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 real persons belong to themselves, and no offense is intended. 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 day after "Reunited".
Once And Future King: Reaction
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Scapa Flow Naval Base, Orkney Islands
The British naval base was a flurry of activity. It had seen a host of acts that were part of critical moments of the twentieth century. The navy of Wilhelm II lay scuttled at the bottom of the anchorage, which was Germany's last act in World War I, removing that prize of war from English Admirals. It would see the most audacious U-boat attack of World War Two, when a U-boat made it into the harbor and sank the Royal Oak. And now, it served as the headquarters for the UK army that wasn't loyal to the Illuminati, and to them, what they were witnessing was an even bigger disaster for their country.
"Arthur Pendragon is real?" a general gasped one of the television stations cut out into the static that nearly every station had fallen into as a result of the Illuminati invasion.
"Well, gargoyles were considered myth," an admiral commented, "and the Yanks have had all sorts of problems with them."
"I doubt that man is Pendragon," a different officer answered, "Pendragon was a hero who defended what was good and just from that which was cruel and wicked. That man is a pretender. Some hack who found a wizard and an old guy to play the role of the historical characters."
"So what should we do?" the admiral asked.
"We'd best meet with those members of Parliament that are on our side and made it here and with the acting PM," the general sighed, "maybe we can get them to open negotiations with the Illuminati… as we haven't been fairing well in the war as it is against them."
"To do what?" came a firm but frustrated voice from the doorway.
All of the officers looked up to see Elizabeth II standing there, looking fairly uncomfortable with being moved across the country and having to reside in military barracks in a naval base, but there had been too many risks. They were concerned that the royal residences in Scotland would be targeted by bombers and missiles as a sort of 'decapitation' tactic, and with the front lines at Scotland's borders, the Illuminati wouldn't need missiles to hit the palaces there. Field artillery could probably hit them. Scapa Flow was the safer location.
"Your majesty," they all said respectfully.
"Your majesty, you should not be here," the general spoke, who was truly the most senior officer present.
Not every officer did side with the Illuminati, and this general happened to be one of them. The other present officers were hastily promoted to their ranks when Illuminati defections reduced their ranks.
"And where should I be?" Elisabeth II questioned back, "cowering like some old woman? I served this country well in the war against the Nazis. Don't think me incapable of wondering what is going on."
"I apologize, your majesty," the general shrunk back, "I merely did not want you to be stressed."
"Seeing a foreign invader occupy my country, stresses me," Elisabeth II replied, "how much will have to be done to rebuild all that they've surely destroyed?"
"We all apologize," the third officer spoke, "we were just concerned on our options in dealing with the Illuminati's announcement…"
"Yes, two of the men you knighted," the general answered.
"And a shame you've told the acting Prime Minister and I that we are in no position to provide them with any help," Elisabeth II said with a sigh.
"Help him?!" the admiral gasped, "he's the one who started all of this to play out some sick fantasy. Arthur Pendragon died in the fifth or sixth century!"
"And I suppose you believe that gargoyles are nothing more then rain spouts?" Elisabeth II questioned.
"Even if Avalon is real, no one's gone to awaken him," the admiral argued, "he's an imposter."
"And it was right for the Illuminati to punish our entire country because he 'thinks' he's Arthur Pendragon?" Elisabeth II questioned.
"It might get them to agree to leave if we let them kill him or take him prisoner," the general spoke, "we haven't been fairing well. NATO is calling this an internal matter and won't intervene. The UN is deadlocked by Russia and China refusing to vote for any action to aide us. We are alone, your majesty."
"We stood alone against a far more vile foe," Elisabeth II responded, "we didn't back down then, we will not back down now. England shall be free. And if a pair of kings from our countries' past are the turning point, then I would give them the chance."
"But we could end the war now, and restore our borders and…"
"Hitler offered my father and Mr. Churchill the exact same deal," Elisabeth II reminded them, "are you really going to trust some mysterious organization who invaded because they do not like an individual… or two men who risked their lives to save mine, which was why I knighted them in the first place."
"There isn't much we can do, and Parliament may not see it the way you see it," the general warned.
"Then you had best figure out a way to persuade them," Elisabeth II answered.
"Yes, your majesty," the general saluted and then bowed.
Macbeth's Mansion
The outlook was even grimmer at the mansion. Reginald and Coyote were still on Avalon taking their prisoners to be held there, but with Arthur and Macbeth essentially revealed to the world, they wouldn't have much that they could do. If the people's reaction to the Illuminati's revelation was hostile, even the gargoyles and Rachel wouldn't be able to hold them off.
"They must be getting desperate," Merlin sighed heavily in his chair.
"Or they're too preoccupied with the war with the government," Macbeth answered, "and this is merely a distraction."
Arthur gave a heavy sigh and continued to pace the kitchen in the mansion. The Illuminati had revealed him to the people of the United Kingdom, and in a way that made him responsible for their actions. And the people might come after him because of it, not knowing that he had no desire to unseat the House of Windsor or anything of that nature. Arthur also knew he could in no way protect the innocents that had ended up with him. Reginald, Beth Maza, and for the moment Merlin. If they were attacked, he couldn't guarantee their safety, which was one of the things that hit him the hardest.
The gargoyles could glide away to some safe place if need be. Macbeth was immortal so long as the Illuminati didn't use Demona. And he was privately sure that he could find a way to escape if setting things right depended on him. But while Reginald was a soldier, this wasn't really his fight. Or at least it shouldn't have to be. Beth Maza was an innocent MD who had been caught in the Illuminati's hunt for him. She agreed with Arthur, but it was fairly clear that she hoped to return home. And while this was involving Merlin, his lack of powers at the moment made him vulnerable…
And with Merlin, Arthur wondered if he had made a mistake in searching for him. Merlin had helped him in the Middle Ages, but he had his own life after Arthur went to sleep on Avalon. Then, as soon as he awoke again, he began to look for Merlin again. Had he been living in the past by doing so?
