Of Dragons and Gargoyles Part One:The Way Things Were... A "Gargoyles" Fanfiction by Matt Little (myrlynn@execpc.com) First we'll get all that legal junk outta the way first. All characters, with the exception of the ones that I have created,are the property of Disney and Buena Vista. If I have accidentally used somebody else's creation, I didn't mean to. It was all part of my twisted imagination! This is my first attempt at fan fiction, so comments would be much appreciated. If anyone would like to use my creations, go ahead but let me know so I can see what kind of mess you've gotten them into! Now for a quick summary: What if , along with gargoyles, dragons also existed? And what would happen if one happened to hatch along with the other gargoyle's eggs by accident? Hmmm? We shall see... **************************************************************************** **************************************************************************** 2594 A.D. Manhattan The majority of the city's citizens awoke with a roar as the sunset in the east. Atop the skyscrapers sat keeps, small versions of the massive castle that a person could see on a cloudless night that sat upon the old Eyrie Building. The building's owner, Daemon Xanatos, kept the castle and it's occupants in fine order, like medieval rulers. It was here that many winged figures glided to, it being the first of the month and Council time. As they landed, a few of the couples with young ones went a different path to drop off their children with the clan's nanny, an old gargoyle that was as ancient as the castle itself, so some said. Others said that he had a touch of fae's blood mixed with his own. However, he was a kindly old codger, set in his ways; he was dark blue with fourteen white patches all over his body. He was also missing one eye, a set of claw marks crossing his face giving testimony to the ferocity of the attack. He was treated with the respect due to his age, no matter how much he rattled on about "the old days", and was frequently asked his advice about many things. On this day, he was waiting for the last of the young gargoyles to take his seat; then he cleared his throat. "Are ya gonna tell us a story, 3G?" one of the females asked. To this generation, he was known as 3G, or great-great-grandpa. It wass easier for some of the not-so-bright ones to remember. "Of course, Janelle. Just hold on fer a sec." 3G placed his bulk in a nearby chair, with it creaking. His weight had shifted downward since his warrior days. He nestled in, a let out a sigh. Squinting his good eye at the young hatchling, he asked "And what would you all like to hear about today?" A clamor erupted as they all shouted at once. A few minutes later, the eldest among them, a big lavender one (hard to guess where his genes came from, huh?) managed to hush them all up. Turning to face the elder, he spoke up, "I would like to hear about Goliath and the original Manhattan clan, elder." "Would ye, now? Well, I suppose..." 3G rubbed his chin between his thumb and forefinger for a few seconds; his eye misted over as he started to speak about that long ago time... **************************************************************************** 938 A.D. Castle Wyvern, Scotland Two forms melted against the cliff face. Wings pulled against midnight-blue scales, the large shadows slowly and quietly climbed up toward the great castle up above. "I told ye that this was a bad idea, comin' at night when the gargoyles could spot us!" rumbled the male, with a thick Scottish brogue. "We have no choice! We are needed south, ta help our kin wit' the attacking brass. If they break thru there we have no hope of survival, for us or the little one!" the female whispered back, nodding her head at the bundle that was strapped on her back. The male touched the female's arm, halting her. "But why do we 'ave to leave 'im with the gargoyles? And how are we going to get the wee one to 'em? Magic?! They'll cut us down before we can explain to them our intentions!" The male said, voice rising. "Thunder! Contain yourself!" replied the female, eyes glancing all around. "Besides," looking back at here precious cargo, "I found an ancient passage that leads into the gargoyle's rookery from the cliff face." she replied. "Whaaa....?"the blue known as Thunder replied. "Ye knew about this an' dinna' tell any of our kin about yer discovery? There was three other eggs that could have been hidden hear also!" the big blue retorted. Sometimes he couldn't believe the selfishness that Storm, as the female blue was known by, had for the rest of their pack. "I had no choice! We might get by with inserting one egg into the rookery, but four? They would know, Thunder, they would know. Now, I must go alone