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 two days after "Once and Future King: Rise Up".
Once and Future King: Raids and Running
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
Police Station, Farnham, UK
"So what all are we going for?" Rachael asked as she and Reginald crouched in the shadows of an alley near the Farnham police station.
"Any weapons they have on them," Reginald answered, "Remember we're supposed to be equipping twenty people now in addition to those of us that were already helping Arthur."
"I don't need a weapon," Rachael reminded him, "Neither really do Merlin, Coyote, and Beth…"
"Yes, I know," Reginald gave a sigh, "Your lycanthropy and their magic… but I'm trying to make a point…"
Rachael nodded and looked out again toward the police station. Their stay in Farnham was longer than what they'd originally intended, mostly due to Arthur's wound that he had sustained repelling an Illuminati attack on the local church, but there was also the fact that they had managed to recruit twenty people to directly aid them. It carried the prospect of gaining another resistance group like Catherine Silver's to help fight against the Illuminati, but it also slowed them down as the people that had been recruited would need to get some form of training. Reginald had agreed to go over the basics, but he really didn't have the time or open area to go over the best tactics that would be required for defeating the Illuminati soldiers.
The best he could do was put together plans to at least arm them. While untrained mobs rarely did well against professional armies, if sufficiently well-armed, neither could they be considered something to sneer at, and that was why they were there. While Arthur and his team were trying very much avoid capture by one of the main combat units the Illuminati had committed, they had also found that the Illuminati had also put several small units in charge of maintaining law and order in the parts of England that they occupied. These units were decently armed and getting their ammunition would give them some chance of arming those that had agreed to join Arthur.
"The real test will be in getting across the street," Rachael commented, "We're in the shadows right now… but the street is open and they have windows looking out toward us."
"That's where I come in," Coyote commented as he came up behind them, "Remember I tagged along too."
Rachael and Reginald both nodded. Coyote was one advantage they had over the Illuminati. Merlin was well versed in human magic and Beth was learning, but Coyote was not only good with magic but had cunning to make what he did with magic even more advantageous, as when their opponents were battling what could only be described as chaos, they wouldn't respond as well to what they did.
"So, fog or sand this time?" Rachael asked the southwestern Fey.
Coyote raised his hand and what looked like a ninja's throwing stars appeared between his fingers. They were large, and in fact larger than what a ninja would normally use, but that larger size also seemed to carry a great deal of sturdiness.
"Actually… I was thinking a blackout this time," Coyote said with a smile and then threw the throwing stars.
The three then watched as the stars flew into the air and seemed to spin as if they were little piloted star shaped UFOs. They then cut through a series of electrical cables that lead into the building. The cables snapped quite easily and sent a shower of sparks down onto the ground and seemed to jump from the snapped wires with the crackling of raw electrical power. At almost the same time, the lights inside the police station and in a few building around it went out. Even a couple of street lights nearby also went out, leaving them all in near complete darkness.
"All right, let's go, before they get some generator up!" Reginald urged and they ran across the street.
They quickly rushed across the street with Reginald kicking in the door in and found the Illuminati soldiers there in a state of chaos. They many were fumbling around in the dark looking for weapons or for switches. Reginald couldn't see quite that well either, but the front entry area did have some windows so that Rachael could actually see quite well. She fired the weapon that she'd been given and caught the soldier who had been at the front desk, who had been fumbling with something on his side of the dividing wall/front window when they came in. The shot triggered another set of shouts.
"Damn it! It's Pendragon's rebels… again!" came a shout.
"Bugger them! This is the second time they've done this!" came the reply.
Most of the other shouts mirrored these two lines. And they weren't really inaccurate statements. They had been raiding the Illuminati garrison in order to gather the necessary supplies. Though, it would also mean that they would need to move on again, as the Illuminati would be sure to move the bulk of the forces they had committed to chasing them to policing Farnham. But, for the moment, making that decision would have to wait.
Rachael was quick to hurdle the front desk and move into the area where the Illuminati soldier had been working. She could hear the sounds of confusion and almost panic as the other soldiers were trying to respond. She had to do it quickly though. The station would surely have a generator, and sooner or later they would get the generator on and the advantage she had with her senses would vanish. She moved to the door where she could hear a series of disoriented footsteps.
"Come on!" a voice shouted.
Rachael quickly opened the door to find the soldier who had just shouted standing there trying to feel his way around. She grabbed him by shoulders and slammed him face first into the wall before he could say or do anything. The soldier fell unconscious and Rachael then made her way into the hallway. She'd just made it to the door that would let Reginald and Coyote in when a sudden mechanical hum came to life and some of the lights came on. The generators were now on and the police station would now have some illumination and would give whatever units the Illuminati had in the building some relief with regard to dealing with their three attackers. As the lights came on, Rachael found herself looking at two more Illuminati soldiers who were fumbling along the side of the wall.
"It's the witch!" one exclaimed in surprise.
"Wolf," Rachael corrected and pulled her weapon to the ready and fired, catching both soldiers before they were ready, though as will all of her shots that Rachael had fired, she made sure that she only wounded them. She had killed Two, but that wasn't going to make her a killer. Rachael had promised she'd never kill someone, and now she'd amended it so that she wouldn't kill someone if she didn't have to.
The gunshots raised more sounds of alarm and now with at least some of the lights on the approaching footsteps were now deliberate. The Illuminati soldiers knew where they were going. Rachael quickly undid the manual lock and opened the door.
"Be ready, they're coming from every direction," Rachael said in warning.
"There is no need to worry," Coyote gave a smirk and then dashed off at speeds that even Rachael couldn't envision.
Rachael and Reginald sat quietly and then heard more startled shouts and occasionally a shot or two, but within a couple seconds, Coyote returned with a duffel bag with the barrels of guns sticking out of it.
"Is that all of them" Reginald asked.
"That's all the guards had on them," Coyote answered, "Most of the rest are likely on what units they have patrolling the streets."
"Then to the armory," Reginald said slowly, "We'll take any and all guns there as well as all their available ammunition."
They then slowly began making their way toward what was the armory that the Illuminati were using in the Farnham police station. As they did so, Rachael looked at a handful of the pictures that depicted law enforcement agents, and there was even a photo of the Queen on one wall. It was a sign of the oddities of the Illuminati attack and the odd position Rachael felt they were in.
"You know it's odd… since I was bitten… I'd been finding myself helping Arthur and Merlin in various ways," Rachael commented, "various cases, dealing with odd things… and now we're doing what we would have likely tried to stop others from doing."
"This is war, Ms. Winters," Reginald said firmly, "what you're doing is fighting for your country's freedom, and that is never a crime."
"It sorta feels like it when many of the people who've ended up dead in all of this are likely citizens of the UK, just as we are," Rachael reminded him, "and I was never a soldier. Never wanted to be and never truly will be."
Reginald looked back to her and said nothing.
"To be honest, if I'd had it the way I'd originally wanted… once I got full control over my transformations I would have gone back to York to live with my sister and try to be as 'human' as possible," Rachael than said slowly, "but yet… things change… I've changed, in ways that may not be obvious… and…"
"You have some attraction to Arthur," Reginald surmised, "you aren't the only one who would do things you wouldn't originally intend for one you love or one you respect. You wouldn't believe the things my dad to make my mom happy."
Strangely, Rachael found herself chuckling.
