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 two days after "Surprise Inspection".

Escaping Old Ghosts

By SN/TVfan

Email: Sam_Nary

Unknown Location

Three looked through a long list of papers and information that the Illuminati had collected on magic and on Merlin. He was still furious that Merlin had appeared in the Amazon River Basin, not so much that he opposed the Council's plans there, but that there was no indication that he would show up there. Everything he knew indicated that Merlin and Arthur's allies were in England at the time. He should not have been there especially considering that he didn't have his powers.

"How could he have been there?!" Three screamed and slammed his fists.

"Three?" a voice asked from behind him.

Three turned to find one of his Five standing in the doorway.

"Is their something troubling you, Three?" Five asked.

"Merlin," Three answered, "He appeared where he was not expected or wanted."

"He is a great 'magician'," Five commented, "His moves can not be unexpected."

"No," Three responded shaking his head, "I've already robbed him of his powers. He's powerless now, and besides, his opposition to us is not the issue. It's the fact that a powerless 'magician' went from London, England to the Amazon rainforest overnight."

"Makes me wish that the Unseelies were still around," Five commented, "We could get information out of them."

"If they had won the war, while our current enemies in New York and London would be destroyed," Three began, "I will remind you that Madoc would have enslaved us in the end as well. Besides, only the Mage had contact with him directly. We are only trying to carry out his wishes now he's gone."

"Only for a thousand years," Five replied, "And if Merlin's powerless, then I'd say that we've done enough to insure that he can not influence the Mage's prophecies, which will insure that he does return."

"I pray you are right," Three answered, "but, the fact that he is traveling over great distances without his powers. We must know how, just to make sure the man does not get lucky."

"I will do what I can to make sure our people are alert to his presence," Five answered, "One way or another, we'll catch him."

Elsewhere

The mist cleared for Arthur to find their small boat floating in the middle of a relatively small lake. He could see both shores and was surprised to find it very peaceful. The water was calm and there did not appear to be any sign of human activity.

"This is a quiet place," Rachel commented as they slowly drifted toward the edge of the lake, "Where do you suppose we are?"

"I don't know," Arthur commented, "There doesn't appear to be anyone around."

"And that is how it should be…" a voice said eerily through the air, although there was no obvious sign as to who said it.

"Okay, that's freaky," Rachel commented, "Who said that?"

Arthur shook his head as he carefully guided the boat among a large clump of reeds along the shore of the lake, taking care not to knock over Una's stone form. Once that was done, he slowly made his way through the reeds, finding it all to be very muddy and not really dry.

"I don't know," Arthur again sighed, "it wasn't any of us, maybe we're here to expel a ghost or something."

"I'm more concerned about finding out where we are," Merlin commented, "We can't solve any problem if we can't determine our location or find anyone."

"So, do you know where we are?" Rachel asked.

Merlin looked around again. He saw reeds around him and there was a small grove of trees nearby and a field of tall grass just outside the reeds they were presently in. In the distance he thought he could make out another lake near the one that they had appeared on, but he wasn't sure at the moment.

"I honestly don't know," Merlin sighed, "I would guess that we are either somewhere in Europe or North America, but with no one apparently here, I can not tell for sure, as I am not much of an expert on plant and animal life."

"I'll venture out and see if I can find a town or some sort of settlement," Arthur volunteered, "Hopefully, there is one nearby."

"And if there isn't?" Rachel asked.

"I'll turn around when the sun sets, and we can then move as a group," Arthur replied, "But for now, you will be needed to make sure nothing happens to Una while she sleeps."

"Alright," Merlin nodded.

They then watched as Arthur began to trudge along the shore of the lake and begin his search for a nearby town or village. Merlin and Rachel meanwhile moved to sit in the long grass while waiting for the sun to set. Both were really confused about why they were where they were. There was no one there and there didn't appear to be a problem that they could notice.

"It seems like a nice place," Rachel commented as Merlin began trying to push the grasses down so that they weren't going everywhere, "Kinda weird that we were sent here, but I won't deny that it is nice."

"Well, maybe there is something that we haven't seen yet," Merlin sighed, "As they say, 'stranger things have happened'."

"Nothing is strange here," a voice echoed over the wind, again with no real point of origin.

"Like that," Rachel grumbled, "I'd really like to know where that is coming from."

"We'd best wait until Arthur gets back with some information about where we are and until Una wakes up," Merlin told her, "The last thing we need to do is separate and wander around aimlessly."

Rachel slowly nodded and sighed.

Later

It was nearly dusk when Arthur returned. Rachel hoped he had found something that might indicate something, but he still looked fairly concerned.

