AVALON MISTS: An momentary escape from reality. Issue #4 First Released: Monday March 18th Editor's note for this issue: Many thanks to MaryK. *****Poetry and filks***** The Giant --Julie Descoteaux (Respond to Isabelle Saucier at saucier@megatoon.com) One night, he opened his eyes, And saw a strange new world. With the few who had survived, He found himself far away from his land, Far away from his past. At the sight of him, I first drew back in fear. But he taught me to see beyond what stood before me. With him I discovered What I could never have imagined. I eased the bitter feeling of deceit he kept in his heart, And showed him that not everyone was against him. I became one he could turn to, As he did for me. On the rooftops is where we meet, Until the light of day shines on him, Until the moment he becomes a rock once again; Leaving me sore, waiting for the moon to rise. We are so close, yet a world apart; We are different, yet the same. When the rock breaks and he appears, He has me breathing again. Wherever I find myself At the heart of this dark city, I only need to look up, and there he is, Watching over me. * * * Day-O orig. song by: Harri Bellephonte (sp?) lyrics by: Merlin Missy (mrwilson@umr.edu) with apologies; it's been in my head for weeks *** (scene: the clocktower. The sky is lightening slowly, and the guys watch the horizon. Suddenly, a beam of green light streams from the sky, splits, and hits each of them on the forehead except BRONX. Magic is afoot.) GOLIATH (jumping onto his perch): Day-o! Daaaaaay-o! Daylight come, and me gotta turn stone. (the trio leap onto the ledge as well, LEX in front, then BROOKLYN, then BROADWAY. HUDSON moves to stand in front of the four.) ALL: Day-o! Daaaaaay-o! Daylight come and we gotta turn stone. GOLIATH: Come, Mr. Eisner, don't cancel my good program. TRIO and HUDSON: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone! GOLIATH (bends on one knee): Come, Mr. Eisner, don't cancel my good program. TRIO and HUDSON: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone. GOLIATH: Day-o! Daaaaaay-o! ALL: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone. GOLIATH: Day-o! Daaaaaay-o! ALL: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone! (TRIO begin to walk like Eqyptians back and forth across ledge; HUDSON moves his arms from side to side) GOLIATH: Can you get the inside references? TRIO and HUDSON: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone. GOLIATH: Get hit over the head with moral messages? TRIO and HUDSON: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone. (ELISA walks out of the tower, sees them singing, and stops dead in her tracks) GOLIATH: Day-o! Daaaaaay-o! ALL: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone. GOLIATH: Day-o! Daaaaaay-o! ALL: Daylight come and we gotta turn stone! ALL: 6 foot (LEX jumps down) 7 foot (BROOKLYN jumps down) 8 foot (BROADWAY jumps down) Bronx! (BRONX howls) ALL: 6 foot (HUDSON pats LEX onna head) 7 foot (HUDSON pats BROOKLYN onna head) 8 foot (HUDSON pats BROADWAY onna head) Bronx! (HUDSON goes to pat BRONX. BRONX growls.) Daylight come and we gotta turn stone! GOLIATH (really getting into it): DAY-O! DAAAAAAAY-O! ALL: (TRIO and HUDSON now in barbershop quartet fashion, w/ LEX kneeling in front. BRONX slinks to corner to watch.) Daylight come and we gotta turn stone! ALL: DAY-O! DAAAAAAAAAAAY-O! (slowly now) Daylight come, and we gotta turn stone. (As the song ends, the guys begin to shake their heads, as if coming out of a trance. ELISA waits until they notice her.) GOLIATH: Oh, hello Elisa. ELISA: (looking at each of them in turn, her gaze finally settling on GOLIATH) That's it. You guys are switching to decaf. (turns around and walks back into the tower as the sun rises) *****Top Ten List**** Top Ten Signs You've Been Watching Too Much "Gargoyles".... -- Jill Morrison (morrisjm@sbu.edu) (MERLYN3109@aol.com) 10.) You wish that The Disney Store would get those cool embroidered Garg. T-shirts in adult sizes... 9.) When watching the Simpsons, you decide that Owen could *definitely* kick the crap outa Smithers... 8.) You confuse the Sunday school class you teach by rooting for Goliath to win ... 7.) You inform your Shakespeare professor that "that hack" got the MacBeth story all wrong... 6.) When going through Garg. withdrawal, you watch "Sliders," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Coach," and all the Star Trek series just to hear those certain voices... 5.) While watching "Friends," you wonder what Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe looked like during "The Mirror" .... 