All characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyrighted to Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company. I've taken the idea for the Unseelie Court from the TGS. Characters and concepts from Star Trek are property of Paramount and created by Gene Roddenberry. No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of SN.

Note: I'm disregarding the events of the "Goliath Chronicles", with the exception of "The Journey" because I do not wish to use the rest of the "Goliath Chronicles" as canon to my story. Also, I am altering large sections of the Star Trek storyline, especially concerning events like WWIII and the Eugenics Wars, which without the Cold War as a backdrop probably wouldn't happen the way Roddenberry wrote them, if at all. This story takes place immediately after "Love or Lust?". It might also be helpful to read "Restoration" to get some of the basic background to this story.

Prelude to Rebellion

By SN/TVfan

Email: Sam_Nary

Tibet

Khan stood quietly on the roof of the Tibet Illuminati base. A base he and his followers had recently 'liberated'.

"When do the scanners predict their arrival?" Khan asked.

"About ten minutes, sir," his second in command answered.

"They're behind schedule," Khan commented.

"You expected them sooner, sir?" his second in command asked.

"We took over their facility," Khan answered, "You don't think they would send someone to investigate what happened?"

"We made it look like done by some unknown factor," the second protested, "Wouldn't they at least try to see if we had 'retaken' the base?"

"Yes," Khan nodded, "But remember, much of the equipment was damaged when we took over the base, and it's only been repaired recently."

His second in command nodded.

"What should we do with the investigation team?" the second asked eventually.

"Let them investigate," Khan smiled, "We've dealt with the bodies of the Illuminati agents here and are taking over their programs for our own."

"The investigative team will surely leave someone behind to 'command' us," the second pointed out, "Dealing with him will be difficult."

Khan nodded, "Of course it will be. But that will be half the fun, besides, we may have to for the time being, until the army is ready and until Tibet is firmly behind us."

"Tibet sir?" the second asked.

"In 1927, Prime Minister Tanaka Giichi, of Japan, wrote a document outlining Japan's plan world conquest," Khan explained, "Becoming known as the 'Tanaka Memorial', it says that 'in order to conquer the world, we must first conquer Europe and Asia. In order to conquer Europe and Asia, we must first conquer China.' Now, we currently lack Japan's resources, but we have the opportunity. We must secure Tibet to our cause and from there, conquer China."

The second nodded.

"From China we can move to dominate the rest of the Asian continent," Khan explained.

"This will still be difficult sir," the second cautioned, "Tibet is sparsely populated and very few of its limited population would be willing to join you. We can not use Tibet and an internal secessionist movement against China. Their numbers would overwhelm us eventually and they have nuclear weapons as well."

"Yes," Khan nodded, "It will be difficult, but we can use propaganda to aid our cause. We inform the Chinese people that their communist leaders are not their true leaders, and that their real leaders are a group of non-Asians that are led by a ghost, their people will begin to question why they are fighting."

"That will only help if we are winning," the second pointed out.

"Which is why until I give the order to begin the uprising we are to create more and more supermen and gather more weapons, specifically non-projectile weapons, until we have enough to conquer our foes," Khan answered, "I will also trust you and others to bring Tibet's support behind us completely and to train all who join us into units."

"This plan will take forever," the second complained.

"Yes, but that will be half the fun, as I said before," Khan smiled.

The second nodded and walked back into the facility, leaving the leader of the Illuminati supermen alone. Khan stood alone for a few moments as he looked out over the landscape. He stood there alone for a few moments before he saw a small helicopter approach the base from the south. As the helicopter got closer, Khan saw that it bore Communist Chinese markings, despite the fact that it came from Nepal. Khan knew that the Illuminati were trying to figure what had happened at the Tibet base earlier. Now, he had play the game so that they couldn't realize his plans until it was too late.

Soon after the helicopter landed eight men, all in business suits exited the helicopter. The first of them spotted Khan immediately.

"Ah, Mr. Khan," the man said politely, "Good to see that you have survived. I am Agent Lockly, this is the Nepal Investigation team of the Illuminati."

"You don't look Nepalese," Khan answered.

"My cover is as an agent in the British Embassy," Lockly answered, "But that's not why I'm here."

"I understand," Khan nodded.

