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 three weeks after "Old Wars".

Alpha and Omega

By SN/TVfan

Email: Sam_Nary

The Skiff

They came out of the mists to find themselves on a rather clean looking lake surrounded by tall mountains. It looked like some post card from Switzerland.

"Where are we?" Beth asked as she looked around.

"I would think this is Switzerland," Merlin commented, "judging by the few buildings I can see on the mountains. We must be near a resort area."

"Or the major city is behind one of the mountain faces," Rachel added, "It is in the Alps."

"We'd best paddle to shore and see if we can find a place to hide Una, or at least come up with a convincing explanation as to why we arrived in a lake in a wooden skiff with a stone gargoyle in it," Arthur spoke carefully.

"We could say we're transporting it for someone," Rachel offered.

"We'd need to have someone waiting at the water's edge with the equipment to hoist Una's body," Coyote commented, "unless the Swiss are completely accepting of werewolves."

Rachel only sighed as they began paddling to shore.

"Couldn't you hide her, Coyote?" Beth asked the southwestern fey, "use your magic?"

"I suppose," Coyote shrugged, "although if Una were to suddenly disappear, anyone who's seen her will suddenly wonder what happened to her."

"I don't think we have much choice," Merlin spoke up, "I don't see a place where we can hide Una."

The group then looked up to see the shore they were approaching. It appeared rather rocky and had a road next to it. There didn't appear to be any traffic on it at the moment, but it also meant that any other sort of explanation for the presence of a stone gargoyle in a skiff, would be ludicrous. Coyote realized this and slowly cast a small illusion spell rendering Una invisible, even to the members of the skiff. Arthur and Merlin looked nervously at where Una had been, while Rachel tentatively stuck her hand out to still feel the cool granite like texture of Una's stone-skin.

"She's still there," Coyote spoke, "it'll wear off at sunset."

Arthur and the others nodded and kept paddling toward the shore. As they got closer they saw what looked like a van stop directly ahead of them. The driver then got out and stood the closest to the shore.

"Someone's stopped," Rachel commented, "He's seen us."

"Hopefully he hasn't seen Una," Arthur sighed, "because I think our only believable excuse is that we're tourists."

"We wouldn't have had to 'rent' a boat, would we?" Beth asked, not knowing really where they were other then Merlin and Rachel's guess and not knowing the local laws.

"I don't know," Merlin sighed.

They slowly brought the skiff to the shoreline where the man was waiting by his van.

"Are you folks alright?" the man asked, "it seems rather early for tourist season."

"It was a bit of a dare on our part," Coyote commented, "our chaperones here are only along to make sure we don't kill ourselves."

Both Beth and Rachel glanced at Coyote, resenting the 'excuse' that the three of them on a dare had gone out onto an unknown lake, probably at a time when they shouldn't have, and had dragged two chaperones along with them. Neither of them said anything, however.

"I don't believe there are any laws about when one can go boating," the man answered slowly, although he sounded unsure, "it just seemed odd to me that you would be out here in that little thing."

"It is all we were able to bring out," Rachel commented.

"Where are you parked?" the man asked.

"Across the lake," Beth replied, pointing to the other side.

The man looked at them and then looked up toward the western horizon. After looking out at the sun for a few moments he then turned his attention back to the passengers of the skiff.

"You came from across the lake?" the man gasped, sounding shocked, "You'll never make it back in time for supper. I insist you come with me. I'll get you good food, and for small fee, I'll drive you back to your vehicle."

"Fee?" Arthur asked.

"I frown on hitch-hikers," the man answered, "If you pay, we could consider it a taxi service. And the fee wouldn't be high. Only a few shillings."

Arthur looked on that as being suspicious, as he didn't think Switzerland, their most likely location used the English 'Pound' as its currency, but they also weren't in much of a position to refuse any help. It would be sunset in a little while and they had to insure that no one was around for Una's awakening.

"What about a night?" Arthur asked, "if the lake is too dangerous to boat on at night, perhaps you could offer us a room or too, and we'll boat back tomorrow. How much would it cost us for that?"

"Only a shilling or two more," the man responded in a tone that made the others nearly as suspicious of him as Arthur was, "Hop in."

"This must be why we're here," Coyote whispered to Arthur, "Find out what this guy is up to, and stop him."

