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. 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. This story takes place on the first full moon after "Boredom".
Howling
By SN/TVfan
Email: Sam_Nary
York
"Did you hear that?" Rachel Winters asked, sticking her head out of the living room window to her apartment.
"Hear what?" her sister Gwen asked back coming from another room, "I didn't hear anything."
"It was a howl, some strange monstrous howl," Rachel answered, "It didn't sound human."
"It was probably someone's pet howling at the moon," Gwen shrugged.
"It didn't sound like a dog or wolf either," Rachel said back.
"There are no wolves in Britain," Gwen pointed out, "The only wild dog that does live in large sections of Europe is the Red Fox. And foxes don't howl."
"I know what I heard," Rachel insisted, "And no one's dog could have howled like that."
Gwen only rolled her eyes, "You're nervous over nothing..."
The howl that Rachel heard earlier was then heard again. Gwen's face paled of all color after hearing it.
"Okay, I heard it that time," Gwen said quickly, "And yes, a dog couldn't have made that sound."
"Look, that howling thing made the paper," Gwen commented the next morning as she held up the newspaper.
Rachel took it almost immediately and looked at the headline. It read 'strange creature in city'. She read more, discovering that whatever this creature was, it had brutally killed sever pets in city's suburbs.
"I can't believe it," Rachel gasped.
"At least it wasn't in our part of the city," Gwen shrugged, "And animal control is on looking into it, so everything should be fine."
The two sisters read the paper for a couple of hours while eating breakfast. When they'd finished at put everything away, the used newspaper sat in a recycle bin with one of the interior pages showing. Strangely, an ad for a London private investigator was in the upper right hand corner of the page. A 'Dragon Investigation Services' ad. The two women ignored it at the time.
The day went by quietly for both Rachel and Gwen. Both went to their respective jobs and did their work. The strange howling turned out to be the main focus of conversation among everyone that they met. No one knew what it was, but there was confident conversation that the police would capture the animal. Both Rachel and Gwen were tired when they finished work and headed home.
Rachel arrived home to hear Gwen talking to someone named 'Jerry' on the telephone. She decided to ignore it and went to put her things away before doing a little reading. Meanwhile, the sun set outside bringing night to the city of York once more. Shortly afterward, a large, bright full moon rose into the skies.
Rachel had just begun some reading from a magazine she had picked up on the way home when she heard the terrible howling sound again. It startled her and she dropped her magazine in surprise.
"Hopefully the police catch that thing," Rachel commented quietly to herself as she retrieved her magazine.
The howling went on for the entire night, keeping Rachel up. She was somewhat frightened by the sounds. Somehow she was certain that Gwen was sound asleep.
The report in the newspaper the next morning only added to Rachel's nervousness. Police and animal control had supposedly cornered the creature in alley, but it had somehow escaped before they had a chance to tranquilize it. The report indicated that appeared to be canine in nature and highly intelligent. Rachel was shocked when she saw one of the quotes taken from the police that indicated that whatever this thing was, it was able to move and think like a human.
"You're getting too caught up in all this," Gwen warned, "The police will catch it."
"It escaped from an alley after they trapped it!" Rachel said nervously, "And an officer thinks it's a humanoid. Not human, but human like."
"I thought you said they thought it was canine?" Gwen questioned.
"Maybe it's both," Rachel suggested.
"You're paranoid," Gwen answered, "The police will catch it."
They continued about their daily routine again in silence.
"Of all the times to run out of milk," Rachel said in a frustrated voice that evening as she looked through her refrigerator.
The day had been full of more discussion about the mysterious creature, and like the day before, most of the people that Rachel had spoken with weren't entirely sure what was going on. Only a few people had 'normal' conversations were heard, most of them dealing with the scattered rain showers that had been going on through the day. She sighed as she shut the refrigerator door and headed for the exit, grabbing a raincoat on her way.
"I'm going down to the shop to get a few things," Rachel said loudly as she left, "I'll be back shortly."
"Wait!" Gwen called, rushing from the living room, leaving the television on, "I'll come with you."
Twenty minutes later, the two were walking back up the street, each carrying a bag of groceries in their hands. They were walking under scattered cloud cover, which for the moment obscured the still full moon.
"It's been a quiet night so far," Gwen commented as she made sure her umbrella was easily accessible inside the grocery bag she had placed it in, just in case one of the scattered clouds decided to drop its water on them.
"Hopefully the police caught that monster sometime during the day," Rachel nodded, "If we're lucky they'll have pictures on news when we get back home."
Gwen quickly nodded in agreement. The prospect that the creature had been caught, however, was soon ruled out as loud and eerie howl echoed over their heads.
"Oh, no," Rachel gasped, "That... that... that sounded close."
"It's probably in one of the alleys on the other side of these apartments," Gwen agreed, "We should be fine though. Only one more block, and then we'll be safely indoors."
They both kept walking briskly, trying to get back to their apartment as quickly as they could. Things began to become more frightening for Rachel as the sound of car horns began to join the howls of whatever was running around the area.
"What's going on now?" Gwen wondered a loud as they crossed a street as the car horns seemed to get louder.
Suddenly Gwen saw the creature come around the corner of buildings across from them. It was a massive grey colored wolf-like creature and it charged straight for the two of them, dodging and leaping over cars as it went.
"Come on," Gwen yelled at Rachel, "we need to get out of here."
She took a few steps only to pause and see that Rachel hadn't moved. She stood, paralyzed with fear, as the wolf creature just ran toward her.
"Rachel, come on!" Gwen cried out.
Rachel barely managed a step before the creature ran right into her, knocking her over. It surprisingly fell over, as if it did not expect Rachel to simply stand still as she did. The beast fell on top of Rachel, who now began to kick and punch at the beast trying to get it off of her. The creature seemed to want to comply, but in a somewhat clumsy attempt to get back up, one of its furry paw-like hands clawed Rachel's arm. Rachel screamed and kicked it again. This blow seemed to anger the monstrous creature and it growled at Rachel.