"Would you mind explaining what happened here?" one of the other men asked with a serious look on his face, "We saw an entire Illuminati facility wiped out by someone on the security cameras. And since I doubt anyone, with the exception of the gargoyle race could fight their way into this facility and kill everyone with you here."

"You want an explanation," Khan nodded, "That is understandable. Why don't we take this inside out of the cold, sirs. I have been bred to be able to withstand such climates, but you probably are not."

"Of course," Lockly answered, "We would much prefer to take a look at the interior of the base."

Khan nodded and began to lead the eight men into the facility. As they followed they saw several men working with welding torches and other tools. It was obvious that they were repairing the damage that they had earlier inflicted when they took over the base.

"There, now that we're inside," the man that had growled at Khan earlier spoke again, "You will tell us EXACTLY what happened here."

Khan looked back at the man with a rather amused face, "And abandon protocol? You deserve an explanation, but I will not give it as if I was on trial. Remember, sir, that your bosses commissioned my creation. And if you continue to act as such, I will challenge you to a duel under Article Twenty-Five of the Illuminati Charter."

The Illuminati members looked at each other with a great degree of shock and surprise, but said nothing. The man that had challenged Khan was immediately silent, not wanting to be brought into a direct one on one duel with one of the Illuminati's supermen. It was Lockly who finally spoke up.

"We will follow protocol," Lockly said, "You must also forgive any suspicion on our part, Khan. Your supermen are stronger, smarter, and all around better than any human. Since nearly ninety percent of the Illuminati supermen are stationed here, we didn't think that anyone could get into this base and kill everyone inside."

"Understandable," Khan answered, "But things are much more complex then you realize and I do not want to be the first and only suspect."

"No one does," Lockly answered.

Ultimately, Khan led them into a rather large conference room and offered each Illuminati investigator a seat. Khan would eventually move to sit at the end of the table opposite Lockly.

"Now," Lockly sighed as Khan sat down, "We must get down to business. Recently the Illuminati Council observed this base being overrun by some paramilitary element. All of the agents inside this base were killed. The Council has ordered us to investigate the issue. If it wouldn't be too much trouble, Mr. Khan, would you mind if you could tell us your side of the story?"

"I wouldn't mind," Khan answered, "As I said before, things are much more complicated then I'm sure you can imagine. Some organization has been giving us trouble over the past several days. Not in direct attacks, but we have been intercepting various radio messages that gave us indications that they were intending to attack the base."

"It seems that they succeeded," another of the eight Illuminati investigators commented.

"Yes," Khan nodded, "The base leader insisted that I take all the supermen out to find these occurrences. I protested that I couldn't leave the base unguarded, but he insisted and used his position as my superior to make sure we left. I lead my men out to search for these people. We found and eliminated a few in the mountains to the north of our position, but nothing more. By the time we returned to the base, we found it attacked and the all the Illuminati agents dead."

"Why didn't you contact the Council when you discovered this?" the fifth person in the group asked.

"We found all the equipment damaged from the attack," Khan answered, "In fact we had just finished repairing the sensor arrays when we detected your helicopter coming. I assumed this was the reason why you were coming."

"I see," Lockly answered, "I must complement you on your initiative to begin repairing the facility. My team will begin looking over various aspects of the facility to prove your story. Also, let me know when your communications is online. I would like to contact the Council."

"Of course," Khan answered, "I will take you personally to the transmission center. Our communications were repaired before our sensors."

"Excellent," Lockly answered, "Lead the way."

Khan nodded and stood up. The superman leader walked to the main door and ushered the other Illuminati inspectors out. All of them headed off in a different direction, once they had disappeared from sight, Khan turned and began to lead Lockly through the maze of corridors until they came to a large room that had a large glass screen as one of its walls.

"Amazing," Lockly commented, "It looks like you've even improved on the technology."

"We have," Khan nodded, "And it can even interface easily with the old technology."

"Perfect," Lockly answered.

Khan then turned and began to walk toward the room's exit.

"I'll leave you alone with the Council," Khan explained as he neared the door.

"No, stay," Lockly said quickly, "This is only a preliminary report to say what you believe the cause of the recent events here were, not my final report. The Council may wish to hear directly from you."