Elsewhere

"What is it?" Six grumbled as he was dragged into a briefing room inside a hidden Illuminati base.

He had been trying to catch up on some much needed sleep when a mid-ranked technician woke him up and literally pulled him to the room they were now in.

"I'm sorry, sir, but something has come up that I thought you should know," the man responded nervously, "We have Pendragon."

Six's eyes immediately looked extremely excited.

"You have him?" Six exclaimed, "Why didn't you tell me he had appeared?"

"He just appeared on a lake about five miles from here," the man responded, "Brox sent in a secret radio signal to indicate that he picked them up and is initiating the trap plan should any unwanted individual find our base."

"Does he know who Brox is?" Six asked.

"No, I wouldn't think so," the man replied, "Brox will lead them to a point where they can't help but stumble in. Our men can then jump him."

"How many men do you have available?" Six questioned.

"About four squads of commandos and six dozen automated defenses," the man replied, "Arthur is not likely to survive, and Merlin and his werewolf will be captured."

That made Six sigh with a confident smile. He had been working with the Illuminati trying to put an end to Arthur Pendragon's interference in Illuminati affairs, and so far, the 'Once and Future King' had either beaten them or the attempt to get him had missed. But now, he had stumbled into their base.

"I will be overseeing Pendragon's capture," Six spoke in a confident voice, "It will be good to see that thorn in our side finally be captured."

"Of course, sir," the man nodded.

Mountaintop Cottage

The man who had offered them a ride had taken them to a small cottage, that looked like it was built more for the tourist business then as someone's private home, with similar homes built on the mountainside where the ground was sturdy enough to support them. The drive was a pleasant one and the towns they could see or drove by were picturesque, but Arthur continued to have a nagging feeling that there was more to their driver then met the eye.

"I have a few chores to take care of before dinner will be ready," the man announced as he parked the car and everyone got out, "the guest rooms are on the second floor, and you're free to look around the grounds. The door to the basement, though, is off-limits."

"Of course," Arthur answered as he then lead the group into the cottage and then up a flight of stairs.

They were silent for a short while before Arthur spoke when he was certain that their driver couldn't hear him.

"I do not trust that man," Arthur spoke as quietly as possible, "Showing up out of nowhere and offering to give us a lift for a small fee."

"Maybe he runs the local taxi service," Beth suggested.

Arthur shook his head, "The area is too rural. The towns we passed are all very small. Too small to support a taxi service. The public transportation around here is likely to be a bus providing service to the tourists."

"He also wanted us to pay with English currency," Rachel added, "And unless we're somewhere in Scotland, the English Pound is pretty much worthless here if it isn't exchanged into the current Swiss currency. They might have even switched over to this new European currency they've been developing I've seen some reports on. The Euro, I think it was called."

"So, what do you think he's up too?" Beth asked, "For all we know, he's simply crazy."

"Something about him seems quite sane," Arthur answered, "He simply strikes me as someone with a secret."

They then entered a large guest room that had a two rows of beds and colored cloth divider hanging from the ceiling. The group went about placing the belongings they had with them on the beds before continuing their conversation.

"So, what is the plan?" Rachel asked as she set the small bag she carried with her on one of the beds.

"For now it would be best to simply look around here, see if we can find anything that might reveal what this man is really doing," Arthur spoke, "although it is also important that we not make our 'host' suspicious of us."

There was a brief silence for a few moments before Arthur continued.

"Once that has been done," Arthur continued, "we'll see what we can do about checking out this basement that he has."

"What about Una?" Coyote inquired, "She'll be up soon."
"Can you bring her here?" Arthur asked, "or at least give her gliding directions."

Coyote nodded, "I can bring her here easily, if you can make sure our host doesn't notice my absence."

"He said we could wander about the house and the grounds," Merlin commented, "I'm sure he expects us to stay close, but I don't think he knows about your powers as a member of the Third Race."

Coyote nodded and then disappeared in a brief flash of green light leaving the others alone. After a moment or two, Arthur slowly began walking toward the stairs.

"I suppose it is now time for us to act like tourists," Arthur spoke while the others nodded and began to follow him.

By the Lake

The sun meanwhile continued its descent in the western horizon until it finally began to set and cracks began to appear in Una's stone form, although for the moment, no one could see them. As the sun set further, the cracks grew larger, until Una finally stretched her wings and awakened for the night. She found she was alone in the skiff with Coyote standing nearby on a rather rocky looking shoreline on the edge of a road.

