Gargoyles: Clan Manhattan -- "Eyes to the Sky"

Volume #2: "Eyes to the Sky"

The sun rose in the eastern sky, as the small party around the highest tower of Castle Wyvern returned to their daytime positions, with some notable exceptions. Though he and his sister had disagreed about how to do it, Graeme had agreed to split his battlement with Sir Griff for the day, until suitable space could be found for the knight-errant gargoyle. As they turned to stone on cue, only four beings remained awake to watch the transformation: clan leader Rosanna (painfully collapsing back into Rose Maza), NYPD detective Steve Bluestone, Rose's mutant cousin Slash, and Nokkar, the mysterious alien sentinel who, only an hour before, had detailed to the clan their new purpose in life.

Steve was the first one to say anything. "Good God, Nokkar ... that's a hefty responsibility for the gargoyles to take on ..."

The alien turned toward the human man. =I have learned from experience, Mr. Bluestone, that the gargoyles are ... formidable opponents. If you have any chance at all of defeating the invasion, it will be because of gargoyle involvement.=

Rose stood up, approaching Nokkar. The size differential between the two was now even greater than when Rosanna had been present. "You can count on the clan's help, Nokkar. Mr. Burnett can arrange for accommodations for you, if you need anything just ask him or Alex."

Nokkar nodded toward the human woman, turning back indoors. At that moment, Steve happened to notice Rose's tail.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but ... I think something's wrong with you, Rose."

"Huh?" Rose flashed a questioning look, then seeing what Steve had been gawking at, chuckled. "Oh, that's nothing. It's perfectly normal, Steve. I just have to be creative about hiding it."

"I don't doubt it." Steve looked back out to the skies. "When will we know the invasion's here?"

"I wish I knew." Rose turned toward Slash. "Guard the building. Me and Steve have some calls to make."

"We do?"

The tall man in the trenchcoat drew stares from many in the lobby of Nightstone Unlimited, casually striding through the crowds toward the express elevator. Using a finger, he casually picked the electronic recall lock on the elevator door, allowing himself entry to the car when it arrived.

As the doors opened on the top level, the man soon encountered a very upset young woman, striding quickly toward him. He could almost see her eyes glow.

"Who are you? This is a restricted entry floor!"

The man lifted a long, bony hand to grasp the woman by one of her lapels, casually tossing her aside. He continued into the room, until an older, red haired woman intercepted him.

"You are the one I spoke with last night?"

=Yes.= The tall man turned to look at the younger woman, sprawled on the floor next to the elevator. =Why attack me?=

"Please forgive my daughter, sir. She didn't know you were coming." The older woman quickly picked up her daughter, bringing her back up on her feet. "And since you never gave me a name for formal introductions ..."

=My kind have no names, as your kind used to be. You may refer to me as Rokkan, as this is the true name of my people.=

"Very well, Rokkan. May I present my daughter, Angela Destine."

Angela smiled sheepishly, extending a hand. "Sorry about that, sir. I didn't know."

=You are forgiven. It is good to know that secrets cannot leave this place.= Rokkan brusquely shook Angela's hand, then turned back to the older woman, Dominique Destine.

"Shall we begin? Our true place in this world awaits us."

In a darkened boardroom in an incredibly secret place, a gathering of dark men took place for a dark purpose.

"Gentlemen, we have a great problem. The invasion is occurring sooner than expected, partly because of our inability to obtain the half-breed. Is there any progress at all?"

"Our field operative reports that the son of Bluestone has made contact with her. The new operation commences smoothly."

"But will he manage to draw her into our net?"

"I am unsure. Things right now are looking up, but I think we should have some insurance."

=I agree. The stakes have grown considerably, due to the involvement of Nokkar, attempting to prevent the invasion, or enlist the gargoyles' help in fighting it off.=

"Did you say Nokkar is involved?"

"There goes the whole thing, straight into the toilet."

"Maybe not. Consider that the half-breed is likely to offer the clan's aid to stop the invasion. This is a golden opportunity, gentlemen. We can watch her fight the invasion off, and that way gauge how much of an asset she could be to us."