As Rachel began to crawl away, the creature lunged forward and seized her by the shoulder in its jaws. Rachel screamed with pain and began to pound on the creature's shoulders with her hands as the creature grabbed her waist and attempted to tear out a chunk of her shoulder.
Gwen watched all of this in horror and as the creature began its attempt to kill Rachel, she grabbed her umbrella and moved to try and save her sister. Using her umbrella as a club, she hit the creature on the head a few times, which succeeded in making it drop Rachel out of its jaws and grasp. Gwen watched as her sister fell to the ground unconscious.
"Now, you leave me alone!" Gwen screamed at the creature.
She hit the beast again with her umbrella. It prepared to advance again when the sound of sirens began to approach their position. The creature then growled at Gwen and then ran off down the street that was perpendicular to the street that Gwen and Rachel had been walking on.
Dropping her umbrella, Gwen then ran to Rachel's side and waited for an ambulance.
Gwen sat quietly beside the small emergency room bed in the hospital that Rachel had been rushed to. Thankfully, the creature hadn't done too serious physical damage to Rachel's body, and doctors had suspected the worst thing she had suffered was shock. Gwen still wished she could have done something. The police to arrive on the scene had told her she had done more than enough, but that didn't make Gwen feel any better.
Looking around the empty hospital room for something to keep her occupied, she found a newspaper lying on another chair in the room. Gwen quickly picked it up and looked at it. It was a copy of the paper from the day before, but on the page that Gwen had picked up was an advertisement for a private investigator in London. Large parts of the ad caught her attention. The ad read... 'Dragon Investigation Services...We will work to solve all mysteries... from the common and normal... to the strange and bewildering'.
"Maybe this man could help find and stop this creature," Gwen commented to herself.
London
Arthur sat quietly in an easy chair watching the ten o'clock news on the television. Merlin sat beside him, although the wizard was still absorbed in his studies to learn more about the Holy Grail. Most of the clan had left on patrol, and Macbeth was busy elsewhere with work related to the school he was teaching at. It had continued to remain quiet in London, as most of Arthur's work continued to focus on exposing those committing adultery and so forth, and the biggest crook the clan had brought in had been a cat-burglar that had been active in central London.
The news anchor was busy reporting on problems going on half way around the world.
"Tensions meanwhile continue to rise in the Chinese province of Tibet as the first of three Chinese motorized infantry divisions entered the province to join the Chinese garrisons already in the province," the reporter read off of a sheet of paper, "Official statements from Beijing indicate a militarist presence in the province that 'threatens internal security'. Strangely enough it is local Communist Party offices that are raising the tension in the region. One officer in Tibet's capital reported briefly to the BBC that 'there are no militarists in Tibet'."
The reporter then looked up from what he was reading and looked up and said, "We will bring more information about this issue as it develops."
A female reporter sitting next to the first man then began to speak.
"In more local news, the mysterious creature of York has claimed its first human victim," the reporter announced.
Arthur sat more alertly in his seat. Problems in China didn't seem to entirely catch his attention, but an attack on someone by some creature in Britain was by far more important to him.
"A woman identified as Rachel Winters was mauled by the creature near her apartment by the creature," the reporter continued, "But has thankfully survived and has received treatment at the local hospital. Police are urging the people to remain calm and are doing everything they can to capture the animal."
The screen switched to show an interview with one of the policemen who had arrived on the scene of the attack and he was describing what he saw when he arrived on the scene.
"We should do something," Arthur commented.
"What would you do?" Merlin asked, as if he were testing Arthur, "The police have already reported that they are hunting this animal."
"I feel that I must do something," Arthur insisted, "It attacked and nearly killed someone."
"I know you feel for the young Winters woman, Arthur," Merlin said, "But this is not the fifth century. The police are quite capable of capturing some wild animal lose in a city, and if they can't capture it, they can kill it much easier."
"But you've told me that most, if not all of the animals that could maul a human being were eradicated from Britain," Arthur pointed out, "Something about this just doesn't sit right with me."
"You suspect something more than a simple animal?" Merlin asked.
"I do not know," Arthur answered, "But something is telling me that something else is going on."
"A good hunch," Merlin nodded, "And I agree with you. The animal has, apparently only been seen or noticed at night. All of Britain's major predators have been eradicated and a zoo animal does not possess the fear of humans to avoid contact with them during the day."
Merlin then sighed heavily, "But we must act carefully. The clan's protectorate. We can't expect to have them tramp half way across Britain to deal with something that could turn out to be only an escaped zoo animal easily. And unless someone hires you to investigate this creature, we can not 'officially' do so, until the police close their investigation."
"We'll continue unofficially if we have to," Arthur answered, "I don't want that creature harming another person. And I want to know where it came from."
Merlin nodded, "I'll do what I can to follow the events in York. You will certainly require more information."
Arthur nodded, "Thank you, old friend. I'm going to go out for a bit of a walk right now. Clear my head and think about a few things."
Merlin nodded and watched Arthur walk out and thought quietly to himself, "Glad to see that you still see all of Britain as your protectorate, Arthur. I have fears that her greatest hour of need may come from somewhere else in the kingdom, not only London. This could even be it."
Elsewhere, the next day
Jeremy Irons once again stood before Agent Anglo to give his report to his direct boss. He was somewhat nervous about the meeting. Mostly because he knew how powerful Agent Anglo really was and because he had not much to give in previous reports other than that they were still researching 'Britain's greatest hour of need' and Arthur and Macbeth's work outside of the mansion they had taken residence in.
"What do you have for me Jeremy?" Agent Anglo asked calmly.
"Arthur knows of the beast's activities in York," Jeremy answered, "At least I assume he does."