London
In London, Macbeth found himself trying to undertake the same sorts of missions that Reginald was undertaking in Farnham. Like Arthur, he had to deal with at least one division of soldiers loyal to the Illuminati. They had definitely had more troops in London earlier, but in the past couple of days, they'd noticed some of the units were being moved out of London and headed north. It was largely speculated that whoever was running the Illuminati in Britain now was moving units that had been drawn south by Arthur's actions on the Salisbury Plain and Macbeth's uprising in London. On the surface it gave for a good chance at victory, but the resistance that followed Catherine Silver had used up most of their supplies in the failed uprising, and their supplies all originally came from the Illuminati.
This left him in a position where the entire resistance group had largely split up and was hiding out in small cells until they could get the supplies needed to try another uprising. That left the immortal Scottish King looking for some way to gather the supplies that would be needed. Figuring that out, however, was proving to be rather difficult. Getting the supplies that were used in the initial uprising had come from a raid on an Illuminati fort/supply base on the northern end of London that had involved all of the London Clan and Coyote using a great deal of magic to weaken the ability of the Illuminati soldiers to respond. Now, while the bases were still there and likely did have the equipment that would be needed, they didn't have strength to raid them. Una was good with magic, but didn't have the raw power that Coyote had and her magic had to follow the same rules that all human magic followed.
For the moment, he was waiting on a rooftop with Catherine Silver, waiting for a report that might give them some intelligence on how to raid the Illuminati units and get the supplies they so desperately needed.
"You think they made it through things okay?" Catherine Silver wondered as they looked out into the darkness that made up the city of London.
London would never be Paris, the City of Light, and it would never carry the electric glow that New York did, but it was not a city that went completely pitch black when the sun went down… normally. But since the Illuminati had taken London and drove the regular army far to the north, the streets of London had become much darker than they normally did. Some of this was the result of power outages that came as a result of the London uprising and was the result of specific actions taken by the Illuminati in governing the city.
"I made it clear that all we needed was information on their patrols and how strong they are," Macbeth answered, "the clan may have the preference for a direct fight… but they are not blindly enslaved to instinct. They know this is a scouting mission."
"I meant nothing racist by my question," Catherine answered, "They've made for good company… but if the Illuminati troops look up they could spot them, even while they're only just scouting."
Macbeth sighed and looked out again. In the Middle Ages that didn't really matter. Gargoyles were by no means invincible, but they were still tough to bring down, and Macbeth knew that the typical method of dealing with them was to wait for dawn and smash them during the day. At night, soldiers had to depend on having overwhelming numbers or warriors of great skill, because even the smallest gargoyles were deceptively strong and their vital organs well protected. In the modern world, however, those advantages went away. Rifles were far more powerful than any archer, and the use of assault rifles increased an infantryman's rate of fire. These factors became even more dangerous with larger weapons. Gargoyles still had better eyesight and greater strength, but technology meant that those advantages were not as great as they used to be.
"I'm sure they'll be careful," Macbeth said after a few moments, trying to sound confident, "Una and Leo didn't survive the blitz doing nothing living recklessly."
They waited patiently until the rustle of wings on the wind echoed down to them. They turned to see Chloe return. She was the first of the London Clan that was still in London to return. She quickly cloaked her wings and made her way toward Macbeth and Catherine.
"Did you find anything?" Macbeth asked carefully.
"They've definitely lessened their numbers in London," Chloe reported, "Fewer troops and fewer vehicles…"
"More than likely moving after targets more important than us," Macbeth commented, "how are they operating?"
"Not in a way we can easily take them," Chloe admitted and looked down, "They're using two American made tanks to carry their people around in the patrols that I saw, and they're bristling with armament."
That made Macbeth sigh heavily. The situation was one that they could easily ambush the Illuminati vehicles, but doing so successfully would require the use of heavy weapons, which was what Catherine's resistance cell was largely out of at the present time. There had to be some way to get around that and figure out what the Illuminati's exact strengths were and where their weaknesses were.
"Did you see their bases?" Macbeth asked, "How well were they manned?"
"I did not see their vehicle bases," Chloe admitted, "but given that their patrols are all using vehicles, I do not wish to tangle with them."
"Nor do we, without any rockets," Catherine told her, "We'll try to find something safer to strike at."
"Softer than armored vehicles, I presume?" came Leo's voice as he and Una came in for a landing.
"Yes, that would be the preferred target," Macbeth nodded as he turned to the new arrivals, "did you two find anything?"
"Mostly that their patrols are in heavily armored vehicles operating in pairs," Una answered, "attacking their patrols is out of the question."
Macbeth and Catherine both nodded. That was essentially a repeat of what Chloe had just reported. However, they did notice a look on Leo's face that looked a bit hopeful. As Una finished, he actually took a step forward.
"I take it you found more?" Macbeth inquired.
"Their vehicles that we found were operating out of one of the firehouses," Leo answered, "They might have some equipment there that we could help ourselves to."
Macbeth turned to Catherine, who did look optimistic.
"If we could get a knockout gas…" Catherine began.
"Or if we can transmit a sleep spell into the vents," Una spoke.
"We could incapacitate any response, get in, remove what we need and get out," Catharine finished.
"We'll still need to know how long their patrols are," Macbeth said slowly, and then turned to Una, "How well stocked is your shop?"
"Fairly well… though I'm not sure on how many times we can use it," Una commented, "We're already certain the Illuminati are patrolling by it and even if they aren't watching it… my stock is not bottomless. At some point, I will run out…"
"For the moment, we'll need to hope your stock will last long enough for Arthur's team to make it back," Macbeth spoke, "and we have little real choice in the matter."
Una nodded. They didn't have choice.
"I will begin putting the ingredients for the sleep spell together," Una nodded.
"In the meantime, we'll need to keep an eye on the firehouse," Macbeth instructed, "once we know the length of their patrols, we can then move in when they leave or are changing shifts."
The others nodded and split off again. As they left, Catherine followed Una with her eyes and then asked her lone question.
"So what do we do?" Catherine asked.
"We get in contact with the mutates in London and the rest of the clan," Macbeth answered, "I'd rather save as many bullets as we can until we're ready."
Aldershot, UK
General Crawly, meanwhile, wasn't in London. While it had meant that he'd have to leave London in the hands of the colonel that had weakened the front lines to chase after Arthur, but with the colonel made aware of WHO was in command now that Two was dead, the big decisions would go to Crawly. The colonel would be responsible for keeping the patrols going and making sure that there were no further uprisings in the city. That left General Crawly to turn the other Medieval king that had sparked the entire Illuminati invasion. Arthur, like Macbeth, was not a serious threat to the Illuminati's position, but unlike Macbeth, Arthur carried a reputation as hero that would precede him. If he continued to fight against the Illuminati, and win battles as he had at Stonehenge, more people would join his growing resistance. Something had to be done to contain him while his armies moved north to try and salvage what the colonel had thrown away.
"So what has he been up to?" General Crawly as he looked at a map of the nearby of Farnham.
"Mostly messing with the law enforcement units in Farnham," a different colonel answered, "and it hasn't actually been Pendragon, himself. It's usually been his werewolf, the British soldier that has been with them, and the Southwestern Fey… Coyote."
"But you believe he's still in Farnham?" General Crawly asked.
"We've yet to have an incident where he's been somewhere and his buddies aren't there," the colonel replied, "He's still in Farnham. I'm certain of that, sir."
General Crawly sighed and began to pace the tent. The report was both a positive and a negative. Positive in that they had an idea where Arthur Pendragon was, but a negative because that was about all they had.
