~Chapter Thirty-Eight~
Rise For You
(The Farewell)
Doctor Sato was standing quietly in the elevator of the Eyrie Building to give his patient, Rose Connelly, a check up for her new hybrid species pregnancy. He had recently been updating his licensure to accommodate OBGYN skills so he could practice on her better. He had recently seen Maggie the Cat with her pregnancy, and it was then that he started studying women's reproductive health. He was excited to see what they could find, but he still worried for her. He hoped that Rose's half-human, half-gargoyle would be a healthy and happy child, and that her pregnancy was healthy.
Next to him in the elevator was Elisa Maza, and his good friend and assistant, Jackie, who was an RN and often assisted him with his surgeries. She was the best nurse he knew and had experience with OBGYN situations, and he knew that she would be a trustworthy assistant in meeting the Gargoyle Clan and Rose. It certainly was still a very strange situation, one he wasn't quite used to yet, but he was making it work, but Jackie seemed really excited and eager to help out and meet the Gargoyles for herself.
As the minutes passed by, and they waited until they reached the top of the Castle, Jackie and Elisa were casually making conversations with each other as he checked his watch. It was almost nine in the evening and he was excited to work on Rose, and see this new medical discovery through ultrasound for himself. However, when the elevator dinged and the doors opened, the Castle was in chaos.
There was screaming, yelling, and crying; and they all instantly knew that something was very, very wrong. He looked over at Elisa and Jackie with wide-eyes, and Elisa instantly was out of the doors running towards the noise. He followed after her, with Jackie on his heels.
"Are these creatures usually this loud?" She asked him.
"No, something is wrong." He replied to her gravelly, and started running faster when he caught what was being said from various Clan members.
"Get him to the infirmary… QUICKLY!"
"Brooklyn… don't die… please don't die…"
"Oh Gods! There's so much blood!"
Doctor Sato and Elisa ran past the dining room of the Castle, with Jackie behind him, and then skidded to a stop and gasped out in horror when they saw the scene before them. Running in from the platform, was the Clan and Xanatos in his exo-suit, and they were carrying one of their own who looked to be violently and gravely injured.
When Doctor Sato looked closer, to his utmost shock it was Brooklyn, Rose's mate. He had a giant sword stabbed clean through his abdomen- and it was probably the most grueling and traumatic injury he had ever seen before in his medical career. Jackie raised a hand to her mouth in shock, but both him and Elisa ran forward, and he instantly took charge.
"Get him into the infirmary! Jackie! I need you. Run down this hallway. Third room to the right is Xanatos' infirmary. Begin getting an IV set up, we've got to do emergency surgery, immediately!"
"I'll show her where it's at!" Xanatos offered, grabbing Jackie by the arm and running her towards the correct room. If she looked shocked at the Gargoyles or this new, incredibly critical injury, she didn't show it all of a sudden, and instantly got to work.
Doctor Sato quickly grabbed his stethoscope from around his neck, pressed it to Brooklyn's bare chest and listened to his heart, as the Gargoyles carried Brooklyn in their arms. He was now thinking and listening to over ten things at once. First, he watched Brooklyn's face, and saw that he was unconscious and was also missing his left eye. It was bleeding, but wasn't the most severe injury he had.
To his relief, Sato could still feel a pulse in his wrist, then as he listened to his heart, he found that there still was a beat, but it was faint. The sword was still stabbed through his center abdomen, but it was controlling most of Brooklyn's bleeding for now.
"What happened?" He asked the leader, Goliath, urgently; as he, Angela, Broadway and Hudson carried Brooklyn quickly towards the infirmary.
"We were… we were attacked." Goliath explained frantically. "Brooklyn launched himself in front of Rose to protect her from our attacker."
"How long has he been down like this?"
"This just barely happened!"
Doctor Sato then listened to his lungs to make sure that he was still breathing, and found that he was barely getting in air; making this situation truly dire.
"Sorry, I should have clarified, I need to know how long he's been unconscious."
"About two minutes." Goliath answered him.
"Is he going to be okay?" Broadway asked with tears in his eyes. "Doc… is he alive?"
"He is right now, yes, but his breathing is slowing down." Doctor Sato explained. "I have to get his airway intubated immediately and get this sword out of his abdomen…" He paused, thought some more about what he would need, and then said to the small, green Gargoyle who was walking next to him. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Sure." Lexington said. "Anything you need."
"Have Mr. Xanatos call my Trauma 1 team from the hospital. Anyone and everyone that can help, I need them dispatched here immediately to help me with this surgery."
Lexington nodded, but then asked, "Okay… but will they freak out seeing it's a Gargoyle's life in danger?"
"All who work in the hospital give care to all whose lives are in danger." Doctor Sato replied a bit angrily. "If they have an issue with it, then I'll fire them on the spot because I don't want that kind of morale on my team… but all who do work with me shouldn't think that way. I trust them… you guys can too."
Looking impressed by the doctor, Lexington nodded, then ran ahead and met Xanatos, who had come out of the infirmary and was holding the door open for them, and relayed the message.
"Who was it?" Elisa whispered with tears in her own eyes, as she walked with them all. "Goliath… who did this?!"
"Hela." He replied darkly, holding Brooklyn's upper back and was closest to his face, and was trying to remain calm. "She and Kevin attacked the Castle just barely. Rose took the brunt of the injuries before sunset, until Hela healed her… but… then we all found out that Rose is expecting a child with Brooklyn. Hela went to kill it, and Brooklyn threw himself in between her sword and Rose."
"Where are they now?"
Goliath stayed silent for a few seconds, glanced down at Brooklyn and the doctor; then looked back up into his mate's worried face and shook his head.
"Gone."
"Gone?" Elisa gasped. "Gone as in… dead… or…?"
"Gone as in Hela took Rose and Kevin to Hel. They are all gone."
At this, Elisa stayed silent and stared into his face, then slowly looked down into Brooklyn's with a horrified sadness as they walked through the infirmary doors.
Jackie, Doctor Sato's assistant RN, was waiting for him with gloves and a surgical gown already on, and was quickly getting an IV set up with medications. Xanatos ran off to instantly call in more help from the hospital, while the Clan gently set Brooklyn down upon the center table of the room. The surgical lights were turned on, and Jackie was helping Sato quickly get into a gown of his own.
"Please don't die." Angela whispered to Brooklyn while holding his Claw tightly and standing next to him. She stayed there, until a flutter of continued chaos, tore her away. She was pushed out of the way as Jackie ran over and placed chest stickers on him, while Doctor Sato was quickly intubating him. The Clan watched in silent horror as Sato placed a tube down Brooklyn's throat to hook him up to oxygen, then loud beeping sounds started going off, and they were all suddenly pushed out of the room by Jackie.