Khan looked back nervously at Lockly but hid any indication that he was nervous. The leader of the Illuminati's supermen then sighed and returned to Lockly's side.

"If you insist," Khan answered.

Lockly nodded and activated the communications array. A few seconds later the hooded image of Five appeared on the screen.

"Agent Lockly," Five greeted, "And Khan! Good to see you survived the chaos that engulfed your base recently."

"I see little good in it," Khan answered, "I failed to protect the base."

"Ah yes, but now that we are hearing from you we will get some answers," Five replied, "What is your report Agent Lockly?"

"The preliminary report is that there is a militarist element in the region that the Council was unaware of," Lockly answered, "When Khan led the supermen out to apprehend them they attacked the unguarded base."

"Do you know who they are, Khan?" Five asked.

"Not exactly," Khan answered, "But the situation is under control. I have patrols out hunting for them now."

"Good," Five nodded, "What is the current status of the investigation?"

"We've just gotten started," Lockly answered.

"Excellent," Five answered, "Let me know when you've completed your investigation."

"Yes, sir," Lockly replied.

The screen then immediately flashed black.

"I will leave you to you investigation," Khan commented, "I have other matters to take care of."

Khan met with his second back in the briefing room a few minutes later.

"Do they believe us?" the second asked nervous, "I caught one of them poking around the cloning chambers in the scientific lab, and he struck me as rather suspicious."

"Don't worry," Khan answered, "He IS very suspicious, exactly as was expected. As for our explanation as to what happened here, I believe that they will lean toward us in that regard. All we need is some minor piece of evidence that will 'prove' our story."

"The Buddhist monastery?" the second asked.

"Exactly," Khan smiled, "We go there, destroy the building, bring back a few dead monks, redressed in combat gear, possibly a gargoyle or two, and they will believe anything."

"How many men do you want sent on this mission?" the second questioned.

"At least two squads," Khan answered, "and they are to move under 'cover' of darkness. I want the gargoyles to know we're coming. Evidence of a battle would be even more convincing."

"I will see to the orders immediately, sir," the second nodded and left the room.

That Night

Je Lu stood quietly on the outer walls of the Buddhist monastery, watching out for anything or anyone that might try to attack it. Since Demona's visit and the subsequent battle with Sekhmet, life there had returned to its normal peaceful existence. The most dangerous thing that had approached the monastery was a snow leopard, and it obviously could not get in. Je Lu's clan continued to hunt for food for them and for the monks who lived with them. The green dragon-like gargoyle felt rather relaxed, although on occasion, his thoughts would drift to Demona and the human that she had freed from Sekhmet's grasp.

"Anything wrong?" Shi La asked she came up next to him.

"No," Je Lu answered, "Just wondering about things."

"You're curious about what happened with Demona and her friend," Shi La commented.

Je Lu nodded, "Yes. I wonder if they succeeded in returning to their home."

"I'm sure they made it back," Shi La commented, "But I think there is something more to your worrying then whether or not they are safe."

"I'm curious," Je Lu sighed, "Our clan's historical document that we were the ONLY gargoyles in the world and that we were China's nighttime jewel. But Demona was obviously not Chinese. That leaves me to wonder if there are other clans out there besides her."

"You're still an explorer," Shi La chuckled, "I can remember the antics you pulled off when we were hatchlings."

"Yes," Je Lu laughed back, "I suppose I caused my fair share of trouble, but you were never far behind me."

Shi La was about to say something more when she noticed something moving up the path that the monks had followed up to the monastery much earlier.

"Do you see something?" Je Lu asked.

"Look up the path, about one hundred meters out," Shi La answered while pointing in the direction in which she had seen the movement.

Je Lu looked out down the path to see that she was right. There was something out there. It looked like roughly sixteen humans, all armed with some kind of gun, and were wearing clothing that could not only keep them warm, but functioned well as a commando's uniform. Je Lu's mind instantly flashed to the other half of Sekhmet's attack on the monastery during Demona's visit.

"It's those supermen again!" Je Lu exclaimed, "We've got to get the clan ready and drive them off!"