"Where are we?" Una asked as she climbed out of the skiff.

"Arthur and Merlin think we're somewhere in Switzerland," Coyote answered, "but they do not know exactly where."

Una then nodded.

"We'd best move though," Coyote spoke and then took Una by the shoulders and both disappeared just as a car rounded the corner, its driver slowing down to wipe his eyes at what he had just seen.

The Cottage

Meanwhile, Arthur and the others were finding to situation to be weirder and weirder. When they came downstairs they found that the man who had driven them there had practically vanished and couldn't be seen anymore. He wasn't in the cottage's small kitchen, nor was he on the cottage's lawn. It was if he had left them there, and this made Arthur even more suspicious.

"This has to be a trap," Arthur grumbled as he moved into a small living room where Merlin and Beth were already seated.

Both of them looked up.

"He isn't here," Arthur explained, "Not inside, not outside."

"So, he's trying to catch us," Beth sighed, "what could he want? Your sword maybe?"

"I don't know," Arthur sighed, "Given the circumstances, I'd think he's an Illuminatus and simply wants to defeat me for whatever odd reason that organization has decided that I am a threat to their global domination."

"We don't have any proof of that," Merlin warned him, "but I do agree that the current circumstances are rather suspicious. Our host should still be here."

"He might be, just not where we expected him to be," Rachel spoke as she entered the room, "I traced his scent to a door near the stairs. It's likely the basement that he said he didn't want us wandering into. I'd say that whatever he's hiding, he's hiding it down there."

"Did you find anything else?" Arthur asked, "any sort of clue?"

"I didn't have any more luck then you," Rachel sighed, "If this guy truly is hiding something, he's done a good job of it. No loose papers, no account books. Likely in this basement of his… although I've never heard of buildings like this having basements."

"Weird," Beth sighed, "What could he be hiding, though?"

"I don't know," Arthur sighed, "although, I suppose that is what we're here to find out."

Merlin was about to ask something when there was a sudden flash of light and Coyote and Una appeared in the room. The white unicorn-like gargoyle was somewhat startled by the appearance of the room she was now in.

"You can relax," Merlin spoke up, "Our host has apparently left us alone, leaving everyone a bit suspicious."

"Do you have any clue as to what he is hiding or where he went?" Una asked after a moment.

"Not specifically, but we believe he went into the basement of this building," Arthur replied, "We'll get our answers there, and we were waiting for you and Coyote to return."

Una then nodded and then turned to Beth, "And do you feel up to coming with us? Or would you prefer to wait here?"

Beth looked up nervously as all eyes then turned to her. She hadn't really thought of that. She couldn't really hide, as if the others needed medical help, she was the only one who could provide it, but at the same time, she was not the warrior that her older brother and sister. Elisa had taught her some self-defense moves, but not enough for her to be confident about fighting many of the opponents that Arthur might be facing.

"I'll go, but I'll keep to the rear," Beth spoke after a few moments, "You'll need a medic if this guy is armed or really knows how to fight."

"Are you sure?" Coyote asked, "they could come after you."

Beth sighed, "I know, but Elisa taught me a few basic moves. I can defend myself if someone tries to grab me. I won't go charging at anyone though."

"Okay," Coyote answered slowly, "Just be sure to be careful."

Beth nodded as the others stood up and began moving toward the door that lead to the basement that they were told was 'off limits'.

Elsewhere

Six, meanwhile quietly walked down a hallway of the base he was in. Commandos were lining corners and all possible routes from which Pendragon and his allies might attack from. He felt confident in dealing with Arthur this time. His men were prepared and in the enclosed space with Merlin powerless, he held the advantages over the 'Once and Future King'. His werewolf ad the female gargoyle would present some problems, but Six was confident that they could be overwhelmed and that the others with Arthur posed no threat.

As he rounded a corner, Six bumped into the a man he had been hoping to meet. Arthur's present 'host' at the mountain top cottage. The man looked slightly out of breath, but he bowed to Six respectfully.

"Well, Decoy," Six spoke as authoritatively as possible, "How did it go?"

"Things have gone quite well," the man, identified as 'Decoy', answered, "Pendragon already suspicious of me, and I made sure that those suspicions would not be eased upon arrival at the cottage."

