Brooklyn stayed unconscious in Goliath's arms all the way back to the castle. It had been thanks to the tracker why the clan had even been able to save the red gargoyle in time.
Brooklyn was immediately taken to the infirmary when they got back to the castle. Dr. Sato had been on standby tonight just in case if anyone of them was hurt. He saw his red patient being laid on the table and he saw the bandages wrapped around something sticking out of his right side.
"What happened to him?" Sato asked.
"He was shot with an arrow to take him down." Goliath declared in concern.
As the man examined Brooklyn, he took the bandages off to see the extent of the damage. There was a bruise on his stomach from where the glove had hit him earlier, but other than that, he was fine.
"This is going to require immediate surgery. Something could have been pierced inside him, and we don't want any major blood loss." Dr. Sato proclaimed.
"Do what you have to do to help him stay alive. He has been through so much." Goliath declared.
"I will. Now if you'll just leave us be and we'll get to work on him." Sato said.
"Take care of him." Lex said, watching his brother's unconscious form with apprehension.
"We will." Sarai said. She was back to be his assistant in the surgery.
The clan was ushered out of the infirmary to the waiting area. They were all glad the ordeal with Thailog was over, but now, only time would tell after the surgery that Brooklyn was going to be alright.
….
In surgery, a tube was put into Brooklyn's lungs to make sure that he stayed unconscious and he got the proper oxygen to breathe. He was put on an IV for hydration and medicine.
The dried blood was cleaned up, and the skin was swabbed and sterilized for surgery.
Sarai would keep an eye on his vitals while also helping when needed. Dr. Sato began to cut into the wound very carefully where the arrow was embedded in the flesh. There was a lot of blood around the arrow and Sarai had to suck it up so Sato could see how far the arrowhead went in.
He soon found where it had landed. It wasn't good. The arrow had pierced a lower portion of Brooklyn's liver. It was just beneath his ribs.
Dr. Sato carefully removed the arrowhead out of the liver. Excess blood was sucked up. But the liver was damaged. He checked on the gallbladder to make sure it was alright, and it was.
It turned out it was just the lowest portion of the liver that had been pierced. The damage inside it was able to be repaired and sewn up. Nothing too major.
Brooklyn was going to be alright as long as he rested well. He was moved to the recovery area. He would be allowed to wake up now. The tube was taken out of his trachea. Pain meds were given via his IV.
Dr. Sato went out to the waiting area to talk to the clan. He knew they were anxious to see their clan mate.
When he came out, they all stood up anxiously.
"How is he?" Goliath demanded.
"I got the arrow out of him. It damaged a part of his liver." Sato stated.
"Is that bad?" Broadway asked in concern.
"Yes, but luckily, it didn't hit any major veins in there. It was just the lower part. We were able to repair the damage. He's going to be just fine with some rest." Dr. Sato explained.
Everyone could breathe a sigh of relief.
"When can we see him?" Angela asked.
"Wait just a little bit. We need to make sure he's stable first. He should be coming out of his anesthesia real soon. I'll let you know. Give it at least a half hour." Sato said. Then he went back to go help Sarai make sure that Brooklyn was stable and ready to receive guests.
Not long after, Elisa and the Xanatos family, and Owen came in as well to hear of the news. It was a relief that he was going to be alright.
Sato then allowed at least Hudson, Goliath, and Bronx to come in first to wait for Brooklyn to wake up.
Hudson sat on a chair near his bed, holding Brooklyn's hand in his, anxiously watching for any signs of him waking up. He was gently breathing at least, which was good. Goliath sat in his own chair with his wings folded around his shoulders, praying for his Second to wake.
….
Brooklyn groaned softly when opening his eyes, still feeling very groggy, but felt a bit better than he did hours ago. The arrow was gone from his side, and he felt blankets and somebody holding his hand.
"Brooklyn."
The red one jumped slightly, but relaxed at the sight of Hudson near him, and he smiled sleepily.
"H-hey," he mumbled in a tired and hoarse voice.
Hudson smiled back in relief. "Good to have yeh back, Lad," the elder gargoyle said, a hand on his shoulder.
"How are you feeling?" Brook heard Goliath asked. It took his will to not compare Goliath to Thailog again, but he answered. "Okay… I guess. Feel… sleepy," he said softly, his eyes so heavy right now.