"What we do, Arthur?" Lancelot asked from a different corner of the room.
Arthur sighed heavily as he wasn't entirely sure on what to do.
"We should try to stick to the plans we've already laid," Macbeth answered, "when the soldier and Coyote return, we'll take the armored vehicle that Griff was sent to scout and get Merlin to Stonehenge. There we can cure him and maybe do something about throwing the Illuminati out."
There was a short silence for a moment.
"Restoring Merlin's power may even give the army additional chances to turn the tide in the sense of the big picture," Macbeth finished.
"But your home… suppose it is attacked?" Arthur wondered, "if the common people are angered because of all this, I doubt they'll be in much of a mood to 'go easy' on you and I."
"It wouldn't be the first house I've lost," Macbeth sighed, "trying to defend the building wouldn't be the wisest option. Especially since you know, Arthur, if they do turn against the two of us, we can not fight the majority of our own people."
"And if they come before Reginald and Coyote return?" Merlin wondered.
"We evacuate through the one route they can't cover," Macbeth answered, "Coyote and Reginald will surely be able to catch up with us."
Arthur sighed heavily. He didn't like this one bit.
"We may have no choice, Arthur," Leo spoke up, "this invasion goes against all logic. Even if the Illuminati wins, they aren't going to gain much from the attack. This move I think is to distract you from helping Merlin."
Arthur only sighed, "we'll wait for Coyote, Reginald, Griff, and Julia to return. We need to get Beth to the lines the UK military holds. They might be able to help her get home if we can't."
"Coyote can do that, if I go anywhere," Beth spoke up from the doorway where she'd been listing, "by Oberon's law, he can only be involved in this war so long as I am involved. And I'm guessing that until you can cure Merlin, you'll be needing someone who can do magic."
"You do not have to stay with us," Arthur answered.
"They'll probably try to hunt me down anyway," Beth answered, "I may not be the 'warrior' that my sister is, but I can still help."
"Then I thank you," Arthur sighed, "hopefully we can get through this safely."
"Hopefully," Beth nodded.
Avalon
Reginald stood quietly beside Titania on Avalon's beach while Coyote took the Illuminati prisoners to the dungeons on Avalon.
"I sense you have questions," Titania spoke, "is the modern soldier truly curious about beings he'd likely only read about in books of fantasy?"
"Mostly just curious about a few things, madam," Reginald said respectfully, "though I do not know if it is my place to ask you these things…"
"I do not mind answering questions," Titania answered, "and I have some experience in dealing with mortals. I can understand your curiosity."
"Well, Coyote has explained some of your kind's laws, mainly what he called Oberon's Law," Reginald began.
"Yes, which prohibits any fey from intervening in mortal affairs without invitation or in response to attack," Titania nodded, "it is one of my Court's corps rules."
"But your people have the power to do things would be considered scientifically impossible?" Reginald asked.
"Yes."
"You could do almost anything you wanted?" Reginald asked again.
"Yes."
"Then why live by a law that restrains your own actions?" Reginald wondered again, "I've known of no human society that would have ever hesitated to use such powers if they had them. As soon as some new technology or tactic has come along, man has used it, for good or for bad."
"You would rather I wage war on humanity?" Titania questioned.
"Certainly not," Reginald answered, "I'm just perplexed as to how a race could accumulate such power and then not use it."
"Not all mortals are incapable of magic," Titania answered, "and just because my people can do magic, that does not make us invincible. Fey have been killed by human sorcerers and by normal humans who have uncovered our natural weaknesses. And in those cases, as you say, the mortals have not hesitated to use their weapon against the fey… and early on this was during a time when many of my people did think our powers granted us dominion over all the other races."
Reginald watched as Titania illustrated her point by using sand figures to demonstrate the actions she was explaining.
"My former husband, Oberon was a young one when this was all going on," Titania continued, "and his father did believe our powers gave us that right. Though fey actions rarely turned to what mortals would call war. They fey that believed these things merely referred to their actions as sport… entertainment… not that this was easy on the humans of the time. For a while, Oberon believed this… but on one occasional, he and his father were attacked by a mortal sorcerer and a band armed with weapons that our magic could not protect us from. They vowed that our using them as amusement was at its end, and killed Oberon's father before his eyes and drove Oberon into fleeing."
"So he learned your people weren't invincible," Reginald guessed.
"And upon taking the throne, decided that the possibility of such a defeat was too great and that avoiding war with humanity was a wiser choice," Titania nodded, "and he soon took it as a moral law."
The sand images then shifted to two that looked like Oberon facing against himself.
"But that wouldn't be the last war that the Third Race has fought," Titania continued, "Not all agreed with letting the mortals be. Madoc rose up with his followers and ignited a war between brothers among our race. A war that spread through both Avalon and the mortal world, terrifying the mortals and creating more instances where they fought against my people in places. But Madoc was defeated and exiled from Avalon forever and unable to touch its magic, weakening him. And Oberon's Law stood firm."
"And it's stood ever since?" Reginald asked.
Titania nodded. There were some details she didn't tell, mostly how her various trickster 'children' got around Oberon's Law, and even how the Weird Sisters had gotten around it.
"Man could stand to learn much from you," Reginald commented, "if you made contact with them. These New Olympians have come out of hiding on their Mediterranean island an have done well. Technically Greece has claimed them as a protectorate, but they've done well."