to drop off the egg. I will not chance the entrance location to anyone." Storm replied, climbing up the cliff face. Thunder could only watch as his mate disappeared into the cliff face. He kept watch, making sure they weren't followed or that a stray gargoyle didn't come nosin' by. After about ten minutes, Storm returned. "We can return now. I have taken care of everything." she stated. She seems so ready to return to the front, thought Thunder. She makes a fitting mate for me, he thought, as they extended their wings and flew into the night. He did not see the lone tear that fell from Storm's eye as they flew off into the night. Two Months Later The man stood firm, watching the sun set. He knew the answer to his problem would be with the stone figure in front of him. The probable was that he had failed in one of his tasks the gargoyles had asked of the castle's defenders. Someone had gotten to the eggs. A BIG someone. With a loud roar, the stone the gargoyle shattered his stone skin, along with the rest of the clan. As he stretched, he took notice of the figure that stood next to him. "Good evenin', milord. And what news have ye of the conflict in the southern region?" The gargoyle asked, hopping down to the parapet. He started issuing patrol routes to the other gargoyles. "Ah, the Vikings are raiding again." he replied. Tapping the gargoyle on the shoulder, he motioned him off to on side. "I need to speak wit' ye. Alone.", he whispered into the big gargoyles ear. An eye ridge went up as the gargoyle looked at his friend. He shouted off the rest of the patrol orders and followed the lord down the stairs. What could be so important that he couldn't wait for me to come down and say my hellos to him, he wondered, stroking his long beard as he followed the human down the stairs. They continued all the way down, stopping at the great iron-bound door that led to the rookery. Here they paused. "What I'm about to tell ye is completely my fault, old friend. No one else knew about this until now..." he started, looking at the gargoyle. "What?! Is there something wrong with the eggs?!" he cried, grabbing the human by the shoulders. "The problem is that there's be..." he started, then quit as the gargoyle tossed him to one side and bolted down the stairwell. If there's anything wrong with the eggs, the gargoyle thought, I'll put that human's head on a pike. He rounded the corner, eyes glowing, as he took in the site of five human females gathered what looked like two eggs.He stalked up behind them, expecting smashed eggs all around. Instead he saw what appeared to be the hatching of the two eggs. His eyes widened with surprise as he noticed that one of them was considerably larger than the other. As he watched, from the larger egg, an egg tooth, like those found on reptiles, broke through the shell. From the smaller one, a tiny lavender hand punched through. From the smaller egg, a tiny gargoyle crawled out. From the larger one, out crawled... a baby dragon. They both started crying. The lord approached the gargoyle, putting his hand on the broad shoulder, and said,"I canna for the life of me know how they got in here, my friend. The guards said that they heard nor saw anything. And why a dragon egg was found wit' gargoyle eggs, I canna figure out either. What do we do with it?" he said. The gargoyle bent down and picked up both hatchlings, cradling them in his strong arms. They immediately fell asleep, braced against his chest and each other. He stared at them for a long time, not saying a word. He then handed them both to the women, telling them quietly that he would send down some of his clan to help with the hatchings and young ones. He looked again at the dragon, now draped over the tiny lavender gargoyle, both cuddled up together. He then walked towards the door, stroking his beard in thought. The lord gently grabbed his shoulder on the way past, breaking his train of thought. Looking right at him, he asked softly, "What will ye do wit' the dragon?" The gargoyle looked at him for a long moment before replying. Finally, he replied "We'll keep him and raise him like we would any other hatchling. Aye, that's what we'll do with him." Then he walked out the door. The lord caught him saying under his breath on the way out, "And God help us if I'm wrong." 