Just as Je Lu finished one of the advancing Illuminati supermen aimed his weapon and fired at the large wooden gates that were the only opening to the monastery. Shi La and Je Lu looked on in horror as the weapon made a sound that they had never heard before and released a small red beam of energy. When that beam hit the wooden gate, the gate exploded, forcing Je Lu and Shi La to duck down behind their wings to avoid being hit by one of the splinters. The men had then broken into a run.

"We can't win like this," Shi La said quickly, "They are quick to fire and very accurate with their aiming. On top of this they're strong. They killed three of us the last time."

"We can't not fight," Je Lu answered.

Shi La began to drag Je Lu back inside the monastery to be greeted by most of the rest of the Tibetan clan, which had been attracted to the sound of the gates exploding.

"What's going on?" one of the gargoyles asked.

"The supermen are attacking us," Je Lu answered, "Wake up Fang Shui and the monks. We will need to be prepared to leave."

"Leave?" another of the gargoyles asked, "We can't leave our home."

"I'm not confident we can defend it either," Je Lu said urgently, "Not like this."

Another gargoyle was about to speak up when they all heard another explosion come from below them.

"That was the front door, two floors down," one gargoyle commented.

"Shi La, take your sisters and get the hatchlings out," Je Lu ordered, "Even if we have to fight here, I will not risk their lives."

Shi La quickly nodded and motioned to the Tibetan clan's females to follow her and then left at a full sprint. Je Lu then turned to the remaining males.

"The rest of us will try to evacuate the monks," Je Lu said quickly, "Fang Shui and his monks have been our friends for a very long time. We can not abandon them or leave them where they could get hurt."

Khan's second in command was the leader of the two squads of Illuminati supermen. He had noticed the two gargoyles conversing on one of the monastery's upper walls, and after their first shot when he saw them flee inside the building, he knew Khan's plan had worked. They would fight, but not out in the open. They would wait until they got inside the monastery where it would be the strength of the supermen versus the strength of the gargoyle.

Once inside the main entrance hall to the monastery, Khan's second turned to the other supermen behind him.

"Okay, Able, take squad A and go through the basement," the second ordered, "We've never noticed them roosting outside, so they must have an internal sleeping area. Squad A will search the basement and up. I will take squad B and will go straight to the rafters and work our way down. We'll meet halfway."

"Yes, sir," Able answered and lead eight men off in search of a stairway that would lead them to the basement.

Khan's second then began leading his team towards a different set of stairs

"Fang Shui," Je Lu whispered as quietly as he could, trying to wake the monk up, "Fang Shui, wake up."

The monk was startled to see Je Lu standing over him as he was roused from his sleep, but quickly recovered. He calmly sat up, letting Je Lu pull him out of bed.

"Je Lu, what is going on?" Fang Shui asked, "Why are you waking me at this hour?"

"The monastery is under attack," Je Lu answered, "It is the same supermen that attacked before and destroyed the dragon statue."

"Oh my," Fang Shui exclaimed.

"Yes," Je Lu said quickly, "I'm trying to get you and the hatchlings out so that way you aren't harmed when the inevitable fight breaks out."

Fang Shui was busy putting on his warmest clothes throughout all of this, determined to keep himself warm should he and the monks have to wait too long out in the snow. A few minutes later Fang Shui and Je Lu emerged in the hallway to see that the other males had successfully gathered the other monks.

"We're ready to evacuate the monks, Je Lu," one of the males reported.

"Too bad you never will!" announced another voice from behind them.

Je Lu and the others turned to see eight supermen standing behind them, all armed. As soon as the mouth's finished dropping with shock and horror, the Illuminati supermen fired their weapons. Three of Je Lu's clan were instantly vaporized while one of the monks was also killed.

"We need to get out of here!" Je Lu screamed as he scooped Fang Shui into his arms and ran down the hallway, dodging laser shots as they were fired.

"Why have they returned?" Fang Shui asked, "They only wanted the dragon statue last time."

"Apparently their orders have changed since then," another male growled.

While the Tibetan clan knew the hallways of the monastery by heart, the need to move quickly now made things difficult the gargoyles not only had to search for a window or a door to the outside air, they had to avoid laser shots that the Illuminati soldiers wasted no time in firing. Je Lu inwardly roared as he heard two more members of his clan cut down by the laser fire, knowing that at least one monk was probably taken with him. Finally the group found a window, and without hesitation, Je Lu leaped through it, making sure that Fang Shui was not harmed and quickly began to glide away from the monastery. The supermen fired their laser shots after them as the fled, but once they were airborne, they were much more maneuverable and the laser shots only managed to slightly wound a few members of Je Lu's clan.