"Humanity has much fear," Titania answered, "New Olympus has been accepted as a political entity because they are segregated from humanity. But where nonhumans live side by side with humans, their lives are a fierce struggle. I will keep Avalon secret until humanity learns not to react in fear at the first sign of something different."
Reginald was unable to answer as Coyote made his way back. The Weird Sisters were with him.
"Thank you for your help," Reginald spoke.
"Do not thank us yet, mortal," Phoebe spoke.
"Your war grows worse, and the Illuminati have exposed your kingly allies," Selene added.
"And tell Rachel that her fight will only grow tougher," Luna finished, "if she is serve by Arthur's side."
Coyote then lead Reginald to the water, and disappearing into the water's surface tension.
"What was that about?" Reginald asked.
"Don't know for sure," Coyote answered, "those three are pretty powerful together and seem to always be connected with prophecies and the like. It will probably be best to relay their message. It seems like something the others already know."
London
Griff and Julia were grateful to have gotten away from the Illuminati members that had been pursuing them and began to slowly glide toward the mansion. They did not as yet know that the Illuminati had revealed Macbeth and Arthur to the world, but they did notice a few movements that were rather odd.
"Don't it seem a little odd to see that number of people moving around at night?" Griff commented, noticing a rather loose looking crowd moving along the street they were gliding over.
"Odd that they are carrying torches," Julia commented, "Europe is not some backwater prone to electrical failure or lacking it entirely."
Several people were in fact carrying torches, though they looked more like they had vandalized someone's dinner table. The fact that they were marching though, was still a curiosity to Griff. Even going back to the forties and the war against Hitler, what Griff experienced before going through time, people didn't gather into large crowds at night. They might during the day, but not at night.
"Maybe they're rebelling against the Illuminati," Julia commented, "so much of their initial attack went through places like London so quickly, I doubt they could have liquidated all possible sources of resistance."
"Maybe," Griff commented, "best to check it out."
The group of people seemed rather intent on where they were going, and none of them bothered to notice Griff and Julia's descent to just a few feet above their heads. Eventually Griff decided to risk conversation to see what this group of people.
"Say, excuse me, chaps, but where are all of you going?" Griff asked as politely as curiosity would allow.
"To end the war," one said without looking. A different person did look in response to Griff's question.
"Holy… it's a gargoyle!" the man said in an astonished voice.
"It's the one from the memorial!" another spoke.
"Yes," Griff nodded, "I'm real. Now where did you say you were going?"
"To end the war!" the first man answered, "they only attacked us because some loony is running around pretending to be Arthur Pendragon, and another is pretending to be Macbeth. We're going to finish them off!"
That puzzled Griff a bit, but they weren't attacking him, so he decided to go with it. Perhaps he could get them to explain a little more.
"King Arthur and Macbeth?" Griff asked.
"Yeah," a fourth man said, "the Illuminati general went on the teley, promised they'd leave if we killed them. Said that the loony pretending to be Arthur was the cause of their invasion."
That sounded like a propaganda ploy if ever Griff had heard one.
"And suppose they are who they say they are?" Griff countered, "you'd kill two of the greatest Kings in this island's history."
"They aren't," the first answered, "the Illuminati wouldn't challenge the REAL King Arthur."
"And you think that by killing them the Illuminati will back off?" Griff questioned.
"YES!"
"You do realize that is the same deal Hitler offered Churchill in June 1940?" Griff questioned, "let me rule Europe from the Pyrenees to the Volga, slaughter all of Europe's Jews, and expand the German war machine to the point where it could cross the channel or the Atlantic, and in exchange, Britain may keep her King, her Empire, and her dignity… though all of her Jews must go to German camps, and the King will be the older brother Edward VIII, who loves the Nazis and not George VI… in other words, let me do what I want, and do as I want, and you won't be harmed. Don't grow a spine and fight for your rights. Accept my generosity."
"But we have been fighting," the second man complained.
"And losing," the third added.
"All the more reason to rally behind those who might be able to save us," Griff answered, "not to hand him over to the invader… whom one should NEVER trust to keep his word."
"But…"
"At least talk with him," Griff pleaded, "Don't just mindlessly attack because the Illuminati offered a compromise… because, I tell you this, the Illuminati seems to be in a position to win the war outright… and does not NEED the compromise."
There was an awkward silence. The mob kept moving, but it seemed to lose the purpose it had before. Griff took the opportunity glide a little higher up to Julia.
"I think I'm going to lose my voice after all the shouting," Griff grumbled.
Macbeth's Mansion
Coyote and Reginald returned to find the people in the mansion in a rather nervous state. All were grouped in the kitchen/dinning room area and were going over some facts that the southwestern fey and the British soldier had not been there to witness.
"Have we missed something?" Coyote asked as he approached.
"Oh, you haven't missed much," Merlin turned his head and answered with some humor, "just the Illuminati taking a different tactic against us, that's all."
The two new arrivals looked at each other with some puzzlement, drawing frustrated sighs from those present that had been dealing with the issue.
"The Illuminati have made a broadcast revealing Macbeth and I to the people," Arthur explained with a sigh, "much like the way the hunters revealed Goliath's clan in New York…"
"In a way that complicates things," Coyote sighed, "You know that I can only stay here so long as Beth stays here… and even if she does… I'm not strong enough to change everyone's mind."
"I will be staying," Beth told him, "at least until they can cure Merlin. They may need someone with medical training."
Coyote glanced to her, sighed and nodded, "very well."
