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 immediately after "Once And Future King: Reaction".
Once And Future King: Restrictions
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
London
Macbeth glanced from the rooftop at the mansion that he had bought for himself to live in as part of his return to the British Isles and to get away from the constant barrage of battles he had been drawn into in New York. Some of them had been his own doing. Hunting Demona, searching for Merlin's spells, fighting Arthur for the right to wield Excalibur, and then ending with the various events that surrounded the discovery of Goliath's clan. Arguing with the assistant DA before she was promoted and ultimately killed by the Quarrymen. Being attacked by Demona and injected with a mixed magical and scientific potion that acted as a soul transference spell.
He had come back to Britain to get away from all of that. Now, he found himself involved in a similar battle, except now it was the Illuminati and their pursuit of trying to thwart Arthur. Something that Macbeth could understand. Arthur's legacy as a hero to the British people, which by now seemed to apply to both the descendants of the Saxons that Arthur fought in the Middle Ages, the Britons who had made up Arthur's knights, and even the Normans who came well after Arthur had gone to Avalon. Part of him continually wondered why people would oppose such a hero.
Of course, in theory he did know. The hero could either be in the service of the wrong cause as Rommel had been or carried such ambition that his success was intolerable to the British people, as Napoleon had been. But, Arthur Pendragon was never in either class of "tragic" heroes from German and French history. In his own time, even the Scots wanted a king that could be like Arthur.
"Anything interesting?" came the voice of Catherine Silver
Macbeth glanced to the woman who had come to lead the people that had joined their little rebellion against the Illuminati. They had originally joined to get Arthur, but that plan of the Illuminati's seemed to be thwarted for the moment. He would have preferred Chloe or one of the other gargoyles that had remained in London while Arthur's group went to Stonehenge to restore Merlin's powers. They had more experience in some level of combat then these rag tag 'rebels'. But, it was presently daytime and Chloe and the gargoyles still in London were in stonesleep for the time being.
"Not really," Macbeth answered, "it is what I expected though. Overrunning that base last night finally got them to do something serious."
"What about the prisoners you said you had?" Catherine wondered.
"Coyote took them to Avalon," Macbeth answered, "all the Illuminati will find there is an empty mansion."
"Can we recover anything we need from the Mansion?" Catherine asked.
"Only after they've left, and assuming they don't leave guards," Macbeth answered, "they'll operate like soldiers. We can't kill them all simultaneously. We don't have the technology for it... and even there, such action would be tough to try even if we had the technology. And because of that, when one guard fails to report in, all the rest will begin to search for who got the guard that didn't report in."
"So what you suggest we do?" Catherine asked.
"Until Chloe and the gargoyles with us awaken, nothing more then stay hidden and keeping a look out on what they're doing," Macbeth answered, "after dusk we'll see if we can get the attention of some of their local units. Maybe distract attention away from the British army in the north or in Northern Ireland. Give them a chance to counterattack."
"You think it'd work?" Catherine asked.
"It could," Macbeth replied, "all will depend on how the metaphorical dice roll."
Elsewhere In London
"Did you find anything?" Two asked the officer that reported back to him.
The defeat of the Illuminati garrison defending one of the forts guarding London in cause the "Anti-Illuminati" troops managed to get Two to authorize securing taking the mansion that Arthur and the London clan seemed to operate out of. He had hoped that Arthur would be caught there, or at least give Two some leads as to where they were going, aside from the obvious of going to Stonehenge. But, according to the report he just received, nothing of that nature was uncovered. All they uncovered was the fact that Macbeth was the actual owner of the mansion, not Arthur.
"Nothing more then what I have told you," the officer answered, "We've placed guards... but they may not return for awhile."
"You didn't even find Six?" Two demanded.
"No," the officer answered, "it is likely that Arthur has moved his prisoners elsewhere. Possibly underground. A couple of squads have been dispatched already to search London's sewers and subways."
"No, Pendragon is after one thing," Two answered, "that is a cure for his teacher. Merlin. That can only be obtained at Stonehenge."
"Then if we know where he is going, perhaps we could consider some form of disengagement," a general officer who was there suggested, "Britain has been under the Illuminati's rule for centuries and the offensive here is dividing the country heavily. Both sides have taken casualties, and we will certainly take more if we continue to try and conquer Britain."
"No," Two answered, "Arthur represents Britain and the people will realize who we're truly fighting sooner or later. They will find it hard to believe that the greatest hero of their island's past is a threat to the future and we will have to fight them again. Better to secure our rule NOW while we have the men and machinery to do it."
"Of course, sir," the officer answered, "I mean no disrespect."
"Now," Two continued, "We will focus our movements to secure our reserves around Stonehenge and London."
