~Chapter Thirty-Five~

End Of The Dream

Rose woke up the next morning with the sun beating down upon her face and felt incredibly relaxed, rejuvenated, and in a state of bliss. She took a series of deep breaths as her body forced itself to wake up. She stretched out in her bed and sighed deeply at how good it felt to awaken her muscles.

She climbed out of her bed, made it look nice and neat and then went over to her closet, got dressed in a long sleeved gray sweater. With it, she wore a pair of skinny jeans and gray flat fashion, ankle high boots. Rose walked over to her bathroom, brushed her teeth, curled her long red hair in a loose curl and put on a medium amount of makeup, accentuating her hazel eyes. Once she was ready for the day, she cleaned her room, bathroom and then started on some laundry down in the main living portion of the Labyrinth.

Since it was a Saturday, she didn't necessarily have to work, and wasn't planning on touching any work until Monday morning. Last night had ended in such a good note that she didn't want to ruin her good day. She had to do her laundry, but other than that; she only wanted to write Brooklyn more handwritten letters and relax.

When she put a load of clothes into an open washer, she brought her notepad out; which she had been writing love notes and letters to Brooklyn since New Year's Eve. Two weeks had passed since that time and it had been a roller coaster ride for her. There still wasn't any sign of Kevin, nor the Quarrymen, and she didn't know how much longer she would be stuck living in the Labyrinth, but the times she spent with Brooklyn were in bliss.

She sighed as she settled herself down on the couch, and started to write Brooklyn a letter. So far, she had written him a letter a day; some funnier than others, but whenever he wasn't there, she wrote him. Her letters were full of how much she loved him and about how excited she was to marry him.

She spent the next few hours writing him a letter and once she was done with that, she finished her laundry; and then after lunch, decided to take a nap for a few hours. She woke up, feeling even more relaxed and rejuvenated; and helped out around the Labyrinth wherever she was needed. At dinner time, after she ate, Claw came up to her and showed her a deck of cards, asking her to play a few games with her in his silent way.

Rose smiled and laughed before she said, "Sure thing, let's play!"

Claw smiled brightly back at her and then settled himself on the public couch, setting up their card game. She didn't know what game Claw wanted to play tonight, as they had played poker in the past, war, slap jack, and a 'neighbor' game, which was hilarious to play against Claw. She talked to him for a few minutes as she shuffled the cards; and he was smiling at her, listening. She didn't know what was going through his head, but the way he often looked at her made her feel that he liked her. She tried to ignore it, but sometimes it made her feel slightly uncomfortable; since she was committed to Brooklyn, and didn't want it to ever become an issue. She liked Claw as a good friend, but nothing more.

Claw was still staring at her as she was shuffling the deck of cards; but stopped when a sudden boom was heard from somewhere outside of the Labyrinth's heavy metal doors, shaking the celing's lights, their couches, the table and the ground slightly. Claw's attention suddenly shot away from her as he looked towards the doors.

Everyone in the Labyrinth stopped what they were doing and quieted down, as more booming sounds were heard, shaking of the floor around them. Rose whipped her head over to the noises, put the deck of cards down on the table in front of them, and slowly stood facing the doors. Talon quickly came running out from the kitchens and walked quickly towards the large doors, looking over at them as he did.

"Do you guys know what those sounds are?" He asked them, seriously.

"It almost sounds like a series of Earthquakes…" Rose answered, stepping down away from the table, towards the doors as well. "Or… explosions."

Talon hadn't yet reached the large doors, when they suddenly blew off their hinges in a large and fiery explosion. The large force of fire, dust, and debris blew Talon off his feet and sent him flying across the room, where he smacked into the wall by the kitchens and then slid down to the ground; unconscious.

In that same moment of explosions; Rose screamed and fell to the ground, bracing herself from getting hit by stone and metal debris; but was suddenly pulled away from the doors and large bat-like wings cocooned themselves around her, protecting her from the flying objects of debris.

Rose looked up in shock and saw that Claw had her in his grasp and was lying on top of her, using his large body as a shield against the explosions. When the dust settled and people had either been killed during the explosion or were silent, waiting for the next attack, Rose looked up into Claw's face, with worried eyes. He looked down at her and seemed to realize that she was underneath him, and blushed slightly. He let her go, with a shy look on his face, but then looked over towards the doors in horror; as they heard people entering the Labyrinth.