"I'm not looking to controlling anyone's mind," Arthur spoke in response to Coyote's comment, "our prime goal is to restore Merlin's powers. If we can avoid the worst of this until after the Illuminati are beaten, fine, if not… we'll have to take some strategic retreats."
"Just explaining my weaknesses," Coyote answered as Rachel suddenly turned her head to the front door.
"What is it?" Arthur asked her.
"There is a great noise coming this way," Rachel said slowly.
Arthur's face grew very nervous. They might attempt to storm the mansion, and Griff wasn't back yet. But he couldn't allow the others to be caught and killed by a mob.
"To the roof," Arthur spoke, "if necessary we will abandon the mansion and regroup at the shop."
"But the shop was closed with the Illuminati attack," Una spoke.
"Maybe, but it would be the only other place Griff might go if he finds that we are not here," Arthur answered, "I don't want to fight a battle with my own people. Not those that are against the Illuminati."
"We'll be ready to help," Lancelot said valiantly.
Arthur nodded as the group began to move toward the stairs to get to the roof. Coyote and Beth followed. Reginald hung back though, and caught Rachel by an arm as she moved past him. She jumped slightly at the surprise.
"I'm sorry to startle you, but one of the fey on Avalon had a message she wanted me to give you," Reginald spoke.
"One of them had a message for me?" Rachel asked.
"Yes," Reginald, "she says that your fight is to grow tougher if you stay by Arthur's side…"
"Luna," Rachel sighed.
"Is something wrong?" Reginald asked.
"No," Rachel shook her head, "Luna is the mother of the fey that invented the lycanthropic 'curse', largely to create a creature that could protect humanity in place of the gargoyles killed by the First Unseelie War."
"This Madoc?" Reginald asked.
"He was their leader," Rachel nodded, "anyway, Luna's son created werewolves to protect people the same way gargoyles protected them… it's why I can transform at will and that I'm not some mindless animal in wolf form… he needed Luna's own connection to the moon to give the 'curse' its sense of timing…"
"Why you have to transform on the night of the full moon," Reginald surmised.
"Yes," Rachel nodded.
"So how could she know about your future? Is it because you're a werewolf?" Reginald wondered.
"She and her sisters Selene and Phoebe seem to have some grand connection to the timeline," Rachel answered, "they can see into the future… and when I first met her, I did so to get some answers on my connection to my lycanthropy and she said that I would face tough fights and tough choices the longer I stayed with Arthur. And if she told you this now… I guess it means that the time of struggle is coming soon."
"Did she ever tell you exactly what these choices are?" Reginald asked.
"Not exactly," Rachel answered, "it'd be like telling someone the end of a book when they've only just started…"
"But couldn't you change your decision, if what she sees is the wrong one?" Reginald wondered.
"I could, but I can't be certain that it would lead to similar consequences," Rachel shrugged, "and for the Third Race, many concepts of or morality is not an issue for them. If this decision that I will be faced with is 'unavoidable' they will largely feel indifferent to it, regardless of which decision we make… and since Oberon's Law forbids uninvited fey help, they can't interfere with us, regardless of whether or not something is right or wrong."
"They seem be quite the mystery," Reginald commented.
"I'm sure you've realized that working with two medieval kings, a werewolf, a wizard, and a clan of gargoyles is not going to be the path to an easy and uncomplicated life?" Rachel questioned.
"Yeah, I know," Reginald sighed as they went out the door onto the roof.
They made their way onto the roof balcony to find Griff and Julia coming in for a landing.
"We were worried you wouldn't make it back," Arthur spoke as he approached Griff.
"I wouldn't be too relieved for the moment," Griff commented, "because I ended up having to bring some people who want to talk with you."
"The people who saw the broadcast?" Arthur asked.
"Yes," Griff nodded, "we managed to talk them out of outright attacking, but I do believe they still have grievances."
Arthur slowly walked toward the edge of the roof, when the shingles shifted into a speaker's platform, complete with microphones. He turned back to Coyote to see the southwestern fey give a slight shrug. He returned his attention to the crowd gathering on the street and hoped he could be a good speechmaker.
"Citizens of London," he spoke into the microphone, managing not to jump when the microphones actually worked, "Good evening. You have all seen the Illuminati's broadcast. Claiming I am the cause of the invasion… that I am pretending to be Arthur Pendragon. Some of what they said was true. I am indeed Arthur Pendragon… I regret that I can not give you any definite proof beyond my word, as I have found that much of the history of me has been mixed with folklore and legend… I apologize if that does not suit the questions you have."
"What about the war?" one man asked.
"Why did you bring it down on us?" another demanded.
"I had no intention of bringing this war on Britain," Arthur sighed, "I apologize for my only proof is my word on this. I promise you that I trying to stop the Illuminati. To keep Britain free."
"What about the Queen?" a third yelled from the back, "are you here to challenge her?"
"I would defend Queen Elizabeth the Second with all of my being," Arthur answered, "I have no desire to take the political throne again. The throne is hers, and I will fight to defend it."
"How?" "HOW?" the cry echoed from the ground.
"The task is hard," Arthur answered, "the Illuminati have done many things clandestinely that have helped lead up to their present invasion, including robbing Merlin of his powers. The first thing that must be done is to restore Merlin's powers."
"The wizard? The worst of all?" someone cried out.
"Merlin has never used his magic for selfish purposes," Arthur defended his teacher, "even the legends of my reign mention that… what the Illuminati said about him is complete lie."
Arthur heard several disgruntled mutterings from the crowd.
"If you wish to help defeat the Illuminati, please vote quickly on who will represent you," Arthur spoke, "once that is done, we will let the representative and two witnesses to discuss with us the details of the coming operation."