"What of the main battle lines?" the General officer asked.
"They will have to hold for now," Two answered, "Arthur and Macbeth are far more important."
The Captured APC, Reading
Arthur sat quietly in the passenger area of the APC that they had taken from the Illuminati base. Beth, Merlin, and Rachael sat nearby. The stone statues of Griff, Julia, Octavia, and Lancelot were also in there with them, and much work had been done to make sure the gargoyles wouldn't jostle around as they moved. Griff seemed somewhat surprised when he learned the vehicle was actually of German manufacture. He had seemed to accept that Germany of the present era was very different from the Germany he faced in the Battle of Britain, but he had still wondered why the British Army bought German equipment. They had gone into stonesleep before Merlin could explain the answer.
"How are things going up there?" Arthur asked through a small window that lead to the cab of the vehicle.
"Good and quiet," Reginald commented, "Coyote's done a good job with the sentries guarding the roundabouts and town entrances."
"They aren't that vigilant," Coyote answered from his seat beside Reginald, "all that's needed is a little nudge and they dance to my tune."
Arthur slowly nodded. Reginald was driving the vehicle as his experience with the modern British army gave him the best chance of driving the APC that they had "liberated". Coyote also rode up front to insure that no one stopped them. Illuminati sentries in places did stop the vehicle occasionally, as an APC isn't something any military would have wondering about the countryside alone. It lacked the firepower and the protection to do that. The only possible exception might be the American Bradley Fighting Vehicle, but Reginald had also mentioned that the Americans did tend to keep them together as well. And Coyote would use his magic to provide just enough of a nudge to get the sentries to let them by. So far that plan appeared to working.
"Where are we?" Beth wondered curiously.
"We're going around the town of Reading," Reginald answered.
Beth glanced to Merlin sitting next to her and then to Rachael seated next to Arthur and then tried to stifle a chuckle.
"So, I suppose that Reading is the literary capital of Britain?" Beth then asked with a chuckle.
"Very funny," Rachael commented, and then asked to Reginald in front, "so what would be the planned route from here?"
"Best to stay on the main roads," Reginald answered, "this thing won't handle smaller roads easily. We'll turn south at Newbury."
"Okay then," Rachael nodded and then looked up.
Her mind dwelled on warning/prophecy that Luna had given her. A lot of it revolved around her lycanthropy and that was enough to make her ponder her predicament on its own. She had managed to accept the fact that she was a werewolf. The fact that her mind wasn't replaced by some strange and mindless bloodlust helped. But she wasn't a great fan of lycanthropy.
Despite Luna's son wanting werewolves to be a replacement for the gargoyles destroyed by the first Unseelie War, humanity never had much like for them. Nearly every folklore story painted them as the villain, either of a curse or through deliberate evil. Modern movies didn't drop that comparison. And the movie werewolves were commonly killed for their evil or because of their curse. And even in the few in which the werewolf was the hero, he was actually struggling against his own lycanthropy and was searching for a way to save himself from it. It was not a positive image.
Now, Arthur, Merlin, Beth's gargoyle sister, Elisa, and their parents all helped her accept her lycanthropy. And she was grateful to them for that. She was now good enough with her condition that she could leave them. Go back to York. Go back and protect her sister. See if she could get her job back. And given Luna's warning, sometimes that seemed like the smart idea. She had warned of a tough fight and tough decisions.
Rachael could only guess what that meant. By helping Arthur where she could, she'd found herself in plenty of odd scrapes. Some scientific, some magical, all beyond what she would have thought possible before she met Arthur. And now she was facing another big fight to restore Merlin's powers. And Luna had said her greatest test was coming soon. And Rachael could guess what it was. And it wasn't a hard guess and one she didn't like.
She looked down at her hands and clinched them into fists for a moment.
"I don't want to have to kill anyone," Rachael thought silently, "I don't want to be a monster... I can settle for a furry protector, but I do not want to be a monster."
She glanced around the passenger/cargo area of the APC they were riding in. With the exception of Beth, nearly everyone had made the decision to take human life at some point. Reginald was a soldier, and Rachael had seen him fire on the Illuminati soldiers with lethal accuracy. While she had not seen Coyote use lethal force against anyone, she hadn't known him long, and knew that he served a higher court and was involved in both Unseelie Wars. She guessed that somewhere in Coyote's past he had had to make that decision.
Merlin didn't seem like the type, but she guessed that in his years as an advisor and the foes that he faced in the long years of history that there had to be one event that forced him to take the life of another. And Arthur... Arthur's symbol was a broadsword. He had lead his people and his knights into battle against the Saxons. And all the stories told of his duel to the death to save Britain from Mordred, which some texts say was Arthur's illegitimate son. But they both came from a different time when warfare was done face to face. Yet, both were considered heroes in all folklore. Those that died at their hands were villains of some sort. Invaders out for conquest or tyrants and traitors at home.
