LEGAL DISCLAIMER: I did not create the Gargoyles of Castle Wyvern (something
anyone who reads this
ought to have figured out long ago), nor did my mind spawn any of the
other characters mentioned, save one.
Most characters here belong to either the Disney crew (hail, hail),
or Christine Morgan, fanfic author
extraordinaire. I'm working on a novel, portraying the life of Jason
Evermore, so I'd appreciate it if nobody
were to use him until the book is published. I do however not prohibit
anybody from using him, as long as I
recieve a copy of the fanfic (so it may be considered for the novel).
Should that happen, credit will be given.
This happens some time after Christine Morgan's The Pure and The Profane.
Manhattan had been unusually
quiet for the past month or so. Not that the gargoyles objected, mind you,
but they all had a feeling of something... not exactly wrong,
but nontheless weird. Something was coming,
they all knew it. Even Bronx was restless.
Some time after sundown Broadway
and Elektra had gone patrolling, Hudson had gone off to a date with
Captain Chavez, getting a smartass comment from Brooklyn about women
with handcuffs (before the poor
fellow had his beak efficiently closed by Goliath's hand, and hearing
Elisa mentioning how he should think twice
before joking about such matters). Lex and Aiden were busy making a
new disk for Xantasia, letting nobody
near the computers, and Angela and Birdie were really getting along
listening to Scarlet Angel CD's.
In the garden, Puck was teaching
Alex a summoning spell, all the while Fox was showing Xanatos some
of her newest creations. One could wonder, though, whether it were
the dresses that made him stare, or
something quite else.
Around eleven, the doorman
buzzed, startling everybody.
"Sorry to disturb, sir,
but there's a gentleman here claiming he was summoned here."
Xanatos looked baffled at
everyone as they gathered around him.
"Does this gentleman have
a name, Breckenridge?"
A few minutes passed, everybody
in the room exchanging looks.
"He says he is Jason Evermore,
I think, hard to tell with that uncommon British accent."
Goliath raised a brow towards
the monitor, then towards one of the bookcases and grumbled, "Jason Evermore?
I just... no, it must be a coincidence."
At which point, Lex looked
over at Puck, who chose that moment to become Owen,
"With that guy around, how
can you possibly assume anything to be a coincidence?"
Xanatos looked from Goliath
to Lex, then at Owen, and finally back to the doorman.
"Okay, send him up."
A few minutes later, a soft
*ding* announced their visitor to have arrived. He was wearing a
large, scruffy
hat and an old trenchcoat. Xanatos and Owen met him at the elevator.
"So, Mr. Evermore, was it?
Why did you come?"
The stranger, who seemed
to be not even thirty, smiled wearily to the men facing him, removing his
hat. "I
came because I was summoned, Mr. Xanatos, and, by the way, I sense
the gargoyles are here, so they might as
well come out of hiding."
Goliath approached him warily,
uncertain of the stranger's British accent. "Very well, Mr. Evermore, but
first,
tell me, how was Lionheart's strategy in the siege of Jerusalem?"
At that moment, as the stranger
turned pale, one could have heard a grain of sawdust hit the floor, and
a pin
would have created a noise like thunder at point-blank range.
Even Owen looked shocked.
Of course, this was only showed on the Owen Burnett emotion-o-meter, as
Lex called it, whereas he looked only mildly surprised.
After what felt like an hour
without anybody even breathing, the stranger broke the silence. "True,
I was there,
but as a Templar, not a common soldier. I was slain early during the
siege, as well, so there really isn't that much
I can tell."
At that point, Owen seemed
so shocked that everybody, save Birdie, instantly wished they'd had a Polaroid
camera present. She had one.
Now Angela had a question;
"Slain? Then how can you be alive still?"
"In the bright white tunnel
spoken of as near-death experiences..." the young Evermore started, but
lost his
voice. Fox, eager to hear him out, quickly left and returned with a
glass of water. "Thank you. Now, as I was slain
by a heathen blade I passed half-way through that tunnel, where I was
turned back by St. Peter. He returned me
sternly to Earth, where I immediately stumbled in on my own funeral.
And so I found myself back on Earth, in a new
body identical to my dead one, watching the shocked expressions on
my friends' faces."
At this point, Goliath interrupted
his story, picking down a book from the shelves, "Yes, and Father William
mentions that event in his diary of the third crusade. What I wonder
about, is how you've gone unnoticed for eight
centuries."
"Simple. I have wandered
the Earth ever since I left my brothers-in-arms." At this point Evermore
smiled faintly,
with eight hundred years of weariness in his eyes. "You'd be amazed
at how simple it is to cross borderlines if you
do not wish to be seen. But back to the real subject: Why was I summoned
here tonight?"
Now everybody looked confused
at each other, until Owen cleared his throat. "Ehum... sir, I believe young
Alex may have managed to put more force in his Summoning spell than
expected. And even then, this Templar must
have what is most commonly referred to as ESP."
Evermore looked surprised.
"Why, I have gained control of some extra senses, barely ever used by common
mortals. A form for radar, ability to sense people's feelings and thoughts,
such things. Sensing spellcasting is actually
something I never expected."