4.) Noting both Bluestone's red hair and love of conspiracy, you wonder if his parents ever had a run-in with the Phoenix Gate, and if they were FBI agents ... 3.) You try to persuade your local optometrist to sell you his promotional stuffed animal for "Gargoyles"-brand sunglasses ... (true story, ;-) 2.) You can't walk past the jars of jalapeno peppers at the supermarket without snickering ... And, the number one sign you've been watching too much "Gargoyles"... 1.) You're writing lists like this one. *****Fanfic***** Editor's note: this is going to be four parts, not three as I had previously said. (Hey, I wanna be a writer, not a rocket scientist!) "Face Value" Part #2 of #4 --MaryK. (starr@nando.net) Chapter II **** "Are you sure we can get away with this?" Angela questioned, pulling on a hooded sweatshirt. Broadway and Brooklyn gave her sideways looks, and Lexington smirked down at his bag. "Come on. If we're caught, we can just take off." Brooklyn reassured her. "You're not wearing that right." He muttered, fixing the sweatshirt over her wings. "Like that." "Um, guys, we better leave before Goliath gets back down here." Lexington said, casting a worried look in the direction of the back of the clock face. They were grouped on the stairway, trying to get Angela into a pair of Elisa's jeans. "Is this 'movie' worth all this?" Angela questioned, trying to figure out how to zip the fly without catching her regular outfit, which she was wearing underneath, and watched as the other three pulled on their separate trenchcoats, averting their eyes. "Drive-in." Broadway corrected, and Lexington stifled a short giggle. "What?" Angela asked suspiciously. Brooklyn cleared his throat. "Have you heard of the term 'make-out'?" he questioned, a worried look on his face. "No. Should I have?" "Let's just say Lex has a *really* sick mind." ******* Louis Kramer exited his office at almost four in the morning, pulling nervously at the knot on his tie. He was of average height, slim, with an almost eternal glint in his eyes. Even as the head of a chain of low-brow music/comedy clubs, he still found himself regularly bored. These humans were the most dull creatures he'd ever ventured upon! No more riddles, no more gods with a sense of fun. The last he'd heard, the immortals and the gods had moved to a hidden island, hiding from the humans like beaten dogs. He smirked, hailing a beaten yellow cab. "Where to?" The cabby asked with a thick Russian accent. Louis climbed in, shoving a dark leather briefcase into the backseat ahead of him. "Ah, nowhere in particular. Just drive." "The meter is running." The driver said with a shrug. Louis smiled and flashed himself into his condo, leaving a gold coin on the split plastic seats. "Honey, I'm ho-ome" he called, closing the solid door behind him and setting the briefcase down on the horribly expensive carpeting. A white-haired nymph ran up and took his coat. She was his partner, a talented precog, able to predict events up to three weeks into the future. She wasn't an emotional women, as a rule, having lived for over a thousand years. "Loki, there are two FBI agents coming." she said with her eyes down, working a hanger into the sleeves of the coat. "They come to search for Elisa Maza, but are more concerned with the legend of the gargoyles. One of them finds you, recognizes you as a member of the Illuminati, and has you arrested." Louis, now free to act as Loki, flashed his outfit into an eighteenth century shirt with lace edgings and a worn pair of jeans "Hi to you, too." He muttered, "Is there anything in this I should be worried about?" "One of the agents discovers your weakness. You're sent to join the New Olympians, and live with whatever torment they choose for you. I cannot see any future past that." "You have a way of putting a damper on things." Loki growled, darkening his usually handsome expression. "I apologize, but I felt I had to convince you of the import of preventing them from finding you." she said, shrugging. "I get it." Loki said, flashing himself back into the suit, minus the strangling tie. "How long till the agents arrive?" "Four hours." "I'll be home in two." he called, then flashed back out of the drastically modern condo. He arrived at the clock tower his partner had directed him to, and pulled a small jewel from his jacket pocket. He placed it on the ledge, directly in front of the clock face, then chanted a short incantation, watching as the jewel sunk itself into the stone block. Almost as an afterthought, he brushed his hands together and smirked. *That's taken care of.