"This is unwise," Macbeth warned quietly.
"We have no choice," Arthur answered, "if we don't include them, they may storm the mansion before we can leave… some of them may even have guns."
Macbeth only sighed in frustration. Arthur meanwhile turned to Lancelot and Gawain who seemed to be waiting eagerly for instruction.
"You two are to remain up here until they let you know they've picked a leader and two witnesses," Arthur told them, "You will then escort them to the kitchen."
"Yes, your majesty," Lancelot gave a half bow.
Arthur then lead the others back inside and began to head downstairs. They quietly returned to the kitchen while Rachel listened as best she could. It took about fifteen minutes of talking that Rachel could hear in murmurs before they all heard the door open and the sound of footsteps approaching them.
Lancelot lead in one middle aged businessman, one elderly man, and one young woman.
"Miss Catherine Silver has been elected representative," Lancelot announced, "she is accompanied by George Farthing and Richard Bucket."
"You say you wish to defeat the Illuminati," Catherine spoke, "You'd best explain how NOW."
"That would be rather difficult," Merlin spoke drawing Catherine's attention.
She turned to face him, and half expected some villainous looking and scheming person. She found a fair calm and unthreatening figure.
"How?" She demanded.
"Because the Illuminati are not like any invader any country has faced before," Merlin answered, "they are a secret society that has existed since the Middle Ages, and through covert agents, they eventually took control of every country on Earth…"
"But they only just attacked us! How… Why would they attack a country they already 'rule' you stupid man?" Catherine growled.
"There rule has never been an open 'here I am' sort of rule," Merlin explained, "they do not rule the way people think governments rule. Members run for local offices and are elected honestly by the people. They then carry out whatever instructions the Illuminati Council secretly gives them. As for why they attacked Britain, they believe that if Arthur fulfills his destiny as the 'Once and Future King' their planned future will fail, and since covert fights have failed, they've come out into the open."
"But you said you weren't going to challenge the Queen?" Catherine gasped.
"And I'm not," Arthur answered, "Macbeth and my time as 'Kings' have passed. And there is also the fact that one does not NEED to hold political office to be a hero or be of value to one's country. Griff here is a good example."
"The gargoyle?" Richard Bucket asked.
"I really did fight the Nazis during the Blitz," Griff answered, "I had no commission… no rank… just the determination to defend by country from a very evil man running another country."
"So how do you plan to defeat this organization?" Catherine asked, "reveal this truth to the world?"
"No," Arthur sighed, "we have no proof or way to hack into their systems. And while they might have a website or computer system to help them… searching for it would be impossible."
"We'd never be able to tell which site is legitimately run by the Illuminati and which is some random conspiracy theory," Macbeth nodded.
"So how do you plan to beat them?" Catherine repeated her question.
"Mostly to try and keep them distracted from the non-Illuminati troops in the north," Arthur sighed, "Mostly by restoring Merlin's powers."
"How do you plan to do that?" George Farthing asked.
"We must get to Stonehenge and perform some minor bit of magic to restore my powers," Merlin answered, "to get there, I believe, Reginald here has offered the idea of stealing a military vehicle the Illuminati are using."
"Which will hopefully allow us to move without drawing an army's worth of fire," Reginald commented.
"And the base has the sort of wheeled vehicle you're looking for," Griff told him.
"Good," Reginald nodded.
"And this is to distract them from the fighting in the north?" Richard Bucket asked.
"It might since this whole invasion of theirs is because they think I'm out to stop them," Arthur answered.
"How can we help?" Catherine then asked.
"Help?" Arthur asked, "I can't have you risk your lives… you and the others with you could be hurt."
"They've started a war, Mr. Pendragon," Catherine answered, "we could be killed anyway."
"They do have a point," Macbeth commented, "the Illuminati may already know their mob has already come here… which was the purpose of their little announcement. If they're quietly sent home, they may get suspicious and have them killed to keep them quiet."
Arthur sighed.
"The strongest defenses that they have at this base can be taken out by Coyote," Macbeth commented, "the rest of us can defeat the rest and capture the vehicle. With that done, these people could be armed."
"Even so, an armed mob won't stand against armed soldiers," Arthur warned.
"They don't have to stand and fight," Macbeth spoke, "causing a little chaos for the Illuminati will probably be more then enough… and not all of us needs to go to Stonehenge. Chloe and I can remain in London to provide Ms. Silver with all the aide and advice we can."
"You would do that?" Catherine asked.
"Aye."
"And you're really the king Macbeth?" Catherine asked again.
"Aye," Macbeth sighed, "and before we go any further, I am nothing like the Shakespearian character, and my reign had no resemblance to the play… and like Arthur, I have no desire to challenge the present monarchy."
"Why?" asked Catherine asked curiously.
"Let's just say ruling Scotland cost me everything," Macbeth answered, "but now we must be going."
"Julia," Arthur turned to the Roman female, "could you escort Catherine Silver's people to a position near the Illuminati base?"
"Of course," Julia nodded.
"Then let us move," Arthur spoke as he got up.
Illuminati Combat Base, Half an Hour Later
"Okay, are we in position?" Arthur asked as the staked out the Illuminati combat base.
"Pretty much," Reginald reported, "Julia and the 'mob' are a couple of blocks away to the south. They'll probably come out when we've engaged them."
They all glanced to the rather quiet base for the moment. It was Rachel who sighed and slid back a little in order to stand up.
