Disclaimer: Gargoyles, its characters and concepts are copyright to Disney.
Foreword
Hello everyone, this is my first Gargoyles fanfic. I found the end of the series not very fulfilling, and I was inspired to write something. I think this is kind of an alternate universe, as I treat everything that happened after the episode "Generations" as if it didn't happen at all. This story takes place after that episode.
Many thnaks for evilredmenace and Mrs. Optimus Prime helping me to write the story!
Hope you enjoy reading it, and reviews are always welcome!
Chapter one
The shadows stretched long as the sun sank towards the horizon. As the last of the sunlight disappeared over New York, roars echoed from the top of the Eyrie building. The gargoyles woke up from their daily sleep, stretching themselves while the shards of their stone skin flew everywhere.
Brooklyn jumped on the tower wall and climbed up to Goliath's sleeping place. As he moved upwards, he noticed everyone had started their usual routine. Hudson and Bronx had walked inside; probably to watch television or to read in the library. Since Hudson had first learned to read, he had spent more time with books than with TV. Lexington couldn't wait to go and see Alex. Angela and Broadway would spend the night together either inside or outside the castle. They had been a couple for some time, leaving Brooklyn in an uncomfortable position. Both gargoyles were his friends. Of course, he was happy that Broadway had found love with Angela. However, he also had a crush on Angela as well.
The red gargoyle forced those thoughts out of his head. His had more important things to do. Once he reached the top of the tower, he jumped over the ledge and walked beside Goliath.
"Where will tonight's watch be?" he asked his leader.
Almost every night over the past few weeks, Goliath, Brooklyn, and Elisa had teamed up and guarded different parts of the city. Elisa was very good at choosing locations, because every week they had caught a few bad guys.
"There will be no patrol tonight," Goliath answered in his deep but calm voice. "Elisa wants to show me something in Central Park."
"Uh, well I guess I will do a short patrol then on my own," he answered, half surprised and half disappointed. The patrols were the only thing that prevented him from thinking about Angela and Broadway. It was obvious that Elisa wanted to meet Goliath alone. Of course, he knew that there was something between them. They weren't a couple like Broadway and Angela, but Brooklyn guessed they would try to work out something to overcome their physical differences.
"Once again, your responsibility to the city tells me it was a good decision to choose you for my second in command," Goliath said. "But don't let it rest too heavily on your shoulders. You don't have to prove anything to the clan or to me. I suggest that you get some rest tonight."
Goliath's words made sense, but Goliath didn't know the true reason for Brooklyn's enthusiasm for patrols, and Brooklyn was not about to tell him. Even if he did tell him, he didn't think anything would change. So he acknowledged what Goliath said with a nod and watched as he flew away.
Brooklyn still was up for the patrol, but since he didn't need to hurry anymore, he went to the kitchen to eat something. As he stepped in, he noticed Broadway was there with Angela. It seemed they were making sandwiches.
"Hi guys! Is there anything left in the fridge for me?" he asked, looking at Broadway. The big green gargoyle always ate a lot. His passion for food was almost as great as his passion for Angela.
"Of course," Broadway replied. "One of the best things about this place is that it never runs out of food."
Brooklyn stepped to the fridge, opened it, and scanned the inside. While he was looking for something to grab, Angela finished another sandwich and put it down on the table.
"You're not going with Goliath tonight?" Angela asked.
"Nope. He changed the plan. Or I guess Elisa changed it. Anyway, I'll just eat something and go for a patrol by myself."
"We're planning to go for a movie. Why don't you come with us? You could use some rest." Angela offered to him. She could tell Brooklyn looked a bit tired lately.
"Yeah, she's right. You should come and have some fun," Broadway added. "We'll watch Avatar. I know you like Cameron's films. So we won't take no for an answer."
From behind the fridge door, Brooklyn let out a silent sigh. He really didn't want to go with them; however, there was no way for him to say no, especially since Angela had asked him.
"Okay, I'll go." He shut the door closed after he pulled out salami.
