Disclaimer: Gargoyles belongs to Buena Vista, Aladdin belongs to Walt Disney Company, and Voltron belongs to World Events Productions. This story takes place after "Castle In Disguise." Enjoy the story, even if it is short.
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Wintertime was almost over. In a few weeks, it will be the beginning of spring. The weather would be pleasant, not cold like it was now. I sat by my bedroom window inside the Castle of Lions. I thought of my gargoyle friends and Elisa Maza. Especially the gargoyles. They never saw the sun like us humans did. They slept as stone statues during the day.
A plan was forming in my mind. I could use a spell that would allow them to be awake in daylight. Of course, I would ask for their permission. But, first I needed to take care of some business matters before I went to the clocktower.
I exited my room and headed for the Lounge where I knew the Voltron Force was at. The doors opened automatically and let me enter. The force was sitting on the cushions, reading or talking. They all looked up when they heard the doors open and saw me enter.
"Hello Jasmine. Glad for you to join us," Keith greeted.
"Actually Keith, I came to tell you that I'll be leaving the castle for a little while. Two days, tops," I said.
"Where are you going?" Allura asked. She was still injured from our battle with Lotor and could still not fly the Blue Lion for a while. She will fully recover by springtime.
"I plan on visiting some friends I made here in Manhattan." That wasn't technically, a lie. I was visiting friends, but I couldn't tell exactly who I was visiting. It wasn't my secret to tell them about the gargoyles.
"Well, go ahead and visit them. I'll tell Coran about your visit for you. Take Blue Lion with you," Keith granted.
"Thanks Keith." I left the Lounge and headed back to my room, then put the spell in a pouch I kept on my pants. I grabbed the key to the Blue Lion off my dresser and headed for the portal, which Coran had already set up. I went down the tunnel to the lion and put the key into its respective place. The engine roared to life and I flew the lion into the air and headed for the police station. It was already nighttime.
It didn't take long to reach the heavily populated areas of Manhattan. I kept Blue Lion's altitude high in the sky so that no one could see it from the ground. I took a moment to admire the view of the island from the lion. The view was absolutely breathtaking. Central Park looked like an oasis surrounded by a concrete desert. The buildings were like the tall trees of a rainforest I had seen in Guatemala during my tour.
The clocktower was coming into view. On the lion's monitor, I saw the entire clan and Elisa on the balcony. Perfect. They would see the lion when I land it. I maneuvered the lion into a landing position. I slowly lowered the lion onto a rooftop next to the station. I kept the monitor on as I descended. The surprised looks on the clan's faces was funny. I couldn't help giggling to myself. I couldn't wait to talk to them again and tell them what happened to me since we met.
Gathering the operating key, I opened the top hatch and climbed up. From there, I jumped onto one of the front leg's joint, then to the roof. Looking at the clan on my left, I waved. I saw them spread their wings and start heading my way. I saw Goliath and Hudson pick up Elisa and Bronx before they took flight.
The trio reached the roof first. We exchanged hellos and handshakes. Goliath, Hudson, Elisa, and Bronx arrived a few seconds later.
"Jasmine, what brings you here? And what is that machine?" Goliath asked.
"Well, this machine is the robot Blue Lion of the Voltron Force."
"The what? Voltron Force?" Elisa gasped.
"Do you know about Voltron?" I asked her.
"Yes. I saw their show when I was a girl. Derek made me watch it, actually."
"I saw their show, too. Genie made me watch it at first."
"You met the Voltron Force."
"Yes, just southeast of here," I pointed in the general direction
"How come you're flying the Blue Lion?" Lexington asked.
I told my friends about meeting the force and becoming an honorary member (Castle In Disguise). The clan and Elisa looked amazed at the story.
"How about answering Goliath's question about seeing us?" Broadway inquired.
"Well, actually," Suddenly, this didn't seem like such a good idea. "I was thinking of...of...,"
"Thinking of what?" Goliath prodded gently.
"Giving-you-the-chance-to-see-the-sun," I rushed. There, I said it. I looked down.
I waited for the scolding, for them to say that it was a crazy idea. When I heard nothing, I dared to look up. Slowly, I raised my head and looked at my friends. They were looking at me, their eyes full of eagerness.
"Could you really do that, lass?" Hudson asked.
I nodded as I pulled out the spell. "With your permission, of course."
"Well, I'm all for it," Brooklyn declared.
"Me too," Broadway put in. Lexington nodded.
Goliath also nodded. "It's unanimous."
I explained to the clan exactly how it worked. They could still turn to stone at dawn but they could be flesh and blood during the day. All they had to do was concentrate. Once that was done, I unfolded the paper, then quickly glanced over it.
"Are you sure this will work?" Elisa said.
"I've translated it to English after I read it in its original language. It'll work."
"Okay. Here we go." I stood in front of the clan and began chanting in Arabic. As I chanted an eerie blue glow surrounded the clan in a translucent blue circle. When the chanting stopped, the circle shimmered for a second, then vanished.
"I guess all we can do now is wait," Hudson said.
"Yeah. In the meantime, though." Lexington turned to me. "Could you take me inside the Blue Lion? Please?"
I smiled. "Come on."
I walked toward the lion with Lexington bounding after me. The two of us jumped onto the top of the lion. It was then that I noticed Broadway and Brooklyn jumping onto the lion, too.
"We want to see how a robot lion's different from a helicopter," Broadway explained.
"Okay," I opened the hatch and the four of us climbed down.
"Wow!" the small gargoyle exclaimed, looking at the control board. "Is this where all the lion's weapons are?"
"Yes. But the lion won't do anything without this." Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out the key.
"That's a pretty-looking key," Brooklyn commented.
"Would you like a demonstration?"
"Sure."
"Alright." Closing the hatch and sitting in the pilot's seat, I loaded the key into its proper place, then pushed a red switch and pulled back on a lever and the lion was airborne. I took the lion through a series of aerial tricks. Loops, spirals, barrel rolls, and flips. I showed the trio what buttons controlled what. I even switched the monitor on for them to see what was going on around us.
I flew the lion to our starting point and landed. I took the key with me as we exited the lion. Once we reached the ground, I noticed it was almost dawn. I grew nervous. What if it didn't work? I know I felt confident before, but that was because the spell had never been used before. Now, it had and I was worried.
"Almost dawn," Broadway noted, a hint of anxiousness in his voice.
"I hope this works," Lexington said.
"It's got to work. Jasmine said so," Brooklyn put in. He looked at me and I smiled.
Elisa and I watched the clan close their eyes and concentrated as the sun started to rise. It rose higher and higher in the sky.
A movement tore my attention away from the sky. Looking at what caught my eye, I saw six flesh and blood gargoyles. The spell worked!
"Hey, it worked," Broadway said.
"Yeah. And the sun is so warm," Brooklyn added.
"And bright," Lexington put in, shading his eyes.
"You're not supposed to look at the sun," Elisa told them. "And the sun is warmer in summertime." "It feels warm enough for us now," Goliath replied.
The eight of us went to the clocktower. Elisa and I got rides from Goliath and Brooklyn. I got a better view of the clocktower's interior this time. It was rather spacious. I got comfortable on the stone floor next to Bronx who was next to Hudson's chair. I scratched Bronx's ears as I watched Hudson flip through the TV's channels.
The next night, I bid goodbye to the clan and Elisa. I climbed into my lion. My lion blasted off the roof and took to the air. I sighed as I looked at Manhattan below me. I found myself wishing I could fly without the need of vehicle or flying carpet, just my own wings. Oh, well. A robot lion was the coolest way to fly. The lion and I headed for The Castle of Lions.
A Visit from the Outside World