"Then I suppose I should…" Rachel began as her eyes changed to a golden color, "…give them…" her teeth began to lengthen along with a downy coat of brown fur beginning to cover her, "…a reason…to… to…" her musculature grew larger as her fur grew thicker, and as her finger and toe nails grew into an impressive set of claws, "…to… come over…" her hair grew longer and wild as her ears moved to the top of her head. A tail burst out from the end of her spine, and there were audible cracks as her face began to push its muzzle out, "…here… noooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
And Rachel howled, announcing the completion of her transformation to wolf form. It ended up having exactly the response they had intended. Many of the infantry came running from inside the base. Some fired, but Rachel was still far enough back the shots passed harmlessly over her head. Reginald returned fire taking down a couple of Illuminati soldiers, forcing them to spread out.
"It's you're turn, Coyote," Rachel said to Coyote who was near the back with Beth. Beth was clutching at the magical stone she had gotten in Cambodia.
"You may have to use it if you stay here," Coyote told her, "just focus and give the stone a firm command… it should help you from there…"
Coyote then seemed to vanish into a cloud of sand that seemingly came out of nowhere and few through the trees and shrubs their group was hiding around and toward the Illuminati troops
"Fey!" the Illuminati troops yelled, and many of them began changing cartridges.
Coyote kept the "sand storm" coming as the three tanks came out to support their infantry. He could sense the iron in the rounds in the cartridges the infantrymen were switching to, but while he was in the form of grains of sand, it was unlikely they could do serious harm, and he could hold himself together.
They fired off a few rounds, but the rounds passed almost harmlessly through the cloud of sand. Coyote did cringe a little, but he kept going and hit the infantrymen at full force. At the impact, they lost their balance and fell backward, wiping at their eyes to try and get the sand out of them. Coyote kept the sand storm circling and began to pull away parts of the road and ground and turning them into sand particles, reducing the effectiveness of the iron rounds as there was less of the storm that was actually Coyote.
Macbeth watched quietly as the infantrymen struggled against the blowing around them. Occasionally he heard a shot or two fired, but that seemed to be from within the base while Coyote kept the storm outside it. It was the tanks though that were his main concern. They had no weapon that could stop them, and the three armored behemoths came forward, unaffected by Coyote's sand storm.
"Come on trickster," Macbeth grumbled.
The tanks continued to come forward a short ways before they all suddenly dropped down into something. It was in that moment that Macbeth noticed it. By enlarging the sandstorm, he actually removed enough of the road and ground to create a tank trap that they fell into. He had removed their biggest problem and all that was left was to take the rest of the base itself.
"Okay now, MOVE FORWARD!" Arthur urged raising Excalibur as a rallying symbol, though also readying an electric blaster that Macbeth had loaned him, "Griff, lead the clan against any of their soldiers on the roofs or walls. Macbeth and Reginald with me… Rachel, no teeth or claws."
"Right," Rachel nodded her muzzle, "and I got your back."
Arthur returned a fairly soft smile, "thank you."
"I'll stay back with Merlin," Beth offered, "if anyone comes after him, I suppose I can use the 'Avalon stone' to make them go away… or something."
Arthur nodded and they all moved out. The gargoyles were the first ones to make real contact, as they used he tree trunks to catch updrafts to get into the air. Griff lead the way, and as they gained height, he noticed several men moving up onto the walls near where Coyote was and onto the roof of the main part of the base.
"Leo, can you and Una take Chloe and Gawain and go after those along the walls?" he asked.
Leo nodded.
"We'll put them to sleep," Una said confidently as she ready a few small bags of powder.
They then glided off with Chloe and Gawain following. Griff then looked to the rest with him. Octavia, Lancelot, and Guinevere.
"We meanwhile got the big bunch there on the roof!" Griff pointed.
"They aren't focused on us yet," Octavia commented as she beat her wings a little, as if preparing to dive, "that will be changed!" and then down she dove, "ROMA VICTOR!"
"Roma? Isn't this London?" Lancelot asked as the rest of them dove after the Roman gargoyle.
"It is," Griff shrugged, "but Julia and Octavia both came from Rome, and their clan dates back to the Ancient Romans."
"Oh…" Lancelot paused his speaking but continued the dive.
Their attack brought about the quick reaction they wanted. Octavia took out three soldiers with punches that sent them flying before they could even respond. One even ended up going over the edge of the roof. The rest were caught in confusion. Two turned to fire on Octavia as she passed through, and ended up shooting each other. Another turned and fired a few wild shots at the Roman female without actually aiming, making sure the shots went wild. Those that did turn to face the rest of Griff's team, took so long to do so, that the English gargoyle was able to get close.
Griff landed a punch that hit the man in the side and sent him spinning. Before the soldier could regain his balance, Griff landed and caught him by an arm. He was disarmed and unconscious before he could do anyone else. He then turned to see that the others finishing off the men they had to deal with as well.
Guinevere had tripped one with her tail and then managed to kick him in the face. The man ended up skidding along the surface of the roof until he hit the concrete wall around it's edge. Lancelot had clubbed one upside his shoulder's while Octavia had returned and tossed the last guarding Illuminati soldier from the roof of the building they were on.
"That went well," Lancelot gave a confident shrug, as a burst of gunfire went over their heads.
Griff looked down to see soldiers firing at them from the far wall and from the roofs of some of the other buildings.
"Anything can go wrong," Griff answered with a groan.
Leo's group, meanwhile dove down toward the outer wall where there were several men firing toward the location of where they believed Coyote to be. Leo and Chloe were the first to arrive, each of them grabbing an Illuminati soldier by the shirt and then throwing him toward the other buildings and pieces of equipment. Gawain caught a soldier coming up a flight of stairs to the wall. He managed to bend the barrel of his rifle, but the soldier did capitalize on the situation by landing a blow that knocked Gawain to the ground. Gawain's only saving grace was that he managed to land a kick in the soldier's gut which sent him tumbling down the stairs. He crashed into something and Gawain never saw the soldier try to attack again.