"What's going on?" Goliath asked, but Doctor Sato answered it by yelling at Jackie. "He's crashing! Send in the rest of my team when they get here… Jackie! Push Epi!"
The nurse pushed them all out, then shut the door in Goliath, Elisa's and the Clan's faces, before rushing over to help Doctor Sato. They watched through a small window as Doctor Sato and Jackie began working on Brooklyn, and everyone was sick with worry.
Jackie pushed epinephrine into Brooklyn's IV, as Doctor Sato grabbed two electrified paddles and touched his chest; where his body gave a huge lurch. There was still a steady line of beeps before another dose of electricity was given and his body lurched.
Then, the beeping regulated.
"We've got him back." Doctor Sato sighed in relief, and the clan all breathed out cries and gasps in relief. Then, as Doctor Sato began to work on taking out the sword, Elisa pushed them all away from the door and they all went willingly.
They couldn't bear to watch anymore.
A half hour passed by, and during this time they saw more doctors and nurses arriving from the elevators, who seemed to ignore them and ran straight into the infirmary, led by Xanatos, to help Doctor Sato with the removal of the sword and Brooklyn's surgery.
That's when the horrible waiting game began.
Elisa was pacing back and forth, as the Clan eventually found their way to the living room to sit down and wait. During that time, nobody said a word to each other, but were all thinking the same thing. They prayed that he would live… and that Hela didn't claim his life.
However, Elisa hadn't had much explanation as to what had happened, so she began to talk out loud, hoping someone answered her.
"Okay… so… let me get this straight. Kevin attacked Rose and Xanatos earlier, before sundown, and was coming to smash you guys? Then Rose was holding him off and fighting him when you all woke up?"
"That's correct." Goliath said quietly, staring at the coffee table with his claws against his mouth.
"You didn't move or attack because Kevin was about to slice Rose's neck open? And Brooklyn was trying to talk him down?"
"Yes."
"Then Draugr appeared, and you were placed under their icy mental spells, and physically couldn't move?"
"Yes."
"Then Coldstone, Xanatos and Coldfire joined the fight, killed the Draugr, and you all were about to burn Kevin alive when Hela arrived…?"
"That's right." Goliath growled darkly.
"And…"
"And she made us all look like chumps!" Broadway suddenly interrupted, throwing the glass he was holding across the room in anger. Besides him, Angela was crying. "She was explaining Rose's past, and we were all so enthralled by learning the truth about her, about her being a full Third-Race Fae… that we didn't even see her attack coming!"
"Yeah." Lexington picked up heavily. "Hela killed Rose's family so that her soul would turn dark, and it was because of her inner darkness that Rose and Brooklyn's souls became one in their light soul-bond. It truly was destiny for them to meet, to protect each other."
"And now they've been torn apart." Akira whispered through her tears. She had been sobbing with Angela, and both haven't been able to stop. "They finally found each other, found happiness, and remained hopeful through this whole thing… to find out that they are pregnant… and Hela came and tore it apart in less than a half-hour." She paused, cried into her claws as Lexington rubbed her back. "It's just not fair."
"Aye. 'Tis not fair, but when is life ever really fair?" Hudson said solemnly. "We all should be sayin' prayers and wishin' good vibes upon Brooklyn and those doctors in with him. If he can live through this night… I know things will be alright."
"But sunrise is hours away…" Lexington whispered tearfully.
"He'll make it to dawn." Hudson suddenly snapped, and was looking like he could easily start crying, but was holding it in. He took a deep breath, then his tone softened. "I know he will. He's fightin' to live, I know he's fightin'."
"What about Rose and the child?" Angela suddenly cried, coming up from Broadway's chest. "She's vulnerable to be in Hel with Hela! They'll crucify her and her child!"
"I do not think Rose and her child will be in any immediate danger." Goliath suddenly said. "As I watched everything unfold tonight, it felt like Hela had been trying to set Rose up this whole time to get her soul dark. I can't say anything about the child, but she needs Rose alive. So, with that in mind, I know that Rose will protect her child better than any of us can."
"And what about Brooklyn then?" Lexington asked. "What are we gonna tell him when he wakes up?"
"The truth." Goliath whispered. "If he doesn't already know it already."
"The truth could very easily kill him, father." Angela whispered tearfully. "You know how much Rose meant to him…"
"If he can survive surgery and a stabbing from that sword…" Goliath said, his own tears forming in his eyes. "Then I know he'll somehow make it through finding out about Rose. We'll come up with a plan to get her back."
"And take on Hela again?" Lexington gasped. "She… she's more powerful than we've…"
"We were unprepared, but now we know what she is capable of." Goliath interrupted, turning to face him. "We were not enough to protect Rose from Hela alone, but we will find help. Brooklyn staked his life on it… so we will make his sacrifice worth it."
"And.. Rose's pregnancy?" Elisa asked quietly. "Did all of you find out about it just now?"
"Out at the platform." Goliath answered. "I do not know if Brooklyn knew."
"He did." She replied, and all of the Clan looked over at her. "They both found out about her pregnancy a week ago. They kept it quiet until Doctor Sato gave her an ultrasound. They wanted to better see if the child was more human or gargoyle, before telling you all."
"So you knew?" Akira asked. "About their pregnancy?"
Elisa nodded sadly. "It was a lucky guess before she told me, I had seen some of her symptoms and wondered… but she originally didn't want to tell me, because she was trying to spare my feelings." She then paused, looked over at Goliath and whispered, "...Our feelings."
"What?" Angela asked, looking between them.
Elisa smiled at Goliath, who nodded his head, and then she told them what had happened. From their miscarriages, to their adoption plan, and the application that had been accepted. The Clan looked even more sad at first, but now were amazed and happy.
"Congratulations, you two." Hudson said.
"Yeah, same from me!" Broadway said with a smile and a thumbs up, and Elisa sat next to Goliath and took his claw.
"Thank you all. We are excited… but nothing has come from it yet, but we'll let you know the moment something does." She then paused and Goliath took over.
"We are sorry for keeping everyone in the dark over this news. I am well aware that communication and honesty is vital in a Clan, but with all that's been going on with Brooklyn and Rose, we did not want to add to any more woeful news." He then squeezed Elisa's hand and said, "Besides, now that we are going to adopt, it'll take time for it to happen. So, we won't worry about it until the time comes. For now, we need to think about Brooklyn and Rose; and pray that his surgery is a success."
"It will be." Elisa whispered. "I mean… I'm all about believing that things happen for a reason, and while we may not understand those reasons, I firmly believe that Doctor Sato being here already to give Rose her ultrasound, was a blessing for Brooklyn. Because had he not been here…"
Goliath growled out a sigh, leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
"Brooklyn would not have had a chance at survival."