Aiden smirked. "It's not
that hard, but then again, I'm a sorceress."
Evermore suddenly seemed
alert and ready for battle. "A sorceress? I cannot say I'm particulary
fond of sorcery,
since the Crusade. Then again, all sorts of magic is said to be of
neutral kind, the purpose for which it is used, is
the subject in question. As long as we're not talking necromantics,
I'll let it pass as innocent."
Goliath rumbled "The only
thing here that doesn't make sense, is how you have been granted immortality
without
Avalon's knowledge."
Evermore looked up at him.
"My goodness. Avalon? There _is_ such an island? And I always thought Shakespeare
to have naught but a creative imagination."
Here, Owen actually failed
to hide his feelings, and turned an interresting shade of red, while Xanatos
commented "Oh, I think he may have had an inside connection, don't
you think, Owen?"
Everybody but Owen and Evermore
chuckled at this (although Goliath had a few problems with keeping his
voice in line). Evermore suspiciously eyed Owen.
"Is there something here
I am not informed of? A paladin I may be, but not God."
At this, the chuckle turned
into a burst of laughter, and Owen chose to transform into Puck.
Evermore eyed him again.
"Oh. I guess that explains everything."
"Aye, kiddo, but there's
something I wonder about here. You claim to be a Paladin, 800 years old,
but you
look familiar."
The Xanatoses looked Evermore
up and down, then fixed their gaze on his face.
Fox was the first to break
the silence. "Wow, he looks almost just like Preston did back when my father
worked on that weather control system."
Evermore seemed shocked.
"What? When? Who?"
Birdie caught her trail
of thoughts instantly. "You mean, before Creepy Cal ruined everything?"
Evermore seemed dumbfounded.
"Creepy Cal? Weather control? What in Heaven's name are you talking about?"
Xanatos smiled at him. "Sorry,
it's just that you look like my father-in-law's right-hand assistant. Preston
Vogel.
But I presume as a Templar, you had to make a vow of chastity? Of celibate?"
An embarrased silence filled
the room. "Well, actually, no, I didn't. But even though, I have only fallen
in love
once, and her father chased me off with a gun. Imagine. The real reason
I left? I may be immortal, but bullets still
hurt like nothing else on earth ever will. And I did not wish to blow
my identity."
"Let me guess," Angela inquired,
"this happened forty-six, forty-seven years ago, in Eastern Europe?"
Evermore seemed in total
shock. "And her name was... " His voice burst at this moment. "Her name
was Ilke.
Ilke Vogel. But that means..."
Xanatos laid his hand friendly
on Evermore's shoulder. "You may have a son."
Fox looked from Evermore
to Xanatos, then back. "Should I let my father know? And Preston Vogel?
After all,
I think he'd like to know his father."
"No. Some things are not
meant to be, and I am fairly certain this is one. It is better if he never
met me. He would
not understand. Besides, how to explain him being the better part of
forty, and me, his father, not even twenty-five?"
Lex frowned, "Good point.
I agree he shouldn't be told."
After hours of idle chat,
discussing theology and fashion (even the worthy Templar was strained to
avoid leering
at the new FoxFire creations), Goliath looked out at the battlements.
"Dawn is creeping closer. We should soon assume
our positions on the ramparts. And I see Hudson, Broadway and Elektra
are on their way here."
Lex was faster than any
of the other Gargoyles. "Hey, we'll be rockin' during the day, but maybe
you could leave
the story of your life for the Xantasia?"
"The Xantasia? _You_ did
that? My goodness, that game system is truly amazing, despite some
anachronistic
cliches in the Knight's Quest game."
At this remark, Aiden snorted.
"But I digress. Of course
I'll leave an edited version of my life for you, on one condition."
Everyone raised a brow.
"A free copy of the game."
Everyone chuckled in a relieved
manner. Aiden held out her hand, "Deal, just let us know where to send
it."
"Excellent. I'll be back
sometime during the next week with the script and my address."
Smiling at Lex's enthusiasm,
the gargoyles made their way to the ramparts and settled down as sunrise
arrived.
Jason Evermore picked up
his hat and prepared to leave, but burst out laughing as he threw a final
glance at the Gargoyles. Apparently, Brooklyn had pinched Angela's behind,
who in turn had frozen in a weird, twisted position,
hand on her hindquarter. Even Owen had to smile.
"Well, sir, It is my guess
we meet again soon, then, unless Demona should choose to attack again."
Owen said
as he followed Evermore to the elevator.
Evermore stiffened at the
mentioning of Demona. The Xanatoses noticed his reaction. "Oh, you know
her, too?"
"Well, we had some encounters
in California in 1849, I was busy helping maintaining law and order, she
was busy disturbing my work at night."
"Story of her life."
As Jason Evermore put on
his hat and entered the elevator, he smiled to Owen. "Oh, and tell the
boy child to try controlling the amount of power he throws into his spells.
With a few years more behind him, he could accidentally
summon something... rather unpleasant."
As the elevator doors closed
behind the old Paladin, Owen smiled enigmatically.
"Power control was the first
thing I taught him, boy. The very first thing."
The end ...?