Ever since Brooklyn's second disappearance, Broadway had been feeling upset and guilty about losing him to those evil humans. Angela tried to comfort him and tell him that she didn't blame him. But it didn't help too much.
He was sitting on the couch, tears in his eyes, wishing that he could've done something to prevent his brother's kidnapping. And now, because of him, who knows what they were doing to Brooklyn now.
"Nobody can comfort me about this, Angela. It was my fault. I don't care if you don't think so; I am the one responsible for getting Brooklyn caught!" sobbed Broadway. Angela, this time, couldn't find words, just giving him a hug. Hudson came up to them.
"I don't blame ye either, Lad. It was those humans' fault for misleading the two of you into helping that 'innocent' man, who took him. And we will find Brooklyn and bring him home again, we promise," he said gently. Hudson himself felt sorrow for losing Brooklyn again, hoping those humans wouldn't break him again like Thailog did, but he didn't guarantee they would show mercy.
Goliath and Xanatos both spoke with Owen in another room, hoping Puck would help them again.
Owen turned into Puck, sighing a bit. "Seems your red Second was taken away from you again, huh? Alright, I'll try to find him 'again.'" he muttered, though deep down, he to was a bit worried about how those dratted humans would treat that beaked gargoyle from the story that Xanatos told him about how Thailog did it the previous year.
Perhaps this can be another lesson for Alex in his tracking magic! Puck then suddenly thought, grinning a bit. He usually looked forward to showing the young one new spells. And he was sure Alex would want to find Brooklyn again, too.
He went into the bedroom, where Alex was playing with his toys, Lex watching him. He looked a bit sad, but he felt glad to have somebody like Alex to keep his mind focused and not lose to depression.
Puck picked up the child, who had grown another year, and was a little heavy, but the trickster could still hold him well enough.
"Mind if I borrow Alex, Lexington?" he asked. Lex nodded, looking confused. "Uh yeah. Why?"
Puck smiled at Alex. "I have a new lesson for him. It will help you gargoyles find your lost one."
Lex's face looked full of hope. If Puck was successful with Alex, then perhaps they would be able to bring his brother back home safely!
…
Brooklyn had lost track of time while he had been imprisoned, looking up at the window, seeing that the sun was setting. He guessed it was 6:30, but that was just a guess. For the first time since he had gotten here, he felt his stomach growl in hunger.
He flinched from his shackle squeezing him again, holding his legs close to his body, tears of pain showing on his face, trembling.
Brook wondered what his family thought of him now being taken away again like a weakling when he was supposed to be a strong leader in the making. This wasn't what a Second should be known for! He gritted his teeth, closing his eyes in pain from the thought.
The door opened, and he saw Charlie with two huge muscled thugs show up. He gulped nervously, pulling his legs even closer to him and hiding his tail.
Charlie towered over him. "I'm sure you're ready for your first little test, eh?" he said mockingly. Brook shook his head. He didn't want to do this all over again!
"Uh, uh, wrong answer…" Charlie then pushed the button, and it pressed into the red one's belly, and he let out a small shriek from the pain.
"D-damn you!" he rasped hoarsely, as the huge thugs unhooked his cuffs, putting them behind his back and cuffing him again like before, taking him away. Charlie glared.
"We'll teach you to watch your language while you are with us, Devil!" he said spitefully. Brooklyn cried in defiance, thrashing in his captor's arms, as he was dragged into another room with sleek metal walls and floor, uncuffing him and throwing him inside.
Brooklyn shook his head to clear it, rubbing it too. Pulling himself unsteadily to his feet, as Watson's voice came on over the mic.
"I'm going to enjoy this test that I am about to give you, Creature. I hope you do, too…"
"I didn't enjoy any of Thailog's tests before. I won't enjoy them now, either!" Brooklyn shouted.
"Well, that doesn't matter to me. You are going to do these tests, whether you like it or not!"
Brooklyn could see the mic speaker in the ceiling. But as he looked at the room he was in, he wondered what kind of test this was going to be. He hoped it wasn't a heating test like he had experienced before, or a hearing test.
Suddenly, holes in the upper wall opened up and in came running water.
Brooklyn's eyes widened and a jam of water hit his back, knocking him to the floor. He cried out as he ended up getting a big mouthful of water. Sure, he was thirsty, but he didn't expect this!
He instantly tried to get up and tried going for the door. "Let me out of here!" he cried out in distress. He tried to pound on the door.
The water was filling the room fast. His hair and loincloth were now soaked and clinging to his body. But as the water kept rising, Brooklyn could feel his feet leaving the floor. He knew he had to keep his head above the water, but why a water test? He began swimming around the room, just trying to get out and keep his head above the surface.
He couldn't help himself taking a few drinks of the water too, being thirsty, but he still kept on trying to concentrate on not drowning in here.
Watson could see on the camera that Brooklyn could swim. It fascinated him greatly.
Soon, the water was up nearly to the ceiling in the room. Brooklyn knew that he could only hold his breath for a short time if he had to go underwater. His kind could swim, yes, but they weren't exactly big swimmers.
In a time like this, Brooklyn couldn't help but reflect on some of the stories that Goliath and Angela had told him of when they had encountered all the water on their adventures and had ended up in the water countless times.
