Meanwhile
By Inspirationbynight
Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles. T.T It's such a great series.
A.N.: Oh yeah, the Labyrinth clan is going to be involved too, so what have they been up to? While a lot of exciting things are happening above ground, Talon's clan have their own excitement happenings underground and Elisa visits with news. Fic #6.
Meanwhile
In the Labyrinth:
Carmen Diago clasped Maggie's clawed hands in gratitude a final time for the favor of watching over her children. She would be going to another interview in the hopes of attaining a job from which she could get her life and the lives of her children back on track.
Her eldest child, a boy of 12 hugged his mother without shame, taking comfort in the scent of laundry soap and a hint of perfume from his mother before releasing her. His nine year old sister also said good bye to their mother, wishing her luck as she held onto Maggie's hand. Their mother's short brown hair was swept into a ponytail as she left the Labyrinth. The clicking of her white heeled shoes faded down the tunnels in accompaniment with Hollywood's lumbering steps as they headed towards the upper world.
That had been two days ago. Peter and Diane Maza were visiting their mutant son and his misfit clan that afternoon with groceries. The adults spoke with pleasant expressions, looking calm and casual to the non-observer.
Omar knew different. He knew it was rude to listen in on other people's conversation, but he was worried about his mother. His sister Cynthia was carefree. Their mother had said she might be gone a few days when she was looking for a job, staying with a friend who could not or would not let Carmen's children also stay, but would return soon. This had not been the first time she had been gone for more than two days, telling Omar and Cynthia to listen to their 'Tio Derek' and 'Tita Maggie', but Omar still worried.
"Dad I have a favor to ask" Derek confided quietly.
His father nodded, signaling for his son to continue as he folded the grocery bags into a neat pile.
"Could you get a birthday cake? It's for Omar."
"Sure son, kid turning 13 already?" Peter asked in surprise, glad it was nothing serious. He and Diane tried to get to know the residents of his son's protectorate, especially the long-term residents. Carmen Diago and her two children had been living in the Labyrinth since the week before Christmas after a brutal assault had set fire to the apartment building they had lived in.
"Yeah, Carmen went out job hunting and I don't know if she'll be back in time," Derek explained.
Despite the terrible experience that brought Carmen and her children to the Labyrinth, the woman had looked upon the situation with the eyes of a believer in the silver lining on every cloud. She had even called the mutates a god-send and with a little encouragement from Maggie and Claw, Carmen set out almost every week to look for a job. For the remainder of the holiday she had managed to find odd jobs at various times of the day and night and for a few weeks held out in a small grocery store.
While she would not say what had caused her unemployment, Carmen refused to be beat in front of her children and had set out again to look for work. By the end of the holiday season, Omar and Cynthia had grown to fondly call the mutates Tio or Tia, Uncle or Aunt.
While Omar and Cynthia weren't the only children in the Labyrinth, the rest of the residents somewhat fearfully stayed at arms length from Derek and his clan, despite their warm welcomes and assurances of safety. It was understandable but there were times when Derek wondered how Goliath remained firm in his faith of the day that humans and gargoyles would co-exist, when humans feared them so much.
It was a relief to know that some of the residents and guests, particularly the children, were unafraid and some friendly.
"Has he mentioned what he would like for a present?" Diane asked her son.
Omar quietly left, deciding to approach Derek later than hear his birthday plans.
"Carmen said Omar wants to be a pilot when he grows up," Maggie told her, putting away the remaining canned food.
Derek nodded in agreement. "He hasn't said much about his birthday, but you should see the way his eyes light up when I tell about my time as a pilot. Big as saucers!"
"Then a pilot theme is what we'll do," Diane said with a smile. "And Derek, Elisa called to tell you that she wants you to come see her tonight."
"Is everything ok? Did she say why?" the panther mutate asked in concern.
"She sounded fine, excited actually," Diane said. "I think it's a surprise by the vagueness of the conversation we had. Let us know what it is after you talk with her, won't you?"
