This work is a fanfic for the television show "Gargoyles". It is written in tribute to the fine work that went into making such a compelling cartoon. All characters from the TV show are copyrighted to Disney and Buena Vista Television. [Translation: Don't sue, it's meant to be a compliment.]
This fanfic is a continuation of the previous two stories in the Tyger! Tyger! series: "Silence Speaks" and "Unwanted Attention". I recommend reading the previous works before this one. It occurs just after the second story ended. In the timeline, this places it approximately a few days after the episode "Grief" occured.
I value the opinion of my readers and enjoy getting feedback from them (both good and bad). For those wishing to comment on this fanfic may email their comments to marlos@spottycat.com and I will reply as promptly as possible.
This story is written with as much accuracy to tiger behaviour as possible. I tried to display several aspects of their behaviour to the best of my abilities and knowledge. For the sake of the story, I did not go into details on the explanation of some incidents. But should you, the reader, desire more insight into the events, you need only email me and I will be happy to give one. Some comments on the current state of tigers and on the (limited) mythology used follow the story.
At the present time, I am planning to continue this series as story threads continue to appear without my planning them. When these will see fruition is uncertain. Fanfic progress (F) is inversely proportional to Workload (W).
For those concerned, I'll give this story a C8 rating (Y7 for you Americans :P). It's the same level of stuff that appears in the tv show.
So much had happened in the last week. And now with a chance to regain his humanity from Xanatos, Claw knew it hadn't ended yet.
He glided down into the courtyard of the Eyrie Building and set Tara down. She turned 'round and 'round, taking in the wonder of New York's castle above the clouds. Owen walked out to greet them. "Claw, Ms Collins. Mr Xanatos is ready to see you now. Please walk this way." Owen turned sharply and marched back the way he came.
Claw shrugged and began to follow Owen, exaggerating his stiff gait. Tara tittered and made the precession a threesome. Things were about to get very serious so they did their best to relax. If Owen noticed them, he made no sign of it.
Owen lead them to Xanatos's office and opened the door for them. They stepped into the spacious room and headed towards the desk and David Xanatos. Only the back area near the desk was clearly lit.
"Claw, Ms Collins, Welcome. I'm glad you decided to come. Owen said you mentioned something about a kidnapping. Are you both alright?"
"We're fine. Thank you." Tara replied politely.
Claw nodded curtly and wrote on his pad. "What do you want?" Claw had seen Xanatos's dark and deceptive side. His mutate body was a reminder of the lengths he'd go to achieve his goals.
"To help you, of course."
Claw snorted.
"I believe there's a chance of returning you to normal. That won't undo what happened, but it will end it."
"How?" Tara asked.
"Here, I'll show you." He pressed a button and the screen against the wall lit up.
A vast expanse of jungle with tall hills and a few jagged, snow-capped peaks behind it. A thick green canopy with a stone barrier past it. "This is the Satpura Range in central India." The monitor changed to various shots of the area. The lower right quarter split off to show a profile of India with the mountain range marked in red. The range ran from the center of the country westward to the Gulf of Khambaht. A yellow dot just south of the middle of the range flashed.
Then came a shot at the forest's edge. There was some light construction and logging. "I currently have a small project in the works in the area." Afterwards came a picture of a tiger watching from the jungle's edge. "The area has a few wild tigers and there have been the occasional attack near the worksite. These attacks prompted me to send a few hunters to search the jungle for the man-eater. What they discovered was quite interesting."
The next picture was again of the jungle, but there were signs of stonework hidden in the trees. The peak of a dome and several columns could be seen of the ruins. "The Temple of the Tiger. From the few records available, it was built by the natives of the region somewhere around 1020 A.D. and worshipped as a site of great power.
"The natives of the Satpura Range have the legendary reputation of being able to change into animals. There are countless tales of them becoming leopards and tigers."
"But were-creatures are only legends." Tara said and Claw nodded.
"That's what I thought until I saw this." The screen showed a photo of a tiger pawprint in the damp soil. The image backed away and moved to include the next pugmark. This continued slowly as a gradual change occurred. The print lengthened and the heelmark stretched. As the final ones were shown, they were human footprints. "These tracks were found leading to the temple. Legend is often rooted in truth.
