For a long while, not much could be said. The mutates were occupied taking in the sight of the young mutate, whom was finally home after two decades. Gradually, Nani's eyes watered, and tears dripped down onto the cub in her arms. Maggie's features visibly lightened, though tears came down her own face. In slow, hesitant steps, she walked over.
"My Nani… you… you're so beautiful. My cub." Maggie choked out, wiping her eyes. Then, quickly she stepped forward and embraced Nani. The rest of the mutates soon came over, and then Talon tightly held Nani in his arms with Maggie at his side. But Nani couldn't return the embrace. She only smiled tearfully and looked at Claw.
"H-Hey, Cyrus just left. You'll should be able to catch him." She managed, nodding her head to the west. Immediately the mute, surprised tiger wasted no time in jumping to the skies and flying off. Nani turned her tearful, but happy features to her parents. They both smiled happily, though Maggie was still cleaning her face of tears.
Finally, when the small head of the cub turned and looked at them all from Nani's arms, the three mutates looked shocked.
"Nani… who is this?" Talon breathed, surprised. The little cub had dark black fur, but it was medium length. His long ears resembled Nani's in the black tips. His shy emerald eyes looked up at them, before he hid in Nani's braid. Said feline mustered up a smile.
"Mom, Dad… this is Hunter… He's my cub." The feline said, softly and sweetly. Hunter's head further hid in her neck, stirring up his tufts of black fur. With as quiet as her answer had been, only the three heard it. The gargoyles had since left to give the family their privacy.
The two's stunned faces were interrupted by Fang laughing. "Holy cow, you two are grandparents!" he laughed, bending over his knees and wheezing. At least until Nani cleared her throat.
"Actually, you are too."
And that's how Fang started coughing and struggled to catch his breath. Nani looked at her parents. "It's a long story, for some other time." She smiled. Though all the while her heart was still racing. Her mother was just as beautiful as she remembered, and her father was certainly tall and strong looking. When Hunter climbed up, Nani buckled under his weight on her shoulder. Thankfully, Maggie quickly took him into her own arms.
"What's wrong?" she questioned. Nani shook her head, letting out a hard breath. "Just a little fight tonight."
Talon looked over. "She handled a whole team for an hour. Nani protected the gargoyles."
While his wife was shocked, Nani lifted her head. "How did you know that…?"
"I heard it in battle with the gargoyles." He dismissed, offering a smile. Talon couldn't help but look her over, causing his features to soften. "I still can't believe it's you… You… All grown up." He smiled. Nani didn't waste the chance to hug him tightly. It required a bit of a jump, since he had a good foot on her. His hug was warm and comforting as she remembered. Then, Maggie placed the cub down and hugged her daughter again. Nani never realized her own mother would have at least two inches on her.
Talon bent down before the cub, softly smiling. Hunter couldn't have been more than two years, if that. The little cub bowed his head, shyly looking at him from under his lashes.
"Hello, Hunter… I'm your grandfather.. Can you say hi?"
All the cub did though was offer a shy, polite smile. Then he turned and hid behind Nani's legs. As Nani pulled away from her mother, Fang was still getting over the fact of what he was now. "S-So, which-" he began, shocked like he was having a mid-life crisis, "which of my boys did you-"
"Fang."
The lynx gulped. "Right…so I guess this makes us family, huh ol leader?" he snickered. As Talon rolled his eyes, Maggie was silently looking at her daughter. But Nani caught the look and quickly lowered her eyes. Maggie got the hint to not press right now, since after all they'd only just reunited with another.
Maggie cleared her throat. "We should go home for the night, and we can catch up there. After all, it is safe now."
That caused Nani to snap her head over.
Talon let out a laugh. "It's true, Nani. We gave Sevarius a run for his money. At least, out of New York. He isn't completely gone, but away from home is what is important now. We'll steadily gain more ground until we can take him out."
It took a moment for Nani to speak. "We can really go home?" she breathed.
Her parents only smiled.
Talon offered his hand. "You know, I've been wanting to fly with you again for the last twenty years." Nani laughed, surprising herself as she jumped up into his arms. Talon joined in and made his way to the edge. Maggie picked up Hunter in her arms with Fang behind them. With a jump, they all started for the sewers.
The gargoyles watched from the castle-tops as the mutants left. It was silent in their thoughts and resting from a victorious battle. Even Elisa was tired and scuffed up.
