," the fourth man in the group commented in a disbelieving voice.
They then continued until they got to the top of the stairs and walked out onto the roof. There, they were shocked to find two human men, one brandishing a broadsword, one two legged white Pegasus female, and a large female wolf creature. All of them paled in surprise at the sight.
"You said something about hearing someone howl?" Rachel asked in a teasing voice.
"You're a…" the fourth man stuttered in surprise before a hastily cast sleep spell from Una put all of them to sleep.
"How long will they be out?" Rachel asked.
"Long enough," Una answered, "But we won't get another chance once we're inside."
"Let's get moving," Arthur commented, "It will probably take time to find the people they've kidnapped."
The group then moved into the Illuminati fortress with both speed and caution.
Meanwhile, Agent Eternal and Three had returned to the main headquarters center of the facility.
"I trust everything was satisfactory?" Agent Eternal asked as he opened the door to his office.
"Yes, your progress has been very good, and the Council is looking forward to receiving your upcoming deliveries," Three answered with a smile.
They were interrupted by a lower ranking agent coming toward them at high speed and looking exceedingly frightened.
"What is it?" Agent Eternal demanded, "Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Sir, we're under attack," the man answered quickly, "two men, a werewolf, and a white Pegasus walking on two legs have invaded the facility."
"A what?" Agent Eternal asked.
"What gender is the werewolf?" Three overrode his main agent's question.
"Female," the man answered.
"What do the two men look like?" Three asked.
"One looks like he's in his thirties or forties and is carrying a sword," the man replied, "the other is older with white hair."
"Pendragon," Three growled, looking extremely angry, "How the devil did they get here?"
"I don't know," the man whimpered.
"I didn't expect you to, do not worry," Three told him and turned to Agent Eternal, "Can you defeat them?"
"If you say that Merlin has lost his powers, I would say we might stand a chance against the two men," Agent Eternal responded, "but we don't have silver bullets here, so we will barely slow the werewolf down and we don't know what this 'Pegasus' can do."
"The Pegasus is a gargoyle," Three assured him, "they can be killed by anything and are especially vulnerable during the day."
"Yes, but if they lead with the werewolf, we can not stop her," Agent Eternal said nervously, "Has she bitten or clawed anyone?"
"No," the man answered, "From what I could see on the security camera is that she is deliberately avoiding doing either of those things."
"That's good," Agent Eternal sighed.
"That's expected," Three corrected, "Pendragon has only one female werewolf in his employ. She is the result of a project Agent Anglo tried in Britain. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time when our werewolf tried to get him sprinting up to that location. Where are they headed?"
"From what I could see, toward the spring and the labs," the man responded.
"We must stop them," Three said urgently, "Those labs must remain in our hands!"
The group slowly made their way down many flights of stairs, being slowed only occasionally by surprised scientists or by some guards trying to stop them, but they so far maintained the element of surprise, and were able to knock their opponents out very quickly. When they got to what had to be ground level they found a large area in which there was no floor, but earth. This was in a large room that covered a small pond.
"Don't tell me this is a resort," Rachel said in surprise at seeing the pond, looking very natural, and even healthy, despite the lack of sunlight or even fresh water entering the pond.
"I don't think this pond his here for recreation," Merlin commented as he stepped forward.
"Why is it here?" Arthur asked.
"This one likely goes back to when the Americas were unexplored," Merlin answered, "Rachel, Una, have either of you heard of Ponce de Leon?"
Both shook their heads.
"I figured, it's actually something that probably wouldn't be taught in British history classes," Merlin sighed, "but it is probably prevalent in American history. Ponce de Leon was a Spanish explorer set on finding the fabled 'Fountain of Youth'."
"And he found it here?" Una asked.
"No, he never found it," Merlin answered, "Largely as the Illuminati through their system of sorcerers had already found it. They then left potential clues that kept Leon searching in Florida rather then here."
"So it makes you young if you bathe in it?" Rachel asked looking at the pond.
"No," Merlin answered, "It actually requires a fair amount of spells cast in order for it to work, and it only works on small bits of the water. The Illuminati knows those spells and knows the ingredients necessary to make the spells affect the water in the right way."
"And the ingredients would include human blood," Arthur commented.
"Yes," Merlin nodded, "Given the size of this facility, the Illuminati have probably been doing something that somehow sends the powers of the magically empowered water into something else, like a pill or turning it into a drug that is injected, like vaccines."
"So the Illuminati has a ton of immortal agents out there?" Rachel asked.
"Probably, so long as they take the pill or the drug," Merlin answered, "The affects of the 'fountain of youth', even with all the right spells are not permanent."