"If you want to investigate this, I can arrange transport for you to the worksite. Whatever method this person has used to change may work to cure you."
"Maggie and Derek?" he wrote.
"It is a tiger we're dealing with. But if you find it will work for them, I will arrange the trip if necessary. And you know that Derek would refuse to trust me. I doubt he'd let you go."
He was tempted to argue, but there would be little point. It was not an opportunity he could let slip away; he would finish by agreeing in the end. Claw nodded. "I'll go."
"Excellent."
"I'm going too." Tara insisted.
Claw shook his head. "Too dangerous."
"That's why you can't go alone. And if there is a cure, I want to be there when you find it."
He nodded slowly. He'd want her there, too.
"Sir, I made preparations for this possibility."
"Yes, Owen?"
"I requested some equipment from your personal troops. Unfortunately, I had to make estimates on the measurements."
"Very good, Owen. Bring it in."
Owen promptly returned with a grey suit of padded armour, a radio and 2 pistols. Claw recognized it as that worn by Xanatos's guards and those from GenUTech.
"A location finder has been included in the helmet in case of emergency." He pointed to the small addition to the helmet. "The first pistol has 5 tranquilizer darts; the second is a particle beam weapon," Owen stated as he handed each item to Tara.
After Owen had shown them to the guest rooms, Tara found she couldn't sleep. She knocked at Claw's door and went inside. He was also finding it hard to rest. Leaning against his chest as he wrote his notes, they chatted as they always did.
"Did you call work and tell them you wouldn't be in?" Claw asked at one point.
She nodded. "I called Peter. He'll get Sally to cover for me. Luckily I've got some vacation time I can use. I took the rest of the week off." She tilted her head back and smiled up at him. "They keep asking about you."
"Maybe once this is over, I can meet them. And your family, too."
"That'd be nice. I hope this works, James; it'd be a dream come true for you."
"A real life again."
"Maybe even one with me?"
Owen returned to the office after having shown the guests to their rooms. Xanatos pressed a button at his desk and the image shifted from Claw's room to another video clip. It was the second clip from the Steel Clan robots he'd sent to search the ruins one evening.
The robot pushed aside some branches and stepped into the clearing in front of the ruins. There was an explosion off to the right and pieces of the other robot could be seen in the blast. The view shifted quickly to the right only to glimpse a large orange and white muzzle with three rows of serrated teeth. The jaws closed over the robots head and the image turned to snow.
He clicked to the next frame. The image was a mound of twisted steel: the remains of the robots. He couldn't decide what more taunting. The fact that the remains were placed at the treeline just before dawn or the single twig at the top to cover the kills.
"Do you believe sending them is a wise choice, sir?"
"A calculated risk, Owen."
After a quick flight on Xanatos's private jet, they arrived at the worksite. The time difference made it early evening there. But even in the light of the setting sun, they could see it no longer resembled the images they'd been shown. Work had progressed and the beginnings of several buildings were visible.
One of the guards, dressed in the same body armour Tara now wore, led them to a small building. "There's a map and some gear on the table. Xanatos says you're to wait until morning," the guard stated. Xanatos had not come with them. In his own words, he had "more pressing matters to attend to."
"What! Isn't someone going to take us there?" Tara asked.
"Mr Xanatos doesn't want the locals involved. It's only a few hours hike in any case." He turned and left.
Claw pointed out the window, towards the jungle's edge. "Guards. There's something going on here," he wrote.
"Got that funny feeling we weren't told everything?" He nodded. "Me too. Sit tight, I'm going to see what I can find out." She snuck out of the cabin, keeping a careful eye for the man who'd just left.
Tara walked over to one of the men watching the treeline. "Hey there."
"Hi. Say, are you new here? I'm Peterson. Did you arrive with the cat?" He pointed over his shoulder to the cabin they'd been assigned. Claw was watching them from a window.
"Collins. Yeah, I'm here to keep an eye on him."
