Brooklyn slept through most of the day while Hudson was stone again. David had gone back up to Xanadu at that time to retrieve Brook's bag.
He opened the door to the house when arriving and looked around, until he spotted the bag on the table where he left it. David took the bag and left again, knowing the red gargoyle would appreciate getting his bag back.
Back in the medic room, Brooklyn struggled with sleeping, ears flattened from hearing Anthony mocking him again. He grunted and tossed, trying to ignore it but it was hopeless.
"Pet…"
"Toy…"
His voice said cruelly. Brooklyn shook his head. He wasn't a pet!
"I will find you, Diablo…" the voice mocked. Brook whined, covering his ears. He wasn't Diablo!
But then he felt someone shake his arm. The red male's eyes shot open.
"Who… d-don't hurt me!" he pleaded, seeing a face. But it was only David, holding something. The sun still shone through the window.
"Easy, Brooklyn. It's only me. I brought you something I think is yours," he said, showing it to him. Brooklyn blinked; it was his bag! He gasped softly, reaching out to take it. David had already emptied the trash out of the bag but left certain things in it like his photo and first aid kit.
Brooklyn sniffled when holding his bag that had been his only companion when no one was there to travel with him. "T-thank you," he said timidly, ears flat.
David smiled. "Don't mention it," he stated. Brooklyn reached weakly into his bag and pulled out the photo. It was a bit worn but the images were still there. Tears fell down his eyes when seeing Mark and Nora.
David saw. "Those were your first friends when escaping?" he questioned.
Brooklyn stiffened but he nodded. "M-Mark pulled out a bullet out of me when I was shot during my escape. He and his sister nursed me back to health and helped me be happy again," he replied, wiping his eyes, then setting the photo on the nightstand. He handed David the first aid kit, too.
"I'll let you rest, but we'll need you to talk to Elisa and Hudson this evening," he stated. Brooklyn frowned but nodded. He hugged his pack when falling asleep again, David shaking his head before closing the door shut.
….
Brooklyn was woken that night from hearing stone crackling. He jerked a little in fear and saw Hudson's eyes glow, the stone breaking apart and Hudson yawn/roaring. The red gargoyle gripped his bag tight in fear but in awe, it was amazing seeing it.
Hudson cracked his stiff muscles before seeing Brooklyn awake. He held something in his arms, ears still on his head and eyes bright with fear and sadness. Hudson sighed a little, smiling softly and holding out his hand.
"Hello, lad. I see yeh awake. And ye got yer bag too as well, hm?" he asked. Brooklyn nodded, timidly taking Hudson's hand. Hudson stroked his hair.
"I understand you don't want to face Goliath still, lad. But he does miss you. And he feels guilty about that night."
Brooklyn swallowed, tears welling. "I-I don't want him to-to lecture me about running away, like how he lectured me before…" he stated quietly. Hudson gave him a hug. "Ye have to be brave, lad. I know your courage is still in ye. I'll be there when you can talk to Goliath." Brooklyn smiled sadly at him, trembling.
"O…kay…" he replied just as the door knocked. Elisa arrived, Brooklyn still clinging to Hudson as she brought a tray of food in. She smiled at him cheerfully.
"Hi, Brooklyn. I brought you some food. Knew you would want to eat before seeing Goliath," she said carefully.
Was he really ready to see the lavender leader? He knew he had to at some point. He gladly took the tray from Elisa and put his bag down on the floor so the tray could go over his lap area. The food was some chicken and noodles with some toast, and a glass of water.
Elisa and Hudson sat down to wait for him to eat his breakfast. It took him about fifteen minutes to down his food and water. Then Elisa took the tray back out of the room.
"Can ye get up, lad?" Hudson urged him.
"I think so." Brooklyn replied. He reluctantly got himself out of his bed. Hudson stood by in case he fell or something. He had just gotten his strength back from all his exhaustion.
Out in the library, the clan was all gathered to see how the meeting was with Brooklyn and Goliath and would step in to defend the red male if needed. Goliath was wanting to see his Second again and he promised himself that he would be gentle on Brooklyn. He had been through so much.
Elisa also came into the room to see the meeting. She would do her best to keep Goliath in line. This almost seemed like some parents needing to talk to their teenage son.
On the walk with Hudson to the library, Brooklyn thought to himself, "Why is it when I get hurt or something happens to me is when they start to pay attention to me?"
Brooklyn was still remembering all too well before his disappearance that he had been feeling ignored by the others. But right now, he had to make amends with his leader. He had already done so with the others.