"What is the full report on the situation… what has been the full extent of the battles in Farnham?" General Crawly asked.
"It started with what we thought was an illegal gathering in the local church, but resulted in a major ambush and we lost a full squad in the process," the colonel answered, "by the time we could get troops there to investigate and replace the men of the local garrison that were either killed or sent to who knows where… they were gone and we couldn't even get dogs to get a scent as to where they went."
"Magic," General Crawly growled through gritted teeth betraying a great deal of frustration with that, "If only Khan weren't raising so much trouble in China… the whole Council would come and bring forces of magic that Pendragon would never be able to stop… and perhaps we wouldn't have hat to make this entire invasion an open affair."
"Their luck can't go forever," the colonel answered, "and to be honest, I'd think part of the reason why Pendragon is still in Farnham is that some of his luck HAS run out already."
General Crawly turned to the colonel and raised an eyebrow.
"Colonel, he could be there because he's raising an army," General Crawly said slowly, "Why else would he be raiding our garrison unit and taking their equipment."
"That may be what he's doing now," the colonel answered, "but based off of the intelligence on him, he's more likely to do what he can on his own to spare others the burden of such a battle… which would play right into your hands, sir, even with Merlin with his powers and with the member of the Third Race. Our numbers would overwhelm them."
General Crawly looked over and gave a heavy sigh. The colonel meanwhile continued.
"And while I suppose the British soldier has brought in a bit more modern and 'total war' type of thinking, I doubt he could really influence Arthur on his own," the colonel continued, "as such, I think something had to have happened to Arthur making the situation for him one that has required him to begin raising an army of rebels."
"How long until we have Farnham completely surrounded?" General Crawly asked.
"Farnham is already surrounded," the colonel responded, "though, it'll will take another couple of days to make the line a continuous one and strong enough that if Arthur and his rebels move to flee… we can catch them…"
General Crawly nodded. He didn't like the overall position and with the magic users on his side, Arthur might very well pull off some miracle, but he could at least be confident that they were doing the best they could do to contain him. If fortune would move back in their favor, they might even take him prisoner.
Farnham, UK
Arthur was in fact still in Farnham, and something had indeed happened to him. During the battle at the church, he had been wounded and needed time to recover. Unlike the gargoyles who could heal from any wound, short of amputations, through stonesleep or Rachael who could heal just about any wound, Arthur was still a normal human. He was in excellent shape, but he was still a normal human. Beth had removed the bullet and Merlin had cast a few spells to keep things clean and accelerating the healing process. This did not, however, make it easy for Arthur to be around.
"You need to relax, Arthur," Merlin said calmly, "You'll wear yourself out when you're trying to recover from a gunshot wound."
Arthur looked over to the chair where Merlin was seated. The two of them were in basement of the woman, Cathy's, home and had been instructed to keep things as quiet as possible. Merlin and Coyote did a lot to make sure that Griff and the others wouldn't alert anyone when they awoke at sunset, but it was best agreed to stay as quiet as possible. That, however, didn't put Arthur at ease, especially while the others were out. He found himself pacing back and forth across an open space in the basement they were in.
"I should be out there," Arthur said slowly, "This whole mess is my responsibility. I should face it."
"Not while you're on the mend," Beth spoke up, "and Reginald is right… you're not going to get a one on one duel that decides the fate of Britain. If that were the case, the Illuminati should have left after Rachael killed two and we restored Merlin's powers. It's been pretty clear that they haven't done that."
"But I am not the political ruler anymore," Arthur answered, "I will do whatever I can to preserve Britain's freedom, but I do not have the power or the right to have others risk their lives for me."
"Twenty did volunteer to join us," Merlin commented, "So while you may not officially command them, they will still count on you, Arthur. You cannot try to do everything."
Arthur sighed heavily and did concede that point. In his time as King he had always tried to be there to defend his people when there had been a major issue to be dealt with, and he made sure he did everything that he could, and he generally won or at least delayed a defeat… allowing for victory to be snatched from the jaws of defeat later. But that wasn't happening with the Illuminati, at least not that he could see. They had won battles, but there was no retreat and the Illuminati's forces had not visibly shrunk.
"There has to be something more we can do," Arthur commented.
As he finished, the sound of feet coming down the stairs were heard, and Rachael, Reginald, and Coyote returned. Reginald also answered Arthur's comment, making it clear that he had overheard Arthur.
"Doing more will require more men to defeat the Illuminati's army or at least force them to commit more men to chasing us," Reginald spoke, "as we are now, we're too small a force for them to truly worry over."
"I'm sure, but that's what makes me worry about the group," Arthur admitted, "that I'll make a mistake and will get good people needlessly hurt."
"You've done quite well so far, sir," Reginald said with an encouraging voice, "besides, it's always best to look to the positives."
Arthur then watched as the three took a duffel bag and set it down on a small table where there was already a fairly decent sized stash of military grad weaponry. It was a testament to the success of the small scale raids that had been carried out over the past two days and gave Arthur some hope that they might be able to gain some additional strength or at least the ammunition to do more than just take on the town's garrison forces.
"So what is the good news?" Arthur asked.
"Mostly that the guys they have policing Farnham couldn't fight their way out of anything but a disorganized mob with no violent intentions," Reginald answered, "an armed mob with violent intentions might get badly bloodied… but they'd still take out these guys."
The others nodded at that. Reginald had proven invaluable in dealing with all of these recent battles, mostly because of his knowledge on how modern armies fought and worked. He didn't entirely buy into a lot of the ideas that they would be using, particularly using local recruits, though his reason was due to the lack of time to properly train them, and he was fairly blunt when he voiced his displeasure at this. It could be frustrating at times, but Arthur respected the truth, especially since that there was so much in the world that had changed since Arthur had gone to sleep on Avalon. He had learned a lot, but there was always more to learn.
"Dare I ask… is there any potential bad news?" Beth wondered as Coyote moved to stand by her.
"Interestingly enough, it might be our own success," Coyote spoke after a short sigh, "they lost one whole squad when they tried to grab as at the Church and in the past two nights we've taken twenty different assault rifles and enough ammunition to give each rifle two clips. My magic and Merlin's can help… and you know the gargoyles will always help you, but it may best if we moved on tomorrow night before the Illuminati decide to take more drastic measures."
Above Farnham
Meanwhile, Griff and the other London clan members were on a fairly different mission. The fact that there had been a battle at the church made it impossible for them to use the church as a roosting spot. Their only safe spot had been in Cathy's basement with the others. It was cramped and potentially dangerous as someone might hear their awakening roars at sunset, but Coyote and Merlin did both move to protect against that. But during the night, Griff took his part of the team out on patrol, though not to engage the Illuminati but to try and scout them out the best way he could.
"It would appear that Coyote's team has already hit the police station," Lancelot commented as they glided over Farnham's police station.
Power had been restored and they could see Illuminati soldiers moving about inside the building, and a couple soldiers were actually standing outside it, though their armament for the moment was nothing more than a nightstick. Griff immediately banked away, just in case they looked up. Lancelot, Julia, and Octavia followed, though Lancelot looked a little puzzled.
"We're not going to give them what they deserve?" Lancelot wondered.
"Picking a fight wouldn't necessarily help us any," Griff answered, "If Coyote's team has already hit them, then they have nothing we can use to train those that agreed to join Arthur."