Una landed among several of the soldiers. They turned, as if to fire on her, but she merely flung the small packets of sand she was carrying.
"Dormite, hostes mei, ubi statis!" Una said with a soft smirk as the soldiers then dropped to the ground where they stood.
There was no room to rest however, as she looked up to see Griff and the others pinned down on the roof of the large sort of garage building that they had moved on first.
"We've got to give them some help!" Una said pointing to the other gargoyles.
"Do you have any more of the powder?" Leo asked.
"A couple," Una sighed.
"It'll have to do," Leo answered, "come on!"
The true battle, however was still on the ground as Arthur, Macbeth, Rachel, and Reginald rushed toward where Coyote had his sand storm swirling. As they got closer they could see that the tanks that had fallen into the tank traps Coyote had created were now being buried in sand. They all managed to hurdle the trap to see the storm end and Coyote appear next to the wall of the base.
"You okay?" Arthur asked as he approached.
"Yeah," Coyote said slowly, "I'll be fine… quite a few of them still in there though. They didn't charge all of their men out."
"We only need to get one of the wheeled vehicles," Reginald spoke, "if we can get to it, we get it and go…"
"What about the Londoners?" Arthur asked, "they're probably moving this way, and expecting to get their weapons."
"And the Illuminati could have more reinforcements on the way," Reginald pointed out, "If Coyote can knock them out quickly, that's one thing, but if not… we can't afford a massive pitched battle. Eventually they'll gather enough firepower to make our skill or advantages negated."
"Can you keep your sandstorm going?" Macbeth asked, knowing that Arthur would likely take the hard path.
"I believe so," Coyote slowly nodded, "but you'll need these to see."
A set of goggles then appeared in a flash in the ands of each of them. Rachel's were specially modified to accommodate her lupine form at the moment. They put them on as Coyote resumed the form of a sandstorm and rushed into the base itself.
"Reginald, we will try to secure the base, at least to give the Londoners some chance of arming themselves," Arthur told him, "while we engage the Illuminati's soldiers, you get one of the vehicles and get it out of here."
They then rushed in to find the base in chaos. From what Arthur could make out, the fighting on the garage roof and part of the walls was done, but the other Illuminati units were still fighting and still fighting hard against Griff an the others. There were other soldiers attempting to fire on Coyote, and were still finding it hard to hit individual grains of sand with bullets, even iron ones.
The closest one to Arthur was a man who was using the garage door as a sort of shelter to try and fire on the sandstorm outside the structure. Arthur rushed forward and cut through the barrel with Excalibur. As he went forward he fired the electric blaster in his other hand knocking the man back. He then looked around to see that there weren't all that many in the courtyard, and distracted with Griff and the gargoyles on the walls and rooftops and with Coyote's sandstorm, the others might have good luck as well.
Reginald made his way to the row of wheeled Armored Personnel Carriers. They resembled German equipment that Britain's NATO ally had sold to the UK and to the US, but that was unimportant to the British soldier so long as they worked. He rushed one man attempted to take shelter in the rear compartment of one of the APCs. The man noticed him at the last second, but was unable to do anything as Reginald opened up on him with his own rifle. Two rounds hit him. Once in the right shoulder and the other in the left side of his torso, just below his lung. The other two rounds ricocheted around the interior of the vehicle.
"Are the keys in it?!" Reginald demanded.
"Yeah, I was just sent to get it ready when the sandstorm came in the base," the soldier groaned, "be careful, they have ground troops hiding in the flying sand."
The soldier thought he was on the Illuminati's side.
"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here," Reginald commented as he raised the door and sealed the man inside for the moment.
He then made his way around to get to the driver's compartment. He was forced to shoot two more Illuminati soldiers that he startled as he made his way there. These two, however, he was sure were dead and made no effort to check on them. He was soon in the cab of the APC and was slowly backing it out of the base.
The blowing sand didn't make it easy for Macbeth to see all that clearly. The Illuminati soldiers were all largely trying to get under something, or get to the walls and rooftops where Coyote's storm had not reached. This gave them good cover, but unable to see at all through the blowing sand, Macbeth was able to get close enough to put his electric blasters to good use.
He had already sent two into unconsciousness with them as he neared the flight of stairs that lead to the section of the wall where Leo and Una's fight was. He arrived there to find a soldier falling down the stairs. He got up to see Macbeth standing over him.
"More invaders, you'll all pay for this!" he growled and lunged forward.
The move had no control, and Macbeth grabbed him by the shoulders and kneed him in the gut. As he bent over trying to catch his breath, Macbeth clubbed him with both fists, knocking him out.
Rachel had the easiest time of them all seeing through the sand. Of course, with out the goggles, she wouldn't be able to see at all, but that was a different issue. She had them, and while the storm reduced her visibility to equal that of her normal 'human' vision, it was better then what many of the others had to deal with. She had managed to jump a couple of Illuminati soldiers and knocked them out with well aimed punches, or merely catching them by surprise and throwing them. She had managed to take out a couple of the of soldiers on the rooftops that way.
But not all of them were so easily distracted by Coyote's sandstorm. As she neared the buildings that made up the offices and barracks of the base, one man quit firing blindly into the sandstorm and turned his weapon to her. He fired three shots, and Rachel dove to her left to avoid them, but it wasn't far enough. One round hit her straight in the elbow and had enough force to spin her around in the air, and she landed in the dirt in front of him.
