Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; look upon them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”  

-Sun Tsu’s the Art of War 

For a city that had a population greater than the entirety of Scotland in 994, the metropolis of New York City certainly never lacked places to feel completely alone.  The warehouses and homes that ‘higher society’ had long since ignored for a few decades now rotted and decayed in states worse than Castle Wyvern’s parapets of stones that had withstood over a millennium of isolation. 

Speaking of isolation. 

Brooklyn exhaled through flaring nostrils as he squatted on the roof of the apartment he was stationed at for the evening, the walkie-talkie next to him still as silent as it had been for the past 4 hours “Great... ‘Oh sure Goliath, I’d love to come out on another stakeout. By myself. AGAIN. I can’t think of any better way to get hands-on leadership training’.” the second-in-command huffed, realizing tonight was on track to be yet another no-show. 

He could have been taking down human traffickers, busting up drug rings, or at least tracking down Demona to collect the Pound of Flesh she owed him. But no, Goliath thought it was worthwhile to focus on a theft ring who dealt in stolen TVs and radios.  

So here Brooklyn was, sitting on his butt for the third night in a row on stakeout duty. No long-awaited one-on-one leadership training from Goliath. No mentorship on how to guide his clanmates. And of course, NO opportunity to hone his skills by fighting side by side with the very clan HE had led entirely on his own for over half a year. Alone, like always, with his thoughts that seemed to do anything but comfort him. 

Brooklyn clicked his Walkie “Elisa, this is Brooklyn. Radio Check?” 

“Solid Copy, we hear you.” her staticky voice crackled in response. “Just keep sitting tight. We’ll radio if we see something.” 

Swell. His Walkie wasn’t wasted, just his time was.  

He knew Goliath had only been back for a few weeks now... but he had hoped for at least a tiny amount of time with him that didn’t get prefaced with “We need to patrol. I have a task for you. Come with me, I need your help.” or some other mission briefing. When Brooklyn had beheld his leader and practical father duck his way into the clocktower just less than a month ago, all the young gargoyle could do was throw his arms around him broad shoulders with his elated howls of “YOU’RE BACK!!” echoing against the clockwork gears.  

He expected the phrase ‘absence may make the heart grow fonder’ to work both ways between the two; unfortunately... that cherishment seemed to only go one way.  
 
Sure, he knew that Goliath, the master of stoicism, didn’t have much of an affinity for intimacy or outward affection... but ever since Goliath got back from Avalon, even THAT was gone; he was lucky if he even got a glance from his commander. All Goliath’s attention and fatherly compassion had now been funneled solely into a single gargoyle: Angela. 

The rust-colored gargoyle gripped his knees. 

*Angela...* he thought, the OTHER half of the thoughts that plagued his mind. 

How could someone so compassionate, so attentive, so... so... LOVING be the offspring of a stone-faced sphinx as strict as Goliath and an apocalypse-worshipping psychopath like Demona? Well, save for the night she, understandably, told him and his brothers off for squabbling over her like children bickering over a prize.  

The lonesome beast sighed. 

In a clan filled with nothing but jaded men who were the sole survivors of their massacred clan... the optimism and emotional attentiveness of her was MORE than a welcomed breath of fresh air. She was always so quick to acknowledge when someone was hurting, so quick to make their feelings valid and heard. In a warrior culture where Goliath’s Mantra of “emotions cloud your judgement” was only echoed by Hudson, Angela’s simple kindness was the only detonator an affection-deprived young male needed to turn into a territorial brute wanting to win her heart. 

The gargoyle ducked his head grimly. He wasn’t blind, Brooklyn knew her eyes had fallen on Broadway; and spending nearly EVERY night ushered away from the castle sure wasn’t helping Brooklyn’s chances in gaining the attention of quite literally the only possible female gargoyle within a 1,000-mile radius.  

Brooklyn’s downturn gaze practically drilled holes into the panel between his feet. How could he hope to ever find SOMEONE at this rate? He may have long since gotten over his crush on Maggie, realizing that his infatuation for her came from lonely desperation, not love. But the chances of finding ANY compatible female in the clan’s path was slim at best. Any female gargoyle was either on the other side of the planet or in Avalon, only accessible through magic. Even then, what would it matter? Angela lived up to her name... she’s the one he wanted.  

Despite the rejected gargoyle’s still tender heart, the newest addition to the family haunted him like a phantom siren; the beauty of her voice, the sincerity of her care, the comfort of her touch. How could he get her to see him WITHOUT Goliath stepping in to pull him away? 

Well... He knew she loved flowers, being in a city with a lack of trees and all; that could be a start. His mind drifted, fantasizing of shyly presenting her with a bouquet to confess that his affection didn’t just stop at childish crushes *Their beauty couldn’t compare to you, Angela...* he imagined *Angela... I need to speak from the heart here, I-* 
 
“Brooklyn? BROOKLYN? BROOKLYN!” Goliath’s static voice barked through the walkie talkie at his side “BROOKLYN WHERE ARE YOU?” 
 

Brooklyn nearly fell off the roof as he snapped out of his daydream. The disoriented gargoyle’s clawed feet skittered on the rough panels while his taloned hands snatched the Walkie off the ground, his claws nearly leaving marks in the brickwork “HUH? Oh! Uh! Right Here!” he responded 

“PAY. ATTENTION.” Goliath snapped “A white panel truck will pass your position soon; you’ve got to stick with them!” 

Brooklyn’s onyx eyes snapped up – “Oh Great...” said white panel truck had already sped past him while lost in his own thoughts, a full block away by now and gaining distance at freeway speeds “.... Off to a great start.” 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Lexington’s two, olive green talons grasped the frame of the library’s doorway, peaking his head in as he leaned in “Brooklyn?” he called curiously.  “If you don’t get your red butt out here, I’m starting without you.” 

The sound of rustling on the couch caught his attention, though his pout returned when he saw it was just Angela “Oh! Lexington!” she chimed out as she sat up from the upholstery, closing her book to greet her rookery brother. 

Lexington casually nodded his chin up at her “Hey Angela” the impish gargoyle’s eyes not pausing their scan of the room “Uhhhhhh, you got any idea where Brooklyn is?” 
 
“Oh, um” she folded her book against her chest with her crossed arms, fingertips drumming along the hardback’s cover while she raised a puzzled eyebrow. 

“Caaaaaaause it’s Contra Night and he gets pouty when I start without him.” The little gargoyle shook two NES controllers in his hand with a devilish giggle “Always claims I give him the broken controller.” 

Angela craned her neck back, peeking through the thin windows that lined the north wall of the library “Well my father hasn’t returned yet, so I imagine he’s still out on his stakeout.” 

Lexington’s grin vanished “Wait AGAIN?” he paused “...JUST the two of them?” 

The female cocked her head “Well, not alone, Elisa insisted she come along this time right before they took off. Wait, is there something we should be worried about?” 

Yeah, there was something they should be worried about.  

Brooklyn and Goliath alone? With the way they had been acting the past few weeks? 

Goliath had been gone for seven months, just enough time for a new ‘command climate’ to form in the Manhattan Clan. No one ever gave up hope that Goliath and the others would return, but months without word from their vagabond family members meant Brooklyn eventually had to stop being ‘Acting Clan Leader’ and unofficially become ‘Clan Leader’. 

Everyone else had meshed back in together no problem... Brooklyn and Goliath? A ‘Clan Leader’ forfeiting control back to another Clan Leader? That was another story. 

“Lexington?” Angela asked cautiously 

Lexington couldn’t help but grimace to himself. Goliath had always been stricter with Brooklyn than the others, but ever since he got home, he had come down on Brooklyn like a thunderbolt. Every strategy Brooklyn prepared, every decision he made, every plan he came up with, Goliath was right there to be his favorite critic with arms crossed and rehearsed grumbles primed “Are you sure that’s the best call?”, “Did you consider the dangers that poses?” and “Your clan relies on you, have you taken every precaution?” being regular favorites of their leader. 

The lavender gargoyle was so relentless on his Second, Lexington honestly once braced himself when Brooklyn sneezed in the library, expecting Goliath to whip out a prepared lecture on self-control. 

Lex knew his brother better than anyone else and Brooklyn’s growing frustration was palpable, every night he mentally prepared himself to land back on a parapet to see Goliath and Brooklyn with glowing eyes and roaring maws. BROOKYLN had led the clan entirely on his own for seven months, now here he was being treated like a child. 

Sure, Brooklyn may have been the youngest leader in clan history and the inexperience showed, but he was natural! 17 years old or not, he had kept the clan safe! 

Brooklyn didn’t need another critic; he needed a teacher. He had seen strides when Hudson had handled Brooklyn’s tutelage since Goliath absence, but after he rescinded those fatherly rights to Goliath... not ONCE did Goliath follow through on a single promise for training! Why was Goliath just snubbing him on everythi- 

Lexington blinked back to reality. His eyes locked dead onto Angela “No... Nothing to be worried about” he grumbled, slipping back into the hallway 

*Fatherly rights, listen to me... * he grimaced *Why would he need to act like that anymore; after all,...* 

*...He’s got our replacement right there. * 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Brooklyn’s wings strained against the hissing wind as the van screeched underneath the supports of a bridge that ran its supports over the road “My luck, crowded airway!” he snarled in frustration, barely ducking underneath a support beam that damn near took his head off. It didn’t matter that he had caught up to the van, there was no way he could keep pace with it for more than a few more seconds! 

His hands snapped out, talons out in force as he dove for the side of the truck in a desperate attempt to latch onto it. One hand pierced all five claws into the side of the vehicle like a hot knife through butter 

*R-R-RRIIIIPPPPPPPPPPPP* 

“CRUD! NO!” Brooklyn swore as his claws dragged through the length of the van rather than hook into it. He slapped his free hand onto the roof of the truck only for it to slip off uselessly with a loud, metallic squeak. Curling his fingers did nothing to stop his rapid descent from the passenger side door to the taillight. Brooklyn’s hand lost grip of the van as he fell off and then t- Bridge Support 

**WHAM!**  

Brooklyn’s vision went clear white as he slammed full speed into the concrete support of the bridge. His unbraced legs and tail whipped around the length of the pole like a crescent moon, his spine would have snapped in two had he not been lucky enough to have taken the brunt with his shoulder.  

Brooklyn shattered to the ground, wind thoroughly knocked out of him “CUUUUUUHHH!” as he tried to bite for air, clutching his chest that had had its oxygen ripped away. His right side screamed as if it was on fire and his numb legs refused to respond until he stopped seeing spots. Trapped on the wet asphalt, he could only watch with mute fury as his failure sped away down the empty boulevard, the red taillights mocking him. 

His ears perked up at the sound of Elisa’s car speeding around the corner and screeching to a halt, the gargoyle weakly turning his head up just in time to see the massive silhouette of Goliath touching with a thud down in front of her.  

He wanted to wheeze out “I’m alright.” but his voice ransomed any words until they were paid their salary of air. One shaky hand slapped onto the pavement as he steadied himself to his knees, his right side numb. With a pained hiss, he managed to sit himself up. Brooklyn wasn’t much for coddling... but he could do with a pick-me-up right now. He looked up and all self-pity disappeared. 

Instead of a concerned leader, Brooklyn looked up to see a disappointed scowl carved into Goliath’s mug. 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

“What were you doing when I called?!” Elisa heard Goliath bark out as she trotted from her car to the downed gargoyle and his towering commander “We had them!” 

“I-I thought I saw something, okay? I-I was only away a few seconds!” Brooklyn defended as he shakily struggled to his feet, swiping off flecks of asphalt that were stuck to his arm 

Elisa reached a hand out as she stepped forward to ask “Are you hurt?” but was interrupted by Goliath snapping up an accusing finger in his lieutenant’s face. 
 
“This theft ring isn’t a game, Brooklyn!” Goliath rattled off in a growl “These madmen kill people, every day they are on the streets, someone could die!” 

Aaaaand he was off. 

Elisa had seen this a thousand times: A cop chewing out their rookie. With her many years in the Maza family business, she knew better than to interject against another seasoned vet as they barked out to one of their guys. Any questioning over a peer’s leadership style should have always been done in private, never in front of juniors.  

But even still, Goliath and Brooklyn weren’t cops who worked together, they were family. She knew Goliath could be a strict leader who commanded discipline and loved a lecture, but ever since he had reunited with Brooklyn, their relationship was different. Negative reinforcement was more than necessary in the business where life-or-death situations was just Tuesday, but Goliath seemed to believe in nothing BUT negative reinforcement with Brooklyn now! 

She knew something was up between the two, something Goliath wouldn’t share. He HAD been stricter since he got back, but since about two weeks ago, he had been merciless to his second. 

Honestly, she was glad she firmly ‘suggested’ she join in on tonight’s stakeout. She had a feeling a chaperone was needed tonight. 

Lex and Broadway seemed to slip through the cracks of Goliath’s hawk eye. Angela? Well, Angela could get away with murder with her father. But with Brooklyn? Forget it. 

Ever since the Oberon Incident, Goliath had treated his second-in-command less like a member of the family and more like a troop that was fresh out of a Court Martial. Not to mention, ever since the boys had fought over his daughter’s affection, Goliath seemed to take extra care in corralling Brooklyn away from her. She couldn’t blame the big guy; over the past few months she had grown to be every bit as protective and caring of Angela’s well-being as he was... but, kids would be kids. 

With the slow aging and daring feats of her nocturnal companions, she often forgot that the trio were technically still teenagers. Unfortunately, that age gap seemed even more apparent as she watched the usual cocksure and swaggering Brooklyn become smaller at his leader’s critique. 

Only for him to boldly take an unexpected step forward. 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Brooklyn snorted out angrily. Was he REALLY getting scolded?? Goliath hadn’t even BOTHERED to give him a single night of training to learn how to be a second-in-command; Dragon forbid Goliath’s focus be diverted to ANYONE either than Elisa or Angela for more than one evening! So here Goliath was, pushing him into the deep end of the pool without teaching him how to swim, then getting upset when he sunk to the bottom? 

EVERYTHING Brooklyn knew had come from Hudson, the only male role model in his life that seemed to have an ounce of fatherhood for him in the past half year or seemed to give a sewer rat’s behind about him and his brothers. At least Hudson pushed him to be a better leader, rather than just push him in general. He was overjoyed when Goliath reappeared, hoping to officially embark on a bonding experience of student and teacher... now all he wanted was for Hudson to reassume his position of his mentor. 

Brooklyn had been LEADING the Gargoyles on his own for over half a year now while Goliath got the closure of seeing other gargoyles and gaining a daughter. HE had been left with the responsibility and burden of leadership. 

A month’s worth of repressed anger was bubbling to the surface “I don’t need the lecture!” Brooklyn shouted back “Stop treating me like a hatchling!” snapping his tail and wings around to storm off 

Goliath paused for a moment, before he muttered out “I will...” 

Every hair on Brooklyn’s silver mane stood on end *Don’t you say it. *  

“...when you stop acting like one.” 

That did it. 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Brooklyn’s neck whipped back around so fast that Elisa swore she heard a crack. and if looks could kill, her and Goliath would be 6 feet under.  

The crimson gargoyle’s beak curled back in rage, his brow furrowing as his eyes were one wrong word away from illuminating white. The insulted junior snapped his wings open “WHAT did you say!?” he barked out, Brooklyn’s voice echoing off the abandoned buildings like a gunshot. 

Elisa’s attention immediately went to Goliath whose body hadn’t budged 

“Do you believe this to be the behavior of a leader? Or of hatchling?” Goliath responded. 

Brooklyn stomped a foot forward, spreading his arms out “How should I know?? It's not like you’ve taken the time of night to give me a SINGLE hour of leadership training!” he barked before giving a forced laugh and shrugging his shoulders “Oh but wait, what should I expect? Distance and stern silence seem to be your preferred method of leadership nowadays!” 

Elisa moved to step in, but Goliath mirrored Brooklyn’s flexing of his wings. With an arch of his back and leathery stretch, the Alpha Male of the Manhattan Clan burst his wingspan out in all its terrifying majesty. 

Wings to Gargoyles were what manes were to lions or horns were to bulls. They were a symbol of a male’s power... and “Brooklyn and Goliath” were now the literal phrase of “David and Goliath” 

Goliath dwarfed his subordinate, his wings as black as night as they cast a shadow over the hotheaded gargoyle. Any other gargoyle on any other night would have flinched and submitted... but Goliath and his choice of successor weren’t the average gargoyles. The threat that usually pacified any male before things got worse didn’t work; in fact, it barely made Brooklyn blink.  

That was it, she had to stop this before either of them did something they’d regret. She leapt forward, but Brooklyn puffed out his chest. 

“NO! I’m not backing down from you! Not this time!” Brooklyn snarled, clenching his fists and trying to stand up as straight as possible... still having to crane his neck to meet the eyes of the behemoth who towered over him “I’m second in command and I’m going to have my say!” 

Elisa backed off... it was about time these two 'talked’. 

“This HATCHLING has been the one leading the clan just fine all year!” his usually cool voice now straining to channel as much conviction as it could “Want to know what I’VE been doing? Fulfilling ancient prophecies of Excalibur! Containing dangerous Mayan artifacts! Every time YOU did something in Avalon, WE were the ones who had to clean up YOUR mess in the real world!” 

The subordinate jabbed a thumb into his chest “And UNDER my leadership, we were safer than ever! MacBeth wasn’t abducting one of our own to be used in some sick immortality experiment! MacBeth wasn’t throwing Broadway in chains! The Pack didn’t come after Lexington! Xanatos didn’t come after us!” Brooklyn speared a finger towards the lights of skyscrapers in the distance “DEMONA didn’t come after us!” 

“And you dare take credit for enjoying the safety that ANGELA’S peril ensured!?” Goliath shot back as he loomed directly over the defiant Brooklyn “MacBeth and Demona attacked us in Avalon! They attacked our people! What reason would they have to chase you down when they were fixated on us?!” 

Elis was doing her best to stay silent... but even she noticed Brooklyn waivered slightly at the mention of Angela. Still, there was too much blood pumping in that fiery gargoyle to back down “Oh of course! MORE enemies from you! And you want to know what I got us when you were gone? ALLIES!” 

Brooklyn growled with confidence “The Labyrinth Clan! Who was it that eventually got us FINALLY on good terms with the only other clan in Manhattan? It wasn’t your kidnapping of a doctor who just brewed a poison to kill them! It was ME stopping a possible gargoyle crime lord! Now look! They’re one of our best guys for backup!” 

Elisa blinked. Brooklyn never talked about the Labyrinth Clan with fondness... she didn’t know the full details of the story, nor did she intend to invade his privacy, all she knew was that some event with Maggie caused him to go sour. So, when she visited Derek the other week, her usually stoic brother lighting up at the mention of Brooklyn’s name caught her off guard. 

“HA! That Brooklyn. I thought I had him all figured out... turns out there’s more to him than I gave him credit for” he had laughed “That gargoyle’s a good kid and well... let’s just say I owe him one. BIG time.” 

Brooklyn’s attempt to make himself look bigger made Elisa refocus “I don’t care what bone you got to pick with me. I don’t know where it came from or why you got it. But YOU named me second in command! And I can’t be a leader that pleases you if you don’t tell me what it is you want from me!” 

“Some DISCIPLINE.” Goliath boomed simply. Goliath opened his hand “Or need I remind you how your brashness with Maggie and said Labyrinth Clan put your clan in danger?” 

Elisa saw Brooklyn’s visible confidence falter “Yeah? That I saw someone who needed help and I did what I could with what I had?” 

“There ARE no second chances out here, Brooklyn.” Goliath warned “Out of your brothers, you are by FAR the most reckless. Rushing in to snatch Maggie, letting your brashness pull you into Demona’s traps, seeking vendettas on those you hate! You’ve been acting upon your emotions for too long and every time it puts your clan in danger! Such behavior should never be tolerated from someone entrusted with leadership!” 

“RECKLESS!?” Brooklyn shot back “You want to know what reckless is!? Breaking into the Hunter’s Airship ALONE! AFTER you commanded all of us to wait! Putting myself and Lex in danger! Attacking without thinking! Teaming up with DEMONA? LETTING DEMONA GO FREE AFTER?!” 

Goliath's eyes widened ever so slightly “Demona was not our concern that eveni-” 

“YOU LET HER GO! And she nearly ended humanity because of it! But what should I expect? Once again, your precious ANGELA was in danger, Your FAVORITE! Once she stubs her toe, all caution gets thrown into the wind and the REST of us pay the price!” 

Goliath barred his fangs “And yet how many times have YOUR childish desires put us in danger!?” 

Brooklyn’s face made the same expression when Goliath mentioned Maggie “I have no idea what you’re talking about!” he scoffed without a shred of conviction 

Goliath stomped forward, a clawed finger acting as prosecutor to the younger “Do you think the ‘trends’ in your shortcomings have gone unnoticed?” 

Elisa braced herself... hell, Brooklyn braced himself. She knew there was some dirty laundry to air out here, but she felt like a low blow was about to be dealt. 

“How you urged us to break into Sevarius’s lab to rescue Maggie? ONLY Maggie? Do not claim it was a righteous crusade when you had but one target in mind, the female! How Demona seemed to be able to trick ONLY you into joining forces with her-” 

“DON’T YOU DARE HOLD THAT NIGHT AGAINST ME!” 

“I wouldn’t if it was a one-time mistake! But it was not! It is a consistent weakness that you fall prey to! Time and time again you allow your 'urges’ to overtake your judgement! And from what I can tell... it has only worsened...” he growled darkly, his sharp barks slowing into a growling accusation “Do you honestly believe I don’t know of what you tried to do?” 

Brooklyn’s gritted teeth parted slightly, eyes widening. 

“YOU are the Second in Command, Brooklyn. Being in a position of leadership means that you must hold yourself to a higher standard, not a lower one...” Goliath paused, as if debating to say his next sentence “...And your position is CERTAINLY not meant to be used for ‘getting rid of your competition’.” he sneered in disgust. 

Brooklyn froze, the ferocity etched in his face thawing into guilty fear. 

Elisa looked back and forth between the two, she was missing something, ‘getting rid of his competition’? 

The stunned gargoyle took a shivering step back “W-What? How... How do you-” 

“She told me.” 

Brooklyn, who seemed to have the argument in his control not 30 seconds ago, now stood speechless in dumfounded horror; eyes wide and jaw slack while his wings began to dip “I...I-I didn’t.”  

Elisa felt a gut punch of pity, seeing Brooklyn’s conviction crumble after having the guts to stand up to his mentor.  

*Oh No.... Brooklyn.... Tell me you didn’t* she pleaded to herself as she started to put two and two together... Angela HAD come to her for advice after all. 

Fraternization was something Elisa was regrettably intimately familiar with. The police force was a male dominated field... and PLENTY of times throughout the years, senior male officers had helped ‘influence’ the careers of female officers they fancied. She knew Brooklyn would never in a million years stoop to something so low OR try something like that on Angela but... 

Goliath folded his arms as he physically backed off Brooklyn, wings still spread wide. Elisa, who had swung wide from the two gargoyles saw nothing but disappointed revulsion twisted in Goliath’s grimace “You are brothers. To abuse your power against them for such a horrid intention...” he folded his wings over his shoulders as he closed his eyes and looked away “...And for my DAUGHTER?” 

Brooklyn’s proud tail hit the ground, his wings went completely slack. He took a shaky step forward, hands outstretched “G-Goliath please-” he stammered “T-That wasn’t... I-I would never-” 

Goliath took a step back, making Brooklyn’s hands grasp at air. The purple gargoyle exhaled through his nose with as much composure as he could muster “I expected better from YOU Brooklyn... To use such methods to prey upon my daughter... my own flesh and blood... I thought you had been raised better...” 

Goliath marched away solemnly, one wing flapping to the side as he pointed back to the heart of the city “Go. Return to the castle. Elisa and I must talk.” 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Brooklyn felt sick. His hands desperately reached out for his leader; his eyes sent a desperate plea for understanding that would never be acknowledged. He felt his stomach drop to his feet when Goliath dismissed him without even a glance...  

“G-Goliath Please” he begged. Brooklyn knew his behavior the night they tried to stop Brod’s gang was inexcusable. He wanted so badly to use the Phoenix Gate to go back in time and knock past-him's lights out... but even THAT ‘him’ would never do something as horrible as Goliath was implying! The sheer idea that Goliath thought he was even capable of such depravity made him ill! 

“P-PLEASE!” he begged again, knowing full well where this was going. Goliath was going to make his disgust in him publicly known by stripping him of Second in Command. Goliath would no doubt converse with Elisa to get the validation he needed in making Angela the red gargoyle’s replacement. 

Trying to use his authority as second in command in a ploy to shoo Broadway and Lexington away, in a misguided attempt to court Angela, haunted Brooklyn with shame he hadn’t felt since Demona tricked him into betrayal. He knew it had been wrong to betray the sanctity of leadership for his own ambitions... but the lonely gargoyle’s desperation for affection and compassion had overridden all judgement he had.  

Affection.  

Compassion.  

Brooklyn clenched his fists. Why was he always denied it from every angle? 

He craved the paternal love that had been left back in the 10th century... an army of his nameless clan mates to shower each other with recognition and appreciation every waking moment. Now here he was, in a cold dark city... alone, like always. Where the only parent he had left now all but cast him out. 

All attempts at romantic love ended up with them rejecting him and running into the arms of another... Maggie... Angela.... he clenched his fist to the point it nearly drew blood. DEMONA.  

Deny it all he’d like... the blackest part of his soul never forgot how it felt the night she held his face in her hands. How magnificent it felt to have someone so invested in him or so aware of his still tender mind. A vile concoction of maternal and romantic infatuation hiding the taste of poison that still flooded in his veins. He had dared to let himself be vulnerable to her! And she had used him! For that, he could never look at her without hatred filling his weakened heart. 

...So was it by some divine, cruel joke that Angela looked so much like her?? 

Brooklyn was desperate to feel a shred of affection from anyone. A genuine love, whether it be fraternal or paternal. Love he hadn’t felt since... since.... 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Goliath heard Brooklyn mutter something under his breath. His trudging steps halted. 

Deafening silence hung in the air. The father opened his eyes and clenched his jaw, his patience approaching its limit. Turning around, he saw Elisa had gone to place a hand on Brooklyn’s shoulder in comfort... but now she stared in tense disbelief as if she hoped she had misheard the words that had hissed out of the red gargoyle’s lips. 

Goliath’s piercing glare burrowed into Brooklyn “...What was that?” 

“Yeah...” Brooklyn snapped his head up, agony burning in his onyx eyes “But it’s not like YOU raised me!”  

Goliath flinched slightly; initial shock replaced by a stern glare “Brook-” 

Brooklyn pulled his shoulder free from Elisa’s grasp “So THAT’S what this is all about!? Angela!?” he said with a tone that mixed both accusation and realization “It was always about Angela??”  

“Brooklyn you kn-” 

“OF COURSE!” he swiped his hand in the air “Who ELSE would it be for? It’s always about her with you! Your little Angela! DARLING Angela!” 

Goliath’s eyes glowed slightly, the pupils threatening to disappear altogether “ BROOKLYN. ” he growled as a warning. He was a patient warrior. He could tolerate much, but even he doubted the limits of his own self-control with where the belligerent gargoyle was headed. 

“This is what it’s all about now, isn’t it!? You and her!” Brooklyn screamed “I should have known the night of the Gathering! You came back!” Brooklyn snapped his head back to look at his human companion “Elisa came back!” before snapping his painful fury back at him “Bronx came back! We were all back together again! Fighting together as a FAMILY again!” 

Brooklyn’s previous challenging, valiant stance from before now devolved into his hunched over squat... one he had not been in since his younger days “But I KNEW things were different when I heard you speak to Xanatos!” he rambled “You told him you finally knew the transforming power of a child’s love!” 

Goliath’s sneer faltered, his brow softening as he watched his second-in-command lose his bearing... fearing that Brooklyn was going to say- 

“WELL WHAT ABOUT ME!?”  

Brooklyn’s screaming voice cracked, his fingertips spearing into his sternum “What about all of us?? Broadway!? Lexington!? Were we not good enough?? Were we not your sons!? You didn’t even LOOK at us! Half a year apart and your one and only concern was HER!” 

Elisa finally broke her silence, eyes wide at the mere idea passing in the young gargoyle’s mind “Brooklyn, of course Goliath loves y-” 

“NO!” Brooklyn spat, thrashing away from her like a child “HE DOESN’T! We never gave up our search for him! I never gave up my search for him! I did nothing but patrol every corner of the city and beyond! There was no alley, no sewer, no warehouse, no skyscraper I didn’t search! I would have searched every four corners of the globe to find him! To me, Goliath was irreplicable!”  

Brooklyn’s attention was forced from Elisa and back to himself “.... But he replaced US!” 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Elisa and Goliath yelled back a definitive “NO!” in unison, although Elisa’s shout carried much less certainty than his own. 

“THEN WHAT DO YOU CALL IT!? All your affection and care has been funneled into her!” He accused, his breathing starting to quicken “It seems SHE’S the only one who gets the ‘family’ side of you anymore and the rest of us are left with the ‘warrior’ side of the clan! You didn’t choose a favorite... you chose an ONLY!” 

Elisa shifted into Officer Maza mode as she stepped in front of Brooklyn, squatting low so she would be below his eye level. Being a first responder, Elisa dealt with upset youths more than a hundred times in her career. Neglected, unresponsive kids to horrifically abused, rambling children... and unfortunately... Brooklyn’s behavior was frighteningly similar. 

She didn’t see the proud, cocky, showboating rockstar ‘tough guy’ she affectionately looked after when things got rough for him and his siblings... she saw a neglected and jealous child. 

“Brooklyn, you ARE his family.” she said softly, taking one of his shaking hands in both her own “The whole time in Avalon, all he could think about was getting home to you.”  

“Home? HOME?? He RUINED our home!” he roared, shooting an accusing finger at Goliath, swinging wild with his anger as his eyes flickered their piercing white again “He was supposed to protect us! HE was supposed to keep us safe! Instead, he mated himself with the ONE gargoyle who betrayed us and doomed us to massacre!” 

Elisa’s hair stood on end as she heard Goliath let out that deep, gurgling growl reverberating behind her. She quickly glanced behind her to see Goliath’s eyes on the verge of matching Brooklyn’s, his jaws parting as his patience was running thin. Elisa reached back and put one hand on his chest “Easssyyyy, Big Guy.” 

“All my moms and dads were killed! I lost everyone!” Brooklyn croaked out. Angela turned her attention back to Brooklyn just in time to see the tears that now welled in his eyes that erupted into their full glow. 

“YOU WERE THE ONLY FATHER I HAD LEFT!!”  

Brooklyn’s piercing shriek turned Elisa’s blood as cold as the Hudson River. So, it was finally said out loud? 

She knew gargoyles did child rearing differently than humans; ‘children belonged to the clan’ as Goliath put it. No blood relations mattered to a clan, to a young child, they would have a dozen mothers and a dozen fathers at any given time. No matter what, a hatchling always had a parent available for a hug, talk about their feelings, train them, and make them feel loved. Now three boys, soon to be young men, had to make do with sharing a single father from a childhood that was cut short. 

“But now I don’t even have YOU!” Brooklyn cursed out, tears now streaming freely from his empty white eyes and trickling off his beak. The pulse in Brooklyn’s wrist was speeding up in Elisa’s hands “Because you found your ACTUAL child! One that looks like you!”  

Elisa placed one hand on Brooklyn’s cheek, the other still holding his hand “Brooklyn, sweetie. You need to breathe.” she said as calmly as she could; his heartbeat was out of control “Brooklyn. Hey.” she urged “Just look at me, okay? I’m right here.” 

It was no use though. The fighting and protecting instinct of a gargoyle was too great, once they were locked in someone, words alone would do very little to make them leave peacefully. Still, Elisa rose to her full height, putting herself between Brooklyn and Goliath, two of the most powerful creatures she had ever had the terrifying honor to meet.  

In front of her, a practically hyperventilating Brooklyn’s chest heaved between sobs of jealousy and yearning. Behind her, the baritone growls of a challenged father and clan leader who was having his bond with his only blood child ridiculed. “Goliath. please.” she said sternly, knowing how the big guy reacted much differently than the rest of his clan “I can understand why you’re upset too. But Brooklyn is your clan. Please, I’ll call Hudson and have him bring the boys here...” ...this was a problem that involved the entire Trio now. She exhaled in relief slightly as she watched his animalistic gaze soften, his white eyes starting to dim. 

Unfortunately, she should have been more focused on Brooklyn “I WISH YOU NEVER MET ANGELA!” he screamed at the top of his lungs “THAT BITCH SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN!” 

Elisa’s eyes snapped open “GOLIATH NO!” 

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Goliath lunged for Brooklyn, his massive hands snatching the significantly smaller, glowing-eyed gargoyle’s neck and shoulders with a terrible roar. Clan or not, a gargoyle father’s protective instinct would take full control of any gargoyle male, no matter how reasonable.  

In his savage state, he barely even noticed a nameless third party that had to dive out of the way for dear life. He yanked Brooklyn off the ground, clutching his gullet high overhead; his bellow mixed with the instinctual roar of a gargoyle and the audible shout of his voice.  

Two smaller red hands slapped over his own, the shrill screech of an adolescent gargoyle in battle piercing the night. His flapping wings tore in the air like a trapped bird thrashing for freedom. Such efforts only resulted in the purple hands tightening their grip; Brooklyn was a capable fighter, but he was but a third of his master’s size. 

The entrapped gargoyle’s kicking legs curled up, twisting his hips before slamming his heel down into Goliath’s face. This time, Goliath couldn’t keep his grip. His ears rang and his vision lit a brief ruby, gargoyle hide rushing through his fingers as he dropped his adversary. 

His sight still spotted, the smaller male speared its shoulder into his gut, tackling him backwards and into an abandoned car. Glass exploded into the air and the car hood jettisoned from the vehicle. What little remained of Goliath’s voice was forced out of him, his primal roars being the only exclamation that left gullet. 

A small fist clobbered into his lower side with the force of a small battering ram, earning nothing but a furious roar from him. Goliath shoved himself off the car, snatching the opposing gargoyle’s face with just a single hand before snapping his head back with complete ease. 

Goliath heard a woman’s voice scream frantically in the white noise of his instinct; it was not an enemy’s voice, no cause for alarm. He whirled around as he picked up the clawing gargoyle with one hand, smashing it down into the very car it had tackled the two of them into. With a terrible howl, he lifted two fists overhead, ready to knock out his attacker with a single blow. 

But the gargoyle he faced was quick. In the split second it took for his meteor-like fists to travel from the moonlit air into the shattering chassis, the other gargoyle had slapped its hands onto the rusted roof and rolled backwards off the flattened car.  

Goliath had ripped the car in two with his double hammer fists. Seeing the gargoyle leap backwards and perch itself atop a wooden fence, Goliath snatched one hand beneath the bed of back side of the split vehicle and flipped it. In a flash of red, the hissing gargoyle dove out of the way whilst the fence was obliterated to splinters that showered over the two of them.  

This foe was fast, before Goliath could get his hands on it again, it had already leapt down and snatched a small metal bar that had tumbled out of the ruined car’s skeleton. Goliath himself barely had enough time to block an incoming swing with his forearm!  

Then another, then another, and then another. Each swing against his flexing bracer caused it to warp and bend into a 90-degree angle, his attacker’s weapon being rendered inopportune. Goliath dove his shoulder forward, nailing the smaller in the chest before snapping his arms open to send it flying backwards.  

Landing on its backside, the twin kick from the ground up into Goliath’s chin did very little when he already had both hands secured against his throat again. Not repeating his mistake from before, Goliath slammed the adversary's backside into the concrete support structure of the bridge overhead, giving them no ability to swing their way free. 

His voice managed to form audible words again “ YIELD!” he commanded. 

“NO! NOT ANYMORE!” choked out the foe’s voice “NEVER AGAIN!” 

The speeding sound of blood pumping in his ears fell silent, the funneled yet blinding vision of combat dimmed. His senses returned to two gargoyles 

...Goliath was choking his son. 

“GOLIATH!” Blood still rushing, he snapped his head around. Elisa was clutching a piece of metal from the car in her hands, reeled back and prepared to swing “PUT. HIM. DOWN.” 

Goliath snapped his head back to Brooklyn, the elder’s eyes losing their glow “W-Why her?” the suspended gargoyle gurgled out in covetous hatred “W-Why her and not me?”  

Goliath dropped the fading gargoyle in pure horror, recoiling away as if touching him was like touching brimstone. His second crumpled to the ground, sucking in a starving gasp for air, refilling his lungs while on all fours. No sooner did Brooklyn even touch asphalt; Elisa was at his side holding his shoulders to coach him in breathing. 

Goliath’s eyes locked into the palms of his own shaking hands. What had he done? 

With a dry wheeze, Brooklyn struggled to one knee despite Elisa’s protests “A-All I’ve ever done... Is everything you ever asked.” Brooklyn choked out with fists clenched. 

Goliath clenched his own, not taking his eyes off the weapons he had lifted against his own clan. 

“You call Angela your daughter...” he took a haggard breath “And you called Thailog your SON! The terror who tried to kill us! WHY?” he struggled to his feet, pulling away from Elisa “BECAUSE THEY LOOKED LIKE YOU!?”  

Goliath’s jaw clenched “You do not understand...” he uttered, but was drowned out by- 

“Did you forget we existed when you realized at least YOUR legacy would survive!?” Brooklyn shouted, “Or did you not care in the first place!?” 

Goliath’s eyes flickered white “You could never understand...” he spoke up 

Brooklyn stomped forward, chest to chest with his estranged clan leader, tears welling up “SO WHICH WAS IT!? DID YOU LOVE US AS A LAST RESORT!? OR DID YOU NOT LOVE US AT ALL?” 

“NO!” Goliath barked out. “DRAGON ALMIGHTY, NO!” 

Brooklyn could never understand! Goliath loved his sons; he loved them more than life itself! One thousand years ago he had willingly turned himself to stone in the shallow hope they’d one day be reunited. Even if the castle rising above the clouds was an impossible task, at least he would never have to be without them. Death as a petrified statue was preferable to a life without his children and Hudson! 

From the moment he had stepped into Tom’s boat last December, he had yearned for his clan and kind in the years here in the modern day. Not an hour went by without him missing his family to the point it physically ached. Not a moment went by when he didn’t wish to rescind his wish to turn back time, to see his family and hold his boys once again. 

Goliath’s thoughts took him. While Brooklyn screamed muted words in slow motion... he couldn’t help but realize the similarities again. 

His time in Avalon gave him time to reflect; his priorities, his losses, his triumphs, his failures... 

He felt Brooklyn beat his fists into his chest 

...his mistakes. 

Despite his current disappointment in his eldest son’s recent behavior, Brooklyn was magnificent; he couldn’t have been prouder of his choice of lieutenant. His battle strategies had been impeccable, his calm guidance of his brothers was notable, and how the most hot headed of ALL the clan had managed to wrangle down his temper was worthy of a medal.  

Goliath had left an unsure child in December and returned to find a promising young man in his place. Brooklyn was strong and growing stronger, with the adrenaline starting to wear off, Goliath could feel just how sore the combatant had left him. Two years ago, Goliath could have had Brooklyn bested with a single hand in five seconds... now the mere boy of 38 was able to hold his ground. 

He was a marvel. He was proud yet meek, passionate yet calming, ambitious yet caring. Yet when he looked upon his second and saw his fanatical loyalty to his clan... the fits of rage he could burst into if one of them was harmed... or the unbreakable trust that had forged between him and his brothers. 

Seven months of reflection made him realize where he had seen such passion before... 

Goliath clenched up.  

Demona. 

A passionate, young, fierce, valiant, and fiercely loyal Second in Command whom he would gladly lay his life down for... was this description exclusive to his former second in command? Or shared by his current one? 

The similarities were too blatant to ignore. They were both the most ‘protective’ of their clan, so quick to be ready for a fight, so quick to strike first against a mortal enemy who owed them blood. Goliath knew Brooklyn would NEVER join up with Demona, nor would he attempt to genocide humanity... but he once thought the same about his Angel of the Night.  

The night of Xanatos’s wedding, he desperately grasped his former mate’s past self. Her eyes enslaved his soul, her gentle touch ripped open every old scar he had, her soft words affirming her abhorrence for Demona’s vengeance made him pray to every higher being there was that he could just stay in that moment. 

He knew there was no saving the abomination Demona had become now, but Devil curse him... what he would GIVE to rewind time and save what they once had. Had he not been so blinded by love for his beloved, perhaps he would have seen what she was becoming. He could have addressed her increasing hatred towards humanity; maybe, he could have stopped her betrayal before it began. The massacre was his greatest failure... and by loving Demona too much, he failed to see the tragedy that was brewing in his own arms. 

And now he looked at his current second in command, tears of betrayal and jealous hatred streaming from his eyes... exactly like she once did. He loved his son unconditionally... but in doing so, was he unknowingly creating another Demona? 

Was he cursing his son to follow the same path that she had rotted on?  

The heavens must have laughed at him. At first, he thought Demona had been recreated in Elisa: A fiery warrior who captivated his heart. Then, he realized she had been split in two: her body and blood had been given to Angela; her personality had been given to Elisa... Yet now... he faced the horrible reality that Demona might have very well been in THREE of his loves. 

Angela had her form. Elisa had her nature. Brooklyn had her soul.  

His time in Avalon filled him with a resolve to prevent his second from suffering the same fate as greatest failure. He refused to make the same mistake twice, and so he would do what he should have done 1,000 years ago. He had to be strict on Brooklyn: Relentless. He policed everything he did. He monitored his every move and thought. In no way would he allow his affection to prevent him from fulfilling his fatherly duties of preparing Brooklyn for when he was gone! He would not let Brooklyn suffer the way she had! 

Goliath gritted his fangs with raw hatred, his eyes glowing white as Brooklyn’s agonized face faded from his vision * DAMN YOU, DEMONA! 1000 years and your hatred still torments my clan! Damn you.... Damn you... DAMN YOU! * 

Brooklyn’s beating red hands seemed to morph into her clenched, blue talons. His white hair turned into the fiery red mane that still blistered in the darkest parts of Goliath’s soul. Brooklyn’s screaming maw went silent... but those eyes... curse those eyes! They were the same as Demona's!  

“I’ve given you everything I have to give! All I want is for our family to go back to normal!” Demona tearfully howled at him in a deeper, raspier voice “So why can’t you just LOVE ME??” 

Goliath’s 1000 years of pain and agony, that had been bottled away, erupted   “BECAUSE YOU ARE UNWORHTHY OF MY LOVE!” He screamed, both hands slamming into the smaller gargoyle “YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF ANYONE’S LOVE!”  

OOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOO 

Elisa opened her mouth to cry out, but no words came out. Goliath double-backfist Brooklyn square in the chest and face to send him flying through the air. His arms and wings didn’t even spin in the air to grasp for something, both hands reached desperately for Goliath like a castaway ripped from a life raft. 

Brooklyn howled as he skidded to the ground, his bare body dragging across the rough, sharp shrapnel of the dilapidated concrete. Thin streaks of blood lined his short impact run as his triceps, back, and wings were sliced up by stray shards of industry.  

“BROOKLYN!” Elisa sprinted to his side to lift him up by his shoulder and arm. He recoiled away from her, snapping his hands to his chest and jerking his shoulder away from her. She dived her hand under his chin, pulling his face to look at hers “Brooklyn where are you hur-” 

Her voice got snagged in her throat “... Oh God... Brooklyn...” 

An impact welt on his left cheek had split his skin open, a trail of blood oozed down his profile. That wasn’t what mortified her though... it was his eyes. Shrunken pupils quaked in the boy’s young eyes, looking through her as if she wasn’t there. His usually beautiful white hair laid in strands over his face, turning pink with the blood that now began dripping off his chin. 

An animalistic rage akin to a mother bear blistered through Elisa’s veins as she heard Goliath take a step forward behind them. She whirled around, her clenched teeth not the least bit phased when she saw an equally horrified expression plastered over Goliath’s sunken features. 

His hands didn’t seem to even have the strength to raise themselves above his belt line. The usually stoic behemoth’s bottom lip quivered as his jaw hung slack “B-Brooklyn... I... I didn’t... Oh Dragon...”  

Elisa’s hand dove into her jacket out of instinct, her other hand sweeping out to the side to shield the shivering child “NOT. ONE. MORE. STEP.” she hissed in a way that would’ve made even Thailog’s skin crawl. 

It had all happened so fast. One moment Brooklyn had been weakly battering his exhausted hands against his father’s chest, while Goliath seemed to be staring at the ground and completely unaware of his surroundings. The next, Goliath’s eyes snapped into their full glowing white and his wings and fists had swung out with all their force. Now, they were completely dark and bore horrified witness to the aftermath. 

Every hair on her body standing up, she heard Brooklyn scramble behind her, the shrill sound of splitting concrete shrieking through the air. 

“Brooklyn! Wait!” 

The red gargoyle had skittered to his claws and sprinted down the street on all fours. Not a word, not even a look back. Where he had fallen, his claws had sliced into the cement like it was Styrofoam... multiple, small puddles of blood staining the ground. 

“N-No! Brooklyn! I-I didn’t!’ she heard Goliath hoarsely beg. She shot him a death glare that commanded ‘Don’t you DARE chase him’. In the split second it took for her to turn her head back around, the fleeing Brooklyn was already disappearing into the darkness. 

Goliath snapped his wings out, howling a plea “BROOKLYN!!!!!!!”  

Chapter Text

Brooklyn's claws and talons stabbed into the brick face of a nameless skyscraper, his quivering limbs scrambling up to the roof so frantically that he was sending chunks of mortar down to the street below. He didn’t know where he was or where he was going; honestly, he had no idea how he even got here. Goliath had cast him out and struck him with a purpose; where was even supposed to go?  

His wings wobbled in the wind as he clumsily leapt from the roof, his hands grasping at dead space “W-Whoa.” he stuttered out audibly, the ground suddenly seemed MUCH farther below than before. He had to cover his eyes and steady his breathing just to keep his churning stomach from purging “E-easy, easy-” he commanded “Calm down. Just c-calm down. You have to come up with a plan. Think of something.”  

He felt very numb all over, and everything in front of him looked fake, TV-like, as if Coldsteel had taken control of him yet again. He couldn’t feel the coarseness of buildings he had climbed; he couldn’t feel the wind whipping his hair back, and the bustle of the City That Never Sleeps seemed less than white noise.  

He couldn’t feel anything  

What happened just... just didn’t happen. He would never get into a fight with Goliath, Brooklyn would never have said such things about Angela, Goliath would have NEVER struck him! It just... It just couldn’t happen! It would never happen! Just a fever dream he was having during stone sleep!  

Goliath’s voice rang in his ears on repeat “Do you think the ‘trends’ in your shortcomings have gone unnoticed?”   

Brooklyn slapped his hands over his ears  

“Do you honestly believe I don’t know of what you tried to do?”   

“Shut up.” he half commanded, half begged his thoughts  

“YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF ANYONE’S LOVE!”    

“PLEASE.” he croaked.  

One sentence hit him like a bolt of lightning  

“...She told me.”  

“Oh Dragon.... ANGELA.” his revelation coming all too late “...Lexington. Broadway!”  

Numbness was replaced with suffocating guilt. The bleeding gargoyle snapped a hard left turn at the next intersection and hoped sheer willpower would carry him faster. Castle Wyvern: all divine powers above, let him get there before Goliath did!  

********************  

Broadway laughed heartily as he clanked the two empty mugs into the kitchen sink “I don’t know! I mean... did ALL people talk like that when we were asleep? Or like, are all new writers just kooks?”  

Angela interlocked her fingers beneath her chin, resting her elbows upon the island “Well you don’t get remembered by doing what everyone else does.” she giggled “And they’re rebuilding a perfect replica of Globe Theatre in London in honor of him, from what I understand it will be open within a year.”  

Angela had gotten a more than welcomed surprise earlier in the form of Broadway dropping into the library with two mugs of tea, eager for another impromptu lesson of reading from his now personal tutor... at least, that was his voiced intention. Still! Who was she to say no to having a large, cuddle-worthy reading buddy?  

“Though if the great Shakespeare’s language REALLY irks you so, perhaps we can put a pin in our reading and catch the rest of the film version with Hudson.” she said, standing up from her stool to exit the room. With a sly grin she hummed “I remember him mentioning he saw in the TV guide Macbeth would be on tonight.”  

She had to work hard to suppress a laugh when she saw Broadway instantly spin around from his dishwashing to yelp out a sharp “NO!”  

With an embarrassing silence hanging in the air, Broadway’s abnormally muscular arm scratched the back of his neck “I-I mean... You’re helping me make such strides in my reading, I’d hate to lose the hot streak I’m on! I need to outpace Hudson at least on SOMETHING!” he forced a laugh.  

Angela hadn’t really left her seat before she cupped her chin with an open palm “So, this is really your first time learning to read?” she said inquisitively, on familiar enough terms with him for it not to be a touchy subject.  

“Oh yeah, Hudson and I both.” he nodded as he dried out one of the mugs “To be honest, reading was in the minority back in Castle Wyvern. Almost NONE of the humans could read and to be honest our clan wasn’t much better. Goliath read cause well, leadership. Lexington was always the smart one, so he picked up reading like you pick up gliding and Brooklyn? Well... anything Goliath did, Brooklyn almost always tried to copy.”  

That caught her attention “Oh~?”  

“Ho-ho-oooooh yeah!” Broadway beamed with a fond grin “Brooklyn was Goliath’s shadow ever since he could walk, he followed him everywhere; castle patrols, banquets, hunts. He followed him into the library so much that Goliath caved and taught him to read and write both English AND Gaelic...!” he scratched his chin “though I guess it’s ‘Ancient Gaelic’ now...”  

She couldn’t help but envision the idea of the swaggering Brooklyn as a hatchling timidly peaking his head over Goliath’s massive shoulder “How sweet! I should have guessed that he had a good connection with my father.” too lost in thought to catch the slight tensing of Broadway’s jaw when she said, ‘HER father’.  

Broadway cleared his throat “And Lexington took it even a step further, he became fluent in English, Gaelic, AND Latin before he was 30!” he praised “Brooklyn’s been livid and trying to catch up ever since.”  

Angela pressed her fingertips against her cheeks “So did you ever follow Goliath into the library to try and get a lesson too~?”  

“Me? Oh no, not really.” he waved it off “I don’t know why, but I always found myself taking after Hudson really; body shape aside, I always felt even more of a connection with him. He was never much of a reader... and with Brooklyn’s ability to retell a story better than I could ever read one, I never really saw much of a need.” he admitted.  

“But you’re such a fantastic cook!” she praised “I would imagine you’d need at least ONE or two cookbooks to learn from!”  

Standing up a little straighter, Broadway proudly flicked his thumb against his nostrils “Ha! When you have a nose like mine, you learn a lot through trial and error! And besides-” he knocked a fist against the side of his noggin “A skull this thick doesn’t let a single thing out, once I got a recipe memorized, it goes nowhere!”  

Broadway flicked open one of the cabinets and slapped his hand onto a shelf holding enough flour to feed a small tribe “Aaaaaand, if I do make a mistake, Xanatos Enterprises keeps the building stocked with enough ingredients to have plenty of more attempts.”  

Angela laughed softly and shook her head “I guess you’re just more of a natural at things than you give yourself credit for.” she said sweetly  

Broadway scratched his cheek shyly “I g-guess... Or maybe all I ever really needed was a good teacher.”  

Angela couldn’t keep her body from sending a rush of blood to her ears “O-Oh! Well, it all comes down to having an even better student!”  

Broadway laughed nervously.  

Angela laughed nervously.  

Then came a painfully awkward silence, both gargoyles looking down at the floor and away from each other while unable to find a sentence.  

That was until  

**KR-ACK! SNAP! **  

Forgetting his own strength and grip, a flustered Broadway had accidentally ripped the shelf his hand was on straight out of the cabinet.  

“CRUD!” The blue heavyweight barked out as restaurant’s kitchen worth of flour came freefalling to the countertop and tile floor. Angela instinctively dove across the island with hands outstretched to Broadway, but a nuclear plume of white exploded over the two of them.  

Broadway coughed out with a loud “PLEH!” tongue out and eyes blinking. His pupils quickly shrunk in embarrassment “O-Oh jeez! I’m so sorry, Angela! I-” *POMF*  

Angela playfully tossed a hand full of flour into his face “Let your guard down~” she sung devilishly.  

The gargoyle’s mortified expression curled into a competitive grin “Ooooooh you’re payin’ for that one!” he laughed, talons scooping off a fist full of flour.  

They ended up in a flour fight, tossing handfuls of it at each other before Angela slipped backwards and Broadway fell forwards onto her. She squealed in laughter “Ah! Alright! Alright! Uncle! Uncle!” she surrendered “You win! Youuuu win!”  

Broadway laughed in mock triumph “Haha! You shouldn’t have faced me on my home turf!” he barked, grinning ear to ear “....Oh man.... Owen’s gonna have my head when he sees this.” he groaned with a white palm covering his face  

“C’mon I’ll help clean up.” Angela offered with a smile. Cleaning up the ivory white kitchen wasn’t TOO big of a task, fortunately. 10 minutes with a broom and dish rag and it was pretty much scrubbed of evidence, repairing the woodwork? That was another story.  

Broadway frowned as he cupped his chin “Crud...” inspecting the cabinet he had ripped open “Well, Lex is a wizard at all things engineering, hopefully he can do the same with woodworking.”  

She playfully bumped into him “I think you just need to watch your strength, Broadway.” she teased, holding out the dishrag “Come here, you still got a little stuck behind your ear.”  

“Right, you still got a little on your nose too...” he said brushing his thumb across her nose, before his voice trailed off.  

She hadn’t meant to do it, but her other hand had managed to find its way onto his chest. The contact didn’t mean much, but it did when she unconsciously decided to keep it there. It reminded her of the night of the ColdSteel incident... even if she wasn’t the one in control of her body, she still felt everything.  

The feeling of Broadway’s warm body... the thick layers of hard, powerful muscle that he kept hidden beneath a teddy bear’s build. She often found it easy to forget that a heavyweight like him was probably just a few years away from matching or even surpassing her father in terms of raw strength; it was easy to do so when he was always so kind and gentle.  

She dropped the dishrag she held at his ear, her fingertips slowly and cautiously holding his face, her eyes seeming to ask him if it was okay. The equally stunned male could only respond in kind by matching her action by moving his hand from her nose to hold her face just the same.  

The gargoyle who could be a brave, fearless protector one second... yet a shy, jubilant softie who looked after a friend’s kitten the next.  

She leaned forward as she felt Broadway’s massive forearm wrap around her back, both of their eyelids drifting shut as their lips found one another.  

Just as the kitchen door opened.  

**************************** 

“Ugggghhhhh.” Lexington groaned “I mean... did ALL people talk like that when we were asleep? Or like, are all new writers just kooks?”  

“Shh.” Hudson hushed.  

“I thought the books Goliath suggested were dramatic, but THIS is overkill.”  

“SHH.” Hudson repeated.  

Lexington sat upside down on the couch alongside Hudson, the pits of his knees hanging over the headrest while his knuckles swung limply just above the floor. He thought finally sitting down to watch MacBeth by that new writer Shakespeare would be enlightening; yeah, it was enlightening, writers needed to learn how to cut fluff from their stories! Who the heck talked like this??  

He had already thumbed through the NES manual at least a hundred times by now, the black and white booklet now laying on his face as he waited for Brooklyn to finally get back home.  

“Ya know, lad, you don’t HAVE to stay here and watch this with me.” the husky voiced Hudson chuckled, rustling the boy by his knee “I have my fine connoisseur of the arts right here with me already to enjoy the film.” he said, reaching down to scratch Bronx’s ears – said GarDog looked just as ready for death as Lexington was.  

“Oooooh no.” lex snickered, flicking the manual up slightly off his face to flash a grin “We had a deal, Hudson: the second Brooklyn gets back, him and I get the TV for the rest of the night.”  

This only earned a bemused eyeroll from his elder “Aye, you boys and your games. I never understand it.... You LIVE the adventures you live on those things! And if you’re so set on playing your ‘Comma’ Game, why, I can take up Brooklyn’s place until he returns.”  

Lex’s grin instantly vanished into an unamused stare “...........What’s the jump button?”  

Hudson didn’t respond.  

Lex nodded “Uh huh” dropping the booklet back onto his face “And it’s CONTRA, not Comma.”  

Bronx’s feet skittered up with a scratch as he snapped to his feet, barking out happily while his little nub of a tail wagged.  

“Well, lad.” Hudson gestured to the window “Looks like your partner in crime is back.”  

Lex flicked the manual off his face “HA!” rolling backwards onto his feet with renewed spirit as he barely caught the silhouette of a gargoyle in the moonlight.  

His gleeful face suddenly went tense “Wait... where’s Goliath and Elisa?”  

The junior and senior exchanged a glance “Uhhhhh, I’m gonna go check.” Lex trotted out.  

*************** 

Brooklyn’s heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest yet shut down at the same time. What did his clan think of him? Had he just become a covetous, self-serving freak in their eyes?  

All the things he had brushed off before now ate him up from within. Had Angela ASKED Goliath to take him on the missions alone to keep him away from her? Had Hudson, Broadway, and Lexington agreed with him in secret?  

Sure, he could be a little pushy at times, but the clan knew that didn’t define him, right? Angela and the others didn’t think he would actually- that we would ever- NO. Brooklyn shook his head. The reason why Goliath was keeping him away from everyone was just because Goliath and ONLY GOLIATH had a problem with him! It’s not like the whole clan was disgusted in him! All these paranoid thoughts in his head had to be explainable! It’s not like Broadway and Brooklyn were letting a girl come in between their 40 years of brotherhood! It’s not like Lexington was suddenly spending so much time with Alex as a way to avoid him! And Hudson stopping his mentorship to him so suddenly had to have some explanation!  

Brooklyn gagged slightly, thinking he was about to puke from the sheer nausea these revelations were having. He was their second in command! He was a leader they trusted, right? They trusted him! Not just morally but practically!  

Oh who was he kidding!? Brooklyn slapped a hand over his face. How could he let things get this bad? How could he let things go so far?  

If his calm, collected father, Goliath, had been pushed to the point of striking him, then how repulsed by him was everyone else??  

He felt his heart drop into his gut when the lights of Castle Wyvern finally came into view, the distress and nerves only getting worse. He had to make things right, but where did he even begin? How did he talk to? How much time did he have before Goliath showed up? He was no doubt just a few minutes behind him.  

He thought of the terrible words he had just lashed out in anger a few minutes ago  

“THAT BITCH SHOULD HAVE NEVER BEEN BORN!”   

“Angela...” he whispered.  

How could he say something so awful?  

It wasn’t Angela he hated; it was the hole that was left behind. It was Goliath’s absence. It was easy to merge the two. Goliath could have EASILY kept being a father to her as well as to him and his brothers. That was something that she shouldered none of the blame for.  

Brooklyn’s feet stumbled onto the hard stonework of Castle Wyvern.  

Angela. That’s who he would start with.  

He knew he’d find her in the library alone right now. He’d find her and then he’d fall on his knees BEGGING for her forgiveness and confessing what a fool he had been. If he could just earn her forgiveness, he knew her loving nature would have her pick him up and accompany him to face Broadway and Lexington. She’d give him the strength he needed to apologize and reconcile with the brothers that he had so callously neglected... Maybe Goliath would even go easy on him when he returned.  

His legs seemed to forget how to work as he fumbled into the castle’s interior, why did he feel so lightheaded? As he hurried as fast as his unstable stride could carry him to the library, his stomach tied itself into knots. Fear contorted in his stomach; what did she think of him? What could he possibly say? Did he even have the guts to face her?  

Too late to worry now, he was already at his destination all too soon. He slapped a hand onto the door frame and tripped in “ANGELA!” he rasped to no response. The library was empty.  

“Oh no.... no no no no...” he panicked, stepping in and looking in every direction. What if the entire clan was altogether right now? He didn’t think he could handle all four of them after what had happened tonight.  

He caught a whiff of tea in the air. Maybe she would be coming back from the kitchen, maybe all he had to do was wait for her to come to him? No, Goliath would be back any second now; hell, Goliath could be landing right now!  

He didn’t have the luxury of waiting around, he stumbled out of the library, crashing into the stone wall as he tripped over his own two feet. He clutched his head, why did his skull feel like it was splitting in two for the last ten minutes??  

“Angela, just find Angela.” he ordered himself, galloping forward in an unequal stride. Navigating the maze of his refurbished home, he saw the glow of a light underneath and alongside the cracks of the kitchen door... someone was in there. In all honesty, he wouldn’t care if she could tame Goliath’s wrath... he just desperately needed her kind nature, someone to acknowledge he existed.  

His hands came onto the wood door and weakly pushed it open.  

Shock. Denial. Betrayal. Agony. Horror. They all struck him at once.  

"N-No..."

Chapter Text

“Gargoyles, like humans, are communal creatures. Our clans give our lives structure and meaning in a chaotic world. But there are times where every gargoyle finds himself at odds with his clan. How he resolves his trouble and how the clan members aid him in his quest determines whether this cherished bond will heal or be lost forever.”  

-Goliath, Runaways  

*********************

 3:12 AM  

Lexington’s claws clicked across the stone floor in step with his waddled stride “Brooklyn?” 

Something was off. 

Gargoyles returning one ahead of the other wasn’t all that uncommon in the Manhattan clan, especially when Elisa and Goliath found themselves third-wheeled by another gargoyle. Come to think of it, the trio almost never returned the same time Goliath and Hudson did when they had 22 square miles of Manhattan to enjoy. So Brooklyn coming back alone wasn’t that suspect. Honestly, he was probably just coming back after a dull evening while Goliath and Elisa went back to her apartment. 

*Goliath...* That detail stuck. 

No, something was off. 

Lexington’s suspicion didn’t improve much either when he saw the balcony at the end of the hall was sans Brooklyn, and if he hadn’t passed him in the hall... Lex paused slightly in his stride, sniffing the air “Hold on...” *sniff* *sniff* “Uh, Brooklyn?” he called out, louder this time. He promptly decided speeding up to a jog wouldn’t hurt. 

Moonlight bathed him as he hopped out up to the landing balcony “Brook! Hey, where are you, man?” he hollered with a hand cupped before his mouth. No response. He switched directions “Uh, Hudson is boring me to death with Shakespeare, could use a b-”  
 
*PLAP*  

Lex’s froze as he stepped in - he looked down – blood. Thick and still warm. The olive drab Gargoyle let out a semi-audible cry as he recoiled, stumbling backwards and frantically wiping his foot on the ground. He snapped his head up, spine chilled “BROOKLYN?!” He didn’t have Bronx’s nose, but it was unmistakably his sibling’s scent, and it led a sordid procession into the castle.  

A parse trail of blood led a now sprinting Lexington to a wooden door that had been torn off its hinges, complete with Brooklyn’s claw marks on the berth “Brooklyn!? Brooklyn, where are you!?” he yawped. What the heck happened?? Had Brooklyn been attacked? Where were Elisa and Goliath? Were they hurt? Had Brooklyn raced back to call for backup?? 

Lexington’s years of hunting and tracking experience in rural Scotland rushed back to him. The frequency of claw marks carved in the wall for stability paired with the infrequency of blood painted a blatant picture: this wounded beast was in more distress than he was in pain. The dark halls of the medieval castle did little to warn the frantic tracker of when a spot of blood was coming. Now sprinting on all fours, the palms of his hands felt the sickening warmth of another dark puddle. 

Brook couldn’t have just accidentally clipped himself against a fire escape on a tight corner or gotten sliced up on a clothing line, or else he wouldn’t have been stumbling around and clawing up the place!  

His scent led him to the library “BROOK!” no response, not from Brooklyn, not from anybody. He cleared the library in a single bound, scurrying over the backrest of the sofa “ANGELA?” where she had been a few minutes prior, now was empty. He ejected himself from the furniture and scurried back through the door, the scent getting stronger to the point it was sickening; or maybe it was just the drying blood on his hands. 

His mind raced, but tried to rationalize *Okay, if he can get this far into the castle this quickly, then maybe he’s not THAT hurt. I mean, it’s not enough blood for it to be from an artery. Just find him and-*  

Lexington rounded the corner. 

*BA-BUM*  

He heard his pulse throb in his ears. 

His feet and talons refused all orders to stop, and he slipped across the floor into the wall. 

His rookery brother stood frozen in the light of the kitchen door; The pitch-black hallway was contrasted with the haunting white light from industrial bulbs. The cold lighting made the crimson gargoyle’s sunken features look even more jagged. If anything, it was a disturbing iteration of a deer in headlights. 

Brooklyn looked like death. His usually silver mane that his brothers frequently ruffled, much to his complaining, laid flat and tangled over his face from the cold sweat that soaked his entire body. The entire left side of his face was a dark red: blood. A dried layer of it caked all the way back to his jaw from the wind of the flight here, but now a fresh stream had snaked its way down his chest, intermingled with his unkempt hair, and soaked a portion of the navy-blue loincloth he wore. Every haggard breath seemed to make a fresh pulse of it ooze out of his wound. Had he not even realized he was bleeding? 

“No....” Brooklyn choked back a sob, his tremoring voice teetering on the edge of silence “...No...” shakily retreating from the room, somehow unable to tear his mortified eyes away. 

“B-Brooklyn!” Angela’s voice exclaimed from within. 

 "What happened??” Broadway’s followed. 

A prone Lex took a step forward, the edge of light able to illuminate just his face and shoulders. Brooklyn, oblivious of his presence until then, snapped his attention down towards him like a cornered animal. 

Inside the kitchen, Lex saw the last movements of Broadway and Angela breaking what was no doubt the aftermath of a ‘telling’ embrace. He looked back to Brooklyn. The hollow lighting made their second in command’s eyes fall into the shadow of his brow and messed hair. His beak hung slack while his lower jaw quaked, his whole body trembled. 

The youngest rose from all fours to his feet, trying to reach out for Brooklyn “Who did this you?? Where’s Goliath??” Lex plead for an answer. 

Brooklyn flinched and pulled away “I...” he said in a hushed rasp.  

Lex’s blood went cold. As Brookyln turned his shoulders away from the Broadway and Angela to retreat from Lexington, he revealed a massive welt mark on his chest that had already begun to bruise: the outline of a massive fist.  

Broadway and Angela hurried across the tiled floor, but it only triggered a retreating Brooklyn to slip further from the light of the kitchen and into the darkness of the hallway “... I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”  

Brooklyn fell/dove to all fours and fled, knocking his jaw on the floor as his claws found holds in the stonework. “BROOKLYN WAIT!” Lex cried, bounding after him. 

Lex was the fastest in the whole clan, but Brooklyn was sprinting away like his life depended on it; he was halfway down the hall by the time Lex had heard Angela and Broadway even join the pursuit. 

“Don’t run! You’re injured!” Angela pleaded.  

Pleas fell on deaf ears, Brooklyn was on the move and gaining distance with a clear target as they skid around another corner: the outdoors. It didn’t matter if Brooklyn, by some rare possibility, was planning on leading them to Goliath or something, he was in no condition to go airborne!  

Lex just prayed Angela would have the good sense to close the distance midair and tackle him back down to a rooftop, dragon above knew Lex’s wing type nor Broadway’s weight could keep up with the clan’s aerial specialist. 

“Brooklyn, wait! Tell us what’s going on!” Broadway hollered frantically. 

“Where’s my father??” Angela called out. 

Lex’s eyes went wide. Brooklyn threw himself over the balcony, feet still in the air while he hooked his hands into the lip of a parapet “Oh n- PEREGRINE! PEREGRINE! PEREGRINE!”  He screeched three times from habit. 

In a flash of red, Brooklyn launched himself straight down into a dive “NOOOOO!!!!” Lexington screamed bloody murder. Throwing all instinct of self-preservation into the literal wind, Lex followed his brother's mad dive. It hadn’t been enough. All he could do was watch in helpless horror whilst his brother disappeared into the cloud cover that hugged the towering heights of the Eyrie building.  

Plummeting through the stratus, the screeching of wind and feeling of freefall did little to convince him this wasn’t the longest three seconds of his life. Lex broke through the cloud cover to see the amber lighting of the streets below - Brooklyn now a dark shadow racing towards it.  

To the relieved choke of Lexington, a terminal velocity Brooklyn struggled his wings open with barely a dozen stories left. He angled his body and catapulted down the boulevard at what was probably a world record Gargoyle speed. 

Lex, however, made a knee jerk decision. Whether it was from fear or panic, he snapped his wings open to slow himself down, his chiropteran wings couldn’t mimic such a stunt without dislocating every bone in both arms. 

Feet clambering onto a gravel roof, the vastly slower gargoyle could only watch helplessly as his wild kin flew down the New York city streets faster than Elisa’s car at max speed; no way were they catching him like that. 

“BROOKYLN!! LEXINGTON!!” Broadway roared; his white eyes visible through the crowd cover before his body was. 

“Here!” Lexington signaled with an arc of his arms overhead. 

Angela was right behind him in the sky, but Broadway was a near blubbering mess “L-LEX!” he cried, snatching his brother and pinning his brother’s arms to his side “Thank Dragon! You’re okay! Yo- BROOKLYN!” his head snapped side to side “WHERE IS HE??” 

“Still airborne!” Lex said as clearly as possible, raising his hands slightly to try and steady his sibling... despite the fact his own heart raced in his chest “He didn’t hit the ground. He opened his wings in time.”  

Broadway loosened his death grip “W-Where is he? Why did he go Peregrine??” 

“I...” he shook his head fiercely before grimly turning his attention to the canyon of corporate towers “I don’t know. He took the speed and disappeared down the street, he could be half a dozen blocks away by now.” 

The two brothers' eyes turned upwards as Angela came into a speeding landing “What WAS that? I’ve never seen someone glide that fast!” 

“Peregrine Dive.” the males droned in unison, glancing at each other.  

“Uh... we call it a Peregrine Dive.” Lex spoke up “You dive straight down from a cliffside and open your wings at the last second to use the built-up speed to fly faster and further than usual.” 

Broadway took a shaky breath to steady himself “And it’s been BANNED for over a hundred years, Hudson himself made it forbidden back when he was clan leader. It’s too dangerous. You mistime it: you either slam into the cliff’s face at full speed... or you’re going too fast to open your wings at all.” 

Angela glanced at the ground “And that’s you yelle-” 

“Peregrine, peregrine, peregrine. Yeah.” Lex mumbled “Protocol is to shout it three times if someone goes to attempt it. Ya know, try and signal someone’s attention to stop them. It just slipped out....... Broadway, you’re cutting off my circulation now.” 

Broadway’s finally released his brother “Oh - Sorry!” the sweat on both their bodies causing his hands to stick ever so slightly “When you both disappeared below the clouds I... I... I thought for a second you both...” 

Angela’s comforting hand found itself on his shoulder “They didn’t. They’re both okay.” she assured him. 

Lexington blinked “OKAY? Did you just see what I saw?!” he exclaimed. 

“RIGHT! Right!” Angela corrected herself with a frantic shake of her head and palm to brow “I... Oh gosh, where are the others?? My father?? Elisa! Why weren’t they with him??” 

“I mean... they should be okay! Brooklyn would have said something if they weren’t, it’s not like him to run away if someone’s in danger!” Broadway responded to the female “He would’ve led us to them if they were in trouble.” 

Lexington’s jaw hung agape “WHAT!?” he snarled “THAT’S what you’re worried about??” he snapped both open palms in the direction away from Eyrie castle “Not HIM?! I don’t know if you saw what I saw, but his face was spewing blood like a slasher film!”  

His blood. Lex stared in dawning trepidation at his open palms. BROOKLYN’S blood that he had stepped in earlier; It had dried to his hands. Trying to keep his skin from crawling, Lex spun his body back around to face the other two “Brooklyn’s terrified! Whatever happened to him must hav-” 

Lexington fell dead silent. Broadway had stuck his arm out slightly in a reflexive move to shield Angela from his brother’s outburst; she, in turn, squeezed his shoulder slightly as if to signal she was fine. Body language was the one vernacular that was universal to all tongues.  

Lex kept his jaw from tightening but couldn’t prevent his eyes from narrowing “.....What is this?” he asked almost rhetorically. 

The duo seemed to realize their body language. Straightening themselves, they exchanged unsure gawks. 

“Broadway and I...” Angela tried to find the right words. Her expression shifted from uncertainty, a tiny glimmer of happiness sneaking through “Him and I have...” 

Broadway scratched the back of his neck, stress taking a temporary backseat “Y-Yeah... We...” he cautiously extended a hand that Angela fully accepted “I think we’re togethe-” his grin faded into a gawk “Oh No-” 

Lexington didn’t dignify it with an expression “Brooklyn walked in on you two, huh?” he said deadpan “That might explain SOME things.” 

The blue one gaped “You don’t think that had something to do with him running, do you?” 

"Clever deduction, detective," Lexington said tartly as he crossed his arms. "What was your first clue?" 

“I... I didn’t think it would make him that upset though.” Angela rationalized softly. 

*Then you know Brooklyn even less than I thought* Lexington grumbled in his own mind, partly wishing he could finally say it to her face. “Yeah...” Lexington grumbled, wishing the silence alone would serve as enough of a rebuttal. 

Was she REALLY that oblivious? Lexington could barely hold Brooklyn’s attention for the past month; he seemed to always be more in the mood to work out or try to bust open a massive crime ring that would create a good story. VERBALLY he had laid off Angela, but not once did he ever stop trying to get her attention. Everything he did seemed to be a dramatic ploy to impress her, well, that was until he started getting corralled away by Goliat- 

Oh no. 

... Angela wasn’t the only one he had been vying to impress. 

That fist mark on his brother’s chest now plastered itself in his mind... there was only one biped on earth that could leave a mark that sized... why HAD Brooklyn come back before Goliath? 

“So, what do we do?” Broadway broke the silence “He has a head start, but we can probably find him before sunrise.” his unblinking eyes seemed to be extremely interested in his fidgeting hands “...but would seeing us just make him more upset?” 