"And besides, our mission is purely a scouting one," Octavia added, "so that way when we make our next move, we can do so without blundering into a trap."
They then moved toward the edges of Farnham as part of their overall scouting mission. While Reginald had lead raiding teams to improve the supply situation Arthur and his forces faced, Griff had lead scouting missions to see what the main Illuminati units that had been pursuing them were doing. From what they'd noticed so far, it appeared that they were trying to ring Farnham with strong points. Julia had guessed that eventually they would storm Farnham or wait for Arthur to move behind a wall of supporting fire bases.
And as they glided over the edge of the town, they could see additional fires on the ground below them as the Illuminati soldiers made camp. It looked like at least two more machine gun nests. There was also a tank sitting in a semi-concealed position further back. The sight of them made Griff a bit nervous.
"They're tightening the nose," Griff said slowly.
"Certainly looks that way," Octavia commented, "but I don't think it'll be complete. If we make our move tonight or tomorrow night we might be able to get through and get to another place of safety."
"For the time being," Griff commented, "but you are right… we need to move… but best to see where they're strongest first. Wouldn't want to run into the teeth of their defenses do we?"
The others rapidly agreed. They then continued on, largely intended to glide in a bit of a circle that followed where the Illuminati soldiers had set up their campfires. There were a handful of major floodlights, and they had to swerve side to side to avoid them, but they ultimately got a very good impression of where most of the strong points were, and they were mostly along the northern and eastern edges of Farnham.
"Whoever is leading them must know that we're headed toward London," Griff commented, "We'll need to move south and/or west."
"We might be able to recruit more that way," Julia commented, "If we can raise and equip a large force, we'd do some real damage to the Illuminati."
"Let's worry about that when we can equip what we have," Lancelot commented nervously.
The young Avalon male was brave and eager to prove himself to Arthur, but the sight of so many heavy weapons strong points made him a bit nervous.
London, Near the Fire Station
Back in London, Leo and Chloe perched quietly on the roof of the building opposite the fire station that they had noticed Illuminati troops using as a base earlier. They had been there for hours and noticed that a new patrol was just leaving as they had arrived and that the one that had left earlier was just returning. They then settled into waiting to see when they switched again. While they were waiting an idea came to Chloe as they watched.
"Say… what would you think about using their vehicles would do?" Chloe wondered to the English male.
"If we knew how to drive it, I'm sure it'd give them a short term headache," Leo answered, "but I don't know how to drive one. The only one who might would be Reginald…"
"And he's with Arthur," Chloe nodded, "I'd still think it would be a good idea to try it, at least for a little while."
"If you want to drive it, that's you," Leo answered, "I'm not into trying it…"
Chloe didn't answer and resumed her vigil in watching the fire station. The building was of an older design that had gotten clear upgrades over the years to keep up with new technologies. It had no noticeable battle damage, but it was also in a section fairly far away from where their abortive uprising had come about. Most of the upgrades included improved ventilation systems that were on the roof, and where they ultimately planned to drop the powders carrying the sleep spell into to put the Illuminati soldiers inside to sleep.
"It's a shame we have to do damage to the city to do this," Chloe sighed after a moment, "many of the buildings look nice and… well historic…"
"Compared to what few wild areas there are in Scotland?" Leo commented with a shrug, thinking over the way Chloe commonly behaved.
Having been found in Scotland, mostly living on her own, Chloe did have a great deal of curiosity about big cities and human society, mostly because it wasn't something she really got to see much of in a way that mattered while she had been on her own. She had adapted well enough and wasn't like an awestruck hatchling, but there were some obvious moments where she showed some of her great interest in things bigger and brighter than being outside of a place of great activity.
"Of course," Chloe answered, "Though I am puzzled as to why they've left so many of the lights off. It allows us to hide a lot easier… and we never cut the power…"
"That could be a trap," Leo sighed, "maybe they have thermal imaging technology and are relying on it. Their vehicles will certainly have it…"
It wasn't much of an answer, but Chloe seemed to accept it. As she gave a bit of a shrug, the armored vehicles began to return and approach the fire station. The rumble of their engines alerted both Leo and Chloe and they looked toward where the sound was coming from. The two vehicles looked like American Bradly Fighting Vehicles and they rumbled along until they came up the doors to the fire station which lifted straight up. Before they could enter, the ones that had gone in when Chloe and Leo arrived came out again.
"So, how long does that make their patrols?" Chloe asked.
"About two hours," Leo answered, "We'd best get back to Macbeth. It'll be dawn soon."
Chloe only nodded.
Una and Leo's Shop
Una's work, however, was not as easy or light as Chloe and Leo's work. The ingredients she needed for her sleep spell was all there, but to give the Illuminati the impression that no one was in the shop she had to keep the lights off. This was no great problem, as Una could easily see in the darkness, but it did mean she had move slowly, just to be sure that she didn't make a disastrous mistake by mixing in the wrong ingredient. The quietness, however, did disturb her, though.
Una was used to having Leo helping her run the shop or having Griff and Julia or Octavia stopping by during a patrol, and there was no chance of that tonight. All that she could hear was the sounds of the building "settling." It was in a sense dead silence with not even the sound of people moving around outside the shop, and that was perhaps the worst of it. London had its own night life with busy cars, shops, restaurants, clubs, and other events. Una and Leo's shop was never the busiest of them, but that didn't mean no one went past it. Una had grown up to the sounds of people walking on those streets and lived with the sound of their cars while she and Leo thought Griff dead.
But the Illuminati invasion had seemed to stop all of that. It was as if London became a ghost town at night. It was possible that since the failed uprising had occurred and the battles between Macbeth and Catherine Silver's resistance forces against the Illuminati that those still in the city that weren't part of the resistance were hiding during the night and only coming out during the day. It still created a sort of silence that Una found unnerved. She mixed all the ingredients and fit them into several small vials to drop into the ventilation system of the fire house. Once they were put together, she carefully set the vials into a small bag and then quietly departed.
London was still quiet when Una made her way onto the shop's roof, with the exception of a low rumble. There was also the clanking of metal moving on the streets and even the cracking of the metal tracks doing damage to the road network.
"Their armored patrols," Una thought and ducked down so to keep her profile as low as possible and keeping herself in the shadows.
She then turned her head to where the sound of these armored vehicles was coming from. After a few moments, the two vehicles rounded a corner and advanced passed by the shop. They were built along the lines of the American Bradly Fighting Vehicle, which probably demonstrated the international membership that made up the Illuminati. After all, no one group could truly rule the world. The sight of the armored vehicles made Una think back to the blitz and all the terror and horror stories that went along with it. Now, things were worse. Especially when one considered the price that both sides were paying. If the Illuminati force included representatives from all over the world, how would their families respond to news that their family member had been killed? Would they even know, or would the Illuminati substitute that person with an android or clone or something that would look like their loved one.
"If only you hadn't started all this," Una sighed heavily and waited for the two vehicles to round the next corner.
Once they did, she leaped from the roof and began to glide away. Her first move was to return to the 'fallback' spot where the scouting teams had earlier reported to Macbeth and Catherine. Neither leader was there, but she did run into Chloe and Leo who were also returning from their own scouting mission.
"So how did your mission go?" Chloe asked as they approached, but remained in the air.
"Successful enough," Una answered as she moved be on the other side of Leo, "We should have enough to put everyone in the fire house to sleep."