His words settled deep within everyone's grieving hearts and tears filled his eyes. Elisa squeezed his claw tighter as tears filled her eyes and her voice shook slightly.
"Well, thank goodness for second chances."
Hours passed, it was now getting closer to four AM and everyone's anxiety levels were going insane. Xanatos had gotten out of his exo-suit and had joined them on the couch, his bruised face stony, hard and calculating; as Elisa was asleep in Goliath's arms, who was absent-mindlessly trying to read a book to try to occupy his mind, while the others were talking quietly. Hudson was asleep on his usual recliner with Bronx at his feet, when suddenly a door opened down the hallway, and Bronx's ears perked up.
The sound got everyone's attention instantly, waking both Elisa and Hudson up. When Doctor Sato entered the room, everyone jumped to their feet and questions flew out.
"Is Brooklyn okay?"
"Is he alive?"
"Did you get the sword out?"
"Is he going to be alright!?"
Doctor Sato looked exhausted, truly worn out; but smiled tiredly at them all and raised a hand up to quiet them.
"Yes, he's alive." He announced, and the Clan gave out an instant cry of relief and gratitude, but listened to what he had to say. "I've just finished with his stitches, and the surgery was a success, but he's got a long recovery ahead of him. I have no doubt that your stone sleep could possibly rejuvenate him and the stitches I've made. That's what I'm hoping for anyway, but we shall find out when the sun comes up if he will truly heal, I suppose."
"The sun should heal him." Goliath answered him. "As it heals all of us, but he may be worn out for a few nights still."
Doctor Sato nodded, then finished saying, "We were able to take the sword out of Brooklyn's abdomen and the damage was extensive, but he survived six hours of surgery, and is breathing on his own again. We repaired his diaphragm, parts of his lungs, spleen and a part of his liver. Once we got all of the bleeding under control, I had a fellow doctor help to repair his left eye, which unfortunately, was too damaged to leave in the socket, so we had to take it out and seal it up. He will permanently have only one eye, I'm afraid, but we've placed a gauze pad over it to protect it from further injury or infection, until the wound heals up naturally."
The clan took all of that information in, swallowing it as best as they could. Hudson looked downcast, knowing how hard it was to only have one eye, but Brooklyn was alive. That's all that mattered… and he was tough. He would make it through this.
"So, you've stitched him up; eye and abdomen, and he's going to be alright?" Akira asked nervously, and he nodded.
"Yes, like I said he's alive and is stable, but he'll have a long road of recovery before him if the sun doesn't heal him properly." He answered her quietly. "He is breathing on his own, and should be waking up from the anesthesia any moment now. If you all would like to go in and be with him until he does wake up, then you may."
The clan instantly gasped out in relief and shuffled towards the infirmary, as Goliath stood in front of Doctor Sato and shook his hand.
"Doctor… I… I don't know how we'll ever thank you for doing such an extraordinary job with one of my own. Your kindness, trust, and help has been, truly, life-saving. Thank you so much."
"I'm happy to help." Doctor Sato said with a smile. "I'm truly sorry that this has happened to you all. It was a bit insane to do such an extensive surgery, that was quite medieval in nature, outside of a hospital, but we were extremely lucky to have so many tools, medications, and the equipment here. Tonight was a miracle, especially since I came here to see Rose for a small neonatal appointment… but it makes me happy to know that I still have got mad medical and surgical skills."
"Most impressive skills, yes. Thank you again." Goliath said with a smile, then began walking past him to go see Brooklyn.
"Oh and uh… I heard about Rose from Elisa." Doctor Sato called after him. "I'm sorry for your loss. I truly hope she's alright and somewhere safe."
"She isn't safe… but we hope she's alright. Thank you Doctor." Goliath answered solemnly, and quickly made his way into the infirmary, where the Clan was surrounding Brooklyn. His eyes were still closed, but was beginning to awaken.
His heart was beating in tune with the beeping of the machines, and looked a lot better than he did a few hours ago, but he was still in a sad state. He had a large bandage over his chest and abdomen, an IV in his arm and his left eye was patched up. But like Doctor Sato said, he was alive, and with sunrise two hours away he would make it, and that's all that would ever matter.
Everyone remained silent and waited for him to wake up from the anesthesia, Brooklyn was slowly coming to, still moaning, and groaning quietly. Jackie, the nurse, then stepped up, and smiled at them all.
"He's going to be in a lot of pain, but we've given him as much morphine as a vet would give a small horse, so we're hoping it works on him and keeps him comfortable."
"Thank you." Goliath said with great sincerity and gratitude; and she smiled back sweetly.
"No worries, I'm happy to help and that his surgery went well. I'll give you all space, please let me know if you need anything more."
"Thank you." Elisa answered softly and watched as the nurse walked away. Minutes passed in more silence, and finally, Brooklyn opened his eyes.
"He's awake!" Akira whispered, gaining everyone's attention. "He's awake!"
"Brook!" Broadway gasped. "It's us… we're here…"
"You okay?" Lex asked, but Goliath placed his claws on their shoulders, and backed them up slightly.
"Don't crowd and overwhelm him… let him wake up and come to us. I'm sure he'll have a lot of his own questions."
Brooklyn blinked a few times, continued to groan and moan quietly, before his vision stopped being blurry. When he came to fully, he quietly gasped out at the pain he was feeling everywhere, but felt slightly dizzy and like he was floating. When he looked around the room, he saw his Clan standing close to him and knew from all the bright lights and monitors that he was in the infirmary.
And he was alive.
He slowly reached a claw down and touched the IV on his arm, then moved it over to the bandaging over his abdomen and winced at the pain he felt. He remembered everything that happened with Hela, but still couldn't believe it. He then slowly reached a claw up to the bandage on his eye, as he noticed he could only see out of one eye. Then he felt Goliath's claws grasp his.
"Brooklyn, how are you feeling?"
Brooklyn stayed silent and stared at him and the rest of his family with very little to no emotion. He wasn't sure why, but he didn't seem to care about his own health at the moment.
"Crappie, I guess." He finally answered, his voice hoarse and low. "I take it from all this pain I'm feeling, that I'm alive?"
"Yes… and it was a miracle you are." Goliath said quietly. "Doctor Sato was already here when we brought you in from the platform, and instantly performed surgery on you to get the sword out of your abdomen. He said that the damage was quite extensive, but with sunrise less than two hours away, the sun should heal you. They were able to take the sword out and repair many internal organs, but… I'm sorry to say that Hela blinded and severely damaged your left eye, they had to take it out during surgery."
Brooklyn closed his only eye, took a breath, but then gasped out in pain and realized that breathing hurt. Elisa came forward and gently began to stroke his hair; and although that motion was reserved for mates. He knew she was doing it to try to comfort him, so he didn't recoil back from her touch. Hudson was watching him with great sadness and empathy, knowing exactly what losing an eye felt like, but Brooklyn didn't care. He didn't care about anything right now.
