Ride of the Black Sword
summary by Black Blade (Amy K. Cyrway; Eddie)
co-authored and edited by Mercedes (Jennifer D. Desalme;
Chimura)

***DISCLAIMER: Gargoyles are copyrighted by Disney and Buena Vista.  No 
infringement is intended.  Zanth‚, Althea, Runs-With-Shadows, RC, and Arin are 
mine.  Chimura and Arioch are Mercedes.  This is nothing but a summary for me 
to be able to keep the flow of my fanfic. (Sorry, sis, but you know how I get!)  
Mercedes' first Fanfic, "The Guardian of Delphi", is still ITP, though I had 
written in Chapter the Second of "In Darkness Cometh" some scenes with her.  
So, instead of confusing the hell out of everyone, I thought I'd whip up this little 
summary about the main event that happened that faithful night of December 7, 
1997.***

***

     Zanth‚ waited patiently for her man to return from the auction.
     At last!  The last remembrance of that blasted Diana and Athena!
     She sat in her high back chair, with faithful Runs-With-Shadows at her 
side, the girl's feral eyes staring out at nothing.
     "Althea," she beckoned to the muscular woman at the door.  "Come here 
and report."
     "There is no word of his return, Zanth‚," the blond-haired woman 
whispered.
     The albino gargoyle sighed, placing her hand over her eyes.
     "Figures."  She sighed again.  "I've waited two millennia for her, I can 
wait a few more hours."
     "You never told us what exactly this man was doing for you, anyway," 
Althea muttered.
     Zanth‚ smiled somewhat.  She was, by trade, a storyteller, and could never 
resist to weave one if asked.  However, tonight she would tell of a legend, one 
that spanned the millennia.
     "Do you know of the history of the Black Sword?" She asked.
     Althea shook her head.
     That surprised Zanth‚ for the sole fact that she adopted Althea when she 
was only a child; the blond woman grew up with the Matriarch.
     "In Greece, before the Common Era, the Black Sword came to be.  
Created by the goddesses, Hera, Athena, Artemis, and Hecate, the Black Sword 
was originally a patron to all women, sworn to protect them from the evils of 
men.  However, Hera stepped down from her First Matriarch position, mainly 
because it bored her.  Athena took her step-mother's place.  However, they 
needed a fourth, to maintain the balance.  Hecate recommended a friend of her's; 
an immortal, though not a god, she would serve the Matriarch well."
     "You."
     Zanth‚ nodded and continued.  "I was only the Fourth Matriarch then, but 
still I held power over our human soldiers, the Amazons, as most people called 
them.  But Athena and Diane were weak in their judgements with men who did 
our sisters wrong.  So Hecate and I plotted to overthrow them.  One night, we 
were able to steal the things most treasured to the First and Second Matriarchs: 
Athena's Aegis and Artemis's quiver and bow.  When they demanded them back, 
Hecate wove a spell into the items, cursing them into a lifetime of immortality 
without their godly powers.  With them out of the way, Hecate and I chose our 
successors to Third and Fourth Matriarchs as we claimed our rightful seats.
     "But Athena and Artemis, with the help of Apollo, combining what little 
resources they had left, confronted a clan of gargoyles in Delphi and suspended 
them into a stone sleep until awoken by the touch of the Black Sword when the 
time was right, a time when the castle in the sky brings forth another clan.
     "Over the centuries, the mantle of leadership came to me.  The Clan 
Delphi were still suspended in stone, and there was no word on a castle in the 
clouds.  Until now.
     "I relocated the Black Sword to New York almost four years ago--"
     "--when David Xanatos brought that Scottish castle onto his building!" 
Althea stated in realisation.
     Zanth‚ nodded again.
     "You see, the man I sent was looking out for what may be the last survivor 
of Delphi.  Around the fifth century C.E. there was a cataclysmic earthquake that 
buried the cavern where the clan was hidden.  During an archeological dig a few 
months ago, they found the remains of some of the clan, most shattered, a few 
still in tact.  Most went to museums around the world.  One, however, is said to 
have made it here to the New World, onto the auction block."
     Althea nodded, understanding.
     Runs-With-Shadows suddenly perked up.  Standing, she regarded the 
door, then Zanth‚.
     "Comes, he does," she whispered.  "Smell the man, I do."
     Zanth‚ stood as well, as the dark-clad man entered the room, holding up 
his right hand to show the mark of the Black Sword on his palm.
     "Matriarch," he whispered.  "I bring news."
     Zanth‚ nodded.
     "Go on, Arioch."
     "The statue you seek was at the auction.  She was bought, however, by 
Xanatos' aide-de-camp."
     At first, rage welled up inside the albino gargoyle.
     "Dammit!"  She cursed, spreading her wings full span.  "Of all the luck...!  
Althea, retrieve Raquel!"
     The blond woman nodded and retreated out of the room.
     "Arioch, you are dismissed until I call upon you again."
     "Yes, Matriarch."  The man exited after Althea.
     Slumping back into her chair, she covered her eyes with her hand again.
     "Dammit," she repeated.
     "What is it, you worry?" the feral woman questioned innocently.
     "Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, Shade.  I should have seen that 
Xanatos would have shown interest in the Delphi gargoyle.  And if the Illuminati 
knew of the legend, he might know of it as well!  Blast!  And with Lexington 
there...I should have seen it before."
     Runs-With-Shadows shook her head.  She did not understand.  Unlike 
Althea, she had limited humanity.  An almost-classic "raised-by-wolves", the 
woman had no qualms with following Zanth‚'s orders.  However, she could not 
comprehend planning ahead or thinking back.  To her, everything was sporadic, 
with no set plan.  There was no use to plan.
     "Then again, it might not be too late."
     "What the hell do you want now, Zanth‚?"
     The albino gargoyle jerked her head up, staring deep into the Grecian eyes 
of Raquel Carrie Spiker, the Second Matriarch.  Unlike Runs-With-Shadows and 
Althea, RC was here against her choice.
     "I want you to distract your friend Lexington," She retorted simply.
     "Why?" the black-haired woman demanded.
     "It is none of your concern why!  All I need is you to distract him."
     RC growled, but nodded, turning on her heel to leave.
     Althea watched her only friend in the Black Sword storm out, then turned 
back to Zanth‚.
     "Why must she distract Lexington?" she asked.
     "The spell Athena, Artemis, and Apollo wove on the clan was that they 
would awaken by the touch of a Black Sword."
     "And branded, was he," Runs-With-Shadows added.
     Althea made an "ooohhh" formation with her mouth.
     "So what now, we do?" the feral woman questioned.
     "We wait for the moment to strike." Zanth‚ grinned.  "Meanwhile, keep 
an eye on our little liaison."

