Chapter Text
New Beginnings
Goliath’s eyes opened, two balls of white fire that signaled an end to the eternal dream he never planned to awaken from. A ferocious roar bellowed out from deep in his chest, loud enough that the very stones on which he was perched shook from its fury. His body ached to be free from the position he had slept in and he threw his arms and wings wide open. The stone skin that had preserved him for so long shot off in every direction, followed shortly by the roars of five other gargoyles.
Disbelief washed over the lavender giant as he looked down and saw the impossible, wonderful sight of the last of his clan restored to life. Without a thought, he leapt from his spot and spread his wings to gently land nearby as each of them hopped off of their own resting places on the castle parapets.
“You’re awake…” Goliath almost whispered in belief as tears stung his eyes, “you’re alive !”
The youngest of the trio opened his mouth to ask Goliath what he meant but had the wind crushed out of him as their leader pulled him and his brothers into a massive hug that lifted all of them from the ground. He worried that he would pass out until the elder’s gentle hand upon Goliath’s shoulder got him to let go.
“Lad, what happened?” the elder asked their leader, “The last thing I remember is the last of the Vikings fleeing in terror and the Magus showing up.”
“I… he…” Goliath tried to answer but was choked by the powerful emotions that gripped his heart.
“You were all turned to stone by a spell that the Magus cast in his grief over what he thought was the death of Princess Katharine.” an unknown voice said from behind them all.
The entire clan turned around to witness two unfamiliar humans approach them, both dressed in strange garb the likes of which none of them had ever seen before. The human male closest to them had black hair that had been tied back into a small ponytail and behind him was a blonde human male with some strange accessory on a face that looked incapable of smiling.
“Who are you ?” Goliath asked warningly as he stepped in front of his clan.
“Oh right ! Please, forgive my manners. I’m David Xanatos and this wonderful fellow behind me is Owen Burnett. It’s a pleasure to meet and may I just say, your English is impeccable . I fully expected to have to charades my way through some Gaelic.” the dark haired human introduced himself and his companion with a friendly smile.
“English?” the youngest gargoyle wondered aloud as he took a small step towards the man called Xanatos, “We’re not speaking English . You’re speaking Gaelic.”
“I assure you I’m not. Perhaps the Magus placed some sort of translation spell on you while you slept? Mind you, I’m just guessing but it would make sense if he hoped that you would someday awaken.” Xanatos said as he stroked the neat goatee on his chin.
“Sorcery…” the elder gargoyle sighed with no small amount of disgust in his voice.
“How did you know about the curse the Magus placed on us?” Goliath demanded to know.
“The Grimorum Arcanorum.” David explained with a confident smile plastered on his face as he stepped closer to the lavender giant, “The Magus wrote a record of what happened to Castle Wyvern. I don’t think I can perform magic myself but I noticed that the terms of the spell specified that you would remain stone until the castle rose above the clouds so that’s what I did.”
“That must have taken some powerful magic. Is the blonde human a sorcerer then, if you can’t perform magic?” the red gargoyle said as he eyed the unfamiliar humans suspiciously.
“No magic was used. I had an incredibly tall tower constructed and then placed the castle on top of that by taking it apart and putting it all back together piece by piece. Humanity’s construction technology has come a long way since you were all put to sleep.” Xanantos explained.
He silently invited them to see for themselves with a gesture to the parapet wall they had slept atop for so long. Cautiously, the gargoyles walked over and collectively gasped as they looked down past the clouds to witness the impossible sight of a sprawling city so bright that they could only think that humans had somehow dragged the stars down from the sky. Architecture like nothing they’d ever seen sprawled out along a large island, with only a single patch of green they could barely make out at the foot of the tower that had broken their spell.
“I know this might be hard to hear but it’s been over a thousand years since you were cursed. The current year is 2019 on the Christian calendar.” Xanatos told them.
“By the Dragon…” the elder gargoyle gasped.
The gargoyles all stood there in stunned silence, save for the dog-like gargoyle who whimpered softly at the feet of the elder gargoyle. Xanatos kept the friendly smile plastered on his face as he held his hand out.
“I realize that this is quite a lot to take in all at once but I want you to know that I’m committed to doing everything I can to help ease your transition. I’m hoping we can forge a strong friendship and make a better future for all of us.” the dark-haired human offered.
Goliath growled quietly at Xanatos as he tucked his wings against his body like a cape. Xanantos had enough sense to move his hand back to his side until the growling stopped but didn’t back away.
“The last human who expressed sentiments like that got my entire clan killed and spent his last moments with a sword in his back.” Goliath told Xanatos darkly.