Angela worriedly shook her head “He could be anywhere by now and sunrise is only a few hours away.”  she pushed a more pressing priority “We can’t find him...But my father. Elisa. They could be in danger!” 

Lexington grimaced. No, they weren’t; Brookyln hadn’t come back because Goliath needed rescuing... he didn’t want to dwell on the theory as to why he thought that. 

“They’re fine.” Lex muttered. 

“But we-” 

“They’re FINE.” 

“Broadway.” Lexington exchanged a knowing glance with Broadway “......Care Package.” 

“Care Package.” the larger gargoyle nodded in fierce agreement. 

*********************

3:20 AM  

“LEXINGTON? Where are ya, lad?” Hudson shouted through the halls, his old bones creaking in protest over moving so fast. 

Hudson’s ears aren’t what they used to be; fortunately, that’s what he had Bronx for. Not three minutes after Lexington had gone to retrieve his rookery sibling, Bronx started whining and butting his hand. A few seconds later, he started barking and tugging him. 

A gargoyle knew to trust his dog... he just wished they could speak! 

Bronx, who had raced ahead earlier, egressed back around the corner to bark urgently “Find anythin’ boy?” he called to the garg-dog – a frantic bark being the confirmation he needed. Hudson rounded the corner and squatted to his knees, not the least bit phased as he dipped his finger into the small puddle of blood Bronx pawed at. 

“Still Brooklyn’s.” He huffed in frustration “No blood from the others. He’s the sole wounded.” he growled, unable to put the pieces together “So if no one else is hurt, then where’ve they gone?” 

He wiped his hand against his weathered belt and looked at an aging gargoyle’s best friend “You’ve done wonderous, Bronx. Have ya found anythin’ of Goliath or Elisa? Any scent of them at all?” 

Bronx batted a forepaw at his nose with a defeated whine. The wise old gargoyle exhaled “No no no, boy. You’ve done a fine job.” he reassured the best he could. Hudson stomped out onto the balcony, clapping both claws onto the edge of the stone wall “Bah... and of all nights for an overcast.” he growled. 

He couldn’t just leave the castle unprotected, neither could he leave the homestead; at least one gargoyle needed to stay behind when someone went missing, lest they return to an empty home. He KNEW he should have been the one to go with Brooklyn and Goliath tonight! Elisa was a fine warrior with incredible talent, but he knew it his gut it was wrong to leave them alone! 

He had raised Goliath since he was an egg and he had also raised BROOKYLN since he was an egg... he could tell when the two males weren’t cooperating. Tensions seemed to be running high between the two, yet neither of them seemed to address it; well, at least they never addressed it with him. He was almost positive about what happened: They made contact with an enemy tonight, Goliath had come up with a battle strategy, Brooklyn saw something that set him off early, Goliath got hit while saving him, and then Brooklyn fled back to the castle to rally support to go rescue a captured Goliath. 

Hudson grit his jaw... a whole fat load of good his years of experience did when he couldn’t see something like this coming. Goliath had been too strict on Brooklyn and the short-tempered Gargoyle had closed himself off, making him an unpredictable variable... he knew that all parenting rights belonged to Goliath, it was not his place to try and step in on his fatherly duties... but still... 

Hudson’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wings gliding through the air and a heavy gargoyle landing on a perch overhead. Bronx barked happily as Hudson turned around. 

“Goliath!” Hudson greeted with a sigh of relief “Yer alright! Ah was getting' worri-” 

Hudson paused “...Lad?” 

*********************  

2:40 AM  

Air and Isolation was poison for a gargoyle’s psyche; the half-hour flight back to the castle gave plenty of time for the tonic to work through Goliath’s system. 

He clenched one palm over his face, shaking his head as he glided through the air. What had he done? He barely remembered anything. He didn’t remember lunging for his second in command, he didn’t remember tearing apart the car that he found ripped to pieces, and above all else, he didn’t remember striking a howling Brooklyn away from him. 

What he DID remember was a bloodied Brooklyn crumpled to the ground and Elisa shielding him with intent to claw. The look of betrayal and agony from his second was something not even Puck could wipe from his memory. Brooklyn was his clan. It was HIS job to protect him. 

...And he had attacked him. 

There was no enemy Goliath could track down for vengeance, no foe he could pour his hate into, nothing he could destroy to ebb his child’s pain. There was but one person Goliath could hate – and he was trapped with him. 

He didn’t protest or defend himself in the slightest when Elisa had verbally eviscerated him. He didn’t brace himself when she shoved him either. Had he seen ANYONE lay a hand on one of his children, he would have done far worse to them.  

He did, however, demur fiercely when Elisa demanded he not to go after him.  

He wanted to chase after Brooklyn, wrap him in his arms and never let him go again. He wanted to tend to the wound he bore sole responsibility for and beg for his pardon; not for just striking him, but for the sheer neglect he had suffered.  

Brooklyn wasn’t perfect, he knew that. He was hot-headed, irrational, quick to violence, and played favorites with his leadership, but what right did he have to criticize him on that? It’s not like he had set any better example recently. 

In his crusade to avoid making the same mistakes he had with Demona, he had made all new ones. He wanted to tell his son the truth, but he couldn’t. He had no idea where he even was, and if he did, Elisa would never allow him within arm's reach. 

Elisa said that, as a cop, she could not let Goliath go anywhere near Brooklyn now. Officer Maza used words like child abuse, neglect, and a dozen other charges. He knew he hadn’t acted like it, but it hurt him to have her think he didn’t care for Brooklyn in the slightest. Rather than go after Brooklyn, Elisa laid out exactly how they were going to move forward from here. 

First, they would return to Castle Wyvern immediately. Goliath would fly, Elisa would drive, she wasn’t in the mood to be carried there. Goliath was not permitted to speak with the clan, ESPECIALLY the boys, unsupervised; if he got back before she did, he would wait on his perch until she arrived. 

Second, if Brooklyn was back at the castle, Elisa would assess his mental state and have him relocated to a safe place. Goliath wasn't sure how he felt about the implication that was made . Once there, Goliath could only see Brooklyn when he was ready and only under either Hudson’s or her own supervision. If Brooklyn wasn’t back yet, they’d send out a search party while Goliath stayed back with her in case he returned. In no circumstances were the two to be alone together. 

Third and finally, Goliath had to speak with Angela and the trio. Whether or not Goliath played favorites was his own business, but if his priorities had changed, he had to be straight with them. Goliath fiercely rebuked the idea Broadway or Lexington were any less important to him; he would speak with them, but not for what Elisa said. Broadway and Lexington were more precious to him than his own life, he would make that fact unquestioned by all! 

Now he was descending on Castle Wyvern and not since Puck’s false vision had he felt such dread returning home. His stomach churned when he heard Hudson so happily greet him from below. 

He merely grunted grimly and squatted on his usually roosting spot “Wait for Elisa...” he rumbled out, half to honor her wishes and half as an excuse to gather his thoughts.  

Fortunately, Elisa had arrived only a few minutes later, though it felt like hours; somehow it still wasn’t enough time for Goliath to think of where to begin. Hudson, however, had plenty of time to worry “Lassie?” he said with barely concealed urgency “What has happened?? Is Brooklyn alright??” 

Elisa looked at Goliath expectantly. He wasted no time leaping from his perch to stand level with his senior “No... He is not.” 

“Where are the others? Did you send for them??” 

Goliath’s eyes widened “...Are they not here?” 

“No! Bronx and I have searched the castle top to bottom, they’ve nowhere to be found. Please lad, what happened? Were yee attacked??”  

Goliath had prepared to face Brooklyn, the younglings, anyone... but the others absent, while locked with the worried yet lost eyes of another parent? Goliath breathed in and breathed out with a strained grunt. Well... he could practice for what he had to tell the others. 

***********************  

3:50 AM  

“Chocolate covered pretzels and marshmallows?” Lexington asked his gliding companions. 

“Check!” Broadway confirmed waving a grocery bag in hand “Sunglasses?” 

“Right here.” Lexington held up a case “Didn’t have much time to shop around, but they’re aviators. The kind he likes.” 

Shopping as a gargoyle was a process. It was a routine of sneaking into a store that had closed for the night, grabbing what you were looking for, and dropping cash at the register. Getting in was the easy part, acquiring the cash to leave? That was tricky. 

Sure, Elisa had given the trio an ‘allowance’ every month so they could go have fun legally... but it was also ransomed behind a stern, 30-minute, finger waving lecture about “the importance of young men not spending money on alcohol or cigarettes and that true warriors didn’t need to use drugs to be powerful.” followed by “the modern 1990s were a dangerous time for the menace of marijuana.”  

All three of them had humbly declined the offer, saying she didn’t really need to spend money on them... but one arm fold and finger tap on the jacket later, they capitulated: No taking anything without paying for it! Xanatos and Fox had generously offered to pay Lexington handsomely for all his caretaking of Alex, but he firmly refused that as well; he was Alex’s guardian, not a babysitter. 

“So, what’s this care package?” Angela inquired. 

“It’s something we like to have on standby.” Broadway piped up “Elisa does it all the time for us; anytime one of us is down in the dumps, she always spoils us with a favorite movie, meal, and a few other goodies. It works wonders!” 

Lex chewed on the inside of his lip. Yeah, except Broadway failed to mention that Brooklyn was too stubborn to ever accept one. It would’ve tarnished his tough-guy image. 

Brooklyn, regrettably, had the emotional availability of a brick-wall; he got it from Goliath. Lex and Broadway had always been able to be open with how they were feeling. Brooklyn, on the other hand, kept everything under lock and key. If something upset him, he’d shut down, fly off somewhere and sulk before coming back just before sunrise to never talk about it again. If something angered him, he’d hold a permanent grudge that he’d refuse to let go: Exhibit A being Demona. 

Put up all the barriers he wanted; Lexington saw right through them. 

The night Maggie had repudiated him with more than a few colorful words was a rough night. It was far from his first time being rejected by a girl; even back in Scotland, he was a hopeless romantic. Maggie had been different though. Between the massacre, the Demona incident, and more than a few other tribulations, the guy had too many losses piling on that he just refused to let out. All it took was one more straw to break the camel's back. 

That night, Lexington managed to catch Brooklyn climbing up into the corner rafters of the clock tower where no one could see him. Once Lex was convinced no one else was in the tower’s main chamber, he snuck up after him... much to his pique. Even when Brooklyn felt Lexington place a hand on his tensing shoulder, he refused to make eye contact. 

All it took was Lexington to hush out “...It’s just me...” for Brooklyn’s glass armor to finally shatter. Lexington held his weeping brother in his arms as he quietly let out everything he had buried away for months. As much as it tore him apart to see Brooklyn in such pain... it warmed him to see him finally let it out to HIM. They sat up there on those cedar beams for an hour, Lexington combing his fingers through Brooklyn’s silken hair as he held him. 

But this time? He had his work cut out for him. 

They were all too old for the dogpile cuddle they’d used to get into way back when they were kids; whenever one of the trio was sad, the other two were never far away. Countless nights, when a raid on the castle had all the young ones be ushered to higher ground or locked in the safety of the rookery, the three of them always found each other. Lexington would latch onto Brooklyn. Broadway would wrap his massive wings around the two of them from behind. Brooklyn would lace his arms around the two of them to hold them all together. 

And like that they’d stay. Brooklyn would stroke Lex’s head tenderly as he told them how Goliath was no doubt socking it to every bad knight and sending them packing. Broadway would rest his large head against them, his massive wings enveloping the three of them in his warmth. Lexington would bury his head into Brooklyn's chest while his short, olive arms found a way to lock the embrace. 

Their breathing would calm, their shivering would cease. In those moments, the world seemed manageable. 

…That was so long ago...  

They weren’t kids anymore. They were warriors a thousand years in the future, now flying across the rooftops of steel towers. 

Broadway spoke up “Brooklyn’s favorite dish is Beef Ragout, so I might need a hand in the kitchen, Angela.” he requested. She instantly accepted. 

Lex peaked into the case, aviator sunglasses “I’ll get the Top Gun VHS and fast forward to the title.”  

Broadway gave Angela context by whispering behind his hand “Brooklyn HATES previews.”   

Top Gun: an action movie about hotshot pilot who was a total ladies' man and was a rock star hero of the skies? Yeah, Lexington could only imagine why Brook adored the film so much. He WAS saving the aviators as one of his Christmas presents, but now was as good as a time as any. 

“I’ll get Hudson to peel his butt out of his recliner so we can push it back and give some room in front of the TV.” Lex suggested “Brooklyn always rocks out to the opening song.” 

Angela perked up “Hey! That’s a thought! Are there any bands he likes playing this week? Maybe we can move around the patrol schedule so he can see them!” 

“Hey yeah! Goliath’s been workin’ him enough the past weeks, I think he’s earned some time off.” Broadway responded jubilantly. 

Angela clenched her eyes shut at the mention of Goliath “Still... I’m worried for my father, if Brooklyn was hurt... and my father wasn’t with him...”  

Broadway placed a hand on her forearm in the air “Goliath is fine, don’t worry. Brooklyn would never leave him behind without first getting help.” 

“Then from what did he get those injuries?” 

“Bird Strike? Hit a clothing line? I mean, we banned Peregrine Dives even more so in New York! Going too fast in the city risks smashing into something at top speed face first!” he slammed a fist into an open palm to emphasize his rationalization “Movin’ that fast would knock you right out”  

“Doesn’t explain why he would run away so upset after coming back to us...” Lexington glowered, forgetting to keep his thoughts in his own head. His scowl would have been less obvious had he not been glaring intensely at the two. 

Angela looked away “I didn’t know if he was still...” she struggled through a dictionary's worth of terms “...pursuing. We were working great together, all of us. I thought that he would be okay with us just being friends.  I was trying to think of the best way to tell him, but it didn’t seem the right time with everything going on. So, I just thought...” she trailed off, guilt soaking every word “I just didn’t think he’d take it so hard.” repeating her earlier statement. 

Lexington’s skin crawled, WAS SHE SERIOUS? For someone who liked to talk about feelings from a soapbox, she sure was dense! Lex himself had gotten over his competitiveness for Angela... well, honestly halfway through the night they tried to court her. Wasn’t his type anyways, WAY too tame. 

But Brooklyn? Lex knew him better than anyone else alive; he adored Angela. He was in love with her, and she couldn’t even see it?? 

Lex wanted to rescind his previous description on Brooklyn; ‘A Hopeless Romantic’ didn’t do him justice. Even back in Scotland, Lex had to bury his face into his hands from the sheer second-hand embarrassment Brooklyn gave him. The guy was HOPELESS. The second the hormones started to kick in, Brooklyn was the first of all the boys to stop sticking worms into girl’s hair and switch to presenting them with flowers... that a human handmaiden would then slap him upside the head for having plucked them from the castle gardens. 

In Lex’s eyes, Brooklyn was the EVERYTHING a female could pray for. He was brave, intelligent, kind- and GENUINE kind, mind you. Broadway was a big softie, but his kindness stemmed from innocence. Angela was ‘nice’ as well... but why wouldn’t she be? She lived that nice, soft, cushy life on Avalon... Watch your entire family get massacred and then be shot at a few hundred times, see how long you keep that loving naivety. 

Brooklyn was a bit of a hot head, but Lexington preferred the term ‘passionate’. He was a natural leader, loyal to a fault, and had a DESPERATE need to protect anyone that needed him; when Broadway went missing the night of the ‘misfire’ incident, he was practically on his knees begging Goliath to let him find Broadway rather than hunt down Elisa’s believed shooter. When Lex had so stupidly jumped right into a trap by The Pack, Brooklyn was the only one who was right there with him. 

Now if he learned to not be so pushy with women, they MIGHT’VE appreciated all those traits. They might have seen how his ivory mane turned a sterling silver in the moonlight. Or how that lean strong body of his looked as he soared... Or how his deep, gravelly could be so comforting when he held you close... 

*******************  

“LEX!” Broadway called out firmly “You home?” 

His little brother’s eyes snapped out of their glazed over empty stare “HUH?” his arms snapping back up to keep himself from slowly descending further. 

“Uh... Castle.” he said simply, pointing a thick finger ahead “Updraft is on the south side tonight I think.” 

“Huh? Oh, uh. Yeah, I got it.” he responded flatly with a thumbs up, dipping his shoulders to try and pick up speed... though it seemed like he was trying to put distance between the two of them. 

Broadway sighed “...Well, that’s cryptic.”  

“Do you think he might be upset about ‘us’ too?” Angela worried. 

“Who, Lex?” he swiped a hand down dismissively “Naaah, I think he’s already known for about a week.” 

“Wait! He has?” 

“Yeah, I mean... I think he at least knew we WERE heading together.” he scratched the back of his neck “He honestly didn’t seem that phased by it! Though now I’m kind of wishing I could go back and take his advice from earlier.” 

“Advice?” 

Broadway sighed again and rubbed the crown of his forehead “...that maybe we shoulda told Brooklyn ASAP; better to hear it from us rather than him find out on his own and...” he made a sweeping gesture with his hands “Something like this happen.” 

Broadway couldn’t deny it, he had been wishing Brooklyn WOULD find out on his own to avoid a super uncomfortable conversation. It would have been easier had he just accepted Angela chose him and dropped it, back to business as usual.  

They were brothers, the bond between them had been forged in the fires of forty years' worth of trials and tribulations! Yet over the past month, he could feel the aggression radiating off the red gargoyle who had literally taken bullets for him. Broadway, unfortunately, had answered in kind; for all intents and purposes, Brooklyn was his rival. Yet now that he finally was lucky enough to have Angela in his arms... all he could think about was one relationship that he had snubbed for another. 

He let someone he knew for a few months come in between someone he loved for a few DECADES. Sure, Brooklyn hadn’t really tossed an olive branch his way either, but it didn’t make him feel less guilty. 

Angela touched his arm “After we’ve found my father, I think you and I need to sit down with Brooklyn. You are the one I’ve chosen, Broadway, I’ve chosen happily.” she said softly “...But I feel we’ve hurt a member of our clan... Or worse, made him feel as if we didn’t care at all.”  

Broadway exhaled “You’re right, you’re right...” he grunted with head hung low “The guy’s always been a little touchy with these things. I feel like he’s owed some kind of talk.” 

The crook of his thumb and index finger rubbed his chin “...But I still wanna know what happened tonight. He may be upset, but it would take more than just you and I getting together to make him run like that.” 

Broadway could only regret all the times he mockingly called Brooklyn “Loverboy” now. Soaring up the height of tower they now called home, he could only think of the friend he had left behind. Goliath had Elisa. Lex had become a third parent to Alex. Hudson had happily taken to the mentor life. He and Angela were now together. So what did that leave Brooklyn? 

Still! He clenched the bag still in hand. THIS was how they were going to reconcile! Whatever happened tonight didn’t matter! He’d put his heart and soul into making a Beef Ragout so good, it’d make a grown man cry! He and Lex would hug it out with their newest commander like they did back in Scotland and EVERYTHING would go back to normal! 

All they needed to do was go back into the rookery and hold him until he got it through his thick head that they valued him. That numbskull their favorite red bro and he was going to know it! 

As Broadway crested the merlons of Castle Wyvern, he could see Lexington frozen in place atop the wall. 

"FATHER!” Angela cried with relief  

*****************  

Lex stood rooted on his perch as Angela dashed for her blood relative “Thank goodness!” 

He had been right, something was off. 

When Angela threw her arms under Goliath’s to hug him, the patriarch of the Wyvern Clan barely moved a muscle. Rather than graciously return the embrace from his favorite child, like always, he instead nonchalantly patted her shoulder. Lexington saw vacancy in Goliath’s gaze, not hostility; okay, that was a good sign. Maybe Brooklyn and Goliath weren’t at odds. Maybe he, Brooklyn, and Elisa had all experienced something horrifying together, and Goliath hadn’t actually- 

As Lex’s vision swept the castle bailey, that wishful thought vaporized. 

Elisa was five paces behind Goliath, a critical and watchful gloom locked from her to him. If Lex didn’t know any better, he’d say she was a proctor about to step in.  

Angela must’ve felt the same tension “Father?” she craned her neck up at him, still not letting go “Is everything alright?” 

An indignant snort caught their attention. 

“I’d be more than obliged to answer that!” a thick Scottish voice snarled. 

The three of them snapped their heads to see Hudson sat on the crenel of the wall opposite them, sword drawn and resting its point in the ground. The old gargoyle’s sneer was laced with scorn, his hand grasping and ungrasping the pommel as if he was still on the fence of using it for what it was made for. 

“Hudson.” Elisa responded sharply. “You agreed.” 

Broadway came up beside Lexington just as Angela was letting go of their clan leader “Agreed to what?” 

The three ‘adults’ of the Manhattan Clan exchanged glances of various expressions to various targets. Goliath’s gaze locked in the direction of himself and Broadway... or was it a thousand meters behind them? Hudson’s contemptuous dagger eyes did all they could to stab his former second in command. Elisa had one hand locked against her hip to match her locked out leg, eyes trained on the two males as if she was prepared to split them up. 

Goliath closed his eyes, exhaling with a growl. He grasped his daughter’s hand once “...Angela, I must speak with them...” before parting from her side. 

Lexington didn’t know what got into him, but he found himself taking a step backwards as Goliath strode forward. The alpha’s steps were slow and heavy, a weight bearing down on him that he did very little to disguise. His leader’s out of character behavior brought him back to the Coldsteel incident, but something told him Puck had nothing to do with it this time. Something had happened between him and Brooklyn. 

Goliath knelt before Lexington and Broadway, catching the two disoriented gargoyles off guard “Lexington... Broadway...” he said solemnly, he placed his hands firmly upon their shoulders and looked both square in the eye in accordance with their names. He griped them tightly before hanging his head “...forgive me.” 

The brothers’ confusion gave way to a silent shock; such an out of character gesture from their clan leader was rarely given, much less imparted unto them. Broadway barely managed to get a half a sentence out of his befuddled lips “Forgive you for wha-” 

“I have wronged you, both of you...” he repented. Their leader’s obsidian hair hung over his shoulders and face as he looked up at them again “In ways that I can never excuse nor defend.” 

************  

Goliath was fluent in four languages and none of them had remotely enough words to express the remorse that suffocated him “Broadway, Lexington. Ever since I have returned to Manhattan, I have neglected the both of you-” 

Broadway quickly shook his head “Wait, w-what? No you haven’t!” 

“YES. I have.” Goliath affirmed “I have called us clan, I have dared to call us family... yet I have ignored that bond! Not once have I taken the time to sit down with either of you to know what you have gone through in my absence.”  

“In my callousness, I have been satisfied with mere...” he closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to find the right words “Field reports! And mission debriefings! such things should not be my only interaction with you!” he barked, less as a confession and more of a criticism of himself “I’ve stopped going on flights with you! I’ve ceased sharing the stories of the great gargoyles of old! I have not even sought you out to learn of what you have endured through the past months! Not as a group, but as individuals." 

Goliath huffed with a raise of his heavy shoulders; it was time he stopped lying to himself “...because I have been pouring all such affection into Angela, neglecting both of you in doing so”. he turned his attention back to his Angela, his flesh and blood gripped the torso of her garments “Angela, you are more precious to me than you could ever fathom.” 

His massive hands moved from the boy’s shoulders to their cheeks, he almost seemed to cling to them “But so are both of YOU!” he proclaimed “You both mean more to me than life itself. Yet I have failed to reaffirm that value to you in so long. Angela is my daughter, but both of you... You are my SONS!” 

The word ‘sons’ reverberated off the castle walls. The two brothers seemed to have their breath taken out of them, Broadway’s eyes even began to glisten. A small glimmer of hope dared to flicker inside Goliath. 

“You are my SONS!” he repeated “I know we haven’t spoken of it, nor said such words out loud.” He grit his teeth “And I have been a fool all for it. I do not plan to claim to be a father in your eyes and I have forfeited such right to claim I have acted like one... but you are my children!” 

His soul quaked as he looked at them both... they had both gotten so big. Broadway, his innocence and compassion was unrivaled since he was but a hatchling; as the other parents had jocularly put it, the only thing bigger than his appetite was his heart. Lexington, he was such a wee thing when he hatched... they had feared he wouldn’t make it. Yet that daring gargoyle never let his stature define him, that genius intellect was always at work, keeping his brothers tame and his clan safe. 

They were becoming such incredible young adults now and he had been missing all of it. His newfound love for Elisa and Angela had taken his attention away from; he had not invested himself in the Trio’s lives and it anchored him in the past. It was an anchor he had created on his own, link by link. While the trio was growing up and growing apart from him, he found their shared past adequate and was unable to recognize how things were changing. 

Only after realizing how close he was to losing them all, did he even realize the anchor was there. 

“I have always taught you that the children belong to the clan... yet ever since I have returned, I have been a hypocritical fool. Not once have I spent time with EITHER of you. Six months away from you and I have done nothing to catch up on the time I have missed.” he growled with a shake of his head. 

“I know I have not always been the parent you deserved or needed, I know I lack the attentiveness and nurturing that was stolen from you one thousand years ago...” he dared to look over his shoulder to Elisa, a second wave of relief washing over him to see her glare had softened greatly “...I am just happy there was another to succeed where I had failed.” 

He looked back at the two, Broadway being on the verge of tears didn’t help Goliath maintain his bearing “Lexington, Broadway...” his voice waivered “...I love you both. You are my children... my sons. I can never ask for your pardon for not telling you that until now... I only beg you to give me a chance to be the father I should have been.”  
 
He looked at the children who had traveled with him across one thousand years and one thousand leagues “I love Angela, but I have forgotten to show my love for all of you as well. You are every bit as invaluable to me as she is, and I am so sorry for having ever made you think otherwise!” he repented “I have acted as if she is my one and only child when I have already felt such an irreplicable bond with you!” he said in long overdue gratitude   

Broadway sniffled behind a quaking jaw, Lexington’s eyes were frozen open. Devil curse him for not telling them this sooner. Goliath swallowed “My sons...Will you let me make amends?” 

The answer came in the form Broadway crashing into Goliath like a meteor, one arm clotheslining Lex from behind to bring the three together “G-GOLIATH!” he cried out, tears finally flowing freely. The patriarch responded by snapping his arms around the two, gulping back a sob of relieved exultation.   

Their bond wasn’t gone, it had merely been lost. They could find it again and repair it together. 

“I swear to do right by both of you” he vowed. It had been far too long since he had actually HELD his boys. He embraced the large form of his ever-growing son, Broadway, and poor little Lexington who had now been sandwiched between the two. Angela stood from a distance, not wanting to spoil the moment; overjoyed hands clasped together in front of her beaming lips. 

As he felt Broadway sink to his knees to hug him tighter, that anchor on him seemed to loosen. He could have held them like that forever.  

He was going to make up for time he had wasted, he was going to take them flying, he was going to see whatever new gadget Lex was building, he was going to tutor Broadway’s reading lessons until his ears fell off. He was going to cherish them as he should have for so long. He was going to make promises and keep them. He was going to love his daughter AND his sons. 

“...Goliath...?” Lex’s voice droned out, lacking all the passion of Broadway’s 

Goliath loosened his bearhug (although only barely) to let the poor lad have some freedom to speak. Goliath’s warm and relieved smile faded when he saw Lexington’s expression. 

“...Where’s Brooklyn?” 

Goosebumps raced across Goliath’s flesh  

Lex stared a hole through him, his arms were at his side. He had not joined in the embrace by choice, Broadway had just pulled him in with him. Aporetic and dry, he repeated “...Where’s Brooklyn, Goliath?” like he already knew. 

And like that, the warmness in Goliath’s chest was snatched away. 

***********************  

Lexington stared blankly at Goliath. The silence was so intense, you could’ve heard a pin drop on the opposite side of the castle 

Goliath having an apparent epiphany? After over a month of fawning over “his beloved child” without so much of a glance their way? What, did he suddenly feel a great awakening in the past five hours by pure luck?  

Lexington’s jaw tightened. The weeks of tension between their two leaders, A bloodied Brooklyn stumbling through the halls of Castle Wyvern, his best friend fleeing from their home with sobs of remorse, Goliath down on his knees and begging for forgiveness while Hudson looked fit to hang him from the rafters? It all made sense now 

************************  

Goliath felt ill. 

“Where is he, Goliath?” Lexington asked. 

Goliath had no intention of concealing what he did... but seeing his words had no effect on Lexington at all? 

“He’s...” he held them tightly, wings still cocooning them “...He’s yet another one I have wronged. Tonight, he confronted me about how poorly I had been treating the three of you... I handled it like an injudicious brute. We quarreled...”  

“BAH!” Hudson barked out “Is THAT what ye call it, lad?” standing up. 

“HUDSON.” Elisa repeated his name... seeming to almost be on Goliath's side now. 

When Goliath had told Hudson everything, just before the younglings landed, he was far from understanding; Elisa had to throw herself in front of the old gargoyle just to keep him from swiping a talon. They had to put rules and requirements in place just to keep him from leaping off to find Brooklyn himself! 

“I’m lettin’ him handle it, lass! I’m lettin’ him handle it.” Hudson snorted out defensively, as he agreed to do “But HE agreed to tell them everything, nothin’ excluded!”  

Goliath’s blood chilled as he heard his daughter finally speak up in dawning realization “...father?” 

“Goliath?” Broadway echoed, head untucking itself from beneath his chin. 

Goliath closed his eyes and clenched his jaws. How could he even explain it? He had to tell them before someone else did; perception was reality, if he looked like he was avoiding the truth, they’d never forgive him... but even still, it was impossible “...I hurt him...” he confessed “Too many things were said, things I didn’t mean. We fought one another.” 

“Fought one another? I don’t see a scratch on you, lad.” A sardonic Hudson observed. 

Goliath stiffened “That is because I was the one who started it... I am the one who struck first. I let his words seep too deep in and-” 

Lexington pushed away. Goliath reflexively tried to hold onto him. 

“What did you do?” Lexington pried 

Goliath could taste the bitterness coming from his youngest “I let the words seep in too deep.” he repeated, ashamed “I... Lexington, I am so sorry.” 

Lexington shoved his shoulders out of both Broadway and Goliath’s embrace, the seal of the patriarch’s wings was broken. One glimpse of the boiling anger in the imp’s eyes almost broke Goliath... what he did next, however, did. Lexington snapped his hands open to Goliath “WHAT. DID YOU DO TO HIM?” showcasing to him the evidence of his crime. 

Dried blood caked the inside of all four fingers down to the base of his palms. WHAT?? Brooklyn was here in the castle? He got here first?? 

Goliath quickly reached a hand out for the little one’s palms, but Lex snapped them away “WHAT DID YOU DO!?” he now demanded, his eyes one wrong word away from glowing full white “My brother’s blood is on my hands! We all tried to help him, but he was so frantic at the sight of us, he went Peregrine!” 

Goliath’s as well as Hudson’s eyes snapped open “WHAT!?” the elders shouted in unison.  

“Where do you THINK we were!?” he barked at the two “He took one look at us, looking like death, and ran! Before we could even find out WHAT he was apologizing for, he threw himself off the balcony! He waited so long to open his wings I thought he was trying to-” A lump in Lexington’s voice silenced him. 

“Lexington, where did he-” Goliath’s words faltered as he felt now even Broadway wriggle out of his grasp, his face more laced with disbelief rather than Lexington’s knowing judgement.  

"STOP DODGING THE QUESTION! WHAT HAPPENED!?” the smallest member of the Manhattan Clan screamed to the largest “TELL US!” 

Goliath looked back and forth between the two, the peace they made mere moments ago slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.  

“I attacked him!” Goliath found himself blurting out “Our mission had failed and we let our emotions overtake our judgement. Brooklyn said he wished Angela had never been born and it sent me into a frenzy. We fought and Brooklyn refused to yield... I...” one hand gripped his temple as if he craved recompence “...I didn’t hold back.” 

He couldn’t reveal that he saw Demona instead of Brookyln. When he put all he had into that final blow, all he saw was that vile demoness in his second’s place. He didn’t know if that made it better or worse. 

“He fled. I wanted to apologize, but Elisa was rightfully untrusting of me to chase after him.” His other hand came up to reach out for the child who he knew had every right to be angry with him “I am so sorry you had to see w-” 

Lexington slapped Goliath’s hand, hard and talons out.  

“Don’t touch me!” 

Goliath’s fingers splayed, too shocked to even hiss out. His look of disbelief was shared by even Hudson. Lexington snapped “So Brooklyn spoke out against your favorite, and you just split his face open!?” 

“NO!” Goliath barked. Had he not heard a word he had just said?? 

“YEAH!” Lexington shot back “And wipe that self-pity off your face! I’ve been biting my tongue for weeks because I didn’t want to drag Broadway and Brooklyn into it. But now that you’ve already decided to beat your most loyal of lieutenants, I can say what I SHOULD’VE said weeks ago!” 

“Lexington, what I did was wrong! But it wasn’t-” 

“SHUT UP!” Lexington ordered; eyes fully white and tiny fists clenched “It’s YOUR turn to listen! You wound our best friend and think everything is going to work itself out after an apology?? You honestly think you even KNOW what you’ve put the three of us through?” 

“You children? Our father? You honestly think you can even fantasize of that anymore?? You look down on us so much that you think you can even refer to us as children anymore?” he jeered through frenzied laughs “I don’t know what delusion you’ve been living in but- Oh wait I DO!” He speared a finger at Angela “It’s HER delusion.” 

“Oh whoops! I said something BAD about Angela!” Lexington threw his hands up in fake surrender “Better get your licks in now, Goliath!” 

Goliath didn’t say a word in response. He had let the argument with Brookyln get out of control and the results had been disastrous. This time, he steadied himself and let Lex scream; he needed to let him get it all out of his system. ALL of it. 

Broadway’s massive blue hand quickly came to his brother’s shoulder “Lex, enough.” he said sharply (though with very little defense for Goliath), Angela quickly joined to try and break the two apart; Lex merely shoved them away. 

“You don’t just like her because she’s biologically your kid, you like her because she’s EASY, don’t you? She’s always big, happy smiles and glass-is-half-full, isn’t she? Breathes a bit of life into our dreary clan that’s slowly on its way to extinction!”  

“You clearly faun your attention over the one who's the happiest” Lexington snapped his head in her direction, talking to her now “Yeah! I imagine a cushy, sheltered life in Avalon can do that to someone! A nice castle that’s never attacked, no getting called a monster by the very people you protect, and NO mass genocide where you stand among the gravel that was once your brothers and sisters! Your mothers and fathers!” he spat. 

“I don’t know what delusion you’re living in Goliath, but the three of us aren’t kids anymore! SHE sure is, she hasn’t HAD to grow up yet! But the rest of us had no choice! You ordered us down into the rookery one night...” he grit his teeth, taking a haggard breath before continuing his assault “...And we came up the next night to see EVERYONE we knew and loved slaughtered without even getting a chance to say goodbye. But HEY! Everyone YOU played favorites made it out scott-free! Your mentor! Your lover! AND your kid! LUCKY YOU!” 

Lex snapped his arms open “Next thing we know, we’re pulled into a fight to get revenge for a slaughter YOU failed to stop! Then we’re catapulted a millennium into the future and here we are now!” he boisterously celebrated with hands in the air, his words beginning to stumble over one another “Now we’re hiding from an entire city filled with people trying to kill us every other night!" 

Lex snapped his arms down and jabbed a thumb into his chest, eyes now every bit frantic as Brooklyn’s had been two hours before “Yet, somehow, we got along just FINE when you left! We missed you at first... but... but... The four of us were HAPPIER than we are now!” 

Goliath felt like he had just been stabbed 

“We got into a new way of living! Brooklyn stepped up and lead us! I become a stronger fighter! Broadway became our moral compass! We became a stronger team than ever! We were closer in the past months than we've been in years! We were HAPPY!” he heaved and looked down “...Sometimes I woke up from stone sleep expecting us to be back in Scotland, like we were back to the way the three of us once were...” 

Hudson had joined Broadway and Angela, he came up to hush the little youngling’s rant. All snarls had disappeared from his wrinkled face; with sword sheathed, he tried to steady him with a hand on his shoulder “Lad...” he consoled softly “You still are... you-” 

Lexington didn’t skip a beat “And then YOU came back! It wasn’t the Goliath WE knew! It was one that looked to us as troops, not family! And I’d be okay with that! We AREN’T your kids anymore! We haven’t been in a long time! Why? Cause our childhoods were STOLEN from us!” he howled “SHE got hers! The rest of us had to grow up!” 

Sure, biologically they were all still teenagers. They had only participated in castle defenses for only about three years prior to the great stone sleep. But that didn’t change the fact that they had taken responsibilities FAR beyond their age! Brooklyn held the record for the youngest Second in Command by well over a decade. The three of them faced life and death situations no gargoyle their age ever had. Age be damned, they had more experience than most gargoyle adults! 

He wiped his nose “And I could stomach that... I could ACCEPT this apology for all of it! But you’re so SELF RIGHTEOUS! To the point it makes me sick! Always standing over us! Always looking down on us like we’re trainees and children who need to be guided! Like we couldn’t hold out forever without the GREAT Goliath to lead us! Well, I got news for you: we got along just fine without you! Then you just had to come back and ruin it! You had to rip open a scar that had healed and then you filled it with salt!” 

Lexington’s face contorted in a vicious duel of insulted fury against devastated yearning. His left hand presented an imaginary visual aid “So you’re either neglecting us by being a father who thinks he can leave us to our own devices.” his right hand came up to match his other “Or you’re insulting us by treating us like children incapable of functioning on our own!” 

“WHICH IS IT!?” 

Goliath’s jaw hung agape. They were different . Brookyln’s and Lexington’s reasons for anger weren’t the same. 

Brooklyn hated him for neglecting their father/son bond by discarding him in favor of Angela. Lexington, on the other hand, hated him for the same reasons – but ALSO for doubting them as warriors and ruining the new clan dynamic they had grown accustomed to under Brooklyn’s leadership. 

Lexington had always been fiercely vocal of his own accomplishments, being the smallest breed of gargoyles forced him to earn every ounce of respect he had. Goliath wanted to kick himself, his speech and confession no doubt only made Lexington feel even more patronized! Goliath’s eyes darted to Broadway for a split second; he wasn’t even looking at him. If Brooklyn and Lexington had different reasons for this wedge, did that mean Broadway had a THIRD list of reasons too? 

One son hated him for ignoring him. One son hated him for insulting him. One son hated him for reasons he didn’t yet know. One thing was certainly shared by them though: ALL of them felt unloved by him. 

Goliath didn’t try to hide it “It’s both!” 

Lexington, and the others for that matter, weren’t expecting that kind of response, evidenced by Lexington actually falling silent. 

 
“You are right, Lexington... You are right... Not only have I neglected our bond as family... but I have slandered your ability as warriors!” he said in penance, openly accepting his fault “You three are an incredible fighting team, I’ve always known that... and I have-” 

“-have forgotten it, right?” Broadway whispered, hands hanging limply and gaze downturned “Add it to the list...” far more hurt than anger in his voice. 

Lexington’s anger vanished for a fleeting moment. His eyes blinked free their white glow, his head quickly turning towards his larger brother. A pair of olive hands promptly found their way onto the massive blue ones to grasp them comfortingly.  

Goliath took a step forward “Broadway...” he said in a form far too hushed. Broadway, innocent Broadway. How was the largest of his entire generation was also the gentlest of them all?  

Lexington’s growling snarl returned as Goliath tried to close the distance; he respected the warrior before him and halted just out of arms reach... much to the surprise and silent approval of Hudson just in the corner of his eye. 

“Broadway... there are so many ways I have wronged the three of you... I do not know where to even begin. But I swear to you, BOTH of you. I will make it right.” he lowered himself to one knee “You three are-” 

“NO. You don’t GET that.” Lexington snarled. 

“Lexington, my eyes have been opened-” 

Goliath actually flinched. The blistering hate on Lexington’s face would turn Demona to stone. 

“AND IT TOOK YOU SPLITTING BROOKLYN’S FACE OPEN TO REALIZE THAT!” he screeched. 

Broadway seemed to flinch, shutting his eyes and gripping Lexington’s hands tighter. 

“AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO HIM?? You can’t back pedal your way out of this one!” Lex shot, eyes starting to water as the touch of his brother brought him down from his fiery rage and into the cinders of what was now this charred reality “You had your chance! HUNDREDS of chances to fix this! You could’ve come to talk to us, but you didn’t! It took Brooklyn standing up to you to get you to wake up! And LOOK where that got him!” 

The anchor around Goliath felt tighter than ever, watching his two sons grasp each other from strength and security... from HIM? He felt so sick, he mentally had to keep himself from vomiting. The brothers could forgive many things, maybe even Goliath’s behavior... but raising a hand against any of them? 

That was unforgivable.  

The flesh on Lexington’s chin cratered, he was ready to breakdown “...Y-You... You didn’t SEE Brooklyn’s face! WE did... and you did it to him.” he heaved “YOU did it to him, not by hitting him, but by everything else. Had you come on your own, maybe things would’ve been different; that door’s closed now.” 

“Brooklyn and Broadway may forgive you for attacking him. But me?” Lexington let go of Broadway’s hands, standing eye to eye with the kneeling leader. He choked back a sob “You and me? This father and son fantasy?” his flattened hand slashed his throat “We’re DONE.” 

All blood left Goliath’s face. 

“You’ll be my clan leader and nothing else; so don’t try to PRETEND we’re anything more.” 

Lexington’s furrowed brow was canopy to what seemed to be a battle of a thousand different opinions in his eyes. They shook, they doubted, they seemed to even regret... but it didn’t matter, there was one thing all his thoughts held in accord: they were in PAIN. Senior and Junior, the bridge between them now a blistering inferno, locked eyes for what seemed an eternity. 

“Now if you don’t mind... my ACTUAL clan leader needs us.” Lex lamented, turning tail and slinking away with as much poise as he could muster.  

An amethyst hand extended itself for a final time. Powerful talons that could shred cars like tinfoil now felt so powerless as they were forbidden from grabbing one of the most important things left in their life. Goliath raked his mind for something to say, anything to say; he tried to think of some magic phrase that could somehow fix all of this, something that could let Lexington how desperately he wished he could take it all back. 

But he couldn’t. What was done was done. He retracted his hand, letting Lexington go. He couldn’t fix all this in one night... but he WOULD fix it, somehow. Their bond was too strong for it to just be severed with a single dispute!  

His fingers curled into a clenched fist that he pressed into his lips, wings folded themselves with dignity over his broad shoulders and he rose to his feet. A clan mate had made their decision, and he would accept it with decorum. They needed time before they tried to reconcile, time he was willing to give them. 

Hudson clasped a hand onto Lexington’s shoulder as he went to the balcony, giving him a parting look of reluctant understanding.  

Goliath would earn his child’s trust back.  

Up and over Lexington went, wings snapping open to catch the wing. He disappeared over the edge. 

...He had to...  

***********************  

3:50 AM  

Wind ripped through his hair.  

His body’s previous pangs of sweltering pain had been forced into silence. 

The heart rate that had been pumping blood to his open wound eventually gave up as it began to scab. 

Brooklyn was just numb. 

A peregrine dive was dangerous at 300 feet, a dive at 500 feet was suicide. 2,000 feet from the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere? Brooklyn would be lying if he hadn’t felt the call of the void when he went up and over the balcony. 

Catching the wind nearly dislocated both of his wings, probably tore a few tendons as well. Not that he felt what was no doubt searing pain, though. It was just more noise in the white hum that enveloped all his senses. 

He didn’t feel real in that moment. Nothing felt real. None of it. Everything looked fake to him, like he was playing a video game through a grainy TV... a video game where every bad decision had been made for him, leaving him in the worst possible ending. He didn’t even have the cognition to fly on his own, the speed of his initial fall from the castle (How pathetically ironic was that? Laugh it up Puck, wherever you are) was what forced him forward. Arms hung limply beneath him, it was only because of the cutting wind that they had forced to be streamline. 

How long had he been flying? An hour? A few minutes? All night? Brooklyn moved like a drowned animal being sucked along by a current, only gliding because he had no reason to stop... at first he wanted to put as much distance between him and the castle, but now he did it because he was too empty to do anything else. 

That luxury of mindlessness ran short, he was running out of altitude. He had to be miles from home, considering the apartments he fell to were as dark, hollow, and abandoned as he felt. His brain didn’t turn on again until he had no choice but to flap his wings for a landing and his feet drop to the roof of a condemned building.  

He stood there. Alone in the dark. Hearing silence for the first time all night. There was a morbid peace to it all, being alone. He stayed there for an immeasurable time, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing. 

Then, he felt everything. 

Shock. Fury. Devastation. Betrayal. Rejection. HATE. His hands quaked, his breathing quickened, his slack jaw clenched its teeth to the point they grinded together. Hate boiled his still blood until he could hear it rush back into his ears. A stomping foot cratered the roof. He screamed. 

“FUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!!!!!”  

His other foot swung forward, kicking a rooftop generator clean from steel bolts. Electric sparks snapped in the darkness; shrieking metal screamed out.  

Brooklyn let it out. Every piece of machinery on the roof was torn to scrap metal. The empty water tower on the roof had its stilts ripped out one after the other, a screaming gargoyle tearing the side of it apart just before it was sent plummeting to the street below with an ear-splitting boom. 

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUCK!!!!!”  

What had once been the roof of someone’s home now became a sacrificial tribute to the rage he didn’t even know he had. Everything he saw was something to hurt, to punish, to make him feel how he felt! When every generator and HVAC had been destroyed, he took to ripping the service staircases out of their supports, and when those ran dry, he settled for the brick wall. His fists bloodied themselves as he sunk every ounce of pain he had into his knuckles and gave it to the masonry, demanding they take it from him! 

Dust, clay, and mortar; they all spewed into the air in a cloud. He clawed at the wall, he ripped off chunks he couldn’t hold, he rammed every limb into every face of structure that dared be whole. He screamed until blood vessels in his eyes burst, he screamed until his voice fell silent, he screamed until his head ached with sound. Was he screaming in his normal voice? Was he roaring in his gargoyle shriek? He didn't even know anymore! 

He snapped his head back and forth, chest heaving with exertion. Had he run out? NO! He wasn’t done yet! He was nowhere near done yet! He stumbled forward, seeing red. There had to be something else to destroy! Something else to claim as an enemy! Something else to HURT! Something to pull apart piece by piece and yank out everything until they had some semblance of an idea of what he was feeling! 

Brooklyn’s talons snaked into his hair, clutching and tugging fistfuls of it as he collapsed to his knees. He didn’t feel like he was watching himself in an out of body experience anymore. This was his reality. His shit awful reality. 

*Huff* *Huff* *Huff* “.................WHY!?!?!?!”  

What had he done!? What had he done to deserve this!? 

Not Goliath! Not Angela! EVERYTHING! 

Had some holy divine being made him the embodiment of a Christian faith Demon to mock him?? All his life, it was always HIM! Not just his entire family, but nearly his entire race had been genocide! Every mother who loved him, every father who raised him, every sister who encouraged him, every brother who pushed him. They were all nothing but dust and gravel now. They were stories from one thousand years ago that no one could have anymore! 

When the world decided it needed its whipping boy, Brooklyn was its favorite bitch! When the Coldsteel incident happened, everyone came out the other side just dandy! Goliath got a brother back. Coldfire and Coldstone got brand new bodies. Lexington got to feel the bond with Alex that had now turned them into surrogate father and son. And Broadway and Angela??? Well, they got to go out and play LOVEBIRDS for the entire night! HIM??? 

Brooklyn retched. He had been violated! Violated in ways that still made him tremble when he was alone! He remembered in perfect detail the vile sensation of Coldsteel slithering into his body, his fingers and black soul slipping into his every limb and organ to puppeteer him from within. He was trapped in his own body, trapped in a literal HELL as his free will was raped. That night had been worse than the massacre, unable to do anything but be terrified at the idea of this being the rest of his conscious existence: trapped inside his own flesh... unable to scream while his body was conducted and desecrated by someone so depraved! 

Why was it him? Why was it always HIM!? 

Every attempt to do something RIGHT always blew up in his face! All it did was leave him alone! His attempt to free Goliath’s mind, while still weighed with the grief of his slain family, ended up making him stupid enough to trust DEMONA! His attempt to save Maggie ended up being a humiliating failure that not only broke his heart but made him a fool in front of his entire family! His most RECENT attempts (desperate measures more like it) to get Angela to even acknowledge him had backfired so spectacularly that Goliath had all but disowned him! 

Everyone else had someone, HE DIDN’T! Goliath had Elisa... Yeah... after his LAST bitch ended up causing the destruction of his clan! Hudson had already enjoyed a full mating AND children with his beloved, before she died of natural causes after a long and happy life! Lexington had found the joys of parenting when he came across Alex, raising him with every bit of adoration and care as his own biological parents! YEAH, TAKE SOME LESSONS FROM HIM , GOLIATH! And Broadway... 

Brooklyn’s head snapped back and forth again, praying he had at least one more HVAC to make burst into flames. 

That BASTARD! That fat fuck who always mocked him as “Loverboy” really took the moral high ground AFTER moving in on someone he clearly wanted?? What did Broadway have that he didn’t?? He was smarter, he was faster, he was.... HE WAS BETTER! What!? Was having his own father survive the massacre not good enough for him? 

Yeah! He knew Hudson was Broadway’s biological father! It was the elephant in the room no one acknowledged! 

Everyone had someone! Some of them even had MULTIPLE someones! HIM?! The outcast, the guy who was meant to do Goliath’s job while he went off to run around with Elisa or go give all his parental love to Angela rather than spend time... you know... LEADING THEM!? 

He tried to stave off the heartache and anguish that was washing over him, trying to bury it beneath more rage and anger... but it was impossible. He didn’t HATE anyone, not even Broadway for taking Angela... But it just hurt so much less to give into anger than it was to face the hopelessness of his now hollowed out heart.  

He hugged his sides, crumbling to the ground as he opened his mouth. A scream of bitter despair and a roar of unyielding rage battled each other to be heard... in the end, no sound came out at all. 

Goliath lectured him constantly on how much the clan needed him... But didn’t they know how much he needed them too?? 

One shaky hand came up to hold his wounded face, his heart rate had been so insane earlier, he had no doubt been dripping blood like crazy all over the castle floor. It had finally gotten enough air to seal itself off, but the stinging sensation was still there. Goliath had struck him and bellowed that he was unworthy of his love... Damn it all... 

He had left the entire clan behind at the castle. The last words he heard were from Angela “Where’s my father??” before he threw himself into a dive to flee. He knew exactly what was going on back at Castle Wyvernright now. 

After what was likely only a stern scolding from Elisa, Goliath had probably told her that he had been considering Angela as the replacement for Brooklyn as second in command; and because of the night’s events, it had proven the right move. The fireball she was, Elisa probably would have defended Brooklyn in his absence, before eventually sighing and saying what Goliath did with his chain of command was his business. 

Right now, they were probably back at the castle. Goliath would be telling the clan how HE was the one who screwed up again and let the guys get away, followed by a lecture on the importance of setting the example and never letting your guard down. Whether or not Goliath OFFICIALLY announced Angela as his new Second-In-Command, was 50/50 to him... but it was a forgone conclusion at this point. He was a disgrace. 

Brooklyn covered his eyes as he laid on the gravel-top roof... how could he go back? Goliath hated him, Angela had chosen someone else, his brothers were being pulled away from him by different loves. He had runaway, so Goliath no doubt had a VISCERATING ass chewing hot-and-ready for him the moment he touched back down. A single tear streaked down from behind his covered eyes... what did he do now? 

The sound of an old engine gave him his answer. 

Brooklyn stood to his feet and limped to the edge of the roof. He steadied himself over the wall with both hands on the rim... then crushed it. Rage and hatred were let loose back into him with a vengeance “Well, well, well... Fortune favors the desperate.” he growled. 

A white van, distinguished with four massive claw marks stretching its entire length, drove down the street below; the very one that had escaped from before.  

Brooklyn hopped onto the edge of the roof, snapping his head to the direction where it came from: it wasn’t being chased by any of the others - lady luck had just decided to toss him a consolation prize. His chops curled back into a snarl, eye flashing white as a guttural growl rumbled out; however, those crimson lips twisted up into chortling grin. 

“Heh.... heheheh.” 

He raked his fingers through his hair before his palms covered their respective eyes. Delirious snickers practically overtook him. 

You know what? FUCK his second in command billet, Goliath could strip it from him with a song and dance for all he cared! In fact, Brooklyn would personally deliver Angela a hand-engraved title card reading “Goliath’s Favorite Second in Command” on a nice satin pillow JUST for her! He didn’t owe the clan anything at this point, as far as he was concerned, The Goliath Dynasty could take control! At least now he could sit back and not have to care about impressing his patriarch any longer! 

In the meantime, he decided a special housewarming gift was in order! In the form of a few broken jaws, concussions, and traumatized humans. Goliath wanted this ring broken up so badly? FINE! Brooklyn would break up the ring, its members, and every bone in said members bodies just for him! He’d leave them dangling upside down from lamp posts, immolate the warehouse, and for Goliath?? Why, he’d bring Goliath their ringleader with a neat little bow tied around him! 

WOULD THAT FINALLY MAKE HIM HAPPY!?  

Brooklyn flared his nostrils. He knew what to do with all the pain he was feeling: He’d take all this frustration, all this anger, all this HATE and beat it into every psycho in this whole damn ring! His crimson wings snapped open and he dove off the balcony, following the truck in a course that no doubt would give him a private procession back to their delightful gang of misfits. 

“Well... I thank you fine gentlemen for volunteering to be my therapists this evening.” he hissed with a crack of his knuckles “...I got some SHIT to work through.” 

Chapter Text

Scotland, 990  

Inhale. Exhale. Oh yes... this was far better than the noisy feasts of the castle. 

The olive green, impish gargoyle reclined on the grass bed beneath him, his talons hanging off the edge of a steeply dropping hillside. A soft breeze tenderly massaged his scalp and cheek, the sea of tall grass becoming like the waves of a gentle ocean. The soft chirping of crickets to the occasionally distant hoot of an owl. He inhaled and exhaled once again.... so peaceful... 

“yyyyyyyyeeeeeeEEAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! - ” A red streak of a flying gargoyle screeched past him with a burst of wind “WOOOOOOOHOOOHOOO!!!”  

The green one stiffened and muttered “Aaaaaaaaand, now it’s gone.” flicking a twig that had been swept up into his face. 

His red-skinned brother, white mane flapping in the wind and body streamlined in the sky, crested his body upwards to soar straight up in what was probably a record-challenging climb. A snap of his legs to his chest later, the crimson daredevil somersaulted thrice in midair, letting gravity pull him back down to earth – he snapped his wings open just in the nick of time to drag his fingertips on the top of the long grass – wait – and now on a collision course with him???? 

The olive colored one snapped to his feet, arms spinning behind him before holding them out to stop him “HEY! HEY! HEY! WATCH OUT!” 

But no collision came, with barely a lance’s length of distance between them, the red one had flared his wings once again to careen back into the heavens with a wonderous climb (though not sparing his younger brother the gust of wind he had brought with him). With one final looping roll back to the ground, the stuntman’s feet skidded to the mossy surface, slowing over a five-foot brake run until he was two paces away from his audience of one; at which point, he regally swooped one arm beneath his chest and bowed. 

“TA-DA!” 

The green imp stood in perturbed silence... before grinning and bobbing a sarcastic curtsy in response “Oh, so are we practicing our bows for the princess now~?” he sung out wryly.  

The cocksure performer’s bowing head immediately snapped up, cheeks flushing redder than the flesh they were on “HEY! Excuse ME for putting a little pageantry into this!”  

Of course he had to, a couple dozen siblings and his brother just HAD to get him to be his practice audience? As much as Green loved to play with the gar-dogs and make merry with his rookery siblings at the nightly feasts, he adored exploring the quiet and peaceful fields of emerald that surrounded Castle Wyvern. However, tonight, Red had dashed those plans when hopped up with him on the castle walls just before he flew off... for a favor. 

Green grinned and planted his hands on his hips “Hey! YOU’RE the one who asked me if I could do you a favor and give you some critique on your mating flight routine!” shrugging his shoulders “So I’m giving you some critique! And that is... You’re going into this WAY too early!” 

Red snorted and folded his wings “Well there’s no harm in getting a headstart! ‘Strike before the iron’s hot’ as the blacksmith says!” 

“It’s ‘Strike WHILE the iron’s hot’, stonehead~” Green teased. 

The generation of hatchlings were well into their mid-30s... and the hormones were raging in full swing. The males’ chests were getting bigger and voices getting deeper, the females’ hips and ‘bosoms’ were developing. Pretty soon, the final stages of gargoyle puberty would begin, where the opposite genders would begin to ‘explore’ the opposite’s changes. 

Pair that with Red recently becoming entranced with the Arthurian Tales of Lancelot’s and Guinevere’s forbidden romance and courtly love? And you had an embarrassing brew of disastrous proportions.  

Green had to keep himself from covering his face in embarrassment. Last week, Red had tried yet another move on an amber colored gargoyle he fancied. He had quoted a romantic poem he’d been memorizing from one of Clan Mother’s books, not realizing that it was from a risqué comedy. The flustered slap to the face he had received from her ended up welting so bad, not even stone sleep could fix it in one night. 

The imp shook his head “Friend. You don’t have to prepare your OFFICAL Mating Proposal so soon. The adults won’t even allow us to start courting for another three years! Just be yourself and keep practicing your usual gliding, you’ll woo at least one girl sooner or later.” 

Red shook his arms out, tilting his torso to stretch his lats with an extended arm overhead “Oh come on, that WAS my usual gliding!” the youngster boasted “Had I been showing you my actual Mating Flight routine, you wouldn’t be able to pick your jaw off the ground!” 

Green drummed his fingers against his folded arms *In one ear and out the other, again* he thought to himself. Red was the truest of friends and could be the most wonderful of company...  but DRAGON was he dense. The second a female was within a 100-foot radius, his suave demeanor melted into an arty fool’s. How would he get halfway through a courting like that? 

Gargoyle courting was far different than the strange way humans did it. Humans practiced odd things like arranged marriages, men winning woman’s attention with shiny rocks, and many other things Green simply did not understand. 

Gargoyles, as far as Green was concerned, had far more personal methods of courtship. Gargoyles had Mating Proposals; a male would present the female he was smitten for with some manner of a gift or act. And with a species as genetically diverse as Gargoyles, there were dozens of proposal methods. 

A mighty gargoyle, like Goliath, may present their love with the sword of a felled enemy to show their ability to defend them. A clever or educated gargoyle would profess their love for a desired partner with a romantic sonnet or song of exaltation. However, many gargoyles chose the traditional Mating Proposal: a hunt. Any male who wished to make his choice in lover known, merely needed to hunt an animal prey with his bare talons and drop his kill onto the female’s perch; this would prove they could provide for her while she was heavy with egg. Simple, time honored, and oh so reliable. 

Wise Elder, the bearded clan leader before Goliath’s term, had made a three-day trek to the ocean to kill a seal (a most rare of delicacies for Scottish Gargoyles) for his Mating Proposal. When he had presented it to his lover, he hadn’t even been able to get halfway through his speech before she threw herself onto him in squealing acceptance! 

Many other methods of proposal existed as well; presentations of ornate crafting, showcases of discovered coves. Yet perhaps the rarest and most dazzling of displays? The Mating Flight.  

Few attempted it, even fewer succeeded in it. The stunts and maneuvers required a specific body shape AND for said body shape to be in top shape; if done properly, a gargoyle would look less like he was gliding and more like he was FLYING. Not even the most stubborn of females could find it in themselves to reject a male after such an entrancing performance... some even became with child the very same night! 

No wonder Red was so fixated on attempting it. 

Red stretched his arms “Well! I might as well give it another dry run!” he proclaimed “With the full moon, I’ll be able to practice the whole thing properly! Just sit back and be a second set of eyes for me! Let me know if I line up with the moon properly after I land!” 

Green harrumphed “Okay... But if you end up cracking your head open on a rock, you’re explaining it to Goliath and Clan Mother!” flicking out an index finger “I covered for you last time you snuck a bouquet from the gardens!” 

His elder brother merely snorted in amused acknowledgement. Perching himself upon a rock that oversaw a dramatic drop in the hillside behind it. He began his thousandth attempt at the routine. 

With a powerful flex, Red snapped forth his glorious wingspan. Moonlight eclipsed the silhouette of his lean, fit body in a halo of glowing white. A clench of his back muscles shot his wings skyward and whipped his crimson tail into the earth. (Curse it... why did his rookery brother have a chiseled body in such better shape than his?) 

Red dove forward into the dip of the hillside, racing down just inches above the tall grass to make it wake in his passing. With another crest upwards, the grass flattened and he took to the sky. With arms and legs streamlined, he shot to the starry night like a crimson arrow, spiraling upwards with the flaring of his wings (...Great, and a far better flyer, too.) 

Red’s wingspan broke out in all its grandeur, his daring dive now followed by a graceful backflip that sent him sailing back to the emerald surface. Green braced himself for Red’s wing to snag the ground on this next routine, but somehow, it didn’t. Rather than faceplant into the earth, Red flared one wing upwards to just BARELY scrape the ground with an outstretched hand. Very few gargoyles had the core or wing strength to perform such a move, after all this was one of the maneuvers that weeded out most flyers, but Red made it look effortless! He circled Green in a wide ring, less than a foot from the ground and his snowy hair flowing in the wind (...Okay... He couldn’t deny it. That was impressive.) 

With an aileron roll barely missing the ground, Red repeated his descent down the hill followed by another lift. Only when he climbed this time, he let lose a feral call that sent chills up Green’s spine. While he felt as if the breath had been sucked out of him, the previous symphony of crickets and owls of the wilderness was silenced. Bemused thoughts and snide comments disappeared from Green’s mind, replaced only by speechless awe. (Was... Was Red always this magnificent in the air?) 

Red eclipsed the moon, his pitch-black silhouette hovering perfectly in the center for a solid three seconds... three seconds wasn’t enough. Green hoped he could see it longer. Somersaulting backwards, Red plummeted to the surface like a javelin, his descent as silent as the owls who stalked the night. Even with his dropping supply of potential energy, he somehow managed to look as if he was truly flying. No- 

His best friend was soaring. 

The crimson marvel was doing the impossible, pushing the limits of what a gargoyle could truly do with their gift of flight. And why? Because he wanted to one day show someone else how much he loved them, to profess how dedicated he was to giving them happiness. Red snapped his wings open and glided just above him, a hand coming down and- 

Dragon help him. 

Green froze; no, time froze. A single hand had descended to re-enact the moment the male would gently touch the underside of the female’s chin in passing. Green found his head guided upwards in a split second, his eyes locking with the ebony iris of his performer. Those wild eyes shone with teasing amusement, Red was merely practicing the movement as a joke, not putting the meaning behind it.  

...So then why did Green feel frozen as a gargoyle in sunlight? 

The airborne gargoyle, however, kept going. He continued his dazzling display as his dropping height made every stunt more and more daring. He flipped, he spun, he crested... all the while, the imp felt completely dazed and confused.  

The shock from the sudden chill down his spine was still there. His legs still felt numb. His eyes still refused to blink. He always knew it was a marvel to watch someone like his rookery brother dance on the wind, but- this wasn’t... his face still burned with- 

“HEY! He’s doing it!” 

Green would have leapt out of his skin had a massive, blue hand not clapped down onto his shoulder and held him in place.  

The squatting gargoyle snapped his head around to see his aqua colored, heavyset sibling behind him and eyes trained on their midair brethren. His underbite jaw chomped down on a drumstick he had brought as rations for the journey “WHOOOA-F!” his full mouth spitting out a tender fleck of meat “Watch you’ air currents, friend!”  

“I know! I know!” a strained, slightly panicked, voice rasped out. Red had overestimated how much elevation he had left for his final dive and now he was rocketing towards the two onlookers... with no lift to bring him higher “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” arms and wings spreading did nothing to slow himself down. 

The green and blue brothers held up their hands to brace themselves “Pull up! Pull up!” 

Red waved his arms frantically “Move! Move!” but quickly changed his order to “Wait no! CATCH ME! CATCH ME! CATCH M-” 

“OMPHF!!!!”  

The less than graceful landing of the red performer sent him smashing into his two brothers. Blue’s drumstick was knocked out of his hand, Green was sandwiched between his two larger siblings, and all three became entangled in one another as they somersaulted down the hill in a tri-color blob of grunts and barks.  

That was until they snagged on a rock that sent them tumbling through the air and dogpiling onto one another 

“OOF!” 

“NNFFF!” 

“OOMPH!” 

The large blue gargoyle hand landed fast first in dirt; the red daredevil had got entangled his legs with his haunches parked on his imp brother’s head; and the little green gargoyle had ended up on the bottom of the pile... now trying to lift them off him. 

“Ngggghhh, move, will ya?” he complained.  

Blue picked his head up out of the earth, spitting out a chunk of soil that had replaced his snack “PLEH!” scrapping the meat of his palm over his tongue to wipe off any remaining earth “Smooth landing, loverboy. The maidans are going to love it.” he grumbled tartly. 

Red didn’t even pick his head up, instead electing to raise one finger into the air in his defense “Hey, make it through the first routine, THEN you can comment all you want!” 

Green managed to free his head slightly, taking the first second of freedom to tease his elder brother “I don’t know, friend. I think tackling her would put your own flare on the flight!” he laughed “Pinning her down seems to be a VERY ‘you’ thing to do- MPHFF!!” 

The small gargoyle was silenced by his red sibling picking up the butt that was parked on his face and slamming it back down “I’ll pin YOU down all night!” he snarled with a cocksure crossing of his arms “In case you two haven’t noticed, I almost got the ENTIRE routine down!” 

The largest of the gargoyles stood up and plucked his red and green siblings to their feet with ease; the trio dusted themselves off. They went back and forth between Red proudly proclaiming his greatness... and also him being a pouting sourpuss when they pointed to the flattened grass trail, the evidence of their tumble downhill. 

Red swatted a large, blue hand that ruffled his hair “HEY! HEY!” he complained, raking his hands though his luscious locks to smooth it out “Don’t mess with the mane! Just cause you two don’t have hair doesn’t mean you have to ruin it for the rest of us!” 

Green hopped up and down on his rock perch “Hehe, give it time! I’m just waiting for you to try your hand at fire twirling at a feast! You'll be as bald as us when you singe that whole thing off!”  

*grooowlllllllll*  

The mention of ‘feast’ made an unholy sound gurgle from the largest gargoyle's belly... that he now pathetically hugged “Speaking of feast...” he whimpered out meekly.  

The two smaller gargoyles couldn’t help but make a similar expression, they had skipped breakfast after all. Red snapped his wings open in a majestic flare “Last one back to the castle has to wash the stables this week!” he declared “THREETWOONEGO!”  

Red didn’t get to finish his statement though, for his little rookery brother had leapt onto his shoulders and used him as a springboard to gain altitude for a glide “Have it your way!” he called back with a laugh “I’ll have the stable hands ready for you!” 

A shaking red fist chased after him “BAAAAAAH!!!!” 

New York City 1996  

Lexington shook his head; when cleaning the stables or weeding the gardens were the worst of their worries. Where the most traumatic thing any of them endured was a scolding or spanking from a parent... not watching your entire race be exterminated or be hooked up to some machine for a mad doctor to dissect you in the modern day. 

So how the hell was Lexington supposed to find Brooklyn? 

Lex’s eyes scanned the rooftops as he glided. The very few times any of them got upset as kids, there were very few places you could run off to for solitude. At most you could find a tree or large boulder to sulk under, making you easy to find once one of your moms or dads came to coddle you. In New York? Forget it. You’d never find someone if they didn’t want to be found. 

Hell, you’d never find someone even if they DID want to be found. 

Every Gargoyle had their ‘Go-To’ spot when they needed to clear their heads. Hudson, ancient in his ways, would find solace in the greenery of Central Park. Goliath, ever the stoic one, would slip into the rafters of the New York Public Library on 5th Avenue to bury himself in modern literature. The trio knew better than to interrupt the two patriarchs when they actively chose to distance themselves for the evening; they merely needed an hour or two to steady themselves before they’d then return as the rock for the young ones to lean upon, as if nothing had happened. 

With the trio? It was different.  

They were never given solitude. Goliath and Hudson ALWAYS sought them out to try and nurture them, not realizing that sometimes they just wanted to be left alone. Broadway’s spot to hide was originally the west side of Grand Central station – considering the fact it’s where he had cried his eyes out for three hours the night he had shot Elisa. Unfortunately, it being just two blocks away from Goliath’s choice of library meant he had to change it to St. Patrick's Cathedral to keep his privacy. When Lex was having a bad night, he much preferred watching the ice skating at the Rockefeller in the winter months or listening to the music of Carnegie Hall in the summer months...  

...although he had a secret third place on standby when he was having an especially bad night. 

Lexington sighed bitterly as he looked back at the Empire State Building he flew away from, it was Brooklyn’s preferred spot to be alone; he had no luck in finding him there. The Intrepid Museum had been a bust as well, and if fighter jets hadn’t cheered Brooklyn up, nothing would’ve. Now all what was left was the scour any usual hotspots in the direction he had flown off in... sure, just comb the 14 miles of Manhattan, that was a great plan. 

Angela and Broadway had caught up with him after he dove from the tower to join in the search, but even with them splitting up to cover more ground, finding one person in New York City was harder than finding a needle in a barn house's worth of haystacks. They had checked his favorite spots and areas, yet they found nothing. There were no other points of interest that Brooklyn would retreat to! 

….. That was... Unless...  

Lexington made a turn at the next intersection. 

*************************  

“-Not that it will fix the situation with Lexington, though...” Goliath muttered out grimly. 

He made a heel turn and paced in the opposite direction, the flame of the library’s fireplace casting a shadow on a sitting Elisa and Hudson. 

“He be a young lad who wants to prove himself; it is oil to the fire” Hudson said from behind the interlocked fingers that were before his lips. Goliath noticed he omitted his usual punctuation of ‘lad’ when he spoke to him. 

Goliath’s kowtow apology hadn’t led to the emotional reconciliation he had hoped for with Broadway and Lexington, but it at least had the desired effect on Hudson and Elisa; they knew his remorse was genuine. When Lexington had leapt over the wall, Broadway followed him without so much of a glance in Goliath’s direction, Angela toddled shortly after with a quiet “...I’ll bring them back.” before she matched their dive. Goliath fully expected Hudson to follow suit, but to his surprise, Hudson sheathed his blade and sighed. His elder gave him a tired clap on the shoulder and said they should retire to the library to discuss, well, everything.  

“The lad won’t come around on his own, Goliath. Ye need’s Brooklyn’s pardon before the others will give ye theirs.” Hudson hadn’t forgiven Goliath entirely, not yet, but he was willing to show clemency “It’s the only catalyst that I see.”  

“I know... I know... You are right...” Goliath grunted through a forced exhale “...But I must know how I can even begin to reforge what I’ve destroyed. I know I cannot win- no, EARN their trust back, but I must show them that I am going to do what I must to build it again.” 

“Well, the message got across fine, I think.” Elisa commented, elbows on her knees and folded hands pointing to the carpet “Broadway’s reaction proved it. They know you love them, they’re just skeptical about you able to keep to your word to treat them that way.” 

Goliath halted his pacing for a moment, snapping his head in Elisa’s direction “I-!” but silenced himself and returned to his tramping across the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose. Goliath wouldn’t trust his word either. Elisa still wasn’t budging on the ‘chaperone rule’ with Brooklyn; even though she DID have full faith in him after his heartfelt plea, she wouldn’t let Goliath anywhere near his second in command until the latter said he was ready.  

“But that brings us to the second problem...” Elisa uttered “Hitting Brooklyn has locked you out from the boys; even if they do fully trust you, that’s only half the battle. Brooklyn has to forgive you, and I mean a BIG ‘forgive you’ if Broadway and Lexington are ever going to come around.” she made a transition motion with her hands “And I think it’s safe to say a grand absolution tends to come from a grand gesture.” 

Goliath’s hand released its hold from his face, cocking his attention back to her, she said that as if she had something in mind “...Such as?” 

“Well for starters, you were going to knock Brooklyn from your number two spot. So we nee-” 

Goliath’s eyes widened, barking “WHAT?!” with far more volume than he’d intended. 

Elisa’s eyes went nearly as wide as his, pausing a moment before responding “...Well yeah, you sounded like you were going to demote him from second in com-” 

“NEVER!” Goliath interjected fiercely; fingers splayed out “Yes! I know we were in discord, but you thought I would disgrace him by stripping him of his leadership position??” 

A combined glare from Hudson and Elisa unfortunately gave him a clear answer. 

Goliath deflated “Very well, I’ll grant that. But no! I would never do that to him! He is a FINE leader!” 

Elisa furrowed her brow, glancing away and gears turning “So if that isn’t what you...” her eyes returned to him with a waving of her hand “Okay okay, so wait. Goliath.” she sat up straight “Let’s back up. After you told Brooklyn you knew about the ‘Getting rid of the competition’ thing, you told him to return to the castle cause you and I needed to talk in private. I took that as: you were going to demote him and wanted a second opinion. So if that wasn’t it, then what WERE you wanting to talk about?” 

Goliath felt a shock of lightning ripple through him. Oh no.  

He must have taken too long to respond, because Hudson sat forward “...Goliath?” 

Goliath debated asking Hudson to exit so he and Elisa speak in private; but he didn’t need to do that if he told her the partial truth. Now was not the time to tell her the full reason, not after what happened tonight. 

“Well, yes, I indeed dismissed him to discuss his leadership with you, but dismissing him from command wasn’t the goal." The topic felt sour in his mouth “I was planning on basic discipline: confining him to the castle for the next week unless it was for a patrol or mission. He’s been unfocused for weeks, and I needed him back in line. I wanted you and I to speak together on any other additional steps.”  

Goliath was clan leader; he didn’t need anyone’s approval or input on his decisions, but a good clan leader WANTED approval and input on his decisions. Elisa was a trusted and valued equal, her words carried more weight than even his own Second in Command’s.  