Rose looked over his arm and then had to place a hand over her mouth to stop her scream. People dressed up in black uniforms with masks, electrified hammers, and other manner of weapons; started running through the front doors; screaming at the homeless to stay down. The Quarrymen had found and were attacking the Labyrinth. Claw quickly picked her up off the floor and ran as fast as he could to hide her somewhere from the Quarrymen.

As they were running; more explosions rocked the Labyrinth, but this time it was through the ceiling; collapsing it down to the ground. Rose screamed and both her and Claw dove out of the way of falling concrete and roof. It collapsed with a deafening crash to the floor; killing whoever had been gathered in the living room ending screams of terror abruptly, and sent sharp pieces of glass and cement towards her and Claw.

Rose landed hard on her stomach, covering her head with her hands, and felt blood already seeping out from her hands, cheeks and knees, from the impact to the ground as debris showered her body. Rose coughed hard as the cement dust was thick and choking her lungs out of fresh air; and then started to feel around for Claw, to see if he was uninjured or not.

"Claw?" Rose coughed, trying to still feel for his body. "Claw?!"

She finally found his wing and used it to pull her body towards his; and felt around for his face. Finally, as the dust began to settle; Rose saw that he was alive and breathing, but was knocked unconscious. Relief poured through her when she felt his pulse; but more worry and anxiety pounded through her as she realized the predicament in which they were in.

The Labyrinth was under attack from the Quarrymen- and it was only six PM- the Gargoyles wouldn't be awake from their stone sleep for another hour, if the Quarrymen hadn't been there first. She prayed with all her heart and soul that Brooklyn and the Clan were safe; and that Xanatos' security measures were enough to hold off until sunset.

Rose went to stand up; to hide her and Claw, but he was too heavy to drag away. She had no choice but to save herself and try to find some weapons to help defend the Mutate Clan from the Quarrymen's attacks. However; as she thought that, she felt a great dread of horror. No weapons were allowed in the Labyrinth; so it was all down to the Mutates and Clones to hold the tremendous number of Quarrymen.

She glanced over at Claw in terror and true grief. She couldn't just leave her friend, lying there, especially since he risked his life to protect her. However; if she didn't try to escape and get help from the Gargoyles, they would all be in a large amount of trouble. Tears streamed out of her eyes and down her dusty and bloody face, as the dust stung her eyes and as the grief of leaving her friend was tugging at her heart.

Reluctantly, she stood up from Claw's side and started running through the dark hallways to exit the Labyrinth. She would not last if she stayed; she had to leave the Labyrinth and run towards the Castle. Xanatos had weapons; and she also needed to make sure Brooklyn was safe. If they were then they would be able to come and help fight.

Still running as fast as she could, she looked back at the many masked beings with large guns, and could immediately see that the Mutates were vastly outnumbered. Terrified, Rose continued to run away from them, through the dark passages, when someone suddenly grabbed her by her screamed in the dark, but a strong clawed hand stopped her scream by clasping over her mouth. Rose's eyes widened with fear; but as she turned around, she saw that Maggie had a hold of her.

"Oh… Maggie." Rose gasped in relief. "It's you… I… "

"Rose!" Maggie urged, holding onto her tightly. "You must flee; it's him. It's Kevin, your ex-husband. He is here with the Quarrymen… I just saw them entering through the front doors. You must get out!"

The moment Maggie mentioned Kevin, she felt the safe world around her collapse and burst into flames. Her worst nightmares were coming true, and the end of her dream was here. Not only had the Quarrymen had infiltrated the Labyrinth; but Kevin was at the head of the operation, which meant that he was coming for her. Rose felt herself turn numb, as the sounds of explosions, gun fires and other sounds of war occurred around her in a diming, fading sound.

Breathe, she had to tell herself. Just breathe…

Rose blinked a few times, shaking, and grabbed hold of Maggie's arm. She had to get her out of the Labyrinth as well. She was eight months pregnant with a mutate Gargoyle baby; and was in a very delicate state.

"Maggie, come with me!" Rose cried out. "The Quarrymen will find you and exterminate you; especially since you're pregnant!"

"I cannot!" Maggie said frantically back. "I can't leave Derek! I will stay and fight with the Clan; you however have the chance to escape, and escape you must!"

"How?!" Rose cried out, feeling more panicked and anxious at the seconds ticked by. "The Quarrymen are all over the place! Almost every exit is blocked, I don't know how to get out of here!"