"Then we need to go or we'll be late. Don't worry about the food, I made enough …" Angela's voice trailed off as she looked down at the table. She swung around and faced Broadway. "Hey! A moment ago there were five sandwiches!"
"Um," Broadway tried to answer with his mouth still full of food. But he swallowed first. "And now there are four and a half." He showed what remained of the sandwich he had grabbed while Angela wasn't looking. "I can't help it. They are delicious."
The compliment immediately melted Angela's anger. "Okay, but no more stealing. We also want to eat tonight," she said, as she stroked Broadway's face. The green gargoyle smiled at her, and before she could withdraw her hand, he grabbed it and gently kissed it. Angela chuckled a bit before she put away the sandwiches on the table.
Brooklyn watched them, feeling some pain inside. How he wished that Angela would smile at him the way she smiled at Broadway. But she was out of his reach; that simple kiss was yet another reminder of that. And although he knew that neither of them had done it deliberately, he feared that it would only continue for the rest of the night.
Pain went through her body. She fell to her knees while the agony moved through her entire being. It felt like her back was being torn apart. Instead, two wings grew out of her back. After a few more seconds, the change was complete.
Demona stood up and sighed as the pain was finally over. She walked to an armchair where she prepared her clothes before she changed. She always had to undress before sunset, otherwise she had to throw out her human clothes. Not that she cared about them that much, but it was annoying to buy a whole new wardrobe of dresses each week.
She had hoped that the pain from the transformation would disappear once the Weird Sisters had shown up last week. They informed her that MacBeth has become Arthur Pendragon's knight and that the Excalibur had severed the magic link between them. They had come to remove all of the remains of their spell, and her immortality had been taken away.
She had hoped that this would mean that she wouldn't suffer any more from the transformation, but Puck's spell remained. Demona cursed his name every night.
Once she was dressed, she walked to her computer and checked the reports. Since she had started the company, it had become a routine to employ humans to do different work for her. Two weeks ago, she had received a report, which had said that someone had broken into Dr. Sevarius's house.
She had to deal with this problem. Sevarious had officially retired from active work and had left Nightsone Unlimited. It had been his idea and Demona had decided let the man go. He had served his purpose and the longer she kept him, the more likely it would be that he would double cross her. Of course, it would have been a lot easier to execute him in order to ensure his compliance, but she could still use him in the future. Until then, it was better that he not know much about her plans.
However, she kept Sevarius observed. That was why she had knowledge of the robbery. Her source managed to find out that the burglar had stolen his research data. Too bad her source couldn't tell her exactly what sort of research it was. Knowing Sevarius, it was probably some sort of bioengineering data, but other than that, she had no idea. Since he had a lot of data on gargoyles, it was vital for her to find the thief or thieves. She couldn't allow the chance that someone – like a hunter – could manage to develop some sort of biological weapon against her kind.
Demona's fist hit the table hard as she hissed irritably. There hadn't been any progress in this matter. Neither the police nor her men were able to find any useful information. The worst thing was that she had no idea who would dare to break into the lab. Xanatos was a natural suspect, but not likely. The clan stayed at the castleas well as his family. He wouldn't have risked their safety. Besides, Demona reasoned that Xanatos could easily buy the data from Sevarious, or just hire someone else to do the research. Renard was another a possibility, but this was not the old man's style.
Thailog could be an option, assuming he survived their last battle. Thinking about the big gargoyle made her sigh. She was unlucky with the males. As a young gargoyle, she had easily fallen for Goliath. At the time, he had been a strong, handsome, and fierce warrior. He had even become the leader of the clan. But it turned out that he was a fool. It was more important to him to protect the humans than to protect his own kind.
But Thailog was different. He had had no objection against her plans to wipe the humans out. Well, he hadn't wanted to kill everyone, because he wanted servants and slaves and she could agree with that idea. But he had betrayed her when he had wanted to kill her daughter.
Still, Demona missed him. No, not him. She missed someone to love. Even her daughter turned away from her, again, thanks to human treachery. Demona dismissed these thoughts with an angry growl. She had more important things to worry about.