Goliath let out a silent sigh of relief when Elisa and Hudson both bought it and moved on. 

Hudson, not wanting to beat a dead horse, skipped repeating the same criticism from earlier “Well, that may save us a great deal o’ more arguments. If you tell the lad the job is still his, that might work in your favor... though I doubt he’d be eager to accept it.” 

“That’s what I was talking about with a ‘grand gesture’. Tell him you’re finally going to give him classes in leadership, maybe toss him a special perch next to you up on the tower, something as a token that you value him.” Elisa added plainly “I’m not saying you bribe him to get him to talk to you, but providing something immediate might have him open up. Maybe it’ll let him be open to talking.” 

Hudson gnawed slightly on a fingernail “I’ll speak with the young ones once they return, see what their relationships are between them... after all I, reckon they’ll have poor luck in findin’ the lad tonight. He wouldn’t have fled from them if somethin’ else were not between them...” his knee was bouncing unconsciously as he thought out loud “...but I haven’t the slightest clue what it be. The boys were closer than ever the past few months...” 

Goliath’s pacing ceased, earning a glance up from Elisa and Hudson. 

He blinked: it was because there was a fourth member thrown into the three. 

The clan leader doubted even more if he could ever tell Elisa the full truth now. The REAL reason he wanted to speak with Elisa in private? He wanted to ask how he could accelerate Brooklyn’s assumption of responsibilities. 

Goliath had another reason for pushing Brooklyn so hard the past month, besides wanting to prevent a second Demona. He didn’t want to admit it, but he saw someone who could shoulder the burden of leadership. He saw a way to pass the daily responsibilities to. 

His time with Angela and Elisa had been bliss. While he finally knew how much he truly missed his sons, at the time, he adored the intimacy of it all.  

Him, his lover, and his daughter... spending all the time in the world with them; no distractions. There were no patrols to be had, no missions to undergo, and no responsibilities that had to pull his attention away from them. It had just been the three of them and nothing to separate the nuclear family, nothing except returning home to Manhattan. Now again he had to make plans to deal with Xanatos, how to deal with their revelation to the world, how to handle all these new trials... all of which pulled his attention away from his girls. 

When he returned from Avalon to see that the Manhattan Clan had been functioning without him, he was relieved... perhaps he could step back and give more control to his second in command. Perhaps he could even push Brooklyn into taking more and more duties to the point Goliath could regularly be away to spend time with Elisa and Angela. If he forged Brooklyn in fire, he’d be ready all the faster. But now, in his haste to have a deeper bond with his family, he had driven a wedge into it. 

“Lad?” Hudson asked in general concern. 

Goliath’s face had buried itself into a single hand, he made a sound he had not made in quite some time. Elisa was immediately on her feet and by his side “...Big guy?” 

Hearing his nickname from her finally be said again did nothing to stop what was coming. 

Guilt and regret filled a tear that streaked down his face. Hudson instantly had joined Elisa, placing a hand of hesitant forgiveness on his forearm. Goliath tried to choke back the sickness he felt inside of him, but he couldn’t stop the second tear from producing itself. 

 When the children weren’t around to see it, a father could finally show weakness. Not him though, as far as he was concerned, he had forfeited the right to call himself one. 

*************************  

“Brooklyn...? Brooklyn...?” 

Lexington hadn’t been to the clocktower since the hunter attack, none of them had. It seemed the perfect spot for Brooklyn to hide, but as Lexington called out softly more and more, he realized he was alone. All there was in the tower were scaffoldings and construction equipment here to repair the damage. There was nothing left. 

There was no proof his clan had even lived here at all. 

There was nothing left. No evidence of all that had happened here. In that corner is where he had read and learned all he could about technology. Over there was where Brooklyn had been named second in command. Downstairs was where the clan tutored Broadway and Hudson in learning to read. They had lived here, fought here, reconciled here, and grown here. 

Now nothing was left, just a cold ruin with a draft of air blowing through it. Lexington couldn’t help but scoff... was this their fate? Was this the fate of every gargoyle? To just be smashed stone and disappear from the world? 

Lexington aimlessly flipped over wooden boards and stone slabs, hoping to uncover.... well, ANYTHING. One of their comic books? A video game they had forgotten? SOMETHING that belonged to them? He didn’t even bother looking for a photograph of any of them... no such thing existed; Goliath only existed on Kodachrome because he and Elisa had their picture last Halloween. The rest of them existed only in memory of one another. 

Such was the fate of every gargoyle. 

His brothers, his sisters, his mothers, his fathers... they had been expunged from the world, reduced to gravel millennia ago. Their remains were probably ground up and turned into roads or construction. Either way, nothing remained of any of them. No tombstone, no memorial, no offspring to carry on their stories. Their entire culture and history... hundreds of books closing, never to be reopened. 

He pulled down tarps, moved aside machinery, and still he found nothing. 

Why did it always happen to THEM? Entire clans had survived for centuries across the world, adapting and evolving with the centuries; but not his clan, they were always barely surviving. Now they were down to just a handful. Why were they in so much worse shape than other clans? Who or what was it that made them... them... 

GOLIATH  

Something set Lexington’s teeth on edge. Of course... OF COURSE. His eyes nearly turned to their glowing while as he looked around the clock tower, trying to remember the night the clock tower, THEIR HOME, had been destroyed by the Hunters.  

The hunters had found the gargoyles in their home and tried to kill them. Why? BECAUSE GOLIATH HAD LED THEM RIGHT TO THEM. HE had the tracker on him! Because he had been the fool who attacked the hunter’s airship, breaking his own rule of not engaging them alone! They ALL would have been dead had Lexington not noticed the tracker in time! 

Make that TWO homes Goliath’s stupidity had caused him and his brothers to lose! 

Not that that mattered though, considering the fact his overcompensation for losing it nearly got them all turned into trophies. Back when they had first got Xanatos sent on an all-expense-paid trip to the slammer, Goliath refused to leave the castle despite the pleas of Brooklyn and Elisa. And thanks to him not budging, MACBETH strolled right in and took Brooklyn and himself as prisoners! Once again, Brooklyn and Lexington were the ones paying the price for Goliath’s decision! Why didn’t he just listen to Brooklyn?? 

Lexington cupped his head, his rage forcing a snapped giggle to sneak past his lips. You know, it was funny. All their problems as of late seemed to happen when Goliath was around. When Brooklyn was in command for nearly a year, they were all as safe as could be. Barely anything came after them, barely anything at ALL happened to them! 

The VERY day Goliath came back? Oberon happened. Gee, wonder if GOLIATH’s wandering aimlessly through time and space might have drawn Oberon’s attention!  After that? They all got clones made after them who tried to kill them all because GOLIATH’S clone decided to get wise! Immediately after that? Well, the whole Coldsteel incident happened because Xanatos wanted to do something for GOLIATH’S benefit! And THEN after that? The whole hunter’s incident happened because GOLIATH’s choice in mate had to go crazy and then GOLIATH’s stupidity led the hunters right to them! 

The clan would have been a red stain splattered across the street had Lex just been three seconds late in noticing the tracker and Brooklyn hadn’t yelled for them to get into the floor closet! 

Lex blinked. The floor closet. 

Lexington’s head snapped around. He hadn’t looked there yet. He leapt over and yanked it open. YES!  

It wasn’t much, but it was something! He leapt down to see a few of his and Brooklyn’s magazines were left behind. Even Broadway’s secret-not-so-secret stash of sweets was still tucked behind one of the shelves! How did he not notice these the last time they were here?? 

Lexington paused. Well, he guessed it was because he was practically knocked out cold last time he was here. The last thing he remembered was the blast sending him into blackness and barely regaining consciousness just as Goliath was lifting him out of the hole... and then, 

He was in Brooklyn’s arms. 

Lexington could feel his pace quicken at that thought. Goliath hadn’t given Lexington’s limp form to Brooklyn, no, Brooklyn had TAKEN Lexington from Goliath. Lex barely had the strength to move a muscle or even open his eyes, but he remembered the blurry image of ruby talons slipping beneath his back and legs, followed by the warmth and comfort of his best friend’s arms. 

Even when Lexington’s ear rested against Brooklyn’s chest and could hear his racing heartbeat, that deep, gravelly voice calmly murmured “Shhh... It’s okay... I got you, dude.” to him. Brooklyn was as frantic and terrified as he was, but he still put on a strong façade for him... well, not ALL of it was a façade.  

Brooklyn had been bulking up. Two years ago, he was as skinny as Lex was and even matched his squatted stance. Over the past few months though? He began to strut around tall and proud, his shoulders back and eyes forward. He had put on a considerable amount of muscle... and when he was held in those strong arms, he felt it. 

Even when he regained the strength to fly on his own again... he saw no real rush to share it. Brooklyn had him covered. His touch, his warmth... his scent... The feeling of being protected by a strong gargoyle you admired abo- 

Lex shook his head frantically; less to shake it clear of those thoughts and more to DENY that style of thinking. What was he thinking?? First that night back in Scotland and now this?? There was no time to think of Brooklyn in such an.... an... ‘odd’ way. Not when HE needed HIM to return the protection and care tonight! 

He climbed out of the broom closet and sealed the door behind him, didn’t want saw dust getting over everything and he couldn’t have armfuls of stuff when he found Brooklyn... IF he found Brooklyn. He hopped onto the semi-standing structure that had once been the west wall of the tower. He didn’t know what time it was (Yeah, how ironic was that?) but, spitballing, he guessed he had just an hour before sunrise. Lex was still nowhere closer to finding Brooklyn than he was two hours ago, he was out of places to look, and there wasn’t enough time to hope he just ran into him. 

Lex perched himself on the ledge, a dozen thoughts arguing over which way he should take off. Well... there was ONE spot he hadn't checked yet. Lexington snapped his arms up to spread his wings into a dive. 

He headed south. His third and final ‘go-to’ spot was reserved for bad nights... and tonight had hit enough points to warrant a visit; furthermore, he only ever told Brooklyn about it. He closed his eyes and huffed, trying to find what little peace he could in the wind. If Brooklyn wanted to be found, just not by Goliath or the others, maybe he would have gone there... but maybe Lex had to stop denying the fact that Brooklyn just didn't want to be found tonight.  

“Wherever you are, man.... I hope you’re safe...”  

************************* 

*BANG*  

*BANG*  

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG* *BANG*  

"WHERE ARE YOU!??!” 

The pitch-black warehouse was illuminated by the muzzle flash of a wildly spraying rifle. Just a few minutes ago the buzz of high bay lights had been silenced and plunged the cache into darkness; someone had cut the power. When the thugs had gone to throw open the barn doors for light, a street sign had been tied around the handles on the outside like a pretzel, locking them inside. The access doors had wedged shut somehow as well. There was no way out. Suddenly: 

“N-NO! NO! NO!” *BANG* BANG* “GET AWAY FROM ME-” 

The scream of someone on the other side of the warehouse could be heard by all, followed by the frantic discharge of a rifle, followed by silence. 

Another one had been taken.  

Five members huddled together back-to-back, only two had time to grab a firearm when the lights had been cut, the other three held nothing but the very crowbars they had been using to pop open the wooden crates they’d been offloading.  

“WAIT NO! PLEA-” 

In the opposite direction of where the last scream came from, another pleading gang member was muffled. No gunfire was heard, instead, the howl of the unlucky human could be heard as they were thrown across the room and smashed through the boarded-up windows. But rather than smash clean through, they had snagged on the glass and wood; the first source of light, the dim yellow glow of the dock lights, came in. The silhouette of a limp body now cast its unconscious shadow on the opposite wall. 

One of the five clenched his crowbar, feeling naked without anything to arm himself with. They were being picked off one by one. What the hell was happening?? It wasn’t a rival gang, it wasn’t the police, it was something out of a nightmare- 

What little blood that was left in his face suddenly drained. A set of glowing white eyes appeared in the darkness; they weren’t the eyes of a human. His body refused to move, he could only yell to alert the others. Yet the bullets of the two, armed thugs hit nothing but cinder block because those eyes disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.  

Overhead, the sound of snapping metal rang out, one of the bay lights had been cut from the ceiling; the five leapt in five different directions as it shattered to the ground in a blinding explosion of sparks. Lost and stumbling in the darkness, the thug snapped his head around wildly. He elbows shook, his hands sweat... he screamed out again 

“WHERE ARE YOU!??!” 

*************************  

“.........Here.” Brooklyn whispered behind him. 

Brooklyn only gave him a split second to screech in religious horror before his red talons slapped over his skull and slammed it against the wall; he knocked him out cold. Humans truly had awful hearing.  

Humans, for the dominant race of Earth, were so fragile. They didn’t have the strength of a gargoyle, the wings, the resilience, or as tonight proved: the night vision. Brooklyn didn’t have the obscene super strength of Goliath, the resources of Demona, nor the speed of Lexington. So, taking down a warehouse full of armed guards took strategy. A simple divide and conquer strategy: kill the lights by smashing the fuse box before entering, seal off all the exits, stick to the shadows and wait for someone to separate from the others, then knock them out with enough volume to make the remaining hostiles panic. No, Goliath nor Hudson taught him that, Batman: The Animated Series did. Thank you, 20th century cable! 

Brooklyn’s eyes were wild, his grin hadn’t left his face. At first, he had been terrified to face so many armed gunmen at once. But now? He loved it.  

He liked letting off steam. 

He spied another thug stumbling scared in the dark, their hands feeling in front of them as they tried to navigate the maze of stolen crates. When Brooklyn barreled at him at full speed, the look on the human’s face was priceless. Terror, fear, helplessness. All three of those were carved into his anguish-stricken mug when he realized the sound he heard was the boogey man coming for him. 

Brooklyn leapt up and kicked him square in the chest, knocking him out against a shipping container. Brooklyn honestly wished he was still conscious so he could yank him up by the hair and hiss “What’s wrong? Scared? Didn’t seem to care when you terrorized civilians.”  

Gunfire rang out but Brookyln was already well out of their line of fire. Someone ran to throw the breaker back on, but Brooklyn was there waiting for them. Brooklyn didn’t even bother pulling his punches anymore... he honestly probably shattered a few bones of these ‘people’ already. He didn’t care. 

He liked the power.   

He was sick of feeling helpless, of being the one who always got the short end of the stick. Well now he’d do what HE wanted! He was owed ONE single night where he could let loose! Besides, it’s not like he was giving them anything they couldn’t heal from anyways! It was better than what they deserved! 

He yanked a full-grown man up by the collar and flung him up into the steel supports of the catwalk. 

Had these little GREMLIN not gotten away, then maybe Goliath wouldn’t have freaked out on him! Hell, had they not existed in the first place, he wouldn’t have had to spend the past weeks staking them out and losing his chance with Angela!   

He snatched one of the thug’s rifles from out of his hand, swung it around, and clocked him across the jaw with it. He was sent shattering through a wooden crate. 

Had people like them not existed, he’d be back at the castle playing video games with Lex by now!  

His shadow cast across the yellow light as he leapt up and stomped another terrified thug to the ground. 

Had people like them not existed, He’d be happy!  

Cocksure, he kicked a crowbar up into his hands and used it to sweep a gang member into the air by hooking around their ankle; he knocked them back to the ground in mid-air. 

Had people like HUMANS not existed, HIS FAMILY WOULD STILL BE ALIVE!  

*BANG*  

Brooklyn bellowed out a feral roar. A dart had hit him in the back. He cursed at his gunman and at himself; he had gotten too careless! His glowing eyes shot pure hate at his assailant: a gunman on the balcony... clad in night vision goggles.  

He yanked the dart from his shoulder with a pained roar. Okay, THIS guy was getting a shattered collar bone for that one! 

Brooklyn hated himself; he was a genius tactician. He knew he was as good as Golia- NO, he was BETTER than Goliath! But all his plans to capture Demona failed because his rage had always made him reckless. With his anger dictating all his moves for the whole night... he was reaping what he sewed.  

Rifle mounted flashlights now clicked on overhead from the balcony, bathing him in white light. CRUD! There went his cover of darkness! 

The last thug on ground level rushed him with crowbar in hand, but Brooklyn dodged it with a backstep before cracking him across the back with a swing of his tail 

*BANG*  

“GROAAARRR!” Brooklyn let out another feral screech. This time another dart had pierced his shoulder; he went to yank it out, but suddenly all the strength in his grip had been reduced to zero. His whole hand went numb! 

*BANG*  

Another one pierced between where his wings met his back. Brooklyn fell to one knee. DAMMIT!  

*BANG*  

NO! 

He tried to move! He tried to struggle to his feet! Every drop of willpower he had went to trying to flee for one of the windows in hopes he could smash through it! But his body was flooding with tranquilizers that sent him down to all fours! How had he been so stupid?!? Where did these guys even come from!? 

Brookyln struggled to take a haggard breath, his knees and elbows giving out. He collapsed on one side, lips still curled back in rage as his eyes locked onto a pair of boots that approached him. The red gargoyle snapped his glazed eyes up; an ugly as hell human pulled his nightvision goggles up, revealing a liver spotted face crowned with a balding head that somehow had long greasy hair falling over his shoulders. 

Before Brookyln could hiss out, the human had scrapped the crowbar Brooklyn had previously wielded. With an arc of his shoulder, he swung it back down and cracked it against Brooklyn’s temple. 

Everything went dark. 

*************************  

Lexington repressed a scowl as he read the inscription. 

“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” 

“So when does that policy start applying to us?” he muttered at the poem inscribed in stone whilst he passed by. 

Ellis island, the one place Lexington could be guaranteed peace. His third and last resort for respite was always something he could rely on. With the island being closed to all visitors before sunset, he could walk here as a free gargoyle, even if only for a few hours. No risk of a passing car, no worries of the prying eyes of others; it was just him. 

An island that processed millions of people for nearly a hundred years to be accepted into the welcoming arms of a different America... everyone except a Gargoyle.  

Lexington had had plenty of time to catch up on the past thousand years he’d miss via the pages of history books and museums. This island had integrated millions of strangers into becoming citizens, people escaping starvation, fleeing oppression, or people simply seeking a better life.  They had all crossed the Atlantic Ocean to come to a strange land and had been tolerated.... So why not them too? 

Lexington’s last-ditch attempt to find Brooklyn had pulled him from the peaceful calm of the outdoors and into the dark corridors of the converted-museum's exhibits. Rows of pictures featuring immigrants given a second chance, no matter how slim it was, did nothing but wedge envy into overflow of negative emotions that already packed themselves into his mind.  

He knew it was impossible for humans to ever accept them, hell, even tolerate them. All Lexington could hope for at this point was to just be left alone. He didn’t care if his guardianship of Manhattan went without gratitude, he just wanted to save someone from a mugging without worrying if the victim would attack him as soon as he scared off their assailant! 

It’s why he fell in love with this spot when he first stumbled across it last year. He had found some place where he could walk down the street like he was accepted. Without the guise of Halloween, Lexington could walk down an abandoned street and fantasize that everyone was just sleeping; that he wasn’t labeled as a freak deserving to be shot on sight... Dragon he wished he had brought Brooklyn here sometime. 

...would have been nice to confidently walk the street as just the two of them. No judging eyes to glare at them. 

Lexington shook his head free of the thought again. Why did he keep thinking that?? He wanted to walk the street with everyone in his clan! Not just Brooklyn! As angry as he was at Goliath or jealous of Angela, he just wanted everyone to finally be free of this curse! To not be judged or looked down upon! 

He grit his teeth... or to be born one way and told it was wrong! That there was something wrong with you! He was born this way, it’s not like he could control it!  

But that impossible dream would have to be wished on for another time, dawn was coming. As Lex trudged back to the front entrance, he accepted the reality that Brooklyn would be alone and angry as he roosted tonight. 

“I’ll find you tomorrow night, I promise.” he vowed softly, the light blue of the approaching dawn now slipping through the windows of the museum’s gift shop “....I’ll bring you home.” 

“..I’ll...” he paused as he saw something on display just outside the gift shop. He was pulled in “...Wait a sec.” 

***************************  

Brooklyn’s head pounded. 

W̶͎͂̌͒̊͛̇̀̽á̵̯̦͖͎̞̮̾̃̚͜k̸͎̻̅̓͜ͅe̸̜̾̉ ̶̢̬̟̗́̈́̾͗͐̅́̚͝͝ū̶̢̳̗̤͉͙͐̓̈́̚͝p̴̡̨̢͓̼̰̞̑̓̌̅̏̒̿͝ 

Foggy, far-off words echoed in the distance. 

“...Wake up...”  

He felt as if he had drowned underwater. 

“WAKE UP!”  

*ZAAAAP!*  

Brookyln’s eyes snapped open and he roared awake. He had been shocked with a cattle prod in the side. 

“GROOOAARRR!” His thrash to hopefully break free of whatever chains he had been placed in yield no results; instead, it only made him sway. 

He was hanging upside down, suspended from the catwalk by a set of chains lashed around his ankles. The padlocked chains that coiled around his torso and arms like an industrial anaconda sure made for a matching set. In front of him, a right-side-up semi-circle of a LITTLE more than pissed off thugs looked fit to kill him.  

Well, if they were gonna kill him, they would’ve done it by now. 

Despite the fact his head was splitting open, he flashed a defiant grin “You know guys, just cause I’m nocturnal and got wings, doesn’t mean I’m a bat. I prefer my vertical orientation to be in the OTHER direction.” he snickered, managing to barely jab a thumb up. 

*ZAAAAAAAP!*  

The crimson gargoyle let loose another roar as the cattle prod speared itself into his ribcage to give him another jolt of electricity. His fake confidence gave way to a furious snarl towards the wielder. 

*You...* he thought. 

The same ugly, liver spotted human who had knocked him unconscious now slapped the length of the hand-held shocker into his open palm “And if I clip your wings? What then?” 

Brookyln merely grit his teeth. Damn it all... HAD HE REALLY LOST TO THESE GUYS?? He should have been scared for his life, but he was more dreading what would happen when the clan finally found him! Not only had he failed to bring down these wackjobs, but now HE was the one who needed to be rescued?! At this point, just kill him now and save him the indignity of having to be saved by Goliath. It’d be mercy! 

Brooklyn’s hatred and frustration boiled to just the mantle of his breast... but he refused to give this worm the satisfaction. Goliath and the others would no doubt be here any second to bail him out and they WOULD NOT see him groveling and begging like a hatchling!  

Instead, he flashed a grin “Eh, I’d ice your guys’ head over there first, I REALLY think I hit him a bit too hard!” he joked at one of the thugs who, upside down, he saw sitting on a crate “Sorry pal, no hard feelings, right?” he said, mockingly kissing the air. 

Another zap to the side and agonized grunt made his grin curl back into a sneer. 

The ugly one looked behind at one of his guys “How much longer?” 

“20 minutes, Radar.” the lackey responded, looking up from a pager “We negotiated the price to 1.2 mil.”  

Radar grunted, his greasy hair slapping his shoulders as he looked back down to the inverted gargoyle “Should have gotten more for their leader...” his eyes mulling something over “1.3 mil. Or they’re leavin’ empty handed.” he stated. 

Brooklyn’s stomach dropped; they knew about the bounty the quarrymen had on gargoyles. 

Radar squatted down to meet his eyeline “From what I hear, all eyewitness accounts say the red one’s been the one seen calling all the shots.” he tapped the side of Brooklyn’s face with the metal of the prod “Ain’t that right? You the ringmaster of the freakshow?” he asked coyly. 

“Well if ya want my business card, you could’ve just asked.” Brooklyn quipped sarcastically, trying to keep his bearing even with all the blood rushing to his head “I mean, it’s a nice management position.  I get a company car, a nice parking space, dental insurance-HRRRRRKKKK!” 

The last vestige of smugness that laced his lips disappeared when Radar sunk the active taser into the meat of his trapezius. 

And left it there.  

His grunts gave way to a piercing shriek that vibrated with the voltage igniting his nerve endings. His drugged body panicked and thrashed like a dying animal hung from a meat hook. His skin sizzled and smoked as the electrified prongs began to burrow past his flesh and into his muscle mass. 

“GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!”  

Brooklyn’s shrieks ebbed for but a decibel when Radar finally yanked the prod out, the stench of burned flesh now smoking in the air. A gasping suck for air silenced what would have been an agonized screech from his beak. Those things could make a full-grown bull five times his size leap in the air at just the slightest graze... a few seconds of it in him had nearly cooked his neck!! 

Survival instinct quickly overtook his pride “Okay! ...O-Okay!” he strained through the agony of his singed meat “Look! W-Whatever the quarrymen are shelling out, I guarantee you it’s not worth it!” he swore. If the quarrymen got a hold of him, he was dead.  

“Quarrymen?” Radar chirped, visibly enjoying the flinch he got out of Brooklyn when he did a fake-out shock an inch from his face “Who says we’re selling you to the quarrymen?” 

Brooklyn’s frantic eyes snapped back and forth. Who the hell were these people?? He and Goliath had been staking these guys out for weeks, they seemed to just sell stolen electronics and bulk goods. Why were they packing tranq-rifles and night vision?? What kind of dirty money were these guys in? 

Brooklyn’s ears clenched: *Wait... dirty money. *  

A stroke of genius graced him “What? You mean you’re planning on selling me to David Xanatos ?” putting heavy emphasis on the proper noun “I know he’s got a TEN-million-dollar bounty on gargoyles, but please don’t sell me to him!” 

No such bounty existed, but they didn’t need to know that. 

If these thugs told that rich-prick they had a gargoyle, at least it would ensure the clan would know where he was – and hopefully buy him enough time to NOT be shattered into gravel at the next Quarrymen rally. Pride wasn’t worth dying over. 

Brooklyn’s blood chilled, because Radar only snickered “Well yer in luck, red baron. Rich boy ain’t gettin' ya.” 

“B-But it’s more mon-”  

“Yeah, damn shame you didn't sing earlier.” he lamented with a shrug of his prod-wielding shoulder “But I know better than to back out of a deal with Calvert. I’m not lookin’ to be turned into one of his organ factories.” 

A voice chimed out from behind “1.3 mil is confirmed Radar! They’re on their way; ETA 10 minutes.” 

“Spectacular.” An unenthusiastic Radar dryly responded, tapping Brooklyn’s cheek twice with the length of the cattle prod “Prep him.”  

Brooklyn’s heart was beating out of his chest; he was going to die. Either he’d be smashed to pieces once the sun rose, or he was going to be moved during the day and be impossible to track. He’d heard this a dozen times from Elisa: “With a missing person’s case. If you don’t find them within 72 hours, you’re never going to find them.” 

The semi-circle of thugs was closing in on him. 

No one knew where he had gone and he was the only one in the clan who knew where these guy’s base of operations was. The flexes of his arms and twisting of his shoulders did nothing to break free of the steel python that had slithered around him, the tranquilizers that still poisoned him made him far too weak! He couldn’t escape, but: 

Desperate and out of options, Brooklyn chomped down on his lip right as the sights of a tranq-rifle lined up on him. The bite of his fangs drew warm blood from his lip, causing just enough to dribble out for him to spit it to the ground. The only scent marker he could think to leave.  

The sound of the rifle cocking chilled the night.  

A set of terrified, onyx eyes frantically looked around, pleading for some last-second rescue from the others – It didn’t come. 

*BANG*  

***************************  

Lex clenched a fist against his forehead, back resting against the masonry of one of the island’s towers. Coming here had been a mistake.  

When he had passed the gift shop on the way out, he had spied the same stupid CD he had always seen when he visited the island. Numbness and spite had pushed him to swipe a copy along with a CD Player and headphones. Now he wished he hadn’t. 

Because the lyrics mocked him.  

“And courage is the passport 
When your old world disappears” 

“Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears” by The Irish Tenors; a song Lex could only guess was about arriving immigrants in New York lamenting the pain of leaving their home behind. The three patronizing smiles on the album cover serenaded him with the story of his life. These humans thought they knew what it was like to lose a home, but they didn’t. They had no idea. 

“But there's no future in the past 
When you're fifteen years” 

Those damn Irish voices. They weren’t Scottish... but Sweet Dragon, were they close. Close to the accents of all his mothers and fathers that used to so kindly and lovingly sing to him whenever he was upset. The voices that once surrounded him with love and acceptance. 

“Isle of hope, isle of tears, 
Isle of freedom, isle of fears” 

He enjoyed the wonderous new experiences of the new millennium... but he’d give up every circuit board he’d ever had in an instant if it meant he got to be held one last time by any of his mothers...  

“But it's not the isle you've left behind. 
That isle of hunger, isle of pain,” 

The orange rays of dawn began to crest over the horizon. Manhattan was where he lived, but it was not his home. Across the water he looked at, across the Atlantic, and across time itself... Scotland 1000 years ago was his home. 

“Isle you'll never see again”  

And yes, he’d never see it again. 

Lexington’s olive hands covered his face, his bottom lip quivering and trying to hold it together long enough for stone sleep to save him. He didn’t WANT computers, technology, or gadgets. He wanted to be back at Castle Wyvern, enjoying the priceless moments of his brothers and sisters, moments he didn’t know were numbered.  

Sunlight began to bathe the morning dawn, warming his shaking form and hardening it into stone.  

He just wanted everything to go back to normal. He wanted to have more than Goliath’s divided attention as his only source of affection. He wanted his mothers and his fathers....  

...He wanted Brooklyn.  

“But the Isle of home is always on your mind.”  

A single tear streaked down the frozen expression of a weeping gargoyle statue. 

He wanted to go home.

Chapter Text

  -One Week Later-

-November 20th, 1996-

Stone mixed with flesh “This isn’t good…”

Goliath had prayed for a distraction, but not like this. For seven agonizing nights he had barely spent a handful of waking moments at the castle, all his time was spent in the air scouring every inch of Manhattan. Every non-waking moment, he was trapped in stone sleep to lament the million different ways he had wished his last moments with Brookyln to have gone.

Lexington had barely been able to dismissively say a combined nine words to him in the past week, Broadway’s meek attempts at bridging the rift were mired with the red-beaked elephant in the room, and even Anglea, as far as he could tell, had put up a filter around him. He had been neglecting to take time for meals so much that Elisa and Hudson had to practically tie him down to his perch for five minutes and force him to at least eat something.

But he wouldn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. His son was out there scared, alone, and hurt. He had to find him and put all this right; he had to reforge the bond that had been lost. Not just with Brooklyn, but with all his sons. Broadway’s worry, same as his own, had devoured any space in his heart that was ready for a rekindling of familial love. And Lexington? Lexington had made it a point to not even look at him for more than seconds at a time.

Goliath had been praying for a distraction, something to knock them out of the hollow rut they had been forced in. But he hadn’t prayed for this. 

Because now Hudson was inspecting the arm of his clone, Burbank. Whose arm was now patched with an ever-growing rot of stone “This isn’t good…” he repeated. 

Talon’s clenched knuckles left his pursed lips, wary eyes now in alarm “You’ve seen this before?”

“Nay, that’s the rub. I’ve never seen this before.”.

“Have you at least heard of something like this?”

“Not on someone this young.”

To put it plainly, the clones were dying. Talon had called upon the Manhattan Clan at their home of record less than an hour ago to help them. If they weren’t facing death, they were flirting with something similar. Something permanent.

Goliath’s nostrils exhaled grimly “How long ago? When did this start?”

“Two nights ago.” Talon said with extended thumb and index finger “First time we saw anything was right before sunrise; Hollywood and Brentwood started growing these green masses before they turned to stone” he pressed his extended digits together to make a ring “-nothing bigger than the size of a nickel. But when they woke up last night, ALL of them were like this.”

*COUGH* *COUGH * “Aye… we went to-” Burbank struggled in a wheeze of air “-we went to Sevarius for a cure. But he said he couldn’t be bothered.”

“Steady Burbank,” Talon urged him delicately, the panther’s yellow eyes darted back up to the patriarchs “Look Goliath, I gotta be blunt; they don’t have much time, not with how fast its spreading. If we don’t fix them and fast…Well, I don’t think they’re going to wake up from their stone sleep tomorrow.”

Burbank went into a coughing fit, the Panther’s ears flattening in barely hidden distress, his large black hand stroking the repplica’s hair as soothingly as he could manage “Maggie and I have tried to keep the younger ones calm, but we can’t fool them when it’s growing on their goddamn skin. I… Look, I’ve got no more love for Sevarius than you do; given the opportunity, I’d nail him to a wall… but… I can’t think of any other option. I swear we’ll take every preca-”

“Yes.” Goliath stated abruptly

An off put blink from the Panther asked for confirmation.

“The DNA samples. We’ll do it.”

“...I didn’t say anything ‘bout DNA samples.”

Goliath didn’t dignify a back and forth conversation just so Talon could act humble “The cause of their state is obvious, as is the cure. If their bodies are breaking down genetically, enough of our replacement blood samples will reverse the effects.”

A furrowed brow and partly slack jaw from Hudson was sent his way, seeming to wonder if he had heard his younger correctly “Lad?”

“Well - great.” A balking Talon interrupted “Just one problem though, that epinephrine-snorting bastard, Sevarius, still is the only one who can cure them. I doubt he’s gonna just fork over a cure… or not poison them when givin’ them a sugar pill.”

A flicker of white showed itself in Goliath’s eyes as he stood to his full height, folding his wings upon his shoulders “ He will. ” he assured - an ominous certainty in his tone.

Talon glanced at Hudson while gesturing at Goliath who was currently turning away from them, asking silently if this was typical behavior for the leader of the Manhattan Clan. Hudson mutely shook his head.

The Labyrinth's unofficially titled leader soothed Burbank’s resurgence of hacking “Well… that leaves us with one final big issue: Delilah’s hasn’t got a blood donor.” he said grimly “Even if we got the others covered, I doubt Demona’s gonna be all too willing to pop in for an impromptu blood drive.” his hands ceasing their rubbing of the bearded one’s back “Speaking of which, we’re still gonna need the blood donations for Malibu-”

Goliath’s and Hudson’s shoulders tensed.

“Where’s Brooklyn?”

Talon looked back at the door they had come through “-I didn’t see him when you guys flew in. Is he out on patrol? PLEAS E tell me you bunch decided to start bringin’ earpieces on those things! We need to get him here and quick-” 

Goliath must have had a slack jaw, because Talon’s voice fell silent when he looked back to him “...Goliath? …Where’s Brooklyn?”

“...”

“...”

The door swung open and in ran an out of breath Elisa “Derek! Got here as fast as I could!”

OOOoooOOOoooOOO

“Hollywood, why don’t you show them the pictures you took at Rockefeller Center?” Maggie urged softly “Remember? That’s the place with all the people who skate across ice? With the big gold statue.”

“Oh, right!” A half stone/half flesh arm turned the page again.

Okay, this wasn’t natural.

Lexington, nor any of the others really, were particularly over the moon about having a clone. Someone else having your face? Your voice? Your FORM? It was just eerie. And watching a mirror of yourself cling to life, while simultaneously oblivious to the direness of the situation, certainly didn’t help things either.

But here he was, looking at the photo album collected by a clone - who proudly showed off his haphazard collection of polaroids with barely a few hours left to live. They had only been here for ten minutes and already Lexington could feel the anticipatory grief that polluted this clan as well. When Goliath and Hudson had stepped into the adjoining room with Talon and Burbank, he, Broadway, and Angela were left to occupy the straggling members of the clan.

He and Broadway would have been more than content with just standing in silence until their ‘leaders only’ meeting was done and over with - but Maggie just HAD to pull them all together. 

“And this from Radio City. This plane museum. And this top of Liberty Statue.” Hollywood showcased with a dragging orange finger.

“Statue of Liberty, honey.” Maggie softly corrected.

“Oh! Other book! It… It here somewhere!” the orange and green stained beast stumbling to his feet from the half-ruined coach to go rummaging through a junk box in the corner.

Broadway, whom had been divided from Lexington on the couch by Hollywood’s body, seized the opportunity to whisper through the corner of his mouth “......Lex, any thoughts?”

Hell if he knew. Last time The Manhattan Clan saw these guys, they were actively trying to kill the entire clan - though not once did they try to form words while doing it. They underwent their immaculate conception for one purpose and one purpose only “Serve Thailog”. Sure, they came out of the test tubes fully grown and with all the physical attributes to make them effective shock troopers, but there was a new revelation to consider: these guys were barely a few months old. 

“I dunno, dude.” Lex relayed back to him quietly “Last time they’re trying to execute us, now we got my clone wanting to show us his new plant collection and yours trying to show us photos.”

“They have names.” Angela promptly policed.

“Oh don’t even.” Lex said coldly “Look, when YOU get someone else wearing your face and using your voice, you can ride that high horse all day long.”

“DUDE.” Broadway’s lips now fully opening for the interjection.

“HERE!” Hollywood cheered, hoisting a different photo binder over head “Oh… wait, no. Not right.” rummaging back through the box.

Broadway sped through his words, eyes still fixed on Maggie and Hollywood who remained just barely out of earshot “Come on Lex, not the time. What do ya think? Right-to-live aside, do you think it’s a good idea? Like, helping them?”

Lexington couldn’t pretend he had some higher reasoning: he simply just didn’t like having a clone, none of them did. 

Dragon, not even Goliath’s ‘sagely stoicism’ could keep him from having a knee-jerk repulsion at Thailog when he first saw him. Having someone else with your face, your voice, your blood? It felt vile, like your soul had been copied and pasted into a husk.The current mental state of Coldstone and his beloved was all the living proof he needed to warn the dangers of souls and bodies not being unique!

But now things were worse. Until a few minutes ago Lexington and Broadway hadn’t even been sure if the clones were really living, sentient creatures. The way they spoke, how they moved, and how dead their eyes were? They were more like bio-experiments programmed with just enough stimuli and cognition to function. Well that would have been the EASY way to look at it.

Seeing them again made it way more complicated. A LOT more complicated.

Hanging on the back wall was a chalkboard with basic sentences for an English lesson. Children’s books were stacked neatly on cinder blocks and plywood to serve as a bookshelf. Scribbled drawings and rudimentary attempts at origami were taped to the wall and displayed with pride… Maggie and Talon had set up a little school for the clones.

They were biologically programmed to be the same age as the gargoyles, but they were barely three months old. They were by no means ‘stupid’ or toddlers, but they were an extreme case of the unfamiliarity The Manhattan Clan themselves had experienced in their first months in the 20th century. For everyone except Deliliah, who was designed to be fully developed mentally, every event, other than fighting, was a brand new experience for the genetic copies. Television, musical instruments, hell even a fork and knife was alien. Lex had barely said a few sentences to his clone and everytime he looked back at him with complete confusion; they simply didn’t know any better.

Sadly for them, there was one concept ALL living creatures regardless of age and experience were familiar with, though: death. With the slowing encasing of infection of the gargoyles, Burbank (having his genetic code personally altered to reduce his age) and Delilah (Being hand-crafted by Thailog) had a morbid, hopeless grimness to them. Hollywood and Brentwood were on the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

There was not a shred of sadness in them. As Hollywood spun around with his desired book in hand and raced back to the couch with his progressively deteriorating legs; there was no mourning, no confusion, only hope. Beautiful, nonsensical hope. Irrational hope. Delusional hope.

Denial.

This thing was smart enough to realize the sheer direness of his situation, but was too unpolluted to accept the reality of it. Every moment for a cure counted, and he was using it to instead share his photo album of blurry, shoddily taken polaroids.

Maggie was on Hollywood like a hawk, attentive hands soothing his shoulders, her slow words doing what they could to mask the grief in her tone “Don’t rush Hollywood, I’m sure they’re very excited to see your photos.” she said calmingly “You don’t need to push yourself so hard.”

“B-But I wanna show all! Show all we seen! We liked new things now!” he stammered with an unhinged smile.

Hollywood’s attempt at a showcase became more of a rambling monologue, rapidly flipping through pages of blurry images faster than the Manhattan clan could follow. His lack of practice with English diction devolved as he went through the first thirty pages in a flash “-And this flower garden in Park Central! Pick flowers and not fights! And here’s boxing stadium!”

He flipped to a pair of pages he seemed content enough to slow down on; no idea why though. It was sixteen pictures of the same alleyway at different angles “And THIS is where I stopped mugging!”

Lex and Broadway’s ears perked up slightly.

“I saw a lady in trouble. We were all out together! Talon saw a person in trouble, said stopping trouble is what we do!” his pudgy finger tapping at separate pictures that pretty much showed the exact same angle over and over again “When knocked out bad guy, WE helped tie him up! Served GOOD people!” his eyes flashing a little more frantically “We HELP people now! Not like before! Good now! Don’t want to cause harm!”

Before the three visiting gargoyles had a chance to clench up and sink back into the ruined sofa, Maggie’s gentle hands pressed calmly yet firmly into Hollywood’s chest and pulling his back to their side of the table “They know Hollywood… They know…” she coaxed softly “You and your brothers are heroes. They know you think for yourself. They know you’re kind.”

Hollywood’s massive orange head snapped to look at the unofficial matriarch of the clan “I know! But I want them to MORE know! We only do things good! We’re smart and can think for ourselves” his eyes suddenly going wild and wings flaring wide “We not serve anymore… We not like Thail-!”

“Shhhhhh…. Shhhhh…” Maggie hushed to the brute over twice her size, a practiced hand stroking his head and cheeks “Hollywood… Look at me.” 

Angela, Lexington, and Broadway all blinked as Maggie lead Hollywood in three deep breaths to calm his breathing.

“You are unique. You are gentle. You are important.”

Hollywood exhaled and nodded his head with shut eyes, his tensing shoulders now relaxing “I… I am unique… I am gentle… I am important.”

“Good…” Maggie assured him tenderly  “The gargoyles are not angry at you. The gargoyles are very nice and very kind… they’re not going to get angry at you… okay?”

Lex’s mouth moved before his brain “Hey uh….yeah, Hollywood. We’re not angry…. We’re happy to be here.” *This is so weird*

Hollywood seemed to only respond when Maggie spoke again “Why don’t you go get Malibu and Brentwood, okay?”

“...Get Malibu and Brentwood…” he repeated, mutely sliding the picture album off his lap and instantly marching away.

There was a solid ten seconds of silence once Hollywood left the semi-collapsed room, making sure he was out of earshot. Almost immediately, Maddie’s hands went to her brow; she exhaled as if she’d been holding her breath for hours.

Angela extended a hand “Maggie?”

“I’m sorry… just…. Give me a moment.” she inhaled a haggard breath to steady herself, collapsing into the backrest of the sofa “The boys don’t respond well to being given orders. Well-” she circled her hands “-they respond TOO well to being given orders. Try as we might to deprogram all the obedience Thailog built into them, they still turn into drones anytime Derek or I tell them to do anything.”

Nonverbal agreements were made between the three guests while their hostess’s eyes were still closed. Lexington cleared his voice “Well I mean… trying to think of the best way to say this … all things considered, they’re nothing like the guys we met last time.”

“In what ways?” feline hands flopped into her lap and cat eyes locked onto the ceiling “The disease I waited too long to do something about? The mental damage I haven’t been able to undo? Or the fact that they’re hours away from turning to stone and there’s nothing I can do?”

Angela crossed the distance in a flash to sit by her “You’re doing everything you can - and we will do everything that we can, as well. I promise.”

Maggie choked slightly “Don’t let me cry.” she commanded “I can’t let them see me crying when they get back, but… God… God Dammit. I was finally getting through to them…”

Lexington and Broadway moved without thinking, joining Angela at Maggie’s side, now gripped her mane “...They’re just children. They look older, but they’re just kids… Only alive for a few months…”

The squeak of the door made all four snap their attention up, Maggie rubbing her eyes dry as quick as a flash. Goliath stood in the frame “Lexington, Angela, Broadway. To me.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

“-AND YOU DIDN’T THINK TO TELL ME??” Derek hissed, fangs bared, and voice strained to stay a whisper.

“You don’t tell me a LOT of things, Derek.” Elisa hissed quietly back “I didn’t think you’d want to know!”

“Would want t-” he gestured fiercely to the wall as if they could see through it “Maybe the police force has changed since I left, but I remember anyone gone for 24 hours was a missing person’s case!”

They were lucky the underground concrete walls were thick enough to be soundproof; Talon hadn’t taken the news that Malibu was sans a donor all too well. Without the template there to fill in the genetic gaps, a clone was doomed. 

“That’s not what I mea- We only just found out that the clones needed the originals’ blood. I would have never known to tell you!”

“That’s not what I mean, sis! Clones or not, if Brooklyn’s missin’, I wanted to know!”

Elisa had too delayed a response before Talon hit another sentence

He threw his hands up “Look! He’s a good kid! I know we didn’t get off right with each other… for some reason, he still seems to not like me all that much, neither… ” he muttered “But he’s still the guy who got me and the rest of the labyrinth outta hot water when you n’ Goliath went missing yourselves. I owe him!”

Hindsight was a bitch to look at when it was always 20/20 “Okay, I’m sorry, I should have told you. But we’ve been scouring the city for a full week and have found nothing, we can’t rely on Brooklyn being Malibu’s blood donor-” she paused and he eyes seemed to glance in a dozen directions “-So we’ll have to hope blood from the other gargoyles will be enough to stabilize Malibu until we finally find him.”

Talon trudged after her as they made their way to the door “-And THIS time, I’m bein’ included on the searches!” he bent down to just rumble in her ear “...Hey… by the way, the hell was Brooklyn and Goliath’s argument about?.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

It wasn’t as bad as having Goliath… but Lex REALLY wished Broadway had been the extra pair of hands instead of Angela! He didn’t care if Broadway was a slower flier, HE could have been the one to help him carry the gear while Angela was the one who stayed back in the Labyrinth and helped prepare for an assault on Sevarius’s estate.

The awkward silence was unbearably deafening.

Lexington had apologized to Angela for lashing out at her back when he was chewing out Goliath, but things were still weird. Once the truth genie was out of the bottle, you couldn’t really stuff him back in. Forgiving as she was, it still was just - well, uncomfortable - to be around her. Sure, he didn’t REALLY mean what he said, but he was still jealous beyond belief.

“...........You were great with Hollywood, back there.” Angela broke the silence as they glided back to the Labyrinth, laptop and gear in hand “Hearing it from you really helped calm him down.”

“......Mhmm.”

Another long silence.

“.........What do you think we should do for Malibu? Even if my mother won’t be there, Elisa might be enough to stable out Delilah, but Malibu-”

“He’s not gonna make it.” Lexington said bluntly.

Angela had to blink “There’s still time, Lex. We don-”

“I doubt even OUR clones are gonna make it, Malibu’s got no chance in hell.”

“But we shouldn’t just give up on them!”

“Uh, I’m not, does it look like I am?” he muttered back, jostling the two duffel bags that hung below him “But it’s wrong to build someone up on a lie.”

“I know you guys on Avalon didn’t have any real plagues to worry about… but it was different in Scotland. Every few years there’d be some sorta illness that’d rip through the kingdom. They didn’t have the magic of Avalon or the medicine of today - if you caught a severe sickness, you were a deadman.”

He held up two fingers “Two ways you went about dealing with it: one way for adults, one way for children. If it was an adult, you’d tell them the truth and give them time to make peace with themselves; it was cruel to give them false hope when they knew better deep down. If it was a child, then you’d lie your tail off about them making a recovery. They were naive enough to be fooled into thinking they’d be alright… might as well let them think they’d be okay, rather than be in fear their last few days.”

Lex lowered his hand and looked back ahead “We can keep letting the clones think they’re going to pull through…. But Maggie and Talon? Stop getting their hopes up. Just stop.”

“LEXINGTON!” Angela barked out a little too forcefully.

“I’m not saying abandon them! I mean comfort them and support them so they’re ready when the clones go stone! But don’t go lying to them and building them up, it’ll just make the fall that much harder.”

“IF it comes to that, I’ll definitely be there to support them! But I’m not ready to give up on them so soon! ……..and I don’t think you are either.”

There was another long pause, Lexington looking away as Angela swooped in closer to him “....are you?”

Lexington let out a strained exhale through his nose, neck turned so far away from her that it looked painful “....It sucks getting your hopes up, then realizing you never had a chance…” he muttered “...Don’t put them through that.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

Angela tensed up. Something about this seemed incredibly familiar…

Even after Lexington had apologized to her and she immediately forgave him, Lexington still was so coldly distant from her. He was still as warm and cordial with Hudson and Broadway as ever. He had promised his anger towards Goliath didn’t extend to her in the slightest, yet he still avoided her like the plague! The anger and repulsion he had when he spoke of her the night Brooklyn went missing was FAR too genuine to be just him lashing out in anger. He truly despised her.

When she first arrived, Lexington had been the most open and friendly with her! But now his words were so cold. His scowls and sneers had so much venom. His physical and emotional distance from her was just too deliberate.

What could she have done to make him so furious at her??

====

Lex kept his jaw from tightening but couldn’t prevent his eyes from narrowing at Angela and Broadway  “.....What is this?” he asked almost rhetorically to Broadway and Angela.

=

“Then you know Brooklyn even less than I thought” Lexington grumbled

=

"Clever deduction, detective," Lexington said tartly as he crossed his arms. "What was your first clue?" 

=

Broadway sighed again and rubbed the crown of his forehead “...that maybe we shoulda told Brooklyn ASAP; better to hear it from us rather than him find out on his own and...” he made a sweeping gesture with his hands “Something like this happen.” 

=====

Angela’s neck bristled in realization: Brooklyn wasn’t the only one hurt by her choosing Broadway.

Lex’s head was still forcibly looking away from her, almost seeming to talk to himself “You let someone build you up, you let them lead you on… then you realize you never had a chance.”

The wind that howled by them went deadly quiet. Angela knew Lexington had competed with Brooklyn and Broadway for her attention when she first arrived, but he seemed to be the first person to ease off it. She may have not had any romantic feelings for him, but to be bluntly honest, she preferred his company over his brothers. 

Having men fight for your approval was flattering at first, but it was far too degrading after a while. Lexington was different. He was the first to actually give her space and just talk to her casually, no hidden agenda to win her affection. For the longest time she thought he’d gotten over his crush and just wanted to be a trusted, close friend… but with how cold and distant he had been since the night her and Broadway got together? He must have had his feelings crushed.

 “Lexington… You’re an incredible gargoyle, and one day you’re going to find that incredible girl you deserve.” Angela said with cautious sincerity “I know plenty of my sisters would be pulling each other’s HAIR out fighting each other if they got a look at how much of a genius you are!”

Lexington clenched up, eyes trained at the skyscrapers they were passing “You’re going to meet someone, I know you are. And… I’m sorry I didn’t communicate with you.” she said with a look of downcast, “I love Broadway, but I love you and Brooklyn as clanmates… and I’m sorry that I hurt you by not making that clear.”

Lexington’s head snapped back to her. She had feared he’d look at her with rage or pain… Instead, he looked at her with disgusted disbelief. Somehow that was worse.

“...Is that what you think this is about!? That I didn’t get YOUR attention?! Your approval? Heh, why the hell would I give a rat’s ass what YOU think about me?” his voice almost laughing at the sheer absurdity of the idea.

Angela opened her mouth to respond, but the first dozen responses she thought of just felt far too demeaning to say.

“I….” Lex shot his head forward “... Nevermind .”

“Lex, please!” she flew up beside him, hand on his forearm “You’ve been ignoring me for days! If there’s something I did, just please tell me!”

Lex huffed, and yanked his arm away “I said drop it!”

“It won’t get any better by just burying it. For whatever it is I did, we can fix it together! If it wasn’t about love, then what was it?”

She could see the muscles tensing from his nape all the way down to his toes “I… I know you all have been denied love for so many years! A heart is not meant to bear that void alone!”

Angela recoiled away. Lexington’s eyes had snapped open a primal, glowing white. His little body was straining every muscle in a tense fury. His fangs barred themselves as if they had every intention to kill.

“I’m in love with Brooklyn!”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

Brooklyn’s voice rasped out behind him “......Thailog?”

A shiver rocketed down Goliath’s spine. It was so sharp that the look Elisa gave him made him fear how gaunt his expression was. He snapped around as soon as he felt the blood start pumping in his veins again. 

Malibu hobbled in, seemingly untainted by the disease, while providing a shoulder for Brentwood to support himself on as he hopped in. Instinct and regret made Goliath lurch forward slightly; he wanted to grab the beaked gargoyle by the shoulders and beg for his forgiveness. He wanted to scoop him into a hug and never let him go. But this thing wasn’t Brooklyn; it was the spawn of a test-tube that had his face and voice. Even still…Goliath found himself lowering slightly to be more approachable.

“Thank you for coming, Goliath…” Malibu said weakly, a disappointed sulk on his face as if he was expecting someone else “...we have little time left.” 

Goliath gave a solemn nod “Of course.” somehow being the only thing he could manage out. He knew this thing had none of Brooklyn’s memory, nor soul… but maybe it would have SOME semblance of his mind. Some idea where he would have ran off to.

Talon was at Malibu’s side as soon as Malibu could call his name out, kneeling down to take Brentwood from him “His stone skin… getting worse… spreading too quickly.” the long-haired gargoyle droned out. 

“I know Malibu, I know…” the panther said softly, able to cradle a wheezing Brentwood in his arms “It’s going to be alright. We’re leaving for Sevarius soon, we’ll have a cure in no time. Hollywood is off sharing his photo album with Maggie and Delilah, they’d love to see you.” he tucked Brentwood against his chest while passing by Elisa and Goliath, quickly muttering “I’m gonna check on Burbank and Hudson, keep the boys’ minds occupied.”

Goliath had only looked away for a second, but Malibu’s attention was now fixed squarely on him “....Thailog… come from Goliath… If Goliath came to help…. Means that Thailog would want help us too?” 

*Thailog* DAMN. Goliath didn’t account for him! Still, he extended a hand onto Malibu’s shoulder, slightly hopeful as he looked the boy up and down. Unlike the others, he showed zero sign of infection. His turquoise skin was flawless, his joints all seemed to work without issue… maybe he’d be fine without Brooklyn “I don’t think Thailog is going to help, Malibu… but you have something better. You have a clan. We’ll see to it that we do everything we can for you.” 

“Thailog… not… coming?”

Elisa stepped in immediately “Hey, I heard Hollywood took a lot of pictures of you for his photo album! From what I hear, you guys are natural heroes now” guiding him towards the next room and not giving him the opportunity to interject “Would it be okay if you show us some of them? I bet they look really cool!”

Goliath’s heart nearly stopped. Malibu’s backside was pure stone.

As Elisa led him away, Goliath was finally able to see the beaked gargoyle from behind. everything from Malibu’s nape, all the way down to his tailbone was solid rock. His wings were partially retracted, yet totally frozen flat against his body. His tail was half petrified… and it looks like his hamstrings were next in line. He wouldn’t see the next sunset.

Broadway looked relieved to see Elisa and Goliath walk in, a half-baked smile pleading for help. Delilah sat silently on the couch, chin on her hands and eyes locked a thousand yards away: she was the only clone with enough mental capacity to realize what the stone on her skin meant. Hollywood snapped a picture with a polaroid camera, waving the photo as soon as it was dispensed to dry it.

“Malibu! Just in time! About to showing pictures of clan at concert!” he beamed. Malibu instantly snapped out of his Thailog musings and scampered over, eyes suddenly as blissful and oblivious as his amber brother’s “Oh! Rock concert one?? Elisa, Goliath! Come look at it!”

The couch groaned in protest as it shouldered Goliath’s added weight, Broadway clearly relieved at the fact he had someone else to help him. Goliath even found himself melt slightly when Broadway slid over to him and closed the gap between them… the extra warmth he felt was something he desperately needed.

What reminiscing he could do was interrupted by Hollywood fiddling with his camera “Hey! Malibu, Goliath! Can I get pictures? Finally can show we are team now!”

Goliath found his body moving on its own, a hand raising to place a hand on Malibu’s shoulder the second he bounced over and sat behind him without a word. His stoic look twitching slightly when he felt the base of his palm rub against the coarse grit of his stoned backside. Still, he managed to curl his lips up just in time to smile, or what his level of smiling was, before a flash of light blinded the lot of them. Malibu was instantly on his feet, scurrying over to see how it looked and give his critique - and already Goliath found himself feeling a bit colder.

Broadway’s warmth next to him. Malibu’s familiar shape. He hadn’t realized just how much he truly yearned for his sons, to feel them finally let the filter’s drop around him. But his joy was not to be enjoyed, no sooner had Hollywood started drying the latest photograph, Delilah collapsed to one knee. A sharp wheeze, a gritting of teeth, and convulsing of the joints announced the stone rot’s continuing conquest down her left side. 

Hudson and him were at her side, unable to do anything to help as the others gawked…

*Lexington… Angela… HURRY.*

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

Angela didn’t have words. Neither did Lexington. The silence following his confession hung mid-air.

*HRK*

Lexington’s hand shot to his mouth as he belched a wet retch into it. His back spasmed and he sharply veered left away from the corridor of the skyscrapers faster than Angela could respond. Even as she barely managed to keep up, she could see his back pulse a second time in a dry heave. He managed to glide just over a rooftop before-

*BLLLAAAAAARGHHH*

Lexington’s head jerked down mid-flight and out came everything. She expected him to slow down and come in for a knee-slide landing, but he didn’t. He shivered in disgust, dried his hand by swiping it in the wind, and kept on gliding. His body needed only a split second to recover from vomiting before:

“I’m in love with Brooklyn!” Lexington spat “There! That’s the big secret! HAPPY?”

Angela gave no reply.

Voice trembling, Lex’s head shook grimly at the lights below “I think I’ve known for a while… I just - didn’t want to. I’ve had plenty of gargoyle male friends who I didn’t get … ‘confused’ around. Not even around Broadway, even with how close we always were.”

“But… Brooklyn…” Lex’s voice fell away when it tried to say his name “...He was always the one stepping up. All my life he was always the first to charge into battle. So brave, so compassionate, so resilient… At first I thought it was just me being proud of a friend… but when he became leader and took charge of everything; he showed he had matured even further than I thought he was… I… WANTED to be by his side up on his perch at night.”

Lex’s whimsy faded. Disgust riddled his mug and locked in on her “But then YOU had to come along…”

The imp thrashed his head as if trying to shake a thought out of his skull “I thought I was just ‘confused’ and my feelings for Brooklyn were just a phase once I saw you. When I saw Brooklyn and Broadway start fighting over you, I had a knee-jerk reaction to do the same; I wanted to prove to myself that those feelings were really meant for a FEMALE, not another male gargoyle! But… I couldn’t…” Lex’s eyes began to streak white with moonlit tears “-I-I couldn’t get myself to want you!” 

Angela managed to get her body to finally respond, she flew up to the gargoyle imp that looked fit to fall apart mid-air. She didn’t say one of the thousand things she wanted to say, she could only listen

“I-I even tried to PROGRAM myself to do it! Anytime I found myself getting those feelings for Brooklyn, I’d bite my arm or scratch my neck! And anytime I did something I liked, I’d try to think of you! But nothing worked! I… I…” his chin cratered “...I was in love with my own goddamn rookery brother.”

Her mind tried to pin the discordant orchestra in her mind, managing to pull out one thing to vocalize “And… I made it… harder for you to tell him?”

“Harder? You made it IMPOSSIBLE.” his eyes slamming shut and his teeth clenched “How COULD I even tell him? Tell my best friend I had the hots for him? I at least THOUGHT I might be able to get his attention while I came up with a way to confess… but you took all his attention away, ALL of it.”

Jealousy dripped like poison in his words “I didn’t just lose a crush to you, I lost my best FRIEND to you! Ever since you showed up, I’ve only gotten to spend time with Brooklyn for minutes at a time! All he does anymore is do shit to impress you! All he does is workout, practice his flying routines, and read Shakespeare!”

“Wait, Brooklyn hates Shakespeare. I thought you did too-”

“But YOU love it.” He shot back “And that’s all Brooklyn needed! Damn stonehead read 7 plays by that guy in a single week; even read some Christopher Marlowe to try and impress you! I only even GOT him to finally sit down with me for a few hours because I said Hudson and I were going to be watching Shakespeare movies! Maybe bait him into playing some video games with me like old times!” 

“I was finally getting excited when I thought you and Broadway were drifting together. It would mean that MAYBE Brooklyn would finally give up on wooing you and finally be open again. But…” he grit his teeth “...That didn’t happen. Brooklyn wouldn’t stop loving you! And with every night, I was starting to realize he’d never look at me the way he looks at you!”

“So I-I had to watch! I had to HELP!” Lexington choked out, voice now breaking “I-I wanted to sabotage his attempts SO. BAD. But I couldn’t do that to him, not with all his heart has been through! So I-I was the one he asked for help when he started practicing his flying routines again! I was the one who encou-ouraged him to go after what he wanted… no matter what it meant for me. If it made him happy, I wouldn’t stop him!”

Tears streaked freely now “A-And every night I’d see him mope because the gargoyle he loved, loved someone else… while he never realized HE was doing the same thing to me! The dumb bastard couldn’t just open his eyes when all they saw was you!” 

Lex pushed his palm into his face, disgusted with his own tears as he swiped them away “It was stupid - thinking we’d ever be together.” he snorted damply “I mean, why the hell WOULD he even notice me? It’s not like Gargoyles… like…” he gestured to himself “...Like ME ever get to have the one they really want.”

Silence hung in the air. How was Angela even supposed to respond to this? Lexington dropping his sexuality clear as day, confessing his love for Brooklyn, revealing how far Brooklyn had gone for her, telling her how much it tore HIM up inside to watch it happen?

The impish gargoyle snorted dryly “Anyways, that’s your cue  to let me have it now.” he waved a challenging talon “-Go on. You’re from Avalon where everyone is still stuck in the 10th century, go on, tell me how unnatural I am. I can take it just as much as I can dish it.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

“Lexington…” her voice soft and understanding “...There’s nothing unnatural about love. Man or woman.”

“I’m so sorry… I didn’t know. I didn’t know…” her mind seemed to need a second” EVERYTHING. You had so much you were going through, and you felt you had to hide it!”

If Lexington had hair, it would be bristling right now. His eyes dared to snap open, quickly shooting their attention back at her. Was his mind playing tricks on him? There was no judgment or ridicule in her eyes, but there was only… remorse?

Lexington’s perpetual scowl of the past week threatened to lift for the first time since he put it on “You mean, you’re- are you okay with this?”

“Lexington, you aren’t the first gay gargoyle friend I’ve had.”

Lexington nearly collapsed in mid-air.

“I know, I know. I was raised by very traditional humans… but we gargoyles on Avalon were also raised to be practical.” she explained gently “I told you before, I have 15 sisters. When you include myself, that makes 16 females from a clutch of 36. That leaves 20 males and 16 females… and when I left, that dropped the gender imbalance even further.”

Lexington’s hope turned to bewilderment. Whatever reasoning she was trying to make wasn’t making any sense to him. Gargoyles never looked down on the concept of homosexuality for moral or religious reasons, if anything, Gargoyle Clans were about as openly polyamorous as possible. Romance between the same gender was discouraged for sheer survival.

With clans being so small and breeding seasons happening only once every 2 decades, EVERY male and female had to be on full breeding duty in order to keep the numbers up and the gene pool properly balanced. If two gargoyles of the same gender became mates, it would take FOUR adults out of the breeding game; the two gay partners, and the two possible gargoyles of the opposite sex who now no longer had someone to mate with. Such partnering wasn’t outright FORBIDDEN or anything… but it was by no means looked upon favorably. 

“W-Well yeah. I guess I never did the math in that. But wouldn’t that mean there was even MORE reason for the females to find mates?”

“At first, yes. But the opposite became a serious problem… a DEADLY problem.”

Angela took a deep breath to gather her thoughts, fingertips pressed together and pursed to her lips “Remember when you three were fighting over me? And I snapped at you a little too sharply? Well… that’s because you weren’t the first ones to do so. Our Rookery Brothers realized the simple fact that there were four more males than there were females… meaning, even in a best case scenario, four of them would have to live their lives without mates… It was…” she exhaled shakily and shook her head “...savage.”

“Romance or not, we were all clan. At first, the attempts to win our praise and affection wasn’t all that concerning, if at least somewhat annoying. But as time went and more and more females chose lovers… and the available number of women began to shrink?” she paused “Lexington, it was awful.”

The impish gargoyle actually tensed up from the direness in her tone.

“The fights, Lexington. Sweet ancestors, they were monsters… They weren’t fist fights, it was savage brawls to the death. When the spring season came around, I watched my rookery brother’s desperation become hijacked by instinct. Two of my brothers, men I had seen nearly DIE for each other multiple times, nearly killed each other. Their eyes went white and they lost all knowledge of who they were and what was going on. There was only one goal: kill the competition.”

She clenched her eyes shut “...I can still remember the blood…” she shivered “Once they snapped out of their feral state and realized they had maimed each other, a moratorium was placed on courting, PERIOD.”

“And they went along with it?” Lexington asked

“Went along with it? The males are the ones who came up with it.” Angela replied “They were so terrified of their instincts making them hurt their lifelong friends that they wanted to remove all temptation. And so they exiled themselves to the other side of the island until they could think of some solution…”

Lexington shivered at the thought. He, Brooklyn, and Broadway were inseparable friends. Romance or not, their bond was invincible… Yet a SINGLE day was all it took for them to turn against each other in a vicious fight for Angela. Had she not stopped them immediately after the first time it happened - could it have escalated to bloodshed?

Lexington wouldn’t have fought for Angela, but Brooklyn and Broadway? Lexington quickly asked “Did you FIND a solution?” frantically.

“Yes, and it was beautiful.” a nostalgic smile drawing over her lips “Two of the unbetrothed males came forward and announced they had fallen for one another months ago. They had kept their love secret out of fear of judgment, but it was met with a resounding approval.”

“I must be honest, Lexington. At first, we were just relieved that we had found a way to help balance out the difference in available females and males. We didn’t see their union as two gargoyles finding joy in each others’ arms, just an answer for a problem the OTHER romantic couples were having. But as time went on… the sheer love they had for each other was so genuine and inspiring that it truly made us regret putting such a taboo on same-sex matings.”

She locked her attention squarely on him now, her words deliberate and honest “Lexington, your love for Brooklyn is beautiful and there is NOTHING wrong with you.”

Lexington recoiled, his body rippling in goosebumps… eyes beginning to mist.

“I want you to hear me, Lexington.” she said sternly “You are NOT confused or unnatural for loving another man… Love is love.”

That broke him.

Lexington’s barely maintained barriers shattered as did he. Tears of freedom rushed from his face. There was no pain, anger, sorrow, or longing in them, just pure relief. Even when he felt Angela’s comforting hand come to his back to rub it, he still babbled his penance through his heaves “I-I’m so sorry, Angela! I-I’m so sorry! All this time. All this time. I… I…”

He tried to find the words “I was just so jealous! Seeing him faun over you! Watching you not even acknowledge them! T-Thinking I’d never be able to tell anyone!”

“...And having to bear that burden all on your own…” she said softly.

His rambling apologies were immediately accepted by Angela as they glided, though she profusely told him they weren’t necessary. Lexington sniffed, rubbing his nostrils against his wing “Can we keep it between us, though? If the others found out-”

“If the others found out,” Angela said “You’d have just that many people there to back you up.”

“I know… Just…” the afterglow of their bonding was starting to wane, the reality of their situation unfortunately returning “...Brooklyn isn’t here. Not anymore.”

“Oh… I see…” Angela’s warm tone ebbing into emptiness again.

“And besides, even if he was-” he adjusted the strap of the bag he carried beneath him “-We’re too busy to talk about it now. Once this is all over and we find him… maybe then we can talk about it. But until then… can we just keep this between us?”

Angela sadly nodded in a sympathetic understanding “I won’t say a word, I promise… But when you’re ready to tell the others, I’ll be right there with you. I promise.”

The subway station they used to get into the Labyrinth was only four blocks away now, already he could make the outlines of the abandoned construction site. He looked down beneath them, eyes locked onto the street down below to watch their shadows race across; for the first time in a long time, he finally felt a tiny flicker of warmth dare to grow inside him. With all the things that had happened the past few days, at least he was finally free of the secrecy.

*FLAP*

Lex’s squinted slightly. There weren’t two shadows of gargoyles below. Off to the side, ever so slightly and barely dark enough to be visible, there was a third.

He snapped his head back, quick as a flash. There was no one. His eyes shot around them, overhead, underneath, they did a full 360 in every possible direction, but there was nothing. His eyes snapped down to the ground again, the third shadow was gone. 

Angela must have noticed his sudden scanning “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” he quickly dismissed “Just seein’ things.”

The duo leaned forward to glide to the ground, coming in for a soft landing. Lexington gave another glance over his shoulder as they descended the stairs. The sky was vacant. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

*THUUUUUM!!*

The sound of twin Italian maple doors being snapped off their hinges cracked louder than the lightning outside. The flash of lightning illuminated Goliath’s prowling frame to make him mimic the reaper coming to collect a soul.

“Enjoying your rest?”

“THAILO-” a pavlovian fear taking command of Sevarius's voice before his brain could correct it to “GOLIATH?”

“No.” the original snarled with a chilling composure “You are not so lucky.” striding to his bedside “Get up. Now. You have work to do and little time to do it.”

A half-hearted yawn was all Sevarius responded with, snapping his sleeping mask back over his eyes *yaaaaaawn* “Oh, wake me in the morning, Goliath. I shan’t be bothered to work on shelved projects after normal work hours-”

The covers were snapped off him, a hand thrice the size of a baseball mitt snatched around his ankle, a free purple claw snatched up the nightstand and threw it through the wall-high windows. All in the span of 2 seconds.

The human could only scream helplessly as he found himself dangled upside down by a single one of Goliath’s clutching hands. The icy sleet from the storm sprayed his body like frozen needles. Above his line of sight, the 40 foot drop to the concrete walkway below beckoned his skull.

“DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION NOW?”

“YES!” he bleated “YES! GOOD GOD, PULL ME BACK IN!”

A clench to the human’s ankle nearly crushed it like a pack of dried matches “The clones- YOUR clones are dying.” Goliath snarled in the spray of the midnight storm “So I’ll make this as simple as can be. You will cure them; no strings attached. No hidden poisons. No HINT of sabotage.”

“Alright! ALRIGHT! Your wish is my command!” he surrendered, his sickly pale skin beginning to redden with the rushing blood to his head “Now will you kindly pull me back in!?”

The harsh yanking back to the canopy of the roof wasn’t followed by a release of Golaith’s grip, Sevarius still hung upside down in his grasp “If you wish for me to cure your little dopplegangers, then I MUST ask that you stop handling me like a brute!” his severe lack of physical strength was so pitiful that he couldn’t even tighten his core enough to pull his chest up to eb the rushing of blood in his ears “Their chances of survival are feeble at best! Why on earth would I hea-”

A white hot pain shot through Sevarius’s foot

*SNAP*

The human shrieked. Goliath’s thumb had pressed against the pad of his pinky toe and forced it backwards until it snapped clean in two.

“The ankle’s next, Anton…..” Goliath promised, dropping him to the floor.

His taloned foot immediately followed, pinning the prone scientist to the bedroom floor “I’ve snapped men thrice your better like twigs.” he stated factually “You WILL cure the clones. All of them. For each one you don’t?” he pressed the balls of his foot into Anton’s sternum, the still sniveling man now curling fetally around the lavender claws “...I will take a rib.”

Sevarius would have gagged out in accordance had the full weight of Goliath not crushed the air out of his lungs. He was spared death-by-trampling when Goliath finally removed his clawed appendage from his torso. A purple hand snatched around the collar of his evening wear, dragging him without ceremony out of the room.

“Swine….” Goliath sneered as if the man was a sickness “...You truly squeal like a pig….”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lexington had half a dozen hard drives plugged into Sevarius’s computers. Broadway loomed beside him.

“Jalapena, this creep’s got all sorts of stuff.”

“Anything useful?”

“Money laundering. Stocks. Security systems. Fired staff and assistants. Nothing that we can really use.” Lexington’s talon swiped the mouse’s scroll wheel “I wouldn’t even know what to look for… Bioengineering isn’t really my specialty.”

“.......”

“....Hey.” Lexington quickly continued “Hudson and Angela are tearing this place apart looking for anything physical. And Bronx’s nose never misses a thing. If Sevarius has Brooklyn here, they’ll find him.”

“That is if Goliath doesn’t beat it out of him.” the portly gargoyle half muttered, half snarled with folded arms “.......The jerk had it coming. If anything,’ I’m joining in next time.” punching a fist into his open palm “I’ll BEAT it outta him if I gotta.”

Lex wanted to say something. That wasn’t Broadway talking, that was ‘Tough Guy’ Broadway talking. Get him upset or scared for too long, he’d barricade himself behind a ruthless thug act. Broadway did it. Brooklyn did it. Hell, even HE did it when something involved The Pack. But considering how they’d overheard Sevarius 'promptly’ respond to Goliath whipping out the ‘Scotland Sentinel' act… some more intimidation wouldn’t hurt.

“Well either way, it wouldn’t hurt to have.” Lex mumbled, dragging another batch of highlighted folders. Laundered charges with far too many zeroes at the end of them flickered on screen as they were copied. A list of fired scientists followed: ‘Anderson, Baldwin, Bertrum, Brannigan, Calvert-” and a dozen others flashed after.

“The less this creep has, the better.” Broadway snorted “I’m just glad you thought to run back to the castle and grab all this stuff.” he said, tapping one of the whirring hard drives “Plus, packing those jet boosters you’ve been workin’ on was smart. The clones wouldn’t have been able to get halfway here without ‘em.”

“Yeah… still a work in progress. There was barely enough juice in them to get ‘em here…”

Silence hung in the air.

“...One way trip.”

Broadway’s bouncing knee wouldn’t stop

“...Can you check the cameras again?”

“...Yeah…”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

Malibu convulsed on his operating table, clutching his sides, a thick sweat having matted his mane to his scalp. Brentwood’s lips were dabbed with a cloth by Maggie after he hurled a stomach’s worth of vomit into a bucket. Talon helplessly held Hollywood’s hand as the infection consumed the last of his right leg. Angela’s attempt to soothe the clone of her mother could serve nothing but sympathy and useless pity. Even Hudson couldn’t stomach the sight of seeing his younger, photo-negative self clawing into his own operating table and had resigned himself to cooling his head with a damp rag. Elisa knelt beside her brother, keeping the gargoyle thrice her size as calm as she could.

