It is not often that I go back and rewrite my own stories, but I felt this needed it. It has been over 10 years since I first wrote about Liz Maza and the others. When I first began writing Gargoyles fan fiction, I wasn't planning on having my OCs crossover and eventually be part of the same series. Liz was supposed to be her own story, same for Keahi, and Ariana and Morgan. Iris was supposed to be a standalone story, but ended up being featured in other stories and sidelined, a bit of a waste. Also, I hadn't watched Gargoyles in years and was going off of memory, the few episodes I re-watched, and canon information gleaned from other fan fictions.
It is here these new revised versions of all the stories will reside now. There will be changes, some big and some small. The goal is to clean up everything and make it more cohesive and not look like the entries were parsed together to fit a single series. These revised chapters will be the official versions here on out. Another goal is to leave myself an opening to write more with this original characters as a group in the future.
All the original stories will stay up. I want you to be able to go back and read them as they were first written. I like to think I've come a long way in over 10 years of writing.
Warrior of Change: Chapter 1
The sun was setting on the remains of what was once referred to as the city that never sleeps. The sky was red, orange, and pink and would soon turn to purple and then deep blue and then black. The moon had already risen and the evening star was shining brightly.
Standing under an overhang on a rooftop was a teenage girl. She wore a black tank top that barely covered her midriff, blue jeans that were worn away at the knees and heavily stained, and leather boots that were covered in mud and grime. Her raven hair was pulled back out of her face in a ponytail. Cinnamon skin was beginning to pebble in the cool air. Her brown eyes were fixed on the western sky, a shimmering veil appearing in the far-off distance.
"Taking a little detour on your delivery run, Liz?"
She looked over her shoulder at the young man standing behind her with his arms crossed and an easy smile on his face. He had red hair and a muscular frame hidden under his long coat.
"Come on, Alex. I'm the fastest messenger you got. I already made the delivery," she said. "Just wanted to come up here for a little bit."
"Figured you would be too excited about going on patrol with me tonight to come up here," said Alex.
Liz smiled. "I can always find time to come out here."
Alex stood beside her. "Daydreaming what's beyond the veil again?"
"What was it like, Alex?" Liz asked. "Before Demona took over, before the veil, before the world forgot New York City existed?"
Alex surveyed the crumbling buildings and the vegetation taking over them. "Beautiful." He looked longingly at the Eyrie Building, one of a fraction of well-kept buildings. Several of the lights were on to indicate there were people inside.
"Wish I could remember," said Liz.
Alex nudged Liz's arm. "Come on. We better get back before sunset."
The two of them traveled the sewers and came to a concealed door. Alex knocked a special pattern and the door opened, revealing one of several settlements that existed under the streets of New York City. People milled around between tents, distributing food and supplies.
"I see you found Miss Maza." Owen Burnett walked up to them, expressionless as always, blonde hair swept back from his face. His shirt and jeans were very old, but clean compared to others in the settlement.
"Hey, Owen," Liz greeted.
Alex slung his arm around Liz's shoulders. "She would have stayed out all night if I hadn't gone and got her," he joked.
Liz rolled her eyes and punched him.
"Oof! Liz," Alex grunted, letting go.
"Don't be a baby," said Liz. "I can hit a lot harder than that."
"Yeah. Thanks, Uncle Lex," grumbled Alex.
"The gargoyles should be waking any moment," Owen said, ending their horseplay.
Alex gave Liz a nudge. "You'll be the first thing they'll want to see."
Liz jogged to the other side of the settlement and ran down a tunnel. She went into a utility room where there were several stone gargoyle statues. Liz had just closed the door when they began to crack. A second later they roared awake in a shower of stone fragments. Liz covered her ears and smiled.
They stretched and yawned. It was Brooklyn who noticed her first.
"Did you stay out of trouble today?" the beaked red gargoyle asked gruffly.
"I always stay out of trouble," replied Liz.
Brooklyn leaned over her and sniffed. "Then why do you smell like fresh air?"
"I may or may not have gone topside to see the sunset at my normal spot," Liz said uneasily.
Nearby, an aqua gargoyle took a big sniff. "Mmm. Italian seasonings." Broadway smacked his lips.
"Your normal spot does not smell like Italian seasonings, so where were you?" Brooklyn interrogated.
Liz huffed. "One of the tunnels on my delivery route has collapsed. Looked recent. I had to go above to get around it. Ducked into an old pizza shop and hid in the pantry until I figured out a way to go around."
"You had no idea what was up there!" scolded Brooklyn. "That was dangerous!"
"I had to make the delivery!" Liz argued.
"By being reckless?" Brooklyn shouted.
"By being courageous!" she shot back. "I got what could have been important information to a settlement in the fastest time."
"Yeah, because being the fastest is what you thought about," Brooklyn snapped. "Do you ever think about what would happen to you if you were caught? What would happen to the people in this settlement, to the Labyrinth as a whole? It's not just about you, Liz. I'm taking you off the messenger rotation."
"What?" cried Liz.
"You're too reckless to be taking messages to the different settlements," said Brooklyn.
"But patrol! Alex is taking me on patrol with him tonight!" Liz went on.
"No patrol. You're grounded, Liz," Brooklyn told her. "You're not to leave the settlement without someone with you."
"Brooklyn, don't, please," Liz begged.
"I'll tell Alex you won't be joining him. I'm sorry, but this is for your own good." Brooklyn walked out of the room.
"Wait!" Liz called after him.
A brown hand landed in her shoulder. "Let him go, lass."
"Hudson, can't you do something?" Liz asked the elderly gargoyle.
He shook his head. "No. He will come to his senses."
Liz looked to the others. "Guys?"
Broadway's face drooped. Lexington, the small olive-colored gargoyle, hung his head. It was Angela, the lavender and only female gargoyle of the clan, who met Liz's eyes with sympathy. At her knee, Bronx the gargoyle dog whined.
"Thanks for the support," Liz muttered bitterly.
"We worry about you, Liz," said Lexington. "We don't want you to get hurt."
Hudson squeezed her shoulder. "Aye, but let's not dwell on that now. Help an old gargoyle to his chair." He smiled.
"I'll bring you breakfast," Broadway volunteered. He, Lexington, and Angela left, closing the door behind them.
Liz linked her arm around Hudson's and led him over to his chair, a recliner that had been salvaged. Bronx lay at his feet. Hudson felt around on the side table.
"Now where is that book?" he muttered.
Liz picked up the book from beside the framed Purple Heart medal and handed it to Hudson. "Here."
"Thank you, lass," said Hudson. He turned to her, one yellowed eye and one cloudy eye looking in her direction. He held out the book. "How about you read to me tonight?"
"Okay," said Liz, reluctantly taking the book. "I'm out of practice, Hudson."
"It will come back to you," Hudson told her.
Liz pulled a chair over next to Hudson and settled in to read. She opened the book and rested her fingers on the first line of Braille.
"'The Sword and the Staff: A Book of Merlin by Jeffrey Robbins'," she read slowly. Her face lit up and she smiled at Hudson.
Hudson nodded. "I told you it would come back to you."
Liz continued. "'The written word is all that stands between memory and oblivion. Without books as our anchors, we are cast adrift, neither teaching nor learning. They are windows on the past, mirrors on the present, and prisms reflecting all possible futures. Books are lighthouses erected in the dark sea of time.'"
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