All that he sensed, other than pain, was an emptiness inside of him. It was so raw, dark, empty and horrible, that it took over all of his worries.
A part of him was missing. When he opened his eye and looked around, once more at his family, he then realized why he felt so empty. Rose wasn't there. Last he remembered… Hela was trying to take her to Hel through a portal, she was screaming… as he laid bleeding before he passed out… then… silence.
Awful silence.
He gasped a painful breath in, and then looked at Goliath. His heart wasn't sure if he could take the news, or if he could even fathom hearing what he already knew from his silent soul-bond. But he had to know the truth.
"Rose?" He breathed out, his good eye already filling with tears as he stared desperately at Goliath. His leader stared back at him, unblinkingly, and had an inscrutable expression drawn on his face, so he cleared his throat, and asked again in a stronger voice.
"Goliath… where is Rose?"
Goliath stayed silent a few seconds more, and finally showed a bit of emotion. He carefully glanced over at Elisa, who was still stroking Brooklyn's white hair and slowly nodded back at him. He then sighed heavily, looked down at him and whispered, "She… she's no longer here, Brooklyn. She's gone."
"What?" Brooklyn gasped out, breathing coming hard for him again. The beeping on his heart monitor rapidly picked up as he began hyperventilating. "No… no…"
"Brooklyn, calm down." Goliath immediately said.
"It's okay, it's going to be okay. Just stay calm!." Elisa whispered at the same time, and tried to comfort him more.
"No…" Brooklyn continued to gasp. "Gone? She… what… what happened?! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
"Brooklyn… please…" Akira whispered through tears, feeling terrified for his health during his freak-out, but Brooklyn grabbed onto Goliath and forced his face close to his.
"Did Hela get her?" His claws shook in Goliath's, and when he wouldn't answer him again, he yelled, "ANSWER ME, damn it! Did Hela and Kevin get to Rose?!"
"Yes." Goliath finally said. "Yes… after she stabbed you. Hela grabbed Rose and they all walked through the portal. Only when they left… did Hela's powers fade from holding us hostage and we were able to move again. But it was already too late. The portal was gone, and you were dying. So we gathered you up, ran you inside, and was met with Elisa and Doctor Sato." He paused, grabbed onto his other claw with his own and squeezed it, as tears formed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Brooklyn. I'm so sorry."
"She's gone?!" Brooklyn breathed out and suddenly didn't want to be breathing. His wife… his mate… was gone. He had failed her yet again. The news was too awful to bear. Gasping, he then looked back up through his tears, and whispered, "And my child?"
"... is still inside of Rose and alive, as far as I know." Goliath answered him slowly. "I have no idea if Hela tried to take it from her again or not, after they entered Hel. Nor… do I know if Rose is still alive… but… I would think that if they needed her to activate the curse, then she still is…"
"They…" Brooklyn gasped out, still having a hard time processing the news. His heart was going haywire on the monitor, and he was losing control. "They took her… she's gone?!"
"Brooklyn, you have to calm down!" Elisa said, standing up and holding onto his face. "Do you understand me? Slow your heart rate down!"
"NO!" He suddenly yelled, sat up swiftly despite the pain, and started to get off the bed. "Got to… go… ROSE!"
Broadway, Lexington, and Hudson all jumped forward and began fighting him down.
"Lad, lie back down! You can't…"
"Your wounds!" Lexington cried out. "You're going to hurt yourself more!"
"I DON'T CARE!" Brooklyn roared out, fighting against them to leave. He had to find a way to his mate and child. "ROSE!... Let me go! I've got to find her! I can't just stay here and…."
"You can and you must!" Goliath yelled back, grabbing him from behind and pulled him back onto the bed. Brooklyn continued to thrash and roar against Goliath's hold when the door to the infirmary suddenly burst open, and Doctor Sato's voice was heard.
"What's going on in here?!"
"He… he is trying to get to Rose." Akira sobbed. "We're trying to stop him from getting up."
At her explanation, and seeing Brooklyn freaking out for himself, Doctor Sato suddenly pushed through the crowd, grabbed a syringe from a nearby table, and ran over to Brooklyn.
"Hey… hey, Brooklyn!" He said urgently, getting in front of his face. "Doctor Sato here. I need you to calm down, okay? Lie back down."
"NO!" Brooklyn roared, straining against his clan still. "I WON'T! I've got to get to… ROSE!"
Doctor Sato stared at him with sad eyes.
"If you won't calm down then you leave me no choice but to sedate you until sunrise. Sorry about this…" He then inserted the needle into his arm and pushed fluid into his muscle.
"What are you…!?" Brooklyn snarled angrily at him, but then started to instantly get sleepy, and knew what was inserted into his body. "Oh… oh no…please… I beg of you, no!" He had been sedated enough to feel the similar pull of medication, and it was making him sleep against his will.
"NO… NOOOOO…" He roared out weakly, then took a few deep breaths and his clan was able to lie him back down. Tears fell out of his eyes as he looked at the doctor, who looked even more upset.
"I'm sorry kid. You can't move until sunrise… you'll rip out your stitches."
"Please! Rose is in… danger! I've… got to… save… her…" Brooklyn whispered, falling deeper into comatose. "Rose… my sweet Rose and our child. My mate..."
"Sunrise is one hour away. " Doctor Sato said through the darkness that encompassed his mind and his voice echoed, "Heal yourself first… then save her…"
And Brooklyn would do just that…
But his world went dark and sleep overtook him instead.
Two nights passed before Brooklyn was really able to feel somewhat like himself again. The medication he was sedated with took him to sunrise the following day, after his injury, and when he awoke from his stone sleep the next night, he was almost completely healed, except for the gruesome scar he had across his missing and sealed eye and where the sword entered under his rib cage.
But both wounds were sealed, and though he was sore and tired, he was going to be okay.
Because of that, he tried to leave then to find Rose many times since waking up, but he faced two issues. One, was his Clan. They were refusing to let him leave because he was still recovering, and two, he didn't know how to get to Hel. Originally, he was going to have Puck help them, or when Hela came, he was going to find a way to either destroy her or use her portals, but she proved to be more difficult to beat. And, without magic or a portal, he didn't know how to get there all by himself.
He was stuck here, without Rose, and was falling into a deep depression.
Two sunsets have passed since his injury, two sleeping cycles, and while he was left with physical scars, his internal, emotional scars were the most painful to endure and weren't going away. He was going insane with worry over Rose and if she was okay. So far, he had done all he needed to do to get back to full health and endured the annoying parenting of Goliath or the others. He ate food and drank water like they encouraged him to do, which helped him get his strength back up from all of the blood he lost, but he was not the same as he was before, and never would be the same ever again.