The clones were dying. And painfully.

If Sevarius slowed for even a second, a growl from Goliath put him back in line. He didn’t know the slightest thing about what sorcery he weaved with these vials and computer screen; but agliophobia was a universal language. Keeping his bones intact was all the motivation a man needed to well and faithfully carry out his duties.

“WELL?”

“I’m moving as fast as I can! I assure you!” Anton snapped, hobbling from one workbench to the next “If you would stop breaking my toes every 10 minutes, I’d be done faster, you brute!”

“Your six remaining ones are more than sufficient.” Goliath stated without a hint of remorse “...And you’d have all ten had you cured them when they first sought your healing.”

“Preach hindsight as you wish! Even a miracle worker such as myself cannot do the physically impossible!” he commented, one vial pouring into the other “And, in case you’ve forgotten, your red-tailed little friend was not here to donate! I cannot fully heal your beaked friend, so if you still plan to break a rib as thanks for me doing all I can do, then I suggest we renegotiate our terms of contract!”

Goliath’s hair stood on end “You mean to say you CAN’T cure Malibu?”

Sevarius muttered with raised hands “Well no need to shout it, I already have those five in there screaming my eardrums out. And no, that’s NOT what I said. I can easily stabilize his condition to keep the disease from spreading further… but reversing it, as I have masterfully prepared the others to undergo, will require DNA from the original.”

Goliath snapped his head back to the glass wall that separated him and the five clones writhing on their deathbeds. The thrashes and cries of the perishing quintet was haunting enough… but the expressions on Talon and Maggie’s face was mortifying.

He could count on a single hand how many times he’d had to witness that look: the face of a parent watching a child die. The clones had only been welcomed into the Labyrinth clan a few months ago, but it was clear as moonlight that the clones, namely the trio, had imprinted onto Talon and Maggie.

How they immediately went to their foster parents all night, how the two mutates were able to calm their nerves from the trust forged by care. Clones or original, mutated or synthetic - they were the closest thing they had to parents. 

They had even situated themselves to be within arms reach of any of the three at a moment's notice. Talon tenderly slid his fingers through Malibu’s soaked hair, the feeble beaked gargoyle reaching out a half-encased arm for help. Maggie pressed her forehead against Brentwood's as his chest heaved for air. Hollywood’s shoulders were gripped by the mutate’s free hands. All the while… the poorly hidden dread and frantic terror chipped through their masks with every moment. 

“VOILA!” 

The sheer triumph in Sevarius’s voice made Goliath snap around with a hint of desperate hope. An all too proud Sevarius rubbed his chin “You know, sometimes even I astound myself with my genius.” five individual syringes now filled with a glowing orange liquid. He must have seen Goliath’s bewildered face, because a cocksure grin slithered back over his pale lips “Yes yes, Goliath. You needn’t worry that pretty little head of yours, anymore. All five serums are prepared and ready.”

“GOOD!” he barked out a little too quickly “Quickly! You must-” taking a step forward.

“AH! Atatata!” Sevarius tutted with a step back, wagging a finger “Not so fast, my fine winged friend. Now that I have gone through all the trouble preparing such a feat on such short notice, I believe I’m needed a bit more… well… ASSURANCE that you’re grateful for all I’ve done.”

Had Goliath been another man, his chops would have twitched “If you plan to bargain-”

“Oh, no bargaining, I am a man of my word.” he said, bowing while holding all five tubes in hand “I just want to be sure that YOU will leave me in peace once I deliver my end of the deal.”

Goliath glanced down. He could easily take all five by force. Three strides and he could snatch any vials Sevarius dropped, if he ransomed them… but which vial antidote went to which gargoyle?

“...There’s no standoff needed here, Anton. If what you say is true and you can stabilize Malibu AND cure the other four, we’ll leave you unharmed… but you WILL save Brooklyn!” Goliath blinked and hastened a save “When we find Brooklyn and bring him here - you’ll… you’ll make a cure with his help and you WILL save Malibu!”

The speakers to the lab cracked on. Lexington’s delayed voice yelled “-TRANCE!”

Goliath’s brows shot up  to the speaker overhead “Say again, Lexington?”

The imp’s panicked screams echoed over the static “IT’S THAILOG!” a steel door illuminated a burning hot orange “-HE’S COMING IN THROUGH THE SOUTH ENTRANCE!”

*BLAAAST!!*

A blast of plasma ripped through the hatchway, sending Goliath diving over Sevarius to shield the serums. The four healthy gargoyles inside the makeshift infirmary were on their feet and into the lab in a split second. Debris and dust cleared; an all too despised visitor made himself known

“You’re looking good, Goliath.” A thoroughly infected Thailog purred out “A pity I can’t say the same.”

Goliath was on his feet in an instant, of all the times for this parasite to show himself! “You are not here for sympathy. You thrive off malice and deceit. As hungrily as the rest of us breathe air!”

Elisa’s gun was drawn from the hip and lined up behind the cover of a desk “How did you know we were here?” she shot a glare at the only other human in the room “Sevarius tip you off?”

“I followed you here, and I have been listening with great interest.” he hummed, shouldering the butt of his rifle into his chest “I’m not leaving without the good doctor’s serum, ALL of it.”

Angela was already in an overlapping field of fire position “That serum is to be divided among ALL the clones!

“Dear child, the more one takes, the better his chances. Do I LOOK in the mood to share?” he snickered. A snicker devoid of all cocky malice, it was blindingly obvious: Thailog was just as scared. 

“Well congratulations!” Lexington and Broadway cleared the staircase in a single bound “Whatever’s leftover, you’re welcome to lick off the floor!” 

“You’re outnumbered 9 to 1, Thailog.” Goliath observed coldly “And I’m well to assume you’ve angered two of us in particular by daring to be a thief.” 

Thailog’s polluted face cracked a knowing grin “All too true, Goliath I am outnumbered. You WERE right to believe there was strength in clan - but a fool to teach me such a lesson. So why not even up the teams?” 

The clone cleared his rasping voice into a fist and bellowed out “SERVANTS!”

“You exist for one reason! ONE reason only! I created you! I own you! I am your purpose in life! Now serve it well!” he enunciated his reaffirmation of his prime order “SERVE THAILOG.”

Maggie shot forward, no regard for the gun brandished in his hands “YOU BASTARD!”

“Maggie, no!” Talon barked.

*CRASSSSSHHH!!!*

Four gargoyles leapt through the glass divider without hesitation. Maggie and Talon were tackled to the ground by Burbank and Hollywood. Brentwood pinned Elisa to the deck, her gun spinning away from her on the hard tile.

“ELISA!” Goliath roared. He dove for her, but felt a hard impact on his left side and forced him away. His assailant made him sick to his stomach. Malibu, eyes white, and chops rabid, opened his jaws to try and bite out his jugular. Goliath’s hesitation made the largest set of jaws clamp down on his hand when he tried to shove Brooklyn’s clone away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw half the gargoyles bullrush Thailog, the other half rushed to the clones. “MALIBU!” Goliath roared “IT’S ME! Stand down!” he commanded.

“S-Serve…. T-Thailog…” Malibu droned out emptily.

“Hollywood! Honey! Snap out of it!” Maggie screamed. Sickly or not, the order had seemingly shut off the clone’s nervous system. Talon barely managed to get Burbank off him with Hudson’s help. Angela tackled Brentwood in a chokehold from behind to free Elisa “W-We’re not your enemies, Brentwood!” Angela pleaded through gritting teeth, the wild animal thrashing and clawing in her grasp “Try to think!”

A burst fire blast of explosive rounds from Thailog’s rifle sent Broadway and Lexington diving for cover, Lex crying out in sharp pain as a chunk of mid-air concrete came down on him.

“BOYS!” Goliath cried. Instinct overtook him in an instant, he forced Malibu’s gnashing maw up with a single hand, grabbing his throat and slamming his head down against his knee. 

He dropped Malibu to the ground. Thailog was already past him. Sevarius was stomped to the ground, Thailog snatched the serums from his grasp. All of them. 

“NO!”

“Oh father, how I DO enjoy causing you grief!” he laughed “But I know when to call the game!” his stumbled gate took a gap as he spun around mid stride to pull the trigger. Electric currents shot through Goliath, igniting his nerve endings and arching his back as he illuminated a shaking blue.

“FATHER!” Angela cried, only for Brentwood to take her distraction as an opportunity to headbutt her chin to break free. Broadway screamed his beloved’s name, socking the impish clone in the jaw to beat him away. Brentwood scurried back up in an instant and latched his jaws around Broadway’s forearm.

Thailog burst out from whence he came and into the night. Goliath fell to his knees with a heave of his chest, his hair and fingertips simmering with a crackle. Rage blistered in his heart, His mouth tasted of blood and metal. “THAILOOOOG!!!!!!!!”

His eyes adjusted to the low lighting in an instant, the darkness of the trees surrounding Sevarius Manor doing nothing to conceal the fleeing Thailog. Powerful or not, the fever took it’s toll on his clone just as it did the others. His movements were slow, his stride was short, and the distance between the two was rapidly closing. He had him!

“I guess I got my stubbornness from you, father!” Thailog snarled out, far less humor in his tone than before “That bolt should have left you convulsing!” pulling the trigger yet again. Goliath dodged the shaky blast with ease.

“I AM NOT YOUR FATHER! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF THE TITLE!!” he spat.

Thailog’s limping sprint brought them to the edge of the cliff, zero hesitation in throwing himself off it.

“The cures do not belong to you! Waste even ONE of them and I’ll make you wish you had died tonight!”

“Oh Father!” he jeered “You wound me so! Do yo *COUGH* you not care if you see your spitting image of a son turn to stone~? Do you- OMPHF!”

Even in the air he was slow, Goliath speared him in the small of his back, the rifle was sent tumbling down into the darkness of the treeline “I have three sons! And YOU are not one of them!” A black elbow collided with his jawline, Goliath lost his grip.

Thailog spun around and socked Goliath in the gut with a fist, pushing away with a kick of both his legs “Persistent pest!” Thailog spat out.

“You are too weak with the disease AND out of weapons, Thailog! END THIS!”

Thailog thrashed stiffly in his healthy doppelganger's grasp “It would appear so…” he hissed angrily “So if you won’t leave me in peace, then-” Thailog slipped one vial into the palm of his hand, tightening his grip “-FETCH!” casting the four others to the ground below.

“NO!” Goliath screamed in religious horror. He shot to the ground after the plummeting cures. One. Two. THREE! His hand glanced off the fourth. He tightened his wings to his body, sacrificing all lift left to race for the final hope any of the five clones had. Come on. Come on. FOUR!

A snap of his wings to take back to the air made him barely miss the treeline below, picking back altitude… of the now vastly higher and further away Thailog. Dragon damn it all!

“GOLIATH!” a familiar voice called after him. His head spun around to see Lexington rapidly gaining on him; for the first time in a week, there was zero hatred or disgust on his face… only concern?

“HERE!” he shoved his hands out “Take the cures back to the clones and inject them, quickly! Thailog has the fifth, I’ll be back with it!”

“I! But!” 

“The clones won’t last another hour! Subdue them and get the cure in them! Hurry!”

“You can’t fight Thailog alone!”

“As he is now, I can! NOW GO!” 

Lexington’s rebuke caught in the wind. He clenched his jaw and flared his wings “....Don’t get yourself killed!” he banked hard right and back to the manor.

Goliath turned his attention ahead. Thailog was dropping fast. Was he losing strength? Had his wings turned to stone? He disappeared a couple hundred feet away into the treeline. What was happening?? 

Goliath’s lack of altitude forced him to land too early, but he didn’t slow in the slightest. He barreled through the brush of the forest with enough force and tenacity to send a rhino running for his life. He caught sight of the abomination he so severely hated in a clearing, he burst through the treeline, claws out and fully prepared to put this animal down for good. It didn’t matter that Thailog had his back turned to him, this was no longer a chivalrous fight!

Thailog rose to his feet, his wings extended freely. Goliath’s blistering charge fretted to a halt. The clone turned around, his pearly whites glinting a satisfied grin in the moonlight. The green splotches retreated. The sickly wheeze in his exhales ceased.

In his hand now laid an freshly empty vial.

“Well… that’s surprising~”

Goliath’s heart throbbed in his ears. His eyes shot white. His  “YOU BASTARD!!”

Thailog’s claws caught Goliath’s, their enormous torsos quaking in a battle of strength “To be quite honest, I fully expected the ‘cure’ to be a fake.” Thailog struggled out through his reacquired cocksure grin “But I suppose I have you to thank for that, don’t I, Goliath?” 

Thailog stopped pushing against Goliath, yanking his arms back and pulling the original in to knee him in the gut “I mean, I’ve always threatened that sniveling little cockroach of a man-” his clenched fist took a dirty shot against the dazed Goliath’s cheek “-But hanging him outside the window and breaking bones until he gave you what you want? Since when did YOU get so creative!?” he laughed.

“I mean, had I been the one to threaten him, he would have just stalled until I was dead, but YOU? This was a blessing I couldn’t have even prayed for!” hands now on his hips in satisfaction “You really care about me that much~? You s- CUUUH!”

Goliath bounced back way too quickly, socking Thailog in the gut; no - SINKING it. Goliath’s entire fist disappeared into stomach! He lifted his clone from the earth, a devastating cross of his free hand knocking him back! Goliath’s first hand was back for another cross, knocking Thailog’s jaw and clicking his teeth together.

His worldly swinging hooks sped up. Four! Five! Six! Seven! He grabbed Thailog’s hair and yanked him back in when he stumbled backwards, smashing his knee into his face. EIGHT! NINE!

*SLASH*

A feral bellow erupted from Goliath, Thailog had slashed him with open claws in desperation.

“So you have love for my failed clan now!? Where was this ferocity before!?” Thailog snarled, yanking his template’s feet from under him and leaping into a mount to choke him with his own two hands.

Goliath bucked his hips, sending the 600 lbs monster’s center of gravity shooting forward. He snaked a hand around his off balance forearm and flipped into a gator roll. Thailog’s attempt to push Goliath’s face away was met with a set of biting fangs and a vicious hook to his black chin 

“YOU SICK. VINDICTIVE.” Spit flying from Goliath’s chops. The English language lacked a word vile enough as he hooked fist after fist into his face “-PARASITE!”

“Those boys relied on you!” *SLAM* “THEY TRUSTED YOU!” *SLAM* “And you sentenced them to death to save yourself!?” *SLAM*

Thailog flipped Goliath off of him “They served their purpose!” spearing Goliath in the chest, slamming him away with a swing of his forearm, crude laughter shaking his chest “What use do they have if not for me? Lead those inferior, meaningless lives?”

Goliath’s open clawed hands were caught when he tried to dive for his copy’s throat “Demona named them, not me.” he snickered, arms quaking as he held his assailant at bay “But I’m more than happy to reclaim my property, now that you’ve gone through all the trouble of making them useful again. That is until I can harvest their genes for a fresh batch.” 

Goliath’s wrists thrusted and swiped inches from Thailog’s ever smug face “I was wrong, father… You AREN’T looking well!” he chortled “You usually put up a far more even fight than this - but you seem to look rather sickly, ghoulish even. Skipping meals, are you~?” 

A yank down of the arms and a shooting up of the knee clocked Goliath in the chin. Thailog’s claws ripped open the hide of his chest. He slammed a taloned foot onto his skull, twisting it into the dirt “I’d be disappointed for you not putting up more of a fight, but you’ve put me in far too good a mood tonight to let it ruin the evening!”

He kicked Goliath away, arms proudly opened wide “So stand! Pick yourself up, Mighty Hero! Don’t let me down on such a triumphant night!”

Goliath’s shoulders quaked as he pushed himself up, ebony hair falling over his heaving maw while he struggled for air. His eyes caught the glint of moonlight on the deep green grass below. The vail this accursed thief had stolen. The full moon illuminated the printed off label on the side.

SUBJECT GC001205 - “MALIBU”

Goliath’s quivering lip twitched. His claws dug through earth and tightened into fists that drew blood.

Thailog’s poisoned voice sung behind him “We still have so much to enj-”

**CRACK!!!!!!**

Goliath’s fist sent blood spraying from Thailog’s mouth, a tooth spinning into the air. The scream from his own mouth wasn’t a feral roar, it wasn’t an accursing voice, it was rage. Primal rage.

“MURDER!!”

He saw nothing but red. Red in his eyes. Red in his hands. Red spewing from a stumbling Thailog with every hit - red in his memories. 

Thailog’s back collided with a tree. Goliath did not stop. Curled fists exploded forth like shotgun shells. He sunk every ounce of hate into them. His rage. His hatred. His sorrow. His regret. His pain. Thailog would know all of it!

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO YOUR OWN!?”

His crossing fists followed the limp Thailog as he sank to the ground. Bark splintered into the air.

“He trusted you! He relied on you! He NEEDED you!” he screamed “AND YOU ABANDONED HIM!” 

His hate was venom in every knuckle, his blood boiling to the mirror image of himself.

“He gave you EVERYTHING! And you STILL demanded more! You’re a Monster! A Demon! A Savage! You - You - TRAITOR!”

Goliath’s final hook sent Thailog through the trunk, toppling the mighty tree with a groaning roar and blast that sent bark shattering upon impact. Thailog spat blood, but his attempt to prop himself up on a shaky elbow was thwarted with a kick to the jaw. Goliath mounted his waist in an instant; Thailog tried to shove his face away, Goliath responded with a cruel backfist to his temple - His purple hands snatched around his clone’s throat.

“You raised a hand against your own son… betrayed his trust…” Goliath droned, gaunt and pitiless “Do you know what Malibu wanted? Do you? He didn’t ask for a cure when he first saw me… all he wanted was you. All he wanted was his father to acknowledge him - Well when he draws his last breath tonight - You’ll draw it with him!”

Had Thailog not already had scarlet eyes, they’d be bloodshot with popping veins. His hands scratched and clawed at Goliath’s in a suffocating terror. Goliath’s grip had zero reservations, this was what he wanted.

“You cast out and abandoned your children…” Goliath hissed without remorse, head lowering so close that his black hair now touched the deep green grass. The cloud that blocked out the moonlight muted all features and colors of Thailog’s face - Goliath’s shadow was in a perfect outline with his thrashing form. His chops curled back in hatred “...It’s unforgivable!”

A single voice snapped him out of it “G-Goliath?”

10 feet behind him, Broadway stared at him in abject horror; Lexington held his larger brother back with both hands on one wrist.

Goliath’s eyes instantly dimmed and only now could he feel the blood that soaked his hands and arms - good lord he could even feel it drip from face.

*SHINK!*

He roared in agony as he felt a white hot pain slice through his forearm. Thailog had shot out a hidden blade from the vambrace from his armor while he was distracted. Thailog kicked free, bashing the back of his fist against the reeling original’s face.

“DAMMIT!” Thailog snapped, cupping his jaw as he rolled it “If only that cure could restore all the energy I’ve lost over the past few days, I’d disembowel all three of you.” he cursed with a stumble backwards, claws sinking into the bark of a tree.

“I’ll let the three of you live - for now. But please.” his voice sickened to a purr as he ascended vertically “Send Malibu my regards~ And thank him for his contribution~!” before flinging himself into a glide down the hillside.

Goliath’s chops curled back into a snarl the second he heard the triumphant laughter echoing in a copy of his voice. His hand quit applying all pressure to his wound to try and race up a tree and give chase - Broadway’s hands clasped a death grip on his wrist “GOLIATH NO!”

“LET GO OF ME!” 

There was so much fire in his command that both the younger gargoyles flinched, the immediate guilt that followed doused the flames of his rage for a moment.

“I-It’s Malibu…” Broadway swallowed back the dryness in his throat “...Please.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000oooo0000

The muffled shouts and cries of the next room provided a hellish white noise.

“Then make another batch!” Elisa demanded.

“With WHAT, pray tell?” Sevarius shot back “Your friends’ little ‘scuffle’ just destroyed half my personal laboratory. And, in case it slipped that simple mind of yours, ALL the gargoyles would have been stone had I not stopped you from so foolishly trying to ration a dose from each gargoyle to subject 1205.”

Delilah’s clutching talons, now 100% free of all infection, sunk into the collar of Sevarius’s labcoat and lifted him into the air “His NAME is Malibu!”

“Well MALIBU happens to be the only creature here without its genetic template!” he said with hands gripping to the one that kept him aloft “All the gargoyles needed a FULL dose each or else none of them would be saved, you’re WELCOME for me stopping you, by the way. Would you have liked me to brew a cocktail of different gargoyle blood until he got one that pleased his little pallet? His cure was based almost entirely off of Goliath’s DNA! … And thanks to you being so slow, that vile creature, Thailog, no doubt is now healthy as a horse and skipping around freely… ” he muttered.

Goliath threw open the doors “Elisa!”

“GOLIATH! Thank God you’re alrig-” 

Delilah nearly shoved her way past Elisa whilst tossing Sevarius aside, frantic eyes shooting up and down his form “THE CURE. Did…” horror washing her face pale “...Did you?”

“...Thailog used it.” he grimly reported “All of it.”

The gargoyle hybrid took a step back, her jaw twitched “No…” and her knees went out from under her. Goliath and Elisa were there to catch her, but another sharp cry from the room adjacent broke the speechless silence. She grit her teeth and struggled to her feet “...Hurry, he needs to hear you.”

Delilah shoved the door open with her forearm and the muffled chaos became clear.

“HELP HIM!” Hollywood wailed, now being held back by Hudson.

Brentwood covered his own ears while he rocked back and forth, tears streaming from his face and practically hyperventilating “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean- I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Burbank looked around frantically, his jittered steps and agape jaw, seeming to not even know what to do “T-There’s… S-Still time, aye? We can still make a cure.”

Angela was doing what little she could to control Brentwood’s breathing. Haphazard bandages and gauze patches had been tied around every gargoyle’s injuries - soaking them in hues between light pink and dark red. Empty vials were scattered on the floor, completely out of serum. An out of breath Lexington and Broadway only just now managed to get into the manor.

In the center of the room, Malibu was on the floor, bordered by a kneeling Talon and Maggie. Their turned backs and flared wings blocked Goliath’s line of sight from anything more.

A chest-heaving Broadway finally managed to catch up to his side “Goliath!”

All heads snapped to him, you could hear a pin drop in the silence. Hollywood stopped thrashing, the fetally curled Brentwood managed to look up, Burbank stepped back and out of the way. Talon looked back in hopeless defeat. Maggie’s eyes were pleading for a miracle, but Goliath’s frozen stance announced he had none to give.

A single sound broke the grim quiet “...........Thailog?” Malibu croaked

Delilah slid/shoved her way past the Manhattan clan standing in the doorway “Malibu…” she rasped, running to his side.

Elisa held Goliath’s forearm “Goliath...He’s out of time.”

Goliath didn’t even remember his feet moving, nor Talon and Maggie parting ways for him - but he was now looking at the doomed clone. Malibu was on his back. His entire body had been encased in stone, save for his beak and just enough of his right pectoral to give him movement in that arm. His eyes were shut and frozen in a stone mask, his emerald hair was slowly turning solid in a capillary infection.

“........Thailog?” he blindly called out again. Talon’s distraught gaze pleaded with Goliath.

Thailog knelt beside him “........I’m here, Malibu... I’m here.”

Maggie held her hand against the gargoyle’s barely exposed cheek, her hand gently combing through his hair. Talon clutched his only remaining free limb with both hands as if he could hold onto him. Delilah made due for holding onto his chest, but even that was starting to harden into cold stone.

“T-Thailog…” Malibu wheezed, his wheezing lips managing to struggle into a relieved smile “...You… Came back, for Malibu and others… Came… to cure us… came… to help us?”

Goliath’s blood boiled at those words, If he could only pull out Thailog’s damned intestines out through his ribs! He steeled himself at the last minute, calming his words before they left his lips “Yes Malibu, I came back to cure you. I got it from Sevarius and gave it to you… you’ll… you’ll wake up just fine at sunset tomorrow.”

A triumphant giddiness escaped the clone’s maw between the haggard struggles for air  “I-I always knew. Others… *WHEEZE* said you wouldn’t come back. Others said… you not wanted us. *HUFF* B-But I never gave up. I knew you wouldn’t leave us. Knew… we’d be together.”

Maggie tried to hold onto the last of his hair, but the final strands turned solid in her hands. For a split second, she frantically searched for anything left that was organic, there was nothing. Hollywood sank to his knees with both hands pressed to his mouth. Brentwood had limped over, speechless and helpless. 

“...Thailog?”

“Yes Malibu?”

“Did… Did… *WHEEZE* ” Malibu’s chest was being suffocated by the stone having completely consumed his torso “...Did Malibu… Serve…. Thailog… Well?”

Goliath grit his teeth, his skin crawling and his head hanging low. He wanted to vomit. He wanted there to be some miracle that could rewind everything - something he could do to just rewind time. It could have been any of the other clones that Thailog stole from… Why did it have to be HIM?

He swallowed hard, his massive hand barely able to find enough green left on his arm to clutch it “Yes….  Yes Malibu, you served me so well… And I’m so proud of you.”

Malibu’s chin flinched “W…What?”

“I’m so proud of you.” Goliath’s strained words came paired with his eyes shut tight “I never told you that, and it was wrong of me… You always did right by me, even when I didn’t do right by you. You always gave everything you had to give for me AND for your clan… even when I wasn’t there. And I was so wrong to neglect you.”

Malibu no longer had tear ducts, but the sound that came from his gullet made Goliath cringe and waiver. Maggie had taken Malibu’s face in her hands, her thumbs gently soothing the base of his beak.

Goliath clenched his eyes shut and hung his head low “...You’re going to go to sleep now, Malibu.” he swallowed “...And when you wake up, We’re ALL going to be together again, okay?”

Malibu’s words were less than a whisper, he couldn’t even wheeze anymore “.......Promise?”

“...On my life.”

Maggie and Talon clutched the final bit of Malibu’s hand “W-We love you Malibu. We-” Maggie struggled, sucking in a breath of shaky air before repeating “.....You are unique. You are gentle. You are important.”

He let out one last exhale. Immediately, the rest of his flesh turned stone altogether. Maggie’s tears dripped onto the frozen expression of Malibu The Gargoyle - his final expression tired, yet content.

Talon heaved as he tried to keep it together, holding Hollywood and Brentwood in clutching bearhug, their confused and frantic wails were deafening as they tried to reach for Malibu’s body. Delilah was on her hands and knees, her quaking shoulders interrupted by her heartbroken punch to the floor “DAMMIT! G-G-GOD DAMMIT!” 

Elisa hugged Talon who now clutched to her like his life depended on it. Maggie pressed a final kiss on Malibu’s brow. The others of the Manhattan Clan did what they could with who they could to offer comfort… All except for-

Goliath was so frozen on his knees that he didn’t notice Lexington was there until he was right beside him. He stared at Malibu’s frozen corpse with a slack jaw, his jostling eyes almost staring through his stone body, his steadily quickening breaths now starting to make his shoulder and chest shudder. Now that there was no color scheme to differentiate Malibu from the original, he looked exactly like-

Goliath raised a hand to his son, wanting to just grab hold of him and pull him into his chest to hug him with all his might. It was not to be. The second Goliath’s finger made contact with Lexington's arm, the junior’s other arm cracked like a whip - a whip laden with claws. The patriarch recoiled in pain. Lexington’s death glare had returned. The hints of concern and care from an hour before had now vanished. Lexington’s eyes burrowed into him with those freshly rekindled emotions - disgust, rage, distrust… hate.

Lexington sneered inaudibly before he lurched away. Broadway’s bottom lip quivered as he held Angela who in turn held Maggie - Lexington floated over to hug both his siblings. Goliath swallowed, throwing away the title of clan leader just for a night to go and attend to his lover as she held her brother. He wanted to turn his back to Malibu’s granite carcass… but he couldn’t. He wrapped Elisa in his wings and pressed his lips to her onyx hair.

He just wanted to know one thing. Not why this innocent hatchling’s life was now over. Not how his own mirror image could so jubilantly murder his own child. Not how he could inject a cure into a statue when there was no vein to inject it to. He just wanted to know one other thing. One CURSED thing, was that too much?? He’d give up his wings for the proper answer. He held the shaking clone trio, now duo-

Where was Brooklyn?

Chapter Text

==Content Warning==

Contains Mild Gore, Upsetting Imagery, and Mild Peril

(Read Author’s Notes After Reading)

-November 13th, 1996-

 Cattle Prods speared in between the bars. Flashes of electrical charges zapped out. Screams and bellows shrieked out in a chaotic frenzy.

“WHERE ARE THE TRANQ GUNS!?”

“Shit! Watch the claws! WATCH THE CLAWS!”

“How the fuck is it still awake?!”

“There’s enough narcotics in it to drop an elephant!”

“GET BACK! GET BACK!” Two of the guards stumbled back - just in time to avoid a set of red claws snatching through the bars that could slice their flesh to ribbons - they tripped and fell over one another.

On the opposite side, another guard writhed on the floor - blood spilled from his mouth, the left side of his face a sickening deep purple, his mouth now forced permanently open “He bwoke muh phucking jaw!”

“DON’T LET IT TOUCH THE BARS! JESUS, IT’S BREAKING THROUGH!”

The right side of the industrial cage had had its three inch thick steel bars bent and pulled apart like cheap plastic - Something meant to contain poached Bengal Tigers was about as useful as a dog kennel.

More zaps of electricity flashed out. Every stab into the cage to stun the creature ran the risk of it grabbing the wielder’s arm, yanking them in to smash their faces against the bars and leave them as unconscious as the three prone guards on the concrete floor - all with broken, bleeding noses.

“God Dammit! Just shoot it! SHOOT IT!”

“NO DON’T! OR WE’RE ALL DEAD!”

Three stun batons speared into the creatures chest as it managed to force its shoulder through the ever growing gap it made, singed flesh smoked out, it let loose a piercing shriek and scrambled back into the cage - but not without raking its claws over two of the guards chest and making warm blood spill out in streams.

The red creature stumbled back. It’s long ivory hair flew back with a snap. His taloned feet rooted himself back into place. His beak let loose a terrifying roar, he charged forward and slammed his shoulder back against the bar with enough force to make the whole thing shake.

It’s eyes burned an unholy white with fanatic hatred - Brooklyn bellowed out  “I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”

-November 13th, 1996-

-6 hours earlier-

Brooklyn had never broken free of Stone Sleep in anything other than refreshed. But with so many narcotics in him, he wasn’t even conscious when he turned to stone. Even now he still felt the aftereffects of the drugs running through him.

He groaned with a pounding head, still trying to come awake. He was chained to a modified hand truck dolly, no not chained, practically welded onto it. Nearly a dozen chains were lashed over him from his ankles all the way up to his neck; his forehead was pinned into place with a leather headband bolted to the back. His beak had been tied shut with a ratchet strap. He was so thirsty, he could be convinced to kill a man in exchange for a sip of water.

His head pounded so heavily that he prayed to whatever god could hear him that he was still in his stone sleep, just having another nightmare. None of this felt real. His vision was blurry. He was being wheeled down the hallway of an – he had no idea. His attempts to get his bearings were useless. He was inside a dark, concrete hallway with the buzz of old ceiling light strips droning out a sickly yellow. Maybe a warehouse? No, this was way too long of a hallway to be wasting space in a storage facility. An abandoned prison? Maybe a hospital? Could be a subway maintenance shaft for all he knew.

He was wheeled silently around a corner – a service elevator at the end. Instantly, his stomach dropped. He didn’t know what it was, but his gut gave him every command to run for his life. Right now.

Run.

It was the feeling he got when coming across a rabid wolf’s den back home in Scotland – or going down a dark alleyway, just dialed to a million now. His muffled barks and furious thrashings did nothing against his bindings. Whomever was pushing him didn’t slow.

Blood.

Thin trails of blood were now coming into view on the floor, a serpentine, congruent pattern of wheel marks (with the same dimensions as the dolly he was one). They were all slithering to the elevator, the trail thickening and becoming more putrid as he was brought closer. He could make out the blood marks of someone's handprint marking the rusted frame of the elevator as the human pressed the call button.

Brooklyn thrashed as much as his drugged body could, the cacophony of unmaintained elevator lift gears shrieking out heralding the coming elevator. He tried to form words, but even if he could gurgle, his jaw wasn’t strong enough to snap open the band welding his beak shut. The half-dead chime of the elevator’s arrival creaked out, the old metal door squeaked open.

Death.

The smell of iron and bile. The suffocating level of bleach and disinfectant couldn’t disguise the fact the lift reeked of death and body parts as he was wheeled in. The doors behind him hissed shut, sealing him inside his tomb – that now descended. The drop in the stomach told him they were going deeper underground. Much deeper. Bearings or not, the humidity, the zero windows, the reinforced pipping, they were already under the earth... and now he was pulling dragged down deeper into the concrete tomb. And further... and further... and even further. The elevator slowed to a stop, then hissed open.

Brooklyn’s blood ran cold.

Rows of human bodies on bloodied operating beds. They groaned. They convulsed. They screamed. They laid still.

Some were unresponsive and drooling yellow and brown spit onto themselves. Some screamed in schizophrenic episodes, tugging so hard at their leather restraints that they broke their wrists or rubbed their skin so much it now dribbled blood. Some had defecated what looked like days ago and hadn't had it cleaned up. All their naked bodies were all bloated and stapled in every manner of place.

Brooklyn thrashed in horror “MMPHF! MPPHF! MMM! MMMMM!!” The ‘patients’ on the tables not seeming the least bit interested in seeing a living gargoyle brought in. The discord of agony and cries were barely absorbed by the thick walls. The wheels squeaked through the thin layer of blood. The hum of generators kept what little lighting existed on. Body bags on top of wheeled hospital beds were unceremoniously stacked upon each other against the wall. The stench, Dear God, the fucking stench.

“GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!”

The blood curdling shriek of what sounded like a five-year-old being ripped in half pierced through the groans of the damned.

Brooklyn’s eyes zeroed in on the blood-soaked divider curtain across the room, the blinding light of a surgical light casting the shadows of a few ‘doctors’ on it. He squirmed and kicked his drugged legs, demanding they move. He-

“Holy shit… they weren’t lying!”

Brooklyn snapped his eyes back forward as a gas-masked clad guard shouldered his rifle and stepped aside. He pulled back the curtain to let his escort pass through. Even more bodies.

They didn’t thrash, they didn’t groan. They didn’t seem very much alive either. They were all horrifically malnourished to the point of their legs and arms had bones visible: but once again, their stomachs were horribly over bloated and... pulsating? A thousand IV’s and chords were stuck into them. Viscera and blood on the floor were hosed down by a medical hand to a drain in the middle of the wing. It didn’t matter, the red stain was permanent.

“Thank Christ...”

Another armed guard, mask and all, pulled back on another blood-soaked curtain to let Brooklyn and his procession continue.

There was no end.  More people. More bodies. More medical equipment. More glass cabinets full of drugs. The stray medical personnel could be seen in every ‘wing’ of a dozen or more patients. Syringes, scalpels, tweezers, scissors. Security cameras above blinked red lights. He locked eyes with a human who was barely conscious, looking up at him with a haggard plea “...K.... Kill me....”

There had to be a hundred people in this place, maybe more. Some cries were muddled, some cries were clear. Some screams were silent, some screams were ear piercing. It was a cacophonic orchestra in hell. The stench, th- Brooklyn gagged and the nausea bubbled to the surface. His gag reflex wanted him to vomit what his last meal was, a damn energy bar before he went out on the stakeout with Goliath, but there was nothing left in his stomach to puke out. His sealed shut beak made what little bile there was to spew out his nostrils and dribble out the corner of his lips. He swallowed it back down, what he could at least.

He tried to focus on the burning sting of stomach acid boiling in his throat, anything else to think about, ANYTHING. But something caught his eye. Then his red face turned pale. Children. Ten years old, maybe eight – they were on operating tables too.

Brooklyn was brought through another set of curtains; he lost sight of them.

They were leaving the massive room that was housing all the operating tables. He was now being navigated down another dark hallway, WHERE WERE THEY TAKING HIM!?

“Authorized Personnel Only” read the sign over the double doors, the end of the road. Piping on the left side of the wall. A closet door on the right reading “Painkillers ->” on it... with an arrow pointing back the way he came. The doors opened towards him on their own.

It was a morgue, the remnants of one. Individual rooms for dissection and surgery were bogged down with the suffocating scent of bleach and cleaners. He had less than a split second to see into one out of the corner of his eye, boxers of coolers and barrels were stuffed to the ceiling in one. The red lights from every room beckoned like the gates of hell - and one called him in. The wheels of the dolly squeaked as they turned into the final room on the right.

Brooklyn’s skin crawled.

The only working light overhead showcased the two cement mortuary tables - one stained red, the other completely soaked in blood to the point it caked a full inch high. Black trashbags were piled into one corner and pooling red.

“Ah. I never thought I’d see the day.” a grizzled jeer rejoiced. Waiting for him inside was a human he could only describe as a sickly ghoul. Skinny as a skeleton and wrapped in flesh as sickly pale as one too. His face and head were devoid of all hair, eyebrows included. His sickly yellow lips were pinned up in a demonic grin “Please please, right in here. Still coming off the Propofol, is he?” he said as he placed down his clipboard and flapped aside his labcoat.

“We pumped this guy with FIVE doses, Dr. Calvert. Metabolism must burn fast, cause he’s still pretty lively.”

The sound of feet scampering into the room clicked an echo against the steel walls “Oh ho ho! You finally got one and didn’t even think to tell me??” a feminine, raspy voice cheered. Brooklyn tried to turn his head to see the face from whence the voice came, but he could move nothing but his eyes. He flinched when he glanced back to the first one before him.

The ghoulish ‘doctor’ was on Brooklyn in an instant.His sunken eyes looked him up and down like a prized possession “Ahhhhh, just as I thought.” he cooed, his boney hands curled before his chest “He may not be Goliath, but Brooklyn will be the perfect creature all the same.”

The man who had wheeled him in grunted “One of the gangs east picked him up, basic smugglers, head was Radar. Got him in perfect condition.”

“LOOKS, to be in perfect condition.” the female’s voice from behind corrected sharply “The outside isn’t tainted…” Brooklyn flinched as he felt her cold fingertips stroke him inspectingly, the one who had just entered into the room from behind him came into view “...but the true quality will be more than skin deep; the tendons, the bones, the muscles, the organs. Once we open him up, we’ll make the decision.” 

Brooklyn thrashed against the chains, trying to knock the freak back. The inch he could move only made her leap away with a laugh “Oh ho ho! A feisty one, aren’t you?”

“Enough, Brannigan, you’ll have him in a minute.” Calvert said with a raised hand.

“Oh, you take all the pageantry out of this!” Brannigan complained as she exited 

“Robinson, take off the muzzle.” Calvert requested.

“SIR?”

“Take it off.” he repeated casually “Can’t have much of an appointment if the patient won’t speak.”

“Take these chains off and I’ll do a lot more than just speak.” Brookyln snarled the instant the strap was swiped off his face with a terrified yank; (not before he attempted to bite off the hand and missed by only a few inches). 

Brooklyn’s eyes weren’t a shade of white, this wasn’t animalistic rage, this was personal hatred that was entirely his own “WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE?!” he spat. All sense of self preservation and fear were overridden by a well fermented rage now spiked by adrenaline.

“Patient: Gargoyle, Brooklyn. Session one.” Calvert said, a police tape recorder now spinning it’s reels. “Good Evening, how are you this evening?” 

“Unstrap me and I’ll show ya.” 

“Wonderful.” the human cooed, his words methodical “I was afraid too much sedation had dulled your senses - such drugged state would have us wasting so much time. Well then, in that case: let’s get straight to business. Do you know why you are here, Brooklyn?”

“Cause you're sick?” a snarl shot back.

“Oh no no, not HERE here, per say. I mean-” a slow spreading of his hands gestured above “HERE, I mean - on Earth, why are you here? In the grand scheme of things.”

Getting wheeled through Hannibal Lecter’s butchery, and now being asked theology? Brooklyn fought against his bindings again “What, want some philosophy?? Gimme a few minutes and’ I’ll teach ya some Machiavelli!”

“Ah, as fiery as the dossier promised.” Calvert chuckled, waving a hand down dismissively “I know you must be as eager to begin as we are, Brooklyn - trust me, I do understand. This meeting has been awaited for so long, after all.”

Brooklyn caught his breath after his eleventh failed attempt left him exhausted “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, right, I do believe introductions are in order.” he admitted “My name is Dr. Emery Calvert, a long time admirer of you and the rest of your gargoyles.” he said with a casual touch to his chest “I, as well as the other researchers here, were all members of Anton Sevarius’s team employed at Gen-U-Tech Systems. You may have seen the results of several of our endeavors: Project Thailog, Project Mutation, Project Wolf and so on.”

Brooklyn’s eye twitched “....YOU?”

“Well-” he lazily drew his hand in a circle “-to an extent. Sevarius certainly led the charge, but you can’t expect one man to do all the work when breaking new territory.”

The red gargoyle caught his second wind in an instant. He thrashed against the chains, eyes white and chops gnashing in anger - identification of another hand in his family’s aggressors never boded well with his temper.

“Of course, I must emphasize ‘WERE’ members of his team.” he dismissed “Once he called Project Immortal a fool's gambit and shut it down, we had to… ‘branch off’ on our own. But please, let us get back on topic.” he cleared his throat “WHY are you here?”

A click of a remote lit up a projector, X-Rays and schematics of Goliath next to a human popped up on the concrete wall “You gargoyles are unlike an carbon based life form. You have nervous systems as complicated as ours, yet possess regeneration skills as quick as single celled organisms. You are solid boned, upright bidepals, yet are strong enough to go airborne on the wind. Your metabolism burns at over thirty times the rate of a human, yet you live twice as long.” He looked back “To give praise where it’s due, you gargoyles are quite frankly the epitome of evolution.”

“Glad it scratches your fetish, now again, let me go and I’ll give you a live demonstration of it.” 

 “But this.” Calvert continued “THIS is something not even the great Sevarius could replicate.” a click of the projector showcased the entire Manhattan Clan in stone sleep upon the clocktower, how they got such a photo didn’t fill Brooklyn with warm feelings “Stone Sleep. The greatest boon ever gifted by evolution.”

“Before the invention of tools, it must have been the greatest defense mechanism in the animal kingdom - to turn into a substance that could not be damaged by claws, nor fangs, nor venom. To restore your strength with thermal energy during the day time, sourcing even the smallest of creatures with beyond superhuman strength” a grainy picture of Lexington lifting a car engine overhead made Brooklyn’s rage dull in a pang of sickness… He really wished he had Lex with him right about now. Calvert clicked again “But what’s most impressive, is the fact it’s the most sophisticated regeneration process in history. Simply stand in the sun, and be cured of all sicknesses and poisons… You could be on death’s door, but merely make it to dawn, and you’d be free of all ailments as sunset.”

Calvert grunted in disappointment “But humans? Twist the wrong way on accident, you suffer permanent damage to your spinal nerves. Bump your head even slightly and fall asleep afterwards, you die of a concussion. Receive even the slightest scar tissue, and you won’t even be able to regrow your sweat glands afterwards… all this to lose the prime of your strength by thirty years of age, and be a feeble creature waiting for death by sixty.”

The doctor stood up with a hum, his up until now stoic gaze now almost ravenous “But you… YOU!” he hummed whimsically “In your flesh is the secret to fixing all the weakness and fragility in the human body~”

His pale, thin lips perked into a grin “THIS is why you are here, gargoyle. THIS is why your kind exists! We humans have spent millenia building society and civilization, trying religion, superstition, and science to find the cures to our mortality - yet we have not even been able to cure the common cold! For centuries, we have looked in the wrong place! We invented empty things like faith and religion for eternal life, when the keys to it were already here in nature!” Brooklyn flinched as those boney fingers dragged over the veins on the underside of his forearms “In your tendons and veins, right HERE lies the secret to the cure!”

Brooklyn’s rage was thawing quickly, he tried to hold onto it to burn away the chill he felt rushing down his spine “...The… cure?”

“The cure to MORTALITY.” Calvert purred with conviction “The cure to severed limbs, to all the sicknesses and cancers in the world, the cure to the evolutionary failure of AGING, everything that’s made us weak!”

“Yeah, glad you enjoy it…” Brooklyn dismissed, now head pressed as far back into the metal as he tried to twist away “But…. but I can’t do anything like that, gargoyles are just as mortal as humans. Stone Sleep lets me patch up a few nicks and scrapes, that’s it, it can’t do anything you’re asking.” 

“Not YET~” the words slithered from Calvert’s lips “That’s why YOU were such a wonderful find, Brooklyn. We had hoped for Goliath, but you were a close second. For the secret lies in more than just your Stone Sleep…” he pulled back on Brooklyn’s brow to inspect his eyes “That beautiful Feral State of yours… that will be the catalyst to your growth”

 Brooklyn found himself wheeled around “This Brooklyn? All of this?”

The doctor propped the door open, the sound of distant groans and shrill shrieks of live dissections returned like the parting gates of hell “-It’s all for YOU~!”

Brooklyn’s chest heaved as his heartbeat quickened, the survival adrenaline of fight now being replaced with flight. Brooklyn’s chops curled back in disgusted horror, slowly shaking his head in petrified disbelief. Absolutely nothing this doctor had said made the least bit of sense “What the actual hell are you people…”

“We’re doctors, Brooklyn.” he said with a vile smile “And doctors cure~”

Brooklyn’s heart stopped. The door parted further as carts were rolled in… the blinding glint of scalpels, surgical tools, and a dozen other blades and machinery were stacked to the limits. He knew full well those were for him. Brooklyn began to desperately thrash, he yanked and tugged against his chains until the skin started to rub off his ankles and wrists, causing them to bleed. 

“Oh ho ho ho! Well that resistance didn’t last very long!” Brannigan, the more animated ‘doctor’ from before sung as she pranced in behind the handful of other researchers “A shame, really! I was hoping you’d make it more of an ordeal!” she said, snapping on a surgical mask and gloves “Now come on! I’ve waited over a YEAR to finally dissect a real one!” 

Brooklyn screamed out in horror as he fully began to grasp what was happening, the wheels on his hand truck dolly began to squeak him forward to the ‘operating table’. The doctors began to turn the surgical lights above it “GOD! PLEASE NO!” he bellowed, the stinging pain of his bleeding wrists and ankles only making him MORE desperate to try to break free. He screamed out “DEMONA! DEMONA! DEMONA!”

A raised finger from Calvert ordered Brooklyn’s handler to stop rolling him.

“DEMONA! There’s Demona! She’s the one you want! She’s ACTUALLY immortal!” He bargained to be spared the scalpel “She’s everything you’re looking for! I’ve seen it! She’s over a thousand years old and nothing can kill her! Blow her head off and she’ll grow a new one like nothing happened! Let me go and I’ll HELP you get her! Trust me, I hate her! I despise her! I know where she hides out, too!” desperation slurring his words “Plant me with a tracker or whatever as insurance, I’m not lying! I’ll lead you straight to her!”

A few groans and laughs were his only response. Calvert was buttoning up his coat and dawning his gloves as if that was the most uninteresting tidbit of information “We went back and forth on using Demona for a little while, but her ability is magical in nature not… well.” he chuckled with an innocent shrug “... Natural in nature. When Thailog gave us her DNA to make Delilah, we were sad to see her blood reacted no differently than any other gargoyle’s. No, any gargoyle shall do.”

Brooklyn thrashed like hung from a meathook, he screamed and begged to be spared. Two pricks of needles pierced into his arm, he flooded with narcotics, and everything went dark. 

—--------------

—-------------

A brief second of consciousness. He drearily stared at the blinding surgical lights above - a squad of arms were reaching into his open torso.

—-----------

—------------

He laid face up on a cart, wheeled down the hallway

—------------

—------------

He rolled over on an ice cold sheet of metal.

—----------

—---------

*SNORT*

Brooklyn came to with a jolt. The ice cold of the poaching cage he had been thrown in had chilled him to the bone. The rusted overhead of it paired with the thick bars made him grimace - caged like an animal, when could he or his kind at least be given the dignity of a regular cell?

He instinctively reached to test the strength of the bars; he yelped out in agony at the slightest movement.

Brooklyn clutched his stomach and convulsed into fetal position. Immediately, he felt sick. He didn’t know if it was because of the sheer excruciating soreness that he felt to his very ribcage or if it was because of the setting in reality. He didn’t want to look - dear god, he didn’t want to look. He knew what awaited him.

But he did. And all color left his face.

Brooklyn’s surgery had been completed. His chest and stomach now were bloated with extra mass and meat, just like the humans on the operating tables before. A thick and deliberate set of incisions from his collar bone to his navel had been stitched and stapled shut. Blood had dried at the seams. 

They had been inside him. 

Brooklyn didn't cry out. He scurried backwards on his heels and palms, as if trying to back away from the mangled flesh that was part of him. His back slammed into the back of the cage “Mmmm! Ngghh - mmnggh - nggghhh.” his over bloated chest heaving shallow, accelerating breaths. His hands fidgeted between trying to reach for his scar and keeping their sweaty palms rooted to the cage’s floor. His legs and tail spasmed wildly, his locomotion deactivated in panic. His eyes began to water, his agape beak quivered. The tiny pits of his pupils shrank “Ah…. Auh… Auhhh.” His overclocking heartbeat felt like it was going to split open his surgical seams and make his organs spill out.. 

So this was what a panic attack felt like.

His attention was snatched by the sound of a chair squeaking outside the cage. His frantically shaking eyes counted half a dozen of the armored guards stationed around his cage - a cage that sat in the center of an empty, almost pitch black, concrete chamber all for him. 

His hyperventilating was beginning to slow with focus, focus of a cornered animal. A caged animal. A desperate animal. He grit his teeth, his convulsing legs skittering to push him to his feet. The guards took notice and looked up from games of cards or drags of cigarettes. One hand holding his stomach together, both eyes snapping white, and a heart full of rage. Brooklyn attacked the bars.

“God Dammit! Just shoot it! SHOOT IT!”

“NO DON’T! OR WE’RE ALL DEAD!”

Brooklyn bellowed out  “I’LL KILL YOU ALL!”

The zaps of electricity from the cattle prods numbered well over 50 by now, his spare flecks of skin on his stomach now singed a darkened burgundy.

“Well, I see you’re up and about.” Calvert’s sickening voice came from behind.

Brooklyn whirled around, the waning effects of his feral state taking the dulling of his pain with it, he clutched his stomach and sank to his knees. But he still screamed out: “WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO TO ME!?”

Brannigan was at the other side of the cage without Brooklyn even noticing “Oh ho, I wouldn’t do that if I wear you!” she cackled “Moving around with fresh stitches in just makes the pain ten times worse~”

Calvert sniffed and wiped his thumb across his nose “We were going to just watch from the camera feed, but after seeing you move around so lively, we just HAD to come see it in person.” he mused “Even after we pumped you up with six times the anesthesia we usually need, you were still regaining consciousness on the operating table. Heh, a feisty one, aren’t you?”

Brooklyn’s hands slamming on the bars made the whole thing shake “WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!?!” Bile spewing from his gums “STOP WITH BEATIN’ AROUND THE BUSH! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE?”

Calvert reclined back on a folding chair that had be pulled over for him “Patience, Mr. Brooklyn. It’s not healthy to have high blood pressure right after surgery~.” he purred. He pressed his shriveled fingertips together and casually bounced his knees “Well, you’re in an organ factory, of course.”

Brooklyn’s furrowed brow and agape jaw conveyed the confusion yet knowing horror he needed.

“Black market trade, Brooklyn. I’m sure you’re familiar with human trafficking, after all you’ve busted up a few of my adjacent vendors. But do you have ANY idea how expensive of a market that is to run? You’ve got to find a pretty enough girl that’s good enough for the sex market. Find a body strong enough to be sent overseas for slave labor. Or find a kid no one’s going to be able to track so you can sell him to a pedophile off on a private island somewhere. All that costs money, runs the risk of getting intercepted, and is a logistical nightmare- and at the end of the day, you’re only able to sell them for around half a million each.” 

Calvert hummed “Now ask yourself this: how much does a human heart sell for on its own? A  liver? And then a pair of kidneys? Maybe even a set of lungs just in case?” his sickly yellow cheeks tensed as he giggled “People are far more valuable in pieces, then whole.”

Brooklyn looked down at his chest… and thought back to the hundred or more humans that were underground with him… and their overly bloated torsos. His hands snatched over his sternum. 

He didn’t have just one heartbeat anymore.

“We clone and harvest organs here.” Calvert said perfectly openly “Using the human body as living test tubes, we are able to clone and grow organs right inside their own bodies.” he waved his hand as if he was dismissing a bad product “Of course, we only harvest and sell off organs and skin tissue that meets standards.. Every now and again organs don’t grow properly, have a defect, split open and burst, or just don’t work. If that happens, we just leave them in there and try again.”

“Simple and efficient. New York has no shortage of homeless on the streets that no one is going to notice missing-” he chuckled into his palm “-It’s how we found all our subjects for Project Mutate, after all. Sure, most of them may be drug addicts who nobody has use for, but their bodies still operate just fine. And as long as the body is warm, it’s a valid test tube.”

Brooklyn’s vision was filing, his knees gave out from under him.

“Oh! But don’t you worry about a thing, Mr. Brooklyn~” Calvert crooned as he rose from his chair “We saved only the BEST for you. As I said, all of this is for you! Now that we’ve the capital to run this venture, we’re able to use all these test tube humans for what they’re REALLY here for: to make you into the first subject of Project Immortal. The operation to create the first ever functional immortal!”

“You were right earlier: Stone Sleep can’t cure everything… But what if we could ‘overload’ it? What would happen if we were to open a gargoyle up. Fill him with all sorts of redundant organs, nerve endings, and over crucial functions - stitch him back up - then let a stone sleep cycle incorporate his fresh, spare organs?”

Branigan chimed him “At that point, what would it matter if you shot out a gargoyle’s heart? Ripped out an intestine or two? Who cares? He’d have backups while he regrew the others!”

Brooklyn’s heart, no HEARTS, were beating out of the chest that he now clutched “You… You fuckin’ basta-”

“But what good would it be with having to wait for sunrise everytime you so much as stub your toe?” Calvert groaned “If my theory is correct, you gargoyles actually don’t turn to stone WITH the sun, but in turn with an internal clock your body has created… which gives us a target-”

Brannigan leaped back in “-Activating the regeneration of Stone Sleep ON COMMAND. What if we could make it so you had full control of the biological clock AND could partition it off? Say if…. Someone amputated an arm or a leg, and you could just grow them back instantly~? Maybe grow vital organs as naturally as the rest of us grow fingernails.”

“Oh right! I forgot to mention-” Branigan flicked a finger to him “Your body is almost certainly going to reject all the organs we put in you just now. Crossing human biology and gargoyle biology is still uncharted territory. So we just stuck 2 hearts, an extra pair of lungs, two kidneys, and a few other goodies in you to get a benchmark on where you’re at. Once we take enough cells from your actual heart and other body parts, we’ll be cloning those for you instead~” she chortled “So when you feel like your body is starting to rot from the inside in the next few hours, don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal!” 

Brooklyn’s eyes watered, all the movement he had just done in his escape attempt was now taking its toll. He pressed his forehead into the floor so intensely that he was shouldering most of the weight on the crown of his skull. He tried to press the seams of his flesh together “F-Fuck… I…” they didn’t stitch him up right, for some reason he felt like his stomach was about to rip out and burst out with his overloaded torso. His skin was just too stretched out right now!

Is this what fucking Coldsteel felt like?? To have foreign pieces inside your body? How did Lexington even deal with an enigma like that!

God… Lexington. Last two times he was in a cage, Lexington was with him - he’d do anything to have him right about now. He’d do anything to have ANYONE with him right now!

Brooklyn clutched his stomach. God- WHY DIDN’T HE KEEP HIS MOUTH SHUT!? He… FUCK!!! Regret was a whole different kind of pain inside him right now! He wasn’t supposed to be here! He was supposed to go home! This had to be a nightmare, or some sick joke by Puck! He just couldn’t have been cut open and stuffed with organs from other people and sewn back together! How did this happen?? Had he just kept his mouth shut when Goliath was screaming at him, he’d be back at the castle! He wouldn’t have been thrown out of the clan by him! So what if he lost his Second in Command billet and was disgraced, at least he’d be home! More than anything in the world right now, he wanted to be back at the castle playing video games with Lex like he promised! 

So what if he couldn’t get over the fact he wasn’t loved as a child anymore, he should have just accepted it and dealt with it! He was no one’s child anymo-

Brooklyn grit his teeth and struggled a glare “W-Why…. Why do you have goddamn CHILDREN here??”

“Ah, ever the vigilant one, aren’t you? Stem cells.” Calvert said bluntly “Younger bodies contain a far better potential for growth and resilience. And with us planning on getting you to full regeneration of limbs and complex organs, they’ll be far better samples to experiment with your mutations.”

“I-I can’t… *shit* I…. Fuck, HELP ME.” he begged, gasping for air as his torn apart body was no longer being muted by anesthesia “P-Please! I-It hurts too much! I… I-I need painkillers, PLEASE!”

“Ah, I’m afraid I can’t do that, Brooklyn~” Calvert hummed. “Remember what I said? - ‘Your Feral State will be the catalyst to your growth’? Adrenaline can do incredible things, my friend… can fool the brain into doing all sorts of incredible acts and feats. So while we’ll handle the scientific side of your improvements… your brain will need to handle the mental side of things. Meaning, comfort won’t be on the list of priorities. Quite the contrary, in fact.” He inhaled with a fake hiss of concern “In order for your feral state to be activated, and I mean TRULY activated… We’ll need to have you constantly subjected to stress~. Physically, Mentally, Emotionally.”

Brannigan kicked her feet cheerily “After which, your body will start producing the adrenaline to FINALLY start moving you the direction we need it to. Eventually your feral state will FORCE your regeneration to keep up with the damage being taken out on your body. And with your redundant organs there to help pick up the slack, I’m sure we’ll be able to start finger amputation trials in just a few weeks.”

“And once all is said and done, and you’re the biological masterpiece we want? Well… then your blood, organs, bone marrow, and cells will be harvested just the same~ Cloned, replicated, and spread over the world as the cure-all to every medical issue to have ever plagued humanity.”

He tapped the roof of Brooklyn’s cage and shrugged at the convulsing gargoyle who thrashed so violently on the cold ground, it was as if he was about to have a chestburster explode out of his sternum “Who knows, if we run out of things to cure, we might even try to see if we can replicate your wings onto humans.” he chuckled. 

The two scientists exited and waved the guards in. An order was made - ensure Brooklyn knew the consequences of attempted escapes. Tasers and stun batons were charged and raised, then stabbed into the cage. The vibrating shrieks and sobs of the gargoyle pleading for his life were as shrill as the children being dissected in the next room over.

Calvert closed the iron door with a slam “Brooklyn, you are going to be… SPECTACULAR~”

The screams did not stop until sunrise.

Chapter Text

==Content Warning ==

Blood, Brief Animal Violence

Scotland 968

The Winters of the Scottish Highlands were a bitter thing indeed. It wielded its chilling blade with every slicing gust of wind and never relented. But what little warmth that could be found, was  never far from a gargoyle who had clan. 

Goliath touched down in the castle bailey, the various flickers of campfires casting the shadows of his brethren across the walls. He unshouldered the deer from his nape to the eager and awaiting hands of human butchers. The small squadron of fellow hunters he had brought with him barely had time to follow suit with their kills before their welcoming kin descended upon them.  

The chilled hunting party was embraced by their mates and ushered to the bonfires to warm up. Roasted meat set reserved just for them was instantly shoved into their hands by their brethren. Hatchlings nearing their tenth hatchday leapt up and down with clapping hands. 

“What did you catch??” “Did you see a unicorn this time??” “When can I come too??” 

And a dozen other questions rambling out of with wide-eyed wonder. 

Goliath could barely keep three eager younglings from piling onto him before he could get through his debrief and finally retire to the library. There, the familiar arms of his angel of the night were there waiting for him. Even still, he had to peel two of them off him with his hearty laugh shooing them off. 

The Clan Leader barely took the time to survey who was in the room before his amethyst hands combed through the fiery mane of his beloved. Her talons ruffled through his onyx one the very same way. 

“Chilly night, my love~?” 

“Bitter.” a yank of the hip and a playful growl “Though I have more than a few ideas on how to warm up~” 

A revolted “UGGHHHHH.” came from across the room while a tusked gargoyle covered his ears with his book. He stormed out of the room with a grumpy mutter “Dragon almighty - kids these days - just wanted to - Can’t even read a book in peace - thought I wouldn’t have to deal with this again till spring - damned kids can’t keep it in the loincloth….”

Goliath nibbled on his love’s neck, not the least bit phased “Mmmmm, we still have only a few years left before the breeding moon rises. Shall we get some practice in, my love~?” 

“Mmm, let the moon rise just a bit higher, give the rest of the clan time to clear out.” she tempered… though took her time sliding her tail through the inner meat of his massive thigh  “I’ll supervise the patrol parties’s departures, warm yourself by the fireplace, my darling.” slipping past him, her voice dropping to a giggling whisper “Besides… I think your shadow’s been waiting for you all night~”

Of course he was, Goliath’s laughter was mixed with amusement and just a hint of groaning irritation. 

He set himself up by the fireplace. Very rarely were gargoyles permitted to be INSIDE the castle walls, especially during the long nights of winter. Humans wishing to take shelter from the bitter cold often didn’t want to be sharing the same space with their nocturnal guardians - but the library was one of the few exceptions. The torches and fireplace only provided so much lighting and unless you had a gargoyle’s night vision to help you out, there was no way you could read the scripts once the sun had set. Therefore, the library was one of the very few interior havens gargoyles were allowed free reign in. 

A few older gargoyles were in separate, quiet spots (wishing to ease their headaches caused by the rambunctious youngsters outside). The young, little green impish gargoyle of the trio angrily flipped through one of the books in the mini-fortress of literature built around him - he held out his hand, attempted to recite a spell, then angrily flipped through the book again when it was yet another dud. 

Goliath settled in to read, but he heard the familiar click of little talons on the stone floor. He turned around, just in time to see the tiny red gargoyle retreat behind the cover of a bookshelf. For something so little, the hatchlings were so unstealthy. He sighed, lamenting that he wasn’t allowed a minute of peace.

But he turned around anyways “...You don’t have to hide, little one.” he rumbled warmly to the book shelf “You can come out.” 

A little red beak peaked around the corner, followed shortly by a curious pair of eyes and a twiddling set of fingers. Gargoyles were never more than an arm's reach from a family member at a time, but Goliath was a unique case. Complete and unquestioning obedience to The Clan Leader was an immutable law drilled into every gargoyle’s brains at birth. Plus, with his titanic size and stature, the hatchlings were split half and half with how they spoke to Goliath - half who were always way too hyper/eager to get to talk to the clan leader and half who were too intimidated to even go near him.

And stuck smack dab in the middle of those two parties - was his little red shadow, the little hatchling who followed him everywhere; he seemed to be as equally eager to impress him as he was to cower from him. He always heard from his other parents on how the little red gargoyle was such a spitfire. When playing pretend with the other hatchlings, he’d jump on every chance to play the ‘commander’ - he would adorn ‘armor’ made of tree bark and wield a twig like the sword of a valiant warrior - parroting Goliath’s commands while him and his friends bravely fought off imaginary monsters in the woods. 

ANY attempt to make fun of his blue friend's weight was always met with the growls and roars of the red one… (only for him to then turn around and do the teasing HIMSELF after he had chased off the hecklers). He wasn’t old enough yet to naturally roar when breaking free of his nightly stone sleep, but it hadn’t stop him from forcing one out each time to appear older and tougher (Nor did it stop him from mimicking Goliath’s fist-to-the-chin pose more than once at sunrise).

Yet Goliath never saw any of it firsthand. When he was around the little beaked one, all the chest pounding, smug showboating, and cocksure pageantry the parents promised of him was nowhere to be found. When Goliath once managed to catch the hatchlings in the tail end of their games, he had touched down to thank the brave little adventurers for keeping the clan safe from the wicked imaginary monsters of the forest, but when Red turned around to see it was Goliath, he had frozen stiff. His brave shouts to slay the mighty dragon (A large boulder they had carved wings on) were no more, his sword and shield had dropped from his limp hands, his jaw was slack, and his eyes were wide open in a mix of both intimidation and awe. 

“The library is open to all, little one.” Goliath assured him; the beaked gargoyle shyly left the shelter of the bookshelf, his movements stiff and rigid. When his knees looked like they were locked solid, he raised a hand “All knowledge is free, you’re welcome to any you can find. Hmhm, I think your friend there has discovered that for himself” he couldn’t help but chuckle as Green slammed his current book shut with a furious huff, grumpily opening up his seventh of the night to try and see if any of the spells in the stories were real (Was he really able to read THREE languages as the other parents told him? He was barely twelve!)

“Oh! Well! Um…” Red speaking his first words of the entire night “I’ll… uh….”

He couldn’t read, could he? Goliath inhaled and exhaled, shaking his head with a smile. He sat up a little, uncloaking his wings and patting his knee. “Hmhm, come here, young one.” 

Red’s frozen joints thawed, scampering over in an instant, and hopping onto his thigh. (Well there went his peaceful night of quiet reading). His massive arms made the hatchling’s little body disappear entirely as he held out the book, his enormous fingers flipping its pages to the beginning “You’re always welcome to join in on the literature lessons with your mothers, my little warrior. From what I hear, your friend over there is quite the literary prodigy~”

The red one’s stiff and tense movements gave way briefly so he could make a harrumph “Books are for rookery hands! Why can’t I join in on hunting lessons instead?” he pouted with a folding of his arms “I could handle it! I’d be able to hunt a deer so big, it would knock Wise Elder’s beard off!”

A chuckle and pat to his shoulder was his response “If you wish to be a good warrior, you must have strength in both body AND mind, my friend.” he rumbled gently “All the greatest hunters and warriors I’ve seen never shirked their studies.”

Red blinked, his eyes darting away and then back at him “.........Well… I uh… did I say ‘instead’? I meant ‘also’. I’ve already asked to go to reading lessons!”

“I’m sure you have.” permitting the hatchling his little fib, his purple claws scratching his silver mane “-Just follow along best as you can.”

He had expected The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles to be enough to pique the young child’s interest. Well…. It had been for the first few chapters at least. By hour three, Red had latched onto him and was out cold. His small shoulders rose and fell as he snored softly against Goliath’s chest. When his Angel of The Night came to find him, finding him paralyzed by a sleeping, growing gargoyle, he could only shrug. Guess he was stuck like that until the little hatchling woke up. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the child, for such a little spitfire, he sure slept like a log. Guess he got to ENJOY this until the little hatchling woke up.

Scotland 984

“HELP!”

Red’s voice cried out desperately, a flap of his wings sending him up and over the castle walls with a human girl - a horrifically injured human girl. 

A bloody human and a frantic gargoyle? Never a good look. While every gargoyle leapt to his feet, ready for battle, every human went on guard. Parents ushered their children behind them, guards readied their swords and axes - not for whatever Red warned them what might be coming, but for the gargoyle himself. 

The teenage gargoyle looked around in frantic realization of the horrified anger upon their human landlords  “P-Please! She’s H-Hurt!” he begged, his red colored skin making it difficult to tell just how much of her blood had dried to his chest. He had hoped the visible sincerity of his desperation would signal his innocence, but right now, all he cared about was getting the human to a chirurgeon!

One of his father’s took the unconscious, bloodied child from his arms in a flash and ran up the steps of the bailey to race the human to the healers - three of his mothers were instantly on him to check him for any wounds of his own.

“Little one! Are you hurt?” was the first question asked.

“What happened?” was the second.

Red was overloaded with senses. His already hyperventilating chest quickened as his panicked glances darted around, all eyes were on him. A handful of humans were already sprinting up the stairs after his father to check the child’s condition, but the rest? Hundreds of distrusting, persecuting eyes bore into him. He wasn’t the only one who noticed it, because a small squadron of his fathers seemed to put a protective circle around him and them while his mothers attended to him. His other mothers corralled his brothers and sisters away from the scene - even seeing his two best brothers in the clan try to slip past their shielding arms and run to check on him. 

Then came all the shouting.

The inquisitive words of his tending mothers were soon drowned out by the bellowing accusations of humans of all genders and ages. 

“What in the Lord’s name did it do to that poor child!?”

“The little cretin got hungry, that’s what!”

“No! Probably sliced her open without even realizing it! Damn freaks don’t know self control!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time!”

“Stop hiding that thing! If it’s done nothing wrong, it’s got no reason to hide from us!”

Red sank back, his knees almost going weak as the circle started to close in. Why were humans always so quick to form mobs when something out of the ordinary?? More of his parents swooped in to keep the advancing riot at bay, but it did nothing to stop the yelling. His mothers, now more urgently, tried to find out what happened - but all words in his mouth fumbled out as gibberish. 

“I-I- Nnnnn…. Guuu….. Nghhh…”

The literal sight of blood on her blood on his hands didn’t help things at all, neither did the smell. The shouting got worse, one human even shoved against the chest of one of his fathers. A gargoyle snarled back, the voices reached a fever pitch and-

*THUD*

Someone touched down. All eight hundred voices went silent instantly, the scuffle froze dead. A single gargoyle presence commanded silence - Goliath was here. 

No words were said. He raised a hand with a thumb and middle finger pressed together, with a snap of his fingers cracking out like thunder, all the gargoyles who held the line immediately stepped three paces back. A glare over his shoulder made even the most veteran of human soldiers stumble back. 

Then suddenly Goliath’s steely gaze traced around to Red. And immediately, Red had much preferred the chaos of the growing riot. His heartbeat throbbed in his ears with a single look of the most powerful warrior in the world. The mothers and fathers around him immediately parted without a word.

Before anything else could respond, Clan Mother was immediately by her mate’s side, her hand touching his massive shoulder as she dashed forward and to the beaked youngling. He couldn’t help but breathe a hint of relief at the sight of her familiar cyan face and beautiful red hair - Clan Mother was here, everything was going to be okay now, everything was better when she arrived. Clan Mother always had his back. 

Her eyes and face gentle, she brought him to his feet, and motioned for the gargoyles behind them to make an opening. While the shouts of human voices rose again (Only MUCH more respectful and reserved now that Goliath was here) she hurried him up the steps and over the edge of the castle’s parapets - away from the orange torch flames of the castle and into the comforting darkness of the Scottish WIlderness.

They weren’t even airborne for a full minute before she gently coaxed him down to the lakeside. Both his feet hadn’t even touched the ground before he felt her hands instantly on him.

“Are you hurt?” she immediately questioned, firm but caring. Twisting his entire body side to side whilst her eagle eyes looked him up and down.

“N…N….” he violently shook his head.

“Are any others hurt? Were any of our family out with you?”

“.....Mmm Mmm.” he shook his head stiffly again, words barely audible between his gulps for air “I… Nghh-ngghhh” his breathing quickening, rocking on his knees

“Shhhh…. Shhhhh…” her voice now much softer, guiding him to the water “You are safe, my friend… here” 

She coaxed his hands into the coolness of the lake’s surface “Ground yourself on what you can sense. Your hands are feeling the coolness of the lake. Your knees are feeling the soil of the ground. You hear the sounds of crickets and owls. Look over there, do you see that? Look at the wind rolling the tall grass… focus on that, beautiful is it not? Think about what it feels and sounds like when you walk through it...”

Slowly, Red’s mind didn’t feel like it was flipping through the void anymore. He could feel his senses slowly regain their validity. He took in a shaky breath, and his thoughts came back down to earth.

“Good. Very good.” Clan Mother’s talons gently combing through his silver mane. 

He let loose a haggard exhale and swallowed. Dragon above, he was glad it was Clan Mother herself who had pulled him away. Sure, she could scare the hide off of him when he saw how easily she could lose her temper, but when something was wrong with, she was ALWAYS his go-to for everything. There was nothing she couldn’t fix.

Behind them, the sound of soaring wings cutting through the air, followed by a heavy thud could only mean one thing - there was one creature in the world big enough to make that sound. 

Red swallowed hard, turning around to face Goliath, instinctively standing up to attention to greet his leader - but Clan Mother’s strong hands stopped him and kept him rooted to the ground. Instead of him rising up to meet Goliath… Goliath lowered himself to HIS level??

Goliath NEVER took a knee to anyone! Yet here he was doing it now, looking him over “Are you hurt?”

Mother’s downturn hand and slight shake of the head answered for him.

“G-G’liath I-I. I didn’t… T-That g-girl…”

“Hush….” Goliath said in a voice so soft it didn’t seem real to come out of his mouth “You are not in trouble, my young one.” a purple hand the size of his red chest securing onto his shoulder “Steady yourself. Long breathe in.”

Red complied, filling his lungs with a shaky inhale

“Hold….. Hold…… Deep breath out.”

The gargoyle exhaled.

“Well done. Now then, friend, calm and controlled. Tell us what has happened.”

“W-Well I j-just-just was out… out…” Red stopped himself. He grit his jaw and tightened his fists. He took a deep breathe in and let it out again *Whew* “.....I was out gliding, Goliath. I was just t-trying to get some practice with low level flying over by the farming fields where the land is flat. But then I heard a scream by one of the stables. A… A…” he tried to form the words with his hands “-A human peasant girl was being attacked by a wolf. A really violent one.”

“A wolf?”

“On it’s own?”

“Y-Yes Sir. It was j-just all by itself, but it was attacking her - ripping her apart even. I tried to call for help but no one was around, not even humans. S-So I leaped in and chased it off. B-But she was…” he shivered and looked down at himself in reawakening terror “T-There was so much… so so much blood.”