* he thought, peering across the city at the lightening eastern sky, seeing a dark silhouette approaching in the early morning light. He hurried down the staircase, hearing a small rush of wind behind him as the gargoyles returned to their perches. *Finally, I get to have some fun!* he mused, and a grin grew to accompany the glint in his eyes. ****** Elisa Maza followed the wooden staircase upwards into the clock tower's loft. The sun would set in almost five minutes, and she had to talk to Goliath about a pair of FBI agents. They'd known too much for comfort, and she knew she should warn the clan about the possible danger. She emerged through the door at the top of the stairway a few seconds after the sun went down, and was confronted by a pair of men, both with confused looks on their faces. Elisa drew her gun and held it out, using one arm to brace her elbow. "Who the hell are you?!" she growled, aiming the gun towards the largest figure, who was standing by an old man with bone-white hair. His appearance reminded her of someone she knew, but she couldn't quite place it. "Elisa? what's going on?" The voice was strangely familiar, and Elisa suddenly realized, almost dropping her gun onto the stone floor below. "Oh...my...god. What happened?" she managed to get out, staring at the drastic change in the pair's appearances while numbly attempting to holster her gun. She looked down to see a Saint Bernard sniffing at her hand, and realized that even Bronx had been affected. "We-we're not sure." Goliath said, a confused expression on his face as he examined his hands, lifting them up to his eyes. "How do you humans walk like this?" Hudson asked, supporting himself on the ledge to keep from overbalancing. *These guys have learned to walk with huge weight on their backs. It's a wonder they can stand up straight.* Elisa thought, looking back to Goliath. He had kept a strong resemblance to his gargoyle identity, with the same harsh features and jet-black hair. She had opened her mouth to ask if they'd noticed anything unusual the previous morning, when there was a rush of wind as one of the missing clan landed on the balcony. "Father?" she said, squinting at the shadowy group. "Angela! What are you doing back so soon?" "Ugh, that. I left before the mov...What happened!?" she gasped, as she stepped from the balcony and saw them clearly for the first time. "We're not sure." he said slowly, "I was hoping one of *you* would know." "Something's happened." Elisa muttered, shaking her head and looking up at the night sky. "Yes, but what? Whose sorcery is this?" Angela said, giving her father a questioning look. "There's no such--" Elisa stopped. Her time in Avalon had further convinced her of magic, even in the present. It was probable that this could be some form of curse, but who would ? "What?" Angela asked, and Elisa realized she'd left her sentence hanging. "I..I don't know. Do you guys know of *anyone* who could do this, even if you're convinced they're on your side?" "Elisa, we've been 'asleep' for a thousand years. Any sorcerers with this kind of power are long dead now." "what about Puck? Or maybe Xanatos hired someone..." "It could be temporary. we could get out of this tomorrow--" Goliath started to say. "Or possibly not at all." Hudson interrupted, having chose to sit on the stone ledge with one hand resting on Bronx's head. "Goliath, this won't affect anything. Your clan still needs you, no matter what has happened." "I suppose you're right. I shouldn't let this affect me." he said quietly, then turned and stepped through the door in the clock face. Angela's face adopted a dark scowl, as she turned and flew off towards the afterglow left by the setting sun. Hudson watched her shadow disappear into the darkness, then looked over at Elisa. "He'll face this eventually, lass. I want you there to help him through it." he told her, clapping ahand down on her shoulder with a grandfather-like frown. "I will." Elisa said, giving him a reassuring smile. ***** Mulder and Scully met outside the clock tower later that same night, as planned. "So, that much is gone. Elisa is home, safe and sound, and we don't have a trace on the Illuminati." Scully said to her partner, pulling her coat tighter against the nighttime cold. "So that leaves the gargoyles, doesn't it?" Mulder said, flashing his partner a wide grin. "You can't be serious." "Dead serious. It's rumored that this is where they live, but..." "But *what*, Mulder?" "I spent last night checking out an alien sighting." he said with a sheepish grin. "By the time I checked this morning, the only thing up there were a bunch of old statues." "That's unusual. You'd actually pass up a search for a set of gargoyles for the chance to see a UFO?" Mulder flashed her a dark look, but a small smile teased at