Alone
Chapter VI

Disclaimer: I do not own The Gargoyles, The TMNT or any characters there in. Nor do I own anyone's opinions or takes on these characters. This is simply my view on certain characters, and any semblance to other fanfics is completely unintentional.
Note: Alone is the second fic in my gargoyles/TMNT series which will soon split into a co-authored fic world (run in fear!). This happens 5/97, after 'The Logic of Dreams' but you don't have to read that for this to make sense. I hope you enjoy;) Thanks to Deana for telling me the name of the ninja outfits! And thanks for all the great reviews from everyone! Here it is guys, the last chapter, sorry about the delays and everything:( So now 'Alone' is done, next up is 'Is Always Forever?'... As soon as I can find the paper copy and type it up...

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Donatello sagged back in one of the chairs, his snores a constant disharmony with Michelangelo's, who laid slumped across the couch. Both of the teenagers were out to the world, anything short of an earthquake would be too little to wake them. Splinter walked out of the kitchen area, bearing a tray heavily loaded with pizza and soda. He set the tray down, then glanced up at the clock. He headed back into the kitchen and took up the second tray he'd prepared, then climbed the stairs to the second story.

As he walked into Leonardo's room, Splinter saw Raphael sitting quietly on the floor beside his brother's bed. The sai wielding turtle glanced up at the sound of Splinter's tred, the quietly watched as Splinter set the tray down and walked over to check on Leonardo's pulse and injuries.

"'Ow is he?"

"Out of danger, for the time being. It will take him some time to recover from his injuries, but I'm sure he will awake soon... and be complaining about being bed-bound shortly after that."

Raphael nodded and took one of the slices of pizza and opened the can of soda. "Right. I'll just stay 'ere till he wakes up... just in case."

Splinter nodded and headed for the door. "I will send one of your brother's up with more soda for you when our guest awakens."

"...Say whut?"

Splinter paused for a moment and grinned. "You will see... or hear, as the case may be."

"Yer doin' dis just ta confuse me, aren't ya?"

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It was the first low growl that woke them up. Leaping up to their feet with a snap, they quickly looked around for the source... then stared at the stone figure of Brooklyn in terror.

The stone was cracking, visibly falling apart.

"Oh man... Don! What did you DO, dude?!"

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!"

The cracks spread at an exponential rate, and the faint growling noise grew more distinct, a sound similar to crunching gravel making itself heard as well. Up on the second floor, Raphael abandoned his post for a moment and quickly ran to where he could see what was happening.

"You must have done SOMETHIN'! He's fallin' apart!!"

"I just woke up! I never even TOUCHED the statue!"

"Oh man, oh man, oh man... Splinter's gonna kill us! He told us not to break him! ...Got any super glue?"

"NO!"

Suddenly, with a convulsive spasm and echoing roar, Brooklyn broke free of his stone prison, eyes glowing green for a split second as shards of stone skin went flying every which way like ballistic shells.

"DUCK AND COVER!"

The brown-red gargoyle finished his stretch, wings flaring out to their maximum extent as he closed his eyes, enjoying the sweet tension. Suddenly he relaxed, then ducked and shook his head, raking his claw through his hair once or twice to get all the bits of stone skin out of the thick white mane. He glanced up and spotted two very shocked looking teenage turtles staring at him from behind the relative safety of the couch. "Yo, guys," Brooklyn said casually, dusting the bits and pieces of old skin off one arm.

"And a good evening to you, Brooklyn," Splinter said as he calmly walked up to the small group. "I wish to thank you again for your aid last night."

Brooklyn shrugged slightly as Donatello and Michelangelo slid out from behind the couch while up on the second floor, Raphael shook his head and headed back into the room to keep an eye on Leo. "Like I said before, gargoyles protect. It's just nice to meet people that don't run away screaming in fear, or start teaming up with whoever I'm protecting them from in an attempt to destroy the 'monster'."

"Oh man, I know THAT feeling... The one time I decided to go all superheroy, people kept freaking!" Mikey dropped down into the couch, glad to find someone that understood the trouble he'd had being a vigilante that people actually saw.