"Oh, I almost forgot." Lexington piped up, taking out the letter from his pocket. "Here, Elisa. Cyrus came out here to deliver this."
The surprised lawyer blinked and took the paper. "Strange. I guess it makes sense though. Xanatos wants everybody to be so careful." She chuckled, thinking it was a little too much at times. The man though merely scoffed nearby. As Elisa read the letter, her face slowly fell, and the others feared the worst concerning her sister. Goliath placed a hand on her shoulder. "Elisa, I am sorry-"
"Beth is fine." She said quickly, thinning her lips. "It's just… this letter is from Jonathan. He and some of the other local towners are saying… saying that the driver of the truck that hit her was a strange man with a suit under his clothes. A white suit with Gen-U-Tech stitched in it." She stated, pale. The gargoyles had stiffened and waited for her to continue. "Since the local community knows most of the cub's story, and about Gen-U-Tech, the sheriff kept quiet about the guy so they could interrogate him."
Elisa skimmed through the next page, her eyes widening. "Guys, this is a list of Sevarius' locations." She breathed out, not even noticing Xanatos approach and grab one of them. His eyes widened. "Goliath, Sevarius headed West when he escaped with his armed men, correct?"
"Yes?"
"Then I think I know where he's heading… Quick, tomorrow night, we can strike him down for good. Owen, I want you to help me with the repairs. Maybe we can do some updates to our robots…" he mused, heading off with his assistant.
Meanwhile Elisa breathed into her hand, rereading the letter. "I can't believe they would do something like this…"
"You sure it was on purpose?" Broadway asked.
"Broadway, there's only a hundred or so people in that town. And very few travelers, if anything. There's no doubt they did this to her… I just wonder how they could have known it was Montana… All of us were so careful."
Goliath breathed out deeply. "The same thing I fear, as to how the Quarrymen were able to access the tower so high." He turned towards the distant sunrise, and the gargoyles slowly took their perches, yet looked at him.
Their leader's eyes closed. "Something I am all too familiar with… there is a traitor in our midst."
The sunrise that morning was not comforting to Elisa. She was alone, and scared for her family.
The sewer clan had agreed to talk and catch up after they had caught up on their rest. An extra bed was given to Nani and her cub in the spare room, and they were allowed to catch up on their rest. The two finally had a moment together, and Nani cuddled her sleepy son close.
"So did you like flying with Uncle Cyrus?"
Tired Hunter lifted his big, sleepy eyes. He shuddered. "Scary…bad fly." That caused Nani to laugh. After a few moments, she tucked a few hairs behind his ears. "Were they nice at the orphanage?"
Hunter managed to nod again before his eyes closed, and he was out. Nani's smile faded. "I missed you, little cub…so much…" And for her, nothing was better than holding him in her arms, at home again, and falling asleep together.
It was late in the afternoon by the time they were awake. With Hunter in her arms, Nani left the room and looked around, slowly beginning to recall. It was a nice feeling, being here again and remembering. Even the smell wasn't that bad…
It apparently was true though. There were no more cubs around here… except for Hunter. Nani felt a bit sad over that fact, knowing how cautious they were being with Sevarius… But mutates had gargoyle blood, which meant longer life spans. Surely if they wanted, more cubs were possible down the road. Even Nani had to admit her parents didn't look older at all. When Nani reached the lobby, she found the tables filled with homeless residents eating breakfast.
"Nani!" Both mother and cub turned their heads, watching Maggie approach with a smile. "Come have breakfast, er, well, lunch with us. Can he eat solids yet?"
"Some, as long as they're small." Nani said, following her mother to a table. There the mutates were eating, and Claw looked very happy. He must have talked long hours with his son…somehow. Hunter shyly hid in Nani's lap once they ate, occasionally him sneaking off pieces of food. Eventually he settled to eat under the table.
"So, we have so much to catch up on!" Maggie smiled. The rest looked at her expectantly, eager to hear stories of Montana and their cubs. Nani looked amused behind her cup. She swallowed and hummed. "Well…where do I begin?"
"What was your life like, sweetheart?" Talon smiled. "Did anything ever happen?"
Nani cracked a smile. "Let's see… for as long as I can remember, we all got up at sunset, every day except the weekends. On those days we could sleep in a little before our coaches came… Weekends were the best." She smiled. "Usually the summers were better. We could have as much fun as we wanted on the ranch, and visit our friends too. The neighbors always had kids."