And that was what she struggled with as she rode along. She didn't want to be a killer. In every fight she'd been in she'd made sure no one ever got clawed or cut on her fangs. This wasn't just a concern about turning others into werewolves. She had feared she might accidentally catch someone in the neck or some other vital region and she'd kill someone by accident. She didn't want to do that. But as she rode, Luna's warning played in her head and a question arose.
"What if I have no choice?" Rachael wondered, "what if I have to...?"
She sighed and looked down.
"Are you okay?"
Rachael looked to see Arthur looking at her with some concern on his face. It showed her that he was no cold blooded killer. He had killed, yes, but because he had to, and didn't seem like the person who would make that decision easily... even if for the right reasons. Kind and wise. Noble and generous. He cared for his friends as much as he cared for his "kingdom".
"...I'm falling in love with a man old enough to be an ancestor of mine," Rachael suddenly realized but kept her thoughts hidden. Eventually she answered him, "I'm fine. Really. Just thinking over things. What may be coming."
"Hopefully this the end," Arthur answered, "the last battle in this entire mess. And the people can live in peace."
Rachael managed to nod quietly.
London, Illuminati HQ
"We've begun transferring troops to the Stonehenge area," the General Officer reported, "Moving by helicopter and by plane they should be ready by this evening."
"Good," Two nodded, "Arthur won't make his move until dusk so he can have his gargoyle allies help him."
"I'm still concerned about the British army," the General answered, "they'll be at our rear and I'm certain they've noticed our moving of troops away from the front lines."
"We've bloodied them too heavily in the opening blows," Two dismissed the general's concerns, "this isn't Khan who gained access to our technology and used it to create an army loyal to him rather then to us. The British do not have the reserves to beat us. All they have are Arthur and Merlin. And once they die, final victory will only be a matter of time."
The general slowly nodded. The moves struck him as risky, but there was some logic behind it. The anti-Illuminati forces were outnumbered and didn't have the numbers for large battles in the open. They had held out in the area where "England" transitioned into "Scotland" was a bottleneck that the Illuminati numbers couldn't easily push through. And the more mountainous terrain of the British gave them another defensive advantage. The Illuminati could play a battle that ran like the ebb and flow of the tides. Draw the British into attack and then crush them in open.
And Arthur had only a small number of allies to help. The forces being transferred to the area would heavily outnumber Arthur and his allies. The odds of victory through sheer numbers alone were highly likely.
The general's concerns dwelled on the real prospect of a two front war. Not that two front wars couldn't be won. America proved that in World War II. America fought on two major fronts. InEurope as part of the Western Allies and loosely allied with Stalin's Soviet Union, and in the Pacific against the Japanese where the US was largely alone. But the victories countries had won while facing two fronts were few and far between. And they commonly only occurred when it was an unparalleled superpower of the day.
"What of Macbeth?" the general wondered, "we're fairly certain he isn't with Arthur at present and that he might be somewhere in London."
"You've tightened security, have you not?" Two asked.
"Of course," the general answered, "he won't be able to ambush another base again... and there are some additional units headed to London."
"Then Macbeth should be well contained," Two answered.
"There are some vague reports of him having a larger following," the general warned.
"Can they beat us in fair battle?" Two questioned.
"Unlikely," the general answered.
"Then simply use battle against him," Two ordered, "draw him into the open and kill his followers."
The general slowly nodded and then turned to see Two heading out.
"Where are you headed, sir?" the general wondered, "shall I have your body guard ready?"
"Stonehenge, General," Two replied, "I intend to see my victory come true."
And with that Two left. The general only gave a nervous sigh. This would complicate things further. He had heard rumors of Council Members, or representatives of the Council being killed in the present war in China against Khan. And Arthur's forces had already captured Six, Two's fellow Councilmember. Should they take Two as well, the Illuminati would face greater trouble in Britain then they faced at present. He wanted to advise against this, but you never argued with your superiors. Especially when they were spoiling for a fight.
Underground
Macbeth and Catherine had returned to the spot where the large group of anti-Illuminati fighters were gathering for time being. It was a large section of London's subways. It consisted of a large station way, and was in an area that the Illuminati wouldn't use the subways for. It also had direct access to the areas to the English Mutates had established as their own version of the Labyrinth where Talon's clan lived in Manhattan.
"Any of them hunting you?" a bulldog mutate asked, his wings caped as they returned.
"Probably," Macbeth answered, "but none of them are here."
"So what is the plan?" Richard Bucket asked from a spot where he was guarding the entrance that Macbeth and Catherine had just gone through.
Macbeth sighed...