994 A.D. Castle Wyvern, Scotland "Fire!" cried the Viking, pulling his shield in front of him as the volley of arrows rained down upon him and his men. He watched with a grim look on his face as the boulder smashed down on the battered castle. Not to much longer, he thought, and it will be mine! "Stand fast! We can hold them back!" shouted the captain, while his archers kept up the fire to the invaders. When his men began to complain, he just replied,"it's yer choice then, lads. The catapult, or me," as he drew his sword as a companion to his mace. "A few more minutes, the sun will be down, and then we'll see some fun," said the captain, grinning. The fighting continued unabated, the vikings using grappling hooks and siege towers full of warriors. As they climbed the walls to the parapet, where the stone figures sat. The viking leader, barely holding on to his handhold, looked at the stone figure frozen deep in thought. Not so tough, he thought. At that moment, the sun finished setting. Cracks started all over the stone gargoyle. The viking looked on helplessly as the stone shattered, leaving a broadly built, lantern-eyed, lavender gargoyle to turn and stare at him. The gargoyle stared at him for a moment before reaching over, grabbing his wrist, and picking him off the castle like he was a bug. The gargoyle stretched to his full height, flared his wings, and held the viking at arms length before speaking, "You are trespassing." Down below, the rest of the gargoyles awoke from their stone sleep. The rest of the vikings cowered in fear at the spectacle around them. They backed up from around the gargoyles, wondering at the folly that they made attacking the castle so close to sunset, praying that fate would be merciful. She wasn't. The castle defenders, rallying at the sight of their protectors, fell upon the vikings with the vengeance of those protecting their home. The viking leader pulled out his long sword, swinging at the imposing figure standing in front of him. Unfortunately for him, the gargoyle simply caught the blade, a small trickle of blood falling from the wound, eyes glowing, growling. The viking, an old hand at fighting, braced his foot against stone tower and pushed, throwing himself and the gargoyle off balance long enough for him to pull free and grab a line to swing to safety. The battle grew heated. The vikings outnumbered their enemy by three-to-one odds, but the gargoyles made up for the difference. Many heroic deeds would be song later about the battle. However, the defenders where pushing back the attackers. The lavender gargoyle landed among a group of six vikings. Swinging his tail around, he knocked two of them off their feet before grabbing another and throwing him the parapet. The other three rushed him, two with maces, one with a sword. He stepped out of range for the sword strike, catching both maces in his talons. Flexing his muscles, he lifted both men by their weapons and threw them back. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in his lower back. Spinning around, he saw that one of the vikings that he had knocked down had retrieved his weapon and had struck from behind. Another strike glanced off his thigh. Already off balance, he dropped to one knee, watching as death loomed in front of him. The vikings face glowed with maniacal rage as he swung down on the helpless gargoyle. Suddenly his face dropped in pure terror as a midnight blue, sixteen foot tail smashed into him and his companions, launching them over the side. "Are ye alright, Goliath?" rumbled a deep voice above the gargoyle. A long shadow fell over the gargoyle leader. "Yes, I'm fine, my rookery brother. The wind was just knocked out of me," Goliath replied. "My thanks." "Eh, think nothing of it! I canna let them dirty savages kill me leader, now can I?" replied the deep voice, laughing. "Aye, I guess not", replied Goliath. "Still, brother, there is still much fighting to be done." "Aye, brother. We'll teach these ruffians what happens when they decide to invade our realm!", replied the great figure. With that, they both leaped into the air, Goliath swooping down to help the captain of the guards, the other pausing long enough to use his wings to hassle a group of vikings, attempting to scale the walls, causing them to fall to the ground. From a distance, his keen hearing caught Goliath and his second telling the viking leader to take his men and leave. He circled the fleeing attackers, wary for arrows, watching them retreat to the woods. He flew back to the castle, landing behind the group of gargoyles that had gathered on the wall. He caught the end of the speech between Goliath and the captain. As he settled down, the captain turned to him, "My thanks goes also to you, Bolt", calling him by the nickname that the humans had given him for his ability to throw lightning bolts with pinpoint accuracy. "Without you, the catapults that you destroyed would have caused even more destruction!" the captain said, drawing close and putting his hand on the dragon's foreleg. "I'm glad that I managed to return from patrol in time 'ta help! These bloody savages must'a watched me patrol routes fer a few days 'ta learn when I'd be farthest