"Did you find out where we are?" Merlin asked as Arthur approached.

"I found a dirt road not to far away," Arthur answered, "You can still see the lake, but thankfully not our boat. There was a sign nearby that said Bald Eagle Lake. I think we're somewhere in North America."

"Yes," Merlin nodded, "The bald eagle only lives in North America, and if my studies on foreign countries is correct, it is also the national bird of the United States. We might be somewhere in America."

"Not New York or LA, I guess," Rachel commented as she looked at the rather natural surroundings.

"No, but we could be anywhere," Merlin sighed, "America and Canada are big countries, and with the exception of a few areas, there are large areas that are either remote, or simply uninhabited for various reasons. Certain American states have very low population densities. For all we know, there is no town for miles and the closest 'settlement' is some guy's ranch or farm."

"So, is there any idea as to why we are here?" Arthur asked, "Wherever Bald Eagle Lake is."

"I'd think it has something to do with this voice we've been hearing," Rachel commented, "It's really creeped me out when it speaks."

"There is no one here," the voice spoke out making each of them jump slightly.

"Yes, it is creepy," Merlin nodded, "but we'd best wait until Una wakes up, so that we're all together."

"Yes," Arthur nodded, "Una's wings will allow us to search a wider area then we can, and her senses are stronger then ours are."

"And that won't be far away," Rachel commented, looking at the horizon as the sky filled with the many colors of dusk, "And I can help as well, should it be needed."

The others nodded as they watched the sun set, and they were soon greeted by the sound of stone cracking and breaking as Una awoke from her stone slumber. The white unicorn-like gargoyle slowly made her way out of the reeds looking fairly agitated that the reeds surrounding the lake were not dry, but she otherwise looked alright.

"So where are we?" Una asked, "Other then some peaceful wilderness."

"Somewhere in North America," Arthur answered, "A place called Bald Eagle Lake."

"Where all is calm," a voice echoed on the wind, which made Una's ears stand straight up.

"That I believe is our reason for being here," Merlin answered, "It's been speaking off and on since we arrived."

"It is not natural," Una said firmly.

"You noticed that as well?" Merlin commented, "I can guess that it is, as there is no one else here, but you are more skilled then I in mortal magic in truest sense of mortal magic. Can you sense where it is coming from?"

"Not instinctively," Una answered, "And I'm afraid I do not have ingredients needed to cast a spell that could artificially track the voice down."

Merlin then looked down with a heavy sigh.

"You could however try talking with this voice," Una commented, "If you can hear it, surely whoever is speaking can hear you."

"Suppose it is a ghost? Or some spirit that is running through some past event?" Rachel asked, "Can it answer?"

"I do not know what it is, but unless we have some sort of recording device here somewhere, there has to be someone here who is speaking," Una explained, "And that 'person' is using magic to make their voice appear to have no source."

"There is no one here," the voice spoke, although, it now sounded as though it was trying to deny what had been said and did not sound as eerie as it had earlier.

"Now," Rachel answered slowly, "That almost sounded like he was arguing with you."

"And that is how I propose we deal with this," Una answered, "From what I heard when it first spoke it sounds as if it doesn't want people like us around. It might be best to figure out why."

Una then stood up and took a few paces away from the group and spoke loudly into the air, almost shouting.

"Alright, we know you're here," Una spoke, "Come out and face us."

"No," came the voice's answer.

"You're going to hide and make eerie voices at anyone who comes by here?" Una demanded.

"Leave me alone," the voice answered.

"And let you haunt others?" Arthur asked, beginning to grasp what Una was doing.

"I'm not haunting anyone!" the voice said firmly.

"You scared us all half to death," Rachel spoke up, "Tell me that's not haunting?"

"Just leave me alone," the voiced seemed to practically plead with them.

"That is not possible, as we know you're here," Una answered, "And we know you want us to go, which means you're hiding something, and we will not leave until we find out what it is. If villainous, we will stop you, and if not, we will try to help you."

"I am no villain, and there is nothing that can be done to help," the voice answered.

"Let us try," Una urged, "You've already revealed yourself to us by speaking. Letting us see you and speak with you like normal people, well as normal as I can get."

For a second there was nothing, except for the sound of a few crickets chirping in the distance. Then, after a few moments, a rather elderly looking man appeared standing in the tall grass, not that far away from Rachel. He moved slowly and carefully to a position where all of them could speak with them.

"You can try all you want, but there is nothing you can do for me," the man spoke solemnly.

"And why is that?" Rachel asked.