"We need to keep the Illuminati's focus away from Arthur," Macbeth sighed, "which means we actually need to force a major engagement... something we are not equipped to do."
"If I may ask, if we aren't equipped for it, why should we do it now?" the bulldog mutate asked.
"Because it may be the only way to help Arthur," Macbeth answered, "He's the one the Illuminati is truly worried about it. The open conquest of the United Kingdom is merely a side show. If Arthur wouldn't here they wouldn't have bothered. And he is their main focus. If we do nothing, while Arthur is engaged in what he thinks will turn the tide, the Illuminati will focus most of their reserves on Arthur alone and he will surely fail."
"But if we act we might fail!" a different resistance fighter countered.
"But we'd pull attention to London," Catherine spoke up, "If most of the army goes to Stonehenge after Arthur and we take London... they'd loose the best principle base in the region and would also open an opportunity for the main British Army to counterattack in the North. They'd then be caught between us, Arthur, and the army. Three separate fronts. All of them can succeed for the Illuminati. If they focus solely on us and Arthur, the army will capitalize and win. Freeing Britain. If they focus on us and the army, but ignore Arthur, he will cure Merlin and allow him to unleash some magic that could drive the Illuminati out, freeing Britain. And if they focus on Arthur and the Army, we can free London, screwing up their communications and control and possibly decapitate their leadership..."
"Allowing Arthur and the army to regroup against forces with no command and little ability to cooperate," Macbeth finished, "freeing Britain... it is risky, as all plans are, but if it works, it will freeBritain from the Illuminati."
"A sacrifice..." Richard Bucket commented.
"For the greater good," Macbeth nodded.
"Best come this way," the bulldog mutate answered, "they do patrol the tunnels from time to time. This area is too exposed. Best to move to the main London Labyrinth area."
Macbeth nodded and followed with Catherine Silver, Richard Bucket and the other resistance member moving along. The 'London Labyrinth' as it was called was crowded with all the bodies in it, but it was secure and allowed Guinevere, Gawain, Chloe, Leo, and Una to sleep with the security that no one would deliberately smash them.
Moving along through a crowd of people and mutates, Macbeth approached a crudely drawn map of London. It included the main Illuminati bases and the buildings that the Illuminati had taken over as military headquarters areas. Macbeth's move to draw them out and away from Stonehenge would have to involve at least one of these areas.
"Catherine and I have looked over much of London," Macbeth answered, "the Mansion is not usable. However, the best target is here..."
Macbeth pointed to the main headquarters area the Illuminati was using.
"These are the buildings the Illuminati is using as their main military headquarters in London," Macbeth continued, "And where the Council Member Two is operating. One good strike should take out a portion of their elite units in southern England and possibly decapitate the Illuminati's leadership..."
"And even if not," Catherine continued, "It'll draw troops to London. Then... if it isn't a fight where we could stand and fight, we can use the streets and alleys to our advantage."
"Wings might give us some aide," the bulldog commented, "though I'll need to confer with the rest of the London mutates."
Macbeth nodded, "In the meantime, I would suggest that all weapons be readied for a real fight. Because we move at sundown."
Stonehenge
Two got out of the helicopter to be greeted by the commander of the units being transferred to the area around the Stonehenge monument. He glanced to the Neolithic monument and gave a slight sigh. It was the key to the entire effort. People had all sorts of theories as to where it came from. Some of them even went as far as aliens building them. In reality, the Fey had laid the design and insured the people who made it had either the strength or the ropes, levers, and even pulleys to insure that the monument could be constructed.
Man used the monument for telling time in the sense of the seasons, but the Fey's purposes were for their own security. Beings that naturally wielded magic couldn't always be imprisoned, particularly if they were clever enough to figure ways around the spells of those more powerful then themselves. Madoc's starting of the Second Unseelie War after Oberon's death proved that. Even exile was not an end to conflict. So the fey used certain properties in the rocks of Stonehenge, which the Illuminati believed to actually come from Avalon itself originally, to strip a fey, regardless of how powerful, of their natural magic. The process would make it impossible for them to do fey magic or even retain a fey's extremely lengthy lifespan.
Oberon rarely used it, as in the first Unseelie War, his faction was more numerous and possessed Oberon's greater power besides. The Seelie Court preferred to force a battle in that war. Madoc didn't and used Stonehenge to remove some of Oberon's foot soldiers from the battle, and without having to kill them. The Illuminati believed this to be a political move on Madoc's part in that war, to actually make him appear 'merciful'.
And now Two had used it to try and remove Pendragon's best weapon against the Illuminati from the equation, Merlin. But, Merlin had gone through a quest of his own to get his powers back, which occasionally brought him into conflict with Illuminati. That ultimately lead to the present war, where Two would have to keep Merlin out of Stonehenge.
