Hey everyone!
Finally, we get to the chapter with the Labyrinth! Derek, Maggie, Claw, and the clones are all in this chapter, and perhaps another sighting of some strange happenings with Elijah...
Enjoy!
Labyrinths and Memories
"Do you think I should cut my hair," Amanda asked, leaning against the footboard of Elijah's bed as she idly flipped through her homework papers. The two were currently in Elijah's bedroom studying one evening, the door open and the radio playing softly in the background.
"Cut it," Elijah asked, momentarily looking up from his desk. "Where's this coming from? Is someone making fun of you?"
"No, I just feel like shaking things up," she replied. "You did that a month ago when you got kidnapped; I figure it's my turn to turn some heads, without getting kidnapped!" They both smiled a little. "Besides, curls are kinda hard to mange, if I'm being honest."
"Okay. How short are you thinking," he questioned.
"Really short," she replied. "Like Princess Diana's."
"Who's that again?"
"I told you about her. Remember that paper I did on her for English?"
"Wait… wasn't she that British princess that did that surprise dance to Uptown Girl back in the eighties?"
"Yeah."
The deaf teen's eyes widened with surprised as he remembered who she was referring to. "Wow… That's pretty short," he said. "And it sounds like a big decision; are you really sure you wanna cut it?"
Amanda sat up a little. "You don't think I should," she asked, the tone in her voice indicating that he best be careful about what he said next. "You don't think it'll look good, or that I can't pull it off?"
"Oh no no no no no," Elijah said quickly, getting out of his seat and walking over to his girlfriend, sitting cross-legged in front of her. "I was just… uh, what I meant to say… I-I-I think you look beautiful no matter what your hair looks like."
"Really," she asked, smiling at him. "You're not trying to flatter or woo me right now?"
"Am I in trouble if that's the case," he asked teasingly, smiling back at her. The radio was playing Elton John's Don't Go Breaking My Heart in the background, and he took her hand. "Honestly, I think you'll look beautiful no matter how short your hair is."
"I'm glad we're in agreement, then," Amanda returned, both of them leaning forward at the same time.
Woo hoo!
Nobody knows it!
Right from the start
I gave you my heart.
Oh, oh! I gave you my heart!
A knock at the window quickly made Elijah and Amanda break apart, both blushing with embarrassment. They looked over to see a familiar winged figure at the window.
"Really," Elijah asked angrily, getting up and walking over to the window and opening it. "I would expect this from Nashville, maybe Brooklyn, but you -"
"I just wanted to let ye know I was here," Hudson said, smiling a little. "Though I see I'm interruptin' some very important studyin'." He waved at Amanda. "Ye doin' okay, lass?"
"Yes, thank you," she replied, torn between shrinking into her coat and laughing at the embarrassing situation.
"You won't tell Uncle Jeffrey," the deaf teen pleaded. "It took forever to convince him to allow her upstairs with the door open!"
The old gargoyle pondered the request for a few moments. "That's a tricky one…" He looked at the two teens. "Ye both know you're just children, and not ready to start a family?"
Elijah's face flushed with humiliation and Amanda made a small squeaking noise.
"Of course we know," Elijah informed Hudson. "We were just kissing; nothing more than that!"
"Then I'll let ya have a pass this one time," Hudson said. "Though get back ta studyin', because I won't be so lenient next time."
"Will do, sir," Elijah said, giving the gargoyle a mock salute as Hudson glided down to the ground. As soon as the gargoyle was gone, he turned back to his girlfriend, the two of them staring at one another with surprised expressions.
"Oh… my gosh," Amanda said, covering her mouth with shock.
"I am so sorry," the deaf teen apologized, walking over to her and sitting down next to her. "That was… I was not expecting him to…" He ran a hand over his face. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," she replied, uncovering her mouth to reveal an embarrassed smile. "I feel mortified, but it's kinda funny, when you look at it a certain way."