"You had better be right about this. We can't threaten our secrecy just for your pet project."

"It's not just my pet project. This half-breed could pose a threat to us, that is if we don't recruit her first. And don't lecture me about secrecy. I know our gospel. 'Above all else, secrets rule the Illuminati.'"

*YAWN* "Hello?"

"Vinnie? It's Rose."

"Rose? Hey, great to hear from ya, kid. What's up?"

"Vinnie, I need you to bring Brooklyn to the phone, could you?"

"Oh, sure. Hang on." Rose heard the speaker on the other end set the phone down, which gave her the opportunity to turn toward Steve, who had suddenly smiled.

"Of course! Brooklyn, the time traveller. Dad used to tell me some crazy stories about those kids of his ..."

"They're not so crazy anymore, Steve. You met them out there. Graeme and Ariana, remember?"

"Ohh, yeah."

Rose was about to say something more, but a gruff voice on the other end interrupted her. "Hello?"

"Brooklyn, it's Rose. How are you?"

She could hear the gargoyle laugh on the other end. "We're fine, Rose. Sata's learning more and more about modern times every day, as I am learning about ancient ways. This 'bushido' stuff is pretty cool."

"That's good to hear. Listen, we've got a problem here that I thought I should tell you about. We've been told that an invasion of the planet is approaching."

Brooklyn sighed audibly on the other end. Even from Japan, it sounded loud. "I know about this invasion."

"What do you know?"

"You know the rules, Rose. I can't tell you anything I learned while I was lost in time. You have to find out for yourself."

"But Brooklyn ..."

"I can't! My heart aches a lot about this, because you guys are my family, but I can't say anything about the invasion that could corrupt the timeline. My family is too important to me."

Rose nodded, sadly. "I understand. Give my love to Sata."

"I will." With that, Brooklyn hung up. Rose cradled her phone shortly afterward.

"Well ...?"

Rose stood up, frustrated. "I should have known before I called him."

"What?"

"Your dad was right, Steve. Brooklyn was a time traveller, but that experience came with a price, and that is he can't tell us anything of what will happen, since he's been to the future as well as the past. If he tells us something that results in even a grain of sand being in the wrong place, it could result in anything from a chest cold that didn't happen before to something catastrophic, like the twins disappearing from existence. That's the main thing he's trying to avoid.

"So ... I'm assuming, and hoping, that at some point when we are fighting the invasion, Brooklyn will show up and offer some assistance, but it will be a past Brooklyn, not the one currently in Japan."

Steve scratched his head. "You lost me about six minutes ago, Rose."

Rose drooped her head. "All we need to know is that Brooklyn may or may not help us. That's all we need to know right now."

Steve stood up. "So, what's our next move?"

Rose looked at her new friend, deeply in his eyes. "There is nothing we can do now. We can only wait now ... and watch the skies."

The radar operators at NORAD were the first to see it. A sizeable splotch on their screens grew progressively larger, until it completely covered the screen. The operators barely had time to contact their supervisors before they were incinerated by the attackers.

The sun slowly set on the westernmost horizon, dipping into the land. As its final rays extinguished below the clouds, the glowing white cracks began forming in the gargoyles' stone skins, cracks which progressively grew larger and larger, until seven magnificent gargoyles stretched and roared, greeting the night.

As they climbed down from their battlements, the gargoyles were soon joined by Rosanna and Steve. Before Rosanna even had a chance to detail their patrol routes for the evening, Nokkar, standing at the door, shouted, pointing into the air.

=It arrives!=

All present turned their eyes heavenward, scanning the skies, until they saw it. The alien armada, after a quick approach, flew close overhead. They stayed in tight formation, soon spreading across the city. As soon as they assumed their positions, they began sheet-bombings on the buildings and people below.

In stunned silence, the gargoyles could only watch. Quietly, forebodingly, Nokkar voiced one sentence.

=The invasion has begun.=

To Be Continued ...

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