By Nakomis


Please send any comments to aking@kirk.ecs.umass.edu 

LEGALESE: GARGOYLES and all its
characters were created by DISNEY/BUENA VISTA.

All references to the characters and story lines are hereby
acknowledged to them.

WARNING: This story is for MATURE
READERS. Contains some strong violent scenes and some sexually
suggestive scenes that are not intended for young readers. If
such material offends you, do not read this story. You have been
warned.

A wolf in Manhattan (Chapter 3 of Night
of the WOLF series)

Elisa
and Goliath had three blissful nights, then sadly, it was time to
return to the city. They cherished the flight back to Elisa's
car, knowing such time alone was rare. Elisa climbed into her car
and began the long drive back to her apartment in Manhattan.
Goliath glided easily along behind her, wishing he could still be
holding her. His body and mind was still intoxicated with their
passionate lovemaking over the weekend. Sighing, he shook his
head to clear the memories, and concentrated on following her
back to the city. Elisa was having similar feelings in her car
below.

In the
woods, a silent figure moved, chasing swiftly after the car,
relying on the scent of the vehicle to guide its sensitive nose
to the place that it wished to go. 

Arriving
at Elisa's apartment, Goliath met her at her car, and glided up
to her balcony with her in his arms. Gathering her close, and
hugging her with his arms and wings, he kissed her once and left
to go back to his clan. Elisa needed to sleep, and he had things
to do. She sighed and went to her bedroom to prepare herself for
bed.

Back in
the clock tower, Hudson and Bronx were watching the TV. Broadway
was cooking a splendid meal, and Brooklyn, Angela, and Lexington
were on patrol. Goliath arrived, and with grins and nods, the two
couch potatoes noticed that he was positively glowing with
satisfaction and happiness. They didn't have to guess twice what
had passed between Goliath and Elisa that weekend. The look on
Goliath's face told it all. 

In the
park, trouble was brewing for Lexington, Angela, and Brooklyn. An
old and deadly enemy was watching them from the trees. His eyes
narrowed with hatred, and he swiftly and silently moved through
the trees below, in pursuit of them. He was bent on the
destruction of all Gargoyles. The world would not be pure until
he wiped out every last one of the vile detestable creatures.
Those unholy beings who had killed many of his ancestors. The
lone Quarryman followed them with an unwavering determination,
drawing his weapon and waiting for them to land. 

Goliath
by this time had left the clock tower and gone out to join the
three in their patrol. They greeted him, and continued to scour
the park for any signs of crime. "Aha! I've got that
one!" said Lexington, as he spotted a mugger approaching a
helpless female in the park, holding her at knifepoint. The other
three fell back in case assistance was needed, and hid in a
nearby tree. With a high-pitched gargoyle roar, Lexington dove
for the assailant, landing on the back of the man's neck.
Shocked, the mugger struggled with the little Gargoyle,
eventually losing. All of the rest of them landed nearby and
turned their attention to the would-be victim. After they were
sure she was okay, she went on her way, all of them seeing her to
her car.

As she
drove off, all the gargoyles turned at the sound of all hell
breaking lose when what seemed like an army of Gargoyle-hating
Quarrymen rushed from the trees, bent on the destruction of the
Gargoyles in front of them. Goliath and the others roared a loud
challenge, and ran into the fray. The fighting was intense, and
another form arrived at the scene, running effortlessly into the
park on four padded feet. It watched the battle progress, and
seemed to be thinking as it hid in the shadows. Suddenly, Hudson,
Broadway, and Bronx all appeared, and charged into the fray as
well. They seemed confused, as to how they had gotten there, but
once seeing that the rest of the clan needed help, wasted no time
in aiding them. More Quarrymen arrived, and now the Gargoyles
were fighting for their very lives. Brooklyn was thrown by
several of the men, and landed a couple dozen feet away, groaning
in pain.

Angela
roared her war cry, and charged them, only to be shot in the
wing. She collapsed, snarling in pain, and things started going
really bad. Goliath was trapped by ten of the men, with a laser
aimed right at his heart. His eyes went wide as he prepared to
take his last breath, his thoughts drifting to Elisa. "My
love, how I shall miss you" was all he thought until
suddenly, a great growling and snarling arose in the bushes
nearby. All of a sudden, a very large wolf the color of midnight
leapt from the shadows, landing heavily on the back of the
quarryman aiming at Goliath. It snarled and dug in its claws,
then proceeded to bury its fangs into the back of the screaming
man's neck. Down he went, the wolf still biting. 