"What's he here for? All I heard is you two are going in there tomorrow." He pointed to the trees.
"There's some ruins he's supposed to check out. What's the story with this place?"
"Not sure. You know how it is: need to know basis. We got called in to keep watch for tiger attacks. A bunch of workers got hurt."
"Have there been a lot of attacks?"
"Not many since we got here, but from what I hear there were a lot more before. Sometimes you'll turn around and see one at the edge of the forest, just sitting there watching you." He shuddered.
"Scary."
He nodded. "There's one thing you should know: the hunters that were sent in there never came back."
The lights turned on in the next room. The tigerman rubbed his eyes and looked through the plexiglass wall. "I wonder what's going on. I hope it's not another session of poking and prodding." It had nearly been a week since they'd lost the man they'd injected. He'd been subject to more tests as they tried to discover what had gone right with him. When he saw an assistant roll in a tray of instruments, he growled and backed away.
Another lab assistant rolled in an operating table and his stomach sank. There was a woman tightly strapped down on it. Her long, dark hair was spread out in a mess over the headrest and bed. Her clothing had been stripped off except for a ragged top and stained shorts.
He growled and banged on the wall, trying in vain to break through. He knew it was futile; he'd tried often before. When the woman saw him, her eyes went wide and she screamed in horror. They gagged her. He covered his face and sank back into the shadows, crying.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Sevarius gave him a smile and motioned for him to watch. He couldn't resist the urge to witness what was going to happen. Sevarius cleared the air out of the tip of a needle and gave her the injection.
He began to record. "Project: Metamorphosis. 1:40 pm. The injection has just been administered to subject #15 (white female, age 26). She was obtained on pretence of employment as used with all subjects, with the exception of one notable case." He glance at the tigermorph. "The injection is a modified female version of the Uncia uncia formula which showed promise on subject #9 before his heart failure."
Things began to distort. It was hours later.
He could see her lying there, body covered with smoky grey fur with faded black rosettes. The pattern was paralleled on the bat-like wings. Sevarius stood in front of the mutate, checking the growth of the new dentition. He stepped aside to check the claws and her face could then be seen. It was still completely human, but it had changed.
Tara thrashed against the bonds and screamed.
Claw awoke screaming in rough growls. Tara was out of her bed and at his side in seconds, holding him tight as he shivered. His eyes were wide in terror. Several of the guards stormed in and found them like that. Claw shivering and clinging to Tara, who was still in her nightgown. She was holding his head on her shoulder as she stroked it soothingly.
When she noticed them staring, she yelled. "Get out, all of you." Guns at ready, they watched on with strange and disgusted expressions; one even had a lurid sneer. She then made out a face in the crowd. "Peterson, get them out of here. I can't help him with these goons watching."
Peterson nodded and began to shove them out. "You heard her, move it. Crisis over. Back to your posts before the tigers notice we're gone and carry the captain away." Once he'd gotten all the gawkers out, he turned to her. "Is he going to be ok?"
She nodded. "Thanks for getting rid of them. He just had a nightmare. He gets them sometimes."
He nodded. "I thought so. My dad was in 'Nam and for a long time he got them. I'll keep watch at the door so you can talk to him in peace."
Claw didn't want to talk, even if he could. He just kept holding her, telling himself that she was alright.
Knowing they couldn't turn back even if they wanted to, Claw and Tara set out in the morning before the workers arrived. Taking off from the top of one of the buildings, he would fly them as close as he could.
The beauty of the jungle canopy was wonderous. Different from that of New York at night. Instead of a sea of stars, it was a sea of life. Birds sang in the trees, butterfly swarms burst from nowhere and flowering vines gave it splashed of colour. Except at the Eyrie building, he'd never had the chance to enjoy flying in the sunshine.
They covered most of the distance before Claw grew tired and had to rest. They landed by the winding river they'd been using as a trail. The map showed it passed near the ruins so they'd decided to follow it. A crocodile that Claw spotted in the waters had them move off the bank and keep to the nearby trees.