"I will if it isn't a surprise for you and dad," Derek promised.
^*^*^
Nightfall:
"Tio Derek," Omar said, with small pat on Derek's arm, "Will you look for my mom on your way to see your sister?"
Derek smiled a closed-mouth smile and promised he would. And he did until he was cutting it close to meeting with his sister. It was her night off but she was putting off sleep to wait for her brother.
Upon arriving at Elisa's apartment, Derek saw Goliath and Lexington waiting in the living room. Once they were all inside, Elisa explained her reason for calling.
"We want you in on it too," Elisa told him.
"A Gargoyle Gathering," Derek mused. "Three representatives from each clan, right?"
"A max of three," Lexington clarified. "Human members will also be welcomed." Goliath told Derek a short version of his and Elisa's encounter with the Ishimura clan and their association with humans, particularly Constable Hiroshi.
"And you're holding it in Xanatos' private retreat?" Derek asked with a small growl behind his words.
"I know it's a hard pill to swallow, but it's the one safe place we can think of that won't attract attention to something like this," Elisa pointed out.
"Even so, I can't leave Maggie, Claw, the Clones, and the Labyrinth alone, or take Maggie or Claw with me. It would leave everyone vulnerable."
"What about the Clones?" Lexington asked with futile hope.
Derek shook his head. "Even though Thailog is dead, they're still like kids. On the good side, they learn fast, but they're not ready to go to something like a gathering. Politics, customs, mannerisms, it's too much for them." He sighed but then his ears perked up. "Unless Maggie and Delilah went..."
He glanced at his sister uneasily.
Elisa had yet to meet her clone and had expressed unease in doing so, understandably.
She shrugged casually. "It's an open invitation." She would not be going to the gathering, and though she and Goliath had finally come to terms with their developing relationship, she couldn't help but feel nervous about Delilah being alone with Goliath. She was a gargoyle for one thing, and Goliath would undoubtedly remind the hybrid of Thailog, her former master.
"I'll have to think about this, but count us in to help in whatever we can," Derek said. "What else have you got for this gathering? You mentioned Japan, do they speak English?"
"They do actually but we still might have trouble understanding," Lexington answered. "If it comes down to it, Megan or Owen could put a spell in the cabin to translate what everyone says into English."
Derek had heard about some of their magical experiences and their new human friend, a teen sorceress, but remained skeptical. "That's still an issue you have to keep in mind," he suggested.
Goliath nodded, "As is the issue of commodity." He shook his head in wonder. "I never would have thought it would be so difficult to unite gargoyles into a single location."
"So who is coming?" Derek asked.
"Well, Kai the leader from the Ishimura clan confirmed he would come along with Yama, his Second, and one of their elders," Elisa told him, giving him the cliff-notes of each guest. "Griff is traveling with Arthur, but Leo said he would come and bring one of the younger gargoyles with him, so that makes five."
Derek sighed, scratching one of his ears. "I'm way out of the game here sis, but I think the next step, since you've got a location picked out, is to see how many and who is coming. Then find food that everyone can live with."
Elisa looked impressed with her brother. "And I thought you weren't listening to mom at holiday dinners."
Derek shrugged with a small pleased smile at himself. "It's how I got through those parties in college. Ok, quick question: How are you guys getting in touch with these clans?"
"Well the London clan has a shop they run with the pretext that they're wearing masks," Lexington explained, "so I just looked up their yellow pages on the Internet and sent a letter via Xanatos express. We got word two nights ago. The Ishimura clan was harder, but Elisa remembered some of the address when she worked with Hiroshi and we sent an email in February. They answered two days later and we've been talking since. They confirmed last week."
"Avalon is the one we're not sure how to reach yet," Elisa said, looking at Goliath.
"And just before we got here, Owen told us that Demona's new secretary sent us a message. They found a clan in Mexico," Lexington informed them.