away from the castle. Unlucky fer them, I managed to finish off the route and return to help in the route!" With that, the dragon looked at the captain, drew back and up to his full height of eighteen, and roared into the night. After a second, the gargoyles added their voices, and the combined roars kept the enemy running from sight. Later that night, Bolt caught Goliath and his Angel arguing over how the humans treated them when the captain asked them to go to the great hall to be recognized for their bravery. He drew back into the shadows of the wall, not wanting to disturb their discussion. As they went past, he shook his head, muttering, "humans!" as he went to his cave on the cliff face to rest for the day. The Next Day As the sun shone brightly the next day, a lone figure rode off, covered up in a traveling cloak. He rode long, entering into the camp of the beaten vikings, who were licking their wounds. He rode past the guards, nodding at them as he went by. He approached the leader's cave. Stepping inside, he conversed with him for about a half hour, leaving as he came afterward. After the human left, the viking stepped outside, watching the figure recede into the distance. After a few minutes, he started shouting orders to his men. That Night Goliath unwrapped his hand, flexing it to make sure it was completely healed. He then turned to his Angel and the captain of the guard, who were trying to persuade him to take all the gargoyles and attack the vikings. "Hmm, too dangerous. It don't want to leave the castle unprotected" he replied. "Their leader swore he'd be back. It's best to harry them away now, and not take that chance!" replied the captain. "Ahhhh, very well. But I should do it. I can scare those cods away without any help!" said Goliath, grinning. Goliath's second-in-command strode forward. "That's too dangerous for you! Let me come along, at least!" "You and the others will stay with the castle." He said. Grabbing her shoulders, he looked into her eyes,and said "You are my best warrior. I leave you in command." "NO! I cannot let you!" she replied, fear coming to her face. "I won't go alone. Remember, You and I are one. Now, and Forever." he replied, pulling her close. After asking his mentor to come along, and disciplining three of the younger generation, the two prepared to take off, when a large figure landed next to them. "What, going to annoy the vikings and not asking me to come along?" Bolt asked. He spread his wings out to their full length, stretching them. "I need you to help guard the castle. My mentor and I can handle the vikings without a problem." Goliath said. He and the old one prepared to take off. "And what happens if they decide to turn and fight? And one of ye gets wounded? Then ye'll both be overwhelmed and what good would that have done us, hmm?" the blue retorted. "Goliath, there's plenty of defenders here. They'll never need me around, not tonight. If anything, I'll fly cover fer ye and our mentor," Bolt said. "Hmmm. All right, but cover only. We can take care of this rabble," Goliath replied. "'Sides, lad, wit' him on our side, they have no chance at all," said the old gargoyle. They flew off into the night, following the trail of the vikings. After a long flight, they sighted tracks made by many horses. Goliath and the old one swooped down for a closer look, while Bolt glided above the site, watching for possible reinforcements. Spotting the force of vikings, they fell upon them, scattering them everywhere with roars. They landed amongst them, watching as the small force of armed men and unladen horses ran in all directions. "They were leading the horses to decoy us away from the castle!" Goliath roared. With that, they ran up two trees and launched themselves up into the sky. Bolt was still circling when he saw Goliath and the old one rushing full speed back toward the castle. When he caught up with them, they told him what happened and told him to continue toward the castle, no matter what. Right before dawn arose, Goliath spoke: "No matter what happens to us, you must return and protect the castle and our clan. Do not fail us!" With that, he and the old one landed, and turned to stone. Bolt continued on, pushing for all he was worth. Finally, he saw the castle under attack. He gained some altitude, paused in mid-air, and attacked. At the scream coming from the sky, the viking leader looked up and smiled. Some of his troops broke and ran, but most stood their ground. As the blue swooped in, destroying a catapult with a bolt of lightning, The viking leader screamed "NOW!!", and twenty-five crossbow men leapt to their feet, crossbows at ready. Not expecting this, Bolt abruptly spread his wings wide to catch an air current and escape to the