They didn't seem to quite understand that.
Rose, his beautiful mate and wife, was gone and very passing moment he spent here in the Mortal World, was time passing in Hel, and was time wasted. He was constantly doing the math in his head, of the different time zones, and it was driving him mad.
Two nights here in the mortal world, was only two hours that Rose spent in Hel's time… but any amount of time Rose spent in Hel was too much for him to handle. From Hela, to the Draugr, and Kevin's presence, the thought of Rose being close to all of them was enough to make him want to explode. To make matters worse, he couldn't feel her soul-bond in his own soul to know if she was alright, and without it attached to help guide him, he felt naked and like he was stuck in a forever state of darkness. It was uncomfortable and unsettling. Rose was the glue to his soul, the other piece of him, and without her there, he was falling apart.
Over the two nights, he barely uttered a word to his Clan even when they tried to make him feel better, but nothing helped and nothing would until he had her safely back in his arms. He couldn't even enter his and Rose's room, the library, their apartment, or anything that would awake his senses with her beautiful scent. If he did, he knew that they would rip the remaining part of him apart.
During this time of his dark brooding, Goliath and the Clan were still making plans on what they wanted to do, and stated that they were going to get Rose back. But he didn't know how they would or where to even begin. He wasn't giving up by any means… but a part of him couldn't seem to focus or function, no matter how hard he tried.
So, maybe he was giving up…
All he knew was that he was depressed, could barely breathe, and move; and couldn't bear to be given false hope.
After waking up with his Clan out on the platform tonight, he barely touched his dinner that Broadway made, and slowly made his way into one of the bedrooms, which Xanatos gave them to use for their personal usage, which was more like a storage area of various things and items. In a few boxes were clothing and props for Halloween purposes, their armor and historical swords were hung up on rods in the closets, where coats and other various pieces of clothing were hung up, if they so wished to wear more, but they never did.
Sighing heavily to himself, he crouched down and slowly began to rummage through a Halloween prop box. Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a black eye patch that he used for his past pirate costume, stood up, and walked over to the tall mirror. Staring at himself, he never had body image issues, or cared about such things… but now…
Looking at the Gargoyle before him, he saw nothing but a horrible failure. Protecting their mates, clans, homes, and any innocent life was the whole purpose of a Gargoyle's life, and he hadn't managed to even do one of those things.
He was a poor excuse for a protector...
And he hated the male he saw before him.
Glaring at himself, he sighed heavily, and looked down at the eye patch. Even though he only had one eye, he had seen enough of everyone's pitiful looks at his ugly scar, to piss him off and make him want to do something about it. Goliath told him that the doctors had to physically remove his eye completely, because of what Hela did, and he silently took the news and accepted it. But now that he was staring at the scars, he too hated the reminder of what happened two nights ago.
Of what had been cruelly taken away from him.
Silently, he placed the black eye patch over his mane of white hair and covered up the gruesome scar that went from the top of his brow, down to his beak, and covered his sealed eye socket up. Then he placed a claw over his jagged scar under his ribs, from Hela's sword, and stared at himself in the mirror, with an emotionless expression.
"I like you better that way." Brooklyn jumped slightly at the female voice, looked over and saw Elisa standing in the doorway, watching him. She smiled at him, then continued, "It makes you look even more handsome… rugged… dangerous even. And hey, who doesn't like a good 'ol pirate?"
He exhaled a heavy sigh at her attempt to make him feel better, turned away from her completely, and grumbled, "Please, Elisa. I'm in no mood for jokes."
"I know you aren't, but I'm here anyway to help cheer you up!" She walked into the room a bit more, paused, tilted her head at him, and then said, "But… I can leave if you really want me to…"
Yes.
"No…" he suddenly said, turning back to face her and sighed. "No, you can stay. I'm sorry. I appreciate your kindness, and attempt at trying to make me laugh or smile. I just… I just really don't know if I'll ever be happy again, to be honest with you."
"Because of Rose being gone?"
"Yes…" He said in a low voice. "But it's not just that. I know you all look at me like I'm crazy when I talk about my soul-bond to Rose… but… you have no idea how much she meant to me, Elisa, and how much life our bond gave me. Our souls… are literally one, and our bond is… unbreakable." He paused, took a deep breath and braced his claws against the mirror, trying to keep the hurt at bay. "We were made for each other, and without her here makes me feel empty, lonely and dark. I always felt off before I met her, but I thought that was just my need for love and a mate, but with Rose, I found my entire soul. A whole other piece of myself that I never knew I didn't have." He paused, shook his head and whispered, "I have to get her back, Elisa. If I don't then I should have died... because just sitting here and not being productive is a waste of time."
"Don't say things like that, Brooklyn." Elisa whispered, stepping forward. "I know you feel lost… and you're right… I can't imagine how you are feeling right now without Rose here. But don't give up! She is out there somewhere, feeling just as lost as you are, and if you died… she would forever remain lost... then your child…"
"I know, I know." He said, gently taking her hand gently in his. "I'm not giving up, that's not what I meant. I would die a thousand deaths for her, and for my child, yes, and I threw myself in between Hela's sword for a reason. But that sacrifice was worthless and didn't do anything to stop Hela."
"Your sacrifice was not worthless, Brooklyn." Elisa said firmly, almost angrily. "Don't you dare think that. You sacrificed your life to save Rose and your child's. That is the ultimate sacrifice, and is all out of love… and there's no power stronger than that."
Brooklyn sighed, and nodded.
"I know… but it's hard to swallow, knowing Rose is gone and in their evil hands. She's all by herself… and I don't know how to get to her. I have been thoroughly broken, but now have to learn to pick myself up off the floor, knowing she's not here." He paused, tears filled his good eye, and he whispered, "... when life got hard, it was always for her that I would find the strength to rise and fight."
"I understand." Elisa whispered. "But, she is still out there, Brooklyn. Just because you can't see or feel her anymore, doesn't mean that she's not there. You've got to still rise every time you're knocked down, and continue to fight… because it's the right thing to do." She paused, smiled at him, and then touched his arm. "I admire you, Brooklyn. You've always felt your emotions so deeply, much more than the others, and I admire your strength and courage to sacrifice yourself for her to live."
"Any of my clan members will do the same for you or one of us." Brooklyn said quietly. "And as for Rose… no doubt, she would have done the same for me."
Elisa snorted and then nodded.