Brooklyn nodded and flexed his wings, working out the kinks. "But anyway, since you protected me during the day, we'll call it-HEY! WATCH THE WINGS!" The Manhattan clan's Second in Command snatched his wing tip out of Donatello's light grip, aiming a faint glare in his direction... Something that Don remained completely oblivious to.

"Fascinating, I hadn't even made contact with your wing before you started to react to it, the amount of nerve ending necessary for that type of reaction is... unheard of, even human hands are unable to do that."

Mike groaned and grabbed a cushion off the couch and with a quick move, buried his head in it. "Oh maaaaaan, he's going all techy again!"

Brooklyn continued to frown at Donatello, though the purple masked turtle was ignoring him as he brought his computer on line and began typing, muttering to himself.

"I glide, they're sensitive, that's all there is to it."

"Awwwww, should I get them a hankie?" Michelangelo quipped from his seat on the couch, then acked and dove behind the couch to avoid a pillow thrown from the direction of Leonardo's room. "Hey, that was a good joke, Raph!"

"Is it ALWAYS like this?"

"No, usually it is even worse... They are subdued this evening due to yesterday's events," Splinter said. "Now, as a great sage and wise man once said..."

Splinter stepped aside, revealing the table. "Pizza, anyone?"

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Goliath studied the skies, frowning as a lightning bolt forked across it. He turned slightly as Hudson walked up.

"The news says tha storm should be over before sunrise," the older warrior said calmly, wiping some of the rain from his brow. "Odds are that tha lad will be back as soon as it's clear enough to glide."

"I hope you are right, old friend. I feel... that something is not right..."

"Now, lad..."

Goliath shook his head, then pushed his rain soaked hair out of his face. "I am not sure as to why, but for some reason, the timing of it all... a lone patrol, a ninja clan war, and Brooklyn not returning last night..."

"It gets worse."

The two gargoyles turned at the voice. Goliath's face relaxed into a smile and he swept Elisa up into his arms and cloaked his wings around her, holding her safe and close to him for a moment, then releasing her and stepping back. "How does it get worse, Elisa?"

"All those ninja that were unconscious when we found them? With only once exception, they all either vanished or died without a word sometime this morning. According to Shen, the ones we found dead committed sepiku..."

"Sepiku?"

"Ritual suicide. Look, the one ninja that actually said something before he vanished, what he said is something I figured you guys should know about. 'Oni... The red oni that called the storm, he is the one that finished us.' Now, according to Shen, an oni is a Japanese demon, and 'Red Oni' may be the name of the rival ninja clan, but..."

"Red demon can also be the description of a red gargoyle," Goliath rumbled, then frowned, staring out into the night. "It seems that I will have to have a talk with my second in command when he returns..."

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"So... How did you do that... jump... thing last night?" Donatello asked Brooklyn as he munched on the pizza. Michelangelo had taken one of the pies and a six pack of soda upstairs to, supposedly, share with Raphael. However, the odds of the red-masked turtle actually getting to eat any of said pizza, considering which brother had taken it up, were rather slim. ...And also factoring in, was the fact that Mike had likely taken the pizza up as an excuse to escape Don's tech talk... Something Brooklyn wished he could mimic.

Brooklyn shrugged slightly and took another sip of his soda, having finished eating quite some time ago. "I don't know, all gargoyles can do that."

"Fascinating..." Donatello tilted his head to the side suddenly. "How come you only ate one slice of pizza?"

Brooklyn again shrugged. "I don't need to eat, in all honestly. Stone sleep takes care of that as well..." he sighed and rubbed his temples. "Okay, why are you staring NOW?"

"You don't need to eat? Then... why do gargoyles have stomachs and, I assume, intestines? Why waste all that space and add more weight to what you'd have to carry around when you're gliding? If you evolved to turn to stone, it seems you'd loose the unnecessary weight as well."

Brooklyn stared at Donatello and blinked a few times. "You know, I have absolutely NO idea. When you put it that way, it does sound stupid..."

Don finished his pizza, then leaned forward, all seriousness. "Look, if you don't mind... the next time you're in the area, I'd love to run some tests to see your strength, dexterity, speed and the like are... Just weight pressing and the like, of course..."

Brooklyn was quiet for a moment, sipping his soda. "Alright, I'll agree to that. If..."

"If?"