safety of the air. Just as he started to ascend, the crossbow men fired. Of the twenty-five bowmen, three of the crossbows broke. Two fell over and dislodged their arrows. Of the remaining twenty, fourteen crossbow bolts ripped into Bolt. Roaring at the attack, blinded by his wounds, the young dragon managed to make it to the castle. Then abruptly, the wings folded and he plummeted over the side of the cliff face. Right before he hit, he noticed that there was a gargoyle in its stone sleep. Twisting his body to avoid the statue, he slammed into the cliff face. It was quiet at the bottom for a long time. One Week Later Pain... a bright light flared into his mind as he tried to awaken. There was a sudden wrenching from his side and he fell into darkness again. Bolt opened his eye. It was nighttime, he could tell. There was a fire burning a short distance away. A figure, a gargoyle, was standing over it, turning a spit over the fire. He tried to move, and a groan escaped his lips as he realized that he was bandaged up. At the noise, the figure turned around. I know this female, thought Bolt. It's... it's... Angel? That's who it is, he thought, Goliath's second-in-command. She walked over to him, first checking his bandages before going over by his head. he could tell that she had been crying for awhile, although not lately. Taking the bandaged head in her arms, she said, "A week ago, the vikings attacked the castle. After severely wounding you, they managed to sack the castle. They destroyed the clan, with the exception of Goliath, the old one, myself, and the ones that were sent to the rookery. Goliath and the rest went to go and seek vengeance. The vikings had moved to a set of caves nearby, and were celebrating. Goliath and the rest attacked, killing the viking leader and the traitor, who turned out to be the captain of the guards, saving the princess and her people. For their thanks, the Magus cast a spell upon them, 'turned to stone 'till the castle rises above the clouds'. They were placed upon the battlements. The humans then took the eggs and left. I remained behind, tending to your wounds. When you are well, I shall leave." Bolt was speechless. How could this happen to his clan? At that instant, he vowed to stand by, until the last of his days, protecting the castle and the remaining gargoyles with his life. Nobody would take up residence in the castle unless it was gargoyles. He swore it. For five more weeks he healed. After that he and Goliath's Angel of the Night promised to keep in touch, then she flew off, stopping first at the tower to say good bye to her love, then she was gone. The years went by quickly. He heard of Demon's,that being her name now, war against humanity, and could only shake his head. He grew larger and stronger, attaining full size around 1250 A.D. He kept his promise, not letting anyone live in the castle the entire time. Those that tried never lasted more than a month. He kept it that way using his innate powers that manifested as he grew older. Nobody stayed in the castle, and after a while it was considered haunted by the locals and abandoned... until 1994. The human walked thru the ruins, taking measurements and speaking into a small black box, he saw. Bolt was disguised as a old human, one of his favorite forms to gather information. He walked up to the human and asked what he was doing. "Hello. My name is David Xanatos. I own this property. My I ask what your name is? he said. He was in his thirty's, dark haired, and irritating. "MacDonnell, John MacDonnell. And may I ask you what you plan to do with this old castle?" the disguised blue asked. He wasn't worried yet, as he had forced every one to leave the castle before, and wasn't about to stop. "Ah, well. I plan on disassembling this castle and shipping it over to the U.S., specifically New York City, to be reassembled atop my headquarters building," he replied, watching the old bum. He couldn't have said more stunning words. After he said that, Bolt's jaw dropped, and only by supreme will that he stayed in his current form. "How tall is the building?" he whispered, his face ashen, with a faraway expression on his face. Xanatos leaned next to him and whispered, "with the castle, it will rise above the clouds." He then watched as the old man walked off mumbling to himself, and smiling, looked up at the stone figures atop the battlements. With them in mind he started walking into the castle proper. 