"Yeah." She then laughed some more, thinking about Rose and then sighed, trying not to get emotional. "She really would have…"
"And it would have pissed me off so much…" He whispered, getting lost in his own thoughts about Rose, and then laughed through his own tears. "She… she would often do those kinds of things, and it would make me so angry. But… then she would point out how much of a hypocrite I was because I would do the same thing. She and I…" he paused again and then whispered, "she and I are so similar, Elisa. We are both so incredibly stubborn, and only wish protection upon those we love- but whenever she endangered her own life to do so, as I did for her two nights ago, I would yell at her." He bit his lip and looked away from Elisa, as if his tears were indecent to show her, then continued shakily. "Had she done the same thing for me out there… I would have been so angry still, and she always responded to my stupidity with love and tolerance. She always made me…" He paused again, blinked away hot tears, and couldn't go on.
"Don't talk about her like she's dead, Brooklyn, and if you're saying that she won't forgive you… then I'll be the one to tell you, that you are being stupid right now." Elisa suddenly whispered through her own tears, squeezing his claws tighter, and then smiled at him when he laughed through his tears.
"She will forgive you… but you need to forgive yourself first." Elisa paused and then shook his claws slightly. "She's out there somewhere, Brooklyn. Fighting still… and we need to be doing the same, you can't give up."
"I know." He mumbled, then wiped away his tears. "I know…"
Elisa watched his downcast face in the mirror for a moment, and then said, "Come on… I wanna show you something."
"What?" He asked in a slight groan, still not in the mood to go anywhere; but she held his claw and tugged him along.
"Where are you taking me?"
"You'll see."
Elisa led him down the hallway towards the library, which was yet another room he didn't want to ever visit, because too many memories of him and Rose were held in there. This was the room that he first rescued her from the Brooklyn Bridge, held her body to his, and fell deeply in love. It was almost as bad as the memories that sacredly held themselves within the walls of their bedroom.
"Elisa, no." He suddenly said, pulling her to a stop and eyed the door with great disdain and panic. "I… no. I can't go in there."
"Look, I get why you don't want to. I'm not an idiot… I know what memories you have of the two of you in here." He instantly blushed and flustered at her words, but she continued, "But this is important."
"We didn't actually do anything like that in here."
"I know." Elisa grinned. "I meant that I know that this is where you first brought her home from the Brooklyn Bridge, and that this place is pretty special to you. I also know that you feel the same way about your bedroom… and why you have avoided that area of the castle like a plague."
Moved that she understood, he only nodded, but she pulled on his arm again towards the library door.
"Which means that you'll just have to trust me." She then smiled gently at him as he still looked panicked and unsure. "Myself, Akira and Angela came across something interesting, earlier that I think you need to see."
Closing his eye, he took a deep breath, and forced himself to remain calm and to trust her.
"Alright… what do you want to show me?"
Elisa smiled, pushed open the library door and then led him inside, but he looked around and instantly grimaced in pain. His eye went directly to the couch, to the fireplace, and he swore he could still hear Rose's laugh, see the light in her beautiful hazel eyes, the feel of her body and lips against his…
And even earlier memories ran through his mind, and he saw their bodies against the fireplace, when he held her tightly in his wings. He remembered the night he saved her from the Brooklyn Bridge. It felt like a lifetime ago… almost like it was nothing but a dream. But he knew it was real, because the ghost of her was everywhere… haunting him.
Tears filled his eye again but he was so sick of crying, closing it, he then grabbed onto his head in exasperation.
"Um… I uh… I thought I could handle this, Elisa, but I really don't think I can. It's too much, too soon."
"Brooklyn, come here." Elisa said firmly, standing over in the corner. "Trust me, please. You need to see this."
Blindingly following directions, he walked over to where she was standing, stopped in front of her and then opened his eye. Elisa was standing in front of a small desk that had art supplies, which was next to the drawing board that Angela made of Avalon, a few nights ago. He wasn't yet used to seeing out of one eye, so he had to physically turn his head to the left to see what she was showing him, and saw a small drawing taped next to the map of Avalon.
"What are you showing me?"
She silently pointed to the piece of paper that was taped next to Angela's map, ripped it off, and handed it to him.
"You tell me."
Brooklyn looked at her, then lowered his eye down at the paper, and took it from her hands. Seconds passed as he looked it over, and shock rippled through him, as well as a gut-punch. The paper looked to be a replica of Avalon, but was colored in and vividly detailed. Most of the Avalon-looking Isle was colored in red, but he saw that someone had labeled every inch of it. The ocean, the rivers, the mountains, hills, volcanoes, and a castle. Included on the page was a key for directions, and at the top was labeled, 'Hel.'
To Brooklyn's further shock, it was written in Rose's handwriting.
"It…" He whispered in disbelief, staring at it with his wide eye. "It's a map of Hel… drawn and filled in by Rose!"
Elisa nodded. "Angela and Akira came across it earlier, and they showed me. So I thought I would tell you about it."
"Why didn't they come to me first?"
Elisa stayed quiet for a moment before answering him.
"Because they don't know how to approach you about her, Brooklyn." She finally said quietly. "Everyone knows how much she means to you, and how horrible of a loss this has been." She paused, walked forward and gently touched his arm. "They want so badly to take this hurt away from you, but don't know how to even look at you without crying. But… this?" She gestured to the map, then looked back at him. "This gives us a starting point to finding Rose, through a literal map of Hel…"
Brooklyn nodded numbly. "She must have drawn this all out to clear her head from all of her nightmares and the visions found within them. She told me a few times that she went to Hel in the dreams… so she probably saw enough to draw it all out."
"And she saw that it was the same layout as Avalon." Elisa said, looking at Avalon's map now. "That can't be a mere coincidence."
"What are you suggesting?"
"I'm suggesting that you go to Avalon, Brooklyn." Elisa whispered. "Goliath will fight you on this, of course, but I really think Rose is alive and she needs your help… heck, she needs all the help she can get at this point. I say that you bring this map with you, go to Avalon, and then find a way to enter Hel from there."
Brooklyn continued to stare at the map, listened to Elisa's words and let them fill his broken soul up. Normally, he wouldn't want to be given hope… but she was right. Even though he couldn't feel Rose in his soul-bond anymore, a part of him knew that she was still alive. She then reached across to the desk and grabbed two more pieces of papers.
"That's not all that Angela and Akira found though. Rose drew two more pictures… most likely a few hours before she was attacked by Kevin and all of this went down."
Brooklyn slowly took the papers from her, and carefully studied them. The drawing on top looked familiar, and the more he studied it, his heart seemed to crash.
It was a picture of his clan on a beach, and all of them were overlooking the ocean. In the center was himself and Rose, in each other's arms, overlooking the scene. And down below were two young gargoyles. One that looked like a younger version of Broadway and Angela, and the other child… looked like him and Rose. His heart began pounding and the drawing was exactly the image he, too, held in his mind.
She had drawn out the vision of him and her, overlooking their family and charge… and it was their hopeful future together that they both saw from their soul-bond, all those months ago when he first healed her. While staring at it, Brooklyn suddenly felt a light turn on inside of his heart, and there it was, the hope he so desperately needed. The strength to rise above this trial alone, and go after Rose… to bring home his family.