"What is the status?" Two asked.
"We have a full division in place, all infantry with rings of defenses going around Stonehenge and even going around Salisbury," the local commander answered, "most of it is an incomplete system of trenches, but given what you've said his numbers are, we shouldn't have a problem."
"Never underestimate him," Two answered, "Pendragon is nothing if not formidable."
Farther away, Arthur's group was sitting in a field well off the main road. They were on some one's farm, but it appeared abandoned for all intents and purposes. It was assumed the owner fled when the Illuminati invaded or was killed by the Illuminati. And for the moment they were waiting for Coyote. The Southwestern fey had been sent on a recon mission around the Illuminati positions. Arthur hoped that when he returned, there would be a clear picture of their situation.
As they waited, Arthur glanced between Merlin and the horizon. The sun was preparing to set, but hadn't done so yet. He hoped things would go well. As the sun finally set, a flash of light caught their attention and kept them from noticing the London clan members that were with them awakening. Coyote had returned.
"What did you find out?" Reginald asked almost immediately.
"It might be best to wait until the gargoyles are ready before we get too deep into any sort of plan," Coyote commented, "as they will be important."
Reginald turned to see Griff hopping out of the back of the APC that they had rode in. He then sighed and nodded. Griff and the others approached as Beth brought out some food from inside the farm house. There was some nervousness on the issue, as it would technically be stealing, though Reginald reminded them on the overall situation. They didn't have much choice. They couldn't bring a lot of food with them, and the Illuminati forces would have forced a battle elsewhere if they had stopped to buy food somewhere.
"So, how are things going, your Majesty?" Griff asked to Arthur.
"We're here," Arthur told him, "and Coyote has recently returned with a report on the overall situation."
Griff nodded and turned to Coyote, who seeing that he had everyone's attention, nodded.
"The Illuminati have certainly fortified the area," Coyote explained, "they have a division's worth of infantry with rings of progressively smaller circles of defense lines going to the Stonehengemonument. Not an easy path to get through."
"What are the defense lines?" Reginald asked, "trenches? Bunkers? Any heavy weapons?"
"For the most part it looks like infantry trenches, I'd suppose," Coyote replied, "any sort of "bunker" or heavy weapon emplacement would only be under construction at the moment."
"They're rushing things," Griff commented, "Like England's defenses during the Blitz. When it looked like Hitler was going to invade we dug trenches and threw barbed wire up in many places... if he had managed to get across the channel though... I'm not sure how well they would have stood up... thankfully though he couldn't and we held on."
"Yes," Arthur nodded, "a good thing that 'England' held on. The question is, can we get through these defenses. Even if the trenches thanks to Coyote's and Beth's magics are navigable, a division is an awful lot of soldiers."
"Too much to fight head on," Reginald commented, "even if we could force a bottleneck and keep them occupied... we'd run out of ammunition."
"A battle shouldn't be the objective," Merlin commented, "it is the monument that is important. We must get to the monument and have it be undamaged."
"A doubt a division of soldiers will just let us slip by," Lancelot commented.
"They might if they're distracted by something else," Arthur commented.
"Pardon?" Lancelot looked up, not sure what gave Arthur the idea.
"A distraction is what we need," Arthur answered, "we can't win a straight up fight, so we don't..."
Taking a small stick from a nearby tree, Arthur began to draw a series of circles. He then motioned to the bulk of the group present.
"Most of you could make a feigned attack on the outer lines here," Arthur commented, "but make it good. Deal with a few, but pull back before the Illuminati can counterattack. Hopefully they will think that this is the main effort."
"Hoping they pursue the decoy force while Merlin goes for the monument," Reginald surmised.
"Yes," Arthur nodded, "Merlin, Rachael, Coyote and myself will then sneak in to the monument..."
"I might be better with the decoy," Coyote commented, "if they truly take the bait, they'll need help to level the playing field somewhat."
"Yes... but Beth isn't as experienced with magic and would prefer to avoid it," Arthur answered, "with the decoy force... she doesn't have to do as much and could even provide whatever aide she can medically."
"That won't be an option," Reginald answered, "If she doesn't wish to fight, best to keep her here and away from the fighting entirely... because once the fight starts, whether all out or as a decoy... there will be no time for simple medicine... not with the forces we have available to us."
Beth stood nervously. This was possibly the last place she'd want to be. Her family was already 'victimized' by so many weird things. Sevarius had used his mutagenic formula to turn Derek into Talon. The Mage had turned her older sister, Elisa, into a gargoyle. And some Nigerian werepanther had clawed her mother, Diane. She and her father were the only normal members of Clan Maza left, and yet now that was ending.
