Chapter Two
"Sucker love is heaven sent. You pucker up, our passion's spent. My heart's a tart, your body's rent. My body's broken, yours is spent. Carve your name into my arm. Instead of stressed, I lie here charmed. Cuz there's nothing else to do, every me and every you."
They stood there, staring at each other warily. Armed with only their wits and fists. The world had shrunk down to just them; their friends, holding their wands and offering silent support, ceased to exist. Time slowed into eternity. ...
The black haired girl hunched over the computer stopped and sighed. She knew what she *wanted* to say, she just couldn't figure out *how* to say it. Writer's block; the scourge of all authors. She paused the song she was listening to, saved the document, and minimized Word. Opening another window lead to the internet and a fanfic she was in the middle of reading. Another set of clicks opened a game of solitaire. She lost herself in the mundane pattern of the cards and the words of someone else. Without much warning or ceremony, her computer dinged.
Phantom_Angel: Hey Chyna!
Michelle, better known as Chyna Rose to her online friends, smiled as she read the IM. She had been looking forward to talking to this person; he always was someone she could bounce ideas off of to get over her block.
Phantom_Angel: What's up?
Chyna1Rose: Not much.
Phantom_Angel: How come?
Chyna1Rose: Writer's block
Phantom_Angel: Whatcha working on? Maybe I can help.
Chyna1Rose: A HP fic- don't ask.
Phantom_Angel: O kay...
Phantom_Angel: So...
Chyna1Rose: I'm stuck. Draco and Harry are just about to get into a physical fight
Phantom_Angel: And you can't write action. Don't worry; that's something I can help with.
Chyna1Rose: Actually, I've figured out a system for writing a fight scene. Plan out the outcome then drag out my VtM play book and dice. I'm having transitioning into the actual fight.
Phantom_Angel: Who's gonna win?
Chyna1Rose: Neither. A teacher catches them and gives them detention.
Phantom_Angel: Which character normally starts things?
Chyna1Rose: Draco's usually the first to toss the first insult. Ron's usually the first to want to get violent..
Phantom_Angel: Who started it this time?
Chyna1Rose: Draco as usual. Harry was the one to 'suggest' the fight. Hermonie made it a physical fight rather than a magical one.
Phantom_Angel: Who has the shorter fuse?
Chyna1Rose: Harry at this point.
Phantom_Angel: Simple. Draco makes a smart remark, Harry lunges.
Chyna1Rose: Thanks.
Phantom_Angel: NP.
Chyna1Rose: Have I told you how much I love you lately?
Phantom_Angel: Are you flirting with me?
Chyna1Rose: Maybe ;)
Phantom_Angel: Well, you shouldn't
Chyna1Rose: And why not?
Phantom_Angel: Because I'm not worth it.
Chyna1Rose: Not this again. We had this conversation yesterday, and the night before that, and the night before that. Even if no-one else appreciates you, I do.
Phantom_Angel: I know, it's just that
Chyna1Rose: You get lonely. You sit there and then it suddenly hits you that you are totally alone. And it doesn't matter that there is someone Out There that lessens the feeling of aloneness because they are There and not with you.
Phantom_Angel: You're the only one who seems to understand me. I don't know what I'd do without you.
Chyna1Rose: The only one who can understand someone else's darkness is one who has known it.
Phantom_Angel: Any more words of wisdom?
Chyna1Rose: Just a few theories on true love.
Phantom_Angel: Like what?
Chyna1Rose: Well, your true love is the person who completes you, and who you complete. You both have common ground and complimenting strengths.
Phantom_Angel: I'm not sure I understand.
Chyna1Rose: Well, it's kind of why Spike and Angel get paired together. In fanfic there are generally 3 main types of pairings: the boy/girl next door, the best friend, and the rival.
Phantom_Angel: The rival?
Chyna1Rose: It's a thin line between love and hate after all. Plus you can't get more opposite/complementary than your rival- especially if they are your equal in every way. But this is probably boring you.
Phantom_Angel: Not at all.
Chyna1Rose: Changing the subject, something odd happened earlier today that may interest you.