Elisa seemed to read his mind as she held onto his claw, squeezed it, and had tears in her eyes.
"I don't know what is going to happen… but when they showed me this, I know that Rose is fighting with everything she has to protect herself, your child, and all of our futures." She paused, smiled at him, then whispered, "... and I don't know about you, but this gives me hope."
"Hope…" he whispered, closed his eye and felt himself recharge. "Yes… hope."
He quickly glanced over at the second page and was stunned slightly. To more of his shock, Rose had drawn out the Fae version of herself that she saw in her nightmare… and it was nothing like he expected. So much of her was so similar, and although she drew the girl unsmiling and unhappy, this version of his mate was nothing short of magnificent in his eyes.
From the large black avian wings, to even her golden eyes and elven ears… this Fae woman was spectacular and beautiful. Rose obviously disliked who she was inside… but he still thought she was the most beautiful woman alive… and was even more amazed at who she was.
Then it dawned on him.
This Fae version of Rose didn't scream the 'Goddess of Death' to him, like she told him she was, but was much more. Yes, this Fae was dressed darker, but that was Rose's own interpretation of the fear deep within her, and nothing more. To him, the Fae in the picture, that he couldn't stop looking at, was his mate… Then, for a brief moment, he felt his connection come to life and he knew that this Fae belonged to him.
Rose was in her full form… her full, complete, glorious, and divinely beautiful form, and she was his mate! He was not scared of this picture or image, like she had been, but instead he felt a bigger pull inside of him, to find her, and help her realize this truth for herself. He loved her no matter what her form.
Rose was his… and he was hers.
Forever.
"Brooklyn?" Elisa suddenly asked quietly, and he quickly looked up from the pictures at her. She looked nervous and unsure, as if it was a bad idea to show him the pictures. "Are you okay?"
"Yes." He whispered, tears filling his eye with joy this time, and not pain. "Yes, Elisa… I… I am. More than you can ever know…"
"So… this helped?"
He stayed silent for a moment, looked over the pictures he had from his mate, then looked up into Elisa's golden honey eyes, and smiled. She was like his mother to a point, and while she was still so young, she was so wise. Relief, hope and determination coursed through him, charging him like lightning, and knew what he needed to do. Grabbing onto her, he quickly hugged her tightly to his side and kissed her suddenly on the forehead.
Elisa looked surprised by his gratitude and merely smiled as he took the pictures and began to back away.
"Yes… that and more." He paused at the door, smiled at her and said, "Thank you, truly… Elisa… from the bottom of my heart. Thank you."
"Go get her." Elisa said with a smile, and without another word, he walked out of the room and back into the bedroom where all of their armor laid.
He crossed the room, quickly grabbed his armor used for ceremonial purposes, and put it on.
The clan were all conversing quietly in the living room, having just ate dinner, and Xanatos was with them. When they all saw and heard him coming in, dressed in his full armor for battle, his eye patch on, and weapons on his back; they all looked shocked slightly, but Goliath didn't.
"Where are you going?" He immediately asked his Second.
"To get Rose." Brooklyn answered him with a strong voice, and stood tall. "Elisa showed me a map of Hel, that Rose drew a few days ago before these attacks, and it mirrors Avalon." He paused, then said, "I know that I'm your Second-in-Command, Goliath, and I will always honor my role in this clan, and to you, but right now… my mate is in Hel. She's alive, as is my child, as she is fighting all of those forces all alone. I won't abandon her to that dark fate, so I'm going to find her and bring her back home."
"How do you plan on getting to her?" He asked, standing up and wrapped his arms across his broad chest.
"I'm going to Avalon." Brooklyn announced. "Through Titania's mirror. There, I will inform Oberon and Titania of all that's happened, and with their help or not, I will find a way to Hel with magic, portals or whatever means I can find to get to her. But I'm going, and nobody is going to stop me."
Goliath stared at him with a hard expression for a few minutes, and everyone remained in silence. Elisa had quietly come over and stood next to Brooklyn, giving Goliath a slight nod. But his face remained angry.
"Brooklyn… I understand how you are feeling… but… no. It's too dangerous."
"I wasn't asking for permission." Brooklyn suddenly said, his strength and determination coming out.
"Nor was I." Goliath growled back.
"I'm going."
"Not alone you're not…"
"I won't be alone." Brooklyn argued back. "I'll find someone in Avalon to help me…"
"No need." Angela suddenly said, standing up. "I'll go with you, Brooklyn."
"What?" Goliath whipped around to look at his daughter with shock. "Angela!"
Angela, however, stepped forward and faced her father with a serious expression on her face, looked over at Brooklyn once, then back to him.
"This is what we've been discussing, father, for some way to find Rose and put an end to Hela- and I agree with Brooklyn, this is the only way. I know that between myself and Brooklyn, we'll be just fine. Plus, I would like to go and check up on our egg, see my brothers and sisters, and check up on things in Avalon."
"Yeah… if she's going, then so will I." Broadway said, stepping forward and placing an arm around her. "I'll help Brook find Rose, we'll fight as needed and then we'll bring everyone home, safe and sound."
Brooklyn was stunned, and wasn't meaning to separate the clan for this… but if his brother and Angela wanted to come along, then he wouldn't object to the help.
Angela glanced over at him, smiled, then added, "Besides, I grew up on Avalon and know the area well. You're also familiar with Avalon since our world journey, but I believe you're needed here in the mortal world, this time, father. We've reached an impasse, and if we don't take action then nothing will change." She paused, stepped forward with tears in her eyes and held onto her father's claw. "One day soon, we'll be together again. All of us. But in order to do so, we have to do this…"
Goliath remained silent, but Brooklyn stepped forward and said, "You don't have to do this, Angela."
"You can't do this on your own." Angela said. "I know Avalon inside and out because I grew up there. You need me to guide you."
"Us." Broadway corrected her. "You need us."
Both Brooklyn and Angela smiled and chuckled as she hugged her mate, kissed him on the lips and said, "Yes. Us."
Goliath continued to stare at the three of them, and then finally sighed heavily.
"Alright. Angela… you… you are right, of course. Brooklyn… go. I know that nothing can and will stop you from getting to Rose, nor do I wish to stand in your way. Just please… be careful!"
"We will." Brooklyn said, nodding. "You have my promise that we'll protect each other." He then looked over at his youngest brother and his mate. "Lex, Kira? You two coming with us?"
"We will." Lexington said, holding Akira's claw. "But first, Kira and I are going to go to Japan to visit Clan Ishimura, where we'll ask them to join us in our battles. Then we'll join you in Avalon."
"You sure?" Brooklyn asked.