Turning
around at the sound of the wounded man's scream, the rest of the
quarrymen saw his plight and began shooting at the wolf. Goliath
had regained his composure and roared angrily as he launched
himself at the nearest Quarryman. The wolf leapt onto another
man, sinking its razor sharp fangs deep into his flesh. The
Quarrymen began to panic, running this way and that, fighting
when they could, and one of them got lucky. He raised his laser
rifle and took aim at the large wolf, then fired, hitting it full
in the side. Emitting a sharp yelp, the wolf seemed to shatter,
tiny shards of what seemed like crystal flying this way and that.
Bronx's eyes lit up in anger, and with a howl, he launched
himself at the offending Quarryman, bringing him down. Goliath
and his clan looked on in dismay at the fate of their newfound
ally, but before they had a chance to re-engage in the fighting,
the crystalline shards began to shimmer and reconverge, glowing
intensely. Intensified lazer beams shot this way and that, taking
out several of the Gargoyle's enemies. What the crystalline
pieces formed into was much larger than the wolf that had been
there before. Within a few seconds, the Quarrymen were faced with
a massive, and very angry, winged amethyst dragon. 

The
dragon opened its mouth and let out a roar that shook the very
earth, then charged towards the group of men. As if they could
sense what was going to happen, the gargoyles stopped fighting
and stepped back out of the dragon's way. Meanwhile, the
quarrymen, shocked at the sound, could only stand and stare in
awe and fear at the massive creature charging at them. The ground
shook as the dragon's heavy footsteps thundered towards the men.
Its eyes glowed a dangerous green, and, opening its mouth to let
out another ear-splitting bellow, it dropped to all fours,
muscles rippling. The gargoyles all stood in shock watching the
enormous beast thrash their enemies. Brooklyn's red beak was
gaping open in surprise. 

Snarling,
surrounded on all sides, the dragon turned to meet its attackers,
and the attackers of its friend, the large Gargoyle. The others
gargoyles were also its friends, it assumed, and this only served
to make it more dangerous since it had more friends to protect.
The dragon's enormous wingspan covered almost the entire area of
the fight. It bellowed once more and swung out one enormous
clawed talon, gathering up almost all the Quarrymen. Its eyes
glowed even more intensely as it began to crush them in a talon.
The men gasped for air, struggling to free themselves, and bones
could be heard cracking. 

Goliath
knew he had to stop this. The Quarrymen would better know the
true nature of Gargoyles if he helped them. "NO!" he
yelled. The dragon seemed to pause for a moment, turning and
looking at the gargoyles. Its eyes still glowed, but as they
looked down at Goliath, the glow faded, and it looked at him
through intense yellow-green eyes. The eyes of a wolf. Goliath
gasped. He knew instantly that this creature was the one that
Elisa and he had saved. 

In a
calm, rich voice, Goliath spoke to the enormous dragon.
"Please, do not kill them, our purpose would be better
served if we spared their lives, and showed them the true nature
of our kind. We are not enemies of man, but rather friends. Our
sole duty is to protect them." At Goliath's words, the
dragon seemed to nod, and lowered the men to the ground. It
released them, and they collapsed, gasping, trying to regain
their breath. 

Goliath
and his clan approached their fallen foes, and helped them to
their feet. In awe, the leader of the men said "you saved
us... you could have allowed that creature to kill us, but
instead you protected us. You are not our enemies after all. We
are in your debt. You will never have any trouble from us
again." With that, the leader of the Quarrymen turned to the
dragon, and then looked at all his wounded men. Raising itself up
onto its hind legs, the dragon began to chant some sort of a
spell, and all broken bones and wounds of the men were healed
instantly. The Quarrymen went on their way, never to bother the
Gargoyle clan again.

Turning
to Goliath, the dragon began to speak, in a rich deep echoing
voice. "noble Gargoyle, your clan is safe now, and I must
depart. If you have need of me, you have only to think my
name...Nakomis." With that, the dragon's form shimmered, and
an instant later, where there stood a massive scaled creature,
now stood a very large wolf with fur the color of onyx, and
blazing yellow-green eyes. It gazed at the gargoyles, and
approached Goliath and his clan. The gargoyles all gathered
around, and thanked the wolf, Bronx showing his own doggish
appreciation by giving the wolf a big lick on the face.

After a
while, it drew away and began to speak, but not with its mouth. A
mind link ran from it to the entire clan, as it said
"Farewell for now, my friends. Remember, if you ever need
me, you have only to think my name... Nakomis. I will be there.
Do not forget." It turned and disappeared back into the
woods, the words "Farewell, for now.." echoing in the
minds of all the gargoyles. Goliath turned to his clan, and said
"Let's go home. She will be back." Glancing back
towards the trees once more, one by one, the gargoyles jumped up,
and caught a current of wind, gliding back to their clock tower
home, Bronx in tow.

THE END (of this adventure... many more
to come)