"I'm just glad I didn't die of embarrassment just then," he said, giving a shaky laugh that his girlfriend echoed.
"Same here." She turned back to him, smiling a little. "You look so cute when you're worried, by the way."
"Really?" He smiled. "Well… I'm glad you think so." He took her hand. "I wish I could say you look cute whenever you're worried, but you're always so calm."
"I am not!"
"Okay, but you're still beautiful."
They stared at one another for a few moments, small smiles on their faces, but the spell was broken when another sharp rapping at the window.
"Hey! You gonna kiss her or what?"
"NASHVILLE!"
[][][]
One late Saturday afternoon in early April, a red 1950's-style car pulled up in the back driveway of the Robbins estate. Detective Elisa Maza climbed out as the sliding door leading to the library opened, revealing the two Robbins men.
"Hello, Mr. Robbins," she greeted. "Hello, Elijah."
"Hi, Ms. Maza," the blind author greeted, Gilly leading him as Elijah walked a few steps behind, zipping up his coat. "Nice drive?"
"I keep forgetting how beautiful the scenery is out here" the detective said, looking out at the sea and taking a deep breath of fresh air. Mr. Robbins nodded, now certain that this was actually Elisa.
After what had happened with Mason, the gargoyles, the Xanatos', and Elisa came up with code words and phrases to confirm that they were who they said they were. This was mainly for the author's benefit, since he could not see who was speaking, as well as making sure that everyone was on the same page when it came to discussions of secretive matters.
"Ready to go, Elijah," Detective Maza asked.
"Yeah," the teen replied, shivering as a cold wind hit them. "I hope this Labyrinth place is a lot warmer than it is now."
"Still getting used to North-Eastern weather," Elisa asked.
"It's April; shouldn't it be spring by now?"
"It is spring."
"Thanks again for offering to take him, Ms. Maza," Jeffrey Robbins said, reaching out and shaking her hand. "I know Elijah's been anxious to get out of the house for a while."
"Yeah," Elijah agreed. "I've never been to the Labyrinth before; Brooklyn and the others have told me all about it. Plus, volunteering is always a good thing to do."
"No problem," she replied. "Besides, my brother's always grateful for extra volunteers. Is your girlfriend coming too?"
"No, she has work," the deaf teen said, giving his uncle a quick hug. "I'll be back around ten!"
"Have fun volunteering!" The blind author stood out there for a minute more as he listened to the car drive off, only going inside when Gilly gave him an impatient bark.
An hour later, Elisa and Elijah were standing in a New York City alleyway, where a homeless man greeted them and helped them pry open the manhole cover. As they descended underground, they saw more homeless people already down there, making their way through an tunnel. Elisa took the lead, having been to the Labyrinth before, and they joined the group.
Elijah looked around with interest; the gargoyles had told him all about the underground sanctuary where a group of winged mutates helped take care of the city's homeless and needy population, and he was both nervous and excited to finally see the Labyrinth in person. Even though Fang had been a mutate, Elisa assured him that her brother and the other mutates were good individuals. He followed Elisa and the others down several tunnels that twisted and turned. Soon, he had no idea where they were, and doubted he could retrace his steps.
Eventually, the group walked out into a subway tunnel, but this one looked abandoned, given the stationary train car that sat nearby. They turned right, walking alongside the rails for a few minutes before reaching a steel wall that cut the tracks off from the rest of the tunnel. Two men stood there like guards, looking over everyone as they made their way through a door off to the side. They said hello to everyone as they passed, and they even recognized Elisa.
"Your brother's with Maggie," one of them said. "Both of 'em helpin' pass out food for the first dinner shift; it's chicken tonight."
"Sounds great," she replied, leading Elijah through the door and giving him his first view of the Labyrinth.