Phantom_Angel: Oh?
Chyna1Rose: Yep. There was guy giving out pamphlets for the Quarrymen in front of the library. He seemed pretty level headed; gave me one of the pamphlets and invited me to a meeting without going into the whole fanatic spiel.
Phantom_Angel: Oh.
Lex sighed and turned away from the computer. He didn't bother to shut down the IM or look to see if his 'friend' had anything else to say. He just left the room.
~Figures. She only likes me because she thinks I'm human. Not that I expected any different.~
Lex stopped off in an empty room. The rest of the clan was elsewhere, and it wasn't as if they actually *cared* about him. Lex pulled out the gun he had palmed off of a drug dealer he stopped on a solo patrol before he was pulled off the rotation until further notice. No-one knew he had it; he kept it well hidden. He wasn't going to use it -yet. Lex planed to die; even if it was by his own hand. He just didn't wasn't interested in pulling the trigger just then. Looking, and thinking, was enough.
~~*@*~~
"Hey Broadway, have you seen Lex?"
"Not since sunset. You try the TV room?"
"Demona and Angela have been in there all night and they haven't seen him."
"He's probably in front of the computer."
"Thanks."
Brooklyn walked through the halls of the castle in search of his shorter rookery brother. The chair in front of the computer was empty. The computer was on, but running a screen saver. Since he had checked every major room, Brooklyn decided take a peak into every room in hopes of finding his friend. But he was totally unprepared for what he saw.
"Lex?"
"Brooklyn?" Lex stammered, nearly dropping his gun. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. This was bad.
"Lex, put down the gun." Brooklyn calmly said, stepping just a little closer to his panicking rookery brother. Lex shakily raised the gun to his head; Brooklyn stopped.
"Don't come any closer. I'll... I'll pull the trigger if you do."
"Lex, put the gun down. This isn't the answer."
"How would you know? You have *no* idea what it's like."
"Why don't you put down the gun and we can talk about it."
"You wouldn't understand."
"Then help me understand. You're my brother and my friend. Let me help you. We can get through this -all you have to do is put down the gun."
"No!"
In a flash, Brooklyn leapt at Lex, knocking him to the ground. The two friends struggled furiously for the gun. The contest of will continued until a crack was heard. The gun had gone off in the struggle. It took Brooklyn a moment to realize that he had not been shot. He looked down at Lex. Lex gave Brooklyn a sad smile; as if to thank him. Brooklyn scooped up his so much smaller brother (~When did he get so thin. He hardly weighs anything at all~) and began a mad dash against time in order to get Lex the help he so desperately needed.
~~*@*~~
Chyna1Rose: He convinced me that there was no harm in at least reading the pamphlet. He was right
Chyna1Rose: There was no harm in reading it. Had a good laugh over it in fact. I was thinking of adding it to my site with a commentary. What do think?
Chyna1Rose: Lex?
Chyna1Rose: Lex?
Chyna1Rose: You still there?
Michelle sighed and pushed her chair away from the computer. ~He probably had to go to the bathroom. Might as well get something to eat since I'm not busy.~ Halfway to the kitchen, Michelle stopped and looked out her window. ~It looks so still out there. Hard to believe that I'm in the middle of a large city. Wonder what time it is; I'm sure it's after past midnight. What a wonderful way to pass a Friday night. But it's not like I actually *want* to go out clubbing or pub crawling. The sky looks pretty clear; you can almost see the stars. Maybe now's a good time to seriously think about getting those hang gliding lessons. But knowing me, I won't.~
So Michelle became lost in her thoughts and her star gazing. The pure want in her heart awoke a terrible power from its secret place. In a blink the power took form. Then the form took wing. It rose high into the sky on midnight wings that blended into the night. Soon it had oriented on the one that had woke it.
Unbeknownst to the malignant power, it too was being watched by an even more powerful power. This new power looked at the lesser one, and then Looked at it. The new power did not like what It Saw. It then Looked to see what could be done. Then It acted. But It's actions went unnoticed by those whose fates It touched.