"What do you mean 'you assume'?" Agent Anglo questioned more threateningly, "It was on the bloody television. He had to have seen it. I want to know what his reaction to it was."
"He looked frustrated to me," Jeremy answered again, "I was able to get closer to him when he went through a park near his base of operations and I overheard him mumbling about something. Sounded like he was headed toward York sometime in the future."
"So, he will be going to York?" Agent Anglo mused, "This is progress. And it has shown us one important thing. Arthur and Merlin are reliant on the basic news programs to get their information and any clues about 'Britain's greatest hour of need'. This will help us in the future."
"What if the beast kills him while he's in York?" Jeremy asked.
"The beast is not to be released again until the next full moon," Agent Anglo said back, "Four wants the people to largely remain ignorant of the details of the situation. Therefore, the beast will only be used as specific times and places."
Jeremy nodded.
"Continue you're surveillance," Agent Anglo ordered, "We'll need every piece of information you can get, including when he intends to head for York."
"Easily done, sir," Jeremy nodded.
Macbeth's Mansion
"So let me get this straight," Macbeth commented as he sat across from Arthur at the small dining table in the mansion's kitchen, "You two intend to go up to York, snoop around in search of some wolf-like creature, while the police in the area are still hunting for it?"
Arthur nodded. It had been a few days since he had seen the BBC report on what was going on in York. So far, the city had apparently been quiet.
"Something about the situation up there isn't right," Arthur answered, "Ever since that woman was attacked, reporters have been there covering the story. But no one has found any sign of the creature since the attack."
"The creature may have left the city area," Macbeth sighed, "Unless you have a dog... a trained hound-dog, finding that thing may be harder then you think."
"Maybe so," Arthur sighed, "But it is something I must do. I fear the cause of this situation is bigger then what the police can handle on their own. I must go to investigate. If not to stop the creature, then to at least see that the police have done their job."
"The police will not like someone monitoring their work that isn't a part of their unit and their direct superior," Macbeth warned, "And they could arrest you for that alone. 'Interfering with an official investigation' would be the charge I believe, and that is if they do not suspect you of being involved with the creature's attacks."
Arthur sat silently.
"I can understand where you're coming from," Macbeth sighed, "You don't want anyone else hurt. It is good that you feel that way, and policemen in York are likely to agree with you, but at the same time they have to keep order in the city. Even if half of London showed up at York tomorrow to 'volunteer' to hunt this creature, they would be told to go home, to minimize the chance that something could go wrong."
"Merlin will be going with me," Arthur gestured to his right, "We won't do anything that would make something go wrong."
Macbeth looked over at Merlin. The medieval wizard sat calmly, listening to the two kings debate.
"And what do you think?" Macbeth asked Merlin.
"As much as I agree with you that on some level, this should be left the local police force, which is probably more than capable of dealing with the creature then we are," Merlin answered, "Arthur is also right in the fact that there is something more than just a 'lose' animal in York. Something that warrants an unofficial investigation. The police will probably capture or kill this animal that is on the loose, but I would prefer that we discover 'why' this creature was on the loose."
"What if you run into this beast while you're there?" Macbeth questioned, "You can't go around York brandishing Excalibur, even if strapped to your back. The police won't let you run around the city with a sword."
"I was hoping to take Griff with us," Arthur answered, "He could provide the necessary muscle power, and protect Excalibur if I were to encounter a situation where I couldn't use it."
"I guess I will be looking after things here, then?" Macbeth asked, knowing that Arthur and Merlin were going to continue with their plans.
"That would help, greatly," Merlin answered, "Although the way things have been going around London, you probably won't have to do much."
Macbeth sighed when he heard the doorbell ring.
"I'll get it," Macbeth sighed and got up.
Macbeth found a young woman standing at the front door clutching what looked like a piece of a newspaper. She didn't look very comfortable when he answered the door.
"Are you Mr. Dragon?" the woman asked holding up the ad for Macbeth to see.
"No, I am Lennox MacDuff," Macbeth answered, using his current alias.
"Oh dear," the woman said weakly, "I must be at the wrong address. I'm..."
"You're at the right address, madam, come inside," Macbeth interrupted, "I work with Mr. Dragon from time to time."
The woman seemed to sigh with relief. Macbeth quietly led her back to where Arthur and Merlin were seated.
"Arthur, I believe you have a client," Macbeth announced as he entered.
Arthur and Merlin looked up to see the young woman following Macbeth.
"Hello, I'm Arthur Dragon," Arthur stood up to shake her hand, "You've met Mr. MacDuff, and this is my other associate Merlin Hawkins."
"Merlin?" the woman asked curiously.
"My parents were very interested by the Arthurian Legend," Merlin answered, "The wizard was apparently their favorite character."
The woman nodded and took the chair that Macbeth had been sitting in earlier. Macbeth meanwhile politely and quietly excused himself to deal with other matters.
"Is there anything we can do for you, Miss...?" Arthur began.
"Winters," the woman answered, "Gwendolyn Winters and there is something you can do for me."
"What can we do?" Arthur asked.
"Your ads say that you'll look into almost anything, even if it seems strange, is that true?" Gwen asked.
"Yes, within reason," Arthur answered, "I've had to turn down a few clients asking about 'missing socks in the laundry'. I think they were pranksters though."
"I assure you, I'm not playing any pranks," Gwen said firmly and then sighed, "Do you know about what's happened in York recently?"
Arthur glanced at Merlin for a moment before answering.
"Yes," Arthur answered, "Some beast mauled a woman there. The report on the television said her name was..."
"Rachel Winters," Gwen interrupted, "I know that. Rachel is my sister. That is why I'm here."
"What is it that you want us to investigate, Ms. Winters?" Merlin asked, "As far as I know, the police are still working with local animal control to find the creature. I doubt there would be anything that Arthur or I could do to help."