Landing on a nearby mountain slope Je Lu met up with Shi La, some of the other females and all of the hatchlings. He was relieved to see that all of the clan's children had survived, even though all of them had come from the previous generation. It was among the adults where Je Lu saw the casualties. Of roughly thirteen males that he had before this attack, he now only had six. Of twelve females, only seven were still alive now.

"We've got to drive them out," one of the males commented, "They can't get away with this."

Before Je Lu could answer, the monastery was rocked by a massive explosion, leaving a smoking pile of rubble. Screams of despair echoed through the night.

"What do we do now?" a hatchling asked.

"We can not stay here," Je Lu sighed, "It is too dangerous without the monastery for Fang Shui and the monks to live out here. We must leave."

"Where will we go?" Shi La asked.

"And what about the supermen?" a male asked, "They must pay for this!"

"We can't fight them," Je Lu answered, "We don't have any weapons and Fang Shui's monks have renounced violence. They were armed with very destructive weapons."

"Maybe Demona could help us," a female piped up, "Fang Shui helped her regain her true form, maybe she could help us."

"She said she was from New York," Fang Shui exclaimed, "That's a long ways away."

"And none of us speak English," another monk added.

"Yes," Je Lu sighed, "But Demona understood Chinese. I think she is our only hope."

"We will need a map," Shi La pointed out, "The Ancient Chinese never made it to New York."

"The monks and I can get that," Fang Shui said, "Don't worry."

"We'd best be on our way," Je Lu sighed.

Illuminati Base

Khan stood outside the entrance as his second returned to the base. He noticed that three of the supermen were being carried back in addition to several humans dressed in commando gear and two charred gargoyles.

"Report," Khan ordered.

"Their females managed to knock three of our guys out, but other than that we suffered no major casualties," the second answered.

Khan nodded.

"We successfully killed several members of gargoyle clan and the human monks," the second continued, "and destroyed the monastery. They will not bother us again in the future."

"You're certain?" Khan asked.

"Yes," the second nodded, "Some of the monks did survive. Knowing the information we have on most gargoyles it's likely that they will leave this area to protect the monks and make sure they do not freeze to death."

"Very well," Khan nodded, "The inspectors have gone to bed for the night. We will present the bodies as evidence to prove our story tomorrow."

"Yes, sir," the second nodded.

The next morning the Illuminati inspectors met in the conference room to discuss their findings. Khan was not present and it many of them preferred that the commander of the supermen was absent for this meeting.

"What do you have to report?" Lockly asked to begin the meeting.

"I found nothing that is not explainable in Khan's story," one commented, "The base was obviously damaged and they are repairing it."

"They're covering their tracks," another sneered.

"We don't know that," the first argued, "And why would they even be here if they were the ones who killed our agents here. They are genetically designed to be smarter than us. They would know we're coming."

"Their fingerprints are all over the place," the other investigator sneered, "And you just admitted it. They're smarter than us. This could all be a plot."

"Their fingerprints are everywhere because no one in the various repair crews is wearing gloves," a third member of the team pointed out, "Saying their fingerprints are here is like saying there is candy in a convenience store."

"What if it's a plot?" the man argued, trying to get someone on his side.

"Then we'd be dead by know," Lockly pointed out, "Not only are they smarter than we are, but stronger and faster as well. They had numerous opportunities to kill us yesterday while we were running our investigation. The supermen could not have been responsible."

"I beg to differ," the man retorted angrily, "While you all went about looking at where the supermen were working, I went and looked at where they weren't working. And you'll never believe where that was."

"Where, Agent Yemo?" Lockly asked, sounding annoyed.

"The labs," Yemo answered, "And low and behold, the lab was completely repaired. There were even new supermen growing in the cloning chambers. Now, I don't know how many of you people remember the security images, but the lab was also destroyed during the attack."

"How does this play into everything?" one of two women on the investigative team asked, "This base was established for the superman project."