The space in front of him was large and open, at least a hundred yards or so long, with high ceilings at least thirty feet high. Down-on-their-luck individuals were everywhere, washing clothes in metal bins with soap, eating food off of paper plates as they chatted amongst themselves, or sleeping. Clotheslines crisscrossed the air above them, with several clothes and blankets hanging out to dry. The place was lit with florescent lights and camping lamps, and despite being underground, it looked clean and comfortable.
"Let's go find Derek," Elisa said, leading him through the throng of individuals. Some of them stopped what they were doing to look at them, a few greeting Elisa.
They reached the other end of the atrium, where a long line of homeless people waited to get a warm meal from a line of tables, each with servers serving different kinds of food. Standing behind one of the tables were two mutates that Elijah could only assume were Derek and Maggie, helping other humans serve the food.
The mutates had wings similar to the gargoyles, but that was where the similarities ended. Elijah remembered being told that they were mutated with the DNA of different wildcats [like Fang being part cougar], and it was apparent with the two mutates he saw. One was part black panther, his fur sleek and shiny, while the other was probably part lion, her fur golden and lush, and a visible bump showing she was pregnant.
"Elisa," the panther mutate called out, confirming his identity as her brother, Derek. He waved them over, giving his sister a one-armed hug. "You made it!"
"Of course; I wouldn't miss this for anything," she said, grinning at him. "This is Jeffrey's nephew, Elijah."
"Nice to meet you," Derek said, nodding at him. "Elisa told me that you would be coming today. There aren't many teenagers who would willingly give up a Saturday to help volunteer."
"No problem," the teen said, smiling a little. "She's told me all about the Labyrinth and what you do here; I think it's a very good thing."
"Well, Maggie and I are good with dinner volunteers here," he said, indicating to his wife, who smiled shyly at them before turning back to the line of people. "Though I think Claw could use some help with Inventory; the clones are still asleep right now, and they usually help him."
"Inventory," Elijah questioned.
"We receive donations of food, blankets, clothes… that kind of stuff," Derek explained.
"We keep count of how much we have so we can make sure we have enough items for anyone who needs it. Elisa, you can show him where to go, and you can come back here to help us serve dinner if you want."
"Will do. Be back in a bit." The two humans left the line, heading towards the storage area of the Labyrinth.
"Why's he called Claw," Elijah asked Elisa when they were out of eyeshot.
"What do you mean," she asked.
"I mean, everyone else seems to have a normal name, though I know Derek sometimes goes as Talon. Is Claw his nickname?"
"Yes, but we don't know his real name; he's never told us or even written it down."
"How come?"
"He's mute."
"Oh."
They reached a metal door, and the detective knocked on it. Seconds later, a tall mutate that was clearly part tiger opened the door, smiling upon recognizing Elisa.
"Hey Claw," she said. "How're you doing?" He tilted his hand back and forth, symbolizing that he was okay. "Derek said Elijah here's gonna help you with inventory, if that's okay." The mutate looked at the teen, smiling and waving at the teenager. "Great. Elijah, if you need me, I'll be with Derek."
"Thanks," the teen said as the mutate moved aside so he could walk into the room. It looked like a storage room, with boxes of used blankets and clothes were everywhere, along with shelves of canned food and other non-perishable food items.
Elijah felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to find Claw now holding a pen and notebook, writing something in one of the pages. When he was finished, he handed the notebook to him, and the teen read the scrawling handwriting that took up most of the page.
"It's nice to meet you, Elijah," the note read. "My name is Claw, as you know, and right now I'm checking our food supplies to see what we need and don't need for the next week."
"Oh, nice to meet you," Elijah replied. "I-" The mutate held up a hand, pointing back to the page. "Oh, forgot to read this part."
"You don't seem that frightened of my appearance. Most new volunteers are, but if you're with Elisa Maza, then that means you probably know the gargoyles."
"I'm friends with the gargoyles," the deaf teen explained. Claw's eyes nodded, and he took back the pen and paper, writing out a longer note before handing it back to him.