"Because my purpose is to hide," the man answered, pulling his long white hair back to reveal a pair of fairly long and pointed ears.

"You're a fey?" Merlin asked.

"Yes, and one who survived the first Unseelie War," the man answered, "And I do not want to be involved with my people, or anyone else for that matter any more."

"Why is that?" Arthur asked.

"It's a long story," the man sighed.

"We have plenty of time," Merlin told him.

"Well…" the man began.

Europe, Long Ago…

"Come on Caster," a young female fey commented, "Madoc and his followers have been maintaining a powerful fortress here."

A younger, blonde haired version of the same fey that at present sat with Arthur and his companions as a man closely followed the female as they moved through a thick forest and brush towards a small mountain in the distance. It had been rumored that the Unseelie leader, Madoc had established a base there from which he had been attacking his brother, Oberon on Avalon and the second and first races that supported Oberon.

"I still don't know why we are on this mission," Caster replied, "Neither of us are strong enough for battle with the Unseelies. Even Madoc's weakest minions are stronger in magic then we are."

"Yes," the female nodded, "But we are not as easily noticed. And our only mission is to find the castle and pinpoint its location. The Sisters will lead the assault force."

The continued to move forward and were quiet until Caster's partner suddenly fell into a hole that she didn't see, or one that had been hidden somehow. Caster reached to try and catch her, but he was not strong enough to stay on the top of the hole, and he fell in as well. Once inside, he felt some strange force that pulled him to toward the bottom of the hole like a large magnet. After a few moments, he blacked out from some sort of power overload.

When Caster came to, he found himself and his partner chained to the ground in the middle of Stonehenge with Madoc and a few members of the Unseelie Court looking down on him.

"I had a feeling that my brother would do something like this," Madoc commented, "Send weaklings to try and find me, thinking I'd ignore him."

"You won't get away with this," Caster said firmly.

Madoc smiled, "I'm afraid I have. Neither your or your partner can escape, and since you have yet to report in, my brother assumes that you are still in central Europe looking for me. But I have brought you here."

Caster only looked on in fear Madoc then floated into the air above him and his partner while his followers moved outside the large stones that made up Stonehenge. He then began to cast a spell that Caster feared and knew was coming.

Madoc chanted…

"Stones ringed for mysterious ways,

drain these fools,

and level them weak till the end of days!"

Caster watched as the stones of Stonehenge began to glow and the magic within him was soon being painfully pulled out of his body. He screamed with all his might, but since he could not break free of the chains that held him done, he soon found himself without his powers and weak. A few moments later he blacked out from the pain.

Present

"You had your powers drained?" Rachel asked.

Caster nodded, "The Weird Sisters managed to restore my powers after the First Unseelie War ended, but by then I had aged to my present physical age and was of even less use to the Seelie Court then I was before. Madoc was evil, but my experiences in the First Unseelie War lead me to believe that Oberon was no better, and I was determined not to serve him anymore. And even though Oberon has died, I will not serve his wife either, I will not be used."

"And so you've been hiding here to avoid the Gathering and the Second Unseelie War," Arthur guessed.

"Yes," Caster nodded, "Why are you so curious about this?"

"Mostly because of who I am and what has recently happened to me," Merlin answered, "My name is Merlin Hawkins. I am a fey halfling, and in the Middle Ages I was the adviser of Arthur Pendragon."

"The 'Once and Future King'," Caster commented, "I take it you have had your powers stolen from you? I'm afraid to say that I am not strong enough to restore your powers if you are looking for me to do your work for you."

"No, we seek to do the work ourselves," Merlin answered, "We thought you could shed some light on how Madoc stole yours so we can come up with some theories as to how mine were taken."

"Theories?" Caster asked.

"My powers were robbed by a human sorcerer," Merlin explained, "Which means there are bound to be some differences between the wording and the nature of the spells cast."

"Madoc only used Stonehenge to amplify his own powers," Caster spoke, "The stones have been altered magically to act as a magnet to fey magic, but it still requires a spell caster to activate them. If a mortal sorcerer robbed you, he likely used some sort of powder and the words 'energy drain' in Latin. All you ought to do is find the same sort of powder that was used and use a spell that involves the word 'restore' in Latin."

"You think that will work?" Merlin asked.

Caster nodded, "My knowledge of mortal magic is limited, but yes, I think so."

"Whatever happened to your friend?" Rachel asked curiously, "Did she get her powers back?"

"No," Caster sighed, "Her fate is another reason why I've chosen remote areas as my hideouts and tried to 'haunt' people away."

Britain, the Ancient Past…

"Oberon will never forgive us for this," Caster's friend lamented we failed.