Maybe she could find out something by herself. So she walked to the balcony of her apartment and jumped in the air. She flew towards Sevarius's house. She had been there before, but she considered it a good starting point.
Brooklyn could barely concentrate on the movie. They had flown to their usual cinema and had watched the show from the back, almost next to the projector. The film had seemed good but his attention had been drawn to his friends even as he had tried to stop noticing them.
Angela had been leaning her back against Broadway for some time now, and the big green gargoyle had put his arms around her. Occasionally, they shared a light kiss. Every time they did, Brooklyn felt a knife in his chest, and felt it twisting. Broadway had been right about Angela's sandwiches. They tasted good. Too bad he wasn't hungry any more. Of course, he didn't want to offend her and managed to eat one.
The movie seemed to go on forever. Finally, the end credits showed up. Brooklyn immediately jumped to his feet. It wasn't very polite, but he needed to get away from them and clear his mind.
"Uh, sorry folks. I forgot that I have to take care of something," he said, apologetically.
"Like what? We might be able to help," Broadway offered.
"Just some stuff. It won't take long. We'll meet back at the castle. Bye." And with that, Brooklyn hurried out of the room through the hole on the roof. He didn't want it to turn into an argument.
He flew high above the city. He felt a mix of sorrow and anger. However, he wasn't sure why he was angry. Maybe because his friends had acted like a loving couple throughout the entire movie and hadn't noticed the effect on him. But maybe he was just angry because he was fool enough to go with them.
Brooklyn descended over the rooftops and searched for some crime. He felt like he needed to beat up a bad guy to let out his anger. But it seemed as if no one wanted to rob anyone on this night. After an hour of flying, his anger was gone and only the pain of loneliness remained. He landed on a rooftop near Central Park. He sat there for hours, thinking. He felt very alone. Brooklyn knew he could count on his clan, and that they would protect each other. But he needed someone special to share the nights with him; someone that he could love. But this city lacked gargoyles, especially female gargoyles.
Broadway stood up to follow Brooklyn. He had known Brooklyn for a long time, and he could tell that Brooklyn had used a made up excuse in order to avoid them. The fact that he just left them without a true reason made Broadway upset. Then he felt a tug on his arm.
"Let him go, Broadway." Angela said, quietly.
"Why? He sure owes us an explanation," the big gargoyle protested.
"Just let him go for now. He will explain himself when he is ready. Come sit back and listen to the music."
Reluctantly, Broadway sat back, but he still wasn't happy that one of his friends had gone away without any explanation.
Angela, on the other hand, knew what Brooklyn's problem was. When she had first arrived to New York, each member of the trio had tried to win her. It turned out that Lexington hadn't been that serious, and soon treated her as a friend. But Brooklyn and Broadway had been very persistent. In the end, she had chosen Broadway, and only thought of Brooklyn as a friend and fellow clan member.
She had noticed how far he had grown from the others, and that was the reason she had invited him to this movie. But now she feared that it might have been a mistake. She really liked Broadway's affection for her, and she hadn't wanted to hurt Broadway by making him turn away from her during the movie.
She knew Brooklyn felt something for her. Something more than friendship, and her relationship with Broadway surely hurt him. She only wanted the best for him, and she was sad that it had turned out this way.
Maybe she had to give him more time to accept her as a friend. The worst thing was that she couldn't discuss this with Broadway. It seemed as if he hadn't noticed Brooklyn's interest in her, and she didn't want to risk an argument between them. But as she looked at Broadway's face, she could sense that he was frustrated with Brooklyn's sudden departure. And she feared it would only get worse.
Demona was irritated. Her search came up empty again. Unfortunately, she couldn't blame anyone else, as it was her failure. She had been on her way back to the Nightstone Unlimited building when she felt an odd sensation, as if someone were watching her. She looked back but saw no one.
Demona had plenty of time before sunrise, so she decided to find out if someone really was following her, or if she was just being more paranoid tonight than usual. With a slight move of her wings, Demona flew towards a building and landed on the roof. Immediately, she found a place for cover.