"It's a small world," the mutate's note said. "I guess you already know a lot about this place, huh? Thanks for taking the time to volunteer and help us out; we can use all the help we can get. I also noticed your ears, and hope that this question is not too personal: are you deaf? I actually know ASL, since I'm actually a CODA. That means-"
Elijah looked at him with surprise. "You're a Child of Deaf Adults," he asked, and the mutate nodded in response. "Wow! There was a kid I knew growing up who was a CODA; his mom taught the ASL classes I took. I'm deaf, but both my parents could hear, so I went to classes to learn. They did too."
Claw beamed at him, setting the notebook aside and starting to sign. "Great! Now I can better communicate," he signed. "Forgive my signing; it's been a while, so I'll fingerspell what I don't remember. No one here knows ASL, so communication can take a while; everyone's too busy to take the time to learn sign language."
"Are you mute," the teen questioned. "I mean, I assume so, since you were writing down everything you wanted to say."
"Well… yes, I'm mute. But I used to talk before…" He gestured to himself, and Elijah got the impression he had not spoken since being mutated. "My dad died nearly two years ago, and I found myself short on money. Sevarius approached me for a 'clinical trial,' and…" He sighed. "It took some getting used to, let's just say that, and I… haven't talked since."
Elijah nodded solemnly. "I had a run-in with Sevarius about a month ago. He nearly mutated me, but I was rescued at the last minute." He hesitated. "I'm sorry that he got you, and-"
Claw held up his hand for him to stop. "It's fine," he assured Elijah. "There's no need to have survivor's remorse on account of me." He smiled a little. "But what a lucky break, huh? I finally get to work with someone who knows sign language!"
"Yeah, crazy coincidence," the deaf teen agreed, smiling as well. "So, where should I start?"
"Let's see. The canned goods need to be sorted and counted…"
[][][]
Nearly two hours later, Elijah set another bag of rice on the large pile next to him, sitting down for a moment to rest.
The food storage area of the Labyrinth was large, mainly so it could support all of the homeless individuals that came every day. Elisa had told him in the car ride that at least two thousand individuals showed up at the Labyrinth on a daily basis, at least a third of them sleeping there at night. It was for this reason that meals were divided into shifts, so everyone was not crowded in the eating area at once, and so the kitchen could keep up with the people. Derrek, Maggie and Claw were officially in charge, though there were several dozen humans that helped them keep everything organized and bring donations and food down to the subterranean haven.
Claw had been excited to learn that he could communicate with Elijah via sign language, and signed to him whenever they were not counting or storing the new food donations that had come in. The mutate asked him about his life and how he had ended up in New York, but kept quiet about his own past. Elisa had told him about the mutates, and mentioned that Claw could be timid and shy, and Elijah saw this in the tiger mutate's mannerisms and silence.
Elijah was curious about why someone would voluntarily not speak when they could. He knew that people who were shy sometimes rarely spoke to anyone outside of their families, but he wondered why Claw would not say a word to anyone. Why would he go through the process of writing out what he wanted to say when he could just open his mouth and talk? And why had he not tell anyone his real name?
"You doing okay," Claw asked, walking up to him. "We're nearly finished back here, and I gotta go check on the clones soon."
"I'm fine," Elijah replied, wanting to ask the mutate about why he would choose silence but not doing so. "Can I meet the clones? Brooklyn and the others told me about them, and I think it's pretty rad that you've taken them in."
"Sure! Let's just finish up the last of inventory, and we should probably let Ms. Maza know where we're going. I'm not the best person to take you, since I can't tell them who you are, but I'm sure someone else would take you."
Fifteen minutes later, after getting Elisa's okay, Maggie and Elijah walked through the Labyrinth, a few homeless persons saying hello to the lioness mutate. Elijah, seeing all of these people who had nothing but the clothes on their backs and a few changes of clothes, realized how lucky he was to have everything he had. Claw briefly told him about some of the Labyrinth regulars, and some of them made the deaf teen pause and see how cruel the world could sometimes be. Already he had made up his mind to come back every Saturday to volunteer and help out, and Maggie grinned when he told him this.