At one point during there hike, Claw stopped and took interest in one of the trees. Tara could see deep, vertical grooves in its bark in a band around the tree. She turned to Claw, about to ask him if he knew what they meant, but saw him leaning closer. He wrinkled up his face and nose, curling his lips in a strange grimace with his tongue stuck out his open mouth. He made an odd "chuff" sound. He then stood tall, sank his claws into the tree and added deep scratches of his own. He turned and continued walking.
"What was that all about?" she asked him as she hurried to catch up.
He replied with a simple shrug. Truth be told, he didn't know what had made him act as he had. And that scared him.
About an hour later, they stopped to rest. Pulling out the canteens they'd been provided, they took long drinks.
Tara felt a growing sensation along her spine. It was like she was being watched. She turned around slowly and saw it there on the other side of the riverbank. A tiger.
The tiger's amber eyes stared at her. The gaze was so strong it was like a solid object, so penetrating it seemed to see right through her. It made her seem small, unimportant, insignificant. The effect was humbling. It seemed to last for hours.
She felt the iron grip of its gaze shift slightly onto Claw. Without even looking, she knew Claw had turned around. A few seconds later, it turned and slipped back into the bushes. Had it been so brief for her?
Knowing nothing worth saying, they hugged each other closely and watched the tiger disappear into the jungle.
It was nearly noon when they caught sight of the ruined temple through the trees. The jungle had reclaimed much, but some of the stonework remained. The central building still stood and was largely covered in vines.
"This is it, James." Tara gave his paw a squeeze.
He nodded and squeezed back.
Brown grasses grew between the stones in the clearing they crossed as they walked toward the temple. When they reached the center of the courtyard, there came a loud roar from behind them. They turned and saw a fleeting shadow pass through the trees. The air was then filled with a melodious song. The rich, feminine voice seemed to come from all around them.
Cora looked to the sun as if studying its position. She sighed sadly and turned to the ruins of her once-beautiful temple. "The time of the Gathering draws near," she said sadly, "and there is so much left to do."
"The Gathering?" Tara asked.
"Soon Oberon will be calling his children back to Avalon. My brothers and sisters and I will be returning home."
"Aren't you happy to be going home?" Claw asked. But part of him knew the answer. The tiger in him mourned the news.
"I do so miss the beauty of Avalon and my siblings, but my children are not safe."
"But aren't they protected now?" Tara asked. "There are parks for them."
"It is not enough. The parks are too small and too separated for them. Humanity surrounds them on all sides, leaving them no safe place to wander. Some of the parks do not even offer true protection. The local police, the militia or even park officials poach them at some parks so they may be hunted for sport or profit. Their pelts sold and bodies butchered for quackery: false medicines in the Orient which my children provide at the cost of their lives. Already, three races have vanished from the Earth and the others will soon suffer the same fate."
"Isn't there something you can do? With all your power, can't you... save them?"
"I have done what I can, but it is not enough. There is too much to be done."
It was then that Claw noticed a strange sound. He couldn't quite place it, but it was man-made. He looked to the south and saw several dark forms pass over the trees and move towards them. He pointed and growled. "Steel Clan." A half-dozen of them came into view.
Martichora did not know the meaning of what he said, but the tone was unmistakable. She crouched low and growled angrily as she saw them.
Tara gasped as she saw them. They looked like gargoyles (though none of those she'd seen), but gleamed in the sunlight like metal. She could hear the roar of the thrusters as they dove in towards them. As she drew her blaster from its holster, Claw scooped her up in his arms. The pistol slipped from her fingers. "Always my protector," she sighed with as much humour as the situation would allow. Within seconds, Claw had her behind the cover of a half-fallen pillar. Claw growled deep in his throat as he watched them, haunches tensed as if about to pounce, but he restrained himself.
The leading robots swooped in and tried to snare Martichora in glowing nets. She growled and dove to the side, gracefully skirting them. As they turned for another pass, the second pair came at her. She dodged one and slashed her claws over the second, cutting deep furrows into its chestplate.