Before they could say anything more to each other, another explosion rocked the Labyrinth and both girls fell to the ground screaming and covering their heads. Dust and debris fell all around them, making both cough hard- choking on the heavy smoke and dusty air.

"Rose!' Maggie coughed, grabbing for her again. "Go to mine and Derek's room, there is a duct system on the wall; remove the crate and crawl out of here. I am unsure where it goes, but I believe all ducting systems lead outside somehow! Head back to the Castle and tell Xanatos and the Gargoyles about our attacks! The sun is almost down, which means that the Gargoyles will come to our aid and you'll be safe."

Rose hesitated for a moment before she asked, in a small voice, "And what of you? I can't just leave you…"

"I'll be alright." Maggie responded, softly. "I'm worried about you, we cannot let Kevin find you. Please, go! We will be alright; I have a duty to stay and protect those who live here."

Rose stared at Maggie for a few moments before she pulled her into a hug, holding Maggie tightly against her.

"Be safe." She whispered in Maggie's ear. "I'll go and get help."

When Rose pulled back, Maggie had tears in her eyes and nodded, and then Rose ran as fast as she could towards Maggie's and Talon's was dust, smoke and the sound of explosions all over her; as well as the homeless' screaming and sounds of gunfire. She couldn't bear the thought of someone she loved and cared about getting hurt, but their only true hope was her Clan. As she was running, she finally found Talon and Maggie's bedroom, in which she threw herself inside and slammed the door shut; locking it.

Though it wouldn't help her against an explosion; it would at least buy her time. She didn't think anyone followed her, but she still had to hurry. If Kevin was there then he was going to most likely search every room for her. Maggie and Talon's room was quite large, compared to the other guest rooms, and had a large king-sized bed in the middle of the room.

She quickly glanced around the room and found a decent sized gated duct system in which she could fit through, however it was too tall for her. She looked around desperately as the sound of war was going on outside the bedroom; and grabbed a nearby chair to set down against the wall. She stood up on the chair and tugged the metal grate over the duct system, throwing it to the side. Even with standing up on the chair, she was still barely able to grab onto the hole in the wall.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped up and caught the edge of the duct hole with her hands and used every bit of strength she had to pull herself up into the duct hole. She didn't know how she managed to make it through, but she was able to; and was thankful that she was skinny enough to army crawl across the duct system.

She could hear guns firing all around her, and now that she was in the metal duct work, they echoed ten-times louder than actually being out there. She crawled for what seemed like five minutes, breathing deeply as she crawled. Then all the gun fires stopped shooting; leaving an extremely eerie silence behind them, and Rose froze. In the silence, a very familiar voice echoed through the different vents, making Rose's blood to run cold.

"You all have put up a tremendously impressive fight; however, the battle has been lost for you. It is pointless to resist…"

Her heart seemed to stop as she whispered to herself, "Kevin…"

Curious, she crawled towards one covered vent hole and stuck her head close to it. She realized immediately that she was in the duct system right above the main living part of the Labyrinth. Below her, the Quarrymen were all raising their guns, surrounding the remaining homeless and now tied up Mutates.. They all seemed to be alive and well; but with Kevin and the Quarrymen involved, that would remain to be seen.

Glancing down, she gasped quietly to herself as Kevin was dressed in all black, from head to toe, and was wearing a black bulletproof vest, with guns and knives hanging casually on a large belt as well as up his arms and down his legs. He was wearing black leather gloves as well as combat black steel-toed boots, and was walking slowly in front of the Mutates. His shaved head was marble white; and the monster down there was barely recognizable.

He used to be her husband, but something evil had truly taken over him physically. He was not the same being he used to be; and that terrified her more than anything. He seemed to be an empty shell of a man; a zombie, a killing machine. As Kevin stalked closer to Talon, she could see that he was struggling to get out of his chains and was growling ferociously.

"What is the meaning of this attack?" Talon yelled at him, his eyes bright white. "We have done nothing to you, we protect all who venture down here in the Labyrinth."

"Yes, I know." Kevin replied coldly. "I am actually looking for someone that you are 'protecting'... and I will not rest until I find her."