His voice cracking was soothed by Clan Mother pulling her against him, her warm wing draping over him - it steadied him. Red twisted his hip to the side and lifted up his shredded loincloth “I-I tore pieces of my loincloth off to make tourniquets over her arms and legs, b-but she passed out while I flew back to the castle with her.”

“And that’s when you flew in calling for help?” she asked him.

“Y-yes Ma’am.”

An uneasy glance passed between the adults “Young one.” Goliath said darkly “You said the wolf was alone?”

He sniffed and whipped his mouth “Yes.”

“Wolves do not travel alone.....Anything else you can remember about it? Anything at all?”

“Uh… Y-yeah. It was stumbling around a ton. Even after a knocked it away with a stone, it just hobbled and tripped around a lot.” he made a gesture with his hands against his face “Also, it had like… a lot of foam around its mouth, wasn’t like drool, it was sort of like the fizz on top of Wise Elder’s drinks. I sor-”

“You’re sure it didn’t bite you?” Clan Mother interrupted frantically, pulling her wings away and now quickly looking him over again.

“Y-yes, it never got to touch me.”

Red recoiled as Goliath now had both hands on him, a hint of hectic behind his usual stonelike stare “My young friend…. You did a VERY brave thing tonight. You helped someone who needed you, you leapt in like a true guardian of the night. But you MUST be more careful when going against an enemy you do not know.” 

“My love.” he turned his attention to Clan Mother “The clan is grounded until we dispose of the wolf, all patrols are to travel in groups of four minimum. Get him cleaned up and then bring him inside the castle walls.”

Red wanted to interject, saying it was but one wolf, but Goliath was already rushing back uphill to the castle on foot.

“GROUNDED?” Red parroted, looking back at his mother in alarm “Didn’t he h-hear me? It was just one wolf! It doesn’t need the whole clan being locked down! I-Is it a magic beast?? Did one of Oberon’s Childrens use it as a disguise?”

“Hush, my young friend.” she responded sagely, bringing Red up to his hips in the lakebed while he scrubbed himself free of blood “I’ll explain once we’re back inside… we’ll have the clothiers make you a new loincloth.”

“It was just one wolf….” he repeated. What could be so dangerous about one wolf?

Red thrashed on the ground in a convulsing fit. The ground beneath him was colder than the sharpest ice sheet, the bile in his throat was like molten iron had been poured in.

He clawed at the ground, dragging his paralyzed body to a puddle of water that was now there. He pressed his lips to try and swallow what he could to cool the brimstone in his gullet, but the slightest touch of water burned like acid. He thrashed frantically on the floor, foam erupted from his mouth as he tried to scream in anguish, his beak felt like it was sizzling off.

Then suddenly, his brothers and sisters were there. Then suddenly, he was on his feet too. His body moved against his will, he wanted to scream a plea for them to run away from him, but his limbs rushed forward in a hobbled stumble - he slashed, bit, and sliced them all. They shrieked in shrill agony as they collapsed to the ground and convulsed like he had, foam now billowing from their lips too. He spread his sickness and scourge like a curse.

And then, his legs forced him to charge at his two little brothers, they stood there absolutely still and motionless as his foaming jaws open and bit into both their arms.

In a split second flash. They both laid motionless on the ground before him. Suddenly, Red was on his knees, frozen in place. Before him stood the shadowy figures of Goliath, Clan Mother, and his hundreds of parents. Their voices muddled like underwater.

Ì̶̤͇̘͛̽̓̌͠n̶̟̱̼̫̅̋̇͆̓͋͘f̴̧̧̛̛̣͖͖̯̎͗̆̍͛̊͗͊ȩ̵̢̥̥̹͕̯̯͂̀̍͝c̷̜͍̩̼̈́̄̀͝t̸̬͋ë̴͈̓̿̇̚̕̚ͅd̵̙̹͕̠̯̜̣̾͜͠ ̷͖͕̀͊̂̈́̄̊c̶̦̜̪̟̰̖̄̈́̕͜h̵̥̗̟̟̰̺̖͖̰̎͒̋̒̊̀͜í̸͎̮̗̱̥̯͚͗̈́͗̈́̀͗̒̉ľ̶͙͔̘̉̈̉͌̉́͑̀ḑ̶̕

K̵̝̔̾̐͂̽̈́̊͌̒̕í̵̤̬̥̹͓͙̗͂l̸̛͖̮̩̖̤̙̺̼̎̃̊̅̈́̈́͠ľ̴̨̳̲̭̤ ̴̻̻͍̒̈̔̒̒i̴̤͉͎̺̖̥͆̏͂̔̆ț̵̼͛̐ ̴̛̼͈̮̯̪̹̩̲̦͆̆͒̃̽̑̕͠q̶̘̪̑͒͝u̵͇̮͂͒͛i̸̲̭̝͙̼͛̈́͛̍͊̋̓̚͘͝ͅċ̷̠͇͖̈͑͜k̷̢̖͌̀̒̏̀̾̚͝ļ̷̡̙̬̯̠̂̈́̄̅͠ý̴̡̢̘̹̖̯̀͗̉̒̀̀̚͝

T̷̤̻͙̗̈́̑̆h̵̤̱̒̚e̴̠͎̗͕̓̓̂̐̚r̶̨̨͎͕͔̘̠̤͋̓̃̽è̶͈̥̽̑͆̊̚ͅ ̷̱̘̬̦̞͉̒̌̕͝ͅi̶̢̧͖̘̬͕̱̗͚̩̋͆́̇̈͊̂̐̚ş̸̘̙͕͇̘͔͕̃̑̓́̄͋͘ͅ ̶͉̩͌̋n̷̘̤̙͘͝o̴̧͈̪͖͇̓̀̈́̀̒ ̷̧̡̟̯̙̩̦̬̠͝ͅs̶̡͈̻̙̉͌̚a̶̧͍̓̇̓̓͆̊̀̋͐͝v̷͔͒́̌̒͐͝ȉ̵̬̃͑̆̂͊͘͝ṇ̸̡͈͖͍̱̝̖̀g̴̥̳̝̝̙͕̎͐̈́̂̍̾ ̴̘͖͠ḧ̸̛̘̼͆̄̀͒͊̑́e̵̼̍̄̇̌̇̕͝͠r̶̘͓͚͔͖̯̠̘͎̿͌̽̂̑̾͘͝,̴̡͈̝̫͖̹͂̓͗̍̑͂̚̕ͅ ̸̡͕̜͎͔͖̳̭̱͛͐̃̇k̵̢̝̯̤͈̅̐̃̈́̃̓̋͘̕͘ͅi̴̢͉̗̞̩̯̫̯̱͖̐̾̍̀̾̿̎̋̐̍l̷̨̺̾̌̐l̴̡͈͔̟̥͎͋͛ ̵̙̒͒̓̀̂̐̌̓̕ḧ̸̙̝̖̙̲̣̞̒̂͌̉̓ë̴̛̙̣͓̉͌̈́̇̍̿r̴̯͚̖̱͋͆̊͋̕.̴͎̟̖̉ ̸͙̗̐̓̀̊̋̉͘K̶̛̻̫̲͎̥͎̖̪̗̈́́̒̌̎i̵̖̦̩͑l̸̢̡̺͙̯͉͕͖̼̲͆̈́ļ̵̢̰̑̓͘ ̷̭̲̰͂̒͋͋͆̌̒h̷̬̏̈́́ï̵̧̟̺̙͕̝͇̗̌͠ͅm̸̢̜̒̉̄͗̐͌͝.̵̨̛͈͙̗̤͙̍́́̾̆̇̕̕ ̵̫͖̦̍̎̓̉̓̂̊̾̎͝K̸̜̲̲͖̻̮͙̪͉̻̔̀̈̎̇̌̂i̶̗̳̲̇̒́l̴̳̣̜̞̩͖̩̾̆͆̏͘l̷͖̿̂̇̊͐͊̑́̚͘ ̴̿̌̀ͅẗ̵͎̣͔͇̔͌̌́̏͒́͝h̸̢̡̝̞̣̖͕̖̟̃̌e̷̢̮̖̠̟͙͈̭̽͂̉̅̍͆̃̄͝͝ͅm̴̰̭̫̎̔̚ ̷̢͉̼̻̩̯͇̺̜̋̑̅͒̀̾͌̔̚b̷͎̲̐ͅò̶̮̫̼̀͌̽͑̉̀͛t̷͕̼̰̫͒̑̔͊̏͛̄̀̎̂h̸̢̹̩̜̺̀͋.̴̹̯͓͖͓̗͆͑̒̎̐͗̂͝

He wanted to screech for help, to say it wasn’t him. It wasn’t his fault. To cry and beg for them to help his brothers and sisters he had infected - to save them.

But Goliath raised a clawed talon. Red begged to be spared. Down came the claws

*crrrra-a-ackoom*

“NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!”

While halfway through shedding their stone skin, the mothers to the left and right of him nearly jumped out of their fur when they heard the son screaming bloody murder. They turned just in time to see him scrambling off his perch and back into the wall, babbling  “No, please, no. I-I didn’t mean... I wasn’t.”

Another sleep terror.

One of the worst parts about stone sleep was that no amount of stimuli could wake you up while the sun was up, unlike humans who could wake up from a nightmare if it caused enough of a scare. If you had a horrible daymare tormenting you with your worst fears, you had to endure it for hours until sunset came to wake you.

His mothers were on him before his back could even touch the back wall “Shhhh, shhh…. You’re alright little one. It was just a daymare.” they cooed softly, hands combing through his hair. That was the sixth day in a row. Every cursed day, he was forced to spend ten uninterrupted hours with his greatest fear, a new phobia he had just developed. 

He always knew rabies was a thing. But with how silly the word sounded, and the only thing he even vaguely knew about it was the drooling, he didn’t think too much of it.

He didn’t know it was an incurable, agonizing way to die with a 100% fatality rate. 

When his parents had barred him from seeing the girl he had saved, and the humans had quarantined her to a different part of the castle, he had to see what was happening. So elected to sneak up the side of her tower’s exterior and keep watch of her through the window. He wished he hadn’t. For four grueling days, he watched in helpless horror through the window of her tower as she thrashed like a possessed demon.

All attempts at being given water triggered and unholy screech and thrashing of religious terror from her. Her human parents begged for her to come back to them, hourly masses had christian humans by the hundreds praying on their knees for the innocent child to become well. The slightest thing made her descend in babbling fits. Eventually, the hallucinations she had took hold of her senses. And on the final day… came the foaming of the mouth.

He watched helplessly behind the veil of the windowsill, hands before his beak as she convulsed her last, her weeping parents unable to do anything as she died frantic and terrified. He didn’t even get to know her name.

It didn’t make any sense. He knew humans stayed sick, unlike gargoyles who got cured with stone sleep, but their reasoning behind it was mad! Humans told each other that sicknesses were punishments from their God; people who were ill were ill because they were sinners. But such a thing was impossible, Red and his siblings were 27, this girl wasn’t even 6, what on earth could she have done something deserving of such a death? How could something this EVIL happen??

That wasn’t a sickness, that was a demon possessing and killing someone!

That girl had done nothing wrong! She was just a child! What had she done to deserve such a cruel fate?

His desperate attempts to gain answers from his parents, even human healers, gained not even a hint of justification. There was no cure for the disease, once you were bitten, you had but days to live. And…. any…. ANY animal could have it?? A wolf, a rodent, even a damn BAT?

After all these years, all his decades of playing make believe in the forest with his friends, they had been completely surrounded by animals capable of infecting them with this curse??

He had begged with his parents “W-We’re gargoyles! We protect! We save! We’re stronger than ANY animal!” flexing his arms and pounding his chest with desperate rationalizations “We can defeat anything! Can’t we fight th-the sickness?? N-None of us ever get sick!”

But the morbid reply was always the same “It’s not that simple, little one…..”

Stone Sleep kept gargoyles from ever being sick (Something humans begrudgingly envied), all sicknesses no matter how deadly were cured by sunset. But even still, Goliath had ordered a COMPLETE lockdown of all gargoyles until the rabid wolf was either found and killed, or two weeks passed where it would have died from the sickness on its own. It didn’t matter if the rabies wouldn’t kill them like normal humans, the infected jaws and claws could still rot the flesh before stone sleep could prevent its conquest. Amputations of bitten arms weren’t all that uncommon to bitten gargoyles.  Not to mention the hyper violent behavior of a rabid animal spelled trouble for an unsuspecting wanderer. 

And now Red was stuck in this castle. Every night he had horrid dreams of that wolf…. Rabid and bloodied… sinking its jaws into his flesh and infecting him with its demonic curse. How the agony ripped through his body just as it had for her - water was acid, air was boiling oil. His senses devolved into rabid insanity. His drugged madness had him convulsing and spreading his vile pain to his loved ones… before finally being put down by Goliath. 

All attempts to console him and rid him of this phobia were all for naught. No matter how many times his fathers and mothers explained to him he’d never be infected like that, he just couldn’t get it out of his head! It was like it was playing on loop! He couldn’t stop thinking about it anymore! The first four days he had refused to even step outside the inner castle’s ring….. But for the past two days, he refused to even leave the safety of the wall’s height!

For decades, he had proudly puffed out his chest as the make believe commander for his friends. He boldly charged into sparring matches and wrestling bouts with brimming pride. He had dreamed for years to be allowed on a hunt or, even some day, sent into battle alongside his mothers and fathers - to be the undisputed hero of the clan, to have even Goliath himself hurrah him at a victory feast! For everyone to look at him as a great and noble warrior who’d save the day!

……But now, after his first real sense of danger, he couldn’t even stomach the idea of a damn MUTT?? Was he really just a pathetic fake this whole time??

He wished that was the only thing he could stomach because…

A few hours later, unbeknownst to the humans in attendance, he was looking down grimly at the girl’s funeral. High and safe on the parapets of the castle, he watched in secret as the child was returned to the Earth. He grit his teeth, hair bristling and eyes frantically keeping watch for the wolf (No, what if it was wolves? A dozen of them? TWO dozen of them?? All of them infected and rabid? Or what if it wasn’t wolves, what if there was a bat no one could see in the dark? Why were these humans so foolishly staying out in the open on the ground?? They could all get infected just as quickly as she!)

He never understood human rituals at death… only a small number of humans close to the deceased coming together to dig a hole and toss them in… putting a rock over them with their name? A Wind Ceremony had FAR more dignity and respect - the entire clan came together as one, taking to the skies and scattering their ashes to the wind to watch over them! To go out in a glorious blaze surrounded by roaring loved ones…. Not thrown into the dirt and left to be eaten by maggots.

It only made the weeping of the parents and family members all the more gut wrenching. The wails of her mother was unlike anything he heard, the stone emptiness on the father was like he had died himself. They were humans, they had devoted themselves to raising a single child….. And it was gone… forever, just like that. That book was closed and it could never be reopened.

Eavesdropping above, he learned that her name was Eleanor. The human priest recited passages in honor to the humans' god and how she would be accepted into his kingdom. Words and stories were passed in grief, recalling the life she had led… it wasn’t fair. His jaw tightened… as did his grip on the stonework. It. Wasn’t. FAIR.

She did nothing wrong, these HUMANS did nothing wrong. So what if they were ungrateful to his kind and their protection of them, nothing warranted the horrid wails of loss that now echoed through his ears! He wanted to leap down and join them, their sorrow beginning to bleed up into him, but he wouldn’t be welcomed - not the poor sorry excuse of a coward who couldn’t stop ONE mangy mutt! 

Even when the ceremony had ended and her body was buried, he couldn’t bring himself to leave his vigil.

...but he found himself able to jump. His talons touched ground for the first time in a week, now standing over her tombstone. Why? Why did he care so much? Why did he even care at ALL? He never knew her, he had never even said a word to her, he could barely even recall seeing her face once or twice in the castle’s walls among the sea of humans over the course of her life. What reason did he have to care? She barely existed as an afterthought in his world. 

But to others, she was their entire world… and the anguish and sorrow’s of their cries? Those were very real. He was a gargoyle, his body was bred with the instinct to protect and defend. And he had failed.

One simple legacy he dreamed to live up to - and he couldn’t even do that right.

His chops curled back in a new feeling. His hair bristled and his talons clenched and unclenched into fists. What sick vindictive force allowed a parent to lose a child? A fire burned from the bottom of his stomach Why was a mindless animal allowed to take a life? The inferno blistered through his body’s virgin kindle, igniting his nerve endings with focus akin to a freshly sharpened sword ….And why… Why was it still ALIVE? His senses snapped clearer than ever before.

*GROOOOWWWLLLLL*

His eyes snapped a pure white. His useless sense of reason felt more unnecessary than ever. He wasn’t sorrowful anymore, he was angry. He was vengeful. He was FERAL.

Concepts like fear were nothing but a false memory, the sheer idea of being scared was a jester’s bad joke. What did HE have to fear? That vermin was a wolf. He was a GARGOYLE. He was stronger, he was smarter, he was faster, he was BETTER. HE was what others had to fear. He was the one who owned the night, he was the predator, anything else in this world was either prey or a target to him.

He stood up from the grave, his blistering white eyes turning their haunting gaze to the treeline.

*You’re still alive, aren’t you?*

To hell with Goliath’s stupid order of all children being grounded until the rabid animal died over the next few days! It didn’t deserve that easy sentence! No, it dared have the audacity to keep breathing in air on this earth? It was out there, so smug at its invincibility, wasn’t it? That it could bite and spread its horrid curse to someone else, then given the luxury of dying on its own!?

*hunt…. Hunt… Kill… Kill…. KILL.*

He snapped his talons out, his gaping maw huffing in a predatory bloodlust. This new feeling coursed through him… and the rush of invincibility he felt from it lit his heart ablaze - VENGEANCE.

The hunting parties sent to find it hadn’t been successful in their search, Red blamed it on them just making sure it wasn’t too close to the castle, rather than hunting it down to claim its life. They lacked the conviction, the WILL. 

His stumbled bolt forward opened up into a blistering sprint. He leapt into a glide faster than ever before, he felt like he had enough energy to lap the world, every sense was locked in more focused than ever! But he wasn’t able to enjoy any of it, he had one goal - JUSTICE.

*GROAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!*

He had found it deep in the woods and suddenly his vision erupted a blinding fury. Red shrieked out in a voice that wasn’t his own. This damn MUTT was stumbling and sniveling deep in the forest like the filthy coward it was!

But his speed was too fast and he rocketed right by it, splitting a towering tree in two like it was a half rotted log. The wolf snarled with its foam spewing mouth, the gargoyle charged with a terrible roar, swiping at air. The lupine snapped it’s jaws at Red’s forearm, his locked in white eyes widening in reawakening terror. Suddenly, all the nightmares of the horrid death that awaited him came rushing back in - this had been a horrible idea.

Red’s hand had snapped forward out of reflex to grab the wolf’s jaw and force it away

*SNAP*

-Except he had actually managed to do it? It took him a second to realize his other hand had effortlessly been fast enough to clap those jaws shut with a single grasp - his reflexes were like lightning now. 

And he needed them to be, because the feral lupine started wildly batting its infected claws at him, forcing Red to drop him and instantly leap away. He missed the swipes so narrowly that he could feel the wind coming off them. Something was now burning in the gargoyle’s chest.

The rabid dog snapped its jaws at him again, Red dodged aside once, then twice, then thrice - then his foot snapped up to kick it away in the jaw, sending it tumbling through the air. That feeling in his breast burned hotter. Because now he didn’t even chase after the wolf to finish it off… no… he wanted to drag this out, he wanted it to feel what SHE felt.

He danced this deadly dance, his life on the line, yet still in full control the entire time. He let out a snicker, a cackle, then roared with feral laughter in vocals that were not his own. The concoction of aggression and hatred inside his chest that was now laced with the thrill of fear. Yes… So that’s what this was? The Adrenaline, the rush, the intensity. 

The thrill of true BATTLE.

He swiped and clawed at the maddened dog, making EVERY slice cathartic to sink the memory of its victim in its final moments. He bellowed as he uppercut the madly gnashing creature in the jaw, cracking its skull against a massive boulder. He stormed forward, his red beak heaving a haggard intensity, grabbing its matted fur throat and yanking it up with a single arm.

His body moved on autopilot, his senses were beyond their maximum, but his thoughts were less than white noise far in the distant corner of his mind. There were no debates, no reservations, no sense of his former self, nothing to snap him out of his thirst for revenge.

Only him, his target, and his victory. 

WIth a screeching roar, his other hand swung and dug its claws into the beast’s gullet. He tugged twice, then ripped down, ripping its head clean from its body - a geyser of blood spewed from its headless neck.

**ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!**

He raised the wolf’s head like a trophy, the moon and stars bearing witness to his glorious triumph. He stood frozen in that pose for a time he did not bother to measure, his roar continuing over and over again despite needing to refill his lungs again and again to repeat it.

And suddenly, as unannounced as it had begun, the rush and strength he felt all the way from Eleanor’s grave began to fade. His filed vision widened with returning color, the invincibility he felt began to dull with exhausted breaths, his ravenous hunger for revenge began to feel sated.

*Huff…. Huff…. Huff…*

He looked at his hand. He gulped an air of shock, immediately dropping the wolf’s head and stumbling away. His sight finally began to drink in the aftermath of his actions. He…. H-he had just…. KILLED something! No, he had torn it apart! It was not a clean kill with a bow nor blade, he had savagely torn it to pieces with his bare hands!

Hands that now shook as he looked at the blood soaked upon them. What had he DONE? What had he been thinking? Yes, he wanted this wolf dead! He wanted vengeance for Eleanor, he wanted justice for its wicked crime, he wanted to know people could be safe now that there was one less beast in the world to worry about but… but… it didn’t change the fact that… that it was still a living creature! A living creature that was probably just in much pain and clueless fear as she had been on her deathbed! 

And he had murdered it.

He didn’t act in self defense. He had gone looking for a fight… he had chased after it for the sole purpose of taking its life. 

He shook his head vigorously. He did nothing wrong! This. was. JUSTICE. He flooded his brain with images of the dead child, justifying everything by holding it parallel with his pain. 

But… was it really the wolf’s fault? They never made it a point to attack humans, and this one was all on its own, drowned in the painful madness that had taken Eleanor.

But what did that matter?! It didn't matter what kind of pain or insanity someone was under! nothing justified murdering an innocent life! What he did was merely justice!

But…. The pain that poor animal might have been in… a lone wolf - cast out by its pack. Cast out by its clan.

He shook his head and packed the memory with anger before burying it. For some reason, it was easier to douse the pain of loss and sorrow with rage. Anger made the pain somehow more manageable. 

Red picked up the wolf’s head… perhaps bringing it back could show her parents justice had been done. But then he picked up the headless body and slung it over his shoulder, they needed to burn the tainted meat to ensure the disease did not spread.

Red had a million thoughts battling inside his brain right now - rage, pain, aggravation, horror, lingering fear, dread, sorrow… but starting to arise above them all? Pride. 

He hadn’t faced his fear, he hadn’t conquered it, he had downright DESTROYED IT. He had spit in the face of the thing that had him frozen in fear for so many days and nights, he had made his first ever hunt completely single handedly, he had heroically slain a beast Goliath was too s-

*BA-THUMP*

His heart beat out. Oh no… Goliath…

He had blatantly disobeyed him. Not by sneaking treats for the gargdogs, pulling a prank on the girls, or reading forbidden books….. He was guilty of insubordination. He’d broken curfew on a Clan-wide grounding to go after the ONE THING everyone had been ordered to avoid. A Direct Order from Goliath himself. 

Suddenly, the fear of that made the dead Wolf slung over his shoulder seem petty. I-It was fine though. He hadn’t even been gone for a full hour, barely even thirty minutes! And the castle was PACKED with gargoyles right now, there was a good chance no one had even noticed he was missing - even if they did, they would just assume he was in another section of the massive fortress. Thirty minutes wasn’t nearly enough to cause suspicion.

A-All he had to do was stash the body of the wolf nearby the castle, tell a human guard where it was so they could burn it, and then slip back into the castle. He nodded fiercely to himself. Easy as could be. No one would notice he was ever gone!

They had noticed

Red hadn’t shaken in the air since he was a hatchling. Now he was quaking like a leaf. The castle’s parapets were lined with dozens of gargoyles looking directly at him. At first he instinctively dropped his altitude and hoped they hadn’t seen him… but even this far away in the distance, he knew he had been caught. His stomach dropped lower when he heard wings flap behind him. He shakily turned his head to see two of his fathers and one of his mothers directly above him; search parties had been sent out for him.

“You… have made a serious mistake, boy.” 

The air escort kept him from running away. He felt a hundred pounds heavier as he came up and over the walls, an army of furious eyes drilled into him from every direction. Before a storm of roars could berate him, a snarling “He’s back! He’s over here!” was shouted and followed by a dozen of his loved ones coming from around corners or gliding down out of the sky.

For the first time in his life, he wasn’t happy to see any of them. 

He flinched as he felt the Wolf’s head and body were sharply confiscated from him, a lightning fast inspection of his body was made by a dozen hands “I-I’m fine…” he droned solemnly with raised hands, hands that were immediately slapped and forced back down to his sides. Ensuring he was safe or not, he was in for the flank-chewing of a lifetime. 

But seeing the two parents who had grabbed the lupine’s body start to disappear behind the wall of others set something off in him “WAIT!” he yelped out, able to slip through the horde of guardians who surprisingly actually let him pass. He managed to snatch the Wolf’s head back and swipe his tail close to his chest just in time to dodge the enraged attempt of his father to arrest it “I know! But please! Just let me do this!” 

He flung himself down into the bailey with a tightening of his wings, the parents behind him didn’t even need to bother chasing after him; there was nowhere to run; no matter which direction he ran to, there’d be dozens of parents waiting to intercept. Where only few actually gave chase, ALL watched, the sheer gravity of the situation was hitting him, everyone in the whole clan knew and was watching his pathetic scramblings. But he found himself blurting out the only thing he could think to call for.

“ELEANOR’S PARENTS?!”

The severed head in his hands was spewing blood all over the dirt, but he couldn’t waste time. Human’s recoiled, repulsed at the sight of what looked like a gargoyle teen running around with a recent kill… though he couldn’t miss the one or two shocked faces of hinting relief in some of their faces - the diseased wolf was dead at least.

He continued to shout the basic title so loud that it echoed off the walls, clueless as to what their actual first name’s even were. He skittered to a slow as he banked around a corner, recognizing a group of humans who didn’t COMPLETELY hate gargoyles openly “PLEASE! Where are Elaeanor’s parents??” he pleaded, shoving the wolf’s head to the side as if to showcase what he had to offer.

“Thank you!” he cried in exhaustion as a single, delayed finger pointed inside one the exterior corridors (continuing to ignore the shouts of a few parents who commanded him to stop… though he noticed some stopped the chase once he showed the human’s the head, some even held others back with them).

His claws clicked passed a few sitting circles of humans, ignoring the reviling shriek of a woman at the sight of his intrusion. Two familiar faces caught his eye and he skidded to a halt; he had found them, still in mourning against the back wall. They looked just as dead inside as they had at the funeral, but their hollowed expressions seemed to gain consciousness at what he bore.

He swallowed back his pants with a dry mouth, he swatted the sweaty hair from out of his eyes “I… I…” he didn’t think of any words. He grunted and straightened up. He raised one hand and dutifully reported “.......Y-Your daughter has been avenged.” 

His parents had halted their chase and had given him the space he needed, taking even a few paces back. He swallowed hard, the return of mist in her parent’s eyes triggering something within him - his guilty failure. He had originally expected a heroes thank you, to be brimming with pride as he made it so the child could rest in peace. But now? He could only wonder ‘What if you had flown to her a little faster? What if you had been stronger?’

He swallowed and dropped the wolf’s head before them, hanging his own “I………. I’m sorry….”

Silence was shared by even the humans now. He flinched as he felt the mother’s hand shakily reach out and place itself upon his shoulder. His head sank even lower.

“You’re… you have our thanks.”

The words of gratitude from a HUMAN shot through him so sharply, his body tensed up. He jerked his head up, but what little he could see of the childless mother’s face was darkened by a shadow behind him - a familiar shadow at that. Red snapped his head around in cautious relief, Clan Mother! Finally! Clan Mother would understand! Especially after seeing him giving these humans peace, she’d understand why he HAD to break the lockdown! She’d-

Her eyes were glowing red.

Zero understanding was to be found in her snarl. She snapped her fingers and pointed at her feet, ordering him over without so much of a word - it was an order his soul and body obeyed before his brain even could.

It was time to face Goliath.

The flight outside the castle felt like a procession to his execution. Getting scolded was nothing new for the young gargoyle, every child got yelled at plenty in their lifetime. Having the Clan Leader chew you out directly? You had to screw up royally for that…. But being brought away to be disciplined IN PRIVATE?

Red nearly fell out of the sky when he finally saw Goliath himself. 700 lbs of raw muscle, authority… and complete terror. Those eyes were lit a burning white. Clan Mother landed down and shoved her hand into his back, letting him know Goliath wanted to talk to him and him unaccompanied - he’d have to face him alone. 

He swallowed hard. His shaky trudges forward to meet Goliath at the cliffside were heavy. He tried to steel himself, try to puff himself up with courage - he may have broken the rules, but it was for good reason AND ended up just fine! The ends justified the means! 

Keeping his wings caped and beak down, he shuffled to within a few steps before stopping.

After a few moments of tense silence, Goliath said in grim tones “Boy…”

“........Y-Yes sir?”

“Look at me.”

Red flinched and tucked his head further, he had to resist the biological instinct to turn his head and expose his throat in submission.

“Look. At. Me.”

His eyes managed to drag up off the ground, up Goliath’s imposing form, and lock onto his twitching lips. The raising of his enormous purple fist made him shrink away “You were. THIS. Close to making me order a scrambling of the clan to find you.” His thumb and index finger a hair apart to emphasize the point.

Making eye contact was impossible, Goliath’s words nearly made him cower. He couldn’t form a response. 

“I ordered counts to get accountability and you were NOWHERE to be found. Your other fathers and I nearly turned the castle inside out trying to find you! Everyone said it was impossible for you to have run off into the night, there was no way ANYONE would be so stupid and selfish to disobey a direct curfew, ESPECIALLY you.”

The young teen had never felt so small in all his life, he opened his maw to quiver a response.

“I-I only did it to-”

“SILENCE.”

There was so much air in that venomous hiss, Red immediately felt his vocal chords submit.

“I am fully aware why you ran off. And don’t you dare for even a moment fool yourself into thinking it was brave. That wolf was already over a week infected, in a few days it would have died on its own, if not already. Yet you thought YOU were fit to handle it without any backup or even TELLING anyone where you had gone.”

“This was THE worst possible call. You’re still a youngling in training without his Hunting or Combat Trials completed. We entrust you junior warriors the freedom to leave the castle walls without chaperones, we only ask that you return that respect by trusting your chain of command and listening to direct orders when they’re made!” he snapped a wing out with a gesturing hand “Is that trust and respect ill placed, should we take those privileges back?”

“N-NO SIR.”

“There’s a difference between bravery and reckless stupidity!” Goliath’s words barking louder and heavier “What were you even thinking!?”

Red wanted to sink into the ground and disappear. He was nearly shaking at the knees “I-I thought I could… could avenge that little girl.”

“And get yourself killed alongside her??” he bellowed “Of all the insubordinate, childish, reckless- that was not a chivalrous act of justice! You tore the creature apart with your bare hands, that was a hateful act of rage! You told all of us you were getting your temper under control!”

“I-I did!” Red croaked “B-But… But.”

“You could have been KILLED, little one!” Goliath barked out, eyebrows raised and voice far less enraged for a split second “You SIBLINGS could have been killed! What if your brothers saw you leave and snuck after you, what if they had gotten hurt?”

Red’s jaw quaked

“DIFFERENT story, isn’t it? And what if it turned out it wasn’t just one wolf, what if it was a whole pack? Or if it was a bear that had gone rabid?” Goliath firmly went down to one knee, his furious white eyes in line with Red’s terrified ones “Can you imagine what that would have been like? What if your mother- What if I came across your mangled body ripped to pieces?! What if we scoured the wilderness looking for you and found you dead on the ground?! What if you were in danger and we couldn’t get to you in time!?”

Red’s lips frantically pressed together to try and formulate words “I… ah… I-I… G…” he snapped his head to Clan Mother, hoping she’d step in. But she still stood at a distance - arms folded and glowing red eyes wrought with Goliath’s enraged worry.

“I was going to finally let you come along for hunts, but… this shows me you clearly are not ready.”

Red snapped his head up “I-I AM!” he bleated out “I’ve proven it! I-I made my first kill on my own!”

“Oooooh, you’ve proven it for certain, boy.” Goliath snarled grimly “You’ve proven that you’re not mature enough, you’re not smart enough, and you’re not Trustworthy enough to fight alongside us.”

Something inside of Red cracked. It nearly brought him to his knees. Like he’d been struck, Red stepped back again, a hand hovering over his rolling stomach. 

“You’re grounded for thirty nights.” 

Even Clan Mother’s eyebrows went up at that. 

“W-WHAT!?” Red cried out.

Humans loved to steal things from gargoyle culture - using ‘grounding’ as some way to mean their kids couldn’t go out to play or something pathetic like that. To gargoyles, grounding was what the word meant - to be forbidden from flying. To separate a gargoyle from the freedom of the night sky was to chain their very soul to the earth. Their ability to soar into the night and become one with the stars of the heavens was a right no gargoyle could think to live without. To be grounded was a punishment second only to temporary banishment to the wilderness - but that level of discipline was never imposed on children. 

“I won’t have your wings lashed together with rope, be grateful for that.” Goliath growled without reservation “But you are still confined to the ground for the next thirty nights. When dawn comes, you’ll be locked in the rookery so you are safe during the daytime, but you are not to take a place upon your usual perch for the sun. And don’t you even dare think about stepping foot outside the castle walls, or so help me I’ll chain you in the rookery myself!” 

Red wanted to stammer for mercy and pardon. All he wanted to do was give a parent peace for their lost child, it didn’t justify this humiliation! 

But that was that. Goliath had made his judgment. He turned sideways to let the boy pass “Get Inside. You’ll be spending the next thirty days apologizing to each and every single one of your mothers and fathers. I WILL be checking that you’ve spoken to all of them at the end of the month.”

Red floated past him like a ghost, his jaw agape and eyes vacant - still attempting to drink it all in. His back muscles twitched to spread his wings to take to the air, but he remembered he couldn’t follow that instinct now. He marched his walk of atonement back to the castle.

On foot.

The two watched in silence as the little red gargoyle became smaller and smaller up the hill, disappearing into the massive front gate of the castle.

“Weren’t you a little hard on him?” His Angel of the Night asked him.

“This generation of soon-to-be-warriors is at a critical moment in their lives.” Goliath sighed with a heavy shake of his head, his exaggerated rage dissipating now that the intended audience member had left “Too old to be called children, not yet old enough to be called adults. If I didn’t make an example out of something like this….”

More silence hung in the night between the two. She broke it with a grunt of acknowledgement “Mm…” not approving, nor condemning. “But still though… It might have been right to praise him for his bravery.”

“That was not bravery.” Goliath said grimly to the night “That was an angry brute wanting revenge.”

“That was JUSTICE.” She contended “I have no inkling as to why he felt the need to fight on behalf of a human’s honor-” she said that word like it was rotten food “-but he fought for it gallantly nonetheless. An enemy had wronged him; an eye for an eye.”

“And so everyone end’s up blind.” Goliath rebutted.

More silence. Goliath chewed on a nail “.....Is what the others said true?”

She inhaled and exhaled deeply “.....Yes… I don’t know how he did it. But he did it. The scent of adrenaline was unmistakable.” 

“The Feral State.” Goliath grumbled out deeply “...It’s not possible. Not at this young of an age. The younglings shouldn’t be able to unlock it for at least another decade. I haven’t even HEARD of someone unlocking it this early.”

“The boy MAY have a temper, Goliath, but nothing we should be worried about, if that’s what you’re implying..” she steadied “Is that why you-”

“Yes. I made the grounding so long because I want a close vigil kept on him. From dusk to dawn, I want eyes on him at all times.” Goliath and his love marched back up the hill “.....early usage of the Feral State is a bad omen… but this?” 

Day sixteen of his humiliation. 

Gargoyles never gossiped, but news always spread like wildfire. His grounding was known throughout the clan before the blue hint of dawn appeared the night of his sentencing, but the gravity of it set in all the more when he descended into the rookery while his siblings took their place on high.

He was still permitted to attend his hunting and combat classes when they took place on the castle grounds, but when their instructors had to continue the class in the wilderness for practical application, he had to suffer the indignity of staying behind. At least he wasn’t limited to only bread and water during his punishment, like grounding normally entailed. He was still allowed meat and fruit whenever he wanted, and was still welcomed at the nightly feast. So….. sure, that was nice. 

But that welcome existed in formality only. Wings tied or not, he was labeled a malcontent. He had done nothing to endanger the clan, nor had he hurt anyone, but he had dishonored their trust in him and that was enough. When clan only had each other to rely upon in life-or-death situations, when immediate and unquestioning obedience to orders decided the difference between victory or massacre in battle, complete trust to the Clan Leader and the Chain of Command was Non-negotioable. 

Going from parent to parent, bowing his head low and begging for forgiveness one by one was draining, every one of them had an hour long lecture waiting for him - often repeating the exact same thing he’d heard thirty times by now. Oftentimes he had to face them in groups when he couldn’t find them off on their own and had to stomach all eyes drilling into him as he had to lie about his regret in his actions and how it wouldn’t happen again. At his current pace, he was only managing to apologize to maybe twenty a night.

To be honest… the first night he had felt nothing BUT remorse, but now days later, as he had to publicly apologize over his actions one by one, it made him double down! HE had saved the entire clan from a savage rabid single handedly; he avenged a girl that no one other than HIM tried to save! His first ever kill was one of the most challenging games possible, yet he still wasn’t even allowed the warrior’s right to burn it! After his flank-chewing from Goliath, he had found out they had burned it without him. 

He was ‘allowed’ at feasts, but until his grounding was complete and his debt to the clan repaid, most gave him cold shoulders and stern scoldings, all the adults said “This is time for you to reflect on your actions. Take advantage of it.” Or “This is for your own good. Use this to come out on the other end a better warrior.” Dragon Almighty, he hated being patronized…

Well, at the very least, his 72 siblings were way more lenient. He still had his heavyset blue brother and his bookworm of a genius green imp practically joined at the hip with him. Blue constantly tried to smuggle food to him the first few nights, not grasping the concept that he was free to eat regularly. Green had memorized every technique in the day’s hunting lesson so he could teach it to Red himself and keep him from falling behind…. Though not before both of them had socked him square in the gut his first night back over having scared them so. 

Darn it all, why couldn’t the rest of the clan be more like his two brothers?? Sure, they too were upset at him for breaking the order, but they at least tried to understand HIS side of the story! They got their point across but welcomed him back in with open arms! Heck, after the first few nights, he had found out they had both gone to Clan Mother to ask if they could even join him in the rookery for sunrise just so he wouldn’t be down there alone!

That led to said Clan Mother summoning him. He had to report to her kneeling, but she instantly raised him to his feet. She may have been his commander, but she was also another one of his mothers just the same.

“I know how you feel, young one…” she had told him honestly, resting a hand on his shoulder in support “....More than you know, I understand. Our world and our kind are subject to injustices that have no sane rationalization. When we see injustice, warriors like you and I want nothing else but to crush the perpetrator like the vermin it is.” she said with a clenching fist “To use the gifts of our power to liberate the oppressed and slay the oppressors.”

She stroked his hair lovingly, making the young gargoyle sink into her warmth and her touch “But we must never lose sight of the one thing that matters above all else: clan.” she held his hand in hers “No matter how dark or chaotic the world may seem, we will always have each other. Do not forget that, my young friend. For when the day comes where you take to the skies and fight alongside all of us, I only hope that I am there to see it, catching glimpses of the newest Warrior of Clan Wyvern.” 

That had made him feel the best he had in weeks. Clan Mother seemed to be the only one who ever truly understood him, even backing him up on the rare occasion he and his brothers got into accidental scuffles with the humans over the years. But even still, his punishment continued, and here he now was on day nineteen. 

Sitting up on the castle’s walls, he yearned for the sky. He wanted to leap off into the cool summer breeze and let the arms of night scoop him up into the freedom of the air. He had been practicing over the farm fields the night of the attack because he wanted to get better at gliding over low terrain…

His cheeks had blushed a furious pink when his two brothers suspiciously teased him earlier “Hmmmmmm, Are you trying to impress the girrrrlllllllllsss~?” to which he blurted out a babbling denial. But there was about enough conviction in that in saying the sky was green. So what if they still wanted to pull pranks on girls and chase them with the biggest bugs they could find? There was nothing wrong with being nice to them! NO, he wasn’t working out more than before to look beefier to them! And NO he hadn’t learned to read Gaelic so he could quote more stories they liked! 

He snorted. Fat load of good that did him now…. He sat upon the crenel of the lowest wall in the castle, the only level accessible to him via foot. He had purposefully chosen the furthest end of the castle by the stables and wagons, just wanting to be left alone. He hung his head low. With how this whole fiasco had tarnished his reputation, he was worse than back to square one. No, it was far worse than even that…. He had missed the most important day of his life..

They had gone hunting. 

A few hours ago, his hunting class had come back from training… only this time with real actual game! The cheers and hollers of the clan echoing off the walls had announced their return. The instructors hadn’t intended to have the students make their first kills tonight, but when they had come across a whole herd of deer moving through a tight canyon of rocks, it was too perfect of an opportunity to go to waste! And with it being summer, all the pregnant deer had already given birth, meaning they could hunt to their hearts content without having to worry about stifling the numbers in next year's breeding stock. It had been a killing frenzy.

His brothers and sisters, clearly exhausted yet proud, triumphantly carried in their kills over their shoulders. Fat does, heavy bucks, four point, six point, even EIGHT POINT bucks. The cheers and applause were deafening… dragon alive, even the humans couldn’t help but join in with a few claps over the sheer amount of venison they could now enjoy for a whole week. 

And he had missed it.

He wanted so badly to flee the castle and let out his aggression by pushing his gliding speed to the limits. He wanted to go out and find the herd himself - maybe get a kill of his own, so what if it doubled or TRIPLED his sentence?? He didn’t want to be left out! Not on THIS! It was such a shattering denial of triumph, that he had fled to the opposite side of the castle just to wallow, unable to take the cheering. His wings cocooned around himself. He tried to hide from the distant glow of the bonfires, the sound of laughter and music, the aroma of a feast rich in meat. He couldn’t stomach the idea, he refused to go to a celebration that reminded him of what he had missed out on! This wasn’t fair!

*THUM*

Someone landed to the right of him. Oh come on, not ‘someone’, he knew who it was. Only one gargoyle in the clan was that heavy. He turned his head away, pretending he didn’t hear him, hoping he’d just go away.

But of course he didn’t, Red heard Goliath’s massive form slowly close the distance between them with a few strides, stopping what he guessed to be two paces away. With no plausible deniability as an option, Red begrudgingly got to his feet and stood to attention, trying to keep the sourness from slipping into his words “Good Evening, Sir. How can I help?” He formally greeted The Clan Leader.

He had avoided Goliath like the plague since he chewed him out, Goliath hadn’t attempted to seek him out since either. Red had kept his hands busy by cleaning the stables, helping the rookery attendants, and assisting the butchers with all this down time he now unwillingly had so no one could get on his case about being lazy in his penance. He had hoped it would be enough to keep Goliath from tasking him out with ‘remedial instruction’, but, no.

There was a brief moment of silence “...You don’t have to spend all night alone over here. You’re still welcome in any part of the castle.”

“Aye, Sir.” Red flatly responded to the superior rank.

“.......The feast is open to you too.” Goliath rumbled “....We’d all love to see you there, it wouldn’t be complete without you.”

“Aye, Sir.”

When it was clear Red had no intention of moving, Goliath’s tone tired to a request “.....Would you please come to the feast with us?”

“Thank you, Sir. But I already ate” That was a lie.

“.....Well in either case, your company would still be loved by the others.”

“Thank you, sir. But we’ll need a gargoyle on guard duty this side of the castle anyways.”

“I can take your watch.”

“Thank you, sir. But I’m fine right where I’m at.”

The obvious and deliberate over-formality of Red’s tone was clearly starting to rub Goliath the wrong way, Red didn’t care, what was he gonna do about it? Get mad at him for following the rules too closely?

“You don’t have to call me ‘Sir’, young one. You’re not in introductory training anymore.”

“Sorry Sir, just force of habit.” he said emotionlessly, despite never using the title in anything other than reports.

There was a long silence.

Red eventually broke it “Am I dismissed, Sir?” 

Goliath looked in the general direction of the white noise and warm glow of the jubilation, then slowly back to him, he stopped dancing around the bush “Young one, I’m sorry you weren’t there for the first hunt. I didn’t know the instructors were going to let them make it while you were grounded.”

Red made the verbal equivalent of a shrug “It was for the best, Sir. I’ve had plenty of time to take a good, hard look at myself the past few weeks. And I’ve realized something - I’m not mature enough, I’m not smart enough, and I’m not trustworthy enough to hunt alongside any of them.”

Goliath’s grimly focused eyes widened with furrowed brow.over how casually the words were thrown back at him.

“And besides.” Red let his tone lace with a hint of tenacity, he really couldn’t care less what the consequences would be. For some reason, he didn’t know what it was, but he felt that primal feeling that he felt at Eleanor’s grave begin to bubble in his gut again… his fear of Goliath dulled with it “I’ve already made my first kill… And I didn’t NEED anyone’s help…”

For some reason, Goliath started to look brighter in the darkness, his purple leader’s eyes widening down at him. More silence followed before the larger exhaled through his nose, his cloaked wings turned and he walked away. He hadn’t even gotten halfway up the staircase before Red noticed Blue and Green were waiting for him the way Goliath had come, sad shock on their faces.

Red’s sour conviction faltered, but refueled itself, he flapped his wings back over himself and sulked away - he didn’t want to be bothered, half because he didn’t want to say something he didn’t mean out of jealousy… half because he WAS jealous. He sat alone in the darkness, hearing the continuing party in the distance, he was starving but he no longer had the appetite to sate it. A few more minutes passed and Goliath came back.

His eyes widened in realization. Goliath had come back with a reel of rope, the very dimensions used for tying the wings of grounded gargoyles. Red was on his feet in an instant, reeling back and on his guard “What…. What is this?”

“What do you think? We’re going hunting.” 

Red blinked; then he cleaned an eardrum with his pinky, he had to have misheard him.

Goliath hopped up onto the edge of the wall “Unless you DON’T wanna tie up their ankles afterwards and want their hooves flinging around all over the place.” he said wryly.

The beaked gargoyle’s expression was somewhere between hopeful and wary. “But… But the gorge is too far to go on foot.”

Goliath merely snorted with fiercely folded arms “And? You mean to tell me your wings have gotten stiff? After just a few days?” 

His eyebrows went up. That’s all he needed!

*SNAP!*

With an arching of his back, crimson wings burst forth in a twin arc slicing through the air. His spurs cracking themselves loose for the first time in weeks. He was upon the balcony next to Goliath in a heartbeat, who immediately tossed the spool at him “If you’re killing it. You’re carrying it.” he snickered. 

Red found himself twitching with fidgeting talons, his talons anxiously clicking and stomping on the stone - the first hint of giddiness he had felt since before Eleanor’s attack. He was like an attack dog restlessly anticipating to be let off his chain. Goliath took off first, Red dove before both the purple one’s feet had even left the edge. The wind rushed up to his wings in this long anticipated reunion of gargoyle and air. Goliath snapped a claw east “Follow me, hunter!”

“Oh come on, brother. You chose now to go on a diet? YOU!?” The little green imp exasperated. 

The meat was coming off the fire and skewers faster than the clan could wolf it down, usually they had their heavy eaters to hold the line at these endless feasts, but now his Big Blue Brother wouldn’t even eat a bite! He had been working on the same drumstick for the past 10 minutes, when he could have swallowed one twice that big in a single gulp - bone and all (He’d seen him do it before, actually. It was as impressive as it was mortifying.) 

“Just… Eh, guess I don’t quite have the appetite.” 

The little green imp sighed and touched his elbow “I know you feel guilty about our friend missing the hunt, but nothing we can do can change it. Don’t waste this night, you’ve earned it.” he consoled. Honestly, Green was glad he wasn’t much of a big-eater himself, he barely had the stomach to even nibble on his kebab. He never understood what was so damn enticing about hunting to his siblings, but he knew his brother never shut up about how incredible his first hunt and his first battle was going to be once he completed the final trials. Missing out on the big night had clearly crushed his spirits… but he at least tried to salvage the spirits of his corpulent sibling.

He only had ten more days to go and then the three of them could FINALLY all go flying again. The clan had pretty much entirely forgiven him already anyways, even the strictest of parents started to realize a straight month grounding did not fit the crime. And after it became common knowledge that the biggest loudmouth in the clan, hell bent on proving himself a great hunter, had now missed the culminating hunt and graduation feast… yeah, it was universally accepted that he had suffered more than enough to have learned his lesson. 

Everyone just wanted the family back to normal and for the hothead to finally crack that arrogant smile again. Green himself had lost count over the years with how many times he had plugged his ears and wished his loudmouthed, hotheaded, chest pounding brother would just put a cork in it for a day… but ever since he’d be grounded and his confidence vanished, he’d give just about anything to have that fiery personality back. It was time for him to be welcomed back already, even if couldn’t glide, but no one could find him. 

It’s that last part that made his stomach tie into a knot… what if he had ran from the castle and broken his allowed perimeter? Goliath SURELY would have his wings tied for that! What if-

A mighty roar pierced the night, shooting so sharply over the cacophony of the feasting jubilee, that it made the drunken babblings go silent for a solid moment. Goliath’s enormous gliding form crested over the dead center of the main gate to the castle, slamming both feet firmly just to make sure all eyes present were drawn in his direction. His pearly whites flashed a beaming grin and they turned to face what was behind him, waving an arm fiercely “Get up here, friend!”

Red had barely managed to keep enough airlift to make it up onto the castle wall alongside Goliath, cause NOTHING was going to ruin this feeling for him! He hoisted the crushing weight off his shoulders, trotted to the edge of the roof, and pressed his kill overhead. Throwing his head back with a triumphant battlecry. 

**GROAAAAAAAAAAR!!!!!!**

His ear piercing roar was blown away by the drunken and sober cheers exploding from his family. Overhead upon his shaking red claws was a Twelve Point Buck! It was twice, no, nearly three times his size! It was so heavy that he had to lock his elbows just so his wobbling arms wouldn’t give out from the sheer weight! The sheer exhaustion in his lungs was offset by the burning glory bursting from his soul, the hollowness of the past weeks was banished completely by the homecoming cheers below.

He was home again.

Goliath being next to him, beaming with pride, was all the signal the clan needed to announce that all was pardoned. Red was knocked over by the drunken tackles of his fathers and elder brothers. Well, he would have been knocked over, had he not been snatched up from behind by a SECOND swarm of brotherhood! The poor gargoyle would have dragged under the sea of multi-colored gargoyles had Goliath not jumped in “Easy! Easy! Don’t kill the lad!” he hollered in a belly laugh, forcing the waters apart to grab his student by the nape and pull him to safety “The hunter’s spent! That buck put up a fiendish fight!” 

The buck (held up by an extra few sets of hands right as Red was taken down to the stonework) was returned to its conqueror so he could do the honors. The young one proudly flew down to ground level, the beaming grin over his beak seemed like it had been permanently carved into it! The pageantry to be found in his victorious return had been something he had rehearsed a hundred times, a THOUSAND times. His chest was puffed out as far as could be, a proud fist shot into the air (Sweet Dragon, was the walk to the butcher ALWAYS this long?? Sweet heavenly human Jesus CHRIST this buck was heavy!) But he made in nonetheless, swinging it off his shoulder and proudly slamming it to the wooden table. The usual gargoyle butchers jubilantly explained that they wouldn’t be cutting it up to be served tonight - something that huge would choke the lot of them! An explanation that earned an eruption of roaring laughter from the hundreds gathered. 

“OMPHF!” A small green missile of a body slammed into his chest, then scurried up his torso to perch upon his shoulders “HAH HAAAAAHHHH!!!” his little imp brother hollered “You did it, friend! You DID IT!” 

Red would have joined in his cheering, but his little green body was at an angle that had clamped his beak shut tight! Plus, the extra hundred pounds of weight above his center of gravity had him stumbling around with red arms waving. His attempts at balance were a fools errand though, cause then came his big blue battering ram of a brother to clothesline the both of them in a bearhug. Red’s talons dangled off the floor, the wind utterly crushed from his lungs while Blue’s musclebound triceps flexed with enough force to hug a mighty oak into splinters. Tearful hollers as to how Blue knew all along Red would prove himself as a great hunter were yelled out.

“T-T-Thanks!” he croaked out, his red face turning as purple as Goliath’s “Y-Yer, C-Crushin’ me!”

Laughing brethren were able to pry the heavyset gargoyle’s arms off his beaked brothers before they ended up crushing him like a grape. Comradely hands clapped onto him from every direction, his hair was ruffled-

An orange skinned gargoyle looked up, and yelped “Incoming!” before diving for cover.

“LAAAAAAAAAAADDDDDDD~!”

Red spun around to see Wise Elder’s bearded visage tumbling out of the sky and heading right for him. He yelped and dodged out of the way as he came in for a landing that was anything but smooth, practically on all fours and impacting hard enough to rock the nearby wagons. He staggered to his feet, digging his claws into the stone in an attempt to keep his balance. He was beyond sloshed on rum  “LAAAAD~! You-” he drunkenly slurred out, before hiccuping into his hand “-You’s FINA-FLLY brought the life of-shsnahsn thhhhhhhe PAR-TY with you’s!” he stumbled over.

Dear Dragon above, times like this made Red scratch his head how he earned the title ‘Wise Elder’ when he could make merry better than a thousand men in their prime could COMBINED! But he was put into a headlock and had his hair ruffled by the clan’s previous leader (All without spilling even a DROP from his mug that was filled to the brim, how did he even do that??)

With his elder’s colossal weight nearly dragging him down, yet dragging him forward at the same time, he was escorted into the heart of the feast. Toasts and warrior’s bashing with the meat of their fists were made in passing so incessantly that Red physically couldn’t return them all! Elder guffawed loudly “Ah! Lad, yer tense as can be! Here! This’ll loosen ya right up~!”

The bearded gargoyle lifted, nearly smashed, the lip of his mug to the teen’s lips. Red’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he gulped down a few mouthfuls out of sheer reflex.

“E-ELDER!” Four of his mothers shrieked. Four sets of hands yanked the concoction from Red’s lips, a troop of fathers tugged him away, the lot of them doubling over in tipsy laughter at the boy’s instant loss of alcohol virginity. After everything, OVER-celebration was the greatest problem to ever exist in Red’s eyes!

He felt whole again, he felt PROUD again, he felt prouder than ever before! He was more than accepted, in fact he was praised. He had never felt cast out by his clan over the past few weeks, he had felt a feeling far worse than that, he had felt like he had let them down, that he was a disappointment. That he wasn’t good enough.

But now, he was no longer a gargoyle in training, he had ascended into the ranks - he was forever and always one of them now. HE’D be the provider and protector from now on. A spot was made for him at one of the bonfires circumferenced by his senior warriors, all toasting with battlecries as an invitation to join them for the first time in his life. He was flanked by his two brothers, never once being more than an arms distance away from them the whole night. 

He couldn’t get enough of the glory of victory, the rush of triumph. He leapt from bonfire to bonfire giddily retelling the tale to the dozens who gave him the excuse to do so. He narrated how he had come across the herd, was advised to go for one of the remaining sick or the lame, but how he instead decided to christen the night in glory. He had targeted the biggest buck he could lay eyes on and slain it no matter how terrible a fight it put up!

And all he could think about now was how desperately he wanted the night to be over JUST so he could leap out and do it all over again and tomorrow’s sunset hunt! Because he was no longer a hatchling, he was no longer someone who needed to be taught. He had a feeling far more precious than the praise of his parents, the cheers of his brothers… or even the attention of his sisters. For the first time in all his life:

He felt needed. 

Red had to travel on foot to keep the petals of the flowers from flying off in a glide back to the castle. Last night’s triumph had been euphoria, one that still burned brightly within him, but after waking up from the first good stone sleep, he felt a pang of sadness still come through him.

With his grounding, he hadn’t been able to visit Eleanor’s grave outside the castle walls. He didn’t understand their burial customs, but he knew laying flowers at their grave was a time honored tradition. And it was time to finally put his guilt to rest.

He couldn’t swipe the flowers from the castle gardens and risk getting scolded (he didn’t want to fumble the clan’s graces RIGHT after he got it back), so he had to go into the wilderness to pick an acceptable bouquet. However… he wasn’t expecting to see the figure before him upon cresting the hill.

“Goliath?” flinching out of habit.

He had been sitting underneath a tree, not far from the cemetery. With all of last night’s excitement, he honestly hadn’t gotten to say a word to his Clan Leader after he had been swept away by the sea of family. He ASSUMED all was pardoned, and for a split second, he feared he had assumed too much.

But no, Goliath respectfully rose to his feet “Young one.” he greeted with a nod (Red was happy that his title had finally upgraded from the demeaning ‘Boy’ back to the usual ‘Friend’ and ‘Young one’) “I thought I’d find you here.”

Red blinked, forgetting to keep walking forward. That was until Goliath stood with one hand inviting him to his side “.....Grief is something not to be shouldered alone.”

Red, now accompanied by Goliath’s supportive hand upon his shoulder, processed into the line of tombstones silently. At Eleanor’s grave, he mimicked what he had seen humans do before: kneeling before the on one knee, placing the flowers with reverence, and saying what you had to say as if they were still there. He left out the sign of the cross over his body though - he doubted the human’s God would accept the prayer of a gargoyle.

He stood up. He had planned to apologize to her verbally - tell her he did everything he could, but was sorry he wasn’t there sooner. He wanted to tell her that the thing that killed her had died by his hand, that she could go to that ‘heaven’ humans talked about with her honor intact. But now that Goliath was here with him, he clammed up. 

In the silence, Goliath spoke up instead “My friend here fought valiantly for you, Eleanor.” he murmured with respect “Even if it meant putting himself in danger, or risked himself being condemned by others, he fought so that your memory was honored - nor would anyone suffer as you have.”

Red’s eyes snapped wide and turned to Goliath, that purple hand never left his shoulder “He bravely faced what terrified him in the name of justice.” his thumb rubbed against his traps “...Go to the heaven you have been promised, faithful child. Your body shall have its guardian here on earth.”

Goliath looked down at him with empathy “....After all, a leader values a warrior he needs to hold back… over the one he needs to push forward.”

Red looked away, uncomfortable with the subtle praise. Goliath’s voice continued “......Although a parent.will always worry for that warrior all the more so.”

Red looked back as quickly as he had looked away. Concern and regret, those were expressions he wasn’t used to seeing on the mighty Goliath. But here he was, lips pursed and lump in throat, his usually stern and commanding eyes now so disarming.

Red remembered now of all times Goliath’s task for him: Apologize to all his fathers and mothers for having scared them . He had kept a mental tally of the entire clan, heck, he had even carved a tally onto a stone tablet he had found in the rookery just to make sure. He had hit everyone! But… suddenly….

“I’m…...” Red muttered remorsefully “...........I’m sorry I left the castle, Goliath. It was wrong and I never should have done it.”

“You were wrought with grief, young one. We are all born with the rage to fight against injustice. I cannot condone it… but more than you realize, I can understand it.”

“I know, I know… but-” 

Goliath intercepted them “Young one…”

Red shut up immediately

“...You faced the guilt alone. Guilt and regret devour a soul faster than anything, more so than even the greatest of loss and sorrow. It makes us lose faith in our own free will, the thing that makes us alive. It makes us unable to feel the love we feel today because he wonder if it could have been something more.” his voice was deliberate “You need to hear this: …..it wasn’t your fault.”

Red averted his eyes and shrugged his shoulders “.....I know but…”

The hand squeezed tighter, Goliath’s lowering head went into his field of view “It wasn’t your fault.”

Something cracked in him. He clenched his teeth and tried to look away, he took a step to ext. But Goliath turned him around with a tug of his shoulder. He didn’t want to look weak…

“You are no coward, my friend… And you are not weak…” he pulled him into his sternum “...This is not your burden to bear alone.”

Red managed to fight back a heave, but he couldn’t stop the hiccup in his throat, nor could he hide swiping his hand against his nose. 

“I should have paid more attention after the debrief.” Goliath openly admitted “...Do you know how I knew you left the castle even though you were gone for barely half an hour? It’s because I heard Eleanor had been buried, I wanted to check on you to see how you were faring… but when you were nowhere to be found, we all pieced together what happened.”

Red looked up at Goliath with a jolt “....That’s why you weren’t at the castle when I was brought back… that’s why you were at the clif-”

“I started searching frantically before the first search party could even be formed.”

Guilt ricocheted through his red breast “I… I just… I couldn’t stand by and do nothing… I… I wanted to protect someone. I wanted to be there for someone who needed me… a-and… and…” he tried to keep his voice from breaking “And I couldn’t do it. A l-little kid is dead… and I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t prove that I was worthy of being one of us. I couldn’t prove I was worthy of you being proud of me-”

“Now you stop.” Goliath growled fiercely. He knelt to the teen’s eye level “You may have not been able to get to her in time. But don’t you dare think for a SECOND you need to prove anything to any of us. From before you were even born, you and your siblings were irreplaceable to all of us. You need not prove ANYTHING to us, my young one.” he affirmed firmly “Our approval is not something you need to earn. No matter what, our love for you is unconditional.” 

Red wrapped his arms around the big purple gargoyle who held him, latching onto him as the rock in this great clan.

“You are deserving of our love. You are deserving of ALL our love.” 

Red didn’t want to say anything, he didn’t want to do something that would make him start crying. He could only convincingly hide red eyes on red skin so well. 

“When you went missing, I went mad. I thought I might lose you… I thought I DID lose you…” he lamented “And if something happened to you, to any one of you, I’d never forgive myself.”

Apologies were offered and accepted both ways, Red was lifted to his feet, his soul weary, but stronger than ever. He gave a final genuflect to the little grave before he left side by side with his mentor.

“I can’t even imagine what her parents must be going through.” Goliath grimly shook his head “A gargoyle child is everything to their parents… but humans? One set of parents and one child between them…”

“Yeah, now that they’re- they’re…… huh. Hey, Goliath?”

“Mm?”

“What DO you call human parents when their kid dies?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well I mean, I can’t really keep up with all their titles - learning their names alone is enough of a pain. But I mean like…” he pondered “A man who loses his mate is called a widower. A female who loses her mate is called a widow. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan…. But what’s the word for when a parent loses a child?”

Goliath exhaled a grim growl “Do not make me think of such things...” he responded “A child dying before a parent is something so terrible, a word for it simply does not exist.”

“Really?”

“A parent outliving their child is wrong. It is against the natural order……. Though, there is a word that does describe what that is….”

“....What is it?”

“.............”

Chapter Text

-December 19, 1996 -

“FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! I SWEAR TO GOD, I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!!”

“Alan, I just killed three of your friends who gave me that same useless answer!” 

Goliath held the escaped convict by his ankle, dangling him upside down off the roof of a high rise. A 400 foot drop to solid asphalt - that’s what separated the human from a ghost. 

“Jesus Christ! I don’t even know who the fuck you guys are! Pull me up, PLEASE!”

“Are you sure?” Goliath snorted “Cause I could just-” quickly loosening and tightening his grip to make the human slip to the base of his foot “-you know.”

“FUCK!” he shrieked when Goliath did a fake-out drop “I swear to fuckin’ God, I don’t know anything! I don’t!”

Goliath’s growl could make a Bengal tiger cower. “Well then why am I wasting my time?”

Goliath’s palm opened completely, and the criminal went plummeting down to earth. The terror only found in someone’s final moments echoed as a blood curdling scream. He somersaulted in his freefall, jacket flapping to the wind in his fatal plunge to the ground.

*SNAP*

Something snagged the human’s ankle, ceasing his freefall. The sudden stoppage made four bones dislocate in his right leg. Hudson, who had been waiting in secret on a balcony 20 stories below the roof, had caught him and now held him aloft in a single hand - upside down just as Goliath had. 

Goliath slammed down onto the balcony next to them “Remember something, now?!”

“ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!” he screamed “85th Street! 85th Street! I heard someone say they spotted a red gargoyle!!”

Goliath hand snatched the interrogation subject from Hudson in a flash “WHEN!?” he bellowed, eyes so white, they were almost blinding.

“Two months ago! Three months!? I don’t know!”

Goliath’s wild snarl dulled “Thank you.” He headbutted the human’s face, knocking him out - a broken nose now a souvenir. 

The purple titan tossed the human to the ground with a defeated huff “...These four were useless as well.”

Hudson lashed rope around the unconscious human’s torso to bind him, dragging him over to the other three of the muggers Goliath and Hudson had come across, propping them up. They were all probably nursing headaches the old gargoyle didn’t even want to imagine, but they were all very much alive.  The tried and true ‘fake-out-drop in front of others for a fear factor’ was usually so reliable as an interrogation tactic but…

Goliath snatched two up in a hand each “They didn’t have anything useful, get them to ground level for the police, quickly.” hoisting them “We’ll need another group.”

…This was just crazy.

“Lad. Wait.” Hudson said sharply, rolling out his shoulder uncomfortably “We need’s to slow down. I near missed that last one you dropped.”

“Then I’ll be the safety catch next time; you handle the interrogation.” he responded almost faster than Hudson could finish his sentence.

Hudson wanted to shoot back a retort, but Goliath was already leaping and gliding to the street with his two in tow. Hudson had no choice but to hastily snatch the bindings of the other two remaining thugs and follow suit. He didn’t even manage to catch up to Goliath until he was already back up onto the adjacent building's roof and was impatiently waiting for Hudson to join him.

The aging gargoyle panted with hands on his aching knees, his chest heaving and a talon wiping the sweat from his brow “Goliath…. Lad…. This isn’t natural.” 

“Okay, take a minute then, catch your breath.” 

“That ain’t what I mean laddie… this… this is just going off the deep end.”

Goliath hadn’t been the same since Malibu died and no one even entertained his attempts at denial. Seeing Brooklyn’s clone die, followed by the original to remain missing for over a month? Well - something in Goliath had snapped. He wasn’t at the castle for more than 20 minutes a night anymore, 10 minutes to brief search patterns at dusk, 10 minutes to hear reports at dawn. Great Dragon, he hadn’t even been BACK to the castle in the past four days.

And it tore Hudson apart to watch it happen.

Goliath had made a horrible mistake, Hudson knew that, but Goliath was practically committing suicide by exhaustion! His son had visibly lost weight from the sheer amount of meals he had been skipping. Goliath himself hadn’t even noticed until he bent down to pick something up last week and his belt nearly slipped off his waist. He had never needed it before, but the clan leader had now turned to the potion of ‘caffeine’, when patrolling with Broadway, he had fallen asleep mid glide from the lack of energy he had.

“Someone. HAS HIM.” Goliath growled sharply “It’s the only explanation for missing so long. The Phoenix Gate couldn’t have grabbed him and he’d never disappear from his brothers like this. Someone abducted him, this is not for debate.”

Hudson tried to find the words. Goliath wasn’t patrolling anymore, he was actively looking for a fight - straight up hunting. Yes, the clan preferred to be proactive rather than reactive to crime, but this was just barbaric! Rushing into known drug peddlers and gun runners with barely a plan, proceeding to threaten each one with death until they forked over any information they had on a red gargoyle, snapping a few bones if they didn’t comply?

Hudson understood Goliath was desperate to find Brooklyn, they all were, but he was starting to become obsessed!

“We haven’t found any leads yet, therefore we aren’t going deep ENOUGH.” Goliath retorted darkly. The purple behemoth paused at that wording “Deep enough…” he repeated “Hmmm, yes. Of course, they must have him underground, or moved him into a place he can’t glide out freely. Yes. Yes. Of course!” a sharp stride bringing him to the edge of the roof to look down with wild conviction in his eyes, his pupils darting as if somehow they’d suddenly gain the ability to see through asphalt “The subway. The sewer system perhaps! Yes, yes, they must KNOW a gargoyle is hindered when cut off from both moonlight and the sky. They must think they’re able to hide him from me!”

“Lad… Lad…” Hudson tried to interrupt the younger’s ramblings, but nothing could gain his attention. Nothing at all could. Not even the massacre of the clan had made him devolve into this obsession- no, fanaticism- over recovering his lost Second in Command. Because this wasn’t a tragedy caused by a betrayal or an enemy, no, this was a horrid situation that he shouldered sole responsibility before. And the guilt was consuming his body as quickly as it consumed his mind. His continued failed attempts to get Broadway and Lexington to open up to him for even a moment were fuel to the fire. 

Goliath simply couldn’t move forward on anything, nothing could progress without Brooklyn. He couldn’t forgive himself until he found his eldest child again; his two sons wouldn’t give him the light of night until he did either. His daughter couldn’t be unsaddled with the phantom jealousy and begrudgement until Goliath received his pardon. Goliath could have simply snapped a finger and ORDERED them all to fall in line and end their childish silent treatments, but this wasn’t about clan members, this was about family.

Clan? What clan WAS THERE anymore? Hudson had to grimly scoff at the morbid humor to be found in it. 

What clan WAS THIS? A single clan leader and his only blood offspring, a single gargdog, three young boys not old enough to know all their culture, and him - just a tired old man… It was a grim thought they ignored, but there was no future in this clan. Hudson had another 30 years left in him at most, Broadway and Angela (the ONLY possibility of a breeding pair in this clan) couldn’t even attempt to have an egg for over another decade, that wasn’t enough to repopulate. The reality of all this was, there was simply no future for this clan. They were the final generation. 

Hudson could see what his once-second was trying. Goliath didn’t WANT the clan to just fall back in line, he wanted to atone and reforge the parental bond between child and father. He didn’t want obedient warriors, he wanted his sons to just let him be part of their life again… and the increasingly daunting task took its toll with every passing night.

“Lad…. Lad….. LAD……. GOLIATH!” he barked.

Goliath’s nonsensical grumblings ceased, a furrowed brow almost irritated at his theory’s interruption. 

“My friend. This… You’re going mad.”

Those irritated purple lips curled back into a snarl.

“FANGS AWAY, BOY.” Hudson snapped, his voice flattening to a scold “You have no idea what you’re doing, I grant none of us do! But look at yourself! You’re wearing yourself down to the bone and you still haven’t a lead on where the boy’s gone off to! So stop this! We need a new plan!”

“What other plans ARE there!?”

“I… Dragon above, Ah haven’t the slightest clue, but it’s not this! Yer bringing in more criminals than Elisa or ‘er police force know what ta’ do with! Some of them didn’t even have warrants out for their arrest!” raking his mind for what terms he had heard Broadway mention in his detective hobby “Without evidence they’re let back out onto the street and go RIGHT to the Quarrymen, yer just fuelin’ the fire! We need help!” 

“The Labyrinth Clan is out in force just as much as we are. Xanatos has even agreed to have his sources sweep everything they can! There are no more resources than what we already have! What else CAN we do?”

“I… Just…” Hudson shook his head in a thrash “...Goliath, it’s been a month… I think we need to start considering that maybe Brooklyn won’t-”

A VERY audible growl, followed by white eyes from Goliath made it clear he had zero intention of entertaining the end of that sentence. The purple clan leader flared his wings and took off.

Hudson had no choice but to huff and follow. Goliath was right about one thing, unfortunately… they had exhausted every resource at their disposal. Their best wasn’t enough.

…They needed help.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Broadway swooped down with Bronx in tow, his stumpy legs skittering to the concrete. He had done more than a few missing persons cases with Elisa before, he just never thought he’d be using the acquired skills on his own case though.

Usually Talon was with him on these; a rookie detective and an experienced, retired cop made for a surprisingly effective pairing. Ever since the Malibu Incident, The Labyrinth Clan had joined in on the search parties in earnest - partly because Talon wanted to repay his debt to Brooklyn and partly because Maggie and Talon desperately wanted to bury themselves in work to distract themselves. The clones needed their time to grieve the loss of their brother, but they needed something to take their minds off of it.

“Sniff the perimeter, boy.” he flatly tasked Bronx “I’m goin’ in.”

He forced the rusted door to the warehouse open with his shoulder. Talon and he had put their inspector minds together to think of every possible place the missing clan member could be (Whether Brooklyn would be there by choice or not) but they had quite literally found nothing. Not a lead, not a scent marker, not so much as a single criminal damn who had seen the guy. Broadway usually valued Talon’s input on these things, but tonight? ……….Man he just wanted to be alone.

He paced aimlessly in the clearly empty warehouse. What the hell was he supposed to do?

—------------

Broadway looked into Hudson’s usual room at the castle, the TV as dark and the recliner as empty as they had been for weeks. He turned his head and called “Hudson?” knowing full well he wasn’t going to get a response, he was out hopelessly searching too. 

When he ventured into the empty nook of the castle that was once a gathering place for them all, the musty air was the same stagnant stench. Xanatos and Owen had the decency to leave the Gargoyle’s most frequented areas of the castle to themselves, but that meant they gathered dust all the faster. 

At his feet was the NES console, having collected dust over a month of zero use. He plucked up the instruction manual, flapping it a few times to rid it of the thin film of dirt. Dragon…. He’d give anything to have a reason to use it again. The only thing he looked forward to now was Sunrise - that he’d go to sleep and wake up to all of this having been a dream. He’d roar awake with Brooklyn and Lexington to his side.

“Hey Broadway! You okay, dude? You look like you’ve seen a ghost! What? A fight with Goliath? Me going missing? You hit your head, bro? Come on, we gotta get to the kitchen! Didn’t Dad and Hudson ask if they could try your pancakes for breakfast today? We gotta cook fast if you, Lex, Angela, and I are gonna make it to Aerosmith’s ‘Nine Lives Tour’ Concert in time!” 