“Is that a threat then?” Xanatos responded with cool anger.
“No,” Goliath immediately assured him, “I owe you my clan’s lives and freedom. So long as you do not threaten them, I will never threaten or act violently towards you. You have my word on that.”
The pleasant smile returned immediately to Xanatos’s face as he nodded his understanding.
“I certainly didn’t go to such lengths to bring your clan back to the waking world just to harm you. I suppose I’ll just have to take the long road in establishing a foundation of trust with you.” Xanatos replied.
“Which does bring me to my question, lad. Why did ye bring us back? Surely transporting an entire castle was no small matter.” the elder gargoyle asked as he approached and stood next to Goliath.
“As I said, the Magus kept a record of the events that happened and that record included detailed descriptions of your kind. To say I was fascinated by the idea of flesh and blood creatures that went to sleep by turning to stone, or likely something very close to stone, was something I just had to learn more about. I looked around the world for other gargoyles as well, but sadly even my resources and connections turned up nothing. Much as I hate to say this, I’m convinced that you are the last living gargoyles in existence.” he explained.
A bizarre ringing sound came from the one called Owen Burnett, who pulled out a small rectangular box from his pocket while the gargoyles reeled from the revelation that David Xanatos had shared with them. The youngest gargoyle watched Owen tap with his thumbs on the small rectangle curiously but didn’t have time to ask anything before the blonde human spoke up.
“I apologize for interrupting Mister Xanatos but an urgent matter has come up downstairs that requires your personal attention.” Owen said in monotone.
Owen showed Xanatos the small box and Xanatos sighed before his attention returned to the gargoyles.
“Please accept my apologies for cutting our discussion short but this is important. I’m sure you and your clan have quite a lot to discuss anyway.”
Without a further word, Xanatos and Owen walked away. The gargoyles all looked at one another for a long moment, nobody sure what exactly to say after the revelations that had been shared with them. The heavy-set aquamarine gargoyle was the first to break the silence.
“Would anybody else like to eat?”
The rest of the clan slowly turned to look at him, even the blue gargoyle beast. The aquamarine gargoyle merely shrugged in response to the odd looks they gave him.
“Well we can’t just stand here forever.” he pointed out.
“He is right.” Goliath agreed after a moment, “Why don’t you three explore the castle? It would behoove us to know how many changes to our home have occurred. Just do your best not to appear to be doing reconnaissance.”
“We’re on it.” the red gargoyle said with a smile on his beak as he turned back to his friends, “Come on!”
The other two younger gargoyles followed their brother into the castle while Goliath hung back with the clan elder and the gargoyle beast. A heavy sigh escaped the lavender giant once he was certain that the Trio wouldn’t come back to see how weary he felt.
“Elder, I must ask you to share any wisdom you have regarding our situation. I find myself at a loss…” he said softly.
“Lad, I’m not sure how much I can help ye. I’ve never heard of a situation such as ours, let alone experienced one.” the elder replied sympathetically.
As Goliath and the elder contemplated their new existence, Xanatos and Owen Burnett exited the express elevator on the ground floor. An all-too-familiar woman with long black hair and a bright red bomber jacket was in the middle of threatening to charge the security guard who had contacted Owen with obstruction of justice.
“Detective Elisa Maza!” Xanatos shouted to get her attention, “Nice of you to come visit. Might I ask what the occasion is?”
The detective whipped around to face him, her normally beautiful features crinkled in a look that was halfway between genuine rage and extreme annoyance as she marched towards him.
“The occasion , Xanatos, is that a carefully orchestrated sting operation was ruined because the known associates of Tony Dracon used your military weaponry against us! Mind explaining how a bunch of thugs with barely four brain cells between them managed to get their hands on Xanatos Enterprises energy rifles?” she demanded as she stood in front of the billionaire.
“I believe my company already filed a police report about a stolen shipment of weapons last month. Shouldn’t you have access to that, as a detective and all?” Xanatos replied smugly.
“Oh, I do and in that report you clearly stated that those weapons shouldn’t be an issue because, and I quote , ‘The batteries necessary to power those weapons weren’t included in the shipment as a safety precaution’ end quote. So how did they fire on my people?” Elisa asked with a growl in her voice.
“I’m not entirely sure, detective. As far as I’m aware, no shipments of those specialized batteries have been stolen and the only ones I have on record were all sold to national militaries. Please be assured, I’ll look into that on my end as well and contact the proper authorities if I turn up anything.” Xanatos assured her with his usual suave demeanor.