"The police ended their official involvement yesterday," Gwen answered, "They searched for two days after my sister was attacked and then gave up, leaving the job to animal control. They said it was a wastage of time and resources to continue looking."
"You want me to find this creature?" Arthur asked.
"And kill it," Gwen added.
Arthur nodded, "I'm sorry if this sounds unnecessary, but could you tell me some more about all this. The television news reporters didn't say much, and any information about what you have me hunting would be helpful."
"It all started a few days ago," Gwen answered, "Rachel and I had just finished dinner. She had gone out into the living room to do some reading and I went to get something from my bedroom when she heard some sort of howl in the distance. I initially thought it was nothing, but in the morning, it turned out that something had viciously killed several pets in the city's suburbs. The next night, we heard the howling again, and the morning after we read that the police and animal control did trap it in alley. But, the creature also escaped them. Then on the third night..."
Gwen paused to look at Arthur and Merlin. Both sat quietly listening to her story.
"Rachel was cooking something for dinner and needed milk for it, or wanted a glass of milk to drink, I can't remember which, and found out that we were out," Gwen continued, "I decided to go down to the market with her to keep Rachel company. It attacked us on the way back. It ran into Rachel and knocked her over. It clawed and bit her, and probably would have killed her if I hadn't hit it with my umbrella."
"You saw the creature?" Merlin asked.
"Yes," Gwen nodded, "It was a big wolf-like thing. It was covered in fur and had a tail and claws and teeth. It had really big teeth."
"A wolf?" Arthur asked.
"Wolf-like," Gwen answered.
"Can you give us directions to your house?" Merlin asked, "Arthur is finishing up a few other cases and can not leave until later this evening."
"I can do better," Gwen answered, "I can drive you both when you're ready. I had a business meeting here in London earlier this afternoon, so I'm done for the day. We will need to get back to York shortly though."
Merlin glanced at Arthur for a moment.
"I'm not leaving until you're ready," Gwen then said very firmly.
Merlin sighed, realizing that some of their plans would have to be revealed.
"Arthur, I think you'd better tell her some of our plans," Merlin sighed, knowing that what they had to do would probably frighten the woman to a certain extent.
"What?" Gwen shrieked, "Your plans? You're not covering up this monster, are you?"
Arthur sighed, "No. But we were intending to begin our own search for this creature before you arrived..."
"That's good then," Gwen interrupted, "The sooner that thing is gone, the better."
"Yes, but we have some other associates that are not ready to leave yet," Arthur answered.
"You mean... you, Merlin, and MacDuff aren't the only ones who will be helping?" Gwen asked.
"MacDuff will not be working with us," Arthur answered, "He is far more busy dealing with matters in London itself. Have you seen the reports from New York on the gargoyle population?"
"Gargoyles?" Gwen asked, "You're asking me if I know about gargoyles?"
"Yes," Arthur answered.
Gwen then nodded, "I know about them yes. Two of them supposedly helped the British during the Battle of Britain. There's a monument to them here in London, but they were supposedly killed by the Nazis. I've seen the monument. And I did see the BBC report on the ones in New York. What does that have to do with anything?"
"Well, believe it or not..." Arthur began somewhat reluctantly.
"I'll believe you, no matter what you say," Gwen encouraged, "I saw some giant wolf attack my sister for Christ's sake."
"Well, a group of gargoyles, a clan, if you wish, has worked with me from time to time," Arthur said slowly, "I think that this creature is far too dangerous to be tackled by anything short of a gargoyle if it is to be taken alive."
"I want it dead," Gwen insisted, "It attacked my sister, and surely you can shoot it."
"Yes," Merlin commented, "But, the police and animal control will surely want it captured alive."
"This thing is also has to be beyond any normal animal if the first ones to see it were your sister and yourself," Arthur added, "Even if it has to be killed, it may not be done that easily."
"So you want a gargoyle to help?" Gwen asked skeptically, "I didn't see any on the roof, disguised as pieces of architecture. How am I to believe you?"
Merlin glanced at Arthur again.
"We can show them to you, when they wake up," Merlin offered, "That is why we can not leave right now. Gargoyles are completely nocturnal creatures."
"You can wake up nocturnal creatures during the day," Gwen interrupted.
"Not gargoyles," Merlin answered, "They are stone during the day. That is why many disguise themselves as pieces of architecture."
"I want to see," Gwen sighed.
"Agreed," Arthur sighed, "If you're willing to believe that, then there are some other things we must tell you..."
By dusk, Gwen stood quietly behind Arthur and Merlin as they waited for Griff and the other gargoyles to wake up. Gwen didn't entirely believe the story that the two men had told her, but they seemed to believe the story that she had told them and accept her thoughts. This was more then what she thought the police and animal control.
"If they don't wake up, you're insane," Gwen warned, "and I was stupid for thinking you could help."
Arthur nodded, at almost the same time that each and every gargoyle began to break free of its stone shell for the night. Gwen yelped with fear as each broke free and roared as it did so. The gargoyles didn't look entirely comfortable with a stranger standing just inside their sleeping quarters.
"They are real," Gwen commented.
"Just as we are," Merlin answered her.
"What-o, you're Majesty?" Griff asked the griffon-like gargoyle approached Arthur.
"Remember the story I told you about the creature in York?" Arthur asked the group.
"Yes," Griff nodded, "Terrible stuff, that. She's not the creature, is she?"
"I most certainly am not!" Gwen growled, angered that the gargoyle would accuse her.
"This is Gwendolyn Winters," Arthur explained, "She is the sister of the woman that the creature attacked."
"Oh dear," Una gasped, "She is alright, right?"
"Yes," Gwen answered.
Arthur continued his explanation, "She has 'hired' me to find and at least capture the brute. Gwen, this is Griff, Una, Leo, Octavia, Julia, Chloe, Lancelot, Guinevere, and Gawain."