He tossed the instruction manual down in defeat - it wasn’t a reality to be. 

—----------

Him and Lexington were still as tight as ever, there was no bad blood between them - but all things considered, it was hard to get a laugh when the giant red elephant was in the room, or wasn't in the room. 

‘The Trio’ wasn’t a demeaning title given to them, it was something they had EARNED a millenia ago. Him, Lex, and Brooklyn were so inseparable they often got teased that they’d be the Wyvern’s Clan’s first ever Ménage à Trois. But, gay jokes aside, he was proud that they were attached at the hip! Together, they were a more formidable force than Goliath himself!

They were all geniuses in their own right! Brooklyn’s genius for strategy, Lex’s genius for technology, his genius for detective work? There was no problem they couldn’t solve when all three of them were joined! You could capture one of them on their own, defeat them as pairs even. But all three at once? Not even in your dreams!

And now they were down a member. He felt as if a chunk had been ripped out of him. They weren’t meant to be a duo, they were meant to be a trio. And with one of them lost? It was worse than both Goliath AND Elisa gone at the same time. Nothing could fill the empty space.

Not even Angela.

—----------

“Broadway…” Angela’s voice was so steady and cautious“...How about you just take even an hour off of searching? Someone needs to stay and guard the castle, anyways. How about we bake something together? Or… I know Lexington found some of your old comic books at the clocktower, maybe we could read those to get some reading practice in?” 

“Sorry, maybe some other time.” Broadway had said back emptily to her a few nights ago, just minutes after breaking free from Stone Sleep “Besides, Xanatos’s got a million new defense weapons and crap whirling around here ever since Oberon, the castle doesn’t NEED us anymore.” his wings lifting up to take off over the edge. He looked back solemnly to her, his gaze hardening as he saw Goliath prepare to leap off the edge in a different direction - he knew full well Goliath was eavesdropping, all that limber stretching he was doing was just stalling for time.

“I’m going again with Talon for the Northeast this time. Got a few more spots we have good feelings about. I’ll let you know if we find anything good.” 

—-----------

Was it some cruel joke? He and Angela had been a happy couple for less than three seconds in their entire relationship. The moment they had first locked lips in the kitchen was interrupted by Brooklyn’s bloodied face opening the door. And it had all been downhill from there.

Cause who the hell did he support?

His lifelong brother, Lexington? Or his new lover, Angela?

Broadway WAS willing to show clemency, to not fully forgive Goliath until after Brooklyn was found and the apology accepted, but to at least let Goliath atone. It was clear as day that Goliath’s remorse was genuine - Goliath didn’t want things to go back to normal, he wanted to be better for them as a father and caretaker. He WANTED to do right by all of them and earn their trust, and eventual love, yet again. Broadway wasn’t fully ready to forgive him, not yet, but he didn’t want to just ignore him either! 

But he was caught in the middle.

On one side, Lexington who was repulsed with Goliath’s mere existence. On one side, Angela who still openly hugged him and called him father. But smack in the middle, just trying to hold together what little of them remained, was him. He couldn’t serve as mediator forever. 

…..Nor could he hold onto Angela like this forever. There just wasn’t enough life in the clan to breathe romance into their now wilting relationship. After all that work, he had finally won her heart… and he couldn’t even DO anything with it now. Every attempt to spend time together with his new love was saddled with the crushing dark thought at the back of their mind. Brooklyn was missing - and them being together was the detonator that made him flee. Had he shown up just a moment earlier, he wouldn’t have seen their embrace.

He and Brooklyn had driven a massive wedge into their brotherhood in their fight to court Angela… and now that Broadway had his ‘prize’ (Dragon, he didn’t want to put it like that)... what good was it? Neither of the lovers could put aside their duties to fuel a budding relationship. And with the drama between Broadway and Angela’s father, the man she held above all others, the strain on their relationship grew with every passing night. 

Not to mention something else was CLEARLY bothering Lexington now, something other than Goliath; but no matter how much Broadway spoke with him, he just couldn’t get it out of him. 

Bronx’s clicking claws announced his arrival.

“Anything?”

Bronx’s defeated whine came as expected. 

Broadway exhaled, disappointed yet unsurprised “It’s fine boy…. Neither did I,” this was all going nowhere. All the resources at their disposal and none yielded results. The clan needed a new plan to find their missing member.

They needed help. 

This spot was another dud. Broadway squatted down to pick Bronx up, but suddenly, the dog froze.

*SNIFF* *SNIFF*

Bronx marched past Broadway at racing speeds, his nostrils speared to the concrete and sniffing intently

“What is it boy?”

Bronx didn’t respond, his big blue shoulders bust through the ajar door of the warehouse like a battering ram - his sniffing was so ravenous, he must’ve been trying to inhale the cement itself. Broadway managed to jog in after him “Smell somethin’ bud? Place seems pretty deserted.” 

Bronx’s head shot up, he whirled around with eyes so frantic, it made Broadway jump. Immediately, Bronx started barking like mad.

“WHAT? WHAT IS IT?” Broadway yelped, voice daring to be hopeful.

Bronx was leaping up and down, strafing a side to side leap in front of a small spot on the floor - a tiny drop of long-since-dried blood. His barking was deafening.

“Is… I-Is it?” dropping to a knee as if he could inspect it. Bronx’s happily urgent bellows confirmed it.

“You’re sure? It’s Brooklyn’s??”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Talon slid the final crate atop the stack “Swear to God, I’m never gonna like this…”

Accepting gifts from Xanatos never sat well with the mutates. But, with his new found ‘reformation’ came untrusted tokens of atonement. So, The Labyrinth received weekly deliveries of food, medicine, and clothing from Xanatos Enterprises to give to the hundreds of homeless humans who had found refuge within it. David of course donated millions to charity for a tax write off, but Talon coldly insisted that he’d never trust to send his people to any organization funded by him.

“Mr. Xanatos has turned over a new leaf, Talon, I assure you.” Angela policed.

“You weren’t here when he was gene-splicin’ people.” Talon muttered.

“Or kidnapping people off the street.” Maggie dryly said, appearing from nowhere

“Or peddlin’ guns to gangs, yeah, that was a fun week.” Talon grumbled, patting his dusty hands on his thighs “-Anywho, only came back to help with the offloadin’ of the cargo and to pick up the boys.” His feline lips pecked against Maggie’s forehead “We’re patrolling Lenox Hill and Yorkville, nothin’ dangerous, I’ll radio if anythin’ happens.”

“I’ll have dinner ready.” she responded - her words loving, but her tone empty.

“Oh!” Angela said, almost shoving her way in “Well if you’re looking for another hand in patrolling, I can join you~!” 

Maggie immediately shot her a glare, Talon raised a hand in dismissal “...Nah, we got this covered. Give your clan my best.”  

Talon exited as announced, but then so did Maggie without a word. Trying to ignore the slight cold of that, Angela pursued her with a slight stride “Well in that case, I’d be happy to help you unload.” 

“It’s fine.” Maggie said without turning her head “Won’t need to open that up for another few weeks anyways.” 

Well, that was another clear sign. Angela never saw much of the mutations before the clones were born, but they seemed agreeable enough. It wasn’t until after Malibu died that she started to realize how cold they could be... well, to her in particular. Broadway and Hudson were treated amicably enough, sure, and Lexington was welcomed every time with open arms. With how much practice with young minds Lexington had gotten with Alex, the clones had taken to him like moths to a flame. Every time Angela stopped by, they always came swarming and asking if “Uncle Lex” came with her, only to slink away when he hadn’t. 

But with her? She never could get the same response out of them as the others did... well, at least it was better than her father. Even though Goliath had done all he could the night the clones became infected, Malibu succumbing to the stone disease was a dreadful tragedy. The fight between Brooklyn and Goliath was common knowledge now, and with Brooklyn not being there to donate the lifesaving blood to his clone? 

.... Well even though fingers weren’t officially pointed at her father, some grudges could still be inferred.  

“Well then is there anything I can help with?” Angela hummed with high spirits, trying to push through the hybrid’s dismissal “I can at least help hand out food or something of the like.” 

“We’re fine, thank you.” Maggie rasped. 

Well, that was going nowhere – she switched tactics before Maggie could get to the end of the hall “...So... how is Claw? I haven’t seen him in a while.” 

The lioness’s stride hesitated; her neck seemed to twitch “...he’s fine.” 

“I haven’t seen him in a while. I’d love to chat with him! Maybe see how good his vocabulary is coming. I bet he’s going to start speaking any day now.” 

Maggie didn’t respond. 

“I mean, Christmas is less than a week away. I think getting the two clans together at the castle would be a great way to bring him out of his shell!” 

“NO.” Maggie raised a fierce hand, before slowly lowering it “...thank you... I appreciate it though.” 

Angela reeled in the eagerness quickly “Oh, of course... I imagine you have something modest planned for the clones to ease them into their first Christmas.” 

“Yes... You could say that.” 

Angela stopped. She exhaled before asking directly “Okay Maggie, what is it?” 

Maggie stopped and looked over her shoulder, her feline eyes were remarkably uninterested “Excuse me?” 

“I’m doing my best to extend an olive branch and you keep slapping it down.” Angela stated bluntly “Like... what’s going on? What is it I did?”  

“Nothing. Thank you for your help with the cargo.” turning to walk away. 

The purple gargoyle could hardly believe she could be dismissed so halfheartedly “Look if you have something to say, then by all means say it!” marching after her. 

“I’ve got NOTHING to say to you.” Maggie retorted, this time with more force. 

Angela’s tone softened ever so slightly at the rise to her challenge “I just want to know what issue you have with me, don’t deny you have one! Ever since Malibu die-” 

Maggie slapped a hand over Angela’s mouth, and shoved her into one of the adjoining rooms – her foot kicked the door shut behind them. Angela had only barely managed to yank the feline’s wrist away before the cat hissed “We told you not to say his name!” 

“Get off me!” Angela took a large step back “And I didn’t say it in front of the clones like you asked! Which is more than adequate. Even when I asked to do something as simple as go lay flowers at his statue, I made sure to not say it in front of them!” 

“Sure didn’t seem to stop you from askin’ to go see him non-stop, no matter how many times we told you ‘no’!” 

“NO, you always said ‘later’!” Angela barked, before waving her hand “But back on topic, WHAT is your deal with me, Maggie? Talon and I are fine. You seem to be just fine with the rest of my family, except me. You clearly wanted it known; well, it’s known. So out with it!” 

“Really? REALLY?” Maggie scoffed “You ask to attend Malibu’s funeral, you ask to see his statue, you pry into the clan over and over again: yet still have the GALL to play dumb??”

“What on earth are you talking ab- You wouldn’t even TELL ME where you put his statue after!”

“Why would I?” Maggie Spat “When you’re the REASON he’s dead!” 

Silence hung.

Angela broke it, chops now curling back “I FOUGHT FOR Malibu that night! I held him down even when he attacked me! Don’t you dare try and say that!”

“I don’t care what token, fake virtue move you did at the last minute! I care about the fact that you did EVERYTHING within your power to ensure Brooklyn wasn’t there to save him!” 

Angela had her “So you DO blame my father for Malibu’s death?” she called her out “Well my father did everything he possibly could to save Malibu that night, without HIS help, none of the clones would have survived in the first place! Yes, there was a fight, but how could he have possibly known Brooklyn would run away? And whatever it was, I had nothing to do with it!”

Maggie hissed “Oh I don’t need Goliath’s screw up to tack onto you, girl. You chased Brooklyn off all by yourself!” 

Angela blinked “...WHAT?”

“Elisa tells Derek everything and Derek and I tell each other everything.” Maggie sneered “And Goliath didn’t scare Brooklyn away from the clan that night… he scared him back to the castle! Yeah! All that blood n’ screaming and he STILL ran back home straight away! But what was it that made him run FROM the castle? Sweetheart, it was YOU.”

Angela’s eyes hinted at their glowing red “Don’t you even attempt to pretend that I-!”

“Oh please! Stop me whenever I say something wrong, by all means! Even AFTER Brooklyn’s ‘big, epic fight’-” she said while mockingly dropping her voice and waving her hands “- with Goliath, Did he or did he not fly straight back to the castle? Was Goliath the thing that made him disappear? Was it Demona? Was it Xanatos? Or or or or! WAS. IT. Because when he came back, the FIRST thing he saw was you sucking on his brother’s face behind his back!?”

Angela’s eye tint went full red “How DARE you!”

“Oh? Am I wrong? So you WEREN’T tyin’ tongues with Broadway while Brooklyn was out?”

“THAT! That wasn’t even- Brooklyn and I were NOT together! I told the trio that I wasn’t interested in any courting unti-”

“BULLSHIT!” Maggie snapped so loudly, it echoed off the concrete “I saw you with Brooklyn plenty of times! You always had your hands ALLLLL over him! You were always gettin’ physical! Always throwin’ him clues! Honey, you were absolutely leading him on!”

“I… I did no such thing!”

“Really? REALLY? Well guess what? I was at the Halloween Party too! I saw you flirtin’ with him clear as day to get him into costume! …Also noticed you chose to do it while Lexington and Broadway had their backs turned. I’m sure you’d just HATE to lose all their extra attention if you made a clear choice, wouldn’t ya?”

Angela barred her fangs “ You pathetic little - Are you trying to call me something!? I explicitly told them I wanted their attempts at courting to stop!”

“But you sure never stopped wantin’ the attention! Not just their’s, EVERYONES! You were so obsessed with showin’ off your ‘Holier Than Thou’ Supremacy all the times our clans fought together, I thought you were waiting on a medal or something! Brooklyn had a major Savior Complex, but JESUS it’s nothing compared to yours! Is that why you held him at arm’s length? Havin’ him as a backup, just in case Broadway didn’t work out?” 

Angela twitched “Don’t dare try to lecture ME on how I treated Brooklyn! I know how ungrateful you were to him and all his help!”

“Fine! But at least I was HONEST to him about it!” Maggie shouted, before raising one hand “Yes, I was a bit of a bitch to him at first, I’ll admit that! I was awful to the ENTIRE clan! But once I straightened up, I never ONCE tried to lead Brooklyn on or make him think the way you did! I had the common human decency to not fuck with someone’s head!”

Angela’s purple wings snapped open “HUMAN decency!? YOU used him far more than me! You treated him like trash, yet he was the first and ONLY gargoyle you could go to for help when Fang, a HUMAN, took over! But you never once said one simple ‘thank you’ to him! You’ve never once said thank you to any of us!”

“Oh right right! Maybe I should do what you do? Bat my eyelashes a bit, stroke his chin, give him a kiss here and there. Ration JUST enough affection so my men are good and eager to obey me!”

Anglea audibly hissed in her gargoyle garble, before English took the reins again “And yet you knew FULL well Brooklyn would help you! Why is that? Why did you go to HIM specifically? Why not Hudson or the others?”

“He knew Derek well enough-!”

“You KNEW that he felt something for you! That’s why!”

“Fine! He liked me, I kinda guessed tha-”

“He LOVED you, Maggie!” Angela screamed

“It was a crush! One he could get over because I was honest with him! YOU were the one he was in love with! I only saw you two together a few times and dear GOD was it painful to watch!” Maggie sneered “Like, I know he’s a creep and all, but-”

“A CREEP!?” Angela’s eyes were blistering red.

“Guy is PERSISTENT and you know it!” Maggie barked “He was after you like crazy and you EXPLOITED him for it! You CLAIMED you didn’t want him chasing after you, but you sure as shit didn’t back it up with action! All the touching and caressing! How ELSE was he supposed to take it? I swear, what is it with you people? It’s like ya dangled your promise of affection in front of him like a carrot on a stick! I’d say you were manipulating him like a puppet, but it was more like he was putty in your hands! You could have told him to jump in front of a train for you and he woulda done it!” 

“You’re dragging his name- BROOKLYN’S name - through the mud yet condemn my actions towards him!? Why do you suddenly care so much about him?!”

“Cause him being gone got Malibu killed!” Maggie screamed, eyes now fully illuminated crimson “Him being gone is bad enough, but Malibu paid the price! Had you not built him up, just to knock him down, he would have been here to give blood! You’re the reason Brooklyn ran away! YOU’RE the reason Malibu couldn’t be cured! You played with him like a toy! A toy you played with until it finally broke!

Angela’s claws glinted  “You lying b… I.. You… I WOULDN’T… NO!”

“You keep denying it over and over, yet you sure aren’t offering any evidence! You knew he was crazy for you! You knew he’d wait for you! You knew you could take your sweet time and use his affection to get what you wanted out of him! And you SURE as shit did! You exploited him!” Maggie’s lips curled back “You really ARE just like your bitch mother!”

**GRAAAAAA!!!**

That was the last straw. Angela lunged for Maggie.

Maggie was ready, cause she snatched her hands in midair. They went to the ground in a struggle that kicked up dust from the abandoned floor. Everything went red. Claws and talons were slashed and swiped, gnashing teeth tried to sink into the opponent. Fists with the power to shatter bone made holes in concrete whenever they missed their target,

Then suddenly, they were pulled apart.

“MAGGIE!? MAGGIE!” Talon bellowed as he now had her bearhugged from behind. Angela felt her arms pinned to her side by the vastly bigger and stronger Claw, who tugged her away.

Angle and Maggie were pulled apart from each other. The two females snarled and thrashed to break free from the interference, but the distance forced their instincts down. Their shouting match had caught the attention of the humans, who had then gone to get Claw, who had then gone to get Talon.

Through one eye that felt like it was beginning to swell shut, Anglea could see the sheer damage she had dealt to the lioness. Maggie was slashed head to toe, a particularly nasty cut on her shoulder now bleeding profusely. Her body was peppered liberally with bruises and cuts  - and judging the stinging pain Angela now began to feel with the dulling feral state… She doubt she looked any better. 

Talon barked demands of “What the hell is going on??”, but Maggie barely acknowledged them. The two females panted in exhaustion. Their blood and sweat mixed together, each spent and trying to ration what oxygen their lungs had left. Maggie hunched over in her mate’s arms “Claw… let her go, let her go back to the surface… she won’t be an issue.” she muttered.

There was a long pause, but Claw cautiously loosened his grip slowly. Angela stumbled slightly as her toe claws hit the concrete floor, she straightened up her stance as much as she could. She wanted to say a million things to Maggie - scream half of them, cry the other half of them. But she instead delivered the hybrid only silence.

She had nothing ready to say in her defense.

Angela struggled to walk normally as she half-limped out the door. A hiss from Maggie demanded her attention. Angela turned just to see those yellow feline eyes shooting a death glare “...My son is dead…. And I blame you.” 

Angela shot her a glare, a glare she plastered to hide a face of dawning horror. She tried to think of a retort, but her mind produced nothing. 

Angela’s immediate flee up the many staircases of the Labyrinth’s underground made her beating heart pump out more blood to her wounds, but she didn’t slow. She sprinted out and clambered up the first building she could find. She flung herself into the air, the cold night air stinging her slightly open wounds.

Her mind was ablaze. How could she even explain the wounds to the clan without them freaking out? Had this tainted the two clan’s relations? How could she bridge it? How could Maggie DARE imply she did such things to Brooklyn!? It wasn’t her fault that he ran! It wasn’t her fault that Malibu had died, either, that was Thailog! None of that had been her fault! None of it!

After all…. Brooklyn didn’t REALLY love her in that way, right? He was too hot-headed and immature to truly understand what love was in the first place, as far as she could tell…. It wouldn’t have been enough to make him run away.

It couldn’t have.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lexington sat on a park bench.

Literally, he just sat on one.

Even in the dead of a winter night, Central Park could still be housing the stray human. Touching down in the massive greenery, no matter what time or place, always ran the risk of getting spotted - but Lexington didn’t care. Lexington had just run out of reasons to care. “The Ramble” was the deepest center of Central Park and was the only place with enough foliage to maybe pretend you weren’t in the middle of a concrete jungle.

But here he sat with legs and arms sprawled, out of the decency to care… worry and anger had just wilted into numbness. He was out of ideas. He was the idea guy, the SMART guy, and he had nothing. No more places to search, no new tech to break out, no new camera feed to hack into. Brooklyn was gone.

He didn’t really want to be around anyone right now. If he had to see Goliath’s face, he just might up and skip returning to the castle tonight. If he saw Broadway or Hudson, his repressed want for reconciliation might finally explode over into him breaking down and weeping into their arms. For once… he finally understood why he found Brooklyn here one time - and why the stonehead always ran away when he was overwhelmed.

His head turned to glance through the trees, their branches barren in the winter cold, able to see the lake. In fact, it had been right over there…

0000oooo0000oooo0000

“Brooklyn?” Lex called out “Brooklyn? Brook-”

He spotted the crimson gargoyle upon the lake’s shore, his back turned and hunched over. 

“Jeez, there ya are!” Lex said, his talons snapping twigs underfoot as he shuffled through the brush “Dude, do you got any clue how hard it is to find anyone in all this?” he laughed “Like, I know I could find ya in a heartbeat if I just followed the worst smell in the air, but-”

A blink-and-miss it, wiping of Brooklyn’s hand to his sniffling red beak, made Lexington’s words die down. 

“Hey… you alright, man?” sitting beside the red gargoyle who had readjusted his sitting posture to appear more steady - not the curled up, hugging of the knees he had been in before he heard Lex coming. 

“Huh? Course I am.” he cleared his throat, his unconvincing smug grin masking the tremor in his voice “Just like to chill by the water every now n’ then.”

Lexington’s silence told him he wasn’t buying the act for a second. 

Brooklyn’s grin receded. His eyes turned away, followed by his entire head “...Yeah, I’ll be alright, man. Just gimmie some time to recharge. Five, ten minutes tops.”

Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx had been missing for over four months now. Well, 127 days, by Brooklyn’s count, to be exact. The clan had done surprisingly well in adapting to a new routine and chain of command - Patrols still went underway, crime was still policed, and (As an added bonus) their more perilous activities had dwindled. Xanatos wasn’t harassing them, Macbeth was nowhere to be found, and The Pack hadn’t taken a single swipe at anyone in months. As far as Lex was concerned, he could get used to this kind of pace! Hudson and Broadway jokingly agreed with it several times to try and keep spirits high in Goliath’s absence. 

The only one not in agreeance, was their leader.

A bad case of “Imposter Syndrome” didn’t do the scenario justice. Brooklyn was born to be a tactician, but being called a leader? Brooklyn practically had a phobia to the position.

Last month, when Broadway had jokingly saluted and sounded off “Aye aye, Clan Leader!” when given his patrol route, Brooklyn had flinched so badly that he had dropped the plate in his hands and sent it shattering across the Clocktower floor.

He still refused to take the ceremonial, center perch on the clocktower’s balcony for sunrise - Goliath’s perch. It didn’t even matter how many times Hudson gently reiterated that the central perch was a place meant for the rank, not the man, Brooklyn still avoided it like the plague. Though he tried to lie about it, his rounds to Goliath’s and Elisa’s usual spots were nightly (as opposed to everyone’s weekly check-ins).

None of the clan was going to move on from their clan member’s return, not a chance. But Brooklyn flat out refused to move forward, period.

“Look dude, I know you miss, Goliath…” Lex comforted “That’s okay. I miss him too. We all do.”

“Yeah…”

“If you ever wanna talk about it, or like… anything, you know we’re always here for you, right?”

“Yeah…”

“We all got your back, no matter what, bro. Like, literally, last night when you and Broadway were on patrol - Hudson joked that one of these day’s he’s just expecting you to walk back into the Clocktower with The Pack handcuffed together with bows on them!” he forced a chuckle.

“Yeah, wouldn’t that be a great fantasy…” he muttered, unconvinced. 

“Heh, they’re probably too scared to try ANYTHIN’ right now! After how badly you whomped them last time!”

“Nah, Goliath whomped them, last time.” he muttered, his teeth grinding.

Lex saw a chance to nip the inferiority complex at the source “Really? Cause if I remember correctly, The Pack had beaten Goliath, Hudson, AND Bronx so badly that they were captured and helpless. Then you came along and fixed everything.”

Brooklyn tensed up “Look, Lex, I see what you’re trying to do and I appreciate it, I actually do. But that’s not how things happened, so just drop it.”

“Are ya nuts? The whole pack is in prison cause o’ you!”

“No, cause of GOLIATH.” Brooklyn retorted “My plan was nothing but to get Goliath out! Without him, there’s not a chance in hell we would have beaten them!” he threw his hands up “You realize I’ve LOST every single fight with The Pack? Wolf has kicked my ass so many times now, I literally am starting to remember the unique shape of his fist! When Goliath got taken out so badly, that Hudson brought up the topic of a Second-In-Command, it was MY fault!”

“What?”

“Wolf was wiping the floor with me, dude! Goliath had to come in and bail me out AGAIN. He was so distracted with saving me, that they managed to get in a cheap shot at him. And I distinctly remember Dingo saying that the only one they needed to take out to win was Goliath!”

“Well… You still-”

“Bro all my ‘plans’ were just: ‘Wait for Goliath to show up’ and have him fix the problem.” Brooklyn stressfully raked his talons through his hair “Dude, I got no clue how to handle a heavy hitter threat. I can’t even figure out where to even search for ONE dang missing clan member!”

Silence hung in the air.

“...I don’t know what I’m doing…” he confessed out loud “I’m trying to set a good example for you guys, but… dude… what the hell am I even doing?” he croaked “I’m not Goliath… I’m not fit to even be mentioned alongside Goliath. He always had a plan, he always knew what he was doing… I can’t lead a clan like he does.”

Silence followed again. The chirping of summer crickets and croaking of night frogs filled the distant white noise of the city.

“...First to unite a clan, though.” Lex said simply “...First to try and help out a gargoyle stranger when she was scared and alone.”

Brooklyn cringed at that thought of his blunder with Maggie’s first meeting “Oh dude- don’t make me remember tha-”

“Made them trust us enough to go to us for help.” Lexington persisted “When Claw took over, Maggie came straight to you for help, not another human. Talon never did that with Goliath… yet Talon looks to YOU, not Hudson when he talks to us. Pretty sure that counts as forging the first Gargoyle-Clan-Alliance in our clan’s history.”

Brooklyn didn’t have a self-demeaning retort for that.

“Helped fulfill an Ancient Arthurian Prophecy. Made it so Xanatos never tries to hunt us. Made it so Demona doesn’t even show her face. Made it so Macbeth doesn’t try something stupid again.” Lex shrugged in his matter-of-fact statement “Made us have literally the safest home in our entire lives.” 

Brooklyn was silent before then saying “....Well, that Arthurian prophecy was a bit of a group effort.” the hint of a suppressed smile tugged at his lips.

Lex snickered “Well when Goliath gets back, I’m sure you can swap leadership stories for fulfilling legends. But for the record, the score is:” he held up a single finger in one hand, and none in the other “Brooklyn: 1. Goliath: 0.”

That earned something almost akin to a chuckle out of Brooklyn.

“You’re doing great, man.” Lexington’s voice dropped to something more solemn “I mean… dude, I have no idea how you’re doing it. If I was you, I’d have fallen apart months ago…”

Brooklyn turned his head quickly to him.

“Dude… I miss ‘em too… And I’m scared too.” Lex admitted “I mean, I’m not gonna just ignore it - I’m worried about how we’d manage without Goliath. I know I wanted the Second-In-Command title, too, but now that I see everything that comes with it?” he shuddered “...I could never be a commander.”

“Lex.” Brooklyn chastised with concern.

“I… dude, EVERYTHING I did when I was in control put us in danger - it put you in danger!” he admitted, his voice going weaker “When I went after The Pack, you came along with me to make sure I didn’t do something stupid… only then I DID do something stupid and you paid the price! We were trapped in that oil tanker cause of me and all I did was piss and moan, not once worrying about the mess I had gotten you and Bronx into!”

“Dude, it wasn’t like that-”

“It WAS like that.” Lex shot back, throwing his arms into the air “I turned us into bait! I led the clan right to their waiting arms and blew the whole dang ship up! And…” he looked away “...You nearly got incinerated into charcoal cause of me! I was so busy caring about getting even, that I didn’t realize you nearly got dunked into burning oil!”

“You saved my bacon before it got fried, Lex.”

“I nearly got you killed!” Lex blurted out “Goliath and Hudson have asked ya to work on your temper, but I don’t get it! Your temper has never gotten us in danger, but mine and Broadway’s has. Heck, when we were staking out Xanatos, you had to reel me in again from going after The Pack AGAIN. Bro, I would never trust myself being commander, I’d…” he curled up around his knees “I’d have us all in shallow graves by now if Goliath made the mistake of naming me second.”

Two red hands clamped onto Lexington’s shoulders “Now you stop.” his voice firm “Stuff like that is in the past. You’ve pulled me- all of us - out of the fire more times than I can count.” he pulled him into the comfort of his crimson wings “Without you, we’d be toast ten times over. You’re smarter than all of us put together and more importantly” he tapped Lexington’s lithe chest “What you got in here is just as irreplaceable as what you got in here.” tapping his head. Those lean arms wrapped around Lexington’s little body, pulling him into his draped wings “So stop focusin’ on every small mistake, man. Ya got a million triumphs that squash ‘em.”

Lexington let that last sentence hang for a minute, sinking into his brother’s warmth “...So then are you gonna take your advice?”

Brooklyn held him for a moment, before his brow instantly furrowed “....Wait, did you just-”

“Gotcha~ No take backs.” he said with a grin

Brooklyn huffed and shoved him away “Aw dude! You’re the worst!” 

Lexington laughed “Hey, you said it man, not me.” he said with raised hands “Stop beatin’ yourself up on the little stuff, and start giving yourself credit on all the big GOOD stuff. You keep stayin’ on edge, wonderin’ when you’re gonna screw up.” he gestured in a twist “Well… sure hasn’t happened yet, dude!”

Brooklyn harrumphed, a smirk creeping again at his lips.

“Look, you’re gonna screw up, royally. Goliath does. Hudson did. Whoever was before Hudson definitely did. And when it’s time for you to take Goliath’s place officially, It’s gonna be a great ass day!”

“Hey, easy with THAT kinda talk though, dude.” Brooklyn muttered

“Why? Second In Command ain’t a temporary gig, dude. One day, Goliath’s gonna step down as leader, and you’re gonna upgrade from ‘Acting Clan Leader’ to full fledged ‘Clan Leader’, the real deal.”

“Oog.” Brooklyn sarcastically muttered like Broadway did when he had a stomach ache.

It was Lexington’s turn to shuffle up to his brother “And there’s no one I’d rather see in the role.”

“Aw jeez, man… don’t get all mushy on me…”

“Oh too late now.” Lex rested his elbow on his brother's shoulder smugly “I’m serious, Brooklyn. You’re the only one I actually want to take orders from, so quit being such an emo, it’s makin’ me look like a kiss ass~” he said, punching his shoulder “-And start sackin’ up and take some pride in yourself. It’s darn time you took some credit.” 

“Heh, fine. But if I start strutting around the Clocktower to the point the others are rolling eyes, I’m pointin’ the finger at you.” 

Lex chuckled, sitting back down with his legs crossed “See? Now you sound like you again.” leaning his shoulder against the larger one… dang, Brooklyn really HAD been bulking up.

They enjoyed the silence of the night for a brief moment. The crickets chirping, the warmth of the summer air, the canopy of the trees… All they needed was Broadway to be here too and it’d be perfect. It was like they were back in Scotland again, back home again. It was easy to push away the thoughts that they only had each other to rely on these days. When all was said and done, it was just them. 

Lexington sat up slightly, drawing Brooklyn’s attention with it. Lex looked at his open palm “...I trust you, Brooklyn, you know that right?”

“I trust you too, Lex.”

“No, like… There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, man. I trust you with my life. Wherever you go, I go.” he opened and unopened his palm. 

He opened and closed his hand a couple times. But then, he sat up straight and opened it fully. The clawed index finger of his other hand came to his open palm, then swiped - drawing a tiny bit of blood.

“LEX!” Brooklyn barked in shock

Lex only shot him a knowing and confident smirk. Lex made a fist and beat it once against his chest, before raising it even with his head. His voice was clear and deliberate - a decree “I, Lexington of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to my Clan Leader, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor his command and no other’s. I would raise my claws in his honor and raise a mug in his name.” he made the ancient pledge

Brooklyn’s beak was agape, his eyes wide… and now beginning to mist ever so slightly. Without hesitation, he drew blood in his open palm in the exact same fashion. He beat his chest and raised his fist.

“I, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to the service of this clan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor the trust of my clan and lead them with my last breath. I would raise my claws in their defense, and raise a mug in their glory.” The second half of the pledge returned.

They opened their fists and clapped them together in a clenched binding - a blood pact between clan leader and clan member. The ancient ceremonial pledge made by a new clan leader when he ascended to the position. What was usually done after weeks of preparation and delivered with great fanfare in a Changing-Of-Command ceremony - now done here. Just two gargoyles by the side of an artificial lake. 

“I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, bro.” Lexington promised.

Brooklyn merely exhaled through his nostrils, his smile content. He hadn’t done that in quite some time. Why desperately chase childhood when brotherhood was far more important? Why ignore what was by longing for what wasn’t?

Their hands slipped away, Lexington turning sideways to rest his shoulder against his big brother’s. Brooklyn’s wing came over both of them “Heh, now how can I possibly run from the job after a speech like that?” he snickered.

He playfully punched Lex’s knee “I hate you.”

Lex returned the love tap “I hate you too.” 

Dawn was coming in just under an hour, not really enough time to make it back to the clocktower, but Lex’s quick radio back to Broadway kept the remaining members of the clan from worrying. Lexington rested in his commander’s warmth, both of them enjoying what was perhaps the first bit of release of tension in months. It felt all too short when the sun’s rays started to come through the trees.

Ya know, he never really noticed how pretty Central Park was until now. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lex’s wings caught the wind, with dawn only two hours away, he might as well start moseying his way back to the castle. The lights of the city below were a hazy blur to be hypnotized by, to enjoy the emptiness of. 

The pledge of loyalty they made that night hung true. It was one of the millions of pledges in the gargoyle tradition. They had fallen out of style, sure, but keeping the culture alive in the name of ceremony was good enough. Hudson made the pledge to Goliath when he took command, as did all of the elite ranking warriors in the clan. He in turn, made the pledge back to all members of the clan. It made Lex snicker dryly, well, they were the elite warriors by default now.

He stared blankly at his palm. That pledge he and Brooklyn made to each other was as close as he'd ever get… well, that made him feel just peachy.

He flew in silence. Empty silence

“....”

“......A sentimental evening, my friend?”

Lex’s blood chilled in terror. 

He snapped his head around. Would life just let him have a break?

Where did SHE come from?

Demona.

That familiar wretched blue female took up his vision. She was flying above him, hands folded neatly behind her back, he body language so infuriatingly calm.

Fight or Flight.

“GRAAAHH!!” Fight was the decided survival response. Lexington lunged for her in mid-air, his small claws swiping at only the sky. She corkscrewed down casually to the side, hands still neatly behind her back. Lex came at her again and then again. She deflected his blows with two fingers at the wrist like redirecting a floating feather - every time he lunged, she gracefully flowed the air around his deadly barrage of slashes. 

The thousand year old scourge was untouchable.

His sixth attempt let her flip over him. He tried to spin over to snap his jaws at her but-

“Ah ah ah. Easy, easy.” a set of claws glinted just below his throat, the other pair prickled its razor sharp knives into his back.

“S-Shit…” His chin lifted away, frozen stiff as he tried to remain airborne “.....If you’re gonna kill me, then get on with it. I’m not in the mood for this tonight.” 

The talons grazing his spine pulled back “I’m not here to fight, Lexington.” she said, right into his ear “I’m here to talk.”

“Oh. Goodie.” trying to hold his gullet away from the fingers that could slice steel to ribbons “Cause that just always ends so well with you.” his mind raced for an escape plan - she was faster, stronger, and (Dragon, he hated to say this) smarter than most gargoyles by several leagues “...Well? Go ahead. Talk.” 

She banked her wings, Lexington had no choice but to follow her to the rooftops below. The moment their feet touched the roof and her talons retreated from his throat

*WHAM*

Lexington slammed his thick skull back into her chin and made a break for it. He bolted for the edge - Peregrine Dive, it was his only hope! But a talon snatched around his tail and yanked him back sharply in an instant. He was swung over Demona’s form and spiked into the rooftop, sending a bark of pain from his lips. He rolled away and scurried to his feet, fists clenched for a fight.

“Listen to me.” Demona held her hands up in surrender “I’m only here to talk.” 

Lex’s teeth were still barred. She was unarmed, as far as he could tell. Her face was devoid of that wretched smirk he and the clan, especially Brooklyn, hated so much. He took a step back, keeping a cautionary distance as he drew an arc around her. His eyes glanced up and down, his jaw tightened “...well?”

Her body language was eerily solemn - and right to the point “I know Brooklyn’s missing.” She said bluntly, "I know about Goliath and what happened.”

Lexington’s mind felt like one of his circuit boards had glitched. His fists lowered “What… How do you-?”

“I keep my distance, Lexington.” she said, almost insulted “But I never lose track of your clan. Even if you all have forgotten your love for me, I have not forgotten my love for you all.”

Lexington snorted at the absurdity “That’s a lie not even Angela would believe. You were just chipper to have Thaiolog gun everyone but her down. And last time I saw you, you had Brooklyn at gunpoi-” he froze mid-sentence. His spine prickled in the dawning thought. How did he not think of it until now? His eyes ignited such a blinding white, they were practically moon beams “YOU. What. Have you. DONE. With him?”

Demona, unphased, raised a hand with calm dismissal “I don’t know where he is anymore than you do. I do not know where he has gone. Or why he has stayed gone.”

“Yeah, I sure believe that.” he sneered.

“If I DID know where Brooklyn was, Malibu would still be alive.” 

Lexington’s light flickered “......What?”

“You think I didn’t notice one of my creations went to his eternal stone sleep?” she stood straight, her voice   heavy as she took a step forward. Lexington took a step back in response “I am the sole reason he was brought into the world… I named him myself, I knew him from his inception just as I knew yours, Lexington. I…” she hugged her sides “... I knew almost immediately after it was too late…” 

Lexington felt his guard drop at the sight of genuine loss on the invincible terror’s face, but he shook the pity away instantly. He knew this was the exact siren tactic she had used on Brooklyn to get the Grimorum Arcanorum. 

Demona could be an inconsolable mess of frantic sobs and he STILL wouldn't buy even a single tear.

Lex blinked, eyes glancing around “So what? You want an invitation to a wake?”

Demona exhaled with a jerk of her head. Lexington’s step back had him pinned to a rooftop HVAC. He didn’t have time to maneuver around it before she was a single pace away. She looked down at him, with either a perfectly rehearsed look, or a genuine expression.

“I don’t want anything from you. I want to help.” 

Lexington couldn’t help it, he barked out a sharp laugh “Oh! Of course! Sure you do!” nodding with a twitching grin “We all just love it when you help!” 

Her expression did not falter “I want to help you, Lexington. Help Brooklyn. Help all the gargoyles… even losing one of us is a tragedy.”

“A tragedy? Oh yeah sure, You’ve tried to kill him, thrice.” he snorted wryly, lifting three fingers “So you’ve just magically become overcome with a grand epiphany?” 

“......Yes…”

“HA!” Lexington didn’t even choose to laugh that time, the sheer absurdity of that statement forced it out of him. 

“Lexington, I was crazy with rage and vengeance…” Her posture upright, yet her head hung in shame “I had become so addicted to exacting my revenge upon Goliath, that I had pulled you all into my fray. I cloned all of you, created husks, created marionettes in your likeness, because I so desperately wanted to have us all side by side yet again.”

Lex squinted at her, half expecting her to burst out laughing herself at how stupid her reasoning was “.........Yeah-huh.” he used her closed eyes as an opportunity to silently maneuver around the HVAC he’d backed up into “So did that great awakening happen before or after you had us all chained up and ready to kill?”

“I won’t try to reason away what I did… nor will I beg for forgiveness I do not deserve.” she said with a heavy voice “It is why I did not harm Brooklyn the last time we met the night of the hunters. The woman I was but a few weeks ago would have been blinded by vengeance and killed him… but after having my eyes opened? I only stunned him and held him at bay to give myself enough time to finish the spell over the praying gargoyle.”

Her head lifted and her eyes opened, Lexington braced. She only spread her hands “I had allowed my anger for Goliath to consume me. I had let it poison the most important things in my life-” she gestured a hand to him with a pained look “I was so filled with envy… for HIM to be the ones you chose to follow. I was jealous of all the love and trust you gave to him… all the affection. It made me confuse my pain for anger; none of you are at fault for HIS sins.”

Lex scoffed, only this time, he wasn’t able to muster a laugh “And what? You think YOU’RE a better candidate?”

“I would never throw the first blow against my own child-” she said darkly “-and you know THAT’S nothing but the truth.”

Lexington tensed up, jaw unclenching 

“Goliath attacked his own son, his own second in command. He neglected his children, neglected your needs. Neglected your SAFETY, your wellbeing.” she gestured to herself “Say what you will about what I’ve done - but I’d never beat one of you bloody and cast you away had you'd ever come to me.”

“Don’t you DARE!” Lexington bellowed back “Goliath never did anything like tha-” he paused. He was defending Goliath.

“If you wish to defend your father, Lexington. Then speak.”

“He’s not my fathe-!” Lexington’s words froze dead again, but he sparked them on the rebound “Stop that! Don’t you even PRETEND like you’re above him or better! That’s not what this is, that’s not what ANY of this is!”

Demona extended a hand, but Lexington hissed, making her slow its ascent “He took your love for him for granted, like he was OWED it. He has always acted like you were supposed to be there for him, when he was supposed to be there for you. Has he ever said ‘I’m sorry’ to you? To any of you? Even once? When the humans attacked you in Scotland - which of us defended you? And which of us banished you to the rookery?” 

“Yeah, and which of you two turned a BAZOOKA on us?”

She hung her head again “And it was wrong of me to do, and I’m sorry - but I’m not OWED your forgiveness, nor am I going to beg on my knees for it.” she deflected “I wouldn’t try to double back on having neglected you for a new sibling - would not allow human customs to allow me to love a blood related child more than any of my clan children.”

“YOU!?!? The only reason you didn’t let Thailog kill us is cause you wanted to save Angela! Ya didn’t give half a rat’s tail about us!” he scoffed “You're even WORSE than Goliath with your favoritism.” 

“I saw her as a fresh start!” she barked “Someone untainted, someone clean from my past sins. I know I have hurt you, Lexington. I have hurt all of you, but with her, she was someone who I could have a clean slate with - a second chance.” she looked into her fists “I have been so blinded by my need for revenge - my lust for vengeance on Goliath, that I let it spread to you. YOU of all gargoyles must understand!”

Lexington flinched. It was his turn to talk, but he had nothing.

“Goliath wronged you ...You feel it too, don’t you? That anger for him and what he’s done? The betrayal? The loss? ….The lingering cinders of a lost-love that still tempt you to hold on? But holding on only makes that anger burn worse?”  she gestured to the empty rooftop “And look at what it does to you… how what he does INFECTS your love for others. Where is Broadway? Where is Hudson? Why are you, a gargoyle with clan, roaming the night alone?”

Lexington hissed at her implication with disgust… but he had no words of rebuttal - she had him.

“You just ‘wanted to be alone’ didn’t you? Wanted time to think? Just a harmless rationalization in your self-isolation, hm?” she said sagely “Before Goliath wronged you, did you ever want to do that? Did you ever want to push your brother away? …..Did you ever want to lash out at your sister in anger?” 

Lexington snarled and swiped a wing “SHOVE IT!” he snapped out, eyes white “You… Don’t you even TRY twist this into something it isn’t! Goliath… he… none of that…” he bared his fangs and turned his back on her “If you wanna put your money where your mouth is, then let me leave!” he stormed away

“If anything I said is untrue, then say it!” she raised her voice, but did not pursue.

“SHUT UP.”

“He has failed you time and time again. Not once has he benefited you!”

“I SAID SHUT UP!” he leapt up onto the rooftop’s edge.

“You’ve run out on leads for Brooklyn, haven’t you?”

Lexington froze

“You have NO idea where he is. You’ve exhausted everything, haven’t you?”

Silence.

He slowly turned his head “...What… Do you WANT?” venom in his words.

He could have sworn he almost saw a smile tug at the corner of her lips “...I’ve already told you: I want to talk. And if not talk, then at least listen.”

Lexington glanced down at the streets below - the distant honking of cars in the city that never sleeps. He could never outrun, Demona, but he could sure as hell lose her. The split second head start would be more than enough for him to make a few tight turns and leave her in the dust. All he had to do was jump.

But….. Instead he turned his body fully around to face her  “........I’m listening.”

“Brooklyn’s been taken. You know it. I know it. Even if Brooklyn threw Goliath’s name into hellfire, nothing would make him willingly exile himself from you or Broadway.” she clenched a hand before herself “.....It may pain you to acknowledge it, but I raised you three since you were eggs…. And I know your bond is invincible. The only explanation is: someone has captured him.”

Lexington didn’t relish the idea…. But he concurred. 

“You have no idea where he is, and neither do I.” she held up her index and middle finger “On our own, we are stumbling around blindly while Brooklyn is enduring Dragon knows what. But together?” she joined the two fingers together “Together? We could do so much more.”

Lexington grumbled “And what? Just let you come along on patrols?”

“Patrols? Aimless search parties? Hardly” she scoffed “I have what you don’t have, Lexington - Resources; COUNTLESS resources, a thousand years worth of connections and assets at my disposal. I could pick clean in an hour what would take your clan a year to scratch the surface of.”   

Lexington hopped off the ledge, trudging towards her “Yeah, I figured. Well, if those resources are so impressive, why haven’t you found him already? Sounds like it’d be a day trip for you.”

She shook her head “Because you have what I don’t - a soul that TRULY knows Brooklyn. Someone who can think like him, someone who knows every little detail of his mind and what he would do. I may have intel, but I’m not omnipotent. I need someone with a mind like yours, a HEART like yours, if we’re ever going to find him.” her voice was overtly honeyed and sweet, something Lexington knew was impossible to ever be genuine “I need you…. BROOKLYN needs you.” 

Lexington tightened his jaw. Demona’s resources WERE considerable… second only to Xanatos in terms of being interwoven into NYC, having that kind of power at his disposal would let him comb through every security feed in on the island. He’d be a fool to reject an offer given so freely…. But….

“And… what would you want in return?” he muttered with what little tact he could fake.

“I already told you - nothing.” she said bluntly “The life of ANY gargoyle is beyond precious, no matter how they may think about me.”

He glanced at her, this time sans a sneer “...Forgive me if I don’t believe you.”

“Of course, after all, how could I expect you to?” she admitted “Fine - you’ve forced a confession out of me, Lexington. So here it is: in return for all my help. When we find Brooklyn. When he’s been returned into your arms and back to the castle… I only ask that you remember that I was the one who reunited our family; the family that Goliath fractured.” 

Lex closed his eyes midway through her words… the certainty she had in them, the conviction in Brooklyn returning to them. Not wishful thinking, but a very real goal of him at his side as they returned to the castle… 

“-So that when the lynchpin of your clan returns and the old wounds begin to mend in your newfound clan… that you remember who it was who made it all possible.” 

All she wanted was to do this as a favor to be cashed in later? In exchange for Brooklyn finally being returned to them? To Him? It was a fair deal, a good deal - a deal too good to be true “I… I don’t know… I don’t trust you.” 

“I didn’t expect you to.” she said in disappointment “...but Brooklyn trusts you.”

Lex looked down.

“Doesn’t he? Doesn’t he trust you with his very life? Don’t you trust him with yours? Well… his life is currently entrusted into your hands, Lexington. And I can’t help but ponder what he would say if he’d be in your position.”

“He’s fanatical about you and the others.” she continued, slowly circling him - the little gargoyle felt rooted in place “There’s NO lengths he wouldn’t go to to rescue even one of you. Even if I was the one to offer him help, he’d never reject it.”

“Don’t pretend to know what he’d think.” Lexington mumbled.

“I DO know what he’d think, his spirit is a strong one. And he probably needs that spirit right now… who knows what his spirit is being put through right now? Who could possibly have him? Where can they have taken him?  ……How much longer can he last?” her voice purring out those last words in a way that made his spine chill.

“Brooklyn doesn’t have forever, in fact, he probably has very little time left as it stands now. I wonder what the current him would say - seeing someone offer up the chance to find him… and his best friend hesitating?” 

“He’d…. He’d sure as hell hesitate if it was from YOU.” he tried to imitate a sneer, but the lack of assuredness in it was pitiful.

Demona exhaled a snort “Your ‘best friend’ was rejected by his father. Your best friend was rejected by the one he pined for…. You mean to tell me you plan to reject him too?” she jeered

“Stop trying to put words into my mouth!’ he snapped

She continued to circle him, her strides methodical “Why?” that smug persona he hated about her, the real her, was slowly starting to surface itself “...after all, you seem to be unable to form the words to him yourself.” 

“What was that?”

“Had you been more open with him, talked to him more, perhaps he wouldn’t have ran away the night Goliath cast him out. Had you been there for him more, perhaps your best friend wouldn’t have left… and alllllll would be right with the clan. Goliath would have been forced to apologize to you all and pardoned so you could finally move forward. You could finally live freely again. That parental bond would be reforged. Broadway and Angela would happily be together….. And you’d finally have Brooklyn all to yourself.”

Lexington’s heart stopped, his eyes shot up from the ground. That disgusting trademarked smirk of hers was etched over that wretched face “....Does Brooklyn know, by the way~?”

“.....Does he know what?”

“That you’re in love with him~?” 

Lex reeled back, he felt like he’d been electrocuted “...I…” 

The grin on her face was so knowingly smug, he couldn’t even dare to lie “....How did you-”

“I raised you.” she hummed, hand now on his shoulder “But really, my young friend, if you’re trying to keep your confession of love a secret-” she lowered her chin to his neck, whispering right into his ear “-I suggest you don’t scream it from the rooftops.” 

Lex was frozen, his knees wanted to shake. THAT NIGHT. The night of the clone’s plague. The night he had blurted his confession of infatuation over Brooklyn to Angela. How he screamed that he loved his own rookery brother… and that third shadow he spied just as they lowered to the Labryinth’s entrance. 

“You….” his eyes frozen wide open “...Y-You were there.”

“I’m always there, Lexington.” she purred, slipping her head away from his “But don’t worry, your little secret is safe with me~”

He looked at her with a stammering jaw, suddenly feeling all the more defenseless “I…..”

“Oh, but will that secret STAY a secret, I wonder?” she mulled over aloud, giggling into her index finger “My, what if you never get the chance to tell him? I’ve seen so many would-be-lovers over the past millenia never get a chance to tell someone how they felt- it truly is SUCH a tragedy when it comes to pass. Oh, there’s no hopeless longing like fantasizing about what MIGHT have been.” 

She had been playing him. All this time. She had just been walking him onto target! He knew that damn remorse was just an act! “W-What do you want from me??”

She groaned with a dramatic roll of her eyes, eyes that were twinkling with amusement, “I’ve already told you: All I want is for Brooklyn to be found and to come back running into your arms~” she purred “After all, everything I have ever done has been in the name of our clan.”

“... I'm starting to understand how you got your name.” he hissed through grit teeth.

She chortled “And what’s better than a Demon in your employ? Hmhm, a Demon who happily offers to be~”

Her tail slithered over his calf as she stood before him “Your only chance to find your precious Brooklyn safe and sound. Am I your friend? Potentially. Your confidant? Conceivably. But your savior?” she chuckled, “Now that’s for certain.”

Lex kicked his foot away, stumbling back “I never agreed to EVER let you work with me!”

She merely laughed ”Oh come now. Why play hard to get when you’re in deep over your little head?” she mocked “One Runagate Gargoyle, two aching hearts yearning for love… and no solution in sight. I could fix it all….” she snapped her fingers “...like THAT.”

Lex was utterly disarmed, this was all a deal for Demona to be in HIS service, yet somehow he felt like he was the one entirely at the others mercy. The offer was too perfect, too tempting. It was like an answer to a prayer! But his prayer was not to be answered by an angel from above, but a devil from below… and deals with a devil always had a hidden, awful price.

“I… I need to think it over.”

That answer seemed to be enough for her, because she happily spread her arms “Oh of course, by all means, take all the time you need. I’m sure Brooklyn would be happy to let you mull the idea over in your precious little mind while he suffers! Your peace of mind is clearly far more important than his life.” she crooned, sashaying past him and mounting the edge of the rooftop

“Try to find him yourself. Shop around even! Beg, borrow, and steal. Exhaust EVERY possibility until none are left. And when everything you try ends up all for naught, and you’ve done nothing but waste what precious time remains - that’s when you’ll come back to the one gargoyle who you should’ve relied on in the first place.” she chuckled “Loyalty. Hahaha. how quickly you find out who you should truly entrust it to.”

Lex could barely muster the resolve to look her in the eye “And if I decide I want to take your deal? How am I supposed to find you?”

Her hands returned to their pompous clasp behind her back, her blue shoulders shrugging “Oh, I’ll be…. Around~” her eyes leering “When you’re ready to get to work, just make it known. And I’ll be there, your guardian angel.”

Lex felt his stomach churn at the idea. Her blue wings opened proudly, a parting nodding of the head “Tata~” she fell back and glided away.

It wasn’t until she was out of sight, that Lexington’s knees gave out from under him. He collapsed with frantic gulps of air, his whole body shaking in a cold sweat. He had forgotten to breathe.

She hadn’t threatened him once, but his gut was in knots as if he had just cheated death.

She had known everything. She had known absolutely everything. All this time, they had been fiddling hopelessly, but she was there patiently enjoying the comedy. It made him sick. She could have killed him a dozen times over in the past month alone, she could have had him in chains and forced him or anyone else to spill every secret she wanted… but she hadn’t. The damned snake had been waiting for him to be desperate enough to align with her WILLINGLY. 

He spat at the idea. She could find the one thing that could bring their lives back to normal… but whatever the cost would be, it couldn’t have been what she just requested. It was too small.

A chance to find the one thing that could set everything right - and all he had to do was just invite the devil into their lives.

He swallowed back a shaky gulp of dried spit.

—---------

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, man.”

“I, Lexington of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to my Clan Leader, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor his command and no other’s. I would raise my claws in his honor and raise a mug in his name.”

“I, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to the service of this clan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor the trust of my clan and lead them with my last breath. I would raise my claws in their defense, and raise a mug in their glory.” 

“I’d follow you to the ends of the earth, bro.” Lexington promised.

—--------

His breathing steadied. His brain got its seventh wind. He tried to think of a plan. There had to be something else he could try, someone else he could use. Something that wasn’t allies, friends, favors, or all the technology money could buy. Some other resource at his disposal that he hadn’t thought of yet. Something! Someone!

Then it hit him.

Well if he wasn’t ready to make the jump to trusting the devil… maybe he could get started by trusting a demon.

He flared his wings and leapt down to catch the wind. He flew as fast as his wings could carry him, not even bothering to make sure Demona was off his trail. There was ONE force stronger than her and it had been sitting under his literal nose this whole time.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lexington’s claws that echoed across the castle’s stone floor changed their pitch as the ancient stonework turned into the fine tile flooring of Xanatos Enterprises. He scampered down the stairwell, rounding the corner and now onto the imported rep carpet. 

He didn’t bother knocking. He threw, practically punched, open the double doors to Owen’s office.

“OWEN!” Lexington called out, but then froze immediately. A scowl barely hid itself from his olive lips.

Owen was sitting at his usual desk. His suit was neat and proper, like always, and his thousand files were in their usual perfect order. His hands were neatly folded upon the tabletop. Everything was normal. Except, Goliath was here.

His massive purple hands were planted onto the disguised elf’s desk, looming over him. The towering behemoth’s usually reserved body movement would have had him barely turned a cheek in acknowledgement, but now he snapped his whole head and shoulders around to see Lex walk in.

Neither gargoyle said a word, but thankfully Owen broke the silence with “...Lexington.” as his greeting/acknowledgement.

Lex debated dismissing himself and just coming back later, not wanting to acknowledge Goliath’s physical presence in the mortal realm. (Why was Goliath even here? He never came ot see Owen on his own.) But pettiness was not Lex’s ally tonight. He walked in and just tried to pretend Goliath wasn’t there, as he had been for a few weeks… but with his towering, sweating form directly in between him and Owen, he couldn’t hide the few glances he gave him. For a second, Lexington feared that Goliath had somehow been eavesdropping on his run-in with Demona… but Goliath didn’t say a word.

He quickly returned his attention back to their resident sorcerer “Owen… I-I want to make a deal.”

Chapter Text

ATTENTION: This chapter is SKIPPABLE. Due to some of the content to be found within, I will provide a "TLDR" at the very end of the chapter. If gore isn't you cup of tea, skip to the end. You'll find a Bold-Print TLDR that recaps the chapter's key events, without going into the nasty details.

Content Warning

=Moderate Gore, Peril, Body Horror, Self-Mutilation, Suicidal Themes, and Child Violence=

The Cold. I’ve always hated the cold. 

The floor of my cage was like ice, like a thousand knives stabbing me all at once. Ya never stopped to think about just how painful the cold was, really. Whenever you touched something ice cold, you’d leap away like it was red hot. Ever realize that? It was painful. At first it stole your warmth, at first it was just uncomfortable, but then you’d realize you were developing blisters.

But eventually, you just lost all feeling. 

I laid naked on the floor of my cage, I had been too tired to even curl into a fetal position. My head had been shaved bald and my forehead tattoo’d with a barcode. The bile that had dribbled out of my beak had long since dried on the floor, I had run out of food to vomit up anyways. One of my four hearts pulsated with a sickening twitch in my bloated chest. It didn’t make one of the staples holding my torso together pop off this time, though. Lucky me.

I stared into the absolute darkness. They had cut all the light to my bunker. When I had woken from stone sleep a week ago, I thought I had gone blind. But what I couldn’t see: I could hear… and I could certainly smell. The screams and dying moans of the dissected humans in the underground never ceased. And the stench of rotting corpses, human feces, and excessive chemicals never left me. And since stone sleep always reset my senses, I’d never get used to the smell - every awakening I had to get back to square one. At least my cage was better than The Box.

God I didn’t want to go to The Box again…

I had given up convulsing. I had given up crying. I had given up dignity.

I only survived.

I thought by some miracle I could hold onto my standards. I thought I could keep strong even when cut off from the sunlight for stone sleep. But even through my bloated chest and the amalgamation of pustules around the seams in my surgical scars, I could still see my ribs. I had refused their food for over… I don’t know, two weeks? I had no fucking clue how to track time outside counting stone sleeps anymore. I had vomited from the sheer starvation, my stomach had cannibalized what little body fat I had to stay alive... But I had stubbornly refused all their provided ‘meals’. I couldn’t cross that bridge, not that, not what they gave me. I would refuse to eat what they ‘offered’. I just couldn’t make that jump. If I went down that road, I’d never come back.

Until last week that was.

I made that deal with the devil.

Suddenly, the loud shrieking of swinging metal and the pouring in of red light from the hallway came out. I shrieked and scurried away until my back pressed against the bars as a guard came in. I shivered and tucked myself into the corner as tight as I could. Please, no more pain.

But it didn’t come to take me. It came in carrying a metal tray. It squatted down and slid it into my cage through the little slot beneath the bars. It was meal time again.

The tray hissed over the metal floor with a squeak, it was the first meal I had gotten in the past three stone sleeps.

What they fed me?

I looked down at my tray without expression. Two kidneys, a fatty heart, parts of small intestine, and -as a special treat today - the severed leg of a human. 

My meals were organs my body rejected. 

Routinely I’d be drugged, opened up, and have my organs swapped like they were changing parts in a fucking engine. Any part my body took a liking too, the scientists fished out and brought in for study. Any part my body didn’t accept? Well, it was put on ice and fed to me days later. 

I had refused the first few nights. Well, more than that I think. They had ripped out pieces of me. Almost all my original body parts - my lungs, my intestines, my liver - had all already been removed and taken for study. My appendix, which was useless to them, was given back to me as my first meal here. I had still been prude enough to reject food then… and had to watch my own appendix slowly rot until flies and rats feasted upon it in front of me nights later. 

My body parts… things that had been with me since birth, had been removed and harvested. Now I was pulsating with organs from human strangers… the organs of dead men now beat within me. The only thing that was original inside my chest was my organic, gargoyle heart… but that thing had been ripped out in a different way a long time ago, anyways. 

Well. At least meat from flesh was a rare treat. I picked up the human’s leg and shakily brought it to my jaws. I tried to not think about who this man was. What was his name? What was his story? Was he someone’s child once? Did he have dreams? Did he have laughter? I tried to ignore it. I was always stuck on the brink of starvation. This meat was the only thing that kept me from going to that permanent, dark abyss.

I closed my eyes and sank my teeth in. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Drowning. I never knew how painful it could be. 

It wasn’t anything as peaceful as being strangled to death. It was being sucked into a void where reality refused to set in. You had no idea which way was up or down. All the shaking and thrashing to try and grab onto something, anything. You were blind, just the murky blackness as you flailed around - but you knew every desperate mindless thrash spent more of the very oxygen you were running out of. I had taken air for granted.

Now came the bad part.

Even when the blood vessels in my eyes were popping, I refused to let go of my breath - but my body betrayed me - the same way your hand would recoil if someone stomped on your hand, even if it was holding onto a cliff’s edge for dear life.

Water flooded into my gaping maw. I gagged and wanted to vomit it back up through my nostrils - but the water rushed in through that too! You couldn’t claw at your throat because you were so desperately thrashing widely for something to grab onto! Something! Anything! But the water filled your lungs, they felt like they were going to tear from within! My Stomach, my lungs, my INSIDES all filled with water and dragged me down.

I don’t know if I lost consciousness from lack of air or the pain first.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

But I could never be permanently free of the pain. After I lost consciousness, they’d always resuscitate me. Then came the removal of the lungs and a heart or two to be taken away for testing and new ones to be stitched in. 

They kept me conscious on the operating table of course, even put a mirror on the ceiling so I could watch. I was given numbing so I wouldn’t pass out from the pain, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t hear and see all the cutting, slicing, and crunching inside my torso. I was so drugged up I couldn’t even close my eyes.

Just had to watch. Trapped in my own body. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Another visit from “The Barber” . They had shaved my head when I first got here. Wouldn’t want me to have too much dignity now, would they?

Another trip to the electrical grid. They figured they’d up the voltage this time. What stray strands of hair stubble I had left stood on end before it sizzled away. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

I woke from stone sleep. I was consumed from stone sleep.

More tests. More Post-Action surgeries. More agony. 

I woke from stone sleep. I was consumed from stone sleep.

More mind games. More pain. More attempts for them to up my levels of adrenaline. More attempts for them to increase how effective my stone sleep was.

I woke from stone sleep. I was consumed from stone sleep.

In fact, that happened four times in succession. Not even organs were brought to me to serve as meals. Four days in complete isolation.

I was told that it only took 72 hours of complete sensory deprivation to develop permanent mental damage - Considering the fact it was pitch black, I thought 72 hours was an overestimation. The first few hours did me in.

By day two I was shrieking and banging my fists against the bars, BEGGING for something! Anything! I was sobbing and pleading for someone to come get me. It would be worth more pain if they’d just rescue me from this darkness! This was oblivion! I almost WANTED to be taken to the dunk tank or operating table - just so long as I could interact with something!

Matt once mentioned something about ‘White Room Torture’ a long time ago.

Now I fully grasped the concept. I was only able to tell how long I’d been in there by the number of times I erupted from stone sleep. I couldn’t even carve tally marks on the ground to keep track, It’s not like I’d be able to feel or see them. By day 3… or was it 4? No, two. Wait, five. I wasn’t sure what were stone-sleep-nightmares and what were hallucinations anymore!

I had been pulling at my face and ears when I heard crawling. Yes, crawling. Around me, on me, inside me. Spiders, creatures, something! I madly stumbled around and screamed for nearly an hour before I went tunnel vision and passed out . It must have reset my senses, because only after regaining consciousness did I realize it was a hallucination.

But the voices the next day were real! I head voices, my voices, distant in every corner of the darkness. Wait, were they voices? No, they were written words. Yes, I may have been blind, but I could see them without my vision! Wait, was that sound even a language? I listened closer, slithering. A snake. No, a giant snake. LOUD slithering. Massive! 50 feet long or more! I Or was it even a snake!? For an instant I Thought it was a rabid wolf! No, suddenly I swore I heard a dozen rabid wolves! I grabbed the bars and sank my teeth in, I had tried to bite my way out! To escape! I wriggled and writhed through the bars until the skin had rubbed/ripped off my shoulders! But I couldn’t get out! Then I thought they had gotten INTO my cage somehow! I had screamed in madness and frantically dashed around my tiny little kennel to dodge them! …Until I had bumped into all four corners in the span of 7 seconds.

…Only then did I realize I had been alone the entire time. I had hallucinated everything.

I was sure I felt spiders crawling all over me again. I thought my body had been stretching and contorting all on its own. A few hours, I thought the cage had been shrinking in on me. But without even a glimmer of light here in the abyss, I couldn’t use my eyes to confirm my hallucinations were fake.

I spent the next 4 hours counting the bars by touch, just to feel sane. 

I woke from stone sleep. I was consumed from stone sleep.

 By day… I didn’t even know anymore. I nearly CHEERED when I heard the rusty creek of the bunker door. The dim red lights of the hallway were practically blinding to me.

When my tray of body parts were kicked to me, I didn’t even retch. I desperately clambered to all fours and snatched the tray from outside the bars and yanked it in. Flat on my belly I grabbed the first piece of organic sustenance I could get my hands on and tore to pieces before scarfing it down.

…It wasn’t until I had finished swallowing the last of the entrails that I realized how naturally I had done it all.

I broke down and clutched my sides. I wanted to vomit it all back up, but I clamped my beak shut with both hands - I couldn’t waste food. I sobbed for the next 9 hours until stone sleep came again.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

How was it every torture made me yearn for the opposite? The non-stop physical agony made me yearn for the mental torture. As soon I was drugged with tranquilizers and dragged out of my cage, I just screamed for the next four hours as they did unpracticed blood-letting on me; I wanted to be back in my cage. When I was thrown back into my cage for more isolation, I was banging on the bars and SCREAMING for them to come get me days later.

Today? Today was one of the days I wished I was in the abyss again.

I was in the operating room again, but I wasn’t sprawled on my back for my routine, live dissections. When the anesthesiologist was not among the ranks of my usual surgeons, that’s when I started to get scared. 

I was strapped to the table on my stomach with my arms spread out to either side, my fingers splayed. I wasn’t even ‘strapped’ down by fabric - even with what was quintuple the lethal dosage to a human and even without the solar power of stone sleep, the tranqs couldn’t make me completely helpless, I had been strong enough to resist them - I was pinned beneath twenty metal bars that had to be drilled down to the table. It was enough to keep me down.

“Good Morning Brooklyn~” Calvert hummed.

I immediately recoiled and shivered. I tugged uselessly in my bindings and tried to sink away, much to his chuckling delight. I could hear the four heartbeat monitors next of me increase their tempo. I didn’t respond to him, I closed my eyes.

If I closed my eyes, the scary monsters would go away.

“Yes, you heard me right: ‘good morning’.” he hummed. Pulling up a chair so he could sit directly in front of where my head faced. I still kept my eyes closed, my beak had been muzzled, so I couldn’t bite him or anything.

“Come now, Brooklyn. You don’t need to be so frightened. We’ve made GREAT progress thanks to you and all your help.” he hummed “And we’ve just hit our FIRST benchmark! You’ve finally broken out of your biological clock’s limiters!”

*W-What?”* I thought to myself. I tried to ignore the sound of the surgeons ‘preparing’ next to me. The pain was coming. I didn’t want to know what it would look like this time though.

“We’ve kept you cut off from sunlight for so long and kept your active and passive cycles so alternated, that your body’s internal clock has forgotten what time of day it is.” Brannigan’s voice chimed in, I could practically hear the smile on her face “You’ve stayed awake 5 hours past sunrise more than 4 times now! And you NEVER wake up with sunset anymore, you have a three hour window now as far as we can tell!”

“And your adrenal glands have almost tripled their production rate.” Calvert said with a tap of his pen to me, making me flinch and shrink away “We’ve tried introducing additional glands to your body, but it seems your originals are MORE than sufficient! You really are such a polite and cooperative patient, aren’t you~? I wish they were all as studious as you are~” he chuckled. “Look at your stitches, how well they’ve sealed. If you’d like to put a number to it - you’re healing at nearly 560% the speed you were when you first arrived.”

Brannigan’s voice was now to the side of me. I got a sense of dread that made me bristle and whimper “Which means, we’re finally ready to move onto the next stage of testings:”

Suddenly, I felt the individual locks over my fingers being pulled aside by one of the humans. My right hand’s pinky was being isolated, but my remaining fingers were grouped together and pulled aside. I snapped my eyes open and barely managed to turn my head enough to see what was happening

My four hearts stopped ”MMMMPHHHFFFF!!!!!! MMMMMMFFFF!!!!!!” I thrashed with muffled shrieks.

Branigan smiled chipperly down at me “Regenerating body parts~”

PLEASE. GOD. NO!

My eyes could barely turn far enough to see the electric bone saw brandished in one of the surgeon’s hands! It whirred to life, a few tests of the trigger making the blade spin thrice.

I couldn’t make a scream that was even intelligible.

“Oh I know, Brooklyn~ I know~ But that finger needs to come off~”

My beak ran wet with fresh tears, I tugged against the restraints until my skin peeled from the top of my wrists! The readjustment of the surgeons made me shriek bloody murder. Some were taking notes, one was video taping… and one lowered the buzzsaw

My beak managed to bend the bar muzzling me  “NO DON’T! PLEASE! PLEASE!” I screamed DON’T CUT! DON’T CUT! DON’T- !”

“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Two days in the abyss. I got used to what it felt like to have four fingers.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

A day in the freezer and then in ‘The Oven’. I got to enjoy extreme temperatures until I got frostbite one hour and heat blisters the next. My lack of regular stone sleep made it impossible to track when I’d be brought next for more sessions. The constant meat wasn’t enough to sustain me and without the sun, my main source of nourishment, there to fuel me… I felt death come closer with each stone sleep.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

They were thorough in verifying my obedience.

I was set free. 

I was let out of my cage a week later. Free to walk from my bunker to the operating room without guard, chains, or a drop of narcotics in my blood. I was informed that I should be grateful for this special, once-in-a-lifetime treat… so special that none of the young donors would be there to see it. They were busy being held as collateral…

I debated running. So what if I had no idea how to get out? So what if I had no idea where it was? So what if an escape attempt was punished with hours of cattle prods? Wouldn’t the 5 seconds of ignorant bliss to be gained in an escape attempt be worth the days of pain after? Well, I didn’t get to enjoy that delusion. I was hobbled.

I dragged myself forward on the only leg that was still intact. The poison gas chamber from last night had caused my entire body to blister in places. They had tried to accelerate my regeneration trials by popping my shoulders from their sockets - all that did was turn both my limp arms a sickly black, purple as they dangled beside me. 

I had lost too much blood… My ears pounded, my head was cracking itself open - I hadn’t had a drink of clean water in…. I don’t know how long. I collapsed before the double doors, I shakily raised a hand up, barely able to hold onto one of the handles. The world became blurry, the red light over “Authorized Personnel Only” began to drown everything out. My hand slowly slipped off and my intact knee gave out behind me.

I twisted as I slowly slipped down the wall, my clipped talons unable to root myself. I weakly looked up to the windows that looked into the black void of what awaited me. The distant crescendo of the guards’ footsteps made me feel… I didn’t even know anymore. 

I just closed my eyes and hoped I’d pass out before they put the scalpel to me this time. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

The days went on.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

And on

0000oooo0000oooo0000

They strapped me to an iron chair and left me there.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

…

0000oooo0000oooo0000

….

….

….

….

….

….

“H-Hello? …..Is someone there?”

….

….

“.......Goliath?”

…

…

…

…

Even with the burlap sac over my head, I swear I thought I heard him. I knew his gait. I knew his footsteps. I whimpered out “....Goliath? I-Is that you?”

“Goliath’s not coming, Brooklyn~” Brannigan hummed, swiping off the thick black fabric. I squinted in pain at the industrial light overhead. 

“H-He’ll come…” I grippied the arm rests with my remaining seven fingers.

Those hyper-sanitized shoes of hers clicked over the tiled floor. Cockroaches scurried in all directions, moving to different pieces of viscera on the floor to wriggle into “It’s been two months now, Brooklyn~” She noted “I think it’s time to face facts~”

“Fuck you….” I wheezed.

“Oh come now, don’t get all convicted now. Not with that hunger strike you seem to be on.” she tutted, poking my arms “Look at you, you’re practically skin and bones now.”

My throat burned. I didn’t even shuffle my feet away in disgust at the insects crawling over my digits.

“.......why won’t you just kill me?

“KILL you? Huh!” she seemed flabbergasted at the implication “And waste all the wondrous strides you’ve already made? You’re responding so very well to the adrenaline therapy already! Your stone sleep can now cure things that would be permanently scarring to any other gargoyle!” she commended, circling me” Kill you?” she repeated “I’d have to throw you out and start fresh with another one of you! And none have such fine material as you~” she chuckled, slapping her hands onto my shoulders from behind.

“Please…”

“I’m not going to kill you Brooklyn, Well - not yet anyways-” she shrugged “Sure, once you’re finished and your cells are able to regenerate instantly, then we’ll harvest every single piece of you. Who knows? Perhaps we’ll take in the rest of your friends for supplementary testing~”

I grit my teeth… I wouldn’t justify that with a response

She giggled and I could hear her reach into her labcoat “After all…. There’s plenty of new candidates to choose from in that growing family… For instance, Goliath and that NEW Beaked apprentice of his~” 

My heartbeat throbbed in my ears.

“No……….. N-No. He wouldn’t…”

“You think?” Brannigan hissed in fake embarrassment “So… this ISN’T Goliath, then?”