"That'll be good then," Leo commented, "and that'd hopefully give Macbeth and the resistance the opportunity to get enough supplies to drive off some of these patrols… and if not… Chloe had the idea of borrowing one of the vehicles, even though none of us can drive them…"
"That certainly would give them some headaches to deal with," Una chuckled, "but I suppose that would be Macbeth's decision."
"And it looks like he and Catherine have left," Leo noted, "Which will mean that he's gone to the Mutates' sanctuary."
Una and Chloe both nodded and banked to head in that general direction. They'd have enough time to make their report before they'd go to sleep for the day.
Farnham
Griff and his team were very careful to make sure there was no one looking when they came in for a landing in the backyard of the woman that Coyote had initially spoke with, Cathy, and began to move toward the backdoor. The people of Farnham were not entirely supportive of the Illuminati, and twenty had agreed to fight by Arthur's side, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a great deal of fear besides and that people might 'collaborate' with the Illuminati just to keep themselves safe. The situation reminded Griff of some of the histories he had read on how World War II ended after moving from the Battle of Britain to 1990s London through the Phoenix Gate with Goliath. It was a tough one, and one that seemed to make the overall position worse.
"Come in!" Cathy said as she opened the door and motioned for them to come in. Her voice was firm, yet soft as well.
"So how did it go?" she asked as they did enter, "Anything hopeful?"
"Not really," Griff said nervously, "but we'll do our best…"
"I see," Cathy said slowly as she caught onto the tone of Griff's voice, "I can't and won't be going with you if you go to fight… but I will wish you the best of luck."
Griff nodded and slowly began to follow the others back downstairs into the basement. He found that Julia and Octavia had begun to explain what they had uncovered.
"It's true… they're encircling Farnham?" Arthur asked.
"Yes," Griff spoke, "mostly focusing on the areas to the north and east of us. We can get out…"
"But we'd need to double back," Reginald commented.
"May not be a bad idea," Arthur spoke. "We only have twenty volunteers and no real supplies. London is the key, and even with Macbeth and Catherine there, we won't have the numbers to be a real threat."
"I thought you said you didn't want to involve too many innocents?" Reginald asked.
"I don't," Arthur replied, "but as been said, we're also in a position where we cannot take on the forces arrayed against us."
Reginald nodded.
"Can we make the escape though?" Beth wondered, "Between us, the supplies you've all collected, and twenty volunteers, we can't leave unless we all go in one truck, and even there we won't go far…"
"I'm afraid we may have to rely on yours, Merlin's, and Coyotes abilities with magic," Arthur sighed, "We will be on foot and will need magic to help us."
Beth only gulped as she thought of the 'Avalon stone' that she had found and had. She had figured out how to use it, and was fairly proficient with it, but she also got the strange sensation that the more she used the stone the more connected to it she became. As such, she preferred not using it if she didn't have to. She gave a short shudder that Coyote noticed. The southwestern fey put a hand on her shoulder and patted it to give her some reassurance.
"It's okay," Beth said after a moment, "I did come to help… it's a way I didn't expect I'd be helping, but still…"
"We'll do what we can so that way you're not doing it too much if you do not wish to," Merlin said calmly.
Beth nodded, "Thank you."
Coyote continued keep a reassuring hand on Beth's shoulder, "So, what is the plan?"
"With dawn coming soon, we'll be going to sleep and can't move," Griff spoke up, "We can catch up if you leave directions for us…"
"It might be best if you stayed here and continue on your way to London, maybe make some hit and run raid on random small units along the way," Reginald advised, "It'd allow you to inform Macbeth on how we've fared and what our present situation is."
"Leave Arthur?" Griff gasped.
"We will need to be moving both day and night," Reginald spoke, "Just to stay of the Illuminati… and we aren't the only front the Illuminati needs to be concerned with."
"But we can help!" Lancelot protested.
"And I can't just let you go off on your own," Griff added, "You'll need an effective scout… and if you send us off, Arthur, you won't have that… Merlin, Coyote, and Beth will need to stay near you so that their magic can be employed together, and Reginald and Rachael would be protecting you… but you'd have no scout…"
Reginald only sighed, "This isn't about whether or not you can help… and yes, it would put in in a bit of a sticky wicket, but it isn't something that can be avoided. Anything we do needs to coordinate with the bigger picture of things. We can't just do things in random patterns. And to coordinate things we…"
"Need to contact Macbeth," Arthur said with a sigh, "but Griff does have a point. We may have to move slower, but he can glide ahead and won't tip off any radar type instillations…"
"And keeping hidden during the day shouldn't be too hard," Coyote commented, "either an invisibility spell… or a geass placed on an object that would create the sort of urge to either turn around or forget the mission entirely."
Reginald sighed and conceded the point. He looked to Arthur who had his eyes on the two Roman gargoyles. Reginald hoped that if all of the gargoyles weren't going to leave, that at least some would be sent back to London. His opinion was not hate filled or anything like that. He actually did like Griff and would have been quite content to share a few drinks at a good pub with the gargoyle, but he also had his training to consider. They were at war and they had to save their country, and the Illuminati was not about to let them ride around like the knights of old. They had to coordinate their efforts and that included getting a message to Macbeth and being as mobile as possible. The gargoyles could defend a singular point better than moving around large areas, and that was his concern.
"Julia… Octavia… I would ask that you do continue on your way to London," Arthur spoke, "Macbeth will need to know that we got Merlin his powers back and that we will be trying to gather some strength that might draw the Illuminati either away from London or from where the main battle lines are."
"Yes," Julia nodded, "We will head out first thing tomorrow night."
"And the rest of us will head out to the southwest," Arthur nodded, and then turned to Coyote, "You'd best inform our volunteers to meet at the church again thirty minutes after dusk."
Coyote again nodded.
London, Mutate Sanctuary
Daybreak in London brought great concern over what the next move would be. Leo, Una, and Chloe had made their reports and Macbeth had generally explained the plan to the mutates.
"And you think you can do all this without losses?" one of the mutates, and he was based Whippet dog breed, there asked, sounding partially suspicious.
"Una is quite confident that her spell will give us enough time to get and get what we'll need," Macbeth answered slowly, "We'll likely only get small arms… but it will give the resistance desperately needed ammunition."
"What of commandeering one of their vehicles?" the mutate asked.
"That I don't think we'll do," Macbeth said slowly, "We have no way of hiding it and those things will require trained crews to operate them, so it's not like we'll be able to drive around and blast the vehicles they already have on patrol."
The mutate looked a bit at ease over that. Macbeth found that to be understandable. They really did not have the desire to be protectors that gargoyles had instinctively. They had largely returned to London to ultimately try to be at home, which would be difficult given their appearance. Macbeth and Arthur had both tried to get them to move the mansion, but they had their own independence that they had to respect. Now, though, Macbeth knew they would need to help, but demanding they go on suicide missions was not the way to do it.
They had the right to try and protect their own lives, and the fact that they had taken up living in old and abandoned and out of use sections of London's underground was more than enough proof of that. The Illuminati didn't patrol the underground that often, and the mutates wanted to make sure that their safe haven remained a place the Illuminati rarely went.
"All we'll need from you is to help carry what supplies we can get OUT after the spell puts them all to sleep," Macbeth answered, "From there you can return to your patrols of the underground."
The Whippet mutate nodded in agreement.