"We are sure." Akira answered. "It'll be our honor to join you in Avalon, but we first promised Goliath to recruit my Clan to aid in this upcoming war. Avalon will need as many of our strong warriors to fight, as possible."
"When do you plan to leave?" Goliath asked them.
"Right now, in my private jet, if that's alright with you." Xanatos suddenly answered. "I have weapon plans to gather from some of my international factories, and one of those factories is located in Japan. I've arranged to take Lex and Akira with me. It'll take us at least twelve to fourteen hours to get there, and we are wanting to leave as quickly as possible."
"We shall spend at least a week in Japan," Akira continued to say. "Then we shall join you two in Avalon."
"So, in like a day or two… Avalon time." Lexington added, and Brooklyn nodded.
"Then that leaves us here." Hudson said heavily to Goliath. "I don't like just sittin' while everyone else is leavin' to prep for battle."
Goliath remained silent for a few seconds, thinking, then turned to Xanatos.
"If Hudson and I came with you to Japan, would you be willing to fly us to a few more places around the world, after we drop off Lex and Akira?"
Xanatos touched his beard in interest. "Oh? And where would you like to go?"
"The Amazon to visit the Mayan Tribe and then London, after we all speak to Ishiruma and meet Akira's family." Goliath answered him, looking at Hudson now. "You won't just sit out this adventure, this time, Hudson. We have a few friends to visit and recruit."
At this, Hudson stood up happily, shook Goliath's claw, and then said, "Aye… I'm there with ya Lad."
"Hey, if you're going… then I am too." Elisa said, coming over and touching Goliath's arm. "I'm due for some vacation time anyway."
"Then we shall stay and protect the Castle." Coldstone said, standing next to Coldfire. "We shall train with the Labyrinth Mutates and then the Clones, and hold down the fort until you all return with news."
Brooklyn watched in amazement as his decision to make a move, naturally kick-started everyone else to get moving.
Xanatos smiled at Hudson, Goliath, Lex, Akira and Elisa. "Sure. I've got more than enough room on my jet…but let's get going then. There's no time to lose."
They all nodded, stood up, but then awkwardly faced each other. This good-bye wasn't certain that it wouldn't be forever. Goliath stepped forward and shook Brooklyn's claw.
"Take Bronx with you to Avalon. He too has been there before, and will be a great aid in helping to find Rose."
Hearing his name being spoken, Bronx gave a booming bark and then excitedly launched himself up from the ground, bounded over and sat loyally next to Brooklyn.
Goliath patted his head proudly, whispered, "Good boy," then looked up into Brooklyn's one eye. "As Second-in-Command… you are the leader over Angela, Bronx and Broadway. And same for Lexington and Akira when they join you in Avalon. They are your responsibility… bring them back home safely."
"On my life… you have my oath to protect them, Goliath."
Goliath's eyes filled with tears, and to Brooklyn's surprise, he pulled him into a tight hug. "Bring Rose home… but don't let the attempt actually take your life again. Come back home to us, alive, safe and in one piece, please."
"I will." Brooklyn said, nodding.
Goliath nodded, turned away, and gave the rest of the Clan hugs good-bye. He then walked over to Coldstone and Coldfire and shook their hands.
"Thank you for protecting our home, my brother. We shall see each other again soon."
"We will." Coldstone said, nodding his head. "Good luck to you too brother." He then looked over at Brooklyn and said, "Good luck to you as well. Find your sweet mate and bring her back home."
"I will." He said, meaning it with every ounce of his being.
Brooklyn, and an armored up- Broadway and Angela, with Bronx, walked towards the archive room, where Titania's mirror sat. He looked back at them, and smiled. Angela was now wearing a two piece outfit that showed off her midriff, a chest plate, metal belt around her waist with arm shields and weapons of her own, and Broadway wore his own battle armor; which made him look even stronger and bigger.
They all wore weapons of random sorts, but they would be helpful. Nodding at each other, they had said their good-bye's, and were getting into a 'battle' mindset.
Before they left, however, Xanatos came up to him, and stopped them before they entered the archive room.
"Brooklyn… here." He gave him a gun, in which Brooklyn blinked in surprise at it. "Take this. It's some of my newer technology lasers, and should come in handy if you encounter Hela or any of those demons again."
Normally, Brooklyn didn't like using guns or weapons, but at this point, a weapon was a weapon.
"Alright… thank you."
"Also… when you get to Avalon… can you please tell Fox that I love her and Alex, and that I will see them soon?"
Brooklyn smiled and nodded.
"I will."
Xanatos smiled a true smile of gratitude, grabbed his claw and then said, "Thank you… and good luck." He paused, turned away from them, chuckled darkly then said, "You're gonna need it. Your new mother-in-law is a piece of work."
Brooklyn wanted to growl at him as he walked away, but it was true. Rose was the best thing to ever happen to him, but her parents were the absolute worst. But, he planned to be their worst nightmare for daring to take his mate away from him. He was coming to bring Rose and his child home, and burn all of Hel down in his wake.
Broadway, Angela, and Bronx followed him into the archive room, where Titania's mirror sat in the corner of the room, begging to be used. He touched the pieces of papers that were rolled up in his belt of Rose's drawings, including the map of Hel, and then touched where his heart was. There, inside of his armor, he had a picture of him and her- one he was going to keep with him to help give him hope and strength, until he found her.
Never again to let her go.
When they reached the mirror, Angela and Broadway looked over at him and smiled.
"Ready?" Brooklyn asked them.
"Yes. Are you?" Angela asked.
"To get my mate back and burn down all of Hel in my fury and revenge?" He said darkly, then nodded again. "Yes." He placed his claws on the mirror, closed his eyes and then gave the chat he had been studying.
"De speculo Speculum sinus placido quieta de Auallonia in mortale mundi, et dixerint tibi: Dimitte ut transeam... (Mirror of placid glass, from the Mortal World and into Avalon, we bid thee to let us pass…)
The mirror shook at his words and to his amazement, it worked. The mirror lit up, and the glass turned into waves, allowing them to pass through its surface.
"I thought you said that your Latin was rusty?" Broadway teased, but looked amazed.
He chuckled, and shrugged. "I guess I wasn't as bad as I thought."
"Well, we are with you Brooklyn." Angela said, holding onto Broadway's claw and Bronx's neck. "No matter what, we're gonna get Rose back, whatever it takes."
At this, Brooklyn smiled at her, then turned towards the mirror, and repeated in a quiet vow of his own, as they stepped through the mirror and into the next world to get Rose and his child back.
"Yes... whatever it takes."
**Kinda felt like the title would be a good song-title... lol.
Any who, THANK YOU FOR READING! We have an epilogue coming, but this is technically the end. I'll give you my full author's note in the epilogue, and what is coming next. But, I wanted to say a huge thank you for reading my story, because that's all that matters! So, THANK YOU!**