It was then that the crimson one came into view. It grabbed her from the back, arms beneath hers and palms at her neck in a hydraulically powered hold. She growled and thrashed, nearly throwing it off her. But it shifted its weight and tossed her over its side and into a large cage the final two robots had been carrying. The bars flared with energy as the gate slammed shut on her. She growled defiantly and crouched down to ram the door.
"I wouldn't do that Martichora, unless you want to become a crispy kitty." The robot spoke with Xanatos's voice. Blue sparks ran over the bars and the smell of ozone in the air meant electricity. A generator a few meters away provided the power.
Claw took Tara's hand and headed towards the robots.
"Is this any way for a guest to act?" Martichora growled at the red robot.
It placed its hands on the side of its head, turned and lifted it off. David Xanatos shook his head, flicking his ponytail out of the armour. He turned to Tara and Claw and gestured to a pair of robots. These moved to each side of them. "Ms Collins, good to see you're back to normal. I wasn't sure if I'd find one, two or three tigers upon my arrival here."
"But... but how'd you know that?"
"Simple. I had Owen install an audio-visual monitor in your helmet. Unfortunately, it shorted out when Claw removed it, so I was not able to observe events past that point. Now please don't interfere. I will take care of your interests in this matter as soon as my own are resolved." From the way the robots watched them, they could tell it was not a request.
He turned back to the cage. "As I was about to say, I am not a guest; I am a businessman, David Xanatos. And I have an offer for you."
"There's nothing you could have that I want."
He smiled slyly. "What would you give to save your children?"
Her eyes went wide. "Anything." The word was a desperate plea.
Xanatos smiled. "Excellent."
"Strength, beauty, riches, power. If you can save my children, I will give you them all."
"I already possess all of those. But what is the point of having them if I can only enjoy them for a brief time. What I want in trade is immortality... for me and for my wife."
"If you can save them, you shall have it. But what can you do for them?"
"This is a world of money. Rich men have power and I am the richest. I can buy a future for the tiger."
"It is men like you who have hunted them for sport for centuries, why should I trust you?" She growled and paced her cage.
"Simple. You have no choice. I have you trapped... and I am offering you exactly what you want."
She growled again, but stopped pacing. "Speak human, before I..."
"Before you what? Summon your children to help you?" The arm blaster popped up and blew a nearby tiger statue into dust. "Neither of us want you to do that."
She growled, crossed her arms and watched him coldly.
He didn't like the way her eyes bore into him. It was like he was nothing more than a piece of meat just outside of her reach. He turned aside and began his offer to break eye contact.
"Firstly, I will be turning this whole area into a tiger preserve. I already have permission from the government. The housing for the staff and the hotel for the tourists is underway at the worksite to the south."
She watched him and waited. It would not be enough and they both knew it; it would only delay the inevitable extinction from inbreeding. And only then if the locals could be kept from slowly turning it into quickly eroded farmland.
Having done some research, Xanatos had prepared for this concern. "The borders will be patrolled by my robots, after some aesthetic changes for the public."
She gave the automatons a glance. They did not please her, but it was a task they'd be well suited for. Perhaps this man could help her little ones.
"I plan on setting up several others as well, though this will probably be the largest. Furthermore, I'll sponsor zoos and more can be saved in them."
She shifted her feet and waited. His real offer was still to come and it needed to get better. Personally, she found zoos tolerable at best, but they would have little effect in saving her children. Many zoo animals, especially tigers, were dangerously inbred. It would still not be a long term solution.
"And with the reserve populations and the zoo specimens, an associate of mine can set up a gene bank to preserve the strength of the stock."
Claw growled. He had a sneaking suspicion who Xanatos had in mind. He quickly pulled out his pad and scribbled it down for Tara. "Sevarius?" she cried out to Xanatos. "You'd have that madman do it?"
"He is by far the most qualified."
She turned to Cora. "He's the one who changed him. Kidnapped him and others for his experiments. He killed fourteen people to get four mutates right."
Martichora growled at Xanatos, "You would trust my little ones to a man like that?"
"I don't see that you have much choice in the matter. If I don't release you, they are surely doomed."