It felt strange for the red male seeing the rest of the castle again after being away for so long. He was glad he was home though. He couldn't help but shiver while being nervous of this meeting. Hudson felt his shiver as he was holding onto his arm as they moved.
When they entered the library at last, the clan was all there waiting for them. They had smiles on their faces. "Hi, Brooklyn." The younger ones greeted warmly, giving him some nice pats on the shoulder.
"Hi, guys." Brooklyn replied back.
Bronx also came up and sat down in front of him, wagging his stubby tail, whining happily. "Hi, boy." Brook gave him a pet on his head. Winter came into his memories when petting Bronx, smiling slightly.
Goliath and Elisa had gentle looks on their faces. They were concerned. Goliath's wings were caped.
"Hey, Brooklyn, how are you feeling?" Elisa greeted.
"I feel better but still drained from all the traveling and sickness." Brook replied.
"This might be easier for ye." Hudson guided Brooklyn to the couch where he was allowed to sit down on it. Brooklyn caped his wings. The fire crackling in the fireplace felt good.
"How was breakfast?" Broadway asked.
"It was good, thanks." Brook replied.
"Ok, Brooklyn, you seem strong enough now that you can talk to Goliath. We'll be here if you need us." Hudson declared. "I'll be right by ye."
Brooklyn nodded from Hudson to the big purple leader. He swallowed hard, lowering his ears.
"Hi, Brooklyn." Goliath gave him a gentle look.
"Hi." Brook eyed him warily.
"I don't mean to frighten you, Brooklyn. It is great that you are back home with us. We have missed you being here." Goliath explained gently.
"I did too."
"Listen, I know before your running away and getting taken away that I gave you a hard time and I regret that, Brooklyn. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Elisa helped put it into perspective for me." Goliath explained. "I am sorry. Can you forgive me?"
Brooklyn looked up at him with tears in his eyes. Forgiving his leader would be the best thing for him. "Yes." He started sobbing. He stood up and went to hug him. Goliath gladly returned the hug.
The clan were so happy that Brooklyn was forgiving of Goliath. They all smiled at seeing the scene before them.
"It's alright. You're home and safe again, Brooklyn." Goliath assured him.
When the red male let go finally, he started saying, "I missed you all. I'm sorry I ran away. I just felt unwanted at the time. I was being ignored and I met up with those kids, Dave and Bobbi, and Kenny on the streets. Then I was caught trying to protect them." Brooklyn explained. "What happened to them?"
"We helped them break up Radar's theft ring while coming there to get you but you were already gone." Elisa declared. "We tried hard to find you. Can you explain to us what happened? Where have you been? Dave and Bobbi are back with their parents and Kenny went to jail."
Brook sat down on the couch again, wiping his tears away. "This… won't be easy to talk about."
"We understand. Take your time, lad," Hudson said softly.
Brooklyn looked down and sighed, taking a deep breath. He knew it would be better to tell it now.
The clan saw a nasty scar on Brooklyn's right arm and wondered what that was from but would get an answer as he explained.
"I was sold to a man named Anthony Roberts. He and his men took me to his farm out in Montana. There, they kept me in chains and muzzled. I could barely move in them. Couldn't talk. Had an encounter with wolves while being tied to a tree. Anthony also had my arm branded, which is why I have this scar on it." Brooklyn looked at the scar.
The clan were shocked that the man who had taken their Second had been so cruel.
Brook went on some more, "Anthony also changed my name. He called me a horrible one. Diablo. He was hitting me hard once and I hit my head. I lost my memories for a while. I guess I just accepted being called Diablo. But I got my memories back when I crashed into the barn while gliding in a storm out there. They had learned to trust me. But when my memory returned, they went back to keeping me tied or caged up again. As one of their torture schemes that I still remember, the doctor there opened me up and twisted my stomach." Just the memory of it made Brooklyn's stomach uncomfortable.
The clan looked at each other in concern.
"What about all those scars on your arms?" Angela asked.
"I don't remember." Brook said. But it had been from a cougar fight. "Probably from one of their evil tests they did on me while I had amnesia."
"How did your stomach get untwisted?" Elisa asked.
"Surgery again. It was so hot out there in Montana. I just want to forget those tests ever happened. But I managed to escape and got shot on my escape. In my room is a picture of two young kids who helped nurse me back to health when they found me in their barn and took me to their treehouse while the wound healed." Brooklyn motioned as he looked at his belly where the gunshot wound had been.