Michelle watched out the window of her apartment as a large crow landed on the window sill, capturing her attention. The bird cocked its head to the side and looked at the girl looking at it. Then, in an act that belied its apparent animal nature, the crow rapped its beak against the window. Michelle was a bit taken back by this behavior; wild crows just didn't knock on windows. The crow repeated this odd action until Michelle relented and opened the window. Once the window was opened, the crow hopped through. Michelle stared at the bird.
"Aren't you the bold one. I wonder what you want though. You don't look hurt, and it's not like there's a food shortage out there. Maybe you're a pet that got lost."
"What I want is not important. It is what *you* want." the crow replied. Michelle took a step back. While Michelle wasn't a zoologist, she did know a bit about various animals. She knew that this bird was doing things it supposedly wouldn't -or physically couldn't -do normally. Therefore, despite its avian appearance, the thing in her living room was not a crow.
"What are you?"
"What I am does not matter. You can call me Loki."
"Wasn't Loki the evil trickster in Norse mythology?"
"True, but I can assure you that I am not he. I just happen to like the name."
"I don't trust you."
"That is because you do not know what I can do for you. I am a peddler of hopes. A finder of dreams. A deliver of the heart's desires. I will grant your one fondest wish. So what will it be? Fame? Fortune? Revenge on an ex boyfriend?"
"What's the catch?"
"My dear, there is no catch. Just tell me what you truly want, and I will get it for you."
"Oh no. You're not fooling me. I've seen how this wish thing goes. You'll get what you said you want, but not in the way you want it."
"Genies always *did* search for loopholes."
"It's not just genies. Gods, magic talismans, powerful wizards, omnipotent aliens, sadistic GMS..."
"I can assure you that I have no wish to trick you."
"How long do I have to do this?"
"Take as much time as you need. Let it be said that Loki never pushed a wish out of a person. I can even offer you advice on what to wish for."
"*When* I decide what I want, how do I contact you?"
"Just turn around. I shall stay with you until you are ready to make your wish."
"What do you get from all this?"
"Sustenance. I feed off the emotions projected by humans and gargoyles. The more positive the emotion, the sweeter it tastes. Granting the wishes of people gives me a ready supply of happiness."
"So gargoyles are real?"
"As real as you or me."
"Cool."
~~*@*~~
"So how is he?"
"He's damn lucky. It is rare for anyone to survive being shot at such a close range."
"He'll be better tomorrow then?"
"Physically, yes. Given the healing properties your species possesses, he should be perfectly sound within a week. Emotionally however, he's still in a very precarious position. I suggest that he seeks some form of psychiatric help -the sooner the better."
"Thank you doctor. When will we be able to see him?"
"Tomorrow -if he consents to it."
"Why wouldn't he want to see us?"
"Lex has just been through some heavy physical trauma. The nature of his injuries lead me to believe that he has undergone sever emotional trauma."
"But it was an accident. The gun just went off."
"Brooklyn, you told me that when you first confronted him about the gun, he aimed it at himself rather than you. That says a lot about his state of mind at the time of the shooting."
"Why would he try to hurt himself. It just doesn't make sense."
"Unfortunately, I haven't had extensive training in psychology. In order to give you an accurate answer, I would have to know more about the normal gargoyle mind. But I can tell you one thing. This was no spur of the moment thing."
"Thank you doctor."
"I would like your permission to run a basic physical on your clan."
"Why would ye be wantin to do that lad?"
"Should something go medically wrong in the future, it would be helpful to know what is and isn't normal for a healthy gargoyle. The tests wouldn't include anything intrusive."
"May we have time to think about this."
"Take as much time as you need. In the meantime, I really need you to decide what you plan to do about Lex."
~~*@*~~
Michelle opened the door to her apartment, and set her bag of groceries in the kitchen. She was in the middle of putting a bunch of vegetarian corn dogs in the freezer when she heard a taping at her window. As soon as her hands were free, she opened the window and let Loki in.
"So what's the plan for tonight?"
"Make dinner, check my email, try to write a bit."
"You could always wish to write best selling novel."