the corners of his mouth. It quickly disappeared, though, as a dark figure approached the base of the tower where they were standing. The partners exchanged glances, and Scully nodded. Mulder took a step forward, pulling his ID out of his inside coat pocket. "I'm agent Fox Mulder, FBI. Could we ask you some questions?" The figure glanced up, startled, then moved to stand in front of the pair, pulling a small object out of his pocket. "Matt Bluestone, NYPD." he returned, flashing his own identification. "Is there something I can help you with?" "What do you know about gargoyles?" Scully groaned quietly and inwardly slammed her head against a brick wall. *Does this guy even know the meaning of subtle!?* "Yes. They're made-over drainspouts. Really ugly, the last I heard. Will that be all?" he asked, a hint of mockery seeping into his official tone. "Why are you here, Mr. Bluestone?" "I'm investigating a pair of vandals." "-And the graffiti?" "Has been painted over, Mr. Mulder. If you'll excuse me-" "Of course." Mulder said, stepping out of the officers way. Matt brushed past, replacing his ID in his back pocket. "I *hate* working with police." Mulder mumbled. Scully glanced over, an amused expression on her face. "I hate to break it to you, Spooky, but 'What do you know about gargoyles' is just *slightly* blunt. Next time, *I* get to ask the questions, okay?" "Your turn, then." Mulder said, pointing her in the direction of another approaching figure. Scully glanced back over her shoulder with a scowl, then stepped forward to intercept the figure. "Dana Scully, FBI. I'd like to ask you some questions about the vandals--" "What vandals?" The woman asked, then flashed an identification almost identical to Dana's. "I'm Elisa Maza. What's this about vandals at the clock tower?" *She doesn't remember me.* Scully thought, *That would have killed her trust, if anything* Elisa wore a concerned frown, *This is the partner of that nutcase, Fox. Wonder if there's any relation between her partner and Mrs. Xanatos.* "I was wondering if you knew of a way to reach the top of the tower." "Nope. No idea. I'm sorry, but I can't help you, Ms Scully." "Thank you." Dana said with a professional smile, then returned to where her partner was standing in the shadows. "Look who's talking now." he said teasingly, his arms crossed over his chest. "That was Elisa Maza. I didn't think I'd ever say this, but could you see if we can get some help from the Lone Gunmen?" she asked, moving away from the tower with her partner following. "I knew you'd come around." Mulder said with a wide grin. "Don't start with me." Scully muttered, moving to replace her ID. Her hand was empty. "Argh. Mulder, wait up. I dropped my identification card." she called, searching the ground with her eyes while holding her hair away from her face with one hand. Mulder returned, then bent over, picking something up off the pavement. "Did you find it?" "No, but I found something much better." he told her, holding up a chip of stone the size of a quarter. "I hate to break it to you, but it's a *rock*." "Marble. From the top of the tower, if I've got my facts right." "So?" "Someone has chipped this off, probably in the past day or so. Who could do this but a gargoyle?" "A bird with an ice-pick?" Mulder just smiled, holding the chip up to the light. Scully rolled her eyes and kneeled down, finding her wallet beside another, larger, chip. Luckily, she'd dropped it far enough away from the tower as to have light from a nearby street lamp. "Could we *please* go!" Scully groaned, pocketing the wallet and turning to leave. "Just minute." Mulder said, raising a finger to his lips. "I think we have visitors." Scully glanced back over her shoulder to see a shadowy trio join with Maza and Bluestone, who were waiting just outside of the door to the station. She nudged Mulder in the side. "Visitors for a connection who works directly under the tower. Any signifigance?" she whispered, watching as the five disappeared into the police station. "Plenty. There must be an inside access." He answered, and moved to follow the partners into the building. Scully trailed behind, entering into the station with her badge already visible in her hand. The pair moved forward in a fast walk, following the partners and the trench-coat wearing three until they all disappeared into...a broom closet? Scully gave her partner an amused glance. "Mulder, maybe *this* has nothing to do with gargoyles, hmm?" "Scully, I seriously doubt they're in there making out." "Then what *are* they doing in the closet?" "Looking for a broom?" Scully sighed, and opened the door with a slight grimace. The closet was