"I'd actually wish you could do more," Catherine said from across the table, "I mean… you can match the gargoyles in strength… or at least pretty close to matching them, you can blast enemies with electricity, you don't turn to stone, and while I must be honest that this is all still very weird to me… from what I've seen you are all good people. Stand with us in the resistance and you'll be heroes. It shouldn't matter what this Alex or Anton Sevarius did to you."
The Whippet mutate gave a weak and forced smile before placing a hand on Catherine's shoulder.
"I thank you for being so tolerant… but humans do not readily accept what they do not understand," the mutate said slowly, "During our time in Manhattan, even after the Unseelies were beaten… it was pretty clear to us that the bulk of the city was against or at least indifferent to the gargoyles there. We've all agreed that humanity is not ready for a general revelation that our own science has advanced far enough that we can turn normal humans into mutates… the reaction… it would not be pretty."
Catherine only sighed and looked to Macbeth for a moment. The immortal king looked to be in general agreement with the mutate, though his look also displayed a bit of frustration with all of that as well.
"We'll do what we can to let you do what you need to do keep yourselves safe," Macbeth finally spoke.
"We'll also help you wherever we can," Catherine added.
The Whippet nodded and they could now only wait until dusk.
Farnham, After Dusk
Dusk arrived with a certain expectation of what would happen. Coyote and the twenty volunteers waited patiently inside the church where they had first met with Arthur. All that they needed now was for Arthur and those that would be headed out. When they arrived, Coyote would temporarily leave to disrupt Illuminati communications and their control, which might give the rest some time to escape. It would require travelling through mirrors, and Beth had to carry and keep a small pocket mirror in perfect condition, but it would also give Arthur the opening he needed to get out of Farnham safely.
"They really have Farnham surrounded?" one of the volunteers asked to Coyote.
"That is what was reported to us…" Coyote answered, "But it's an incomplete encirclement. The way we'll be going has few strong points and they can be negated by a bit of magic, provided it is the right spell."
The volunteers traded looks before one of them finally made a comment.
"Must be a pretty impressive sight," the volunteer spoke.
"It can be," Coyote answered, "but we're intending to avoid a pitched battle."
The volunteers all nodded in agreement. They had all agreed to fight, but they were just as nervous over the fact that they had no training and little in the way of arms as Arthur worried about risking their lives and Reginald worried about training them. Coyote did not say anymore when the sound footsteps could be heard. The volunteers tensed and Coyote readied himself in order to cover their retreat if it was necessary. In the end it wasn't. The church doors opened to let Arthur, Merlin, Reginald, Griff, Lancelot, and Beth. Their arrival made everyone relax and prepare for the next stage.
"So, how did it go?" Coyote asked.
"Fairly well," Arthur nodded, "Julia and Octavia are on their way to London and we're waiting for what will be the next move…"
"Right," Coyote nodded and glanced back over to where a mirror had been set up.
All fey could use mirrors for transport and they didn't have to be special the way Titania's Mirror was. Titania's Mirror could allow anyone to see anything and then forcibly pull them there, be they mortal or fey. However, only Fey could use a normal mirror.
Seeing that it was ready, Coyote gave a slight smirk, "Give me about twenty minutes to make sure that their communications goes down. I'll join you again once it's clear to go."
"Right," Arthur nodded, "Good luck… and thank you for all you've done to help."
"It's what I do," Coyote quipped.
"Be careful," Beth called to him.
Coyote nodded and then dove into the mirror and was gone…
Farnham, Police Station
Miles Thorn was tired and somewhat nervous. He had been part of the Illuminati's garrison force placed in Farnham. At first it had been quiet for them. His work had largely been equivalent to a policeman's job, and a couple of the Illuminati garrison included members of the local police in Farnham. But recently, that had come to an end as Arthur Pendragon and his rebel group, the very reason the Illuminati had come into the open and invaded Britain, arrived in Farnham. One whole squad had seemingly disappeared and then his unit was raided for their supplies. Some men died, but they and the stolen supplies were always replaced, but Miles worried that if the raids continued he would face his own death eventually.
It was in a great sense of nervousness that Miles Thorn made his way into the bathroom in the Farnham Police Station. Pendragon's followers hadn't raided the station yet, but they did expect it to come eventually. Miles had been instructed to have his rifle with him and a full clip for when they did attack, and the rest of the Illuminati troops were also waiting for the inevitable raid. He set his weapon to where it would lean against the wall and moved over to a urinal and began to do his business.
He'd just pulled up his fly and flushed the urinal when a new voice cut him off.
"Everything come out okay?" came Coyote's voice from behind him.
Miles jumped and actually looked to dive for his rifle, but as soon he was in the air, he flew backward until he hit the far wall.
"HELP! HELP! THEIR FEY IS HERE!" Miles hollered at the top of his lungs.
"I've sealed the room off, no one can get in or out," Coyote answered as he lifted up the gun, "you're alone."
Coyote then reexamined the rifle, pulling the clip out to inspect its ammunition. Once seeing that the gun was fully loaded, he put the clip back in.
"Resupplied I see," Coyote commented.
"You and Pendragon won't get away with this!" Miles challenged, trying to sound defiant.
"I expect you mean your friends outside will stop tonight's raid?" Coyote commented, "I'm afraid that I'm only a distraction. If you focus on me… the real blow will overwhelm you."
Miles only looked back, nervously. His mind wondering what Pendragon could be doing using the Fey as a distraction.
"And where are you getting your new supplies from?" Coyote commented, "It's helped us out and I figure that a direct visit there might net us more supplies."
"I'll never tell you!" Miles answered.
"Never? Not even as a potential trap?" Coyote inquired, "I thought you guys had contingencies and ambushes for everything and had traps everywhere… oh, well… I suppose when we break out of here, we'll just have to roam around the lines until we find it."
"Even with all your magic, we know Pendragon doesn't have that sort of strength," Miles argued.
"Who said anything about magic," Coyote answered, and then sighed, "I suppose I'd best be off then."
Miles only watched as Coyote snapped his fingers and seemed to vanish in a flash of light. As soon as the light faded, Miles saw that Coyote was gone, though he also took his rifle. A moment later, the bathroom door burst in and two other soldiers came in, their weapons were at the ready.
"Where is he?" the first asked, referring to Coyote, and giving the indication that he had heard what had been screamed.
"He vanished," Miles answered, "but that isn't the least of it. We got to get on the radio."
"What's going on?" the second wondered.
"They've got some kind of trick going," Miles reported, "They intend to actually strike Aldershot."
"They know where General Crawley is?" the first gasped.
"No, but he did say they'd go looking for him," Miles reported.
"They are getting aggressive," the first commented, "Come on, we need to report this in."
Unknown to them, Coyote had been watching from within the mirrors. With the city of the present Illuminati headquarters mentioned, he then left.
Aldershot, UK
Coyote emerged from a car's rearview mirror and took on the form of a stray dog as he landed on the pavement. He knew the headquarters was in Aldershot, but didn't know exactly where it was. As such, he had a bit of wandering to do, though he also figured that taking the time to find the HQ would actually benefit the escape plan. If the Illuminati thought Arthur was going to attack toward their headquarters, they'd certainly pull troops to block the path toward them to set up a trap. Troops would surely continue to the man the rest of the line, and troops that had been moved would be kept mobile enough to respond if necessary, but it would give them some time to escape.
Meanwhile in the command center that had been set up outside Aldershot, General Crawley walked slowly into a lone radio area where a series of frantic reports were coming from.
"What is this going on?" General Crawley demanded in a frustrated tone.