She lowered a photograph into my vision.

My vision fluctuated and tunneled. My hearts stopped for three beats.

It was Goliath and Malibu. They were both sitting on a couch in the labyrinth’s clan hideout. Malibu had pressed himself into Goliath’s hulking frame, his beak happily flashing a toothy grin. Goliath had placed a fatherly hand onto his shoulder, pulling him close while giving a stoic smile for the camera.

“Hm, odd.” Brannigan shrugged, flicking the photo “That jawline of his is usually a dead give away.” 

I lost the strength to keep my head up “........No…” staring at the floor

“I didn’t want to show you that photo, Brooklyn, truly.” she feigned sympathy “But, now you can stop holding out for a fantasy~ Let’s put that focus of yours squarely on the here and now, hm~?”

No… It… It had to be a fake. A forgery. How would this freak even GET a photo like that? Why would it have been taken at all ? That couldn’t have been Goliath! Nor could it have been Malibu! I caught a glimpse of the digital timestamp in orange lettering at the bottom corner ‘20 NOV 96’. That wasn’t even a full week after I had ran away! There was no way Goliath would have just left me! He wouldn’t have gone and cuddled up for a replacement member while I was missing! He wouldn’t! Goliath… He… he would never. NEVER-

….. Replace me. 

The generator behind me whirred to life. I had been too much in my own head to have even noticed Brannigan stepping away to turn it on “Now then, shall we get back to work~?”

She threw the switch and the jumper cables attaching the generator to my chair went electric. I screamed a static cry. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

…

…

…

When the abyss stared at me in my days of isolation, I stared back. But now… I let it consume me. 

I had spent every night raking my mind for some rationalization over why Goliath had not come searching for me. Why no one had come searching for me. I had been captured plenty. Goliath had been captured plenty. All of us had been captured plenty, really… and we were always freed a night later, even sometimes the same night… And when Angela got hurt, *snort* he’d assemble an entire FORCE for her.

…But two days? Two weeks? Two Months?

I had gone over every possible rationalization in my head. I had played out every scenario from start to finish. But none of them made sense to me… The last time I saw Goliath, he had ripped my face open… the last words he ever spoke to me echoed in my mind: “You are unworthy of my love! You are unworthy of anyone’s love!”

It was clear: no one was coming for me.

I laid on the floor of my cell, my stomach contorted in agony. It would have taken me much longer to accept it, even longer to go through with what I was doing… but…

My tray from two days ago was sitting outside the cage, a kidney, a malformed heart, and a chunk of a human’s torso now had flies on it. Those piles of bloody viscera were the only things that kept me from going to that permanent, final darkness… But there was nothing left for me.

All I had to do… was nothing. Just stop fighting, stop eating… and eventually I’d be free. 

I found a calmness in it, really. This was how my story ended - one of the last surviving members of a forgotten clan. They were lost to time and soon I would be too… a pathetic, yet deserved ending to the book of my life….. I was going to join the rest of my family.

*WHAM*

The bunker door slammed open again. Oh, they were not happy.

It made me smile. For the first time, I finally had some manner of power over them. They were right about one thing - I was too valuable. Once I starved myself to death, I’d be nothing but years of work and millions of dollars down the drain. They kept me perpetually at death’s door here… but they hadn’t counted on me opening that door all on my own. And seeing that their prized guinea pig was intent on suicide, they were furious. 

“Brooklyn…” Calvert’s voice came from the silhouetted lab coat in front of me. He had been accompanied with what looked like the entirety of the lab staff and half the security force. I barely had the motivation to give him a vacant stare, much less muster up the drive to sit up. “I will be reasonable with you one last time...are you going to continue this hunger strike?”

I had no snide comment… I wasn’t in a humorous mood for my last days “...So what’re you plannin’ to do about it?” I mumbled, barely parting my lips “Stuff a feedin’ tube down my throat? Without sunlight, that won’t be enough to sustain me.”

Calvert sighed, he made a gesture with his hand and the other scientists departed. I almost smirked “Go ahead… hurt me more… Torture me all you want… force me to comply and eat so you have your lab rat alive and well. There’s nothing you can do to me that you haven’t done a dozen times already.”

“Oh no Brooklyn, we know everything about you through and through… we haven’t even scratched the surface of the procedures yet…”

I heard a distant, high pitched commotion echoing distantly in the halls.

“Just remember. We tried to be reasonable with you at first.” 

The scuffle became louder. I heard screaming like a pig right before slaughter. One of the guards carried in a thrashing child. He had to be barely 8 years old; his body was normal and he was still in street clothes, it was like they had just picked him off the streets! The little baseball jersey he had looked like it had been freshly washed just this morning.

“No! No! No! Please! Mphhh! Nfff! Ghhr!!” He hadn’t been restrained and he frantically beat his little fists against the guard’s helmet. It didn’t do any good. He flailed and squirmed, unintelligible grunts and screams for help taking their place.

“Please let me go! Please let me go! I won’t tell! I won’t tell! Please!” he babbled. Before his words became too muddled with tears and snot to be coherent. He continued to shriek for help.

“NO!” I suddenly felt the first burst of energy in months. I scrambled to the edge and grabbed the bars with my remaining fingers “CALVERT NO! NO! OKAY! YOU WIN! YOU WIN! JUST LET HIM GO!” 

“NOOOOOO!” the child sobbed as he was dragged to the ground and splayed out. He sucked in a choking heave between each bawl “MMMPHF!!! MMMMM!!!”

“Ngh! Ngh! AAHHHHHHH! Are y- No please, lemme go!” he thrashed. He arched his back and threw his shoulders side to side - but his little body couldn’t force off the four full grown men pinning down all of his limbs “I WON’T TELL! I WON’T TELL! I WON’T! PLEASE!!!!”

Brannigan loomed behind a fifth guard who brandished one of the larger surgical knives they used on me. My screams were almost as bad as the kid’s! I stopped banging on the bars - instead, I grabbed one with both hands! I yanked back as hard as my boney arms could manage! I didn’t even care that I could both feel and hear the seams of my latest surgical scars start to tear! Blood was spilling out through the stitches in my shoulders and sides. I was too weak, so I slapped my jaws over it instead! I bit down until my swollen gums were leaking red too! I shook viciously just TRYING to break my way out! Nothing was working!

The boy must have been screaming all the way here, because his sobs made it so his voice was barely above a croak “A-Are y-you you-u G-Gunna-” his little chest hyperventilating “H-Hurt m-me?” eyes locked on them, rather than me.

Brannigan’s teeth smiled like a jester’s “...yes~” she said with a nod

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!” he screamed

Brannigan smiled “Our friend over there wants to eat you… you understand, right~?”

Everything went white in my vision. The Feral State exploded out of me “GRAAAAAAAAAOOOOOR!!!” I grabbed my left arm which had had extensive surgery done to it - I yanked and pulled! If I could rip off my arm and shoulder, maybe I’d be small enough to fit through the bars!

It was too late. The knife stabbed down into the kid’s chest. His scream felt a million miles away. Then the sound went with him - they had hit a lung. Time slowed down. My strength vanished and all I could do was sink down in horror as he was disemboweled - alive. 

His knees speared and kicked in the air in a final bolt of muscle control. His body tensed in frozen agony, unable to scream.

The thrashing ceased after only a few seconds, but the gurgles continued until they petered out into silence.

…

…

…

The silence hung in the air. Everything was frozen in place.

Calvert’s mouth moved, but what words came out sounded like they were underwater to me. My ears were ringing, my jaw refused to close. I didn’t regain feeling in my legs until the little corpse was dragged over to me and thrown against the bars, leaving behind a river of blood. I scrambled away, pressing into the opposite bars. My chest heaved in panic, my lips quivered to try and ask “...WHY?” but I was going into shock. I couldn’t speak.

Calvert squatted down to give me an inhumanely empty stare, he cocked his head to the side with a sickening crack “Feel like eating now?”

Suddenly, the feral state couldn’t stay on anymore. The pain of what I had done to my own arm and mouth was catching up to me. Tears ran from my beak, I tried to speak - what came out were muddled babbles. I couldn’t form words.

“You think we’ll only hurt you?” he said blankly “If you think you can take the coward's way out… we’ll find others to pay the price tenfold. But since this was your first time trying this? We went easy, fortunately we just pulled that kid a few hours ago.”

“You’re going to suffer, no matter what Brooklyn~.” Brannigan hummed “The question you need to ask though - how many OTHER people are you going to make suffer? Are you going to keep making us hurt more people because you’re too selfi-”

Brannigan stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes widened in what looked like a sudden realization and her grin returned in force “YESSSSS!!!!” she squealed in delight. 

Calvert’s own version of glee quickly exploded to match hers “FINALLY!”

They both rushed to the bars, but still out of what could have been within arms reach for me, if they were just an inch closer my claws would have been just close enough for me to swipe out their jugulars in a single……. My claws? I looked down. MY CLAWS!

I suddenly had the same epiphany they had. I had all ten fingers again. 

They had all grown back?? When!? HOW?! I had been getting a finger chopped off at the knuckle every other day now! They never gave me a hint of anesthesia because they insisted feeling the pain would up the adrenaline! I don’t know WHY they thought that though… I had been in stone sleep a dozen times since the first amputation and there wasn’t the slightest bit of ‘regrowth’ like they had hoped for.

But they were all here again! I flexed them just to ensure they were real. It wasn’t possible, Just before they had come in, I had been feeling my hands in the darkness to feel the exposed bones. When I had grabbed my arm to try and rip it off I-

….I replayed what little I could remember in my head - a sickening revelation suddenly washed over me. That was it, that was when they had grown back. That meant-

“We have our answer!” Brannigan rejoiced, not turning her celebration to the spectating lab hands “The Feral State WAS the secret to triggering the next step in the stone-sleep evolution! We just didn’t test all the different causes of the Feral State!”

Even Calvert’s usually sickly stoic stare couldn’t maintain its bearing “I knew Sevarius went into detail that a gargoyle’s primary instinct was protection… but I didn’t know it was THIS intense! Fear, pain, and especially anger can trigger it… but it seems to get the PUREST form of the state, then we need to-”

Brannigan matched his mullings “I guess we finally found the missing variable… in order for the regeneration to evolve… we have to trigger The Feral State through a very SPECIFIC stressor. The cameras were recording everything right?”

“Of course…” he said coolly “...Let us return and see it all from the beginning.” before turning his attention back to me, I shuddered. “...but you, on the other hand, Brooklyn…” He stood up. A guard put his boot to the child’s head and turned it to face me, the permanent convulsing terror of his final moments were etched into his face. I retched.

“Dinner Time.” Brannigan said bluntly. 

I trembled. No. There was no way they were this sick.

I physically couldn’t say no - I only frantically shook my head between unintelligible whimpers. I refused. 

“If you refuse… we’ll go get another one. And we’ll repeat this until you’re on board.” Calvert muttered, before snapping his fingers thrice “Now get to it, you have a lot of calories to get caught up on.”

They left me. I prayed they’d close the door behind them and banish me to the pitch black I so hated - I didn’t want to see him. But no… the red light from outside bathed the bunker in that scarlet. I crawled over to the……. Thing. I couldn’t think of it as a kid, as a scared little chi- NO. It was a thing. Just a thing. Don’t think about it Brooklyn, don’t think about it..

I… I couldn’t do this… I could be torn apart, lit on fire, drowned, drugged, electrocuted, suffocated, isolated, skinned, and dissected. I could handle all that… but this? I… I couldn’t do it.

But what choice did I have? If I refused - if I refused ANYTHING - they’d keep killing more.

I couldn’t bring myself to bite into those little arms or legs. I closed my eyes and tried to think of something else. I tried to ignore the fact I’d gained the ability to tell the difference between an adult corpse and juvenile corpse. I kept my hands from touching any body part to try and now feel how small he was. My open jaws bit down into his mangled torso. My salty tears flooded and mixed with dark red blood “.........I’m sorry….” 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

I covered my ears and tried to block out the deafening recordings.

Hunched over in a 3x3 metal box. Unable to sit, unable to stand, unable to lay down - only squat until every muscle in your legs had cramped and spasmed til you were going insane! I had developed Tenosynovitis in both achilles - muscles fusing to bone - and it was as painful as it sounded. My ankles waded in the 6-inch deep slurry of blood and guts they had poured on top of me. 

The Box.

They put me in here for hours, blaring recordings of screaming children and that damn video of an actual toddler being killed. They had the volume on those speakers cranked up so loudly it made my head ring.

Usually I had to be drugged to be dragged in here - the first time they put me in it, I didn’t know what it was and begrudgingly gotten in. The second time they tried to put me in a week later? I, in panicking terror, had slashed open the four guards who were assigned to control me.

But I couldn’t refuse them. I couldn’t fight them. Not anymore. They had found their leverage against me. I couldn’t fight anymore….

I quivered and covered my ears as tight as I could, I hugged myself with my wings. That damn poem had been on repeat for the past 5 hours. I could repeat it all from memory now... but that didn't keep them from splitting my ear drums with it:

Count—count—count—count—the bullets in the bandoliers.

If—your—eyes—drop—they will get atop o' you!

I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn't fucking take it.

(Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up and down again) --

There's no discharge in the war!

Too much blood. Too much death. Too much pain.

We—can—stick—out--'unger, thirst, an' weariness,

But—not—not—not—not the chronic sight of 'em—

I’d give anything. Secrets! information! I’d betray everyone! I’d sell out my clan! I had screamed a dozen times that I’d give up Goliath to them for him to take my place! 

Boot—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again,

An' there's no discharge in the war!

I’d give them anything! Anything for the pain to stop!

'Taint—so—bad—by—day because o' company,

But night—brings—long—strings—o' forty thousand million

But there was no knowledge or treachery I could barter with. There was only one thing they wanted from me: flesh. Chunks of it at a time.

Boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again.

There's no discharge in the war!

I covered my ears and heaved while rocking back and forth in the sludge of death.. The sounds of death. The scent of death. The sight of it. The TASTE of it.

I--'ave—marched—six—weeks in 'Ell an' certify

I-I wanted to go home. I just wanted to go! I wanted the monsters to go away! I…! I…! I wanted my mom!

It—is—not—fire—devils, dark, or anything,

I wanted to die.

But boots—boots—boots—boots—movin' up an' down again,

Why wouldn’t they just kill me?!  Why couldn’t I just die??

An' there's no discharge in the war!

But the answer had already been festering in my mind… I knew why. And you know what? It… It was kind of funny, really; hilarious actually! It made me laugh!

Try—try—try—try—to think of something different—

“Heh… Heheh…. Heheheheh. HEHEHEHE”

Oh—my—God—keep—me from going lunatic!

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! I burst out in a maniacal laughter as I clawed at the tears rolling down my face. I tried to contain the sobbing giddiness, but it just forced itself from my lips! I couldn’t stop grinning through my quivering lips- I laughed until my stitched-up chest was in agony! “AHHHHH-HAHAHA!!!!”

Boots—boots—boots—boots—moving up and down again!

I finally knew, KNOW where I am. I finally know why I can’t die.

There's no discharge in the war!

I’m in hell.

-TLDR-

>Brooklyn is put through torture, surgeries, and experiments to increase his adrenaline output - doing so increases the effectiveness of his regeneration.

>Brooklyn survives exclusively off human meat and body parts.

>After being shown the picture of Malibu and Goliath from Chapter 5, Brooklyn is now convinced he has been replaced and left to die by Goliath (it is not clear HOW the scientists got said picture).

>Brooklyn can now resist sunlight and put off stone sleep for a few hours.

>Brooklyn's Feral State (when triggered through extreme methods) triggers the regeneration found in stone sleep. He is able to heal almost any wound instantly, including severed limbs.

>After months of mental torture, Brooklyn has begun to lose his sanity.

Chapter Text

Brooklyn cursed himself for being so obvious, everything had been going so well. 

Formulating an escape attempt had been an ordeal. He wasn't strong enough to break through any manner of bars, not with the starvation and constant physical exhaustion; but that didn’t matter. Cunning was his specialty, not brute force.

He didn’t have strength or resources, and no one was coming to rescue him - but he had time and desperation, plenty of it.

Honestly, self mutilation was never something he wanted to seriously debate, but it was necessary. Through accidental trial and error, he learned stomach acid could corrode metal (he sure didn’t relish the night he had figured that out, though). But that had been the first bit of hope he had had since being dragged down.

By now, he could anticipate stone sleep, hell, he could even stave it off for hours - and that’s just what he needed. He could take life threatening injuries now and just flick on stone sleep on command to undo the damage. At the end of every night, depending if they had opened him up, he’d whip out his talons, grit his teeth, and… well it wasn’t good to dwell on what he did next. Point was, he was able to get stomach acid when he needed it.

And after dribbling it on the inside of the bars and waiting a week for it to test out his theory, he realized escape wasn’t just wishful thinking.

He finally had a plan: Lather a tiny bit of stomach acid onto the bottom and top section of one of the bars in the back left hand corner of the cage, a spot no guard would ever see in the dark. Then, after the metal had begun to rust, little by little file it away with stone shards from his evening wake up. Once he was out, he’d be able to sneak up on one of the two guards who rotated duty outside his door, snap their necks, don as much of armor and weapons as he could before the rest of the place knew what had happened, and fight his way out. It didn’t matter that he was so skinny now that he could number all his bones, even in this state he was stronger than any human. 

It had been a good plan…..

But the surprise inspection of his cage, the first he had ever gotten here, had dashed that dream. The punishment he had received for it was nearly a week long. 

Now thanks to that, they moved him to ‘general population’ as they jokingly liked to call it. Human fucking cattle, more like it. While the guards worked on welding a stronger, high quality cage for him… he was kept under 24 hour, eyes-on, surveillance in the holding cells of the humans.

Seeing him get wheeled in had been a horrible experience for the humans. The ones who weren’t drugged into unconsciousness must have thought he was either there to eat them or they were going to be turned into something like him - at least that’s what he picked up from all the screaming.

But after he was thrown into an adjacent cage like theirs (well, with bars thrice as thick as the stock size) they all caught on he was every bit as helpless as they were. 

That had been a week ago… but today?

—---------------------

“Ngghhh- SSSSssssssss!” Brooklyn awoke back in his cage with a jolt, he grit his teeth with an uncomfortable hiss. He must have passed out during the last surgery and been taken here while unconscious. His new regeneration speed had already sealed up his wounds to the point the pain was only an intense ache, rather than an agonizing fire. 

*gasp*

His struggle to all fours was halted by his ears perking up. He turned his attention to where the sound had come from the cage adjacent to his. His hearts stopped.

Eleanor.

The rabid wolf. The little girl who was mauled to practical death and infected. The funeral. The night he unlocked the feral state. His first kill. 

It was her. Eleanor was in the cage next to him. Her spitting image, right down to the brown hair with one side braided! How could this be possible??

He sat up with his horrified complexion locked squarely on here. He must have looked like death, because the terrified human quickly scrambled back as far as her cage would allow her “E…..E-Eleanor?” he asked weakly. 

Her silent terror upon beholding him wasn’t the reaction he had hoped for. Her lack of response signaled the confused bewilderment he needed. It gave him a chance to make her out in the dark red lighting. 

No… No, it wasn’t Eleanor… but she could have very well been her twin (just a millenia apart). Gargoyles were pretty poor judges of human age, but he quickly pinpointed her at anywhere between 10 and 13… maybe? Wide margin of error, sure, but it was the best he could do. Her older face had slight differences from Eleanor’s younger one here and there, but they were pretty damn negligible.

She had slammed her eyes shut and cowered behind quivering arms and a tugged-at shirt, too scared to speak, lest ask questions.

“H-hey, hey.” Brooklyn rasped out with an extended hand “It’s okay… I’m not gonna hurt you.”

‘Yeah, real stellar intro, Brooklyn.’ he thought to himself. 

He looked like a talking corpse. He was a beaked, contorted ghoul at death’s door; between the bloated stomach, the boney limbs, the shaved head, and a recently amputated toe, he was far from a calming sight. 

Brooklyn’s stiff knees popped as he backed away from the bars, propping himself against the bars to give her space. He looked over his mutilated body and in a split second, decided to at least cover up the nasty parts. He curled his knees to his chest and immediately draped his wings over himself in a cocoon, at least making it so she didn’t have to see the more grisly stitches “Sorry… Yeah, I know… not the best thing to look at.” 

She didn’t move. All he had to go off was her still quaking form and shield of fabric. Judging how she wasn’t here when he was brought out this morning, they must have just brought her in off the streets.

“It’s okay… It’s okay.” he tried to lie as gently as he could to her. 

“...I… I wanna go home…” she struggled above a whisper.

What the hell was he supposed to say to her? What piece of false comfort could he give her that wasn’t a flat out lie? What? That she was going to be okay? That she was going to be safe? That they were going to get out of here? That they were going to be rescued? That she wasn’t going to wind up as another one of all the organ factories on the operating tables?

“Yeah…” he said simply “....Me too…”

For some reason, that was the line that made her dare lower a shaking arm to peer cautiously over it.

He didn’t move, not wanting to spook her. His mind raced for a million things he could possibly say to her. All he could settle on was: “...Are you also from New York?”

“W…What?”

“New York.” his haggard voice stated casually “Are you a local?”

Her head nodded before words shakily followed “Y-Yes…?”

When no further response followed, he nodded and twirled a hand “Same… Brooklyn.”

Her forearm slowly lowered below her chin now, but her terrified brow made room to hint at confusion.

“Well I mean, like, my name’s Brooklyn.” he introduced with an empty gaze “...But I’m from downtown… Don’t suppose I could convince you into thinkin’ I’m from TriBeCa though, could I?” almost an attempt at humor. 

“I-I’m Bobbi… B-Bobbi Porter.” she said weakly, but finally above a whisper. She took in a moment to look around at the other cages - half empty, and half filled with humans who had no strength or consciousness to talk “W…What are y-” she swapped questions mid sentence “Where are we?”

Brooklyn’s voice managed to form a coherent set of sentences for the first time in months “...I don’t know…” he admitted “...I don’t know.”

The anxiety in him wanted to just slam against the bars with both hands and beg for her to tell him that someone knew she’d be missing, that someone would come looking for her. That someone would be coming to break them out… but the last bastions of morality that had dug themselves into his psyche won that battle. His words came out as slowly as his restraint allowed them to “...How did you get here?”

“I-I…” she covered her ears and crumpled into the ball “Why… why? Why?” she whimpered “Why did I have to tell?”

“Bobbi?”

Fingers strained until they turned white “I-I wasn’t supposed to tell. I-I saw people being taken off the street. Radar said we weren’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“Radar?” he echoed with a sudden fire.

“M-Men were taking people… h-homeless people. They said they were being brought to help them. But then they started taking other kids… we were watching a baseball game, Dave, Kenny, and I… W-We were supposed to wait there for a... But… But then another kid on the concourse saw us and the buyer. T-They said no one was supposed to know. They chased him and took him away in a van. I-I tried to tell someone what happened a few days later… t-then Radar found out… A-And…” she buried her face into her knees and clasped her forearms around them. 

Brooklyn just let her cry, might as well let her get it out for a few minutes… Radar… That name again. That greasy, liver spotted faced bastard who had sold him… he was the bastard selling them? Wait that meant-

Brooklyn immediately wanted to rip something in half. He’d have gone berserk in the cage, had she not been watching.

That bastard was the one enabling all this!? Brooklyn had been THIS close to beating them that night!! Had he just fucking WAITED for the clan or gone back to get them the night this all started, they’d have taken out Radar!! They’d have interrogated this place out of him with ease!! They would have found this place, freed all these people and NONE OF THIS would have ever happened!

It was all because of one lucky stray dart!! No! It was because he was too stupid to go in alone!

NO.

No no no no no. It was none of that…. Goliath. It was because of GOLIATH. Had Goliath not flipped out on him, then he wouldn’t have been forced to go there on his own in a suicide mission! It wasn’t his fault! None of this was his responsibility! H-He had nothing to regret or wish he could take back! It wasn’t his fault!

Brooklyn could feel the Feral State igniting inside of him, but quelled it the second his eyes darted back to Bobbi. He rolled onto his knees and crawled to where the bars met “...I’m sorry…” he empathized. “......Why were you working for Radar?”

She quivered and wiped her nose “D-Dave and I… A lot of times, things were… bad. Dad was always yelling at us for messing up and Mom… she was never around.”

“Yeah… I understand…” he quickly put the rest of the story together on his own. “Is Dave your brother?” he hadn’t seen any new donors come in aside from her.

“Yes… He told me I shouldn’t tell anyone about what I saw… I knew I should have listened.” she shook her head “He probably doesn’t eve-” she seethed up and quickly recoiled with a cry.

Brooklyn immediately looked down “SHIT.” he cursed to himself, quickly snapping his wings over himself. When he had rolled to his knees to crawl over to her, he hadn’t recovered himself; his mutilated torso had been on full display to her.

“I-Is that go-going to happen to me??” 

Brooklyn had lost any energy to assure her “No.”... all he could do was solemnly open his mouth and say “...I don’t kn-”, but grabbed the word with the tip of his tongue. 

Something ate at the back of his mind suddenly. Something that was reminiscent of the last time he was in ‘this’ situation… when he was told Eleanor would not be warned about her inevitable demise.

“Two ways you went about dealing with imminent death: one way for adults, one way for children. If it was an adult, you’d tell them the truth and give them time to make peace with themselves; it was cruel to give them false hope when they knew better deep down. If it was a child, then you’d lie your tail off about them making a recovery. They were naive enough to be fooled into thinking they’d be alright… might as well let them think they’d be okay, rather than be in fear their last few days.”

“No.” Brooklyn answered simply “...No. It’s not gonna happen to you.”

He didn’t allow her the chance to slip back into more tears “Hey, ya never told me what district you were from though.”

“W-What? Um… The Bronx?”

“No kiddin’.” he huffed in a way that was almost a half chuckle “I named my dog Bronx.”

“Your… You have a dog??” she made a gesture with her hands “Like… a dog dog? Or like, a monster dog?”

“Hey, gargoyle. GAR-GOYLE.” he corrected with forced amusement and a jabbing thumb to his beak “I know I’m not runway material, but I’m not THAT ugly.” 

The sudden raise in his voice must have spooked her “N-NO! I didn’t mean it like that!”

He substituted hushing assurance with a dismissive smirk. The vastly larger gargoyle leaned his back against the bars perpendicular to him “So… The Bronx, eh? Guess that makes you a Yankees fan… shame. I’m all about the Mets.”

“.......W-What?”

Brooklyn did what he could to remember a time before he was dragged into hell “Yeah… You guys knocked us out of the last season, yet ya STILL lost to the Boston Red Sox at the Playoffs, way to represent the home-city, girl.” he chuckled - fake, but almost convincing. 

“You…” she blinked a few times as this was the most alien conversation in the world “...You’re talking about baseball? Wait, you - YOU… you WATCH our sports?”

“Dang right, haven’t missed a game of the Rangers or the Mets in two years.” he stated proudly “Never seen a Giants game though, the parking lot around that stadium is DECEPTIVELY huge; can’t glide over it with such low buildings.” 

“Wait wait… so you’re just… normal?” she breathed in shock.

“Ouch.” he snickered dryly “But - yeah, if that’s what you wanna call it. Though I’d call my taste in music a step above the average person.”

He almost dared a sigh of relief when she saw the tension in her body language finally leave. The hell of their situation left as she suddenly became more invested in the novelty before her. She gawked at him “S-So you’re just like us? Who are you? Where do you come from? Can you fly?”

He extended one wing to satisfy her curious hands that barely managed to slip through the bars “Heh heh, no - I uh, glide.” he scratched his bald head “Where I come from though? Well… Now that’s a long story.”

Well, it wasn’t like he had anything else to distract their thoughts with; he could kill a few hours by telling her the entirety of gargoyle history. He might as well keep her mind preoccupied as long as possible before she died.

Hopefully afterwards, it’d finally be his turn.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Brooklyn choked back a sob in pain. The narcotics were becoming less and less effective.

The first few weeks, he could at least be put under for his operations - but as his body built up fiercer and fiercer immunities to every drug they could pump into him, it made the pain all the more immediate. He hadn’t even been wheeled back to his cage yet and already the pain was seering. A cage that would be without a neighbor.

Brooklyn had been under his regular experiments for two days straight, by now Bobbi had no doubt been taken away to either be killed and harvested for her organs or strapped to one of those damn tables to be turned into a factory.

He cried out in pain as was thrown into his cage, the heavy steel door slamming shut behind it to seal him inside… already he wanted to break down. 

She was an innocent girl… a small child who looked like the spitting of Eleanor - justt another kid he had failed to save. He had only spoken to Bobbi for a few hours, but even that was enough for him to become attached to something in this hopeless abyss of death; something decent for a change. 

He gripped his chest, huffing as he could physically feel the wounds beginning to mend themselves already…

“B-Brooklyn?”

He snapped his head left. There was no way.

“A-Are you okay?” Bobbi asked in hushed terror. 

Brooklyn forgot about the pain instantly “BOBBI?” he snatched the bars with both hands so quickly that she recoiled. He frantically looked her up and down - gone were her street clothes, replaced now with a hospital gown. But she was alive.

There were zero reasons for them to return her to a cage, once you were moved to the ‘hospital’ rows, you never came back.

But she was here, alive and well. His mouth stuttered for words “B-Bobbi, are you okay?” he immediately asked “What happened? Did they take you?”

She sniffled “T-They…” she pointed to the pit of her left elbow “...Needle. They took blood. But it hur-”

Blood. They took blood?? “Bobbi, let me see your wrist.”

“H-huh?” 

“Let me see your wrist. Just real quick, okay? No, the other one, the one with the wristband” extending his taloned hand through the bar.

He took hold of her little hand as gently as his shaking one would allow. His eyes darted over the hospital identification wristband. 

Blood Type: O- 

A foreign feeling rushed into him: relief.. Brooklyn needed plenty of blood for all the times they cut him open - and his uncooperative body only accepted one blood type: the universal kind, The O Negative kind. HER kind. His eyes darted up to her in relief, they wouldn’t dissect her like the others - her blood was too precious. 

“B-Brooklyn?”

“You’re going to be fine.” he quickly rambled out, letting go of her wrist “I mean……. Your arm is going to be fine. It’s just going to sting for a little bit, okay?”

She hugged her knees to her chest “B-But I’m s-so cold.”

“They took a lot out of you, I know.” he offered grim comfort. He scooched to the edge of their cage as close as he could. He slipped a wing through the gaps in the bar and cocooned it around her. Bars may have divided them, but a draping wing provided her with his body warmth. “But…. you’re… you’re going to be okay now…”

“You’re very important to these people. You’re special..” he rumbled “They aren’t going to….. You aren’t going to end up on one of those tables.”

She shivered as she sunk into his wing, ducking her head to try and soak up as much of his warmth as possible. But suddenly “B-BROOKLYN! You’re hurt!” she recoiled.

*Shit* Brooklyn quickly covered his mutilated torso with both of his boney forearms “Don’t worry about me, kid. I’ll be fine.” he said with firmness - even though he consciously had to stop himself from doubling over and hugging his stomach in agony  “Lemme have a look.” 

He was by no means a doctor, but he had been a warrior for forty years - tactical combat casualty care came with the job “There, see? It’s not bad.” his voice calmed “They took a little blood, but they gauzed you up just fine.You’re just gonna be a little chilly and a little light headed for a little while.”

“But aren’t you cold?” she whimpered, curling up as tight as she could to him without touching the cold steel of the bars “-or, WHY aren’t you cold? 

“High metabolism, kid. Burn a lot of fuel?” he raised one hand “Make a lotta heat.” he held up the other. He shrugged, “Kept me warm in the winter even when I had nothin’ on me.”

Small talk was impossible to keep up when in a situation like this, but he couldn’t let her sink into her own thoughts. Brooklyn knew it was an impossible pit to dig yourself out of if you let it drag you down… it’d devour your mind. 

He used everything he could. Answering her questions about who he was and where he came from, taking 10 minutes to answer questions that could be answered with one word, going off on tangents for as long as he could run them - anything to stretch out the conversation as long as he could. He had stretched it out for what seemed like hours before:

“......Do you think you would ever take me flying?” she said with a blank gaze.

“Heh, if I did, I’d start you off with something low-altitude. Not that I’d drop you or somethin’, but some first time fliers always get spooked on their first flight.” he chuckled. 

She rested against his arm that he had slipped through the bars to her cage - at least it was warmer and softer than the metal around them “I’ve always wanted to go flying…”

“Heh, come on, I’m sure ya can get better views up in those planes flyin’ outta JFK. How many times have ya told me your dad flew outta there?”

She flinched at the sentence, her voice followed slow “Dad… Dad never took us on those - he never took us anywhere… Nowhere good at least. He always said it was good to get away from us.” 

“Oh…” he looked away “....yeah, I know what that feels like…” he quickly turned his attention back to her “But hey. I’M gonna take ya flyin’, alright? After this, we’ll go find Dave and I’ll take ya for a flight - the both of you.” 

No response came from Bobbi - but the little comfort he could give was better than nothing. It was a while before she spoke up again.

“...What about you though? …You mentioned you had parents once… what were they like?” she hugged his arm, almost like clutching to a lifeline for security “...were they nice like you?”

Brooklyn tensed up way more than he anticipated, because she quickly jumped away from his flexing forearm in a flinch “Sorry.” he quickly dismissed. His eyes burrowed into the wall “...Yeah… They were… They were happy with me once.”

“Once?”

“.......Yeah, once…” He grimly exhaled “...Don’t discount what your mom and dad thought of you too much, Bobbi. I’m sure they love you - they absolutely do.”

She shook her head into his arm.

“They DO love you…” he affirmed quietly “I promise you, they do, Bobbi. I’ve seen how parents are for someone who’s biologically their own child - a child that’s THEIRS. They’ll throw away everything, every ONE, for them. Once someone has their own kid, one of their own I mean… that person changes for good.” 

“How can you be so sure?” she weakly asked into the crook of his elbow.

The gargoyle was silent again.

He instead lifted his arm up, swaddling it around her shoulder for what partial hug he could offer her little form “You’re a good kid, Bobbi. They’d be proud of you.” 

She sniffled. Both her hands clutched onto his bony arm with eyes shut tight - wanting to hold onto the warmth he provided in more than just physical means. And she had to hold onto it for as long as she could because-

*CRACKLE*

“NGHHHHH.” Brooklyn grunted in exertion, quickly snapping his hand away from Bobbi and robbing her of what it gave.

“B-Brooklyn??” she exclaimed “W-hat’s wrong??”

“Nothin’.” he hissed, rolling onto his knees with gritting teeth “Just… Have been putin’ off stone sleep for too long. It’s-” he tried to readjust his squatted position, but his movements were already becoming stiff “-It’s not gonna let me put it off any longer.” 

“N-NOW!?” she said in panic. Her eyes tore off of Brooklyn, frantically looking around in the darkness of the underground “C-Can you put it off just a little longer??”

“I-I can’t.” he strained “...Been resisting it for the past six hours.”

She dug a death grip onto him through the bars “Brooklyn, please no! Don’t… Please don’t leave me alone!” she begged with welling tears.

The frantic terror in her voice shot through him like a bullet. She was like him on the first night - she didn’t want to be left alone down here… she didn’t want to be taken while he was petrified. But there was nothing he could do, even if he wasn’t in stone sleep - what could HE possibly do to protect her? He was all the more useless as stone! Nothing but a frozen witness! 

But something inside him burned anew. This wasn’t some peer, warrior, or even an adult - this was a kid, a CHILD… a scared child who was desperately begging for SOMETHING to assure her. He couldn’t do the impossible - but something bubbled up inside him to at least try to accomplish just that.

“Lay down.” he ordered gruffly.

“W-What?” 

“Just lay down. A position you’ll be comfortable to sleep in for the next 7 hours. QUICK.” he grunted - his feet were already turning to stone. 

She obeyed. No sooner did she curl fetally on the floor of her cage, Brooklyn had pressed himself up against the metal as close as he could. He twisted his shoulders and swooped his prehensile wing through the gap in the bars - draping it over her. He reached one hand over the top of her head, and swung his tail beneath the bottom of her feet, leaving a few inches in both directions for her to move around.

“They’re not gonna get you, Bobbi… not while I’m here.” he didn’t avert his gaze, not this time. He looked her squarely in the eyes “I don’t care if I’m stone or if I’m flesh - I’m not gonna let them lay a hand on you. Got it?” 

“I-I don’t get it, what are you doing?”

“They need me intact, Bobbi. Only way they’re gonna get to you while I’m stone is by chiseling pieces of me away - and they’re not gonna do that. And if they do…” he shrugged his shoulders “Then whatever.” 

“Brooklyn…?”

Brooklyn forced every word out as if he was speaking with empty lungs. The stone was taking hold “Just get some sleep, kiddo, okay?” he managed a smile “...I’m not gonna go anywhere.”

She blinked back the tears welling in her eyes, before swallowing and nodding shakily.

“Get some sleep, Bobbi… I’ll keep watch.” his body hardened to granite. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

….

…

“Aaaaaaaaaaand, he’s out. Time is now… 16:36.” One of the labcoat-clad researchers marked the time of petrification. 

“That’s incredible…” Calvert mused from behind the observer's chair. 15 people all in one room combing through the data of today’s numbers, and still there was something special about watching Brooklyn turn to stone live on the camera feed. “His biological clock should have him turning to stone sometime between noon and 2 pm, but he’s able to resist it by hours now.” 

“-And chances are he’d be able to deny a transformation way longer if he was at full strength.” another researcher’s pen scratched into his clipboard “The hematology section kept him conscious for nearly 39 hours.” 

“And on that topic, let’s segue into just that.” Calvert rumbled with a contemplative knuckle pressed to his chin “Kelson, you mentioned you had something you wanted to save to Close of Business?” 

The addressed scientist nearly leapt for the computer when given permission. With a lightning fast typing on the keyboard, the latest videos of their findings appeared on the main screen of the room “Sir, we’re progressing faster than even our most optimistic of projections. Here’s Patient Zero’s initial blood samples…” he clicked his fingers on the keyboard “...and here’s from yesterday.”

Even Brannigan couldn’t help shed a sadistic smile for an awestruck gawk..

“...These are Brooklyn’s? Organically?’ 

“One hundred percent organic sir. It’s only been two months and his cells are already almost at a 2,700% increase in replication speed. He’s able to regenerate from injuries while AWAKE just as fast as he originally could in stone sleep.”

Sick, euphoric disbelief was silent in the room.

“....Sir, we were hoping Project Immortal would be completed within our lifetime… but this? We may have the first successful subject within a year!”

Whistles and self-congratulatory cheers were immediately halted by Calvert’s hand “Not quite, not quite. Patient Zero might be progressing rapidly, but we must make it so all his samples can be synthesized into something transferable. Just because he’s on his way to being an immortal does not mean we’re able to harvest it yet.”

“Well that’s another point we wanted to bring up, sir.” another human interrupted, glancing down at their notes “We’ve done as you asked and prioritized patients with AB+ and O- blood types. With it we’ll have enough donors to increase the rate of surgeries, while having potential test subjects on standby.”

“Good. I want to start human trials of blood transfers once his cell replication reaches the 30x benchmark.”

“Tracking, sir… but on that topic…” another human clicked a mouse on their computer to bring up the live feed of Brooklyn “...Patient Zero’s cell should be ready to have him moved back within 48 hours; but, the girl… We weren’t expecting him to interact with any of the other cattle while he was in the general population. Should we terminate her? We need Patient Zero’s adrenaline levels to keep increasing if we’re going to achieve any more progress.”

Calvert mulled the thought over for a moment, before his sickly shoulders shrugged within his lab coat “...No… No no no. That won’t be necessary. No…. In fact; I say this is the perfect time to introduce a new variable in the experiment.” his thoughts were vocalized slowly. “We’ve seen this mule respond to the stick method… perhaps we should see if it responds to the carrot method as well.” he stated simply “...After all. A muscle cannot grow if it is not given but a moment to relax.”

A beep on Calvert’s wristwatch diverted his attention “...log in your SITREPs for the day, I have a call to make.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Bobbi had missed the company the instant the larger gargoyle petrified. Almost immediately the tears started to stream again. She didn’t want to be left alone, not in here. Already the darkness and horror of the underground became more abysmal. The warmth he provided her - both body and spirit - she had never yearned for something more in all her life. It didn’t matter that there was nothing he could do to save them from this situation, she at least had something to latch onto. 

She covered her ears and shut her eyes, curling into a tighter fetal position as she willed with all her soul for time to accelerate and her new friend to burst back to life. 

But there was something more she could do than will - she could pray. She steeled what little courage she could muster and brought her hands forth, making the sign of the cross over her body. All those sleepless nights on the streets, she spent every one of them praying for a savior, a protector, an angel in the night to come rescue her and her brother. She prayed for an angel to swoop down from the sky and look after them with all the love and care her own father should have given them. 

Well… it seemed she had gotten a partial answer to that impossible prayer.

With what little faith she could find in the darkness, she tried to beg for something divine - for something to happen. She prayed for a miracle again. And only when she had mentally exhausted herself with fervent prayer did sleep finally take her.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

*FLASH*

Bobbi awoke with a startle. Her eyes snapped awake just in time to see Brooklyn’s body pulse a neon red. This must be what happened when he woke up from stone sleep! She rolled as much as she could in the cramped safety of his wing, almost giddy to see him come alive again. The red light flashed a brilliant color, before it shot upwards and phased through the ceiling.

She waited for him to crack free from his stoney shell and burst forward… but nothing happened. Not even ten seconds after the red light had shot through the ceiling - a blinding flash of green materialized through the concrete ceiling overhead, slipped through the roof of Brooklyn’s cage, and struck him with a brilliant glow. 

But her renewed hope deflated when the green glow rippled across the surface of his body, only to fade away without any result.

He was still stone. He had promised her he’d wake up within a few hours, but hadn’t told her any details in what signs to look for - but surely THAT was what his magically awakening was supposed to look like, right? What were those two random flashes of colored light, then??

She could do nothing but stare at his frozen face for what seemed like forever, there was no sign he was waking up again. Despite her best attempts to stay awake - exhaustion forced her into slumber again.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

*CRACK CRACK CRACK*

She woke up a second time. Cracks split and raced over Brooklyn’s statue, beaming out strays of light. With a feral roar, he arched his back and jettisoned the shell of rock from his body. She opened her hands and words to greet him but-

“LEX!!!!!!”

Brooklyn scrambled to his feet. He stood up so quickly, he slammed the crown of his skull into the thick metal overhead; he didn’t seem to care. His eyes, glowing white, jerked around maddeningly. He snapped his head in every direction. Almost like he was looking for something.

“.....Lex….. L-Lex?” he called out weakly.

He looked desperately in all directions, seeming to not even notice her as she sat up cautiously. His expressions slowly went gaunt in despair - whatever he called for was not to be found. 

“...Brooklyn? Are you okay?”

He snapped his head down to her, his visible anguish hardening to a vacant look… then steeling to a determined grit. Something was different about him.

His eyes glanced around, mulling something over in his mind “Bobbi…..” before locking his vision onto the floor, kneeling down to it “...I’m gonna get us outta here…”

Before she could even ask, his knees and joints popped as he started cranking out push-ups with his bony limbs. His long since unused muscles being forced into exercise again. He grit his teeth, his eyes fierce and expression sour “...I promise… I’m gonna break you out of here…”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Brooklyn barely managed to register Bobbi’s response. He ignored the pain he felt from putting his long, withered-away muscles through exertion again. He had to get out of here. He had to get Bobbi out of here…

It wasn’t just about himself anymore. It wasn’t about his own suffering, nor was it about the nameless people who died and suffered while he was helpless to save them. This was about an abandoned child whose death was not yet certain. This was about saving someone else. He had to muster the strength to fight. He had to get out. He had to escape.

This was about her. This was about….

...Him.

….He had to see him again. 

”That wasn't a dream…” he thought to himself.

He had to see Lexington.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

“Yes Sir, I’m keeping my surveillance on the Labyrinth Clan…”

Human test subjects did not coalesce out the aether, but they did seem to coalesce out of the streets of New York. 

Finding test subjects to be brought in for Project Immortal was easy when one had so many sources: homeless schizophrenics, cartel and gang members who their leaders needed to disappear, maybe even the stray drug addict here and there.

But there was one place that was just the jackpot for unwanted, easy to miss humans: The Labyrinth Clan.

Hundreds of homeless humans who scurried underneath ground to hide from the outside world? All of them moving in and out at random, making it impossible to notice someone missing? Dozens of access tunnels to abduct them down? Talon clearly had not considered that.

“I believe I have four subjects for this week…”

Wrapped in a blanket to conceal their head and mouth, they held the walkie-talkie to their lips just beneath the fabric. By sitting far off in the corner, it was impossible to notice anything suspicious: An Informant. Project Immortal’s informant. 

“-three males, one female. All four are recovering heroin addicts so their veins aren’t much use, but their kidneys shoul-”

“No.” Calvert’s voice crackled back through the low-volume speaker “We don’t need another batch for this week, Richardson.”

“Sir?”

“Patient Zero’s body hasn’t rejected a new implant all week… from what we’re seeing, he’s able to regenerate full tissues on his own now. We don’t have room for new patients.”

“Copy sir. Should I wrap up here and head back?”

“No, we need you to continue surveillance on the Labyrinth Clan. We can’t keep discreet surveillance of the Manhattan Clan while they continue to stay at Xanatos Enterprises, for now, the clones are our only method of monitoring them.” papers ruffled on the opposite side of the walkie “Has the clan noticed the missing photo?”

“No sir, they never even noticed it missing in the first place.”

“Good, because I’m looking at it right now and can’t help but wonder if this is the original.”

Richardson smirked slightly “You flatter me” he smugly responded. The night the clones succumbed to the Stone Flesh couldn’t have been more of a boon. The entire clan, both Labyrinth and Manhattan, having gone to Sevarius’s Estate together had left the Labyrinth completely unguarded and RIPE for snooping. The personal areas of the gargoyles were rife with areas to poke around in: personal correspondence, journals, and the like. But the scrapbook…?

“That picture of Malibu and Goliath was perfect, I was able to run up to the surface and make a copy of it at just the local postal office AND slip the original back into its place before the clan was even halfway back. Did it have the intended effect, Dr. Calvert?”

“Remarkably so. Patient Zero became far more pliant after we showed him that picture - once again, excellent thought for bringing that to us.” he crooned “....Now on the topic of Malibu. Have you found its statue?” 

“That’s still a negative, but I’m down to two final locations. The clan took special care in concealing its body, not even the Manhattan Clan has been told where it is; Angela asked tonight if she co- OH MY!” He exclaimed at the sudden remembrance, quickly hushing himself and whispering back into the walkie “-Sir! I forgot to mention! I have an update.” 

“Go on.”

“Angela and Maggie? They fought today. I don’t know who threw the first strike, but they got physical.” 

“How physical?”

“Blood. Plenty of it.” 

Calvert’s satisfied grin could practically be heard “Excelleeeeeent, the more the gargoyles fight each other. The less effective they search……… they haven’t gotten any leads have they?”

“Not that I’ve seen or heard.” 

“Status of the gargoyles?”

Richardson took another inspecting glance to ensure he wasn’t being watched, keeping his lip movement minimum into the filthy fabric “Goliath is still frantically searching, but is still searching blind. Lexington, Hudson, and Angela are pretty much the same. Broadway has paired with Officer Elisa Maza for a more traditional investigation; but not much results there. We covered our tracks thoroughly.” 

“Hmphf.” Calvert’s amused snort came from the other side “They turn into stone on public buildings for all to see and are never found; for master’s of ‘hiding in plain sight’, they never think someone else might try that. The Labyrinth clan doesn’t think to check within their own ranks; and the Manhattan Clan?” he chuckled sinisterly....If only they’d thought to look a bit closer to home, they’d see he’s so close…. So. Close.”

Chapter Text

=Minor Content Warning=

Mild horror elements at the end.

Goliath nearly broke Owen’s desk in two when he slammed his hands down “DO I LOOK TO BE IN A GAMING MOOD?”

The human promptly realigned the pencils on the tabletop “Goliath, Oberon’s terms of Puck’s tenure in the mortal realm were clear. Clear and non-negotiable.” 

“Do not cower behind that pitiful excuse, Puck. You were more than capable of bending the rules of your magic restriction when the subterfuge amused you!” 

Owen restacked the papers Goliath’s had indirectly scattered “While I am permitted to tutor Alex in the magical arts, Oberon is not one to be so easily deceived with a loophole. I cannot just use the child as a conduit to cast spells whenever it is convenient. Alex’s magic lesson with Coldstone was a rare exception: Mr. Xanatos is his legal guardian; and because he ordered me to teach Alex that night was I able to bend the rules.” 

“Then FIND a reason to bend them again.” Goliath snarled, his sweat had caused his usual neat, ebony hair to now fall in clumps over his face “You claimed that night was Xanatos repaying his debt for saving his son; yet your debt to ME for convincing Oberon to extend your time is yet to be settled!” 

Owen nearly showcased emotion with his sudden pause. He glanced to the side, rubbing his chin.

“I only ask for the most basic of spells!” Goliath rumbled with almost a plea “Please! I’ve seen you locate individuals a city-length away with but a touch of your finger! I simply ask you to do it once more to show me Brooklyn! I only ask you to find where he is!”

Owen’s eyes closed with a shake of his head “I’m afraid a level of sorcery that precise is beyond Puck’s organic power. Those feats were done through the assistance of Titania’s Mirror and sadly, Demona saw to its destruction.”

“But there must be SOMETHING you can do!” Goliath shouted. His talons nearly sunk into the table, he loomed over the human with splayed wings. His breathing was quick, his pupils were shrunken, his haggard form looked all the more gaunt with the weight he’s been losing.

“...Goliath…” Owen’s stoic voice almost showed a hint of empathy “...Perhaps you should take a seat. We might discuss options availab-”

“I’m OUT of options, Puck.” Goliath yelled “I have turned this island inside and out, I have chased every lead that did and DIDN’T exist… Magic… Magic is the only option I have left… You must have a price…” his hand raised and pressed itself into his bare chest, his expression dire. “.....name it, name anything, and I shall pay it.” 

“Golia-”

“ANYTHING…” 

Owen was silent. The entire floor was dead quiet, that was until the distant sound of running talons grew louder, followed by the throwing open of the doors. 

“OWEN!” Lexington called out as he nearly tore both Italian maple doors off their hinges, but then froze immediately. His urgent expression soured instantly at Goliath. The patriarch’s heart sank a little when he saw the gargoyle almost turn around and leave just at the sight of him. 

“Lexington.” Owen acknowledged, beckoning the shorter one in. 

The olive gargoyle’s feet clicked off the tiles and onto the carpet “Owen…. I-I want to make a deal.”

“I suspected as much, but I must apologize. I am currently in a consultation with Goliath f-”

“No.” Goliath dismissed with a raise of his hand. Goliath’s enormous form turned to the side and stepped back to give Lexington access “Please Lexington; speak freely.”

Too bad Lexington didn’t give Goliath the courtesy to finish his sentence “I need your help to find Brooklyn.”

“Well I am sorry to report this, but as I was explaining to Goliath, I am not per-”

“I know, just listen!” he interrupted, the still panting gargoyle sped walked in “I know I know, you’ve got all sorts of restrictions and regulations. I get that, I had plenty of time to brainstorm that on the way here! BUT, you CAN use magic in the defense or tutoring of Alex.” 

“Correct sir, but-”

“Just lemme finish!” Lex stopped him, he ticked off points on his fingers “Using your magic to find Brooklyn WOULD count as you recruiting more security personnel to defend the building that’s magically recognized as Alex’s domicile! And and AND in addition to that, you can be prompted into tutoring Alex IF you’re asked to by someone recognized as his guardian.” he gestured to himself with open palms “Well? Check it out, right here!”

Owen cocked one of his trimmed eyebrows “You presume much in your claiming of that title.” 

Lexington twitched in offense “ARE YOU KIDDIN’ ME??” he boomed, slamming his hands onto the desk (Owen rolled his eyes as the paper and pens he’d just finished reorganizing were flown everywhere again) “After everything Alex and I have been through you SERIOUSLY got the guts to s-”

“PEACE, Lexington.” the human said with raised voice and hands “Peace… You have made your case.” 

The human stood up, pushing his chair away while he loosened his tie. He removed his glasses and neatly folded them to stow them in his breast pocket “Your points are valid and founded. But Alex is currently asleep for the evening, if you wish t-”

“It’s 5:58 am on a Thursday.” Lexington’s words rattled out emotionless and lightning fast. “He’s been up for the past 28 minutes.” 

Goliath could only blink.

Lex shrugged his shoulders defensively “What? I know his sleep schedules - he’s an earlier riser in the later half of the week.” 

Owen closed his eyes and cocked his head, almost like he was trying to hear something “.....You are correct.” he confirmed, his brow furrowing intensely as he audibly grunted in contemplation “Hmmmmmm… Usually Puck would prepare in advance for a tutoring session… but considering these circumstances…”

Owen tucked his rolling chair beneath his desk and undid his cufflinks “Gentlemen - your distance please.” 

Then it happened: the familiar spinning in place, the whirring of wind, the flickering of lights, the rush of magical energy crackling as it coalesced from nothing.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere’s PUCK!” 

The trickster of the third race exploded out like a firework, ricocheting off the walls before cartwheeling into the center of the room “OOOOOH does it feel good to be OUTTA THERE!” he cried as he floated in mid-air. He bent over backwards (quite literally), poking his head through his own legs as his spine cracked like a string of fireworks “UGH! I simply can’t STAND how stiff a mortal form can get after a while!” he groaned and stretched his arms “Honestly, I don’t know how you two deal with this all the time!”

“Puck.” Goliath tried to grab his attention.

“Hold on, holdonholdonholdon.” he shushed with a raised finger, twisting his head in a full circle before knocking himself on the crown of the skull, causing his eyes to spin “WHOOOF! Ah, much better! Honestly, Lexington my dear boy, you should have played that ‘guardian’ card earlier, I’ve been itching for an excuse to stretch my legs once again!”

The elf rolled onto his belly in midair, crossing his legs and arms, his long hair dangling beneath him “So! Didn’t have any luck with finding your stray gargoyle, hm? Might I suggest slapping his picture on milk cartons?” 

“PUCK.” Lexington stated flatly. 

“Mmmmm, you’re right, those things have an awful rate of success.” Puck muttered with a drumming of his fingers against his cheek “Maybe try those new broadcasts they invented back in February this year, AMBER Alert’s if I recall? I’m betting money they’re gonna be big in the future~”

“We do not have time for these games, Puck!” Goliath snarled with a stomp of his foot “Dawn approaches!”

Puck zipped over to the scowling gargoyle with the sound of an RC Plane “Oh Goliath, out of all the gargoyles in the world - I get stuck with the one who doesn’t have a sense of humor.” he poked him a few times on the forehead “It’s no wonder that stick in the mud, Demona, fell for you.” 

Goliath’s perturbed swat missed him completely when he zipped right back the way he came and settled in mid air with his legs crossed “But since I can tell you’re both in such a rush. I’ll gladly be of lightning fast service~” he sang.

“GOOD.” Lex said firmly… though the frantic relief was unmistakable “Now… You’ve got pretty much every spell in the world memorized. I don’t care how you do it, I don’t care what you want in return. Please… You can find him, right??”

Puck contorted his lips as he pondered “Hmmmmmm, well Yes and No. Could I find him? Absolutely I could. Can I do it while cut off from Avalon? Absolutely not. All the conduits needed to find your proverbial needle in a haystack, hay-FIELD more like it , are kept lock-and-key with dear old Daddy Oberon. And any spell that we WOULD use needs to be simple enough for a rookie like Alex to perform.”

“Alex was able to transfer souls if I’m not mistaken.” Goliath rumbled “Surely he is skilled enough.”

“Goliath, sweetie” Puck smarmed wryly “The kid could only transfer one soul at a time and ONLY with express voluntary participation. A true sorcerer can swap a village’s worth of souls back and forth like he was shuffling a deck - no consent needed. That little prodigy’s got talent, but he’s still an infant.” 

“Well then what options do we have??” Lex raced.

“Hmmmmmm…” the elf tapped a finger to his lips “Been a while since I’ve had to crack open the beginner spell sets. Perhaps I could…. No. No, that wouldn’t work. Oh! Maybe the… hmmm, no that’s no good either. But maybe…”

Puck snapped his fingers “OH! I know!” a sly grin spread over his lips “Before our red-headed tenant went toodles, I couldn’t help but notice him and the Ringmaster’s daughter getting all friendly.” he waggled his eyebrows and rolled his shoulders playfully at Goliath “Owen barely pays attention to the relationships of your clan and even HE noticed it.” 

Goliath’s lip twitched, showing fangs. It took a terrible amount of self control to calmly state: “My daughter and Brooklyn were not… pledged… if that’s what you imply, Puck.” 

Puck immediately deflated “UGHHHH, and here I thought you batch were finally having some juicy developments! Well there goes that plan!”

Lex waved his hands “Whoa whoa whoa, what, why?”

Puck rolled back as if reclining on a chair and crossed his legs “Well, there is ONE basic spell able to be performed by even the most rookie of magical users.” the elf had an uncharacteristically wicked grin “...Back in the days of old, things such as electronic-emails, telegrams, and the technological wonder that is the modern Car Phone did not exist. So when armies left home for months, even years, at a time, soldiers would miss their wives so terribly.”

“Get to the point.”

Puck clasped his hands together and shook his head in a mock pity, not even registering a response “Oh those poor, poor souls. To be wed to a fair maiden and sent to the battlefield without getting to see them for so long - what anguish it did to a lovestruck heart. FORTUNATELY!” he snapped a finger up “There was a simple spell that was forged and perfected over the years to bridge the physical gap between lovers. Before a soldier deployed, he and his beloved would have a spell cast upon them that would link their dreams. So that no matter how far away they might be, no matter what laid between them in miles: every night when they slept, they’d be able to reunite in their shared minds!”

Puck grinned “Haven’t you ever wondered where the phrase ‘I’ll see you tonight in my dreams’ came from~?”

Goliath interrupted, “Well, Brooklyn was unmated… that would not be an option.”

Puck glared at him “...Jeez, not a romantic bone in any of your bodies is there?” he muttered “That’s not what I mean! What I’m trying to tell you is: the spell is beyond basic and doesn’t require any actual romantic connection or anything! Don’t you remember? I used the spell on you in Avalon to slip into your dreaming mind - even with a skull as thick as yours, I was able to hop in with ease!”

Goliath audibly tensed, the mix of resurging horror on his face, immediately backed up by fury made even Lexington take a timid step back. The youngest looked back and forth between the two “Wait… Dream? Avalon?” he said out loud “What are you talking about.”

“NOT. IMPORTANT.” Goliath snarled at his clanmate, eyes still drilling into Puck with an unhidden rage. Lex recoiled slightly - having gotten so accustomed to the leader walking on eggshells for the past month, he had forgotten how intimidating he was when angry.

Goliath managed to keep the glowing-white eyes at bay. He exhaled in a vain attempt to calm himself “....What are you proposing?”

“Well it’s quite obvious isn’t it, big fella?” Puck hummed with hands on hips “I link one of your minds with Brooklyn’s. You go to sleep. Brooklyn tells you in your dreams where he is. Bing-Bang-Boom.” 

“IT’S THAT EASY!?!” Lexington blurted out. 

“Well hold on, hold on, bring it back for me, pint sized.” Puck reeled it in “In case you haven’t noticed, I said we needed BOTH parties to be here for the casting of the spell. If I was doing it, I could easily do it with just one of you, but with Alex… it’s going to need a bit of help.”

“The stronger the bond of the two individuals, the more reliable the connection is: typically lovers are the best choice.” He explained “Buuuuut, I’m guessing he was lacking in that department~?”

Lex’s shoulders prickled, he could feel the white in his eyes almost shine “DON’T YOU DARE MOCK HIM LIKE THAT.”

Puck giggled “Well I guess that’s a ‘yes’.” he zipped over to Goliath “Well then, the next best option would be the bond of parent and child but… Sssssssssss…” he cupped the back of his hand to his lips as if to whisper to him, but he still spoke at full volume and with a voice dripping in amusement “-I’m getting the impression THAT bond is a little more than frayed right now~?”

Goliath swung a punch this time. Puck barely dodged it with a squat in mid-flight “Hey hey hey! I was talking about DEMONA as the parent!” he laughed coyly.

“YOU DISGRACEFUL, LITTLE-”

“What about me?!” Lexington blurted out.

Goliath froze his intent of assault. Puck turned to face him slowly… the smirk that crept over his lips chilled Lexington to the bone. It was all too knowing. 

But that knowing smirk quickly evaporated into a too cheerful smile “Oh my! Now what an idea that is! I never would have thought to suggest YOU! Of course! The bond of two life-long FRIENDS should be plenty sufficient.” he sang and popped over in a flash.

“Well, now that we have our candidate, we’ll just need a conduit. Since we’ll be making this a one-way synchronization of minds, we’ll need something of Brooklyn’s to search him out. Something small, something insignificant.. Anything of note will suffice!” Puck’s tone was overtly cheerful all of a sudden.

“...Such as?” 

“Well, DNA is always the best option. Do you have a clump of his hair perhaps? Maybe even a baby tooth? I know humans here collect the teeth of their children….. Odd.”

Lex mutely shook his head.

“Well, no issue.” Puck said, unfazed “A picture should be sufficient. But not one of those grainy security feeds! I’d need a very clear picture for Alex to use.”

‘Lexington aimlessly flipped over wooden boards and stone slabs, hoping to uncover.... well, ANYTHING. One of their comic books? A video game they had forgotten? SOMETHING that belonged to them? He didn’t even bother looking for a photograph of any of them... no such thing existed; Goliath only existed on Kodachrome because he and Elisa had their picture last Halloween. The rest of them existed only in memory of one another.’

Lex shook his head “...No…” The irony of it all… thanks to Hollywood’s scrapbooking hobby, there WERE pictures of them all finally… just not one of Brooklyn.

Puck harrumphed “Well… Okay, getting a little tricky now. But does he have anything he claims as ‘his’?” Puck said with fingers drumming on his arms “When you gargoyles turn to stone, anything you ‘claim’ as part of you, turns to stone with you: Your clothing, Hudson’s Sword, The Phoenix gate when Goliath had it. Is there anything like that laying around?”

Lex shook his head grimly again.

Puck pinched his nose and shook his head “For the love of - OKAY!” he snapped a hand up “Then do you have ANYTHING of Brooklyn’s laying around? Anything at all? A sword? A Hat? A watch? Two-sponges, a rubber glove, and a Pringles can?”

Goliath spared Lexington “We Gargoyles do not carry possessions, nor do we take up residence in anything more complex than a perch on a castle - we are a non-materialistic people.”

Puck exhaled dramatically and fell backwards, his back bending at an impossible angle “FIGURES. You got the most expensive rental property address in Manhattan on your Tax Returns and not one of you owns so much as a toothbrush.”

Lexington’s eyebrows suddenly popped up “WAIT!” he exclaimed “I think I got something that might count!”  no time was given to ask what, because he was already out the door “Wait here, I’ll be back with Alex! Just wait!’

“So eager to begin.” Puck chuckled whilst materializing two cups of tea “Early Gray~?” he offered “I know you’re the strong/silent type, but I can’t stomach you just standing there brooding while we wait ar-” 

“I have questions.” Goliath stated directly.

“Then you shall have answers! The secret to my beautiful hair is 40/60 shampoo to conditioner ratio-”

“You brought up the terrible dream you conjured up in Avalon again just now.”

“....Ugh, you are just NO fun, tonight…”

Goliath flared his wings “I’ve seen enough in the time since then to know it did not prophesize the future… but it is not that which vexes me…” he glanced behind him, listening intently to ensure Lexington wasn’t returning “Why…. Why did you make Lexington the one behind all of it?”

“Huh?” Puck gave an unamused sound.

“You did not choose Xanatos as the real mastermind of the horrors - you chose Lexington… WHY?’

“Wait THAT’S what’s disturbing you? Honey, I pulled him as the rabbit out of the hat just cause I had run out of characters! I was killing off illusions so quickly, I literally had to make up everything on the fly! And let's be honest, I didn’t have much to work with based on what little I knew about all of you.” his irritation soured further with a pouting cross of his arms “Honestly, I’m starting to wonder if Demona was actually more fun to mess with than you…”

“Demona……” Goliath echoed her name. He glared at Puck “...She summoned you through Titania’s Mirror, yes?”

“The very one!”

“...I am familiar with some of its powers spoken of in legends…. But before that, I need to ask: why did you seek out Elisa? Did Demona demand it?”

“Oh that~?” Puck sang, “That wonderful furniture piece could do all sorts of things! One finger touch of the mirror with her reflection in it and I instantly learned all there was to know about your lovely ex. Her whole backstory (Yech, what a nasty piece of work she was), what she loathed, what she wanted, what she loved (VERY spicy secrets in that category~), even her favorite color! - It’s Burnt Sienna by the way.”

“But why did that lead you to-”

“ One of the things she wanted the most was you~ Buuuuuuut she took one look at Elisa and blew a gasket. So out went THAT quaint moment.” his hand swiped across his chest with the sound of a prop-plane. 

“You know… everything about her?”

“Sure do.”

Goliath’s mind turned its gears. “....But you just said that you created the illusio-”

Goliath pressed his knuckles to his lips, brow furrowing more and more. Before it clicked. His steely gaze thawed into a growing horror “...Puck! But that means-!… A-Are you meaning to say that-”

Lexington shouldered open the door again, Alex in one arm, a black leather jacket in the other.

“Oh goodie!” Puck chimed “A Lex and Alex!”. The elf waggled his fingers to let magic crackle forth, levitating Alex away from Lexington “Oh how I’ve missed you, kid! I spend everyday with you as Owen, but it’s just not the same, is it~?” he then cocked an eyebrow at Lex, tilting his head “.....The heck’s that?”

“It’s Brooklyn’s…” he clutched the shoulderpads and held it out: A black leather biker jacket “His first one got shredded, but he got attached to this one. I mean, I’d bring a pair of his sunglasses, but those things broke at least once a week…… would this work.”

Puck looked less than amused. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head with a sigh “Huuuuuuuuh, no, but what choice do I have?”

He tickled Alex’s stomach with a finger “Well my boy! Are you ready for Soul Transference 102~?” while simultaneously shifting his attention to Goliath “Oh and by the way: Alex will still need another’s body to possess in order to cast the spell. Think you can step up to the plate, big guy?”

“Fine. Do it. And Hurry.” 

“Right-e-o!” Puck cleared his throat into his fist, before: “For the spirit to be willing, the flesh must first grow weak. Just long enough for the soul in flight, to pass from cheek to cheek.”

And it happened - a cloudburst of light blue exploded from Alex and consumed Goliath, the titanic gargoyle stumbling back slightly and clutching his head, before he blinked his eyes back to their senses.

“Wonderful!” cheered with praying hands “Take a second to get used to the body, kid. It’s the first time a human’s occupied THAT fat skull of his. And speaking of which~” he wiggled his finger around before tapping it onto Goliath’s forehead “BOOP!”

Lex furrowed his brow “What was that?”

“Hm~? Oh, that. Nothing to worry about, just turned Goliath’s conscience off for a little bit.” he hummed, before floating over to Lexington “I thought you’d appreciate a little privacy for this conversation.

“Conversation?”

“Well, with you going in after your crush, I just thought you’d appreciate a little bit of a briefing.”

Lex recoiled. ANGELA. He bared his fangs “SHE TOLD YOU!?”

“Who’s ‘she’?” Puck snickered “Whomever you’re talking about, I didn’t need them. Figured it out ages ago.”

“W-WHAT?”

“Darling, puh-LEASE.” Puck tutted “I knew you had feelings for him probably before YOU even did. You think you’re the only bisexual under this roof?” 

The elf pressed his hands together overhead and arched them down - a dazzling rainbow materialized with the motion “Being stuck to court only one gender is sooooo boring. Believe me, I know” he complained “I’ve been around for 4,000 years, you know. I just HAD to take a century here and there to experiment.” He interlocked his fingers beneath his chin, idly kicking his feet “-believe me, honeybun, I can spot dead-giveaway signs a mille passus away.”

Lex swallowed hard. He didn’t like the idea of THAT piece of knowledge in the hands of one of Oberon’s Children. 

“Oh you can wipe that terror from your face, I won’t tell a soul. Scouts honor.” he crossed his heart “After all, seeing THIS play out will be far more fun to witness after all. The bookworm, tech scholar and the rowdy, compensating lieutenant. OH! The poets of Rome could not write a pair so entertaining if given a thousand attempts!”

“If you’re going to spend what time we have left mocking me, then speed it up!’ Lexington demanded.

“MOCK you?? Oh no no no! Quite the opposite! I’m here in the helping mood, after all.” he zipped around Lexington “Since it shall be YOUR mind linking with Brooklyn’s I thought a fair bit of warning was in order.”

“Warning?”

“Indeed! I’ll be honest.” Puck shrugged “I was going to turn Goliath away as Owen earlier, there really wasn’t much I could do… but then YOU had to come in at the perfect moment as if in a play back in Greece! Cause here’s the thing: I wasn’t being entirely truthful earlier, the spell WON’T work on just anyone, not even a strong friendship shall do the trick. An INTENSE love and understanding of one another is a prerequisite to make this store-bought brand version of the incantation work. So you were quite literally the only candidate I could think of.”

“But… Broadway… HUDSON!” Lex defended “They’re close with him!”

“Oh Psh-awh! Friendship doesn’t do the trick. We’d need something stronger than that, so zip your lip and take the win. I’m helping you out here.” he giggled slyly. He then clapped his hands together “NOW THEN, back to my sagely word of warning: when I say you’ll be sharing dreams… I literally mean it.”

Puck flutter kicked away “And as you know, dreams rarely make any sense OR cooperate. This won’t be as simple as you making a phone call to Brooklyn and asking for an address - you’ll be linking his subconscious with your own.”

Lex made a confused sound “....Meaninnngggggg?”

“Meaning you’ll be able to make very little rhyme or reason of it all. You’ll both be dreaming together, so logic and understanding will be out the window. All things considered, with how low quality this spell is going to have to be , Brooklyn may not even recognize you as the REAL you projecting into his dreams. He’ll think you’re just another figment of his imagination.” 

“So… You’re saying that I’m not even going to be fully conscious?? Neither of us are?? I just have to HOPE something in his brain will be of use??”

“Heyyyyyyyy! Now you’re catching on!” Puck beamed “And it only gets better! Remember, you’re not linking just your minds. You’re linking your consciousnesses. Meaning NO filter or self control! What’s in your mind is what’s gonna come out! No chance at hiding all the juicy details!”

Lexington’s face went pale.

“And with that~?” he poked Goliath’s forehead again “Ah, there he is! Sorry Goliath, looks like you got stunned when Alex took hold, it’s all fine now. Now then Lexington, ready to get started~?”

Lex blinked himself back to reality. *’Prick’* he immediately thought - Puck had left him no time to weigh the options. He nodded his head “....I’m ready.”

“Good, now then, keep a good grip on that jacket…” Puck held out his hand “...Close your eyes...”

“Think about Brooklyn… Think about your happiest memories of him. Think about your worst memories of him… when did he make you smile? When did he make you rage? What does he do that makes you miss him? What does he do that makes you want to chase him away? Good… imagine him - his voice, his touch, his scent.”

Lexington’s talons gripped the leather until it audibly creaked.

Puck bowed to ‘Goliath’ and slid away “Floor is all yours, kid!” 

Alex raised Goliath’s hulking arms, rotating them in the air as magic sparked and clouded around his forearms.

“For when lovers are parted by conscription to fight, let their hearts maintain their steadfast might. For let it be known that all is not as it seems- rejoin these two passionate souls now, in the safety of their dreams.”

The magic hit Lexington with a burst, sending him stumbling backwards. He recoiled as suddenly everything felt numb, his head going fuzzy as he could feel the room ripple beneath him. He braced himself for whatever it is that awaited him, to be sucked into the illogical realm of dreams.

He opened his eyes

…Nothing. He was still standing in Owen’s office with Goliath and Puck.

Lexington looked expectantly at the elf.

“Well don’t give me THAT look!” Puck harrumphed “The spell’s not gonna kick in until you go to stone sleep at sunrise!”

As if cued, the clock on Owen’s desk beeped, sunrise was upon them. “UH OH! And speaking of which-!” Puck showed a hint of panic as he instantly reversed the soul exchange spell, Goliath spitting out Alex’s soul before he turned to stone with the human trapped as a passenger.

Goliath returned to his natural state and regained his bearings. He rose his voice “Lexington, you go ahead, I need to-”

But Lexington had scrambled out the door already - whether it was from urgency to get to sunlight as fast as possible, or complete lack of respect for Goliath's commands was a mystery. 

“You’re WELCOOOOOOOOME!” Puck shouted down the hallway, before pouting “HMPHF! See if I ever include YOU in Alex's lessons again!” 

The elf stopped in his tracks. Goliath’s attention was drilled into him “My final question has yet to be answered, Puck… I must know.”

Puck rolled his eyes “Whatever it is, it can’t be worth this droll of a conversation: honestly, I’m getting a headache from this.” he mumbled “Besides, what’s fun with having all the answers?” 

Goliath put his arm out, stopping Puck as he tried to walk by “Answer it… and I will consider your debt, settled…” 

Puck sighed and quite literally rolled his eyes “Oh, very well.” he threw up his hands into another bored shrug “What great mystery does that small mind of yours ponder?”

Goliath’s jaw clenched. He swallowed hard. He was debating if the knowledge was something he could stomach knowing… The words he let out in a haggard tone made Puck’s tired grimace lift into a flabbergasted gawk. The elf stood in silence, frozen like a deer in headlights. Goliath held his breath.