"Hello," the gargoyles managed to answer in unison.
"I can't believe it," Gwen answered, "Will you help me?"
"Una and I are responsible for a shop down in Soho that we're still working to get up and running again," Leo answered, "But I'm sure the rest can help."
"I'll help Arthur," Griff volunteered, nodding, "One should be enough. No beast can best me."
"What if you require, aide?" Octavia asked, "You and Arthur can not tackle this thing alone."
"Merlin will be coming with me as well," Arthur answered, "Besides, I will need Griff in case we come across the creature at night."
"And I need the rest of you to protect London," Griff answered, and placed a talon under Octavia's beak, "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll be back in no time."
Griff then turned to Arthur.
"How are you expecting to get me to York, your Majesty?" Griff asked curiously, "I'd look rather conspicuous coming out of a car."
"Leave that to me," Merlin winked and quickly said a few words in Latin.
Once the green glow faded, everyone was startled to see a human looking Griff, wearing what looked like a RAF uniform. Griff however could still feel his wings.
"There," Merlin clapped his hands, "You'll look human until dawn. When you turn to stone for the day, the spell will wear off."
"Problem solved, I guess," Griff answered.
York, Later that Night
"Gwen!" Rachel exclaimed as her sister came through the door with three strange men, "What are you doing?"
"I've gotten some help," Gwen answered as she shut the door, "This is Arthur Pendragon, Merlin Hawkins, and Griff. They're going to catch the monster that attacked you."
"That monster hasn't been seen since the attack," Rachel answered, "I'd hoped we'd heard the last of it."
"We're here to see to it that you have heard the last of it," Merlin answered.
Arthur nodded and looked at the woman. She wore a light short sleeved button-down shirt and a pair of relatively business-like trousers. He could see no signs that she'd been attacked by anything.
"Wait," Rachel said weakly as she caught the names that Gwen had given her, "Pendragon, Merlin? You two aren't some King Arthur imitators are you?"
"No, madam," Arthur answered, "We are not imitators."
"We'd best find a hotel or something to stay at until we can deal with whatever this creature is," Griff suggested.
"Yes, we can not impose on you two," Arthur agreed, "We'll let you know when we've caught the creature."
"No, stay here," Gwen insisted, "Rachel's gotten some time off from work to recover from the attack, but I still have work. If someone could keep her company for me, that'd be fine."
"I don't need company," Rachel answered back, "I need to get back to work."
"The doctors told you that you need to stay in bed for a week," Gwen answered, "You shouldn't be walking around."
"You're worrying too much, I'm fine," Rachel protested.
"Good," Gwen answered, "You'll stay fine with these people."
"We don't mean to intrude on you," Griff cut in, "We'll just go down to a nearby hotel. If she needs someone to stay with her during the day, I'm sure some can come by and visit."
"No," Gwen insisted, "I hired you, and you're staying here. I want to make sure that you're doing your job. Besides, Rachel is just being stubborn. She's always been that way."
That point ended the argument. Rachel sighed and walked off into the living room, while Gwen prepared to give a rather quick tour. Griff quickly tapped Arthur on the shoulder.
"I'd best get outside and to a spot where I can roost before the sun rises," Griff whispered, "I'll also make a quick patrol around the city. See if I can't find this beast."
"Make sure you're not seen," Arthur whispered back.
The next few days went by fairly slowly. Arthur and Merlin spent much of the time walking around York and trying to get as much information as they could about the creature. They were mostly trying to see if others had seen it. Surprisingly, very few had seen it, and those who had seen the creature, couldn't give any definite answer as to where it was now. Griff spent the nights patrolling the city, to see if the creature had surfaced again during the night. He didn't have much more success.
"I don't like this," Arthur commented as kneeled down to get a closer look at a piece of ground where he though he saw some tracks, "No one's seen anything. And I can't find any tracks that could be identified as the creature we're after."
"I'm beginning to think that the creature we're hunting is not exactly a 'normal' creature," Merlin commented from beside him, "So we not only have to investigate to see who released this creature, but deal with something that possesses supernatural powers."
"What makes you think that?" Arthur asked.
"Rachel Winter's nightmares," Merlin answered, "She's been having nightmares the past several nights. I can hear her screaming from the living room."
"I haven't heard anything," Arthur commented.
"That's because you still sleep quite soundly," Merlin answered, "Believe me. I think there had to have been something supernatural about this creature that is giving her nightmares."
"Do you know what it is, then?" Arthur asked.
"Not exactly," Merlin sighed, "Rachel's wounds had already healed by the time we arrived, so I could examine them for any clue as to what attacked her. Gwen told us it was wolf-like, and while that narrows it down to a few normal supernatural creatures, but with men like Sevarius on the lose around the world, one can never be sure. For all we know this could be a gargoyle beast that looks like a wolf that we're after."
"If there are lots of things that it could be, then we have no chance of being sure that whatever we find is right," Arthur sighed, "We need to find some definite proof of what it is."
"We probably won't get that until we see the creature," Merlin sighed back.
Arthur continued looking down at the ground where he thought he saw tracks. Finally he motioned Merlin to take a closer look.
"We're in the area where it supposedly began its attack on the various pets in the area," Arthur commented, and then pointing to large wolf-like paw prints that were still in the dirt, "And these look far too big to be caused by someone's pet."
"Yes," Merlin nodded, "This confirms what Gwen told us."
"Let's follow them," Arthur suggested, "Perhaps it will lead us to its lair."
London
Agent Anglo sat quietly in his chair as Jeremy Irons made his way into his office. The Illuminati spy had been making frequent trips between London and York to keep Agent Anglo up to date on Pendragon's activities. So far, he knew that Pendragon knew as much as the York police and animal control did.
"What do you have?" Agent Anglo asked.
"This is more of a messenger mission for the York base," Jeremy answered, "Arthur has not made any progress against finding the beast."