empty. Supressing the urge to scream, "You're *wrong*!" in Mulder's face, after another faulty lead, she leaned her head back to let out an exasperated sigh. There was a pull string on the ceiling, the kind used for pull-down ladders... She poked Mulder, pointing up at the still-swinging string. He yanked on it, pulling down a wooden staircase. "Now I *really* don't want to know what they're doing." Scully Grumbled, following Mulder up the stairway. The voices of the mysteriuos trio could be heard echoing off the walls as the agents ascended the stairway. "Did anyone see where Angela went?" The next voice Scully recognized as that of Detective Maza. "She's been here, but left again. You mean you guys weren't looking after the movie?" "She said she was coming back here." A voice said uncertaintly, which Scully decided was probably that of some eleven-year old kid. There was a loud sigh. "Maybe Goliath saw her while we were gone." Mulder's eyes lighted at the mention of the name Goliath, but didn't say anything, instead continuing up the stairway. He turned to glance back at his partner only to slip on a loose stone. Catching himself, he cursed quietly. The voices above had grown silent. The pair finally topped the staircase, and Scully glanced about the room, One hand moving up towards her holster. She lifted her gun cautiously, glancing around the room. A thick layer of dust covered almost everything, and it looked like no-one had been up here in years. Yet they *had* heard the voices, and seen the group coming up...She stepped by a full-length mirror, and was momentarily distracted by a shadow reflected behind her. She turned with her gun held out, but there was no-one there. Mulder pushed a small door outwards, and revealed a balcony outside. The door opened into the bottom half of the clock face, and he found that he needed to duck to get by the hour hand, which was resting on the six, telling of the eventual sunrise. Scully stood stiffly at the bottom of the stairway, her gun still at ready, while Mulder explored the small ledge. "Scully!" "What?" she answered nervously, throwing a moment's glance over her shoulder before turning. "This balcony is made of marble." he called. "It's just an old building, Mulder. Can we just get out of here?" "Sure, sure. I--" he stopped, looking at something over her shoulder. Scully turned, and almost did a double take. Detective Maza was with someone she hadn't yet seen, but more importantly, wasn't wearing anything more than a loincloth. The way he hovered over the detective reminded her of the protectiveness portrayed by the stories' gargoyles, and she wondered why she'd drawn that particular parallel. "What are you doing here?" Elisa asked, and Scully momentarily found herself grabbing for words. "We were working on a case, Ms Maza." Mulder said, conveniently over-looking the fact her friend(?) was barely wearing enough for the cold morning. "and it seems you've been witholding evidence." "She was protecting us." The half-dressed man intoned with a threatening glare. "Have I met you before?" Mulder asked the man standing beside her, who appeared to be of European, possibly Scottish descent, with dark hair almost identical in shade to that of Detective Maza. "Possibly. I've been around for quite some time." "Then maybe you've heard the legends of the gargoyles. I've heard they're all quite protective of this city. Why would they come to New York, of all places?" Elisa's consort opened his mouth to speak, but she spoke before he could get the words out. "I'm afraid that we don't know, Fox. We're just here for the view." Mulder nodded with a look that said he'd eaten something sour. "It's a wonderful view. Sun should be up any second, now." Elisa and the man exchanged glances, not unnoticed by the partners. "I've heard the gargoyles are stone by day. It would be quite interesting to see what they are at night...." he stopped, then gave the pair a quick 'thank you' before he and Scully exitted down the staircase. The humanized Goliath opened his mouth to speak, but Elisa shushed him. "Wait until we know they're outside." she whispered, then led the way out onto the balcony, followed by the other three gargoyles who had been hiding in the shadows. The three climbed up onto the ledge, oblivious to Goliath's present appearance, mostly because it had been to dark to see much of anything. Goliath hung back at the doorway as the remainder of the clan struck their poses as the first shaft of sunlight peeked over the horizon, returning them to stone. On the streets below, Fox Mulder chanced to look back one more time. *Funny. Those weren't there before* ~To be Continued