"It's the garrison in Farnham, sir, Pendragon's Fey has apparently begun a new raid on their base," the radio officer reported.
"Pendragon's been doing that for the past two days," General Crawly answered, "Tomorrow night our ring will be complete and we can send units in to flush Pendragon and anyone he's persuaded to follow him out."
"The problem is that the raids are apparently a distraction," the radio officer answered, "The Fey apparently blabbed that Pendragon intends to directly attack us."
That caught General Crawley's full attention.
"He intends to attack us?" General Crawley asked, "Repeat what he did at Stonehenge?"
"That is what I gathered from their report, sir," the radio officer spoke, "Though they also said that they didn't know where we were and would just begin searching or lines to find us."
"Order all men to be on alert," General Crawly answered, "If he doesn't know where we are he could go in ANY direction. Keep everyone on alert should he come their way. Also keep them in close contact with each other."
"Yes, sir," the radio officer answered.
General Crawley then stood by and looked at the far wall of the radio center he was in at the moment. The wall was blank and colored olive green, which could also fit his mind. He had expected Pendragon to be turning the Church in Farnham into a fortress and try to hold out from there. He didn't expect any attack on his lines and half wondered what was going through Arthur's mind. The only thing that settled General Crawley was the fact that if his men were on alert, they'd surely spot something before an attack occurred and would unleash their firepower on Arthur.
Outside in his disguise as a stray dog, Coyote had found the radio "shack" that the Illuminati were using. Finding it was a bit difficult and he spent a few moments running around the city. He didn't get any lead until he came across a military car driving along a street. He then followed it until it came into a camp that was just outside the city. Their radio equipment was in what looked like a small towed camper with several radio antennas rising from the center of the box. It was painted in camouflage colors and was nestled among several large bushes that had originally been planted for decoration. Its windows were also covered with metal slats so to keep any conventional attack on it.
"Of course, I'm not about to do anything conventional," Coyote thought to himself and crawled under the trailer.
Once under the trailer, Coyote returned to a more humanoid form and rolled onto his back. He was about to speak when he saw boots come down the stairs that lead into the trailer.
"Let me know when Pendragon engages our positions," the owner of the boots commanded.
Coyote heard an automated response that was agreeing to do so. Then Coyote watched the boots walk away. A few moments later, he heard a car start. The last Coyote saw, the car was driving away toward a different sector of the camp. As it did so, Coyote also heard the door shut. Satisfied that he could then cast the required spell, Coyote looked up and focused before he began to softly chant…
"Illuminati radio towers,
That carries orders and reports for hours,
Lose your connections and links,
So that you know not what your enemy thinks."
With that, a small sphere of green light jumped up from Coyote's hands and then traveled along wires and metal lines. When it reached the main radio antenna, sparks and raw electricity seemed to run over the radio antenna. They then began to spark off into the air in all directions. The electricity would ensure that the Illuminati leadership wouldn't receive any reports sent by radio waves. Coyote had originally intended for this to work only with the unit or units around Farnham, but with the Illuminati all using the same frequency, this spell affected every radio system the Illuminati were using. It went the same way Puck's spell to turn Manhattan's humans into gargoyles had been expanded by the satellite transmitters.
"There," Coyote gave a sigh, "that should create some chaos… now… now…"
Despite his confidence, and despite the successes of the spell, Coyote had vastly overworked himself. He needed time to regain his strength and would not be able to even move for a few moments. He was thankful that no one else was there to tell him that he had been too cocky as he lay there and tried to keep his tired breaths form making too much noise that might be overheard.
London
Meanwhile, Macbeth and his team began to launch their own raid. They all gathered on the roof of the building across from the firehouse that the gargoyles had found the night before. With Macbeth were Chloe, Una, Leo, Gawain and a handful of the London mutates, led by the Whippet mutate that Macbeth had asked for the help. Catherine Silver had also come along to represent the main body of the resistance.
"Remember, we'll do this in steps," Macbeth spoke calmly, "Una will send the sleep spell into its ventilation systems."
Una nodded. Macbeth then brandished his electric blaster.
"Once it spreads through the building, Chloe and I will go in and make sure they're all out cold," Macbeth answered, "The rest of you are to keep a lookout, just in case the Illuminati vehicles return."
"And if they do return while you're still in there?" the Whippet mutate asked curiously, "Will you ask us to launch an all-out rescue mission?"
"Macbeth and I have sets of walkie-talkies," Catherine spoke up, "and they have great range. If anyone comes from the outside, we'll use them to warn Macbeth."
The Whippet mutate nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. The solution was not the simplest, but neither was it heavily complex. If the Illuminati suspected it, they could surely jam the signals with something, but they weren't likely to suspect it and thus wouldn't be likely to have any jamming equipment ready. Macbeth let the mutates process what they had been told before finishing the final briefing for the raid's plan. As they talked they could hear the patrol vehicles just leaving the firehouse.
"The next move will be to remove what ammunition and hand held heavy weapons they have," Macbeth then continued, "Chloe and I will open the main doors and the rest will begin moving them out."
"Take any rifles, pistols, and machine guns too," Catherine added, "If people join us, we may have arms to spare… and if not… then we'd have spare parts for any weapons we already have that are broken."
Macbeth nodded in agreement and turned to Una and Chloe.
"Are we ready?" he asked them.
Chloe nodded immediately, with Una nodding shortly after.
"Then let us go," Macbeth answered.
With that, Chloe then gripped Macbeth under the arms and leaped from the building. The glide was short, and with Macbeth in her arms, she was mostly grateful that the firehouse was shorter than the building from which they were gliding from. She came to somewhat skidding landing as the glide wasn't long enough for her to recover from the initial sharp pull of gravity before her wings could gain enough lift to glide.
"Sorry," Chloe said weakly as Macbeth picked himself up.
"It's alright," Macbeth answered, "It's doubtful they have anyone in the attic…"
"And if they do, they will succumb to the sleep spell first," Una spoke as she came in for her own landing.
Inside the firehouse, the crew of the team that had just returned from their patrol moved slowly and somewhat tiredly. The patrols rapidly becoming dull and boring for the men that ran them. The resistance, which had staged a massive uprising, and largely vanished with only occasional raids and appearances. Despite the brazen action that ultimately freed Macbeth being noticeable, there had been few if any sightings of them and since the Illuminati had mandated that they not destroy London without expressed reason to, which meant they needed to clearly see and find the resistance members. None had been seen in the open, at least not in any way that would be considered an act of rebellion.
Because of this, they went out, they looked, they found nothing, and returned to base. It was a monotonous routine that they quickly became bored in and tired of. They wanted a battle, but with none on the immediate horizon, they ran their patrols and returned. Their vehicles were American Bradly Fighting Vehicles and were in three teams. One team was on patrol, one team was just returning, and one team was resting. There were also several support troops also present that serviced the vehicles and kept them armed.
"You guys find anything?" one of the support staff asked to the commander of the patrol that had just returned.
"No," the commander grumbled, "all is quiet… if any gargoyle glided over us; they didn't follow us or were at such an angle we wouldn't see them unless we took out the roofs of buildings."
The support staff nodded but said nothing. To a great extent they didn't want to destroy London, as keeping it in good shape would also be necessary for Illuminati rule, and with the only resistance being largely untrained guerrillas, going all out to defeat them rapidly would potentially do more harm than good. And while there were no attacks going on, their plans weren't in danger.