Rose's heart started to pound painfully as she heard his soft, yet cold words rise up towards her. However; slight relief flooded through her as it appeared that he had no idea where she was at. He was ruthless in wanting her found and she couldn't bare the thought of him hurting someone she loved to get that information out. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself; as no one answered him. Kevin looked around the room, at the different Gargoyle mutates; his black and dangerous eyes boring into each of their eyes.

He took a deep breath and then continued, a bit louder, "Her name is Rose Morrison; she is a woman in her twenties, has long reddish brown-hair… you can't miss her really… she's quite easy to recognize. According to my intel; she has been living down here for some time and has been seen with a red-skinned monster- a Gargoyle."

Talon was struggling against his chains, and snarled, "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"No?" Kevin asked him dangerously. "Well, you may want to reconsider your answer, if you value you or any of these other freaks-of-nature lives. Now, I am going to ask you again. Where is she?"

Talon glared with his bright white eyes at Kevin and growled, "We protect the homeless… and welcome any who ventures down here for safe haven… but I do not know of any Rose Morrison, nor have I seen anyone who is described like that."

Silence passed between the two and Rose could almost feel Kevin's anger rising off of him, like hot tar an extremely heated day. She watched helplessly as the Quarrymen, and all their guns were pointed at the Mutates and as Kevin's anger became more apparent; his patience growing thin.

He leaned in closer to Talon, smiled a nasty white smile at him, and whispered, "Liar."

More silence passed between everyone as Kevin suddenly stood, walked past Talon and then grabbed Maggie by her chains and pointed a loaded gun to her head. Maggie cried out as Kevin held the barrel of the gun roughly to her temple, and closed her eyes with tears pouring out.

Rose gasped, and held her hands over her mouth. This was a nightmare coming true; she couldn't live with herself if someone she loved and cared about got hurt or died on her behalf. She wanted to scream out to stop him, and get his attention off Maggie, but her voice wouldn't seem to work as she was petrified with fear.

There was a series of noises that erupted from the Talon and the Clones in objection, but they were quickly silenced when Kevin shot the gun up in the air. Following the shot, everyone stayed silent as Kevin recocked the gun and then held it to Maggie's head.

"Now, monster." Kevin hissed at Talon. "Perhaps you want to reconsider your answer? I'll only ask once more; where… is… Rose?"

Talon shook his head slowly, his face showing shock and horror at the loaded gun being pointed to his pregnant wife's head and Rose wished that he would sell her out already, because somehow she was too terrified to speak out herself.

"I… I…" Talon started to say, staring at Maggie in horror as she was pleading with him to not say anything. He seemed torn as well; as he was trying to protect Rose's whereabouts, but his pregnant wife's life as well. His eyes stopped glowing and he then begged quietly, "Please… do not harm my wife and unborn child; I beg you."

"I'M THROUGH PLAYING GAMES, GODDAMN IT!" Kevin suddenly roared, holding the barrel of the gun at Maggie's head roughly and looked demented, his eyes bugged wild at Talon. "I'm losing all patience here! I know Rose is here somewhere and you all are hiding her from me. Now…if you want your FREAK BITCH WIFE here to LIVE, then tell me NOW! WHERE… IS...SHE?"

However, before anyone could speak; one of the lead Quarrymen stepped forward and urged coldly, "Sir, have you forgotten Castaway's strict orders? No Gargoyle is to be harmed until we reach our rendezvous point. We cannot let you threaten these creatures more…" he stopped talking and then turned from Kevin and ordered the masked Quarrymen, "Alright, we are done here. There isn't any sign of the girl, but we have the creatures. Load 'em up and let's chopper them out to meet up with Castaway."

Rose cried out in relief, and rested her forehead against the cool metal ductwork; as the army of Quarrymen listened to the leader instead of Kevin, and it made her realize that he wasn't truly in charge. She almost wanted to laugh at his face, as he looked positively deranged and beside himself with anger as he suddenly was dethroned.

He was breathing deeply; fuming at everyone around him, until he finally pocketed his gun against his will and walked away from the scene, not saying another word. Two masked Quarrymen followed behind him, as a helicopter suddenly descended just above the Labyrinth and let down lines to hook the Mutates and Clones up and take them to wherever they had planned to go.

Rose quickly moved away from the vent and started to army crawl towards one of the outside ductwork, which would be to keep crawling until she felt more icy cold air. Finally, to her great relief, she reached one of the outside vents. She moved her body so that she was lying on her back, and kicked the vent cover, as hard as she could, until it came off and crashed to the ground. She slid on her bottom side, going feet first, and was able to squeeze her entire body through the hole. She held onto the outside of the hole, dangling down, and visually measured how long of a fall she should anticipate.