1994 New York City, 8 Months Later The young man walked thru the airport slowly. This was his first visit to the States. He had heard a lot about them, knew them when they were a colony from England. Now, he was here to see his brothers, and friends, lost to him these last one thousand years, and his home, lost to him this year by David Xanatos. He checked up on Xanatos, of course. Head of the multinational corporation Xanatos Enterprises, which brought in billions of dollars each year. Speculated to be involved in shady deals from arms to genetic mutation, David Xanatos was a man that was greatly respected... and feared. Finding the headquarters was not a hard thing, as it was taller than any other building in the city. The view from there must be beautiful, he thought, smiling as he thought of how he would get up to the top of the building. He checked into the penthouse of a nearby hotel. He had gotten the room in advance of coming to the states. He went to his room, went out on the deck, and waited. Later in the day, a cleaning lady knocked on the door. Finding no one home, she used her keys to let herself in do clean. Halfway thru her vacuuming, she happened to look outside. The sunset was beautiful tonight, she thought. Suddenly, above her, the roof was pushed down almost to it's breaking point. She screamed and threw her hands up, fearing that her world had ended. Then the room bounced back to the normal height, bouncing a few times. Thank god for the heavy-duty construction, she thought, as she walked over to the window to see what happened. As she looked out,she noticed what looked like a large bird flying up towards the Xanatos building. That's strange, she thought. I've never seen a bird that glinted before. Shaking her head, she went back to work. Gliding through the clouds, Bolt patiently waited for the sun to go down and to see if the spell had finally ended, not guessing that his presence had already been noted. On top of the stone fortress, David Xanatos patiently waited for the sun to go down. He hoped that the information he had received was accurate. If not, he would be most displeased. From behind him, his assistant, Owen Burnett, approached him. Clearing his voice, he said "Mr. Xanatos, there is a large object that is, for the lack of a better word, gliding around the building. What would you like me to do about it?" "Nothing. I want you to do nothing about it, Owen. Let it be" Xanatos replied. "Sir? Are you sure that's wise?" stated Owen. "Perfectly. Thank you, Owen" said Xanatos. "Very well, sir. I shall be down below if you need anything," Owen replied, then turned and walked back down the stairs. Xanatos just smiled. Looking over at the stone statue next to him, he said "Don't let me down." The sun set. Cracks formed in the stone, forming new ones as they arced over the massive body. Finally they shattered, leaving Goliath, leader of the gargoyles, squatting in his position. He slowly stretched, then roared with the passion of a thousand years. Down below, The remaining five gargoyles also broke free of their prisons, adding to the roars. Goliath jumped from his place, landing amongst his friends. Looking around, he shouted, "You're awake! You're alive! We're together again!" The gargoyles jumped around, grabbing each other's shoulders thankfully that they made it through their ordeal alive. From Goliath's perch, Bolt looked upon his friends, friends he hasn't seen in a millennium. Tears steamed down his scaly cheeks. "Thank god fer small miracles," he whispered. It was at this point that the clouds cleared, showing them a clear view of Manhattan. Gasps of momentary fear and jaws dropping were the only sounds they made for long seconds. From behind them, they heard footsteps coming towards them. Bolt heard them and pulled back into the upper shadows, waiting to see what developed. Xanatos strode out of the doorway, heading directly for Goliath. "You are the one called Goliath?" he asked in hushed tones. "Yeess," replied the big gargoyle. "Excellent," said Xanatos, "please, come with me and I'll fill you in on what has happened." "I don't know," replied Goliath. "How can we trust you?" "You don't, but I can tell you what has happened," he said. From above them, Bolt listened quietly, trying to figure out Xanatos' motive. He resolved to wait until later to tell them of his survival. It's nice to have friends back, he thought. After a while, he noticed the sound of a helicopter coming close. Determining which direction that it came from, he leaped off to circle around it, to see the intentions. At the same time, Xanatos exited the building to see why a helicopter was so close. The helicopter disgorged it's troops on the castle, who instantly spread out along the battlements, before cornering Xanatos down below. As they leveled their weapons, Goliath and the rest stormed out the door, eyes glowing and roaring. Goliath jumped in their midst as they opened fire, tail sweeping one of them down. The trooper rolled with the blow, getting back up and returning the kick to