"Maybe they fl…" the support staff officer began when a hiss came from the air vents in the garage where their armored vehicles had been brought.
Two men looked up and another looked to an interior wall. In doing so, they saw what looked like a purplish-pink cloud come out of the vents.
"Gas!" the patrol commander stated in shock and surprise, but with no other warning as the cloud rapidly engulfed all of them.
The patrol commander waved his hand in front of his face, trying to clear things up in the hopes removing the gas, but it was to no effect. He coughed slowly, but also began to feel rather sleepy. The more steps he took the more tired and sleepy he felt.
"It's… knock… out…" the patrol commander said slowly and then dropped to the floor into a deep sleep.
On the roof, Macbeth, Una, and Chloe moved to the other side of the roof. It took them partially out of view of the other team, but it did give them an opening to move into the firehouse through a window.
"How long will it take for the gas/dust cloud to dissipate?" Macbeth asked.
"By the time that Chloe gets the window open, it should be clear to enter," Una answered, "but we will not have much time. The spell will only keep them asleep for about an hour before they will begin to wake up."
Macbeth nodded and stood by the white unicorn-like gargoyle while Chloe climbed down to the window. The forest green female easily slid her talons under the window and lifted it up finding it to be unlocked. What then followed was a relatively decent display of gymnastics. Macbeth slowly backed up to where he would be right over the window and then took a step back off the roof. He only fell as far as his hands as from there; he gripped the drainpipe and pivoted his lower body so that when he fell, his momentum took him into the room. It wasn't something that would win a gold medal in the Olympics, but it was certainly something most people would not expect from a man of Macbeth's years.
"Come, we must be quick," Macbeth said hurriedly, "if we have an hour before they begin to wake up again…"
"Right," Chloe nodded as she climbed and then helped Una through.
The three then split up going through the hallways and offices. There weren't too many to look through. As while the firehouse did have living quarters that dated back before improved mass transit or communications, which would allow at least some firemen to be reached at all times in the past, the bulk of the building was devoted to storage of the vehicles and the equipment. Macbeth found a handful of papers and maps that looked like orders and locations, which he pocketed and moved on. He eventually made his way down to the ground floor where he found Chloe and Una coming out of two intersecting hallways.
"Any luck?" Macbeth asked.
"Beyond a couple of handguns, nothing," Chloe sighed as she held up a pillow case that hung from her fist as though something smaller and denser than a pillow.
"Then any weapons they have are in the main garage," Macbeth then sighed, "That'll make some things easier."
"Not many as the time we have is running out," Una warned.
"Then let's not waste it," Macbeth moved around the edge of the steps and moved toward a larger set of double doors that had the unmistakable odor of grease and motor oil drifting through it.
The room was in fact the garage, and had two Bradley Fighting Vehicles sitting quietly with either crewmen or men there to support the crew lying asleep on the floor where they stood or close to it. In addition, like everywhere else in the improvised base, a purplish-pink powder seemed to cover the floor. The Bradleys were all in the area where the fire trucks normally would be, and there were several large cages that lined one wall. One looked it was full of fuel and small parts, while large parts were scattered in parts of the room.
"There…" Chloe commented point to several of the cages, "It looks like rounds for rifles."
Macbeth looked to those cages and clearly noted them. There were several crates of ammunition boxes, though he also noticed some heavier weapons and their ammunition among them as well. It was exactly what they were looking for.
"How much time do we have?" Macbeth asked to Una.
"About twenty minutes," Una said slowly, "I'll open the door… the building may be old, but they have updated that…"
"We'll start moving crates of ammunition," Macbeth nodded.
Una nodded and moved over to the main doors. The original rails for the doors were there, but there was now a mechanical system that pulled a series of wires and chains attached to the door. She calmly pressed a green button on a panel beside the door and waited for the door to open. As it did, she did step out and then waved to Leo and Catherine on the roof. They and the mutates were quick to make their way down and Leo set Catherine down just as the door reached the top.
"So, how much is there?" Catherine wondered.
"Plenty," Una answered, "Probably not enough to launch a new uprising, but definitely more than enough to engage in a few other small things here and there, I suppose."
"Then let's get it out of here before what we do next is running for our lives," the Whippet mutate answered and made his way in.
Farnham, UK
"They aren't that strong in this area," Rachael commented as she peered through a series of bushes that they had taken cover behind, "They have a heavy machine gun nest there, but it looks like the next one is further back and about three hundred yards away from us…"
"They can still cover the distance if they're paying attention," Reginald warned, "We'll need to be quick and to try and stay as low as possible."
"I think I can provide enough cover that that won't be an issue," Beth spoke up, "I can mimic the rose maze I created at Stonehenge… with a few minor alterations that will make sure they can't follow or go around other exits."
"A rose maze?" one of the volunteers wondered, holding one of the liberated weapons tightly.
"Think giant rose hedges that would be as thick as trees but as tight as to prevent anyone from getting through them," Beth commented, "and I mean GIANT."
The volunteers all glanced at each other with suspicion and nervousness before a few half nods were given in response.
"The only thing we're waiting for is Coyote," Beth sighed, "Once he gets here, you'll see."
Almost as if on cue, Beth's mirror shimmered and Coyote leaped from it in his coyote form. The people gave a start and jerked up and back as he did so, but Coyote did nothing but drop to the ground before returning his human form.
"Coyote! Are you okay?" Beth exclaimed as she leaned over to him.
"I'm… fine, just… a… little… out… of… breath," Coyote said slowly, panting breaths running between his words.
"Out of breath?" a volunteer asked.
"We're good with magic… but even we are not all powerful," Coyote answered, "even Oberon has been beaten from time to time in the past."
Coyote left the fact that most of Oberon's defeats had been due to the use of iron, a natural weakness of all fey, but it was proof that the Fey weren't invincible. He glanced to see some looks of surprise but also the sort of acceptance one would expect from people with little to no prior knowledge of the Third Race beyond stories. When he turned back to Beth, he could see that she was not entirely pleased.
"Casting the spell to take out their radios took out a bit more than I originally thought," Coyote admitted, "Sorry."
"You need to be careful, or at least let us know if something might be at your limit, okay?"
"Okay," Coyote nodded.
"Are you okay to make your way out?" Arthur asked in a concerned voice.
"So long as we don't have anything too taxing to deal with," Coyote answered.
On hearing this, Beth gave a sigh and produced the 'Avalon stone' that she'd been carrying.
"Then I suppose it's time for a little hedge work," Beth said with a sigh.
The volunteers watched with some curiosity as Beth held out her hand with the Avalon Stone in it and then repeated the words 'hedge maze' a few times. To their great surprise, rose hedges that were fifteen feet tall and three feet thick suddenly burst up through the ground around the trenches and positions that the Illuminati had raised. In a way they looked strangely beautiful, like something out of Alice in Wonderland, but the sound of men screaming from being caught in the hedge reminded them that it did have a very serious purpose.
As the hedges literally bloomed out of nowhere, Reginald stood and fired a precise shot that took out the machine gunner in front of them.
"Go! Go!" Reginald then urged to the volunteers.
"Do we shoot?" one asked.
"No, this is a retreat," Reginald answered, "You'll get your chance when we can find softer targets."
And with that they ran for the path in front of them. Once they made it in, Beth again repeated her spell and the path they'd taken closed off. They'd made their escape from Farnham, but the path to victory was only just beginning and was a long way away…
To Be Continued…