“Sure you will.” she said aloud before she leaned closer to harshly whisper at him, “I’ve got my eye on you, Xanatos. You’ll trip up soon enough and I will be there to take both you and Dracon down.”
“Have a good night, detective. Feel free to call the company if you need more information.” he replied calmly with a smug smile plastered on his face.
He turned around and ignored the muttered swears of the detective as he and Owen returned to the elevator. They briefly caught sight of a homeless man entering the building and harassing both the security guard and Detective Maza for change as the doors closed and the elevator sped back up towards the castle.
“Owen, please arrange a talk over the phone with Mister Dracon as soon as we can. I recall giving the man strict instructions that those weapons were not to be used against police officers and I don’t appreciate broken contracts, even with criminals.” Xanatos instructed with a dark expression on his face.
“Of course, Mister Xanatos. Should I also prepare charges against Detective Maza for harassment as well?” the blonde assistant asked in his usual monotone.
“Not this time. Letting her off easy will be my thank you for informing me of Dracon’s betrayal. The timing leaves a lot to be desired though. I’d prefer to focus my time and energies on ingratiating myself with the gargoyles for the time being and yet this comes up.” Xanatos said with a small grumble.
“The best laid plans of mice and men, sir…” Owen replied with the tiniest bit of mirth buried in his monotone.
As Xanatos and Owen traveled back up the enormous tower to return to the castle, the gargoyle Trio had found the modernized kitchen and had busied themselves playing around with nearly everything in sight. The olive gargoyle pressed buttons and turned dials in countless little experiments to see what each one did. The red gargoyle swung around pots and pans and utensils as if each one were a weapon to be wielded but then quickly got bored and moved onto the next one.
“Everything smells so fresh !” the aquamarine gargoyle exclaimed joyously with his head stuck in the open fridge.
“But how is it blowing cold air? And why ?” the olive gargoyle asked from a short distance away as he turned off an open flame on the large stove.
“Maybe it preserves the flavor?” the heavy-set gargoyle suggested as he pulled out and investigated a package labeled tofu.
“Who can say?” the red gargoyle chimed in right as something colorful caught his eye.
A folded pamphlet with a picture of a tall green statue and words that he had never learned to read had been left on the counter. The red gargoyle picked it up and looked it over. He recognized a few of the buildings from when they had all looked over the wall of the castle.
“Hey little brother, you think you can read this?” he asked the olive gargoyle as he held the paper out.
“Maybe, let me see…” the olive gargoyle replied as he read the front of the offered paper, “Welcome to New York City.”
The young gargoyle opened the pamphlet and began to read in silence as his aquamarine brother kept examining the various foods in the fridge. The red brother stood patiently as the olive gargoyle looked over whatever was in the pamphlet. He knew that the olive gargoyle would share anything important as soon as he understood it.
“We’re not in Scotland anymore!” the olive gargoyle shouted suddenly.
The aquamarine gargoyle jumped from the loud exclamation and hit his head on one of the shelves, which spilled the contents all over the floor around them. He rubbed his head as he pulled it out of the fridge and turned towards his little brother.
“What are you talking about?” the red gargoyle asked cautiously as he stepped closer.
“How could we not be in Scotland?” the aquamarine brother followed up.
“I don’t know how but we’re not. See these buildings here?” the olive gargoyle said as he held the pamphlet up for his brothers to see, “We saw these from the parapets earlier and this sentence says ‘New York City is often considered the heart of America, bolstered by immigrants from England, Ireland and Scotland in its earliest days’.”
“So not only did that Xanatos human build a tower that went above the clouds, he moved the entire castle to another country ?!” the aquamarine gargoyle shouted in disbelief.
“I guess so…” the red gargoyle replied softly as he shook off his disbelief, “We need to tell Goliath.”
His brothers nodded their head and followed him out of the kitchen to find their clan leader, the mess on the floor completely forgotten. Despite the many changes Xanatos had made to the castle, the layout remained the same so it took only a few scant minutes for them to navigate their way back to the parapets. Goliath and the elder were still there, deep in conversation while hunched over the railing.
“I just can’t imagine how they could not resent me. It was my poor leadership that led to the events that brought us to this strange time and place.” Goliath said sadly.
“Lad, you can’t blame yourself for all that happened. Ye did not lead the Vikings to attack the castle, nor did ye convince the Captain of the Guard to try his foolish deal.” the elder tried to assure him.
The Trio silently debated as to whether or not to interrupt the two older gargoyles and when the olive gargoyle took a step towards them, only for the red gargoyle to step in his path and sadly shake his head. The three young gargoyles took one last sad look at their sullen leader then headed back inside.