Goliath, knocking him down. As Goliath looked on, the trooper leveled his weapon at the big gargoyle. Suddenly, giant figure dropped out of the sky directly in front of Goliath. Bolt had entered the fray. Grabbing the trooper, who stood in shock, he picked him up and tossed him against the wall, stunning him. Another one ran around the corner as Bolt was helping Goliath up and shot a taser at the big dragon. As the electrical charge hit the dragon, Bolt simply turned and tail slapped the human across the courtyard. I guess they don't know that electricity doesn't affect me, he thought as he picked Goliath off the ground. "I'm going after their transportation! Take care of them down here!" Bolt roared, as he jumped into the air, powerful wings pumping as he looked for the helicopter. Xanatos was in hand-to-hand combat with one of the attackers. Another one threatened the larger, green gargoyle with a knife. He fell over as the human slashed at him, but flipped him over when he tried to jump on him. The old one ran towards one, blade flashing, when he was hit with a taser from the human. Writhing in pain, he dropped to the ground. The red gargoyle grabbed the human, throwing him to the side. As all three of the younger gargoyles helped the old one up, A trooper threw a grenade at them. The smallest gargoyle caught, gave it a glance, then threw it behind him without another thought. It exploded, throwing them around like toy soldiers. As Goliath squared off with the one he was fighting, the human cocked his weapon and was about to shoot Goliath, when a laser drew a line up the stone behind, shattering it and burying the human in stone. Goliath turned and smiled, seeing Xanatos with a weapon in his hand. They then ran off in separate directions. The smallest gargoyle pursued a female, up against the tower. Pausing, he said, "Are you a viking?" then dodged over the side as she opened fire on him. He swooped through the clouds, getting altitude, then swerved and tackled the female as she looked down. They toppled past Goliath and the old gargoyle, and her weapon hit the ground in front of them. "These weapons, we must be fighting sorcerers!" cried the old one. "Even so, We will protect this castle. It's all we have left!" replied Goliath. He then leaped back into the fray. Meanwhile, Bolt had found the chopper. Sighting on it, he swooped around for an attack. The helicopter pilot, seeing him hauled it farther up in the air as Bolt rushed by roaring. They traded positions a few more times before Bolt recognized that the chopper pilot had a tendency to pull up in avoiding him. He flew low, then flared his wings, arcing up under the helicopter and tearing gouges into the bottom and side, throwing it off to one side. The pilot was now having visible problems controlling the aircraft, as it kept yawing to the right. Bolt circled around to finish it off when he noticed another explosion and Goliath hurtling off the side. Tucking in his wings, he dove toward his rookery brother. Goliath barely even heard the grenade that went off by him, his mind awash in the weapons that were being throw against him and his clan. His warrior reflexes kept him from most of the blast, but still managed to hurl him over the side of the building. He latched onto a flagpole, which broke under he impact, the sank his claws into the building itself, stopping his descent. Bolt streaked down next to him, arcing his wings to hover on an updraft. "Now's no time to be sitting around! There's work to do!" he rumbled to the lavender gargoyle. He extended a claw to Goliath, who grabbed it and hauled himself onto Bolt's back. Goliath also could not believe that Bolt had survived. True, he mused, as the powerful wings began pumping and the soared back towards the castle, he is a dragon, but how did he survive the massacre of the clan? He made it a point to ask Bolt later. A trooper had pinned the small one as the crested the battlements. Goliath tackled the human off him, while the dragon shot one of his bolts at two others that were rushing to help. The bolt missed, but it caused them to break off their attack. One pulled out a cannister and threw it at the two gargoyles and dragon. Goliath was forced to drop his human when the gas caused him, Bolt and the small gargoyle to double up coughing. Just then, a trooper called out, "Got it! as he rushed out of the castle. One of the others pulled out a flare gun and shot it into the air. Just as the flare burst, the helicopter landed and all the troopers sprinted for the chopper. They all climbed on board and the helicopter lifted off. Xanatos tried to take a shot at the chopper, but one of the troopers managed to knock it out of his hands right after they took off. As the helicopter