"I trust he does not know of our presence here and believes you are on your own?" Six questioned.

Decoy nodded, "Of that, I am certain. I have no paperwork around that would link me to the Illuminati. But he is suspicious that I am up to something and will likely 'follow' me to try and find out what I am 'hiding'."

"And your certain his suspicions will lead him here?" Six asked carefully.

"Of course," Decoy answered, "He suspects that whatever I am 'hiding' is in my basement. When he breaks into it, expecting to find me, you can lock him and his companions in the tunnel that leads here and force him into a fight he can not win. At that point, it won't matter if his suspicions lead him here or not. He will have no choice."

Six only nodded again with complete confidence in final victory. He then turned to look at Decoy who was patiently waiting for orders.

"You may go for now," Six ordered, "although I would advise leaving by means of a different exit."

"Of course, my lord," Decoy bowed and quickly hurried on.

Cottage Basement Door

The door easily fell to the ground from a strong kick delivered by Rachel, who had transformed in preparation for the eventual confrontation. What was the surprising thing was the sound made by the door when it hit the ground. It landed with the ringing sound of hitting something metal, and as they slowly made their way down the stairs, they found themselves in a long metal hallway.

"And here is the obvious reason why he didn't want us down here," Merlin commented as he looked down the hallway.

"More likely this is a trap," Arthur spoke gravely, "The hallway is narrow and underground. Una can't glide, and if they're armed with rifles, Excalibur won't do anyone any good."

"I can raise a shield should this guy try to use us as a shooting gallery," Coyote told him, "which should force him to try a direct conflict, which I'd think we'd be better at."

They slowly began walking down the hall when a sudden hissing noise made them stop and look behind them. To their surprise, a large metal door had shut behind them, which looked very thick and sturdy.

"He knows we're here," Rachel commented while Arthur drew out an electric blaster that Macbeth had loaned him before they left.

Arthur only looked down at the weapon he had drawn. Macbeth had loaned it to him for instances like this, but Arthur still didn't have to like it. He preferred Excalibur, but it wasn't like the sword was good for non-lethal attacks. They then began slowly walking down the hallway before the Beth noticed something painted onto the sides of the wall as they walked.

"I don't think this guy is alone," Beth spoke up and pointed to what she saw.

The others quickly turned and looked at what the woman was pointing at. The group was soon shocked at what they saw. It was a small security camera, which in itself wasn't shocking, but image on the side of it was, and that was the insignia of he Illuminati.

"At least we now know who has set the trap," Arthur sighed after a moment.

"Maybe this is that 'Site Omega' and we can finally get what Arthur needs to cure him of what the Illuminati did to him," Rachel spoke up, placing a paw on Arthur's shoulder.

"It could be," Arthur nodded, and turned to the others, "although if that is true, it means that the fight to beat the trap will be even tougher."

"With the Unseelies defeated, the Illuminati has lost the forces that it could call on to defeat the Third Race," Coyote spoke, "and even with their sorcerers, I don't sense any Iron here. If their numbers threaten to overwhelm us, I think I can get us out."

Arthur then turned to Beth, who was unarmed and standing behind the southwestern fey.

"I'll be fine," Beth spoke, "Coyote can keep me safe, and I won't be getting into the middle of anything."

"You may already be in the middle of everything," Una warned her, "staying low may not keep you completely safe."

"I know," Beth nodded, "but it doesn't look like I have much of choice at the moment, don't I? If I leave they may send someone to the cottage to get me, and if I stay, I'll face the same fight you're facing."

Una and Arthur slowly nodded while Rachel turned to Coyote turned to Coyote for the moment.

"Isn't there something that you could do to even the odds for her?" Rachel asked, "Something that doesn't involve taking away her humanity?"

Coyote glanced at Beth for a moment and then spoke, "I suppose I could take what limited knowledge of martial arts Elisa taught her and make her an expert at it in terms of every type of martial arts. Going from a white belt to the highest level of black belt would be something."

"It'd put me above Elisa's skill level, although with a gargoyle's strength, I don't think Elisa would care," Beth commented, "go ahead."

Coyote's eyes only flashed green for a moment before he said, "done."

Six quietly watched from a control room that allowed him to monitor the progress his enemies made. He had two aids with him, who were only there to monitor the equipment as he monitored the battle. Something already seemed to be going wrong, but it didn't appear to be to the point where he would lose yet.