Tara knelt down and picked up the object she'd slid under her boot. If things kept going this way, she might just need it.
"These populations and the genetic information would allow the implementation of the farms I intend to set up. This would be a mutually profitable solution and would insure tigers w..." He cut himself short.
As soon as he'd mentioned the farms, Martichora's face became a mask of hate and anger. She roared louder than ever. "My children will not be cattle!" Her fur bristled, most markedly at the end of her tail. Her body rippled and swelled and she dropped to all fours. She snarled as two more rows of teeth grew into her enlarged muzzle. Large spikes grew from the end of her tail like inch wide porcupine quills and the tailtip curved and hardened into an ebon barb.
She flicked her tail forward and the spikes on her tail flew forth, tearing into the generator powering the cage. It blew in a burst of flame and the azure glow around the bars faded. The spikes were already in the process of regrowing.
Xanatos took a step back in shock. "I had no idea she could do that."
The two robots nearest the cage were in motion as she tore through the steel bars as if they were made of paper. The one on the left raised its arm, blaster out, but she leapt over the shot and onto it. Sinking her claws into it for leverage, she clamped around its neck and her threefold jaws tore into it and ripped the head off completely. As it toppled, she unleashed a second volley of spikes, this time into the other robot. They sank deep into its chest and it toppled to its knees.
She roared. The other robots were too far away to stop her from reaching her true prey. "Your worthless life ends now, mortal. Face the wrath of the Manticore." He raised his arm to bring the blaster to bear, but he would be too slow for her. She bared her fangs and lunged at Xanatos.
She reached her forepaws out, extended her razor-sharp claws and arched her tail to drive the largest spike into him like a scorpion's stinger. At the last moment, she felt herself being pushed aside. Xanatos dove to the left as Claw's momentum pushed her to the right. He growled to her, "This is not the way." She snarled and pushed him aside.
Xanatos and his remaining robots had taken to the air and opened fire with their blasters at Martichora. She threw a volley of tailspikes into one of them. The eight inch long quills tore into its arm and a power surge caused the limb to explode. With only one wing and arm, it spiralled into the ground. Cora charged into the bush; the robots surged after her and Claw and Tara ran into the trees to follow her.
They ran through the jungle until Claw stopped for a moment and sniffed at the ground. He pointed to the left and dashed off that way. Tara held the blaster she retrieved in both hands and followed. They charged into a small clearing to see the Manticore tear the wings from a robot she had pinned to the ground with her claws as her jaws tore out the back of its neck. In a flash of sparks, it ceased to struggle.
Martichora leapt from the twisted metal, but sagged to the ground. Claw ran to her despite Tara's warnings. He wrapped his arms around her head and stroked her fur gently. She sighed weakly and grew smaller until she regained her original form. But she seemed older, frailer. Some of the luster had faded from her eyes and her pelt. "Too tired... so weak. Help me... little one."
"James, we've got to hurry. I hear the other ones coming."
Claw lifted Cora into his arms and the three of them raced into the cover of the jungle. They ran through the trees, ducking for cover when they heard the Steel Clan fly by. At one point, Cora pointed to a small clearing to the left. "Claw, put me down there... in that circle."
He lay her down gently in the ring of mushrooms under the shade of a large tree. He knelt beside her and stroked her cheek. Her colour had returned and she pulled herself to her knees. The three of them sat in the shade, passed around the canteens and drank the last of the warm water.
"What happened to you? Can't you stop them with your magic?" Tara asked. She sounded very worried and kept watching the skies.
"I was... once. But my power wanes. When I created my children, the tigers, I gave them part of myself. As they die, I grow weaker. So few of them remain now. When they are all gone, perhaps I will be gone too."
"But you're immortal, you can't die."
"Even immortals can die, kitten."
"Then we have to get you someplace safe."
"No, this circle still has a little power in your modern world. I will recover faster here. It's been a busy day." The snow white mushrooms had small red, blue and green spots on their caps and grew in an unnaturally perfect ring. They resembled no mushroom Tara could recall ever having seen. She felt an odd tingle on the fingertips as she touched the cap of one.