"Well," Yemo continued, "If the 'attack' destroyed everything and everything had to be repaired, wouldn't it be best to work to repair everything? Khan even said that he didn't get his communications and sensor equipment fixed until just before we arrived. In theory he should have only made the same amount of progress with the lab, but NO! It's fully functional, and in use. Khan has some hidden agenda that involves creating more supermen."

"Agent Yemo, the Council ordered more supermen to be created before the attack began," Lockly sighed, "You don't suppose that Khan is merely following orders?"

"No," Yemo answered, "Because he isn't."

Lockly was about to answer when there was a knock at the door. Soon after Khan appeared inside the briefing room.

"You are not allowed in here," Yemo growled, "Get out."

Khan released a heavy sigh, wanting nothing more than to kill the man. Instead he calmed himself and spoke rather softly.

"I understand this is a private meeting…" Khan began.

"THEN GET OUT!" Yemo screamed.

Khan growled heavily, pulled out a laser pistol, set the weapon's stun feature and shot Yemo. The Illuminati agent fell backwards in his chair was out cold. After a few seconds, everyone could hear snoring coming from his direction.

"I'm sorry I did that, but I have some rather important information that can wait for someone with no patience," Khan sighed.

Lockly looked at the spot where Yemo lay, unconscious and then back at Khan as the superman was putting his weapon back in its holster.

"I understand," Lockly answered, "He's on our nerves to, but remember, Mr. Khan, that he is technically your superior. You can not shot, even if it is to stun, a superior officer. You will be formally reprimanded for your action."

Khan sighed, knowing that his temper had gotten him into some trouble.

"What is this information you've uncovered?" Lockly answered.

"One of my patrols came across some of the people that attacked the base," Khan answered, "They were camped out to the west of this position in an old monastery."

Lockly watched as Khan motioned to someone outside. Shortly afterward, several supermen drug in several dead bodies. All of which smelled like they had been over an intense fire for several minutes.

"What is that?" one Illuminati investigator asked.

"The bodies of those killed," Khan answered, "Reports indicated that there were a few gargoyles among them as well."

"Why did you bring them here?" Lockly asked.

"I noticed that certain members of your team were very skeptical about my explanation as to what happened here and that if the bodies were presented later, it would not matter," Khan answered.

"You needn't have worried, Mr. Khan," Lockly answered, "With the exception Yemo, we do not believe you or your men are responsible for the events that took place, at least not in anyway that can be punished. Are the rest of us agreed that it was an act of carelessness on the part of command that lead to this incident?"

The other investigator's nodded.

"You have done no wrong, Mr. Khan," Lockly answered, "And it's about time I gave my final report. It would be best that you joined me."

"Of course," Khan nodded and then turned to the other supermen, and ordered, "Dispose of the bodies."

"Yes sir," the other supermen acknowledged.

A few minutes later, Lockly and Khan stood before the communications screen with the Illuminati Council member known as Five on it.

"You are certain that is what happened?" Five questioned.

"That is what the evidence points to us, sir," Lockly answered, "Agent Yemo is convinced otherwise, but I'm sure you'll hear plenty in his report."

The hooded image of Five nodded.

"My team will be returning to the Nepal base tomorrow," Lockly stated, "Our mission here is over."

Five again nodded, "The Council will be meeting soon to discuss who to send to the Tibet base to run our operations there."

Lockly and Khan nodded.

"Also, Khan, your men are not to engage in any more patrols for the time being," Five added, "These bandits that attacked the base have deeply disturbed the Council, and we will have the Chinese government strengthen their military presence in Tibet. It will be their job to find the rest of these barbarians."

"Of course sir," Khan acknowledged, "Anything to serve."

"Good," Five responded.

The screen then faded to black as Five terminated the connection.

The next day, Khan and his second watched the investigation team depart from the Tibetan base. Yemo had been very cross once he woke up, but Agent Lockly had kept the temperamental man in line.

"Your plans are working well, so far sir," his second commented.

"Yes," Khan smiled, "but our work is far from finished. The Council will strengthen the Chinese military position here in Tibet shortly, and it will not be long before they finish training and send a new Tibetan team. We must prepare now for a rebellion that will change the world."

The End…