"They know about this instillation," the first aide spoke nervously.

"And they've learned how to defeat the spell you performed on Merlin," the other aide added.

"I can see that," Six answered as he watched them walk down a hallway, "Merely the result of Arthur's earlier victories over us. The real question is the dark haired young man."

"He doesn't appear armed," the first aide commented.

"He doesn't have to be," Six replied, "he is at least a sorcerer, and possibly a member of the Third Race."

Six then turned around to see both aides looking nervously at the screens.

"Oh try to relax," Six groaned, "the fey are vulnerable to Iron. If he is a fey, we can stab him with an Iron weapon and that will kill him. And if he isn't a fey, it isn't likely that he's immortal, so it shouldn't matter what kind of weapon we hit him with. He'll die all the same."

Six then returned his gaze to the screen. Dealing with the one they called 'Coyote' would be tough, but Six actually didn't want him dead. If he was in fact a fey, Six felt there was an opportunity to gain a powerful warrior that could aide them in some of their other battles. Particularly the battle in China against Khan. But, for the time being, he could only hope that his security measures could defeat the group.

They followed a long tunnel that seemed to spiral downward before they came to an opening that seemed to go in two directions with several side hallways in it. Coyote was actually the first to step out of the descending hallway when he was forced back by several bullets that flew past his face, missing him by a couple of inches.

"Great, guys with guns," Coyote grumbled and sent a pair spells that would hopefully turn the guns into something harmless.

The first row of Illuminati commandos kept their guns aimed at the entrance into the main part of the base. They were determined to set up a dead zone and catch all of the intruders quickly. They were unprepared, however, for a series of green spheres that flew out and then toward them, bouncing off walls and the ceiling as they went. The commandos tried to dodge the attacks, but they zeroed in on their weapons and upon contact, turned their guns into salt. Coyote then re-entered the hallway.

"No guns in an enclosed space," Coyote spoke as if he were scolding and taunting children simultaneously, "people could get hurt."

"Get him!" the first commando screamed and rushed forward.

Coyote only vanished for a moment as the first three commandos ran into each other and knocked each other out. The others were quick to follow. Una entered the hallway first and threw a small satchel at one group of advancing commandos. The satchel exploded releasing a gas that coated the commandos, and those that breathed it in quickly fell unconscious.

Arthur followed behind with the electric blaster ready and fired a series of blasts at three commandos charging toward him. Two commandos were hit directly and were thrown back, out cold, while the third managed to dodge the blasts. His dodging, however, didn't help him all that much, as Arthur caught him with a powerful blow with his other hand that knocked the commando the ground at his feet. The commando tried to get up when Rachel grabbed him by the back of his gear and slammed him into the wall, which knocked him out.

"Can never be too careful," Rachel told him, winking one golden eye.

Rachel then continued down the hallway, using her powerful legs to bound from wall to wall and pouncing on any commando that tried to attack her. This earned her a few elbows to the ribs and some kicks to her feet, but she had found that nearly all of these commandos were normal humans, allowing her to recover from their attacks. Her only real tough task was to make sure that none of them were nicked by her claws as she didn't want to spread her condition.

Beth and Merlin were the last two to enter the area and both held back. For Beth it was her unease with combat and for Merlin it was a mix between his weakened state and the fact the others were doing fairly well on their own. Una had already knocked out several commandos with her 'sleep dust', and was easily able to overpower the remaining commandos in the hallway she was in. Coyote was using his fey powers to appear and disappear at will, or move far to fast for the commandos near him to easily catch up, and they ended up running into each other or into the walls to be much of a threat.

"That looked rather easy," Beth commented as she looked at the unconscious commandos lying on the floor.

"Nothing with the Illuminati is ever easy," Merlin warned, "and we've only just entered their little house of horrors. No doubt this place is booby-trapped."

Beth only shuddered nervously while the group began to gather again near the entrance to the facility they were in.

"So what do we do?" Beth asked.

"I guess we choose a hall and go down it," Arthur shrugged.

Control Room

"Oh no you don't," Six growled as Arthur went to go down a hallway, and pressed a button that activated a series of traps.