"We tired you out?"
"Perhaps I would have had the strength if I hadn't spent so much on you. But it was worth it if you learnt something today."
Tara gave Claw's paw a squeeze and nodded. "We did."
Cora smiled. Her ears flicked and the smile faded. "They're coming."
Seconds later, the roar of engines could be heard and a pair of robots came in over the treetops. They dove straight towards Cora, intent on her capture.
Claw growled and azure sparks rippled over his arms. A moment to focus later and a bolt of lightning leapt into the leading robot's chest, blasting a deep crater. It tumbled and crashed head-first into a boulder, exploding.
"My, my, aren't we full of surprises?" Cora purred.
The second robot, assessing Claw as the immediate threat, landed in front of him and gave a vicious hook to the jaw. A tailsweep then pulled Claw's feet out from under him. Claw started to rise, but the robot grabbed him with its arms and tossed him against a tree. It stepped towards him with its arms raised to strike when suddenly it stopped. It toppled forward and a large scorchmark could be seen in its back, just between the wings. It twitched and sparked for a few moments before the fuel tank exploded, leaving a gaping wound in it.
Tara winked, twirled the pistol and slid it back into the holster.
"Thank you, little ones. I must be going now."
"Going? You can't. You have to stay here to stop him. You have to defend this jungle." Tara asked.
"I cannot stay here forever to protect it, even if I could. I must do what I can to prepare for the Gathering. The teindakus of Sumatra must be awakened to their gift if they are to defend my children. The weretigers must guard them when I am gone. Good luck to you both and remember the lessons you have learnt this day."
Claw hugged Tara. "We will."
Martichora vanished quite slowly, beginning with the end of the tail... "Oh Lewis, now there was a human who knew how to have fun." ...and ending with the grin, which remained for some time after the rest of her had gone.
They could hear the roar of the engine before Xanatos flew into the clearing. He looked around and removed his helmet. "It seems she got away."
"Claw tried to stop her, but she just slapped him around and left." Tara said and Claw nodded.
"A pity really. This project showed such promise. Rather unfortunate it didn't work out for either of us, eh Claw?"
Claw raised his eyes from the etchpad for a second to give Xanatos a hard gaze.
"Transport will be here soon. They're going to meet us at the ruins; you'd best start moving." He was about to slide the helmet back on when Claw slapped his paw down on the chestplate and curled his claws over it. He shoved the etchpad in front of his face.
The note said, "She gave me a message for you. If you don't help her children or if you harm them in any way, she will track you down and finish you." The look in Claw's eyes told him that when that happened, the mutate would not be there to save him.
Xanatos smiled. "It was my intention to help them all along."
As soon as the aircraft cleared Indian airspace, Xanatos opened a secure communication to Manhattan.
"Mr Xanatos, how did the meeting go?" Owen asked.
"She was surprisingly uncooperative; neither Claw nor I got what we'd wanted from Martichora. The central project will continue, but the peripherals are cancelled."
"I will put them on hold, sir."
"That is not required Owen, simply cancel them."
"Including Tigris Regalis? Sevarius will not be pleased."
"He'll get over it. It was made abundantly clear that any such work would be very unprofitable. She is very protective of the tigers."
"They are her children, sir."
"Even so, she was not the kind of individual I expected her to be."
"Becoming a parent changes people, sir." Owen had the shadow of a smile.
"The charged nets weren't successful and the containment cage also proved inadequate. Something sturdier will be required for the Coyote project. We will discuss options upon my return."
"Very good, sir. Anything else?"
"One last thing, transfer funds into Ms Collins account in payment for services rendered."
"How much, sir?"
"Double the standard. I doubt they'll have any dispute about sharing it among themselves."
Claw leaned back into the large padded seat. It had been a long day and it had been an even longer week. But it would finally be over when the plane landed in a few hours. They needed some well deserved rest. He snugged Tara closer and she nuzzled into his soft chestfur. He smiled and remembered that brief time when they'd been the same. But she was...
"Mmmm... guess what?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts.
He made a soft "mrrru?" sound. She knew it now as his general question sound.