Puck’s eyes immediately flickered with wicked delight, his lips slithered back into a horrible grin. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lexington was on his perch in a flash, the light blue dawn of winter was conquering the waning moments of night. His foot was bouncing on the stonework fast enough to dislodge a brick “Come on, come on.” He willed the sun to rise faster.

He had run so fast he hadn’t even noticed Hudson had been leaning against the wall with his arm crossed… odd to not see him inside enjoying the TV. “WHOA Lad!” he called out. His face went pale as he saw Lexington sprinting for the edge “LAD!?” lurching forward to try and grab him. The last time someone threw themselves over the edge hadn’t ended well, after all. 

Hudson only halted when Lexington planted his feet on the ledge “I got a spell from Puck!” he yelled “No idea if it’ll work, but it might be worth something!”

“Spell?? Lexington. PLEASE do not tell me you permitted that fiendish little elf to wave his powers over yee!” 

“It’ll be worth it! Trust me! Just gotta wait for stone sleep.” he continued to try to force the dawn sooner by force of will “Come onnnnn.” 

Hudson’s old bones popped as he mounted the perch beside him “But have ya heard from the others, lad? Broadway, Angela, and Bronx are nowhere to be found. I do-”

“GUYS!” Broadway shouted, coming over the wall with Bronx in tow. He stumbled forward, soaked in sweat and gasping for air “Guys! Guys!”

“What? What is it? And for heaven’s sake, catch yer breath first!”

The blue light turned to yellow as the sun ascended over the horizon.

“BROOKLYN!” he managed to shout between wheezes, doubling over and planting his hands on his knees “We have a lead! Bronx and I found drops of his blood in a warehouse by-”

The dawn’s light covered them, their skin groaned and creaked as they hardened to stone.

It was a shame Elisa had not been there and Goliath had kept Owen inside. Had anyone sentient been present, they’d have seen the green light burst from Lexington’s statue and shoot in the air; just as they’d see, a few moments later, a red one shoot back down and illuminate the little gargoyle’s statue. 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

…

…

…

“….Ngh…….”

Lexington opened his eyes. Something horrid in the darkness made his stomach drop. A vile sixth sense made him feel one command scream in every corner of his mind: “HIDE.”

The primal horror only found in nightmares.

But this wasn’t a nightmare. Something about this felt real, very real. Something was watching him.

Something was going to hurt him.

His feet quivered as he took a step forward in the void, black tiles aporated beneath his feet with every shivering stride. He hugged his sides, suddenly wanting to creep very low. Dim, bloody lights hummed out a hellish red in the endless oblivion overhead. Distorted, static sounds groaned in all directions.

He wasn’t supposed to be here.

He wasn’t a warrior anymore, he wasn’t strong. He wanted to just collapse to the ground… It was too overwhelming. Something in this darkness was just… evil. The reality of what laid beyond the shadows was closing in on him, it suffocated him. He sank to his knees, covering his ears - there was barely any noise at all… but it was deafening. 

Weeping.

Lexington uncovered his ears and snapped his eyes open in a flash. The voices and cries dulled to background noise - one sound took over everything. Brooklyn’s voice heaving.

“BROOKLYN!?” Lexington screamed.

He dashed forward, throwing away the terror that was dragging him with it with every passing second. He shouted his rookery brother’s name as he sprinted into the black oblivion, then he screamed it, then he shrieked it. 

He skidded to a halt as the murky darkness was illuminated by a dim, flickering red light far in the distance. Brooklyn’s shape was on the floor, facing away and curled up in a fetal position - soaked in blood and viscera. He heaved and choked despair, his shoulders shaking.

“BROOK! BROOK, I’M COMING!”

Caution into the wind, he sprinted for him like his life depended on it. Tears stung his eyes as he screamed his name over and over again. The black smog dissipated. They were deep underground, pipes and circuitry lined the concrete ceiling overhead. Blood soaked the floor. Lexington skinned down to the ground, he reached a claw out for Brooklyn, barely touching his shoulder. “Brook-”

*SCRAWWW!!*

Brooklyn’s body instantly was in mid-air. His eyes were black, his chest was now ripped open, organs spilled out on the floor. Screaming a disembodied screech in Lexington’s face.

Then he was gone, disappeared into thin air like he was never there in the first place. It hadn’t even been a full second, but his demonic scream rang in Lexington’s ears.

Lex was on the floor, quivering in the void, eyes frozen open in horror. He was too scared to move. The black was closing in on him… it was moving, constricting him. Brooklyn’s sobs began again behind him. 

“RUN.” his body commanded him.

His fragile mortality screamed for him to run away. That thing was not Brooklyn. It was a fake. 

The disfigured sounds coming from his mouth, the sheer death in the vision he just saw would make a rotted corpse look alive by comparison. But he struggled to his feet, quivering in terror to the point he nearly wanted to vomit. He sprinted towards the sound of Brooklyn’s heaves. His back was turned to him, kneeling and clutching his head - a head that was bald of its usual white mane.

“B-Brooklyn-” he dove for him

“GAAAAHH!”

Instantaneous. Brooklyn disappeared. A skinned carcass of him screamed at Lexington, eyes and tongue removed. His voice was like a gunshot. The imagery of scalpels, surgical tools, and thrashes of pain flooded his impish mind.

Lexington collapsed to the ground as the golem disappeared. The darkness around him now surged forward, it was chasing him. It’d take him too. Lexington didn’t wait to hear more howls of anguish before he trembled back to his feet. His feet shifted directions once he heard the weeping again.

Lexington ran as fast as his aching legs could propel him, he was being sucked down into the floor. The hellish void snapped at his back as he raced forward to Brooklyn - now on doubled over and shivering silently. 

He was terrified.

Not Lexington. Brooklyn.

Both those demonic images were depraved and terrifying… but they emanated a despairing feeling of pure, unadulterated horror. They were afraid - a wild animal screaming as it was cornered.

He dove forward “BROOKLYN!” 

He didn’t care when the image disappeared into a sunken, starved, bloated creature that screamed at him - Lexington did not recoil. He snapped his arms around his rookery brother “I got you Brooklyn! I GOT YOU!” he cried, clutching him tight.

He could feel the dread, it infected him from every direction “I won’t let you go!” he promised the madly thrashing creature “I’m here!”

Brooklyn fell backwards, dragging Lexington down with him. Lexington closed his eyes and braced what horrors this decision sealed his fate for.

But no pain came.

**SMASSSSHHHHHH**

They shattered through the tiles below, free falling through the air of the night sky. The wind forced Lexington’s eyes closed, something ripped his brother from his arms, he barely managed to blindly snap onto his wrist, finding it with his flailing.

Their wings snapped open, slowing their descent. His eyes took in the scenes of… home? The Scottish Highlands. Castle Wyvern was in the distance with its walls illuminated with the lights of the nightly feast. Their taloned feet settled into the soft, tall grass. His feet clenched into the soft, wet dirt…. Lexington had almost forgotten the feeling of it. 

His split second attention away from Brooklyn got its discipline again, he snapped his head to the direction he had last felt him.

He braced himself to see another hellfire abomination… but that wasn’t what was on their knees and shaking. 

Brooklyn.

His handsome face, his wild mane of white, his strong body, and his flawless body of crimson. He was on all fours and shakily sucking in air as if he had just escaped death by drowning. The red one’s eyes snapped open, he jerked his baffled head back and forth- as if he was desperately trying to make sense of what was happening. Lexington almost went to take a step forward to see if he was real… but-

Brooklyn’s attention snapped to Lexington while recoiling away. The glow of the Feral State burned his eyes a merciless white. Silence was the only word to be communicated between the two of them.

But then the falcon-beaked warrior blinked, forcing down the primal instincts that were demanding his priority. Lexington hadn’t noticed it, but the world around them felt so blurry and merged - Brooklyn’s haggard breaths were coming from within his very ears. He could feel their frantic heartbeats steadying as their minds were freed from adrenaline. The foggy distant shape of the castle sharpened into the clarity of their home, the muddled green beneath their feet became distinct blades of cool grass. 

All the senses kicked in, Brooklyn’s breathing was his. His breathing was Brooklyn’s.

His red quads and calves flexed as he stood up. A voice he had almost forgotten the sound of called one name  “.....Lex?”

“B-Brooklyn??” he warily hoped.

Brooklyn stumbled over his own two feet. Two pairs of arms shot forward; red and olive entangled with one another. Their talons locked over the other’s back, their bare chests snapped together, they banished all distance that could possibly be between them.

“L-Lexington!?” Brooklyn’s shaky voice pleaded for his presence. He leaned back and held his olive face in both hands “....I-Is that really you!?”

Chapter Text

=Content Warning=

=Nudity, Sexual References=

“Meaning you’ll be able to make very little rhyme or reason of it all. You’ll both be dreaming together, so logic and understanding will be out the window. All things considered, with how low quality this spell is going to have to be , Brooklyn may not even recognize you as the REAL you projecting into his dreams. He’ll think you’re just another figment of his imagination.” 

“So… You’re saying that I’m not even going to be fully conscious?? Neither of us are?? I just have to HOPE something in his brain will be of use??”

“Heyyyyyyyy! Now you’re catching on!” Puck beamed “And it only gets better! Remember, you’re not linking just your minds. You’re linking your consciousnesses. Meaning NO filter or self control! What’s in your mind is what’s gonna come out! No chance at hiding all the juicy details!”

Brooklyn gripped Lexington’s little shoulders with every intention of welding his hands into place. All his life, he had never spent more than a few hours away from him - the moment they hatched had not even been a full day apart. From the moment they could open their eyes, one could not be found far from the other. For one thousand years, they never strayed far from each other’s side. They were inseparable. 

But it had been an eternity if it had been a day. 

“Lex…. Lexington…” his voice echoed out, almost to check if the word was real.

Brooklyn felt weak, defenseless - so utterly helpless. But something about it was entirely different. He could finally accept it… allow it… welcome it. The crimson beast sunk the bottom of his jaw onto the meat of Lexington’s little trap. He didn’t know why… but something inside himself had become so calloused, so empty without the other’s presence. He felt something bright inside him begin to warm, he had not realized just how cold he had become. He clutched Lexington with all his might and will, he didn’t even allow the other to pull away to speak, he would not allow their forms to be separated. Nothing would part them.

He had missed him so much.

It was something so far beyond relief or joy. It was more than an emotion as weak as euphoria. He felt as if only now he had realized something crucial to his survival had been ripped out of him - only able to recognize it once it was back with him…

His arm coiled around the back of the smaller… his shoulders began to shake and the tears began to stream.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lexington held, or more so WAS held by, him in mute shock. His frozen eyes stared in disbelief to the stars above. Brooklyn… it was really him. 

His hands ran over the large of his back to try and hug him back with what LITTLE arm mobility the bearhugging gargoyle had left him. His smell, his touch, his voice… he had almost forgotten them. But what was almost foreign to him, was the quaking of his torso.

Brooklyn began to cry.

And so Lex began to cry. 

“Brooklyn…” Lex breathed with a shaky whisper. His hands came desperately close to combing through the other’s hair as he came up to clutch his trap. His body committed every tiny perfection and imperfection to memory. He let Brooklyn’s wings envelop the two of them as the larger sank to his knees. Lexington could have died right now and not given a damn. 

They sat there in unvocal companionship for what seemed like an eternity… and even that was far too short for the two of them. 

“I… I missed you…” Lexington said with his soul.

“I’m sorry…” Brooklyn croaked. He buried the side of his falcon-beak into the other’s neck “I-I’m so sorry…”

“Brooklyn-” Lexington’s words clashed and failed as they all tried to fight each other to be vocalized. One thought wanted to absolve Brooklyn of all sorrow and responsibility. Another thought wanted to rip and beat the red one for having abandoned him. One thought demanded himself to spill all the affection and comfort he could possibly provide to his once-missing friend. One thought only begged to let himself fall apart so Brooklyn could see just how much Lexington needed him all this time.

Instead, Lexington’s clawing embrace of bliss, anguish, relief, and pain would have to deliver what message it could. 

More silence.

More than just silence, really. Words weren’t necessary anymore. Something about their presences were merged. Lexington could not describe it, but something about this now felt… fanciful. The senses of his sight, sound, but ESPECIALLY his smell and touch all felt so illusory. But his feelings? The overwhelming sense of calloused emotions returning? Those were very real. 

His mind could not focus on the immaterial realization - because Brooklyn’s crying resumed. 

Then it got worse, and then worse again. Then his grip loosened. His torso quivered as his cries of overwhelming elation corrupted into sorrowful weeping. Lexington pulled away, alert. 

He could finally see Brooklyn’s face; a face in the process of morphing?! His handsome face was beginning to stream blood from the cheek, a welt materializing around the wound that now had his sweaty hair falling in clumps over it - a welt in the shape of a massive fist. The very same welt that also appeared on his chest. 

Goliath’s fist.

“I… I’m sorry.” Brooklyn rasped “I’m so sorry…”

As if recovering from Amnesia, Lexington’s mind was flashbanged with memories. Brooklyn and Goliath had been fighting in Castle Bailey. The hundreds of clan members and peasants had stared in horror (why could Lexington not make out their faces?) as Brooklyn screamed at Goliath for having abandoned him in favor of Angela. Despite the fact they were back home here in Scotland, Elisa was there in 20th century attire, desperately trying to break the two apart. 

The hundreds of gargoyles and Elisa vaporized “YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF MY LOVE! YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF ANYONE’S LOVE!” was shouted while two fists cast Brooklyn away - the microsecond-long vision was done. 

The red one’s strength was drained from him, falling to his knees and clutching his hair, he gulped in sucks of air in a fruitless attempt to keep the sobs at bay. The sounds didn’t come from Brooklyn’s mouth - they came from inside Lexington’s own ears in Brooklyn’s voice. 

Lexington’s arms finally obeyed his commands, they snapped around his brother’s large head and tugged him into his chest “It’s okay… It’s okay…” It wasn’t okay.

“I-I… I-I just wanted him to… to…” Brooklyn’s croaking voice babbled as he rocked back and forth “I wanted him to SEE me. I… I…”

Lexington clutched him. His mind gave Brooklyn’s ego the permission it wanted: ‘Let it out.’

“I-I did EVERYTHING he wanted!” Brooklyn burst “W-W-What else was I supposed to do?? You were there! You saw me! T-The others saw it right?? I-I tried my best! You KNOW I at least tried, right??”

“Brooklyn this isn’t your faul-”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry for everything! I know I wasn’t the leader you deserved! I know I wasn’t good enough, b-but I didn’t mean to - t-to…” he struggled “-You KNOW I didn’t order you two away, right??”

Lexington’s words did not become audible, but almost telepathically, his brain signaled its confusion.

“I know I was a bad friend! It was sick! It was WRONG! I know I never should have ordered you two away! B-But, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” He rambled for pardon as if a sinner begging for mercy on judgement day “It wasn’t going t-to- but I never would have actually done anything that… t-that… I’m sorry!”

Lexington’s bewildered mind did not need to rake itself for an answer; just as the same before, his mind flooded with more thoughts.

Brooklyn was airborne in New York with the Trio and Angela, The Second In Command smugly ordered the other two males away for him to be alone with her. Brooklyn then was down in the slums of Manhattan with Goliath snarling in disgust at him. Brooklyn was then in the castle, staring at Broadway and Angela’s locking lips in the kitchen. 

The foggy, almost false, image of the entire clan glaring in disappointed revulsion at Brooklyn materialized.

“Oh my God, Brooklyn no!” Lexington exclaimed, holding him tighter to cease his shakings “No no! That wasn’t… we would never… NO!”

Lexington’s form faded entirely from the conjured up image; the entire image itself even seemed to dull slightly. 

“Y-You were right to be mad at m-”

“NO.” Lexington almost growled his absolution of Brooklyn’s guilt. 

The image finally dissipated away 

“Brooklyn we… none of us would ever hate you for something like that! None of us would!”

“....G-Goliath would.”

“FORGET HIM!” Lexington barked “Forget him! No… SCREW him! Screw him entirely! EVERYONE tore into him after he got back! He tried to apologize, tail-in-hand and we told him where he could shove it!”

How could such a thing be possible? 

Lexington’s brain hurt again. Part of him remembered being in the castle over the clouds of Manhattan, but they were here in Scotland. How did EITHER of them have names for that matter? They had not picked them out while the rest of the clan was still ‘around’.

”Y-You… You did?” Brooklyn’s voice was less of a staticy noise produced in his brain - now the words were audible and coming from his beak “I… When? What happened?”

Something about the hope in Brooklyn’s voice flooded Lexington’s brain with positive feedback. He chased the reinforcement “Goliath was literally on his hands and knees BEGGING for forgiveness.” Lexington boomed with confidence, pulling Brooklyn away to stare him dead in the face “LITERALLY, BEGGING. He wanted to take it all back, he said he was wrong to cast us out. He desperately wanted YOU back. Elisa said Goliath was howling your name the second you ran!”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

That rusty part of Brooklyn’s brain that produced dopamine finally kicked on - it hadn’t been touched in months. Now it was firing on all cylinders. It was wrong… but he wanted to feel it more.

“He… He was?” he chased the pleasure, no, the RELIEF. He craved it to the point it became reckless gluttony. 

“Elisa made Goliath spill everything to us! Hudson was ready to hang him from the rafters! Broadway and I didn’t care when he tried to take us back! Even ANGELA was upset!”

Brooklyn’s mind winced. He had not been there to see it, but somehow… The image started to stream into his thoughts as clear as night: Goliath was tearfully hugging Broadway and Lexington in the castle bailey (Again, in Manhattan? That was not possible!), Lexington wormed out of the hug and slapped Goliath’s hand away with his claws! It was so clear! HOW was it so clear?

Brooklyn’s ears seemed to stop working as Lexington continued to recount the tale - Brooklyn only stared greedily at Goliath’s weary expression. The darkest and most selfish part of his soul indulged in the catharsis by proxy. But as his lips almost cracked into a snarling grin, his attention was drawn to something more important. Something FAR more important in his book.

Lexington. He could see - no - he could FEEL the betrayal and loss. Where Brooklyn would have desperately leapt at the chance to settle for what apology he could get from Goliath; there stood Lexington, someone who was so soft and gentle with HIM… rejecting it. A simple apology would not be a satisfactory penance to the younger one… even though Lexington so badly wanted the rewards of Parental Love that he could obtain beyond the atonement. 

“Take…. US back?” Brooklyn parroted Lexington’s words.

Lexington’s form ceased speaking, it looked up at him perplexed.

Lexington was not able to hide behind lies or a strong face. Brooklyn, somehow instantly, could feel how desperately Lexington wanted the very thing that neither could have. The only difference was, when Goliath had BEGGED to offer it to him, Lex had refused it.

Their two roles swapped instantly.

Brooklyn felt bigger. Lexington felt smaller. The grander of the two snapped his arms around his little brother, hugging him tight to his bare chest “L-Lex… I’m… I’m so sorry.” he consoled with an empathy no other duo in the living world could match. 

Lexington’s words of comfort ceased, the strength he had mustered to be the other’s rock was spent. The wound on Brooklyn’s face had now disappeared, as had all the blood and bruises. Brooklyn somehow could feel Lexington’s sorrow coursing into him - Brooklyn was not the only one who had been denied love and affection.

“I’m sorry man… I didn’t even think - this whole time you wanted the exact same thing I wanted and I didn’t even….” A thousand minds richotched in Brooklyn’s mind “I didn’t even stand up for you, I only cared about myself when I was losin’ it… But ya stood up for me. Ya stood up for all of us.”

He cradled the tired imp in his arms as he cocooned his wings around his little body. His large talons cupped the back of his head, he had missed his touch so much and never known it - now he craved it after being starved from contact for so long. Brooklyn could only find “Thank you…” in his brain to say. 

Brooklyn could not explain his next sensation. For a brief moment, he felt his body drop - the same dropping of the gut Elisa described when humans would sometimes feel their bodies freefall when teetering on the edge of sleep. His consciousness left his own mind… And into Lexington’s it went.

One thought was said in his little brother’s voice - it was so clear that Lexington could have spoke into his ear:

“Why can’t he love me back…?”

Brooklyn physically recoiled.

The agony in his heart ripped open once again - doubling in strength as it shared the burden of Lexington’s mirrored longing. The thoughts were foggy, but Brooklyn’s mind took what it could as the tether between them quickly severed.

“I was always there for him…” came Lexington’s thoughts “...He only wants Angela…Why won’t he see me? Am I not good enough?”

“You are good enough, Lex…” Brooklyn affirmed

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Lexington’s heart skipped a beat “Wh…. What?” 

“I never told ya that enough, dude. NO ONE told ya that, really.” Brooklyn pulled him away “Honestly… you’re more than enough, more than I could ever even ask for.”

Lexington’s face burned “You… how do you-?”

Brooklyn’s hesitating words continued while Lexington’s were wedged stuck in his throat “I mean… you’ve always had my back more than anyone. Ever since… since… Well, ever since it came down to just the five of us, you’re always the one I relied on.”

The images were less memories and more physical manifestations: Brooklyn wept into Lex’s shoulder the night he had been scorned by Maggie. Brooklyn stayed with Lexington and tempered his anger when The Pack resurfaced. Lexington threw aside the gun and his only chance at revenge, dashing forward to frantically grab his brother’s tail before he fell into burning oil. Brooklyn shielded Lexington’s little body right as The Hunter’s bomb went off. Brooklyn refused to let his wounded friend out of his arms as he flew off with him. 

“It’s just… I’m not good at talking about these things.” And yet Brooklyn was spilling his thoughts without filter “But I mean… Whenever I got in a tough spot or bind, dude. I just… I dunno, I always found myself thinking: ‘I wish Lexington was here’.”

Lex swallowed hard, his chest struggling to hide its quickening breaths “...What are you saying?” 

Brooklyn looked away. They were back at the clocktower, instead of sitting on the grassy cliff sides of Scotland, they were now sitting on the balcony of stone with the yellow light of the clock bathing them in amber “I’m just… When I was thinkin’ the other night about Goliath… wondering where him, Elisa, and Bronx disappeared off to I just… Didn’t really get that bothered.”

Lexington’s head hurt again - he felt that ‘Recovering Amnesia’ feeling again. Oh… That was right. Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx were missing. Brooklyn was clan leader until they reappeared - IF they ever reappeared. 

“I guess what I’m sayin’ is… I’d go crazy if I lost you, dude. Just… I can handle losin’ a lot. Heck, we’ve lost pretty much everythin’ we could possibly lose. Our parents, our friends, our family, our home, our TIME. But…” Brookly shuffled slightly “...Look, just don’t YOU disappear on me-” his words became muddled, sounding like he was speaking underwater, almost like there was something PHYSICALLY trying to stop his words from being heard “I can’t live without you.”

Lexington flinched, his eyes widening as far as they could go when Brooklyn turned to face him. The crimson avian’s eyes weren’t trying to dart away in awkward discomfort, like usual. Brooklyn’s gentle eyes were fixed squarely on him.

 “B-Brooklyn?” Lex breathed. Brooklyn never talked like this, not ever! He kept all his thoughts under lock and key, opening up like this just had to be a dream or something!

“I… You mean the world to me, Lex…” Brooklyn’s deep voice rumbled

*BA-THUMP*

Lex could actually feel his heart leap. 

Was this happening? Was this actually happening?

“B-Brooklyn…” Lexington’s thoughts were firing on all cylinders. Were they doing this? Right here? Right now? “You’re… You mean the world to me too! But I don’t… I don’t think you know what you’re saying.”

“I know exactly what I’m saying.” Brooklyn said flatly. “I… *ngh* ” His words were cut short by a sudden grunt of discomfort.

Lexington’s brain seemed to slow down. 

Okay. This was it. It was happening.

Lexington was too stunned to notice Brooklyn starting to grunt in discomfort and hold his own cranium with both hands.

Lexington was at a crossroads. Two choices - two options… to tell the truth and risk scaring him off forever. Or play off the moment and wait for a better time once he was sure. Lexington swallowed hard…

…and ordered years of caution to finally release him. 

“B-Brooklyn…” he stuttered over that name. He summoned every ounce of will to maintain eye contact “You’re the kindest, craziest, most passionate, wild gargoyle I’ve ever known. I’ve admired you for as long as I can remember - but after watching you become a leader… It’s something more now… Brooklyn… I….” He closed his eyes and swallowed “I love y-”

Brooklyn doubled over, he barked out a sharp cry of pain

Lexington’s vision instantly fuzzed as if irradiated. 

The flash of grotesque imagery consumed reality. Blood. Operating Tables. Cages. Surgical equipment.

Lexington’s little body was thrown backwards, clattering to the masonry of the clocktower’s balcony with a hand clutched to his temple 

Both the gargoyles convulsed on the stonework - Lexington’s ceased after but a moment, Brooklyn’s thrashing intensified for a second more before he finally came to a rest.

Lexington shook his head, his skull rang as if it had been fried by a recent electrocution.

Wait, It HAD recently been electrocuted. They had just finished breaking up Fang’s attempted takeover of the Labyrinth Clan. Both of them were nursing some pretty hefty headaches from the Mutates’ constant spamming of electric attacks.

Brooklyn grunted as he undid the last of his bandages around his own arm “Oh shoot, sorry man. I didn’t catch that. What was that?”

Lexington blinked. What WERE they talking about just now? “Uhhh…”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

Brooklyn only grumbled. Damn you… everyone. Screw Maggie for playing with his heart for what would be the last time ever, consider HIS ship sailed! Screw Fang for being a pain in his tail and nearly shooting his head off. Screw Talon for tossing oil onto what HAD been a quiet, simmering fire with Xanatos. And most importantly: Screw GOLIATH for having left him to hold everything together!

Is this why that stoic, distant, unavailable bastard turned them into child soldiers at the ripe-old age of 28?? So he could disappear whenever he wanted to and let the kids do the work for him until he got back? IF he got back??

Brooklyn didn’t know where all of this was coming from all of a sudden. But something detonated in him completely out of the blue.

Goliath had the Phoenix Gate, right? He knew the incantation, right?? All he had to do was utter one sentence, one FUCKING SENTENCE, and come back! But no! He was probably having the time of his life on vacation! Or his permanent exit!

Goliath was probably just living it up in Avalon right now! Or maybe he just went back to their original time back in Scotland and left the rest of them here to rot! Probably enjoying all the attention and power that came with being ‘the man in charge’, it was EASY when you had an entire ARMY of trained Gargoyles backing you up for every fight against humans wielding only swords and spears! Try to keep your family alive when all you had was two other teenagers and an old has-been fossil as your clan!

Goliath had abandoned them - he’d abandoned HIM! Left him to die in this underground cage!!

*Wait, cage? Die?* Brooklyn’s mind hiccuped again - it was like when Broadway had poorly rewound a VHS tape on movie night and caused the movie to skip ahead or glitch entirely. What cage? There had been no cage. Where was that thought coming from?

Brooklyn’s thought’s steadied again, but not so much his simmering rage. Goliath was probably in Scotland right now, enjoying the clan he had led to destruction. Enjoying the quiet of the countryside, the beauty of a bay that wasn’t polluted by ferry gasoline, the sound of wind sweeping through the trees….

Brooklyn grimaced - Dragon above, what he would give to see Home again. 

He stood up with a grunt and glowered at the lights of New York. 

There were just too many sour memories right now. The concrete towers were like a cage, the spires of skyscrapers like barbed wire topping their fence. Part of the joy of flying was just the feeling of being ‘above’ everyone else - Manhattan took a lot of the fun out of it.

…But flying over a forest though?

“Hey Lex, I don’t think I’m in the mood to deal with the clocktower tonight.” Brooklyn stated simply, jabbing a thumb into the fuzzy black that was dotted with the glow of yellow lights “How ‘bout it? How about you n I… get out of here?” 

Lexington flinched slightly, eyes wide again “G-Get out of here?” he repeated with a slight yelp. 

“Come on, Goliath ain’t around to stick us with a curfew - I’m in charge now.” He jabbed a thumb to himself and opened his wings “And ‘sides, Hudson n Broadway can hold down the fort.”

Brooklyn’s talons scraped off the balcony, his leathery wings pushed back by the catching wind “W-Whoa…” he stuttered out. He blinked slightly at his suddenly weak wings - what was that all about? His wings almost shook as they struggled to scoop the weight of the wind, his sore back muscles felt as if they hadn’t been used for months. Cocksure demeanor assumed its role as his mask again “Or what, you gonna just park yer butt up there all night?”

Lexington leapt up after him, the two of them free in the night sky while Brooklyn completely missed Lexington’s flustered eyes. Brooklyn spread his hands and arms before him, sucking in the feeling of air rushing past his body.

“Hey! Slow it d-down a bit!” Lexington called over the wind.

But something was different to Brooklyn - flying to a gargoyle was as natural as walking to all other bipeds, but not tonight. The reawakening excitement of flight flowed through him like it was his very first time! The red baron rolled in the air, grinning with shrugging shoulders “Come on, Lex. I thought ya LIKED how I pushed you and Broadway outta the comfort zone!”

The red one fancified his airborne grace, needlessly performing flip after somersault to just cram as much sensation as he could. He had been moving so fast that he hadn’t even noticed Lex was almost a block behind. He just wanted to fly, to truly FLY; to fly away from everything.

He wanted to just leave everything behind, even if for a moment. Leave behind Xanatos, Demona, The Pack, the gangs, the guns, the loneliness. Just find a way to muster the strength to fly clear across the Atlantic and across time to finally go home. To no longer hide and explore the green of the forest and the coolness of the loch. 

All he could think about was that.

He pitched his wings and looped a flip to egress back to Lexington - his white mane flapped in the wind, eyes closed with a contented smile. When he finished his loop and came back beside his friend, gone were the skyscrapers of Manhattan… they were back over the trees of the Scottish wilderness.

“Heh, Sorry friend.” The red one chuckled with a scratch to the back of his neck - his hair slightly shorter and features now slightly softer “It just feels… like it’s been a while since I’ve been back in the air. I’ve just missed it.”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

“Well….” I can imagine, said the green gargoyle “Goliath grounding you for a month must have really made ya glide-sick.”

Red had just finished his sentence for breaking curfew and killing the wolf, after all. A vastly younger pair of teen gargoyles flew side by side. 

“Oh you got NO idea, friend.” he snickered “I got to get these wings back in knighthood shape if I’m going to pick up practice again!”

Green grimaced a little more than just a pout “Oh…. So THAT'S why you brought me along? Need me to critique your Mating Flight again?”.

“WHAT-? I-” A guilty Red yelped “No! I always like spendin’ time with you! I just… I… I missed you too. Ever since Goliath’s daughter showed up, I haven’t really gotten a lot of time to spend with you. 

“Hmphf…” Green grunted flatly.

But much to his surprise, Red actually backpedaled “I’m serious, friend!” he bleated, banking to come side by side with him “Look, I know I’ve been chasing her around a lot. But I swear that’s not why I asked you out! I’m not even going to TRY to perform the mating flight for Goliath and Clan Mother’s daughter!” 

Green cocked a brow in apprehension “...You sure?”

“On my warrior’s honor!” 

“You’re STILL not old enough to attempt the Warrior’s Trial, friend.” Green huffed in relieved amusement “You still got six more years before you even meet the minimum age requirement.”

“Bahhhhhhhhhhh!” Red waved a hand down in dismissal “Wise Elder did his Trial early, so can I! And since Clan Mother will have to name a new second at the next mating cycle, she’ll OBVIOUSLY pick me when she sees how incredible I am!”

“Oh, of course, after all, your accomplishments and feats are sooooo becoming of the next second~” Green snickered as the two of them dropped their gliding height to maneuver through the trees for a bit of fun “Like the time you lit the stables on fire.”

“That raider had a torch and it was the dry season!” Red’s high pitched voice yelped.

They split as they dodged a large tree. Coming back together.

“Well what about that time you tried magic for the first time and accidentally made the entire guard bald?” Green laughed at his friend’s expense

“That spell had been tampered with BEFORE I cast it! DOESN’T COUNT!” Red cried again.

They parted through the brush and came back together

“Oh of course, it wasn’t your fault, right.” Green said in a now deeper voice “Just like how it wasn’t your fault when you were trying to woo one of the girls with fire twirling…. And ya spooked a dozen of the knight’s horses into fleeing the castles. How long did it take ya to get them all back? Five? Six Hours?”

Red, now with longer hair, blushed and shouted “I TOLD YA NOT TO TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN!”

The thick lumber of trees made them both lose vision of each other. Coming back again .

“Ye-huh, ya did. But I never agreed, did I~?” a late-in-teenage years Green hummed.

Red folded his progressively more muscular arms with a huff “Oh yeah~? Well, since we’re on the topic: how about the time ya ended up giving yourself a wedgie when leaping off the castle parapets into a fight~?”

Green’s face turned a mortified pale “THAT’S CAUSE YOU NAILED THE BACK OF MY LOINCLOTH TO THE STONE BEFORE I JUMPED OFF!”

“And my timin’ wasssssssssssss perfect~” 

A near-adult Green swiped a fist at him “And yet ya had the gall to act embarrassed when I paid one of the guards to use charcoal to sketch a mustache on you during stone sleep?”

Red grappled with him “HE DID IT DURING STONE SLEEP! It took a week for my beak to go back to normal, ya jerk! THAT’S why put ink in your breakfast ale to turn your teeth black.”

“THAT WAS YOU???” a flabbergasted Green realized 

The two spun out of control in a spiral to the ground

“I’m gonna tell the human priests you wanna rededicate your life to Christ!” Red barked

“I’m gonna tell everyone that you wanna put your hair in braids to look pretty!” Green shot

“Everytime the female gargoyles go knitting, I’m gonna tell them ya secretly wanna join!” 

“Everytime Wise Elder wants a singing partner when he gets drunk, I’m gonna volunteer you!”

The two, now young adult, gargoyles were now careening down to the lakebed of a grotto. Both were too busy pulling at each other’s faces and tossing out threats of pranks to even notice they were descending into the thick of the branches… that was until Green’s smaller body snagged on a thick piece of horizontal lumber.

Green’s high-velocity was halted rather gently. But Red’s?

“WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA!” Red took out a dozen trees' worth of branches as he careened into the brush, nearly busting clear through a tree trunk altogether before he skidded a long rut into the dirt - slowing to the halt at the grotto’s lakeside.

“Are you alright??” Green cried as he leapt to the ground, his green talons skittering to the ground far more gracefully.

“Yeah yeah!” Red immediately popped up with a slight hop - surprisingly not feeling anything - dusting himself off and pulling out three separate twigs velcroed into his massive mane of white - well, brown was more like it. 

Green’s concern immediately vanished, his cheeks puffed out a millisecond before he burst out laughing. He pointed a jestering finger at the larger of the two. A bog monster looked more refined than Red, his full body faceplant into the muddy shoreline had soaked him in sludge from literal horn to talon.

“QUIET!” Red barked, scooping a fistful of mud off himself and flinging it at Green.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Green laughed, closing the distance as the larger stormed off “Friend, come back! I didn’t mean any of it!” 

Red muttered furiously as his gait became awkward, stepping his stride out with bowlegs “In the name of- I didn’t even know you COULD get mud down there.” as he stormed to the waterside, eager to scrub off the mud that was chafing in the WORST place possible. His hands went to the belt of his loincloth.

Green’s laughter died down, a spark shooting up his spine as he heard a foreign sound: Red’s belt buckle being undone. 

With Red’s back turned to him, all he could see was his rippling back muscles flexing as his hands fiddled with the front of his groin. Then came the sound of the thick leather belt sliding out of the metal buckle; The fabric and belt went slack and Red’s loincloth came off. He stripped off his only article of clothing and tossed it onto a nearby rock. 

Green yanked his eyes away from his nude companion… his ass looked a little TOO good “F-FRIEND!” 

“What? Nothin’ you haven’t seen before.” Red grumbled in annoyance, but quickly paused. He turned around; a smug grin creeped up his lips “....Ooooooooh~”

Green’s hands both swiped up to shield his lower line of sight - he only got a look at his crimson, taut glutes before he could turn around completely with his… ‘lance of longness’. Red planted his hands on his hips, pushing his pelvis forward proudly “Yuuuuuuup, pretty impressive, right?” Red boasted with a shit-eating grin “I mean sure, even by Beaked Gargoyle standards it’s big, but compared to a regular gargoyle? *WOOOO!* ” He whistled smugly. 

“QUIET.”

“Even the horse-faces in our clan can’t match up to all this!” Red laughed as if Green’s fluster gave him strength “If we didn’t have that stupid ‘Spell of Humility’ Roman Magnus casted on all of us, this thing would just be swinging out for all to appreciate!”

Gargoyles were naturally nudist when they didn’t have the humans dictating dress codes, but now Green was GLAD there was that rule in place “P-Put your loincloth back on!”

“What? And cover up ALL. THIS?” he laughed, his hands showcasing his crotch paired with a toothy grin “And I thought Goliath was a prude! You’re literally GREEN with envy!”

What was Green doing?? Sure, the context wasn’t inherently sexual or anything, but…  He had feelings for Red, yet now he was actually seeing him like this, he was clamming up! He was BLOWING THIS! He barely even g-

He opened his eyes to see Red sprinting towards him. 

Green couldn’t even flail backwards before both of Red’s hands snapped around his little waist, yanking him into the air and throwing him over his shoulder. He didn’t even have time to scream before Red did a heel turn and sprinted for the water; unfortunately, Green finally found his voice the second before Red bounded into the bank and dunked them both into the frigid temps. 

A few bubbles rose to the surface of the distilled water.

“GAAAAHHHHH!” Lexington burst from the water - followed promptly by a laughing Brooklyn whom Lexington instantly assaulted. “ASSHOLE!!!” he bellowed as he pounded his fists against his, now larger and rugged, friend’s shoulders.

Brooklyn’s roaring laughter was paired by him lazily blocking Lexington’s punches with a turned shoulder “What? What!? Am I makin’ you mad dude!?” a mastered technique of arm and wing splashing waves of water at Lexington in retaliatory strikes “Am I makin’ ya mad~!?”

“YON SON OF A RAVEN, SCUM SUCKIN’-” the soaked gargoyle bellowed as he stormed away by wading through the water, then froze.

…Brooklyn was LAUGHING.

Not the forced, hollow laughs he had faked in the past (Lexington didn’t even KNOW how many) months… but a HOLLERING belly laugh. His head was thrown back in a joyous howl to the moon, his large chest quaking with a finally realized happiness. “Lex! Lex! I didn’t mean it!” he chortled, slowly following after him. “Lex, Come back!”

Lex jerked his hips and scooped his chiroptera wing through the water to send a tsunami back at ‘em “Scrub yer mug first!” 

“BAH! You’re no fun!” Brooklyn snickered, scooping up an arm full of water and dousing himself as Lex hopped up on a boulder just at the shore. Brooklyn dunked back under the surface, Lexington used the moment to sneak in a stifled giggle. 

He skipped a rock across the water “Missed a spot!” he called just as Brooklyn strafed away from it. 

“Missed? Nuh-uh, NAILED a spot.” Brooklyn snickered back “In case you haven’t noticed, before I had to slow down for ya, I was nailing that flight better than ever before.” 

Lexington’s mind wanted to rebuttal his brother again out of 40 years of sibling reflex, but hearing Brooklyn so joyously laugh before? He couldn’t do it. Brooklyn was still in there, somewhere, the REAL Brooklyn. He only huffed in amusement, crossing his legs upon the slick boulder “Finnnnneeeee, I’ll admit…. It’s REALLY looking good… But I thought ya just said ya weren’t gonna use the Mating Flight for Angela?.: he muttered with sourness. 

Brooklyn splashed water over his naked chest and scrubbed out the musculature of his lats “Yeah, It’s not for Angela, duh.” he hummed “But don’t worry, Lex. In a few more runs, I’ll have it perfect for you~”

Lex flinched and nearly fell off his rock “What?” 

Brooklyn wadded away from the pooling bit of dirt in the water, turning his back to splash water in his face and get the last of it off - his strong, detailed canyon of back muscles flexed with the slightest movement “Whadaya think I’m practicin’ it for, dude?” he looked over his shoulder with a smile “It’s all for you, ya know.”

Lexington’s spine ricocheted with a sudden warmth “...W-WHAT?”

Brooklyn dunked himself under the water one last time, swimming over to close the distance before he rose like a leviathan. Lexington’s claws dug into the rockwork with a sharp gasp.

He was a warrior. Water trickled in streams over his pecs and shoulders. His washboard abs and quads dripped what little liquid that could cling to his rock-hard body. He scooped the hair off his face and raked his hands through his soaked mane that was white as snow.. His Falcon’s beak huffed out a smile as he tucked the last of that mane back over his fiery red horns “...what I said back there at the Clocktower wasn’t just talk.”

“Brooklyn?” Lexington’s cheeks turned as red as Brooklyn’s entire body.

The last hints of light-hearted fun in his eyes made way for something far more deliberate and personal “I meant it, Lex…. every last word.”

“I trust you more than anyone else in the world…” Brooklyn rumbled, coming ashore. He scratched the back of his neck, glancing away “...I know I don’t tell you that enough but… I’d be lost without you. Sure, I want Goliath back home… and Hudson’s a great teacher, ya got no clue, but… I can… I can make peace without them. But if I had to be away from YOU?”

Brooklyn swallowed “I miss Scotland… and I know we might never see it again.” He said as his vision took in the very Scottish Wilderness that was around them “I miss everyone…and… I know this is gonna sound selfish: but I can make peace with that too… as long as I have you…” 

“H-Have…. H-Have me?” Lexington’s toes clenched, the wary mix of euphoria and terrified nerves now compounding at the chemical level “Brooklyn…I… I don’t….  Are… Are you saying-”

Brooklyn looked at him as if it was the first time he’d ever seen him “You’re the smartest guy I know, Lex… The most passionate, the most selfless, and the most loving… Whenever I got scared or nervous, I knew I’d make it through if I had you by my side.”

That didn’t even attempt to answer Lexington’s answer! Lexington was trying to rationalize this away, maybe it was leading to something platonic in nature! But this was something entirely different! Lexington stuttered “But…. What about Angela?”

“Dude, will you forget about her!? I don’t CARE about Angela anymore!” Brooklyn shot back, only for the doubt to follow to be palpable “Okay, fine, maybe I DO still care about Angela! I can’t help it! I can’t help that I’ve just wanted to have someone to love and to hold for so long! Someone to protect and care for!” he threw his hands up. “But I was in love with the IDEA of her, not the real her! I want someone I ACTUALLY know, someone I admire already! Someone I’d already love, I dunno, PLATONICALLY before it became romantic, ya know? A ‘Friends first then lovers after’ deal!”

Lexington’s heart skipped a beat as Brooklyn so nonchalantly proclaimed his truth. A lump formed in his throat.

“Forget about Angela!” Brooklyn barked, almost as if casting her out with his words. Brooklyn stood at full height, eye to eye with Lexington who quaked upon his perch  “She’s not the one I want anymore. I want someone REAL!”

Lexington’s sight became foggy, his eyes welling up. 

Brooklyn swallowed hard “......Lex… Listen… I want you-”

Lexington didn’t wait. His green missile of a body shot into Brooklyn’s sternum, snapping his arms around him to clutch him with all his might. The immediate reciprocation nearly broke him - Brooklyn wrapped those strong arms around him.

“B-B-Brooklyn…” Lexington whimpered out - relief seeping through him. 

He was his. He was finally his.

“Lexington….” Brooklyn rumbled back in a hushed tone “....Thank you, man. I knew you’d understand….”

Lexington could only nod into his chest, gripping him tightly. Of course he understood!

“I knew I could count on you. You’ve always been there for me, so I’ll always be there for you.” Brooklyn rumbled “And when I’ve got the mating flight perfected, you’ll be the first to see it. Your opinion means more to me than anything.”

Lexington laughed into Brooklyn’s chest; that was a bit of an awkward way for him to word it. Of course he’d be the first to see it if it was made for him, duh! 

“I want you, Lex…. I want you to be with me when we go to Avalon. I mean, I don’t know if we’ll go to the females there, or if they’ll come to us like Angela did. But when we go to find mates, I’ll be sure to be YOUR wingman too!”

Lexington flinched.

He felt a dagger of ice stab into him.

“...W-What………?” Lexington’s voice felt a thousand miles away. 

“Yeah! I’ve ditched wanting to use the Mating Flight on Angela! I wanna use it to impress that ‘right girl’! And I want your opinion on how it looks before I show it off for real!” Brooklyn said with oblivious cheer “But I don’t wanna rush in like I’ve done with everything in the past, I’ve learned from my mistakes and I want to create a REAL connection with a female gargoyle before I even try to put romantic moves on them!” he proclaimed proudly “And you, dude, once they get a look at how smart and kind you are - all the girls are gonna be CRAZY for you! You’ll have to beat them back with a stick! Any of them would be lucky to have a guy like you!” 

Lexington felt ill. His stomach churned. His heart that had just been aglow with warmth a moment before, now shattered in a way he never knew possible. He shakily backed away, breaking the hug.

Brooklyn’s face suddenly shifted to concern “Lex?” he reached a hand out “H-Hey! If you’re worried about us going at each other like we did with Anglea, I promise that won’t happen again! No girl is gonna come between us!” 

Tears that were once spawned from relief now corrupted into devastation… they streamed from Lexington’s horrified face “....You…”

“Lex??” Brooklyn closed the gap with worry.

“You…” Lexington’s eyes slammed shut, his teeth grit together, his frozen fingers surged with blood as they snapped into a fist “...Y-You BASTARD!!”

*WHAM!!*

Lexington cratered a fist into Brooklyn’s face, an anguished roar coming between the heaving of tears. 

Brooklyn was too off guard to even flinch a hand to block, he was sent flying backwards and into the water. Shaking his head awake as he sat up in the rippling liquid “LEX, What the hell??” he roared, less with anger and more with utter bafflement.

Lexington’s heaving shoulders and anguish stricken face immediately vaporized all anger in Brooklyn’s expression “W-What?? What is it??” he frantically questioned the smaller one

Lexington slapped his palms over his eyes, trying to contain his sobs.

He blew it.

No. He didn’t blow it, it was worse than that. There had been zero chance in the first place. Brooklyn would never be his, now or ever. It had never even been a possibility.

“You idiot…” Lexington shot weeping dagger-eyes at the down gargoyle male “You fucking IDIOT! Are you REALLY this stupid!?” he screamed.

“LEX!” Brooklyn scrambled to his feet “W-What did I- LEX!”

Lexington scrambled to his feet. The green gargoyle had skittered to his claws and sprinted into the forest on all fours. Not a word, not even a look back. Where he had fallen, his claws had sliced into the rock like it was Styrofoam... multiple, small puddles of tears staining the granite.

Brooklyn snapped his wings out, howling a plea “LEXINGTON!!!”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

“LEXINGTON, WAIT!” Brooklyn begged as he bounded after him “PLEASE!!!”

WHAT HAD HE DONE WRONG!? 

He had chosen every word with as much care and painstaking caution as he could! He had told Lexington how much he adored him above all else! He had told him that no girl would ever come in between them again! He had vowed to be there for Lexington no matter what! What did he do wrong??

He tore through the thick brush desperately, shouting Lexington’s name over and over again in a voice that felt weaker and weaker. Despite how frantically he pursued, his legs grew painfully slow beneath him. He slowed to a pace so hobbled that he was now scrambling in place, frozen still as if in a nightmare.

The forest was consuming him. The brush became thicker around his ankles, the timber grew, the canopy blocked out what little remaining moonlight was left.

“Lexington! LEX! Come back!” he pleaded with hoarse screeches. He couldn’t go through this! Not a second time! The familiar roars, the punch to the face, the getting thrown to the ground and cast out! Not again! Not him! Not LEXINGTON ! “I’m sorry! Whatever it is, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” 

It was getting dark. The whole world was turning black. The ominous shadows devoured the light, coming closer.

Brooklyn weakly cried for his friend as the sudden exhaustion dragged him down. He yearned for the warmth of him, a mere few moments without him was hell - his soul had forgotten what it felt like to not be alone. The reminder of its taste only made the following starvation all the more agonizing.

Gone was the fiery passion for life he felt burning again. In its place was only the cold hollowness he had only felt that night with Goliath…

He covered his ears. The blackness was coming.

He couldn’t do this alone. Without Lexington, he couldn’t be himself. He couldn’t be that cocky, proud warrior. Without his friend, he couldn’t roar that fearless roar. 

Without his friend, Brooklyn couldn’t be brave.

Brooklyn grit his teeth, his wings covering himself as he sunk down “Please….. D-Don’t leave me…” he whimpered.

The cool grass beneath his feet became oblivion, as did the once comforting chirping of insects and owls. His mind unsuccessfully scrambled for enlightenment on what he could have said to hurt his friend so mortally, what could he possibly have done?? Brooklyn had listened to every word and pitied every one of them with open empathy! 

Lexington’s voice repeated in his head.

“Why can’t he love me back…?”

“I was always there for him… He only wants Angela…Why won’t he see me? Am I not good enough?”

Of course he knew Lexington was jealous and denied Goliath’s love! It was a pain they both shared! They were right to be upset! Hadn’t he shown that he understood Lex??

How could Goliath be so dense? How could he not see that someone he knew for forty years wanted to be loved? How could he instead focus all his love and care onto a female who came into his life only a few months ago? How could he so selfishly ignore a guy who had been there the entire time?

How could he not see someone else loved him, all because he was so fixated on Angela??

….

Brooklyn’s mind pulsed. 

…

Then it ached as if split in two. 

He saw himself, clear as could be. He saw himself on the Pack’s ship about to fall to his death into burning oil. He saw himself flying away from the Clocktower’s ruins. He saw himself in a dozen different memories. But he SAW himself. Was this an out of body experience? Was this what it felt like?

Then he heard Lexington.

His heart quaked and flinched at the sound of his voice, desperately wanting to scream his name out again so he could come back to him and take all the pain he might have caused back.

Brooklyn could see a pair of olive drab arms wrap around him when his heart was broken.

Brooklyn could see those same hands dive for his tail and save his life.

He watched those hands lovingly build a motorcycle for him. 

They came to his shoulder whenever he was scared. They snapped around his neck and noogied him whenever he was down. They offered support whenever he needed strength. When he needed love, they were there. When he needed care, they were there. And most importantly, when he needed some sense knocked into him, they were there.

Lexington was there……. Lexington was always there.

Brooklyn’s heart clenched in a pain that was foreign. He didn’t know what it was - but it hurt in an all new different way. It wasn’t loss, nor rejection, nor emptiness: those were agonies he had become fast friends with….. This pain was new…

What was it?

Brooklyn’s brain flashed with a memory. It was clear as day:

“I, Lexington of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to my Clan Leader, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor his command and no other’s. I would raise my claws in his honor and raise a mug in his name.” 

His spine bristled, his hair stood on end. 

“...Lexington…” 

He said that name like it was the first time he ever truly said it.

“.......A-Are you….?”

Brooklyn’s mind replayed Lexington’s voice a million times:

“Why can’t he love me back…?”

“I was always there for him… He only wants Angela…Why won’t he see me? Am I not good enough?”

Brooklyn’s eyes widened in a way he never knew possible.

…..

“... After all this time?”

Lexington was actually…

-CLICK-

All this time Brooklyn had despised Goliath for all the ignorance.

And all this time - Brooklyn had been the biggest hypocrite alive.

Brooklyn grit his teeth. He didn’t move his leg - he COMMANDED it to move. His body's attempts at rejecting him were overwhelmed by an exploding will. His foot cracked through the void and sunk into cool soil again - rooting himself, he stomped a creaking step forward. He screamed his name out, his words strong again. He had to see him again! He had to… he had to tell him that- “Nggghhhhh:

Dawn was coming

It happened so suddenly, it might as well have been a hallucination: 

As quickly as Brooklyn had forced himself out of the suffocating darkness, it sucked him back in. Brooklyn’s foot cratered through the cool soil…. And stepped onto hard metal. He stumbled forward, he caught himself on a tree - the tree instantly became a steel bar… a bloody steel bar.

0000oooo0000ooo0000

Lexington screeched to a halt, tears still staining his face: Brooklyn’s ear splitting scream sliced through the night

“Brook? BROOKLYN!?!?” he yelled, turning a 180 in a microsecond.

Lexington tore through the brush like a mad-man, Brooklyn’s blood curdling screams got so high pitched, he thought his brother was being torn in half! 

Brooklyn’s screams battered against him like a tidal wave. Instead of driving him back, it pulled him forward. He sailed through a hundred paces in seconds and stood at the mouth of the forest clearing with his heart lodged in his throat.

For a moment, Lexington’s brain forgot not just how to breathe, but why breathing was even important, because the sight before him was something beyond hell.

Brooklyn spasmed on the floor with shrieks of excruciating agony. He clawed at his own flesh as if trying to rip out a demon that was trying to burrow into his skin. The entire forest disintegrated into darkness. Brooklyn's back was so arched and his head so pushed back on the floor that he practically pressed the crown of his head into it. The tiny pits of his pupils shrank and rolled further into the back of his head until they disappeared completely.

“BROOKLYN!?!??!”

Lexington’s thoughts were silenced. HE was silenced. His being was overpowered, conquered. He felt a horrible hellfire grasp at him with talons that dragged him deeper - they dragged him into Brooklyn’s mind.

Blood. Operating Tables. Cages. Surgical equipment. Brooklyn’s bloody face streaming tears down his beak and down into the viscera of body parts. The terminal thrashing of his body like an animal being torn apart by wolves. The screaming. The horror. The madness. 

Electrocution. Flames. Amputation. Sleep Deprivation. Mutilation. Freezing. Confinement. Torture. Pain. Agony.

Lex was frozen in place - frozen like the time he first faced death when a pillager broke into the rookery when he was 4. The darkness billowed away to reveal the dark concrete and red lights of a bunker - a bunker that he had never seen, yet simultaneously felt like he knew every intimate detail of. 

His eyes snapped back down to Brooklyn, and he leapt away with a mortified shriek. Brooklyn’s corpse was defiled before him. His chest had been torn open, every bit inside of it was removed to leave a cavernous torso and stomach - eyes, tongue, tail, wings, everything: it was all gone.

Then came the snap of reality that blasted him backwards.

They were back in the forest, despite the suffocating blackness, they knew dawn was upon them. Cracks formed over their very skin as if waking from stone sleep in reverse.

But not Brooklyn, Brooklyn was being dragged down below the surface by the ankles. 

“NO! NO!!!” his terror-stricken voice shrieked with a wail “I WON’T GO BACK!” thrashing his arms wildly for anything they could possibly grab to slow his descent. That anything happened to be Lexington grabbing onto his arms.

Lexington’s desperate roars, promising to never let go, were drowned out by Brooklyn’s tearful screams. Lexington somehow didn’t even feel pain when Brooklyn’s talons pierced his skin to try and hook himself in while dragged down to his waist.

Brooklyn’s white mane fizzled away, a barcode tattooed itself on his forehead. His healthy body shriveled and shrunk until it was nothing but a skeleton wrapped in loose, red skin. His fingers fell off in bloody chunks. Stitches appeared over every inch of his body, his torso became a disgusting amalgamation of bloat and staples. 

Light lasered out from the cracks in both their skins, Brooklyn screamed maddeningly “HELP ME!!! HELP MEEE!!!!!!!!!”

0000oooo0000oooo0000

*crackle* *SMASH*

“BROOKLYN!!!!!!!!”

Lexington awoke from stone sleep with a horrified roar. His bellow was so guttural that Hudson, Broadway, Bronx, and now Elisa, leapt back. He tried to grasp at air below him, almost trying to will Brooklyn’s spectral into existence!

“...Lexington, son?” Hudson’s shock made him do away with the usual ‘lad’ entirely. 

Lexington’s hand slapped over his mouth and stifled a retch from the dawning horror. Only know was he able to grasp reality - things like his sense of touch, smell, and balance were instantly recognized by his conscious. His shaking breaths signaled that he needed a moment to compose himself, a request the others graciously abided.

Immediately he wanted to scream and beat himself in frustration. He had failed. Brooklyn had been RIGHT. THERE. All he had to do was ask him where he was!! The spell had been a success; he had linked dreams with Brooklyn! They had been together! All he had to do was get a stupid address! And his stupid conscience couldn’t even do THAT right! 

Brooklyn was alive, but not for much longer.

Heavy thuds of racing footsteps came racing down from the interior’s corridor, the colossal form of Goliath snapped into the moonlight. The urgency of his expression softened to immediate concern upon seeing the little imp “...Are you alright?” he asked, hushed. 

“...It was pointless…” Lexington morbidly shook his head with eyes drilling into the floor “None of it… None of it was helpful… It was a STUPID spell!” 

“Huh?” was the only sound Broadway could rasp out.

“It was a spell I got out of Puck.” he grimly waved a hand off “It was supposed to link Brooklyn’s and my mind… but… I could barely get anything.”

“What did you get?” Broadway instantly pursued “NOTHING! Just…. Just…”

He covered his eyes with one palm “...Underground. He’s in a bunker. Whoever has him is… they’re slicing him apart.”

“WHO!?” Goliath demanded.

“I. don’t. KNOW!” Lexington snapped back; all he wanted to do was hit something as hard as he could.

“Hey! Hey! Cool it!” Broadway instantly intervened and quickly put himself between the two. He urgently snapped his head to Elisa “Elisa! What did you find? Was any of it good?”

The human responded by raising a manilla folder and shaking it like a Maraca “A gold mine.” the first hint of hope ANY of them had had in months was on her face.

“Guys! Bronx and I found something last night!” Broadway announced with raised hands “We were scoping out some warehouses up north, came across an abandoned one - Bronx found a drop of Brooklyn’s blood.”

The breath was taken out of everyone “So I radioed Elisa and came back flyin’ here as fast as I could!” Broadway’s eyes went back to Elisa, almost begging her to manifest good news out of thin air. 

She opened up the Manilla folder “I skipped a sleep. I haven't slept in 30 hours cause of that, but it was worth it.”

She pulled out document after document “Called in every favor I had and had to hand out an I.O.U for everyone I DIDN’T have - interrogated a lot of guys from investigations I wasn’t a part of and got slipped a few documents I didn’t rate clearance for.” she waved a paper “That empty warehouse Broadway found? Looked to be picked clean when I went to check it out a few hours ago. Yeah, well get this: turns out it was used as a smuggling cache a few months ago, place had been packed for YEARS.”

She turned over another page “A couple o’ months ago, they left in a hurry. REAL sudden move, no real clear reason given… Wanna guess the specific time frame?” Almost pausing for effect “The same week Brooklyn disappeared.” 

Wary elation billowed over all present. Goliath immediately dashed forward and grabbed Broadway by the shoulders “Y-You’re POSITIVE it was Brooklyn’s blood!?”

“Bronx’s nose is never wrong.”

Goliath’s face nearly showed something akin to joy. He hadn’t attempted that in months.

Elisa folded the manilla shut “And that’s not all… Around the same time, someone checked into the nearby hospital for a shattered collarbone under a fake name and identity. Turns out he was wanted for six counts of drug trafficking and was taken into custody the same night. On a hunch, I spent a few hours talking with him today…”

She popped her tongue in smug satisfaction, pulling out the last sheet “Sworn Testimony… He was attacked by a Red Gargoyle with long white hair on the night of November 2nd at the very warehouse Broadway and Bronx found that bloodstain in. They tranq'd him, boxed him up, and sold him” she swung the page back and forth “With a little parole bargaining… we got the name of the son of a bitch who sold him…. And an exact address for where he’s gonna be… this Friday night. ”

Lexington’s knees nearly buckled out from under him “What? WHO?!”

“Only goes by a first name.” Elisa said deadpan “Radar”

Chapter Text

“UNCLE LEXINGTON!!!!!”

Lexington had less than a split second to raise his startled hands before Hollywood and Brentwood jubilantly slammed into him.

“G-GUYS, OMPHF!” His entire body was knocked off its feet by Hollywood’s Linebacker charge, his shout was muffled by his clone leaping onto his face and torso in a bear hug. The poor technician of a gargoyle frantically tapped out on Hollywood’s shoulder to release him before he crushed his ribcage. “H-HEY guys! I- I-I-”

“Easy, easy you two.” Maggie appeared almost out of thin air, her gentle hands slipping in the crevice of Hollywood’s orange forearms to guide their 10-ton crushing force apart “You don’t need to hold him down,”

“I learned how to pair universal remote you brought!” Brentwood exclaimed, tugging on Lexington’s arm.

“The new camera you bring last time is amazing! I filled all new scrapbook with it!” Hollywood proudly reported. 

“Didja bring Bronx??” Brentwood bounced

Visiting the Labyrinth was becoming a regular occurrence for Lexington. Helping Derrick and Maggie mold the underground into something almost liveable had started off as just an excuse to take his mind off things - but now?

Well. He’d never believe it if he told himself a few months ago, but he actually looked FORWARD to seeing the clones nowadays. 

“Bronx is outside-” for some reason the Gargdog had an intense phobia of descending the stairs to the Labryinth “-But I got somethin’ real special for ya this time!” the olive drab gargoyle unzipping the duffel bag he’d brought “Got some new books and VHS’s… But-” he fished out a broken CD Boombox with a grin “You guys wouldn’t happen to know where I could find two buddin’ geniuses to help me repair this, would ya?”

Their immediate squeals of delight (followed by another dogpile onto their unofficial third guardian) gave Elisa at least some semblance of hope that all was well… Cause Maggie’s body language was conveying the opposite.

Two minutes ago, when she and Lexington had descended the stairwell, Claw had gone bleach pale. She didn’t even KNOW you could turn pale with a layer of fur over yourself, but somehow he managed. Second thing she noticed was Maggie: bandaged in more than a few places, turning her eyes downward in grimace. Third thing she noticed was the fact Maggie didn’t greet her, almost like she needed Elisa to begin the conversation

“Maggie are you alright??” Elisa urgently hushed the moment Lexington barely got the boys out of earshot “What happened??”

“I-” Maggie’s tense brace smoothed to confusion “-Wait, you don’t know?”

“Elisa? Hey.” Talon’s voice suddenly manifested behind them “...What’s up?”

Elisa wasted no time flashing the manilla folder in her hands for the pair to see “I need to talk with you both privately, right now.” 

Talon’s step forward was instant “Look, Sis, about what happened with Angela last night: we know things got out of hand. We were all havin’ a rough night but we don’t want this to drive a wedge be us.”

“-But I’m not ready to talk about it yet.” Maggie stated with a grim tone.

Elisa blinked “...Angela? Wait, what happened??”

Talon’s eyes widened “You mean… wait, did you not know? She didn’t tell you guys? Aw crap…”

“Tell us what? Angela didn’t come back last night, I thought she was going to be here with you guys.”

“Sonuva…” Talon ran a hand over his face “Shit… Look, Angela and Maggie got into it last night. Words were thrown, punches were thrown.” he put bluntly and quickly “Maggie and I have been missin’ Malibu and…. Yeah… past few days especially have been worse than usual. Things boiled over.”

Elisa, who’s eyes and lips pursed before Talon was halfway through his sentence, hissed an inhale “...Why?”

“I just said I-”

“No, WHY now?? Of all times, why now?” she didn’t give them the chance to respond. She merely splayed her tensing fingers before saying “Look, we’ll deal with whatever THAT is later. We need all of you - right now.” 

Maggie’s glance returned to her “......What is it?”

“We got a lead on Brooklyn.” Elisa put bluntly while the print-offs in her hands got fanned out on the table “Thanks to some scoutin’ from Broadway and a few well placed bargains, we finally got a bead on the creeps who got him.”

Talon went into Officer Maza mode, clearing the distance in a stride to swipe up one of the sheets “What do we got in terms of the 5 W’s?”

“Goliath and the others are hitting a warehouse tomorrow night of the guy who took him. According to the sworn testimony-” she tapped a page “-it was by a guy who goes by the name of Radar.”

“Wait. Radar?” Talon’s ears snapped up alert, brow furrowing.

“This confirms it, Brooklyn didn’t run away, he was taken. Long and short of it is: tomorrow night we got….. Derrick?”

“ Radar….Radar…  How do I know that name….?” His furrowed brow lifted “Huh? Naw naw, I’m listen’.”

“And well… This would usually be an easy job for just Goliath on his own… but he wants every possible hand on this-”

“We’ll be there.” Maggie interrupted

“ALL of us.” Talon immediately followed. 

Elisa exhaled in relief “...thank you… But, that’s just what Goliath wanted to ask you for.”

“Hm?”

I’m… I’m here cause I need your help with something else too, Derrick…” 

“Sis?”

Elisa masked her hesitation by dunking her face into her hands and sliding them over her forehead to rake through her hair “......Look…  I don’t know WHAT state we’re gonna find Brooklyn in. Everyone’s so focused on getting him that they’re forgetting to plan for what happens after that.” she admitted “Think back to your time on the force. When we found human trafficking victims, how long did they need time in therapy?”

Talon’s wide-eyed face inhaled and then puffed “Pheewwwwww… I see where yer goin’....” he nodded his head with a bob to the side “Weeks? Months? Sometimes Years?.” 

“We don’t know what state Brooklyn’s gonna be in.” she repeated “I don’t know, you don’t know. Fact is, victims tend to associate trauma with the last people they saw in the civilian world, in Brooklyn’s case - Goliath.”

“...and you don’t want to bring him back to the castle.” Derrick sagely guessed. He glanced back behind him and gestured with his eyes “...here then?” 

Elisa grimly nodded with pursed lips “If the clocktower doesn’t work, right here’s the only place I can think of. My apartment’s too exposed.”

“I got your back.” Derrick immediately slashed a calm hand back and forth “Maggie and I’ll get a room set up for him down here. Done deal.”

Elisa’s shoulders fell back with a relieved sigh “Thank you.”

“Should I get a room made for you too?”

“That’d be ideal, but again, this is just as a backup plan.” she flinched as she suddenly remembered “...Which reminds me… Derrick, I gotta ask too much from you again.”

“Name it.” 

Elisa forced an inhale “I won’t be with you tomorrow night.” and kept going before Talon could interrupt “I NEED to be hitting Radar’s auxiliary location on the main island at the same time. The force isn’t going to divert the men needed to hit the warehouse the Perp told us about, it’s too big and they can’t mobilize S.W.AT. on the word of a single confession. However, they ARE letting us hit one of his smaller cache’s with officers, so long as I’m with them.”

“BUT-”

Elisa sped faster to keep ahead of Derrick “We gotta make it co-ordinated, okay? ‘Else they’ll burn everything in there! The gargoyles will hit the east side and get the info we need outta Radar - I’ll hit the main side with officers to grab anything useful just in case Radar doesn’t talk or is a no-show.” she put hands up “Does that sound reasonable?”

Derrick rumbled “.......and what's that ‘too much’ you need me to do?”

“Derrick…. You’re good with kids, you’re great with calming ‘em down. Ever since the boys came into your life… you’ve become the best version of yourself.” she observed “In the off chance they actually FIND Brooklyn is there tomorrow - Hudson and I have agreed that he’ll be the one securing him, with Lexington as secondary. But if both of them are incapacitated… Derrick, I need it to be you.”

“...You sure not Angela or Broadway?”

She shook her head with an exhale “....It’s gotta be you.” 

“...A’ight… Alright, alright. I got it.” the titanic panther folded his equally titanic forearms “...Keep him calm till you get to where we are?  Take him back down here?”

“Yeah…” Her face went stern again “...But again, that’s a backup plan… Plan A is to get him to the Clocktower: I will be with him at all times - EVERYONE’S gonna want to get a hold of him, but we’re going to need to see just what kinda state his brain’s in before we get him. Plan B is here.”

“....And Goliath?”

Elisa opened her mouth instinctively, but no words came out. She glanced aside and then exhaled  “... we’ll cross that bridge.”

“I want to actually physically puke when I say this, but, have ya asked Xanatos to get involved?” Derek rumbled

“Believe it or not- well no, I know you won’t believe it anyways- but we already have. I mean, he obliged and the guy has resources, God, you won’t believe how many resources. But we needed intel, not manpower. Finding Brooklyn via word-of-mouth has been tricky and anything that doesn’t have a paper trail is out of his wheelhouse. Hence the reason Goliath tried Puck.”

“Yeah, which is- Wait hol’ up.” he paused with a lifted hand “So if all THAT got nothin’ but dead ends, how did BROADWAY find the lead?”

“Last night he was out with Bronx. Bronx found a blood stain in a warehouse that was Brooklyn’s scent.”

“Ah, I gotcha…” but pressed a puzzled knuckle to his chin. He didn’t really remember the last time he saw that dog, he flat out refused to come into the Labyrinth. At first he thought it was because Bronx didn’t like the clones or had a fear of going underground, but he’d done just fine with both on their own… but… The Labyrinth? It was different. The Gargdog always dug his heels into the ground and tried to tug away any gargoyle who tried to go inside. He had no idea why the dog had such a phobia. “...but why just that ONE particular warehouse? We got a million of them on the island.”

Elisa shook her arms with a shrug “Chalk it up to luck. Point is, we gotta lead and if we’re gonna set up a listening post for a stakeout, we gotta go NOW.”

Maggie turned tail “I’ll get the boys…” opening the door 3 seconds too late to notice the shadowed human dashing away from the door.

0000oooo0000oooo0000

“Richardson, this better be important.” Calvert muttered almost threateningly.

“SIR.” the informant belated almost too loudly. He had slipped into one of the empty tunnels of the labyrinth, hunched over the radio that frantically shook in his hand “They know about Radar!” 

The spy had been pressing his ear up to the wall to listen in on Elisa and the Mutate’s conversation, straining to catch even the slightest sound. He had barely heard Maggie coming to the door in time to leap away and don his ratty blanket to appear as just another sleeping homeless resident. He hissed quietly into the mic “They’re taking him tomorrow night!”

“WHAT!?” Calvert’s static voice snapped out through the speaker “Report! NOW!”

“Lexington, Bronx, and Officer Maza came to the Labyrinth. I couldn’t eavesdrop on the entire conversation, but they know where he is! They’re hitting his place in Dutch Kills tomorrow!”

“HOW DID THEY FIND OUT?”

“I don’t know!”

There was a pause, before a violent, guttural “DAMMIT!!!” was spat 

“Sir, we can radio and warn him. We have time!”

“NO! That’s not the point! If the gargoyles are able to get a name and location on the seller, that means there’s dozens of loose ends in his ring! If they don’t get OUR location from Radar, then there’s tens of sources who they WILL get it from. We don’t HAVE the kind of time to find and silence each one!” 

Richardson stuttered for words. Moving the entire lab and disposing of all the evidence would take a week, probably even more so with having to move Brooklyn quietly. They couldn’t just evac.

Calvert incessantly swore on the other end “Shit shit shit shit shit.” 

“Wait…. Sir….”

“What?” Calvert snarled

“...I found the package.” 

“What- WHERE?”

“I took a gamble on a coin toss and checked one of the last two locations - Southwest of the complex, second sublevel - they didn’t put it anywhere near as deep as I thought.”

Calvert's exasperated exhale followed “Great, glad to know that when it’s TOO LATE to get!”

“Sir! Sir! Listen! …The ENTIRE Labyrinth Clan is leaving to stage at the east side of the island for sunrise! This place is going to be completely unguarded in less than an hour!”

“All of them are going?”

“ALL of them! I swear it! It’s the perfect time for us to do the swap! We can move the beaked bastard in the daytime through Radar’s gang!” 

Calvert sucked air, Richardson braced himself before the other’s voice strained through the static “...You’re positive they’re going to Radar’s stockpile in Dutch Kills?”

“Positive, Sir.”

“.......How far is the package from the surface?”

“Two levels, they used one of the collapsed shafts when they lowered it down so it wouldn’t break. I know exactly where the shaft lets out on the surface. If you send the team now, we can do the swap!” 

There was a long silence. Calvert’s voice was heard barking orders on the other end, before his voice returned within listening distance “You tell us the second they leave. We’ll have the bleach ready.” 

0000oooo0000oooo0000

“B-Brooklyn?” 

“It’s okay Bobbi, it’s okay.” Brooklyn lied as he held her.

Getting packed into a steel box was new - it was barely big enough for him to sit up straight and not have his horns pressed into the roof. Brooklyn had gotten less than a second to even look at the damn thing before he was ushered in with Bobbi - but it looked horribly improvised. Just slabs of metal hastily welded together… if he only just had half his fingers at least, he might have been able to claw their way out. 

Bobbi was in his lap, trembling with eyes wet as she hugged him. His wings draped over her, one hand trying in vain to gently soothe her. His back to the openable panel to keep himself between her and whatever could reach in when it opened. 

They were being moved. Moved to where? He had no clue. His paranoia made him worry Bobbi being brought along with him was an omen - some terrible experiment that would harm her instead of him. But it didn’t matter. They weren’t getting this kid while he was still alive. They would have to pry her from his cold, dead hands if they wanted her.

“What’s happening?”

“...I dunno, kid. I don’t…” suddenly, he halted his words and snapped what remained of his index finger to his beak - ordering silence.

His ears twitched at the sounds of voices murmuring outside their box, all his senses having grown beyond acute in the past month.

…

He strained his ear while he closed his eyes, wishing he could just WILL his hearing to be stronger.

“-Moving him NOW…” Came the words of his captors far in the distance

“...Calvert…. East dockside… Radar…”

“...Before tomorrow night… eighteen hours….”

He cursed mentally as the wheels on the platform trolley squeaked too loudly and the words he tried to eavesdrop on were replaced with the strained grunts of the workhands moving them.

Irritation was replaced with bewilderment as he smelled something he hadn’t smelt in… well, he couldn’t remember the last time he smelled something OTHER than death and blood. Just the smell of oil and dust. They were being moved out of the bunker.

He grit his teeth and concentrated all his attention to his right hand that was missing three fingers “D-Dammit…. Come on…” almost trying to will his energy to his severed digits. This could have been the perfect opportunity to make an escape if he just had a fraction of strength left in him!

In dire moments, a Gargoyle’s adrenaline could save them. He dug up all that anger and hate - conjuring it from the core of the blackness that had been ritually birthed inside of him ever since he was dragged into this hell… that rage - that rage that made him stronger.