The source of this was a small stone that Beth had thought might make a good piece of jewelry. Coyote said it was like the rocks that would eventually become Avalon and according to Fey Legends, was the birth of their race. She had originally thought them to be just a story, but later adventures that had seen her helping Arthur had changed that. She had found that she could channel the stone's magic. Like it recognized her, or something.
Merlin had given her some pointers on how to use the stone, of course, but it didn't comfort her much. She didn't want to be a witch, sorceress, whatever... But what choice did she have? She had no luck in trying to call Elisa or her parents, and Arthur did need the help. She'd figured it would be medical help, but increasingly it was clear she would have to become what she didn't want to become. She didn't like it, but she figured there wasn't much choice.
"I can go with Arthur," Beth spoke after a moment, "I'm not comfortable with it... but I think I can manage. Coyote would be better with the 'decoy' force. Besides, with his power, they will expect Coyote to be part of the main force."
"A little chaos into their plans?" Coyote commented, "We'll make a trickster out of you yet!"
Beth only sighed in response.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Merlin asked her in a concerned voice, looking very much like a concerned parent.
"I don't like it if that is what you mean, but it looks like I don't have much choice," Beth answered.
"You're sure?" Arthur asked.
Beth slowly nodded, "If I can raise something that would dissect the soldiers' groupings into smaller groups... you might be able sneak through as necessary. That can leave Coyote to make a bigger scene and lead more troops toward him."
"Very well then," Arthur nodded, "Rachael, Merlin, Beth, and I will try to sneak into the monument. The rest of you are to distract the Illuminati."
"Right-to," Griff nodded.
"Ave Artorius!" Julia and Octavia answered addressing Arthur by the Latin version of his name.
Reginald began shouldering packs of equipment and weapons. Before he turned to head out to a more eastward end of the Illuminati's defense lines, he displaced a flare gun to Arthur.
"This will be our signal that we've begun our attack," Reginald spoke, "best to wait a few moments to see if they actually take the bait."
"I'm sure they will," Merlin commented, "If they know we're coming, they'll suspect any attack on their lines is us..."
"And if it's large enough, they'll assume that any move we make is actually the diversion," Arthur nodded.
London
Chloe glided quietly carrying Macbeth over the streets of London toward the area that the Illuminati used as their headquarters. She wasn't too keen on the plan, but there was no choice. Merlin needed a cure, and he couldn't get if the Illuminati guarded Stonehenge with an army. Two of the London mutates glided just behind her carrying two resistance fighters. Each was armed with an anti-tank missile tube. The plan was that the round would be fired into the room they believed the Illuminati leadership was in. If they weren't near a window, they'd break in until they got to their location, use the anti-tank missiles and then flee. Catherine Silver, the rest of the London Clan, and the resistance would then intervene to try and ambush the Illuminati as they pursued them.
"They have guards on nearby roofs," Macbeth pointed, "land in the shadows."
Chloe came down and landed behind a couple of raised portions of the roof.
"You take the guard on the right, I'll take the one on the left," Macbeth whispered to Chloe.
"Right," Chloe answered and crept forward.
The soldier was standing quietly on guard and never noticed she was there. She quietly crept up and brought her fists down on the point where his shoulders met his neck. The man gasped and dropped to his knees from the blow. Before he could scream an alarm, Chloe delivered a haymaker to the man, knocking him out. This alerted the other guard, but as he turned to see what the noise he heard was, Macbeth grabbed him from behind and snapped his neck.
"Two down," Macbeth commented, "and now clear to see where our Illuminati leaders are..."
The main Illuminati general quietly paced a situation room inside the main headquarters area. Field reports continued to come in. Nothing from Stonehenge, but the General didn't entirely expect reports from there. Two had gone there, so the local commander was probably scared to the point of bypassing the chain of command and report tot he man who would hear the reports anyway. There were a few reports from Northern Ireland, they still had some wild man ambushing units throughout that region, though mostly in Ulster. Wales was finally secure, but the main British Army held out inScotland.
And it was the Scottish front that preoccupied the general's thoughts. Defeating Arthur and Merlin would secure the true victory, but they had began a military campaign and neither Arthur nor his teacher were militarily important. If the British Army was ignored, or their forces focused too much on Arthur, the man could end up a rallying symbol, even if killed. And an army that was unbowed not totally beaten could always come back... and the British army was still in the field. So far, it appeared that they had only launched spoiling attacks. Like they were testing to see if the force in front of them was still strong.
"I pray you're..." the general began when he heard a "pop" go off outside his widow.
He turned to see what looked like an anti-tank rocket heading right toward him.
The explosion destroyed the window and blew several pieces of brick outward. The damage left a large hole in the wall where Macbeth could see what remained of the man they had seen pacing the office.