Brooklyn was trying to just keep his head above water. When he neared the ceiling, he tried to pound his fists against it, trying to break out, but it was solid metal too. He wasn't getting out. "Please, let me out of here!" he pleaded desperately.
"And why would I want to do that? This is too much fun!"
This guy and all the others who would be watching him struggle to stay alive had a really warped definition of 'fun.' This was not fun to him.
His head neared the top and he took in big breaths of air before he eyed the water and it was going above his head now. He had to take a deep breath and hold it. He just kept on trying to keep himself afloat though.
He then tried to swim beneath the water to go back down to the door. His wings even helped him swim too. They slimmed down beside him, acting like rudders, other than his legs and arms. He tried to pry the door open, but his talons couldn't get inside the crack. His hair spread out behind his head and some of it even started to come over his head. He had to push it back.
Brooklyn couldn't keep this up for much longer. His lungs were starting to scream for air.
From Watson's side, he decided to make it more interesting. He pressed the button on the remote.
Suddenly, Brooklyn felt his shackle starting to squeeze his belly again. It made him wince in pain. His hands went immediately to try to stop it from tightening, but it kept on tightening. It was threatening his ability to hold his breath as a distraction.
But the more he struggled to loosen the shackle, the more his lungs burned for air. He grunted in the water, feeling himself growing dizzy from lack of oxygen. After what seemed so long already, Brooklyn started to lose consciousness. He stopped struggling and just floated in the water.
The water began to go down. He floated to the top of the water. He was still out. When the water was finally all the way down, his body just laid there on the floor.
"Get in there and make sure he lives." Watson ordered.
The men nodded and went to the room, opening up the door. One of them picked up one of his hands, feeling for a pulse. It was there. "He's alive." he said into a com.
"Turn him over onto his side. He might have water in his lungs."
One of the men turned him over and pressed on his back. After a few presses, Brook's eyes shot open and he started coughing as he spat out some big mouthfuls of water from his lungs.
Brooklyn took in big mouthfuls of air into his lungs. They burned, greatly. He continued to cough a bit, his chest heaving. He had a hand on his chest. When he stopped coughing, he collapsed on his stomach. But the man behind him pulled him over onto his side. His hair was a soaked mess. His loincloth clung to his right leg.
The red gargoyle continued to take deep breaths.
"Now that you seem to have caught your breath again, take him back to his room."
The two men picked up the still winded gargoyle, forcing him to his feet and pulling his arms behind him again. Brooklyn winced. He could still feel his shackle being tight on his belly. His arms were cuffed and he was taken back to his room.
Once in the room, he didn't want his arms put back in the chains that would put his arms above his head. He struggled. The men forced him to his knees, but they didn't put his arms in the chains this time. Instead, they picked up a different chain attached to the wall and hooked it to the back of the shackle. Then his arms were released from behind him, but still had cuffs on his wrists.
Brooklyn looked up at them with a glare. The two men didn't spare him a second glance as they now walked out, until next time.
Brook could feel his hair was drenched behind him. So was his only parchment of clothing. Now he knew how Broadway had felt one other time, when they had been experimented on by the Illuminati. His brother had mentioned it to him.
He didn't blame Broadway for this at all. Both of them had been darted. There had been nothing they could do. At least Brooklyn hadn't been alone as he had been last time at the time of his capture the first time.
Brooklyn crawled over to the wall to continue to catch his breath. His lungs were still burning, as was his throat. His shackle had loosened some more, at least to the point to where it was about the loosest, but it still pressed into his belly pretty good.
Why had the doctor done that to him? Was he wanting to see how long he could hold his breath or something? Brooklyn's heart was beating like crazy still in his chest. His breathing was still erratic. That had scared him big time, at feeling he was going to drown and never see his clan again. At least Thailog had never done that to him, but he could have.
The door then opened. Brook looked over and saw it was Watson. He coughed again before choking out, "W-Why?"
"To see your ability to swim and how long you could hold your breath, Freak," Watson sneered. "I calculated how long it took you to lose consciousness. Thanks for those results."
Brooklyn glared at him furiously. "You- you're sick, mister!" he growled.
Watson pressed the button and the shackle's spikes poked into his belly again. Brooklyn winced and held his stomach. It made him get on his knees, trying to stop it.
"Better watch what you say to me or my men, Devil," Watson warned him. "Or there could even be worse consequences for you soon."
"Oh, stop it!" Brooklyn moaned.
Watson pressed it again and the pain only continued. The shackle squeezed this time, making the pain get worse, up until Brooklyn was whimpering loudly and he had fallen to the floor on his side. That was when Watson stopped the punishment.
Brooklyn's chest and stomach were heaving for breath. His stomach was once again, bleeding. His hands covered his belly.
"Let that sink in, Devil. Don't you dare cross me." Watson warned him. "There will be a new test very soon." Then he left the room.
Brooklyn soon pushed himself up and he made his way to the wall. His belly hurt tremendously. I just want to go home. He thought to himself as tears came to his eyes and started to fall. All he wanted was his family to comfort him. He didn't want to have anymore tests done on him.