"Its so nice when the youth gives back to the community and help others less fortunate than them," she said. "Not that all teenagers are like that, and through my experience, most would rather spend time doing anything but volunteer."
"My best friend is a gargoyle, and I'm mostly deaf," Elijah replied. "I'm not exactly a 'normal' teen."
"But since when did normal people ever make a difference in the world," Maggie asked, smiling at him. "We should get going; the clones are about to wake up."
The pregnant mutate led him down a passageway off of the main atrium, with a few doors on either side that presumably led to other rooms. Stopping at one of these doors, the mutate took a key from a chain around her neck, unlocked it, and opened the door. Elijah's mouth dropped open in shock, staring at the four gargoyle statues with shock.
At first glance, they looked just like the Manhattan clan gargoyles, but a closer inspection showed some key differences. These gargoyles wore more armor than Elijah's friends [though the guy still wore loincloths], and some of their physical differed. However, when they woke up a few minutes later, the deaf teen was easily able to see that these were the clones.
Malibu, the clone that was made with Brooklyn's DNA, looked like Brooklyn pre-Phoenix Gate. His stature and hair were the same, but his red eyes, dark green hair, black teeth, and teal skin showed that he was not the gargoyle Elijah was friends with.
Next to him was Delilah, the only female clone, and one that was made with DNA from both Demona and Elisa [which creeped Elijah out, but he didn't say anything]. Her face and skin color matched Elisa, but her long white hair, wings, tail, and horns showed that she was a gargoyle. She wore a leotard and shoulder armor, looking like the toughest member of the clone group.
Burbank looked like Hudson, in that both wore the most clothing of the two groups, and had a hand-held weapon [in this case, Burbank had a mace]. He had dark yellow skin, black hair and teeth, red eyes, and a black beard that matched Hudson's in length.
Finally, there was Hollywood, who was Broadway's clone. Both were the biggest of their respective groups, but Hollywood had two tusks poking out of his mouth, and that, along with his slight slouch, gave him a neanderthal-like look. He had red eyes, black teeth, and peachy-orange skin.
Based on what he had been told about the clone gargoyles, Elijah knew that all of them save Deliliah were not exactly the brightest bunch. Having originally been programmed to serve Thailog, the Labyrinth inhabitants had been teaching them how to think for themselves, as well as helping them improve their grammar. There was another clone that had been made with them [Brentwood, Lex's clone], but he had joined Thailog back on Halloween night, and was no longer a part of the Clone Clan.
"Who that," Burbank asked, and Elijah felt a chill run down his spine as the clone's voice matched Hudson's perfectly. The other clones looked at the deaf teen with curious looks, taking a few steps towards him.
"Burbank, remember what we talked about," Maggie said in a kind yet firm tone. "Remember: 'Who is that,' or 'Who are you.'"
"Ha ha, you mess up," Hollywood taunted, his voice sounding just like Broadway's; it was a safe bet to say that each of the clones sounded like their gargoyle counterparts. It was also clear that while they looked to be the same age as the gargoyles, their minds were clearly those of children.
"Shut up," Burbank said angrily, glaring at you. "I gonna hurt you again!"
"No, you two," Delilah said, stepping between the two clones. She fortunately did not sound like Elisa, but her voice was clear and had a tone of intelligence to it. He recalled Brooklyn telling him she was the most intelligent of the clones, and she confirmed this when she continued speaking. "You remember the rules: no fighting one another unless we're sparring. And we don't fight in front of guests."
"Thank you, Delilah," Maggie said graciously, sitting down in a nearby chair. "This is Elijah; he's going to be volunteering here from now on."