"Was that the Councilmember?" the resistance fighter that had fired the rocket asked.
"No," Macbeth answered, "Looked more like a general. Come, we must go."
"But don't we blast the first troops that come running out of that door?" the second resistance fighter wondered, looking down to the front door of the building they had just fired a rocket at.
Just as he finished, shots from the rooftops nearby rang out. They missed those that were with Macbeth, but the did enough to get their attention.
"If we weren't already outflanked, yes," Macbeth answered, "but we are outflanked and we must move! Now go!"
Macbeth then glanced back to the smoke coming out of the building they'd just fired a rocket into.
"And now the battle begins," Macbeth thought to himself.
Stonehenge
"I don't like all this marching about," Griff commented, "It would be a lot easier if we could glide in..."
"They'll be expecting you to attack from the air," Reginald commend, "besides, there aren't any buildings or trees tall enough the immediate area."
"I know," Griff sighed, "Doesn't mean I have to like it."
Reginald sighed and lead the group forward. He stopped when they reached a row of bushes. He carefully peered through to see the first defense line. In the area there were only a couple of Illuminati soldiers, though the trench did spread and there were more infantryman elsewhere down the line.
"Are you ready?" Reginald asked to Coyote, who had moved along beside them, "we're going to need your help to be able to get in. Until the gargoyles can pick up their weapons to use, they'll need to get in close... and to do that, they'd need to glide or have some other help."
"Of course I'm ready," Coyote answered, "one localized fog storm is ready... best to use your flare before Arthur and Merlin lose the ability to see it."
Reginald nodded and readied the flare gun and aimed it into the sky. The battle was about to begin.
Closer to the monument, Two looked up to see a large red flare fly into the air to the east of their position. Sounds of gunshots followed shortly after.
"The attack begins," Two spoke, "Prepare to send all troops to the eastern sector."
"What was the flare for?" the local commander wondered.
"It was probably the signal to attack," Two answered.
"But to who?" the commander answered, "if they're all together, Arthur shouldn't need a flare to signal the attack. He'd give the command vocally."
"You think there are two groups?" Two asked him.
"I believe so," the commander answered, "the question is however, what is the purpose of these two groups and we won't know that until more information comes in."
"And what would you suggest then?" Two asked.
"Until more information comes in, I would actually order no major changes," the commander explained, "Resist the attackers, obviously, but not to redeploy other units from their positions until we're certain this force isn't a distraction from Arthur and Merlin."
"Very well then," Two answered, "We'll hold where we are for now."
The fog was thick as Griff's team attacked into the first trench line. The use of the rifles the Illuminati soldiers carried was odd to him, and only barely manageable, but given the scale of the fight in front of them... he accepted the need to use them. Their attack triggered fire directed toward them, but in the fog, much of it seemed to be poorly aimed. The strongest counter attacks came from the flanks as troops in other portions of the trench came down it to try and crush their flanks.
Reginald covered one flank while Coyote moved toward the other flank. Five Illuminati soldiers came rushing into the fog at full speed. Whispering a small spell, Coyote raised several large cacti that grew up and around the charging soldiers. As they ran into the prickly plants, the gave pained screams, which continued as the cacti grew even taller and "branches" grew to wrap around the soldiers. They didn't sustain lethal wounds, but it was enough to take them out of the fight and protect one flank.
However, there was one place the counter attack was not coming in mass, and that was the center. Shots were aimed at them from the center, but thanks to the fog, they were poorly aimed.
"Does anyone see a lack of a massive counter attack around here?" Octavia questioned.
"Not that bad," Reginald answered, "it'll let us whittle down their forces."
"Yes, but what if they're testing to see if we're a decoy force or not?" Octavia replied, "we're supposed to draw their forces to us to give Arthur's group an easier route through their defenses."
"They want to see an Arthur and Merlin?" Coyote commented and gestured to the dirt that made up the wall of the trench, "we'll give them an Arthur and Merlin."
Griff then turned to see the dirt leave the wall of the trench and move to the ground among them. The piles rapidly took on the shape of Arthur and Merlin, right down to their armor, clothing, and what looked like their weapons.
"Clones?" Lancelot wondered.
"No," Coyote answered, "think of them more like a wax robot. And they're actually still only dirt. The Illuminati, however, should think they're the real deal."
"And giving us their attention," Reginald recognized the trick, "very clever."
"It better be," Coyote answered, "this has me pretty close to my limit."
Elsewhere, the real Arthur began his first move. Seeing the flare he turned Rachael and Beth who were standing nearby. Merlin was at the rear of the group, holding the electricity-blaster that Macbeth had given Arthur to use. Arthur, meanwhile stuck with his preferred weapon: Excalibur.