"They were accepting of you?" Maggie asked.
"Well, they kinda figured out about us over the years. By the time I was ten we didn't have to hide anymore."
"It sounds like a good town." Talon said, relieved.
"You must be a good gymnast, considering I heard you handled those Quarrymen." Maggie smiled, proud. Nani's smile faltered. "I guess… I just wish I could have done better. When I hear about you guys fighting, it's amazing. Like something from a movie… I hoped I could be as amazing."
"Hey, kid, we weren't born like this. It took a couple jerks and crappy living to toughen us up." Fang snorted. "What, ya couldn't wrestle a few cows and get tough?"
"Fang-"
"Actually, I saved Uncle Jonathan once from an angry bull. I tossed the angry thing clear over the fence." Nani stated, lifting her head. "And I don't mind gettin' dirty none either." She made clear, oblivious to her parents chuckling. Talon tugged at his collar. "I see you picked up an accent too."
That caused Nani to blink and sheepishly hide behind her drink. "…well, it slips out sometimes."
When Hunter scrambled back into her lap, he appeared more relaxed and comfortably ate off her plate. Nani smiled and kissed his head, keeping an arm cozily around his middle. Both Maggie and Talon smiled to themselves.
"I never knew you'd be such a good mother, Nani." Talon said. When she caught the table looking at her, it left her sighing. "Alright…" she began, sensing the growing silence. Nani swallowed. "About two years ago, the neighbors were having a party… and… long story short someone spiked the drinks, and when everyone woke in the morning we had no idea what…what happened." She admitted quietly, looking down at Hunter happily eating in her lap still. Being so young, he wasn't paying attention.
Nani gulped, keeping her eyes on the table. "When… when he figured out what happened, Johnny left the ranch and moved to the upstairs of the bar in town. He still works there, making sure to avoid everybody at the ranch… a few months ago James left to live with him too."
Thankfully, Fang broke the silence. "Why?"
Nani dared to glance up at him, but quickly lowered her eyes. It obviously wasn't an easy topic. "He… Johnny felt guilty, and guilty because he didn't know what to do with me. The responsibility was too much, that's why he left the ranch… and started drinking." She said quietly, growing stiff. Nani blurted the rest out. "James lives with him just to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Then one night… after Hunter was born, he came to the ranch drunk. He demanded to see his son but… but Uncle Jonathan told him to leave. The next morning Johnny swore he didn't remember anything. But a few more times he would come around, drunk and upset." Nani's voice waivered, though she quickly cleared it. It escaped her notice that Fang's claws were digging into the table. "So… for Hunter's safety, I arranged for him to stay at the local orphanage. He would be safe there… and never adopted because he knew the drill. Right, Hunter?" she looked down, watching the cub speak up.
"Go to attic!" he recalled, and went back to eating.
Nani was the only one that smiled at that. "So I visited him whenever I could without letting Johnny notice. Thankfully he never figured it out." she shook her head, as if trying to rid the memories. "Now… what else can we talk about?" Nani asked, forcing a bite of her sandwich down.
After a tense moment, Fang stormed up from the table. Talon stood up. "Where are you going?"
Fang turned on his heel, pointing over. "Claw, no offense, but if your big boy can fly all the way over here, then there's no way I'm not going there and setting my boys straight!"
"In the daylight?!"
"I'll take the tunnels till nightfall!" Fang shouted, and with that, he was gone. Nani frowned and glanced up. "Did… did I say too much?"
Talon sighed. "No, sweetheart. We were the ones that wanted to know. But you won't have to speak on the matter anymore… Promise."
"Cross your heart?"
Talon smiled. "Cross my heart."
Lunch carried on calmly from there, and afterwards for the day, the family was glued together. They talked about different things, and enjoyed being complete again. Nani though couldn't keep her eyes from Hunter whenever he would run ahead of them. His little wings would bounce behind him, and yet he never strayed far.
Maggie placed a hand on her shoulder. "I can tell you're a good mom. I always refused to let you out of my sight too."
Nani smiled over. "Must run in the family." With their chuckles she welcomed being held into her mother's side. With their moment, Talon darted forward and scooped his grandson up into his arms. "Hey, you little troublemaker. Where do you think you're going-"
Hunter squealed off into his laughter when the panther tickled his sides relentlessly.
All the more, Nani was glad to be back home.