Seconds passed. She waited and listened for any noise that would expose anyone who might have been following her. But there was no such noise. After a minute, Demona nearly decided that there was no point in waiting anymore, when she heard a noise.
It wasn't something she expected. It sounded like a small engine. If she were in her human form, she would not have been able to notice it. She pulled her gun out. It was just a pistol, but Xanatos manufactured this one, and it was one of his non-projectile weapons.
As the noise came closer, her muscles tightened. She took a deep breath and jumped out from her cover, aiming the weapon directly at the area of the noise's origin. To her surprise, it was a small flying drone that followed her. It was the size of a dog, and a rotor kept it in the air. Without thinking, she fired her weapon. The energy blast hit the drone, which fell on the rooftop and broke into several pieces.
Demona scanned the area for more, but it looked as if only one had come after her. She put away her weapon and walked to the drone's wreck to examine it. The construction was familiar to her. The last time she had seen those types of parts was when she had worked with Xanatos to create the Steel clan. But why would Xanatos spy on her, and why break into Sevarius's house?
It still did not made sense, but at least she knew the first person to ask. Demona grabbed the largest piece of the drone and flew back to her building.
When Angela and Broadway arrived back to the castle, Broadway started to look for Brooklyn. Of course, the red gargoyle hadn't returned yet. While Broadway was busy with the search, Angela approached Hudson's room. She figured he was the only person who might be able to give her some advice. He was older and wiser, and could judge the situation objectively.
Hudson sat in his armchair and watched the television while Bronx lay next to his armchair, glancing occasionally at the screen. Bronx wasn't very interested in the shows, but preferred the petting from the older gargoyle. The door opened, and Angela stepped into the room. Hudson muted the television and greeted his guest.
"Good evening, lass."
"Hello, Hudson. Can I talk to you? I have a problem and I don't know who I can I turn to," Angela said, hoping he would listen to her.
Hudson took a deep breath. The old gargoyle could tell that that there was some kind of love problem by the expression on her face. He had seen that look too many times in the past. Too bad he could never give good advice. At the very least, he could come up with some solution, but he didn't consider love affairs to be his strong point.
"Of course, lass. I'll help if I can."
Already, Angela felt relieved that she could discuss this with someone.
"It's about Brooklyn. Lately, he has been acting very strangely. I mean, he goes out for patrols night after night, sometimes alone, and spends no time with the clan. And I fear that I might be the reason."
"How is that?" he asked. To be honest, Hudson had thought that she might have had some trouble with Broadway.
"Well, when I've arrived to Manhattan, the guys were all over me. Then, after a while, I chose Broadway to be my mate. But I think Brooklyn is still in love with me… or maybe he's angry with me, because I chose Broadway. And that's why he avoiding me." Angela explained.
"If that is the case, I wouldn't be worried. He just needs some time alone to forget about you. When it's over he will be the same."
"But it's been several weeks!" Angela protested.
"Some need more time than others," Hudson replied. "The lad is a strong one. He will be over it soon."
"I hope so," Angela said, not too convinced. She stood up and headed for the door.
Just minutes before sunrise, Brooklyn arrived back at the castle and immediately occupied his post for the day. The others were already there. Broadway took the position next to his.
"I'm glad you are back. What took you so long?" Broadway asked when Brooklyn's feet had barely touched the stone.
"As I said, I had to take care of some stuff," He replied, not in the mood to discuss it.
"Oh yeah, and you said it wouldn't take long."
"Well, then it took longer than I expected," Brooklyn replied, with some irritation in his voice.
"Okay. May I ask what sort of stuff you needed to take care of?" Broadway asked, his voice telling Brooklyn that he was getting irritated with his evasion. Now Brooklyn felt himself uncomfortable. He didn't want to make Broadway angry. But he needed to tell him something quickly because Broadway was getting pissed. He could tell that he was lying to his face.
"I ... um …" he tried to make up something quickly. But in that moment the sun had risen and the gargoyles froze in your document here...