"Hella, we were used," Caster told her, "There was no way we could have fought Madoc off or escaped that trap he laid for us. We weren't powerful enough, but we were sent to do a job we couldn't physically do. We were set up to fail."

"Madoc is evil, Caster," Hella answered, "If he wins, all the world will suffer under him and his followers."

"I know that, and I don't support Madoc either," Caster answered, "but I feel that we have been used. We're better suited to intellectual studies, not fighting. We're not powerful enough nor cunning enough to fight other fey in a fast fight. We might be able to trick one or two of them if given time to set it up, but how often in the Unseelie War so far have we had the opportunity to do so?"

"Never," Hella sighed.

"That is my point," Caster sighed, "And now we're stuck here in northwestern Europe, on an island, and without our powers. We're practically at the mercy of the natives who live here, who surely have not felt some damage as result of the war."

Caster immediately wished he hadn't said that as a group of men armed with crudely made axes and swords, made out of bronze came out of the woods that surrounded the dirt path the two were walking on.

"Look at these two!" one man sneered angrily, "Ever seen anyone dressed like that?"

"No," another man chuckled, "but then I think these people are one of them fairies that's been destroying our crops and murdering our gargoyle allies over who gets to be 'king'."

"They shall not be our King!" another said firmly, "We're free!"

"Wait, we haven't done anything to you!" Caster said quickly, "It is Madoc and the Unseelies who have done these wrongs, not us."

"But you insist on fighting your war on our lands," the first man said firmly, "No matter how good you are personally, you refuse to fight with honor and my people and our allies have suffered for it."

"Madoc has done that," Hella pleaded and stepped forward, "He knows you're vulnerable and will attack your people to draw ours out to fight them. If we do nothing, you will suffer more."

"Then why don't you fight one major battle and end the war in one stroke?" the first man asked, "It would spare us the effects of your battling."

"I don't know," Hella spoke, "I'm terribly sorry. Is there anything I can do to help?"

"My child's lost its mother, and our tribe is now raising a clan of gargoyle hatchlings," the first man spoke, "You could help them grow up to be good, wise warriors, and you could provide my daughter with a mother-type figure as most of our tribe's women have also been killed."

"What about me?" Caster asked.

"You will join our tribes warriors in trying to gather up those that were scattered as a result of the recent battles that your people have had," the first man spoke, "and I will warn you that some of the results are not pleasant."

Present

"And so we ended up joining that tribe," Caster went on, "but as time went on, I became more and more disappointed by my lack of ability to do simple spells and began to draw away and Hella became more and more guilt ridden by what our war had done, and did as much as she could to try and help the tribe we had fallen into. The more she spent time with them, the closer she became to them, until finally she married the leader, the first man that we had seen, and decided not to seek to get her powers restored, when the Unseelie War ended, I caught the attention of one of the Seelie fey on a patrol for fey who had had their powers stolen, but Hella would not come with me, and I was punished for not bringing her by Oberon."

"Sounds like something he would do," Merlin commented.

"Once I had my powers back, I returned to the tribe, hoping to fix their problems easily," Caster continued, "And found they didn't want that sort of help. I tried my best to persuade them that it would reverse a lot of the damage that the war did, but they refused, and that is what made me feel guilty about the First Unseelie War. It destroyed everything it touched, robbed me of my powers, and when I finally regained them, I couldn't even help the people that it had hurt. I said my goodbyes to Hella, and promised to be there for her funeral, and left for some remote place where my people would never be able to hurt me again in any such way."

"And so you came here," Arthur commented, "It is peaceful."

"Even this area has known its times of strife," Caster sighed, "but it is better then what I've known."

"You can't hide here forever," Una said firmly, "You seem to be running away from problems. That's never a solution."

"Have you ever felt that there was nothing you could do?" Caster asked, "Or that there was nothing that was worth doing?"

"Yes," Una sighed, "But I was wrong for thinking so, and it turns out that my feelings were over nothing to begin with. Oberon wasn't the best leader ever, but there is a great difference between him and Titania."

"Can you be certain of that?" Caster questioned, "She did nothing to stop some of Oberon's more arrogant decisions."

"You and I know that there was nothing she could have done," Merlin pointed out, "Oberon rarely changed his mind, if at all, and when he did change his mind it was usually the result of him being defeated. And you should know how rare that is."

Caster nodded, "even still, Titania never took a stand to say that she didn't approve of what he did, even if he would do it anyway."