To her relief, it wasn't much of a drop and there was no sign of the Quarrymen or Kevin around her. Letting go, she dropped to the snowy ground and immediately took off running around the building until she saw the Quarrymen's helicopter. She was anticipating going to the Castle, but she also felt responsible for the Mutates and Clones' safety. If she was going to help save them then she needed to tell the Gargoyles where the Quarrymen took them.

She hit behind a nearby tree and watched with bated breath as the Quarrymen's helicopter raised everyone up by their chains. To her surprise, another Quarryman Helicopter showed up, which allowed each Quarryman and Kevin to ride; following behind the one with the Mutates. After a few minutes of loading everyone up, the Helicopters slowly started to ascend higher above the Labyrinth rooftop, and then both took off towards Central Park.

When she knew she was safe from their views, she took off running towards Central Park as well. The Castle was just on the West side of the Park; and she was north east of the Castle. She didn't know what to expect, nor where the Helicopters were going, but she didn't know what she was going to do now that Kevin was hot on her tail once again. Her Grandfather was right; Kevin was the storm and he was coming… she would have to be brave enough to stand against him.

Ignoring her pounding heart and screaming lungs, she kept sprinting as fast as she could along the trails of Central Park to get to the Castle; still keeping an eye on the Helicopters. Suddenly, she came to a clearing of trees and was able to see the Castle clearly; and to her horror, the Helicopters were heading there as well.

Rose slowed her running until she stopped dead, her breathing growing more out of control as she realized how serious and fatal this night would be. The sun was moments from setting; but the Helicopters were descending above the Castle. She gasped in horror now that she was looking hard enough at the Castle. Smoke was seen from the top; and then it all seemed to become clear to her.

"Castaway has already attacked!" Rose gasped to herself, barely able to breathe. She whipped her face to see that the sun was still setting, which would mean one thing…

"Brooklyn!" She suddenly screamed, throwing her hands over her mouth, trying to stop her tears from bursting out of her eyes, as horror and terror suddenly filled her heart. Brooklyn was still stone; as was the rest of the Clan, meaning they were in significant amount of danger. She prayed that Castaway hadn't smashed them into dust and that she still had time to save them… somehow.

Rose took off sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her, ignoring and not caring about how much her body and lungs hurt, she could feel the love and duty to protect pull her towards Brooklyn and her Gargoyle family. She had to save them at all costs and wouldn't give up until her own last dying breath.

** 60 Minutes Prior**

Xanatos had just settled himself down at the dinner table with Fox and Alexander; as Owen was serving them their dinner. He had a busy day full of international meetings; and had been cooped up in his office for most of the day. However, near lunchtime, he decided to take a venture around the Castle to stretch his legs out, to see what Fox and Alex were up to, and then went outside to check up on the Gargoyles.

What he saw had puzzled and worried him slightly; they weren't in their usual roosting spots facing the horizon, but were clumped together, and all looked distressed, particularly Brooklyn. He looked to be the most fearsome Gargoyle, out of them all, and looked as though he was about to launch himself off the platform, with Akira, Lexington, and Goliath closest to him. They were all reaching out to him, as though they were trying to stop him from leaving seconds before sunset.

Xanatos placed his hands on his chin, thinking hard about what would have alerted them to want to leave the Castle seconds before sunrise- and if it was Brooklyn- then it must be something related to Rose. Xanatos frowned and checked his watch as Owen had just finished serving him and his family dinner, and sat down to eat with them.

"Sir?" Owen asked him in his stiff and monotone voice, looking up from his food and seeing that his boss wasn't eating and looked either thoughtful or worried. "Is everything alright?"

Fox looked up from eating and feeding Alex his food, which mostly ended up on the stone floor, and stared at her husband as well, as he answered him.

"Owen, do you know why the Gargoyles are in those positions outside? They looked like they were all trying to leave. However, it's unlike them to take risks like that seconds before sunrise."

"Yes, I noticed that earlier today as well, sir. I do not know why they were trying to rush off so suddenly before sunrise… perhaps there's a different reason…"

"Owen, shh." Xanatos suddenly said loudly, sitting up taller in his seat, and holding his hand up to silence him. "Listen…"

Everyone stayed silent for a few seconds as they heard the soft humming of a helicopter coming closer and closer to the Castle.