"What do they want?" Agent Anglo asked.
"They want to know if you want to use the beast against Pendragon," Jeremy asked.
"Tell them the answer is yes," Agent Anglo answered, "The use of the beast was entirely to destroy Pendragon. Attacking Pendragon through means of sorcery has failed and with a clan of gargoyles to help him, the number of regular soldiers that we would require would be extraordinary. Perhaps the beast's abilities will triumph."
"I'll let them know right away, sir," Jeremy answered and walked out of the office just as quickly as he had entered.
York, Night of the Full Moon
Arthur carefully kept Excalibur kept in its scabbard and hidden under his coat. He wouldn't be able produce his weapon quickly if he needed it, but in the modern era, walking around with an enchanted broadsword would get him into trouble. The risk he was taking was a risk he had to take. He made sure Griff had gotten something to eat before he and Merlin prepared to leave.
"Do you think you'll find it, tonight?" Gwen asked him as he began to walk out.
"I don't know," Arthur answered honestly, "But according to your story it started during a full moon, maybe it will come back now."
"It's been quiet so far," Gwen commented, "Maybe it is gone."
"I doubt it," Merlin commented with a sigh.
Gwen then watched nervously as the two men began walking down the street. She also nervously looked up to see their gargoyle companion, Griff take to the air to glide above them. Sighing she went back inside her apartment building. When she made her way back to her apartment she found Rachel in the kitchen. She was serving herself another plate of ham that group had eaten earlier.
"Shouldn't you be full by now?" Gwen asked her sister.
"I don't know why I'm still hungry, but I know I'm hungry," Rachel answered, "Besides, you always complain on left-over nights."
"That's because you have left-over nights when I bring a date home," Gwen replied.
Arthur and Merlin calmly walked through an empty section of a large park area. Trees covered much of the area and there were lampposts and benches placed at regular intervals near a foot path.
"See anything?" Arthur asked.
"No," Merlin sighed, "And this is direction in which the creature had ran after it attacked Rachel. We should find something."
"Perhaps Griff has seen something," Arthur wondered, "Perhaps I should wave him down."
Merlin watched Arthur move out into a relatively open area where he could motion to Griff to land when he felt a hand tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a rather dirty looking man, wearing only a pair oversized sweat pants. Strangely the man was also wearing a dog collar. Merlin was able to recognize the symbol of the Illuminati on the dog collar's buckle.
"May I help you two with anything?" the man asked.
"No, my friend and I were out for a walk," Merlin answered, "That's all."
"It's been dangerous to go out at night around here lately," the man commented.
"Yes, we're here to investigate all that," Arthur commented, "We haven't found anything that might help."
"You wouldn't happen to have any information?" Merlin asked, suspiciously, "Would you?"
The man let out an almost evil laugh.
"Any information?" the man laughed, "I've got everything!"
Without warning the man threw a powerful punch into Merlin, which sent the wizard flying into Arthur. The two men landed in heap a few feet into the clearing. They looked up to see that man seemed to be changing before them. Already, his teeth seemed to have grown longer and more pointed, while his already dirty hair began to change from brown to grey and grow even wilder then before.
"No human could land a punch that strong," Arthur commented as he tried to ready Excalibur for a fight.
"No normal human," Merlin corrected as he looked on at the man before them, "Look!"
Arthur looked to see that the man had already grown at least a foot taller and was growing a thick pelt of grey fur. He then glanced at the full moon shining down on them.
"He's a werewolf!" Arthur exclaimed.
"Brilliant deduction, Holmes," the werewolf laughed, "Simply brilliant."
"Griff, get down here!" Arthur yelled.
"You won't win," Merlin warned as threw a lightening spell at the monster.
The spell threw the werewolf back at least twenty feet. He slowly finished his transformation and got to his feet.
"You attacked the Winters woman!" Arthur accused and pointed Excalibur at the werewolf.
The werewolf watched as an olive green griffon-like gargoyle, wearing a sleeveless 1940's flight jacket land next to Arthur.
"Blimey!" Griff commented, "I guess you found it."
"Yes," the werewolf growled evilly, ignoring Griff's comment, "I am the werewolf that attacked the Winters woman. Speaking of which, the moon is rising, and you should all know the basics of the werewolf legend."
Griff then began quoting a line from a movie that he'd seen since he arrived in the late 1990's, "Whoever is bitten by a werewolf and lives, becomes a werewolf himself."
The werewolf laughed at them.
"Deal with him," Merlin yelled, "I'll get back to the apartment."
Merlin then vanished in a flash of emerald light, leaving Arthur and Griff to face the werewolf, who was moving forward and growling threateningly.
Gwen and Rachel were simply passing time as they waited for Arthur and Merlin to return. Although neither had to go in to work the next day, and so, neither was fully in the mood for going to bed early. The only problem was that every five minutes, Rachel would get up to check the thermostat.
"I'm telling you Rachel, I didn't turn the heat on," Gwen insisted.
"Then why is it getting so hot in here?" Rachel demanded.
"I don't feel hot," Gwen answered, "Are you okay?"
"How many times do I have to tell you," Rachel began as the sound of a clock striking midnight interrupted her answer, "I'm... AAARRRRRRGGGHHH!"
Gwen watched in shock as her sister stopped and gripped herself, as if in pain.
"Rachel!" Gwen exclaimed.
Rachel only screamed as she felt unimaginable pain shoot through her body. What made matters worse as that through her screams she heard the creature howling somewhere in the city again.
"Oh great," Gwen mumbled, "Not that thing again."
"What's happening to me?!" Rachel shrieked behind her.
Gwen turned around to see that Rachel had already collapsed to the floor. She was crying in between her pained screams. To Gwen's horror, she noticed that several of Rachel's teeth had grown larger and her canines were becoming much more pointed than before.
"Rachel?" Gwen gasped stepping back.