This was all so heartbreaking to hear what Brooklyn had gone through while he had been gone. But they were going to get the explanation they needed.
"How did you not turn to stone anymore?" Lex asked.
"I forgot to mention it. Anthony also came up with a serum he injected into me and I lost my stone sleep ever since. I want it back." Brook replied.
"And we will help you get it back." Goliath said.
"I got well and the kids gave me a travel bag for supplies. I took their picture so I could remember them. I mostly traveled by night to avoid being seen so easily. I rested during the day, staying out of sight, though if I did see some innocent people being picked on, I would go to their rescue. I met up with a couple in Wisconsin and I hurt a wing. They let me stay with them. It turned out that the man was Anthony's brother."
"Did they try to hurt you some more?" Broadway asked in alarm.
"No. They were the opposite. They were kind and caring. They even told me I was like a son to them before leaving. I stayed there for two weeks to allow my wing to heal and Thalia, the wife, removed the brand off my arm." Brook explained. "She was a vet, as were Mark and Nora's mom."
"That's good you found such caring humans." Elisa commented.
"I was scared of them at times due to what I had been through. Then I went on to glide over Lake Michigan and landed on an island there. I found a wolf trapped in a trap and released her. I called her Winter. Her leg was pretty injured. I helped her get better then had to leave her behind. I know that she wouldn't fit in here. Then had to go through Michigan and glide over those lakes too. Then a snowstorm came on my last length of the journey. I got lost and ended up in Xanadu, exhausted. Then that's where Xanatos came in and I woke up here." Brooklyn finished his story.
The red male was glad to have told his story and gotten it over with. He might not have remembered everything, but he had told it the best he could.
"You were definitely through a lot of hard times, Brooklyn. We are just glad you made it home to us." Goliath smiled.
"Were you going to give my job to one of the others if I hadn't made it back in time?" Brook asked sadly.
"I was giving you time. Only until after the New Year if you hadn't returned by then. Believe me when I say we searched for you all over the city and around it." Goliath explained.
"I even tried looking through records of anything that described you to go out of state and just couldn't find your records." Elisa stated.
"How long did this Anthony hold you captive, Lad?" Hudson asked.
"A little over six weeks, I think. I'm not certain of anything considering I lost my memory for a while." Brook replied. "I just wanted to get away so bad and when I saw my chance, I got away, regardless of being shot in the belly. I had to get away. I wasn't going to let them torture me anymore."
"And we're proud of you for that, Brooklyn." Goliath declared. "Do you think you would feel like patrolling soon?"
"I'm not ready for that yet, Goliath."
"We'll wait until after your stone sleep is restored first." Hudson stated.
"The best one who could possibly do it is Puck and Alex." Lex put in.
The clan knew that. They had to convince Owen to do it, and he wasn't always the most convincing person to talk to. But it needed to be done for Brooklyn to heal faster and maybe be able to cure his scars. And Brooklyn would be to shy to speak to him, but David could.
David agreed to go and talk to his business partner about turning Brooklyn back to normal. Even though Brooklyn enjoyed seeing the sun, he felt it was like a curse at how Anthony did it to him without asking, and it would feel wrong for him to keep it.
He approached Owen, who was in Alex's room at the moment. Owen turned to see his boss. "I assume that Goliath and Brooklyn have made amends?" Owen questioned.
David nodded. "But there's another issue we need to address. Brooklyn needs his stone sleep restored to cure his scars and body pains, and only you and Alex can do it."
Owen thought about for a moment then transformed into Puck. "Are you for sure that the red one wants this? He gets his chance to see the sun like every gargoyle desires," he said with a bit of a smirk on his features. David narrowed his eyes. He was certain Brooklyn didn't want this forever since a cruel man had injected it in without his consent.
He shook his head. "No, Puck. That wouldn't be a very happy choice for Brooklyn. He would have to live with the guilt that an evil human had given him this gift, and not from someone he trusts. We have to restore his stone sleep."
That made Puck sigh but eventually he nodded. It could get hard to argue with Xanatos. "As you wish, though me and Alex need time to practice this spell for Brooklyn," he stated.
David knew Brooklyn would be happy to hear this. "Thank you. The clan will be grateful to you," he said. Puck just scoffed. "Well, don't go sentimental on me for this," he muttered.
David left then, hoping the spell would work for the red gargoyle, who already dealt with so much pain without it. He deserved to gain it back again.