Xanatos looked over at Owen and asked, "Do you hear that?"

"Yes, sir." Owen said seriously, immediately standing and walking over to check the security cameras. Just as he started to walk towards them, the security alarms starting toning off loudly and aggressively. Xanatos stood and ran over to the large window in the dining room and looked out. What he saw made his heart drop and he knew that they were all in a significant amount of danger and trouble. There was one helicopter, with the Quarrymen sign on the tail of the aircraft, and they had their guns aimed at the Castle.

"OWEN!" Xanatos yelled. "WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"

Just then, he rushed over to Fox and tackled her and Alex to the ground in protection, as a series of gunshots and explosions rocked the Castle…

"Very good, men." Castaway smiled, standing up in the main helicopter with his mask on. His weapons were working smoothly and nicely against the Castle's automatic security systems, as the powerful guns were exploding the Castle with fire and smoke. "Just remember! DO NOT harm the Gargoyle statues, I want them alive for now!"

"You got it boss." One of his Quarrymen leads said; then turned to the others and ordered, "Go down and secure those statues in chains, do not harm them- repeat; NO HARM is to come to the statues. Mr. Castaway wants them alive for now!"

Once the helicopter stopped firing at the Castle, including the external semi-automatic guns Xanatos had placed for protection, destroying them all. Five men in their Quarrymen uniforms jumped down from the helicopters and immediately started to wrap the stoned Gargoyles in strong chains which had electrical surging through its metal; meant to weaken the Gargoyles if they fought past them.

"Keep firing upon the Castle!" Castaway screamed at his associates. "Then we will go in and secure Mr. Xanatos and his family from interfering."

The Quarrymen lead kept firing until the main living part of the Castle was in shambles.

"Alright men! Go down and secure Mr. Xanatos and his family in the same chains! Go, go, GO!" The Lead Quarryman yelled. The helicopter landed on the platform; as twenty Quarrymen jumped out and began to seize the Castle from within its walls.

Xanatos looked up coughing from the ground and looked around at the disaster around him. He gasped in shock at the mounds of stone, dirt and glass surrounding their once beautifully put together dining hall; now it looked like something out of a war zone. The helicopter's bombs and missiles had completely destroyed his home- and now the Quarrymen were most likely coming after him, his family and the Gargoyles, since they had stopped firing. He looked down and saw with great relief that Fox and Alex were alright; but Alex was screaming his head off.

"Are you alright?" He asked Fox, helping her stand.
"I… I think so." She answered weakly; struggling to hold onto Alex, who was beside himself crying.

"Take Alex and run!" Xanatos ordered her. "These weapons were massive enough to most likely shut down our main system and the external guns. Get to safety!" She looked at him as though she was about to argue with him, but he pushed her away and yelled, "GO! Fox, now! Go to the safe room, and stay there until I come to get you!"

With that, she took off running, while Xanatos looked around him and saw that Owen was unconscious near an archway; large boulders of stone were surrounding him, one in particular was near his head. Xanatos breathed out an exhale in relief and thought him very lucky to not have been killed by its blow. He ran over to Owen and felt for his pulse, which he was relieved to find that he had one.

He then ran over to a nearby safe box where a large gun was stored, grabbed it, and went to protect his home from intruders. However, as he stumbled over the rubble, the dining room was stormed by a sea of Quarrymen. Instantly, Xanatos started firing his gun at them, hitting as many as he could manage; but Fox's scream alerted him to her; and not to who was coming at him.

"FOX!" Xanatos roared in her direction, and started to run towards where he sent her, but a blast of light he was sent flying through the room. He landed painfully hard on the ground, gasped out in pain as he hit the stone floor hard; effectively knocking the air out of his lungs.

Before he could react, Quarrymen masks were standing over him, reached down and grabbed him by the cuff of his neck. He tried to fight back or demand what they were thinking, attacking his private home, but then his world went black.

Rose kept pushing herself harder and faster as she sprinted through Central Park, taking every detour and short cut she could think of. Every moment she wasn't up there, the more at risk the Gargoyles were against Castaway and the Quarrymen. She felt like vomiting and could feel the hysteria of tears forming in her eyes as she kept thinking about what would happen if she were too late.