The pain Rachel felt was unimaginable. Everything she was wearing was beginning to feel tight as the felt muscles expand and contract. He then heard a cracking sound coming from her ankles as she felt her feet begin to lengthen. In between her screams, she looked at her hands. Her fingernails were growing longer and sharper, beginning to resemble claws. To her own confusion and horror, she also saw several chocolate brown colored hairs growing out of the back of her hand, and quickly thinking into fur. Rachel also felt an extremely itchy sensation as more fur began to grow, even in places were she couldn't see at the moment.
"What's happening to me?!" Rachel screamed again.
She began crying again when she felt the fabric in the toe of her socks rip away as her lengthening feet and clawed toes tore through them.
Merlin appeared inside the living room to find practical chaos. Rachel was already beginning her first transformation as her growing size now made the clothes she was wearing far too tight. Most of her body was covered in chocolate brown colored fur. Gwen wasn't doing much better, seemingly. She looked so frightened by what was happening to her sister that she didn't notice the wizard's arrival immediately.
"Merlin!" Gwen exclaimed when she saw that the wizard had arrived, "You must do something. Save my sister."
Merlin looked over at Gwen and almost immediately felt very guilty.
"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do," Merlin sighed, "Your sister was attacked a werewolf a month ago and is now going through her first transformation."
"Werewolf?" Rachel gasped between screams, as the buttons on the front of her shirt came undone, sending the buttons flying to the floor below her.
Shortly after that, Rachel's pants began to rip apart as her leg muscles continued to grow stronger and more powerful. Rachel also felt pressure building up behind her nose and mouth, and at the base of her spine. She could also feel her ears changing shape, and moving.
"Can't you do something?" Gwen pleaded.
"The magics behind the werewolf 'curse' are far stronger than I am capable of counteracting," Merlin sighed, "The best I can do is make sure that you sister doesn't freak out."
Gwen looked over to Rachel. She was still screaming with pain and was crouching on the floor. Her body growing larger as her muscles continued to develop. Her eyes squeezed shut.
"No," Rachel cried, "NO!"
Her eyes then opened, revealing to Gwen and Merlin that they had become a feral yellow color. Rachel then felt the material of her clothes break and begin to fall off of her as she grew too large for them to fit her. She then heard the a heavy cracking sound as her face began to jut forwards, growing into a wolf-like muzzle, her teeth and fangs growing larger to fit inside her mouth properly.
"NO!" Rachel cried
Next, Rachel felt the pressure become far greater on tail bone, and after another series of audible cracking sounds, a furry tail began to grow out of the base of her spine. Merlin and Gwen watched as Rachel shakily brought herself up onto her feet, ending up standing like a gargoyle, on the balls of her feet and raised her head towards the sky.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Rachel howled, sounding just like the first werewolf had sounded the month before.
Rachel then collapsed to the ground sobbing.
"Stay away from me!" Rachel cried out.
"I... I... can't believe this," Gwen managed to say.
"Arthur and I only found out that it was a werewolf that attacked your sister a few minutes ago," Merlin tried to explain to Gwen, "I came back to try and warn you."
"She's not going to attack me, is she?" Gwen asked nervously.
"I don't wanna be a monster!" Rachel screamed, leaped up, and bolted out of the room, knocking both Gwen and Merlin over as she ran past.
"No, but she might have that reaction," Merlin sighed as he tried to pull himself up, and saw that Rachel had not clawed either of them on her way past, "We need to calm her down."
"Where's Arthur?" Gwen asked as she began to run after Merlin.
"He and Griff are dealing with the werewolf that attacked your sister," Merlin answered.
The werewolf lunged forward at Arthur as soon as Merlin vanished. The once and future king quickly dodged to the left and slashed at the werewolf's side with Excalibur. The beast screamed with pain as the blade cut a long gash in its side from its shoulder down to its hip.
Griff then tackled the werewolf from the side and drove it face first into the grass of the park ground. Placing a knee on the creature's back and a hand on a shoulder and on the creature's head, the griffon-like gargoyle held the werewolf down. Arthur then came forward and placed the point of Excalibur right next to the creature's collar.
"Your collar carries the mark of the Illuminati, so you can't just be a rogue out causing trouble," Arthur commented, "Why are you here? Why are you doing what you're doing?"
Unable to wrestle out of Griff's grasp and fearful of Excalibur's point, the werewolf decided to cooperate.
"The Illuminati have ordered me here to take care of you," the werewolf answered.
"Fine job you did," Griff commented, "You aren't going anywhere."
"Why?" Arthur asked.
"You will eventually stand in the way of one of the Mage's prophecies," the werewolf muttered, "That's all I know."
"So you attacked an innocent woman to get to me?" Arthur demanded.
"It was not thought that you would come here with Merlin and a gargoyle," the werewolf answered, "They wanted me to get you alone."
Arthur sighed heavily.
"What do we do with him, your majesty?" Griff asked.
"Knock him out, for now," Arthur sighed, "Merlin can deal with his incarceration later."
Griff nodded and then clubbed the werewolf with both fists. The blow knocked the creature unconscious.
"I'll trust you to carry him, Griff," Arthur commented, "Since as a gargoyle, you are immune to his saliva and claws."
"Right, your majesty," Griff answered, "We'll be tacking him back to the Winters's home then?"
"No, I'll head back to the Winters apartment to contact Merlin," Arthur commented, "You take him to the outskirts of town. Merlin and I will meet you there."
Griff nodded and moved to climb a tree, Arthur meanwhile began to walk back toward the Winters apartment. Hopefully, Merlin had taken care of everything there. He was barely halfway back when he found Merlin and Gwen Winters running a full speed down the sidewalk.
"Merlin, what's going on?" Arthur asked as he ran up to them and began to keep pace.
"Rachel transformed and freaked out," Merlin answered, "She's bolted soon after."