The limb hurt, and blood poured from the wound. But Rachael noticed something else, her body was already regenerating the destroyed cells and repairing the broken bones through lycanthropic regeneration. There was no burning and no lasting pain. The soldier had fired an iron round through her and not a silver one. Feeling confident, the soldier stood over her and rolled her onto her back with his foot.
"And now to finish you of, bitch," the soldier growled, and seeming to enjoy the irony in the statement.
He didn't get a second chance to squeeze the trigger. Rachel grabbed the barrel of the rifle and then hit him the face with the weapon. She then slowly got up.
"Two things," Rachel gave a pained growl, as it would take a little while for her body to completely repair everything, "You should have used Silver on me, not Iron. And two, watch your language. There are ladies present."
Above them, the gargoyles watched the ground battle come in. Protected by Coyote's sandstorm, Arthur, Macbeth, and Rachel were driving off the last of the Illuminati's infantry while Reginald made off with one of the armed personnel carriers. Leo, had meanwhile rushed ahead of Una. The bulk of the soldiers firing on Griff's group were on the rooftops of the other buildings in the base, and with two bags of the sleep powder, Una could get them all.
He leaped onto a radio building and pushed the tower down toward the main office building. It landed with a great crash and ended up forcing the troops on it to scatter.
"Now's your chance, Una! Go!" Leo urged as Una came forward.
On the top of the garage, Griff noticed the changes in the battle. Rachel had actually dealt with a few of the Illuminati on the rooftops by throwing those on the ground that she had defeated at them. The rest were turning toward Leo and Una's attack as they had taken out at least three more.
"Come on, tally-ho!" Griff urged and launched in a swift dive toward one of the soldiers turning to fire on Una. Octavia and Lancelot were right behind him.
Una had managed to get one more Illuminati soldier sleeping with her spell, but as Leo moved to support her with Chloe close behind, the unicorn-like gargoyle found herself looking down the barrel of one of the last couple of soldier's guns.
"Don't move!" the soldier ordered, "Hand's up!"
Leo and Chloe skidded to a halt behind Una.
"Hands up!" the soldier repeated the order.
He didn't get the chance to fire as Una watched Griff glide between them. As he left, Una noticed the man's gun in his talons. He began to back away only take Una's fist to his face.
"Nice one…" Chloe gasped in surprise as the guy fell unconscious at Una's feet.
"I am more then just a shop keeper," Una replied with a slight smirk and looked to see that Octavia and Lancelot had taken care of the last Illuminati soldiers as well, "and it would appear that this raid is over."
Outside the base, Merlin and Beth looked over the wounded man that Reginald had shot early in the battle.
"We'd need more then what we have," Beth said slowly, "and even then, I'd need a surgery…"
"No, Beth," Merlin told her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "You have the stone… use it to heal him…"
"And be a witch?" Beth asked.
"We don't have much of a choice if you intend to save him," Merlin told her.
And with that, Beth sighed heavily, "You're right… of course."
She then pulled out the stone she had recovered from Cambodia. The rock that gave the fey their powers… the rock that made up the island of Avalon… he rock she had used to cast a spell to save the others in the Illuminati fort.
"Because it is of fey origin, you may not need to be versed in any of the known magical languages among the first and second races," Merlin told her, "focus your inner strength on healing this man of his wounds."
"I'll try…" Beth said slowly and then said, "heal… heal… HEAL…"
A soft glow slowly managed to pulse of the stone and spread over the wounded Illuminati soldier's wounds.
"You're doing it!" Merlin encouraged, "keep going."
The man's wounds were slowly healing as Beth continued her half chant to heal him. After a few moments, the man's wounds closed and he started to sit up. When he realized he had no weapons and saw Reginald standing nearby, he gulped.
"For betraying your country to a secretive organization, I hereby inform you that you are now a prisoner of the British people," Reginald told him.
"You'll never win," the soldier challenged.
"We've won today," Reginald answered as he noticed Julia arriving with Catherine's mob in the area.
"You seem to have done well, here," Catherine commented Arthur as most of his group moved toward the APC they had taken.
Catherine Silver's people were collecting up the weapons that had been undamaged by the sandstorm or by Arthur's use of Excalibur. So far they had found enough to equip a fair number of them, though they found nothing that would be effective against armored vehicles, which was actually a relief to Macbeth, since he and Chloe would be staying behind to help Catherine Silver.
"We've done what we could," Arthur commented.
"So what will you do next?" Catherine asked.
"My group will be heading to Stonehenge to restore Merlin's powers," Arthur told her, "Macbeth and Chloe will stay behind to provide your people with as much help as possible if you truly wish to fight."
"We do," Catherine answered.
"Then we'll all need to move quickly," Macbeth answered, "we may have defeated the garrison here, but I doubt the Illuminati will let us have our way with it for long."
"I can hear sirens in the distance," Rachel whispered into Arthur's ear. She had resumed human form, but her senses were still sharp, "they'll be here soon."
Arthur nodded and turned to Macbeth, "Good luck."
"And to you as well," Macbeth nodded as the two shook hands and then departed.
Illuminati Headquarters in London…
"The whole base!" Two roared at the officer delivered the report.
"Yes, sir," the lieutenant answered nervously, "their fey did most of the work and that allowed them to defeat the entire garrison at the north base…"
"And by the time you and the units from central London arrived, they were gone," Two growled.
"Yes," the lieutenant answered nervously, "we also found that they have stolen one APC and several pieces of weaponry. I'm afraid we do not know he is know."
"I know where he's going," Two growled angrily with clenched fists.
To Be Continued…