"Sunrise is coming soon in another hour. You will be able to get a good stone sleep in and hopefully feel like new again," Hudson said to him cheerfully. Brook just nodded, still feeling a bit of the anesthesia in his veins. "Sounds… good…" he said.
Goliath chuckled a little. "Everybody else is outside and wants to see you, but Sato says only for a few minutes," he informed the red gargoyle, who nodded, trying to make himself feel a bit more awake so he could talk clearly.
Bronx then appeared next to the bed with a gentle woof. Brooklyn looked down at him. He smiled. "Hey… there… boy..." He gave him a pat and Bronx licked his hand.
"Gentle there, Bronx." Hudson said the gar-dog.
Brooklyn had a look under his blanket for a moment to see what had been done to him. He didn't feel pain, but he saw there was a patch bandage, and another covering it, wrapped around his upper belly.
Goliath went to go to the waiting area, where the younger members were all anxious to see their brother and clan mate. They were allowed to come back to the recovery room finally. Fox and Owen sat and waited. David would wait until the clan had their few minutes. He and Owen would talk about something, what to do with Thailog's body.
The rest of the clan and Elisa came into the room to see Brooklyn, who was now sitting up in bed. He looked more awake, and more like his old self.
"Are you alright, Brooklyn?" Angela asked in concern.
"A little groggy and just waking up, but feel better." he replied.
"We're glad we didn't lose ya, pal." Broadway smiled. "You gave us quite a scare."
"I didn't mean to. I'm also glad that Lex is okay. Are you alright?" he asked Lex.
"I'm alright. A little bruised up, but not bad. I was more concerned about you. Lucky you all showed up when you did." Lex looked at the clan while saying it. "How did you know where to find us?" he asked.
"I was wearing a tracker hidden on me." Brooklyn answered.
"Oh. That was good thinking." Lex stated.
"Thank Xanatos for bringing it up." Goliath said. "As much as we know we hate having our movements tracked, but this time, it was necessary."
"We weren't going to let Thailog hurt you again without a fight." Hudson declared proudly.
"You almost didn't make it in time. Thailog was about to put a burning shackle on Brooklyn." Lex explained.
"We saw that. We tried to get there as fast as we could since Brooklyn couldn't get Lexington out by himself." Goliath said.
"I was wounded and outnumbered." Brooklyn stated.
"It doesn't matter now. It's all over, Brooklyn. We just want you to get well again. And when you're feeling up to it again, when you're stronger, we could use you out there again with us." Elisa smiled at him.
"I hope so to be too." Brooklyn still tried not to think of Thailog when looking at his leader, but he now saw his true leader.
Dr. Sato came in then and he wanted to get one last look at Brooklyn before sunrise. He was also going to unhook his IV. "You sure seem a lot better." the man said.
"Much, thank you." the red one replied, not feeling so afraid of Sato as he used to, since he wasn't Thailog's doctor/scientist. "Thanks, for getting the arrow out of me."
"I live to help my patients." Sato replied in gratitude. "Well, now that you have seen he's recovering, it would be better if you just let him rest until sunrise. One of you is welcome to stay with him."
"We'll see you tomorrow night, healed, Brooklyn." Angela smiled.
"Get better, bro." Broadway said.
They all filed out. Hudson and Bronx were the only ones staying this time.
"Where's… Thailog?" Brooklyn asked in a nervous voice, looking around for his former tormentor.
"Xanatos brought him back here. He said he's going to cremate the body later. You have nothing to fear from him anymore, lad." Hudson explained, Brooklyn then remembered he was dead now.
"I hope so. He might still get to me in my dreams." Brook said nervously, gripping his bedsheets.
"Don't think like that. You will overcome what happened to yeh. You will rise to be a stronger warrior from this, lad." Hudson decreed.
Brooklyn was glad the ordeal was over, but he still totally didn't feel that strong of a warrior.
He knew he had always been a brave one. Thailog had taken much from him over those weeks. His freedom, his strength, his clan, his will to live. It had taken a lot for him to just be strong enough and brave enough to face Thailog and his henchmen again to save Lex's life. He wasn't going to let his little brother go through that, or any of his clan. All had been set right though.
Sato took the IV out of his hand. Shortly after, the sun came up and the three gargoyles turned to stone. The clan outside did so as well.
Xanatos and Owen later took Thailog's body to the crematorium to be cremated. At least Thailog was no longer a threat to the clan anymore.