"How do you know all of this, Old Friend?" Arthur asked curiously.
Merlin was never able to answer as a new voice cut in from behind them.
"Because Merlin is a…" Three spoke in a clear voice as he and several Illuminati Agents entered, "Or better yet, was one of Earth's most powerful 'mortal' sorcerers. With those powers at his disposal, he was able to monitor many of the activities that he was not and could not have been involved in, just as the Illuminati's sorcerers used their magics to learn the true purpose of the Fountain of Youth and exploit it for its proper uses. Now, step away from the pool."
"You!" Arthur growled, "You're the one who stole Merlin's powers!"
"Yes, I did," Three smiled, "And he will never get them back. I don't know how you got here, but if you surrender now, I promise your deaths will be painless."
Arthur only growled and lunged forward and landed a strong punch against the closest guard, knocking him back into another guard.
"Kill them!" Three screamed as he stepped back to keep himself from being attacked.
Rachel leaped at another, grabbed him by shoulders and threw him across the room. She then snarled at the closest guard to her, which startled him enough that he didn't notice Arthur coming up behind him. The Once and Future King took the man down and knocked him out.
The other two guards fired off shots at Una and Merlin. Una managed to dodge the shot aimed at her and the shot at Merlin was poorly aimed as the guard had also jumped at Rachel's growls and snarls. Merlin then readied the Ring of Fielder and aimed a small telekinesis spell that he remembered which disarmed the guards. Una then knocked them out by slamming their heads together. This left Three on his own and he was greatly surprised by Merlin's use of mortal sorcery.
"How could you…" Three gasped, "I made it impossible for you to use magic!"
"You took away the powers that were from my fey ancestry," Merlin answered, "I used those powers as a conduit to cast mortal spells. As a result, I can still cast mortal magic, although I need a different conduit."
"Conduit or not, you're still much weaker then you were before," Three snarled and raised an am at Merlin, ignoring the others.
Three was about to cast a spell to literally break Merlin in two when Arthur swung Excalibur in a powerful upward swing and severed Three's forearm from his body. Three screamed with pain and shuffled back towards the stairway he had come down.
"You will tell us how to reverse what you did at Stonehenge," Arthur commanded pointing Excalibur at three.
"Never," Three growled, "The Mage's prophecies will be fulfilled, and you are not a part of them!"
Rachel then leaped at Three, intending to knock him down and then hoping to scare him into talking. Her idea, however, was not very successful as Three hit her with a lightning spell with his other hand sending her flying into the pool.
"Rachel!" Arthur called after her, "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Rachel sighed as she reached the surface, "I probably smell like a wet dog right now, but otherwise I'm fine."
"We should focus on Three," Una cut in, "He is the only one who could now how to reverse what was done to Merlin."
"You can not beat me!" Three growled, still gripping his wounded arm, and now sensing that if he pushed them much harder, he could very well end up dead, "and you haven't seen the last of me!"
Arthur and Una moved forward as Three then vanished into nothingness.
"What the…" Arthur commented as Three vanished.
"He fled," Merlin sighed, "It is to be expected. He lost an arm and was outnumbered."
"But he was strong in mortal magic," Arthur commented.
"Yes, but between you, Una, and Rachel, even if he focused all his powers on me to overpower what little Una has been teaching me, he would not have won and could have ended up being killed as a result," Merlin sighed, "Being strong doesn't mean you're invincible. That's generally been the destruction of every major conqueror on Earth. They see their own strength and refuse to believe that that strength can be beaten. Three wasn't about to risk death to defend the Fountain of Youth."
"That is what puzzles me," Una commented, "If combined with the right spell it should make someone younger, or slow their aging. Why just give it up?"
"More then likely they've managed to 'clone' the water somehow," Arthur commented, "That'd have to be the only explanation."
"That's probably it, taking some of the water from here to some other site," Merlin agreed.
"It's still puzzling," Una commented, "Taking the water to another site as a 'cloned' pool likely weakens the power of the water. This is the original, they should fight to defend it."
A buzzing alarm then startled them with a great deal of shock. Rachel and Una covered their ears as the alarm was too loud for them to bear easily.
"A fire alarm?" Arthur asked.
"That's why he left, they're going to burn the base down to kill us inside it!" Merlin gasped, "We've got to get the people they've kidnapped and get them out of here."
"I'll see if I can find some fire extinguishers," Rachel commented as Arthur, Merlin, and Una headed toward a nearby hallway.
Arthur moved down the hallway and was horrified by what he saw. There were a series of cells with thick glass doors that held a person that was strapped to a series pumps and medical tubing. The Illuminati had already taken a great deal of blood out of these people. Among the people was a young girl, who looked extremely weak.