Six then patiently watched as the hallways rearranged themselves and moved about, startling the group he was watching, and nearly killing Arthur. The commandos had failed in stopping Arthur by keeping him in a crossfire and engaging him on multiple fronts, now Six would have to depend on what robotic defenses Site Omega had to keep Pendragon from learning many of the secrets the instillation housed.

But, even though the commandos had failed, they had at least provided Six with some information gathering. The young man that accompanied the second young woman in the group was most certainly a fey, likely of the Seelie Court. And if the name 'Coyote' was accurate, a moderately powerful fey who had strong ties to the American desert southwest and the Maza family. That meant that the young woman that had joined Arthur was Beth Maza, as her only other female sibling was a gargoyle in New York. Why she had sided with Arthur was unknown to Six, but he made a mental note to bring these findings to the Council and see that Elisa Maza and her family paid for the youngest sibling's decision to rebel against Illuminati rule.

Hallway

Arthur was startled to say the least as the walls of the site seemed to suddenly move, leaving them with one passageway to follow.

"At least the decision making portion of this exercise is over," Coyote commented with a chuckle.

"Yes," Arthur sighed, "and into the trap we go."

They then walked forward when a door ahead of them opened and what looked like two remote control helicopters flew out and began firing a barrage of laser fire on them. The shots were poorly aimed and Coyote was quick to raise a shield that deflected the blasts, while Arthur returned fire from the electric blaster he had. The first drone was easily destroyed, but the second one avoided the blast and flew back into the room from which it came.

"After it!" Arthur urged as they rushed forward into a very dark room.

The drone didn't need light, however, and it waited until everyone was in the room and then fired and hit Una in the back, making her stagger forward. The white unicorn-like gargoyle gave a slight pained cry while Rachel turned and shredded the drone with her claws.

"Are you alright?" Arthur asked as he helped Una up.

"I'll be fine," Una answered slowly, "Just shaken, is all."

She then looked up to get a better look at the room they were in and was startled by what she saw.

"My word…!" Una gasped.

Inside several glass tanks were gargoyle hatchlings, some of them English, some Scottish, one was Roman, and there was another whose nationality Una couldn't identify.

"They've been…?" Una gasped nervously.

"They're still alive," Coyote spoke looking at one of them, "but their in some form of suspended animation of some sort… mostly magically generated though, not technological."

"Technological means at the preset time would kill a living being," Merlin commented, "can you free them?"

"I think so, but it will take some effort," Coyote spoke, "I don't think I can go any further with you."

"I will stay with you," Una spoke, "They'll need to see a gargoyle's face when they awaken… if you can awaken them."

"We'll manage," Arthur answered, "Just be careful. Those tanks could be booby trapped."

Una and Coyote both nodded.

Arthur then lead Merlin, Rachel, and Beth back into the hallway and found that more drones had appeared there. Once again, the drones fired on them forcing them to dodge or attack the drones to prevent themselves from taking hits. Arthur drew Excalibur and easily sliced two drones in half while firing on a third with the electric blaster. Rachel took a few glancing shots off her arms, but managed to crush two drones fairly quickly. Merlin managed a few weak 'fire' spells that brought down three more drones, all in flames, while Beth found herself dodging and twisting as the drones fired on her.

Beth found the whole thing strange and strangely exhilarating. She was moving and twisting in ways she never thought possible for her without years of training, and was doing so almost by instinct. Evidently, Coyote's spell had worked, and as she dodged, she lead the two drones targeting her to eventually fire on each other and ending the drone threat.

"Impressive," Arthur commented with a slight smile.

"Amazing in a weird sort of way," Beth commented, "Never thought I'd do something like that instinctively."

Control Center

Six growled as he continued watching the security footage. They had now destroyed all of the drones and Coyote and the gargoyle had discovered the gargoyle specimens that the Illuminati had collected over the centuries for either research and or preservation of gargoyle genetics. The loss of those specimens and their continued defeats at the hands of Goliath's clan in New York would hurt many of the Illuminati's other plans, and with the commandos out cold and now the drones destroyed, there was now no one besides himself who could defend Site Omega.

Six then turned to the two aides in the room with him.

"Remain here to monitor the battle," Six ordered, "and send word to the Council. We will likely need reinforcements."

"Yes, sir," the first aide answered.

"Where are you going, sir?" the second one asked nervously.

"To put an end to a rather annoying pest," Six growled angrily as he walked out, "That is all you need to know."