"The time is now," Arthur spoke firmly.
Rachael nodded and closed her eyes, "right..." she then opened them, to reveal that they had taken on a golden color to begin her transformation, "...on ward to victory!"
While Rachael began to transform behind her, Beth held her 'Avalon Stone' toward the line of trenches in front of them.
"Hedge maze... hedge maze..." Beth repeated the same phrase keeping her mind focused on the image of a thick hedge of bushes growing out of the ground and cutting the area up into pathways that they could follow without having to charge heavily defended strong points.
Across the field, a group of Illuminati soldiers stood quietly staring into the darkness. They couldn't see much beyond their noses. Some of it was Coyote's "fog" drifting over the battlefield, but some of it was the blackout that Two had ordered. The reasoning was that with no light to guide them, Arthur might actually stumble past Stonehenge and not know it. How he could do that with a group of gargoyles, a female werewolf, and a member of the Seelie Court, the soldiers didn't know. They did know, however, not to question orders.
"You think we're in the wrong spot, right?" one overly nervous private asked as the sounds of the gun battle where Reginald's team had attacked was occurring.
"That's probably a distraction," another soldier answered, "so we gotta keep lookout."
The first looked on when another sound echoed loudly from some distance out in the darkness. It was the howl of a wolf, or in Arthur's case, the female werewolf that had taken to traveling with him.
"It's the werewolf!" the first soldier screamed and blindly fired a few shots, most of them bouncing off the ground and doing no harm.
"Will you knock it off!" the second soldier stopped him and pulled the gun away for a moment, "all that howl does is tell us she's out there. For all we know, she could be miles away... or that could even be a recording. Wait for a target!"
"Yes, sir," the first answered.
Then, almost as suddenly as they heard the sound of Rachael's howl at the end of her transformation, thick bushes suddenly grew up out of the ground. They grew tall and thick. Nearly fifteen feet tall and five feet thick. The branches twisted and turned, and the second solder found that he couldn't push through them, and worse, some of the interwoven branches were rose bushes, and he hit a couple of thorns.
"The fey..." the second soldier grumbled, "keep a look out. EVERYONE, keep a look out!"
"I don't know how deep the maze should go, but it should narrow the amount of guns shooting at us," Beth said slowly as she moved to catch her breath.
Her spell had worked and several rows of bushes had suddenly grown up and went out into the darkness. She could hear sounds of confusion as it appeared that in some places the bushes had grown up to envelop the Illuminati soldier in the area. The man could breathe, but he also couldn't move and was trapped there.
"It'll do for a start," Arthur answered, "Rachael, can you get close enough insure that we have a clear route?"
"Which opening?" Rachael asked and nervously gulped.
A few shots had been fired and they had bounced off the street between them when she finished transforming, and there was some concern about her own mortality as well. If they had silver rounds, she was toast. And she had no way of knowing if they did have silver rounds.
"The middle one," Arthur pointed with Excalibur, "Merlin can give you cover."
Rachael turned to Merlin, who had come forward with his electricity blaster. He nodded to show that he was ready.
"Okay," Rachael nodded and began to move forward.
The soldiers either heard her footsteps or saw the light reflected off her eyes and began to fire at her. She dodged well, though it also forced her onto all fours. As she moved forward, she heard the sound of Merlin's electricity blaster going off. She saw the blast hit one man in the opening she was rushing toward as well as one in a different opening. And while it didn't knock them all out, it did get most of the others to put their heads down. That allowed her to leap into the trench and backhand the soldier there, who was actually cowering before her.
As the man fell unconscious, Rachael turned back to where the others were.
"Move quickly!" Rachael called back, "make sure that Merlin lays down cover fire!"
And so they repeated that cycle again. Merlin laid down covering fire with the electricity blaster while Arthur and Beth raced to the trench that Rachael had occupied. Once there, Beth hesitantly looked at one of the fallen weapons.
"You might want to take one of those," Rachael commented.
"I'd be no good," Beth sighed, "the recoil would break my arms. Elisa and my dad are the ones who are good with guns in my family... and with her current gargoyle-hood, Elisa's fingers are probably too big to use a gun..."
"They can manage," Merlin commented as he arrived, "Not as good as humans, mind you, but they can manage. The reason gargoyle's tend to avoid using weapons is because of their greater strength, reflexes, and their stonesleep. It favors melee fighting and clans have taught their hatchlings that. So, while gargoyles have been known to use weapons, they prefer weapons that fit their skills."
"Just remember that Elisa was turned into a gargoyle," Beth answered, "she didn't hatch as one."
"True," Merlin nodded.
"Next move?" Beth asked.
"We follow the maze," Arthur commented and began to slowly walk down the path that Beth had created.
To Be Continued...