"Lex was supposed to visit last night."
He tapped his watch and made a negative hand motion.
"I don't think he'd wait for us either." She gave his chest a light scratching. "Too bad for him anyhow, it's not often you get to visit family."
He nodded and pointed to her. "Mrrru?"
For a moment, she couldn't guess what question was implied. "Maybe see mine?"
He shrugged a little and smiled. "Maybe."
Author's Ending Notes:
The dark image I have portrayed of the tiger's plight is accurate. Decimated by sport hunting, the fur trade, the population explosion and the Oriental medicine trade, three races of tigers are already extinct: the Balinese, the Caspian and the Javan. The others are all in critical danger and are dwindling rapidly. All that remains of the Chinese tiger (at now this, the Chinese year of the Tiger) are scattered individuals, an estimated twenty to thirty. With them, half the races of these greatest of the great cats will be gone forever. The others will not be far to follow.
It is a hard thing for me to accept, but accept I must. If this continues, tigers will be condemned to extinction in fifteen to twenty years. Scattered remnants may lurk in distant regions for a while, but with no hope of survival as a race... or a species. Before the end of my lifetime, they will be gone.
There is little hope for them without a drastic change in our efforts to protect them. The national parks only work to delay their fall for they are hampered at all sides by the poor farmers who must slowly take the land away to feed their families. When the tigers cross the borders they do not see, death is often the end result.
The only hope for them and for many others of Asia's, and the world's, unique wildlife is the creation of international reserves, funded by the wealthy nations. With greater funding, such parks would be larger, more protected against poachers and a source of pride and tourist revenues. Exchange programs between parks would allow a greater diversity to protect against inbreeding. But only with a change of conciousness and a willingness to accept the grim reality can this occur. Perhaps even the great tiger will pass on before we learn our hard lesson and protect what of Nature's wonder remains.
Below is the address and information for The Tiger Trust. It is a registered, non-profit organization (and the only one) whose specific and exclusive aim is the conservation of tigers in the wild. In 1993 and 1994 it was responsible for devising and implementing the highly successful anti-poaching program, which has brought the Siberian tiger back from the very brink of extinction. The Trust feels confident it can aid governments in achieving similar results in India and elsewhere. But it needs your help. Please send a contribution (whatever you can afford) to:
Notes of reference:
I wish to briefly note here some of the references which were fundamental to the creation of this story. Lacking any personal knowledge on the local or tiger myths, the small pieces I found in these books provided exactly what was needed.
- The Satpura Range is refered to in "Wild Cats and Men", by C. A. W. Guggisberg (Taplinger Publishing Co., 1975) in this manner:
- The Tyger, by William Blake. This poem was the inspiration for the story. A contrasting poem of his, The Lamb, was written to complement the other. Martichora's song came to me suddenly as I toyed with the poem and many aspects of the story followed from that.
- The name `Martichora' I discovered in a wonderful book, "Of Tigers and Men: Entering the Age of Extinction", by Richard Ives (Avon Press, 1996). The book refers to an ancient quote from Pausanias's "Guide to Greece" from the early 2nd century. In a discussion of mythological animals, Pausanias (a physician and avid antiquarian) had this to say:
- The teindakus of Sumatra are briefly mentioned in "Wild Cats and Men", along with the Ngelmu-Gandogans of Java as part of the local beliefs of each of the islands.
Many books I have read have given me the knowledge needed to try and display several aspects of tiger behaviour in the story. I will not go on to list them. If you are interested in learning more about tigers, email me and I will happily recommend a few.
I will mention though that "Of Tigers and Men" may still be found in your local bookstore and is well worth the cost. An excerpt from the book is available here. It is not the standard "tiger facts and pictures" book, but rather a gripping tale of the author's journey to write a tiger book. Ives travels through India, Nepal and Southeast Asia in search of the rapidly disappearing tiger. Along the way, his encounters with the human friends and enemies of the tiger are noted with a remarkable attentiveness to the greatest nobility and basest selfishness of our species. It is an enchanting ecological journey through the tigers last domains.