Hallway

Arthur lead the group slowly, as if expecting an ambush at any moment, while they checked rooms for anything that would look like the sand Merlin would need to cure himself. So far they had been unsuccessful. Either the rooms were libraries or bunk rooms, which had the unconscious commandos in them.

"It has to be around here, somewhere," Arthur spoke as they rounded a corner.

As he did, he came across a lone man in red robes waiting for them in the middle of he hallway.

"Looking for this?" Six asked as he raised a vial of the sand Merlin needed.

"You!" Merlin gasped, recognizing the voice.

"Is something wrong, my friend?" Arthur asked.

"That is the man who stole my powers from me," Merlin answered, "the exact same man."

Arthur looked at his teacher and then stepped forward with the electric blaster and Excalibur ready.

"So, this entire mess begins and ends with you," Arthur spoke in a firm voice, "I will not pretend to know why you've found me to be such a threat to you, but know that I have never made any pretense of opposing the Illuminati. Hand us the vile, and we will leave."

"Will you leave the Illuminati property that your friends are trying to free?" Six questioned.

"Those gargoyle hatchlings?" Beth gasped, "they're just little kids! You have no right to hold them here."

"I wouldn't talk if I were you," Six growled, "Your sister is already going to pay for your stupidity. There is no need for you to make me expand the list of people you will doom."

"Elisa can take care of herself," Beth retorted.

"But can you?" Six questioned and flung his arms out, throwing several large daggers toward the group.

Arthur and Rachel easily managed to step aside to avoid the flying projectiles, while Merlin and Beth were forced to dive away to avoid being hit. As she hit the floor, the glowing stone she had collected in Cambodia fell out of her pocket and skidded across the floor. Beth was quick to chase after it, which Six mistook for fleeing.

He did not get a chance to taunt, however, as Rachel charged forward, claws ready. Six ducked under the female werewolf's outstretched paws and landed a magically charged blow to her collar bone, which sent her skidding down the hallway away from the group. The move left him open to a charge of electric energy fired at him by the electric blaster Arthur had.

The blast hurt, and threw him into the wall, but Six managed to recover and fired a lighting spell of his own at Arthur, which destroyed the electric blaster in his hand.

"I can play with electricity as well, Arthur," Six spoke, "You're only hope is that sword of yours."

"And risk damaging Merlin's cure?" Arthur shot back, "or your followers deciding to set us up for murder? We'll find another way to beat you and get that vile."

Six only dropped down and tripped Arthur as the Once and Future King moved forward to try and grab the vial of sand that Six held. Six then pivoted to only take one of his own daggers in the shoulder. It made him cringe with pain and step back a few steps, and when he looked up, he saw Merlin standing there with the daggers he had thrown earlier orbiting around him.

"I could easily doom you to a life without your powers," Six threatened.

Merlin flung another telekinesis spell to throw another dagger at Six, forcing him to dodge the attack.

"And you would restore them if we surrendered?" Merlin questioned disbelievingly.

"No, as it is against protocol to empower our enemies," Six answered as he sent a blast of energy at Merlin which destroyed the daggers that Merlin was using.

Six then lunged forward and grabbed Merlin by the collar and lifted him into the air.

"You and your allies have been a thorn in our side," Six growled, "and now I will finally free of you!"

"NO!" Arthur and Rachel yelled in shock and horror, but knew they were too far away to prevent Six from killing Merlin.

Their scream made Beth look up as she recovered the glowing stone. She saw Six holding Merlin in the air, as if he was preparing to strangle the medieval wizard with his bare hands. Arthur and Rachel were too far away and even with the knowledge Coyote had given her, she couldn't do anything. She then glanced down at the glowing stone. Coyote said his people believed a stone like it to be the source of their own supernatural powers. She didn't believe it, but she didn't have much choice. She quickly grabbed the stone and pointed it at Six.

"GO AWAY!" Beth screamed as the stone's glow became brighter.

A green burst of energy suddenly rushed out of thee stone and threw Six into the wall, making him drop both Merlin and the vial of sand. Merlin dove in time to catch the vial while Six stood up, looking as though he were in a trance, and he slowly began walking away without saying a word. This left everyone slightly perplexed.

"I didn't expect that to work," Beth spoke after a moment or two, breaking the rather shocked silence.

"Do we go after him?" Rachel then asked looking down the hallway after Six.