***

     The night faded into dawn, and as the gargoyles of Castle Wyvern froze 
into stone hibernation, Xanatos was already up, examining his new purchase.
     With a crowbar, he cautiously pried away the wooden box panels, slowly 
but surely revealing the statue of a beautiful female gargoyle.
     However, he could not make out the engravings on the base; the Greek 
symbols were, as the clich‚ went, Greek to him.  He made a reminder to call the 
Museum of Natural History later in the day, but somehow, it slipped his mind for 
the remainder of the day. 
     The day passed into twilight, bringing the gargoyles awake.  Though RC 
kept the young olive gargoyle occupied chatting the night away, she would not 
bother him tonight.  Zanth‚ only told her to distract him; she didn't say how long.
       The twilight gave way to night, and as three of the clan patrolled the city, 
those who stayed--Brooklyn, Arin, Lexington, Angela, and Bronx--happened to 
stumble onto Xanatos' new find in the main hall.
     They pondered it over, studying it, though to them, it was only a statue.
     Except to Lexington.
     The others left to points unknown, leaving the smallest in the great room 
alone with the statue.
     He said nothing at first, just stared up at it with wide, almost longing eyes.
     "You are far too beautiful to only be a statue," he whispered after a few 
minutes, and, wishfully, he put a hand on its shoulder and kissed the cold cheek.
     As he turned to leave, he heard a cracking of stone.
     He gazed back at the statue, fractures zigzagging all over the perfect body.
     He was about to cry in protest to whatever force was doing this.
     And suddenly, the statue issued a great roar, shards of stone raining 
from...
     ...her.
     Lexington stared in awe.  This was amazing!  Another gargoyle, trapped in 
stone like his clan was!  
     She yawned, stretched, then noticed Lexington gawking.
     She shouted something demanding in a foreign tongue..
     Shaking his head, then shrugging, he clearly didn't understand.
     She repeated her query, again with no avail.
     Finally, an idea struck him.
     Pointing to his chest, he whispered, "Lexington."
     The woman stopped her tone of voice, regarded him cock-eyed, and 
pointed to him.
     "Lexington," she whispered softly.  A smile seemed to form across her 
face.
     She mirrored his gesture. "Chimura."
     He pointed to her to show he understood.  "Chimura."
     She smiled wider.  He did the same.
     "Lex, you okay--" Brooklyn led the charge back into the room, skidding to 
a stop.  Arin ran into him, followed by Angela, then Bronx joined into the pig-pile 
with a grunt.
     The new female, frightened at first, then laughed.
     "Chimura," Lexington introduced as he walked over to the four gargoyles 
trying to regain their footing and dignity as they stared shocked at her.  Pointing 
to each one, he spoke their names.  "Brooklyn, Arin, Angela, Bronx."
     She repeated him, pointing each one out as she did.
     "Lexington," Brooklyn growled.  "I think we're going to have a long and 
interesting talk about this."

***

     Runs-With-Shadows returned later that night to the First Matriarch's side.
     "She is awake, the statue, she is," she whispered.
     Zanth‚, slouched somewhat in her chair, suddenly jumped up in anger.
     "What?"
     "Awake, she is.  Kissed her, he did, like a faery tale, she awoke."
     "Dammit!" Her fist slammed into the arm of the chair.  "I don't believe 
my rotten luck!" She ran her hand through her thick white hair.
     It did not look good for the Balance the Black Sword held.
     If one of Delphi's Guardians was awake, then that meant it was one step 
closer to Athena and Artemis's revenge on her.
     But it was only one gargoyle, she reassured herself.
     If need be, she would kill her.
     Zanth‚ sank back into her chair, plotting.
     The Black Sword should never favor Good nor Evil.
     And, if Athena and Artemis returned, it could mean Good could get the 
upper hand, creating Chaos.
     There must always be balance.
     And Zanth‚ was the Balance.

***

There.  I feel much better now.  This is, mind you, my own summary of one of the 
events that happened during December 7, 1997 in the Clan Winslow Multiverse, 
at least those which hold relevance to "In Darkness Cometh".  This has been 
edited by Mercedes, however, to correspond to her fanfic.  Thanx a lot for 
reading!

--Black Blade "My Cosmic Song Goes On For Eternity"