"Why protest to deaf ears," Rachel commented, "Before I met Arthur and Merlin, I knew many people who refused to listen to anyone, even if that person was in charge or wise or smarter. It's like banging your head against a brick wall. When people don't listen, it's useless to advise them on anything. They're going to do what you want no matter what is said. If one of them wanted to put his finger in an electric socket and dump water on himself, there was nothing anyone could do to stop them. If they didn't do it at work, they'd wait till they went home and no one could stop them."

"There is a difference between a stubborn coworker and Oberon," Caster answered, "Oberon's stubbornness and decisions ruined the lives of many people. Others suffered for Oberon's mistakes. I will not be a party to such actions again."

"And so you sit here alone," Una commented, "Don't you wish to interact with anyone? Even if you don't want to go back to the Seelie Court, surely you shouldn't mind working with people?"

"And what will that accomplish?" Caster asked, "Mortals all die in the end and their problems go in circles. Nothing I do would be worthwhile."

"It's not so much that any changes last forever," Una commented, "but mortality is something all non-fey have to deal with. If you really work well to help someone, they will remember that for the rest of their lives. That must be good if they like you."

"And if you're looking something that is longer lasting, you'll have to return to the Seelies," Merlin commented, "Titania is not Oberon and the Unseelies have been completely defeated. You might find your place as a scholar, and you don't have to live in this self-imposed exile and being lonely. I mean there have to be things that you miss while you're out here."

"There are," Caster nodded, "but I don't want to be used anymore in things I can't do. And I don't want to be put in a position where I will face extreme heartbreak of seeing friends die of old age."

"There are risks in everything," Arthur commented, "leaders are always concerned with what must be done and what must not be done. When you do one thing, you'll have a consequence for it, but if you don't do something, you'll have consequences then too."

Caster could only nod, "This is all a lot to think about."

"Hopefully you make the right decision," Merlin commented, "As much as you've tried to be alone, it's clear to anyone, regardless of whether or not they know magic, that you're lonely."

"I know," Caster sighed, "and I must admit that it has been good to talk to someone. It has been lonely, no matter how much I've tried to say I wanted to be alone."

Caster then vanished and disappeared, leaving them alone in the dark.

"Do you think he'll go anywhere?" Rachel asked.

"He has a lot to think about," Merlin answered, "And if he feels he was simply 'used' by Oberon, he has good reason not to be super keen on rejoining the Seelie fey, but Titania is very different from her now dead husband. She won't treat him the way Oberon did."

The Next Morning

Caster reappeared the next morning as Arthur and Rachel were setting their boat to leave, and he knew that they hopped Avalon's mists would send them on their way. Merlin wasn't too far away cleaning up the campsite that had been set up after he left.

"So you're off to continue searching for Merlin's cure?" Caster asked.

"Yes," Arthur answered, "He is more then a teacher to me. He is like a father and a friend. I owe him for all that he has done for me."

"I wish you the best of luck," Caster told him, "I'm sorry I can't help you, but I guess after talking with you, that I've found I've been hiding for too long. This is a beautiful place to visit, but I should find my place to live and serve. Maybe Titania is better, or maybe she knows of a place where my skills as an intellect will be best served."

"Much of what we will face will involve fighting anyway," Arthur commented, "I wouldn't want to bring you into such a situation."

Caster nodded.

"Have a good journey," Rachel said to him.

"Thank you," Caster replied, "Although it is I who should thank you. You all remind me so much of Hella and provided me with something that I felt I lost."

And with that, Caster vanished for the last time from Arthur and Rachel's sight.

Avalon

Caster appeared just outside the gates to the Great Hall inside Avalon's castle and was surprised by many of the changes he saw when he entered. While he found Titania seated on a throne, he also found the presence of two humans seated at a small table nearby and there were a the stone forms of sleeping gargoyles along the railing of the floor above the main floor of the Great Hall. He immediately found this to be a vast improvement over what Oberon had and his policies.

"You have come a long way, lost one," came Titania's voice from the throne, "It was thought that you had died."

"I had not," Caster answered, "Madam. I went into exile, as I found your husband's treatment of me and my dear Hella to be poor, and when she died, I found no will to return."

"Oberon was a good man at heart, and I did love him," Titania said firmly, "Always remember that. But, I will not deny that he made his own mistakes. Perhaps, lost one, the treatment of you and of many others during the First Unseelie War was the greatest mistake he made."

"What happened to him?" Guardian Tom asked from his table as Caster's appearance had raised some curiosity of his own.

"That is Caster's tale to tell," Titania said, "and one he can use as an adviser my Court, hopefully to provide the Seelie Court with the conscience not to make the same mistakes again."

The End…