"What's the point? The success wouldn't mean as much if it becomes a success simply because I wished it so. Besides, I write because I love to. I don't care if anyone reads it."
"What about wishing away that nasty little thing called writers block?"
"Writers block is part of the creative process. Sure it gets annoying, but it gives me a chance to step back and *think* about what I'm writing. It also helps me edit and revise my work. When I hit a block, I read over what I wrote. Hey, this looks interesting."
"What is it?"
"It's an email from someone called JediBen. He sent me a creature creating program. If it passes the virus scan, I'll load and try it out."
"Sounds interesting. Of course, if you wish, I can always conjure up some of the most exotic and fantastic pets you can imagine: griffins, d"àjPns, unicorns... The list goes on."
"Where would I keep it, how would I care for it, and how can I make sure it doesn't get taken away from me?"
"Pets make great companions."
"Then I'll adopt a cat."
~~*@*~~
To: Phantom_Angel
From: Chyna1Rose
Subject: Cool game I found
Hey Lex, what happened last night? I hope I didn't offend you with what I said about the Quarrymen. *They* may think that what they're doing is right, but I can't help disagreeing with them. Blame it on growing up on Star Trek. Anyway, I found this way cool program that lets you create creatures. I sent you a copy of the game -don't worry, it's clean -and a few of my creations. Hope you have as much fun with it as I did.
@----- Michi
"What's this about?"
"A friend of Lex sent him some sort of game and an apology for something she said. Apparently they are on good enough terms to exchange first names. I'm debating whether or not to tell her what happened to Lex."
"Do what you think is best."
Chyna1Rose: Hey Lex!
Phantom_Angel: Lex can't come to the computer. This is his sister in law.
Chyna1Rose: Is he okay? I hope he's not mad at me for being anti-Quarrymen.
Phantom_Angel: He isn't mad at you for that. I do not believe he knew.
Chyna1Rose: But I told him yesterday.
Phantom_Angel: You did?
Chyna1Rose: Yes. When I told him about the guy who tried to recruit me. The flyer they give out's a total laugh.
Phantom_Angel: I think there may have been a misunderstanding. Lex isn't mad at you for being anti-Quarrymen. He himself is a gargoyle sympathizer.
Chyna1Rose: Oh.
Chyna1Rose: So is he okay?
~~*@*~~
"It is still hard to tell. His physical wounds are healing as expected."
"Is he awake?"
"He just woke up a little while ago."
"Can I see him?"
"As long as you don't yell at him for what happened, I don't see why not. But only for a few minutes."
"Hey Lex."
"I'm sorry Brooklyn."
"Hey, it's okay. It was an accident."
"No. It's not okay. I could've killed you."
"But you didn't. I didn't come here to yell at you, or blame you for what happened -or nearly happened."
"Then why'd you come."
"Because you're my friend."
"I have no friends."
"That's not true. I've known you my entire life, and I have *always* considered you my friend."
"Then why did you abandon me?"
"I never meant to abandon you. Things just began to pile up, between what Goliath expected me to do as Second in Command and the responsibilities of starting a family. But I promise I won't let it happen again. I'll resign as Second in Command if it comes to that."
"In the end, *everyone* I get close to abandons or betrays me."
"You can't mean that. Demona was working on the computer earlier, and a person called Chyna 1 Rose IMed. She seemed pretty concerned that you weren't there."
"Only because she thinks I'm a human. She's practically a Quarryman."
"Did she ever say she was?"
"No, we never actually talked about the gargoyle issue, but she did seem pretty impressed by this guy recruiting for them."
"From what I saw of Demona's conversation, Chyna 1 Rose doesn't agree with them. In fact she thought that *you* were a Quarryman."
"I wonder what gave her that impression?"
"You can ask her next time you go on-line. She also sent you an email with a program attached."
"You went through my mail?"
"Demona opened it by accident. Other than the program and a few jpegs, there was nothing in it that looked private."
"Oh. What kind of program was it? And what did the pictures look like?"
"The program's some kind of creature creator. When I left Demona, she was busy playing with it. I didn't look at the pictures."