"Ee-lie-jah," Malibu sounded out slowly [Elijah flinched at the sound of his voice, which was just like Brooklyn's]. "That's funny name." Maggie cleared her throat and gave the clone a reproachful look, and he quickly backtracked. "I mean… Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you," the other clones chorused.
"Nice to meet you too," Elijah said, a little freaked out by the similarities the clones had to the gargoyles, and trying not to show it. "It's… nice to finally meet you."
"Do we gotta shake hands," Hollywood asked, looking to Maggie for advice.
"If you want," the pregnant mutate replied. "But be gentle so you don't break any bones.
Wait, what, Elijah thought right as the clone grabbed his hand, shaking it up and down with such force it was a miracle his arm did not become dislocated. When he let go, the deaf teen's arm was numb, but he smiled and pretended it was not hurting.
"Please forgive Hollywood's enthusiasm," Delilah said, walking forward and putting a hand on Hollywood's shoulder. "He means well."
"It's fine," the teen assured her.
"Can I shake hand next," Burbank asked.
"You got funny ears," Malibu said, pointing at Elijah's hearing aids.
"Malibu, remember what we said about pointing out differences in people," Maggie asked, hands resting on her stomach.
The green clone frowned, as if trying to remember. "I… I thought that was for people with no arms or legs," he finally said.
Delilah and Maggie sighed, exchanging a knowing look. "Well… I did say that," the lioness mutate said, now looking at Elijah with an apologetic look. "Some of the individuals here have prosthetic limbs. I'm so sorry-"
"Oh no, it's okay," Elijah said quickly. "They're my hearing aids; I need them to hear."
"Hear," Hollywood repeated, looking like he was trying his best to keep from reaching out and touching the hearing aids. "You not hear so well?"
"Yes," the teen explained. "If I turn them off, I won't be able to hear anything."
"Really," Malibu asked. "Why?"
"My ears… don't work on the inside. So I use these tiny machines to help me hear what you're saying."
"So without small machines, you not hear us," Burbank asked.
"Yes." The clones murmured with amazement, clearly impressed by the hearing aids. The door to the room opened behind them, and Elisa walked in.
"Elisa," the three guy clones said happily, rushing towards the detective.
"Woah, careful you three," Elisa said, giving each of them a quick hug. "I'm just here to tell Elijah something; I just got an emergency call from work." She looked up at Delilah, nodding and smiling a little. "Hello, Delilah."
"Hello, Ms. Maza," the clone replied, crossing her arms a little. Elijah could see that there was some sort of resentment or tension between the two, probably because Delilah's DNA was partly Elisa's.
"You said something about leaving," Elijah spoke up quickly.
"Yes," Elisa agreed. "Sorry I have to leave, but I called Owen, and Brooklyn, Katana and Nashville are coming to take you back to Weisman; I'm afraid I don't have the time to take you back."
"That's fine." The teen turned back to the clones and Maggie. "It was nice to meet all of you, and thank you for letting me become a volunteer, Maggie."
"No problem," the lioness mutate replied. She gasped a little, placing a hand on her stomach. "Another kick…"
Elisa smiled at her. "I'm surprised you were helping today; shouldn't you be resting?"
"My doctor says I should be, but with all that's going on…" Maggie laughed a little. "Derek says I should be resting more, and we've compromised; I only work half-shifts from now on."
"Me no like pregnant talk," Malibu said frankly, frowning with confusion when Elisa and Maggie laughed at his statement.
"Alright, we'll be going now," the detective said.
"Bye, funny ear boy," Hollywood said, grinning and waving at Elijah.
Delilah sighed. "Elijah," she reminded her fellow clones.
"Oh… Elijah," the three boy clones repeated. "See you again soon?"
"Probably," he replied. "I plan on volunteering here on Saturdays."
"Well, let's get back to street level," Elisa said. "We need to meet Brooklyn and the others. Let's go say goodbye to the others."
Back in the main atrium, Derek and Claw were both helping clean up after dinner, but paused to say goodbye to Elijah.