"Where's the original werewolf?" Gwen asked.
"I have Griff taking him to the outskirts of the city," Arthur answered, "We can find a way to incarcerate him there."
"That monster attacked my sister," Gwen answered, "I want him dead."
"He was already beaten," Arthur answered, "I have killed before, medieval warfare and all that, but never in cold blood against a defeated opponent. It isn't chivalrous."
Griff slowly made his way through the air toward the outskirts of the city. It wasn't easy when he was also carrying the werewolf that had caused all the trouble the month before. As he finally reached the outskirts, he noticed something moving along the ground below him. The griffon-like gargoyle immediately decided to come down and investigate.
To surprise it was brown female wolf-like creature running at high speed away from the city. From what Griff could hear, the creature also sounded upset about something. With a quick maneuver he got ahead of the creature and landed directly in the creature's path. The creature skidded to a halt, fell down and seemed to look up at Griff in utter terror.
"Relax there," Griff tried to calm her down, "I'm not going to hurt you."
"Who... what... what are you?" the female creature asked.
"I'm a gargoyle," Griff answered, "I'm from London."
"Like the war memorial?" the female creature asked.
Griff nodded with a grin, "One and the same. Why are you running?"
She sniffled, "I don't want to be a monster."
"Who said you are one now?" Griff asked.
"LOOK AT ME!" the female screamed, tears running down her fur, "I'm supposed to be human. I'm not supposed to be like this."
"Rachel Winters, I presume?" Griff asked.
Rachel looked up at the gargoyle nervously.
"How do you know that?" Rachel asked.
"My name is Griff, I work with Arthur and Merlin," Griff answered.
"Griff?" Rachel asked, "What happened to you? You were human when you arrived with Merlin and Arthur?"
"No, I was always a gargoyle," Griff answered, "Merlin merely cast an illusion spell that made me look human."
"Spell?" Rachel asked.
"Merlin is really Merlin, the legendary advisor to King Arthur," Griff explained, "He knows magic."
"I don't want to be a monster," Rachel said again.
"You won't be like that all the time," Griff answered, hoping that would calm her down, "Only during the full moon..."
Griff tried to remember some of the stuff he had read about werewolves and other such creatures when he was a hatchling.
"...or when you decide to transform yourself," Griff finished.
"I still don't want to be like this," Rachel answered, "I don't want to attack anyone. I don't want to kill anyone."
"Then why are you running?" Griff answered, "If you don't want to do anyone any harm, you should be alright."
"But look at me!" Rachel pleaded, "I've turned into a werewolf! Haven't you seen the movies?"
"One or two," Griff answered, "I'm also going to say that they're only movies. Hollywood hasn't treated gargoyles much better. Look at 'Ghostbusters'. The movie writers take parts of legends, like the werewolf legend, and twist it so they have a more obvious plot where you can tell who the bad guy is."
Griff then presented the unconscious werewolf that he had beaten earlier.
"This is the werewolf that attacked you last month," Griff explained, "He made it quite obvious that he was in complete control of his facilities when he battled Arthur and me. He wasn't in some bizarre 'bloodlust' like in the movies."
Rachel suddenly growled at the sight of the werewolf that attacked her, revealing her fangs.
"Whoa, easy," Griff cautioned, "I thought you didn't want to be a 'monster'?"
"In his case, I'm willing to make an exception," Rachel growled, "He did this to me."
"Arthur and Merlin should be here soon," Griff commented, "They will figure out a way to deal with him."
"So what do I do now?" Rachel asked, still sniffling somewhat.
She almost jumped when she heard a new voice answer her.
"I know this may not be what you want," came Merlin's voice from behind her, "but I would like you to return to London with Arthur, Griff, and me."
Merlin, Arthur, and Gwen came to approach Rachel and stand by her.
"The full moon or when you decide to change are not the only triggers for a were's transformation," Merlin explained, "Strong feelings of stress and anxiety can also trigger a transformation. I can help you gain full control over all that, so you don't accidentally change in front of someone."
"I still don't want to be this way," Rachel answered.
"If I had the power to make you normal, I would," Merlin sighed.
Merlin then raised hand and Rachel suddenly found herself covered in a strange green glow. When it faded, she found herself wearing a jumpsuit much like Griff's that fit her perfectly.
"What the?" Rachel asked.
"While your fur is currently covering everything, you are technically naked," Merlin answered, "This way you'll be wearing something when you change back. It should grow and shrink with you, depending on which form you're taking."
"Uh, thanks," Rachel shrugged.
"And now for the evil one," Merlin announced, and began chanting in Latin.
Suddenly a large section of ground disappeared, forming a fifty foot deep hole in the earth. It was five feet wide by twelve feet long, and its walls were completely vertical. The werewolf that Griff had been carrying suddenly appeared at the bottom of the hole, and various green energy bars ran across the top.
"There," Merlin commented, "He's locked down there and can't escape. The bars will keep anyone from falling in and magic in the bars will keep him feed and sheltered from the elements."
"Well done, Merlin," Arthur commented.
Merlin nodded, "Now, Arthur, all we have to do is return to London."
The next morning, Arthur, Merlin, and Rachel climbed into Gwen's car and prepared to leave for London. Griff's stone form was already seated and buckled in the backseat. Rachel was greatly relieved when she returned to human form, but was beginning to get used to all that had happened. Gwen walked with them to the car and leaned in the driver's side window.
"Be careful now," Gwen cautioned.
"I'll try," Rachel said weakly, "I'll miss you, sis."
"I'll miss you, too," Gwen answered, "But look at the bright side. I get the apartment to myself, and you get to go to London with two single gentlemen."
"I'm not going there date," Rachel answered, "Just to gain control over my... 'condition'."
"See you around, sis," Gwen waved as her sister began to drive away.
"See you," Rachel answered back.
The End...