retreated, Bolt perched on the edge of the battlements, preparing to follow them. "Bolt, hold!" yelled Goliath. Bolt swiveled his neck to look at his clan leader. Then he looked back at the fleeing helicopter before coming down off the perch. Sitting down, he looked at all his friends. Then, on impulse, he gathered them all up into a bear hug, holding them tight for a few seconds before letting them go. Immediately they began to ask him questions, like: "Where ye bin, lad?" "How have you been?" "Do you know those people?" "Do you know Xanatos?" "What's this time like?" Wearily, he attempted to fill them in on what he knew; no he didn't know them or Xanatos, everything has been fine, then stopped as Xanatos walked over. "Thank you. Without you and your friends, who knows what those thugs might have done," said Xanatos, to Goliath. "A person I once trusted said the same thing to me, and then destroyed my people," rumbled Goliath. "Hmm. I can see I'll have to work hard to earn your trust," replied Xanatos. "In any case, come inside, and we'll talk about this further." "In a minute, if you don't mind, Xanatos. I need to talk with the clan for a couple of minutes," growled Bolt. "Be my guest," said Xanatos. As he watched the human leave, he grew suddenly tired. Protecting ones clan gets tiring over the centuries, especially with no one to talk to. Turning to Goliath and the others, he gave them a short summary on what happened that he knew of, only leaving out mention of Goliath's Angel of the Night, to spare his rookery brother the pain of knowing that she survived the attack, only to spend the rest of her nights alone. He told them that he watched over them all these years, waiting for a way to awaken them, sometimes searching out sorcerers to try to break the spell. All for naught, until David Xanatos arrived. "Goliath, I am so verra tired," the big dragon said, reverting back to his scottish accent. "I just need ta sleep for a while. Now that yer awake, I think that I'll go and find a lair to rest in. I'm just so tired." "You mean that you've been awake the entire time, safeguarding us?" asked Goliath, amazed, "by yourself, all these years?" "Aye, that I have. I'll probably need a good year or two rest, but then I'll be up and ready for action again!" Bolt said, chuckling. "Then I think that you should go and rest. It sounds like you've earned it," said Goliath. Bolt looked around at his friends, noting the caring faces on all of them. He clasped all of them by the wrist before turning away. "I'll miss all of ye, make no mistake about it. And in a year or two, we'll all sit down and swap stories!" He clasped wrists with Goliath last of all, feeling all the strength in his rookery brother. He held it for a bit longer than he held the rest, drawing strength from his friend. "I must go now," he stated, jumping up upon the battlements. Then he leaped off into the night, his words floating back to them," I'll send ye a postcard," as he disappeared into the night. "Eh, Goliath, what's a postcard" asked the old one. "I have no idea!" With that, the clan watched Bolt fade from view before going into their home. ************************************************************************* 2594 A.D. "...and that was how Goliath and the original Manhattan clan had the spell cast upon them and woke up in 1994!" 3G ended with a flourish. He looked around at his audience; they were staring at him. He cleared his throat again, then looked around. The young lavender one walked up to him, and placed his tiny talon onto the elder's knee. "Can we here another one, 3G?" he asked hopefully. 3G looked out the window and saw that dawn was not far away. "Sorry, lad, but sunrise be coming soon, and you'll have'ta leave." "Tomorrow, then?" 3G sighed; "Alright then, young one... what's yer name, anyways?" "Excaliber." "Alright then, Excaliber. Tomorrow night I will tell you another." 3G pulled his body out of the chair and herded the young gargoyles up to the top to meet with their parents. He watched them glide off into the remainder of the night, and went to prepare himself with the coming dawn. ************************************************************************** Author's Note: Thanks for reading the whole thing! Yes, I know that it's just about completely from "Awakenings", but I had to have background on Bolt so you know more about him. Next time I promise that it'll be original! By the way, for those of you that are knowledgeable about dragons from, say, AD&D, You'll notice I took a bronze dragon and gave it blue scales. I hope you enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to your comments and suggestions, to be sent at myrlynn@execpc.com. See ya! We Are Defenders Of The Night, We are Gargoyle Fans!