"It was nice to meet you, Elijah," Derek said, shaking his hand. "Thank you so much for agreeing to become a volunteer."
"It'll be nice to have someone to talk to," Claw signed, grinning at him. "And it'll help me get back to signing."
"See you later," Elijah replied, reaching out to shake the mutate's hand. However, as soon as their hands met, something strange and crazy happened.
Elijah was no longer in the Labyrinth, the whole space, the people, the noise, vanishing around him. A black expanse of empty space now stretched out in front of him, and the deaf teen looked around with shock, wondering what was going on.
"What's going on," he asked, turning back to Claw. "Claw, what-" He gasped, seeing that the mutate was now as still as a statue, still holding his hand while his eyes glowed an unearthly green.
The sound of breaking glass caught Elijah's attention, and he turned to his left, now seeing a trio of people staring at one another. He saw three red-haired people apparently arguing; two parents and a young teenage boy. Their argument was silent, yet all three were furiously signing, glares on their faces and a broken plate at their feet.
"It's my life," the teen finally yelled at his parents, signing the words at the same time. "I never want to see you again! I want to be with hearing people!" His mom and dad gasped, and the teen turned on his heel, storming away from them.
They suddenly vanished from view, and Elijah turned to his right as he heard a new sound. The teenager was now older, his early thirties, perhaps, and sat at a desk, grading papers. He had a frown on his face, a red pen in his hand as he looked over a paper. A small sign on his desk read 'Mr. Parker.'
"What am I doing wrong," the man muttered to himself. "Why can't I get them to remember anything?" He sighed, turning the page and starting to write.
The man and desk vanished, and turning back to the left, the deaf teen now saw the same man sitting at a bar, downing the last of his beer. Next to him was a pink piece of paper, which he picked up and crumpled angrily in his hands.
"Great," he said angrily. "As if teacher didn't get paid enough, now I get nothing."
"I believe I can help with that." Elijah gasped as Dr. Sevarius walked into view, putting a hand on the man's shoulder. "I couldn't help but overhear your woeful mutterings, and I think I have the answer to your problems."
"No," Elijah muttered, turning back to the frozen tiger mutate. It was very clear that he was somehow seeing Claw's memories, including his name, what he looked like before he was mutated, what his job was, and how Sevarius found him.
But how, the teen wondered. How am I doing this. He tried to let go of the mutate's hand, but Claw's hand would not let him budge. It was when I-
Suddenly, the two men at the bar vanished, and the Labyrinth came back into view, all the sounds and the lights hitting Elijah at once. Claw unfroze, letting go of his hand, the look on his face clearly showing that he had not seen any of that. Derek and Elisa also seemed to look like nothing had happened, meaning only he had seen and heard whatever it just was.
"Elijah, are you okay," Elisa asked, noticing his shaken expression.
"I… I…" He looked at the three adults, turning back to Claw as he tried to hide his surprise. "Nothing… I just blanked there for a second, sorry."
"Okay," the detective said, turning back to Derek to say goodbye. A few minutes later, they had left, and ten minutes after that, Brooklyn and his family had picked him up to fly him back home. Half an hour later, he was in his bedroom [the door locked behind him and the curtains closed], staring at his hands.
"What's happening to me," Elijah whispered fearfully, watching as a faint green glow surrounded his fingers.
So it looks like Elijah's abilities are starting to grow! The whole 'reading Fang's mind' was kind of inspired by Eleven from Stranger Things using her powers to listen in on people without them being aware of it. I wanted to do the same, but put my own spin on it. As to how he will react to these powers, and if he realizes they're connected to the stone is for another chapter.
I hope you liked this chapter! You'll see the Labyrinth in the future, as well as their residents! Have a great weekend! Also, I updated my profile, so check it out when you can!
-aggiefrogger.
Note: I do NOT own Don't Go Breaking My Heart or Elton John.