Finally, coming close to the edge of Central Park, she stopped running and had to take a breather, as she started to hyperventilate, hot-tears streaming down her face. The thought of losing Brooklyn was like death; if he was gone, she would surely die as well. Rose bent over, trying to breathe, and was crying hysterically in panic. Fellow runners were looking over at her as she was creating a lot of attention all of a sudden, but she didn't care.

"Come on, Rose." She gasped to herself, trying desperately to breathe. "Keep going; you cannot stop! They need you… Brooklyn needs you!"

She could have laughed at herself in that moment if the situation were different. It was a bit ridiculous that she had to keep giving herself pep talks, but this one seemed to bring her out of her horrible thoughts and into reality. She didn't know what was going on up there; and couldn't stop running until she did know. She didn't care if Kevin killed her at this point; she had to face him, and had to see if Brooklyn was alive.

Rose got her breath back, and then started sprinting again, this time not stopping until she reached the Eyrie Building. People on the busy streets were watching her with shocked and interested faces, as she sprinted past them, and was probably a panicked and sweaty disaster. As she ran, she could suddenly see an extremely dark storm coming towards Manhattan, and could feel a cold front hit her skin all the sudden. The wind chill was freezing cold and was seeping through her thin sweater..

She hadn't watched television in a long time and never knew what the weather would be like, but this storm seemed dreary and terrifying; much like the situation she and the Clans were now facing. She prayed that Xanatos' security measures were in place and possibly had been successful in stopping Castaway and the Quarrymen.

However, as she burst into the lobby of the Eyrie Building, there was no security anywhere to be seen, as they were probably all up top or making their way up there. Taking advantage of the situation, she sprinted to one of the elevators, clicked it open, and then pushed the Atrium button. She hoped that there wouldn't be anyone on the lowest level of the Castle and that she could slip by, towards the Platforms, and see what was going on.

When the elevator shut, she quickly backed into the back and closed her eyes, finally allowing herself to breathe past the pain of running that far. Though she could see the Castle from the Labyrinth, it had been farther than she thought.

"Please be okay," Rose whispered to herself, forcing tears from her eyes, and thinking of her love. "Please, don't be dead."

Rose kept whispering pleadings and prayers out loud until the elevator stopped and dinged open. She quietly snuck out and made sure that no one was around; and to her luck, no one was. She ran out of the elevator towards the main part of the Castle; and ran through as many stairs and detours that she could remember.

Only when she reached the upper main portions of the Castle, where Xanatos and she used to live, did she start to see evidence of the Quarrymen. She ran down the long hallway, where her bedroom used to be, and out into the main living room, just outside the kitchen, and was met with a disaster. The living room was not like it used to be; it looked as though a bomb had been dropped. Half of the roof was blown apart, letting in some of that icy pre-storm air into the room, and all the windows were blasted open. Most of the furniture was broken and overturned as well.

She hid behind one of the living room couches; and saw Quarrymen outside, with their uniforms and masks on; carrying heavy guns. At this time the sun had set and if the Gargoyles were alive then they should have been awake… but there seemed to be no signs of them, which terrified her. Petrified for her Clan and her love; she be-lined it to one of the broken windows and hid in a nook, where she could hopefully take cover for a moment.

As she glanced out the window, she was instantly met with more chaos. The platform had been destroyed. However, to her immediate relief her hands started to tingle and she knew Brooklyn was alive and near, but was in danger. It didn't take her long to see, but Brooklyn; as well as the Clan, was in thick metal chains and seemed to be totally defeated and unable to break free from their chains. Castaway, with his blond hair and mustache stood near, as Kevin stood right in front of Brooklyn.

Her heart pounded insanely as she saw her love and her murderous ex-husband face to face- showing an equal amount of hatred towards each other. A great battle was about to take place; and to Rose's horror, the storm had arrived; literally and figuratively. Thunder snow began to furiously boom around them, as slushy snow/hail started to pumble the ground, making it slick and icy. Rose closed her eyes, and rested her head against the window sill for one moment, breathing.

Breathe, she coached herself. Just breathe… you can do this.

She opened her eyes, with a determined look on her face. She hated Kevin with every fiber in her being; and she wanted nothing more than to be rid of him and his evil, and to finally have the beautiful future she had briefly tasted and seen with Brooklyn. It was now or never; the storm was here and she was finally ready to stop him or die trying.