"No," Arthur shook his head, "We have the sand that will allow us to cure Merlin. All we need to do is get him back to Stonehenge and figure out the curing spell."

Merlin nodded and turned to Beth specifically.

"It would look like there might be some truth behind the legend that Coyote told us about in Cambodia," Merlin commented, "there are powers inherent in that rock."

"But I'm nor sorceress," Beth protested, "I didn't really believe any of this 'magic' stuff was real until Elisa, Goliath, Angela, and Bronx showed up in Flagstaff during their world tour."

"You could very well have magical potential," Merlin commented, "Not everyone who physically able to do certain things actually does them, and since the concept of magic and sorcery drifted into the fringe area of society since the Middle Ages, it is very likely that in this case, you never knew you had the potential."

"This will be a dozy to explain to my folks," Beth sighed.

"You don't have to be a sorceress," Merlin commented, "We've already imposed a lot on you, we won't force anything more on you."

Beth looked on, still surprised about what had what had happened.

"We'd best discuss this elsewhere, before whatever spell you cast on Six wears off," Arthur spoke.

Meanwhile Una and Coyote had gotten all of the gargoyle hatchlings out of the containment units the Illuminati had them in. All of them were still breathing and their hearts were beating strong, but all of them appeared to be sleeping, like humans usually slept at night.

"I don't understand this," Una spoke, "they should wake. You took the spell that was keeping them there off of them."

Coyote cringed as the process of freeing the gargoyle hatchlings from the spell had actually been rather painful, but nothing he couldn't recover from in a few days.

"Perhaps they're tired," Coyote suggested, "even young gargoyles can get tired."

"But no gargoyle sleeps like this and certainly not at night," Una spoke nervously.

Coyote watched as Una carefully lifted up two of the hatchlings they had freed and sighed heavily.

"The spell used was rather strong," Coyote answered, "and I seemed to sense that it had to deal with the flow of time… I doubt even a gargoyle's natural strength could easily endure such a spell. For all we know, the spell may have blocked their stonesleep, and I doubt the Illuminati will willingly give us answers."

Una only sighed in response, "at least these hatchlings are safe."

It was at that time that Arthur and the others reappeared in the room. Coyote was quick to notice that Merlin was carrying a small vial and that Beth had a fairly nervous look on her face.

"I believe it is time for us to leave," Arthur spoke, "is there anything you need help with?"

The Skiff, Shortly After Dawn

It took them awhile to get everything, including the sleeping hatchlings to the skiff, who soon joined Una in stone sleep when the sun rose. There was great relief that Merlin had acquired what he needed to cure himself, but there was still some confusion over Beth's use of the stone that Coyote said had connections to the origins of the Third Race.

"I really don't want to be a witch, even if I'm a 'good witch'," Beth spoke to Coyote quietly as Arthur began pushing the skiff out into the water which was beginning to mist over.

"You don't have to be," Coyote responded.

"But how was I able to do that?" Beth questioned, "I've never had any training in magic."

"If my people's legend is true, the power of the stone compensated for that," Coyote commented, "as for the 'how', I believe your family has had great potential for mortal magic for many generations. This in itself is quite a story that would be better suited to a more private place."

Beth nodded slightly and then questioned, "I take it you know more then you've let on?"

"It's nothing super big, but could be personal," Coyote responded nervously, "Once we can get to a more private location, I can explain, if you want."

Beth nodded.

"It doesn't however mean that you have to practice magic," Coyote finished, "this doesn't change who you are."

Beth didn't answer that and only looked out as the mist surrounded them.

Unknown Location

"She is a sorceress?" Two asked nervously.

"She has to be," Six growled over a teleconference screen, "she made me walk away without any physical wound while also surrendering the sand to Merlin. I can think of no other reason for that besides sorcery."

Two frowned gave a frustrated sigh. The report that this half-African American, half-Native American woman doing magic wasn't that much of a problem in itself, but the fact that she had allowed Merlin to gain what he needed to cure himself threatened to undo the prophecies that the Mage had left behind.

"They'll need to return to Stonehenge to perform the spell," Two sighed, "We'd best prepare what commandos we have in Europe to prepare to Pendragon's arrival in England. Whatever punishment that is to be placed on the Mazas can wait. You are also to return to Site Alpha as the entire Council will need to discuss what is to come."

To Be Continued…