"These people are monsters," Arthur growled.
Arthur then began opening the doors and moved in and set to carefully removing the needless from the poor people that the Illuminati had kidnapped. Merlin and Una quickly did the same thing with the others. As they made their way back towards the stairs, they found Rachel returning with a fire extinguisher in each hand.
"Are they alright?" Rachel asked.
"Alive, but like the others in that hut, very weak," Una answered.
"We need to get moving," Rachel said urgently, "The fire may be spreading by now."
They then rushed as fast as they could to make it to the exit, which was at the roof, which meant they might have to challenge the super heated flames anyway. As they got closer to the roof, they found the flames still blazing, but so far, the base's own automated sprinkler systems had kept the fire from completely consuming the burnable pieces of fuel. Rachel set to work clearing path with the fire extinguishers, but it wasn't easy.
"Perhaps it might have been better to try and cut our way out of the basement," Merlin commented as they continued to move up the stairs.
"Maybe, but we won't have time now that we've come this far," Arthur commented, "I'm thankful these stairs are metal. A wooden staircase would have burnt up already."
They kept moving to the roof, and found the flames were far tougher to deal with the closer they got to the roof. By the time they got there, both of Rachel's fire extinguishers were empty, and there was enough fire on the roof, that they couldn't easily get to the edge.
"Can you get airborne from here?" Arthur asked Una.
"I need to be near the edge, and the height of this facility is not high enough to adequately glide," Una answered, "And even if it was, carrying the Illuminati's victim add extra weight that I'll need to compensate for."
"Could you cast a spell to get rid of some of the fire?" Rachel asked, "I think I can jump off of here, but I'd probably break a leg and I can't carry much in the way of passengers."
Una handed the victim she had taken to Rachel and began going through a pouch on her belt. She thought she had something, but she didn't know how well it would work. Una pulled out a small feather and chanted lightly. After a few moments, she let the feather go and it seemed to grow in size until if formed a bridge between their spot and the edge of the Illuminati facility.
"Go quickly," Una urged, "The feather will burn up as well in time."
They quickly rushed to the edge of the burning facility and looked down to the ground below them, which thankfully wasn't on fire.
"I can make the jump," Rachel commented, "don't worry about me."
Rachel then leaped from the roof with the one victim she was carrying. She landed easily a few feet away from the edge of the wall.
"I will be as quick as possible in shuttling you and the other people the Illuminati kidnapped," Una said and began to glide down with the first of the two victims that Merlin and Arthur had rescued.
Arthur meanwhile looked back to see that Una's feather was starting to be consumed by the flames that the Illuminati had set to burn down their own facility. Thankfully the part of the feather closest to them wasn't on fire yet, so Arthur wasn't seriously worried, but it did concern him. He kept looking at the flames until he heard Una practically yelling at him. He sighed and let Una carry him down to the ground.
"Is there anything that can be done to put the fire out?" Arthur asked as they landed.
"I don't have anything," Una sighed.
"I don't think I have anything that would be useful," Merlin added, "And even if I did, my ring wouldn't have the strength to perform the spell required. We might just have to let this fire burn itself out, and since the structure is metal, I doubt it will spread. It will eventually burn all the available fuel inside that facility."
In the end, Merlin's prediction was correct. The fires burned themselves out, and most of the structure remained standing. While the last bits of smoke drifted into the air, Arthur and his group slowly returned to the jungle path with the people the Illuminati had kidnapped.
"Will the Illuminati return here?" Rachel asked as she began to return to her human form.
"Maybe," Merlin sighed, "If only to protect the pool, although with what Khan is doing, their organization might not last much longer, so I don't think anyone can know for sure."
"They probably won't mess with the villages in this area though," Arthur commented, "Three did seem surprised to see us here."
There was a brief silence before Arthur spoke again.
"I'm sorry we weren't able to capture him, old friend," Arthur spoke weakly.
"Even if we did capture him, Three is not about to betray his own plans, and he is probably already aware that we will not treat anyone in a dishonorable fashion, which means he knows he can afford to be defiant. We will have to find another way to reverse what Three did to me, and preferably one that doesn't go against one's sense of morals."
The group then continued on in silence.
Unknown Location
Three growled furiously to himself as he walked towards his office in the main Illuminati headquarters. He was angry, not because the Illuminati had essentially lost the Fountain of Youth, and thus the 'immortality drugs' that were produced from it, but the fact that it was Arthur Pendragon and his allies that had taken the Fountain of Youth away from the Illuminati. He didn't know how Pendragon got to the Amazon, but he was both determined to find out and crush him before he found some way to cure his teacher.
To Be Continued…