"You tell me who you guys are... how you got here."

Donatello grinned and leaned forward, shaking Brooklyn's hand to seal the bargain. "Deal, but you owe me a origin story later too." the purple masked turtle leaned back and took up another slice of pizza. "It all started more then 17 years ago in Japan with a man named Hamato Yoshi and his pet rat..."

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"Sir? The... person that wished to speak with you..." the foot ninja said, bowing low as he faced the oriental man.

Oroko Saki looked up calmly from where he sat kneeling on his zabuton before his table, studying the reports made on the latest battle with the green freaks. He studied the larger being dispassionately. "What brings you to my tower?" he asked, lifting one eyebrow.

Because I think I may be of assistance to you," came the bass rumble. "You picked up a few new... distractions... and I have sufficient knowledge of them to allow you to keep your operation out of their sight, as long as your people do not mess up."

"I see," said Oroko Saki, templing his fingers before him. "And what do you want in exchange for this?"

The dark figure smiled viciously. "Money will do nicely for now. And later, when I offer more then just my advice, perhaps my prices will go up."

"Well... I have hired mercenaries before, and they have served me well..."

"I hope to offer you more then service... I hope to eventually offer you... a partnership."

"Well... We will see what fate has in store for us then."

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"Okay, let me see if I've got this straight," Brooklyn said, rubbing his browridges. "This whole mess started when the Homoto family had... a series of disagreements with the Oroko family, and it finally ended with Homoto Yoshi dead by Oroko Saki's hand and Yoshi's pet rat ending up in the sewers, where he found you and your brothers and all of you getting covered in glowing green goop... So then Splinter taught all of you martial arts in order to carry on the tradition, teach you self defense, etcetera... And he learned said martial arts back when he was Yoshi's pet, by mimicking his moves..."

"That sounds about right."

"...Are you guys sure that Splinter was EVER a NORMAL rat? I mean... What rat stands on it's hind legs and mimics it's master's movements?"

"...Well when you put it that way..."

"Hey, dudes, the storms clearin' up... sorta..." Mickey interjected as he exited the lift to the surface, brushing some of the water off his body as he walked. "It's still raining, but you can see something in the sky besides storm clouds now, and I think the rains slowing down a bit."

Brooklyn nodded and got to his feet, then turned to face Donatello and Splinter as the former stood up from the chair he'd claimed, and the latter exited his room and walked towards them. The brownish-red gargoyle shook the turtle's hands, then caped his wings and bowed, European style, to Splinter. "Thanks for watching me during the day."

"No prob, dude."

"Next time you're in East End, stop by."

"I'll do that, Donatello. ...And I'll keep an eye open for those Foot guys, as well as telling my clan about them."

"If you would not mind mentioning us, Brooklyn, though please tell your clan what you know of the Foot clan. I'm sure you can understand our with to remain in secret," Splinter said.

"Who better then me?" Brooklyn quipped, then walked to the lift and then was gone.

"We never get normal guests do we?"

"Nope."

"Hey, dudes... did anybody ask where he lived?"

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"WHERE have you been?"

Brooklyn stopped in midstride, then turned, still dripping, to face Goliath. "I was grounded by the storm last night, then I had to wait for it to die down enough for me to get home... Why? What's wrong?" the second in command frowned suddenly in worry. "Is everyone alright?"

"Everyone's fine," Elisa said, walking up the stairs, wringing her hair out. "But we need to talk to you about the ninja clan 'war' that seems to be brewing."

Behind Elisa, the rest of the clan wandered in from various areas of the castle. Broadway and Angela from the kitchen, Hudson and Bronx from the TV room, and Lexington emerging from the small room Xanatos had set up as a computer room.

Brooklyn blinked, then dragged his talons through his sodden mane. "Clan war?" he asked, wondering what he had missed. Surely a huge number of people attacking five individuals did not count as a clan WAR!

"There, ye see, lad? He dinnae know about tha fight on tha east side. Yer jumpin' at shadows."

Brooklyn blinked once again and opened his mouth to clarify that fact, but before he had the chance to speak-

"You were right, old friend. My... apologies... for thinking that you were protecting one of the ninja clans, Brooklyn."

Train of thought thrown off-track yet again, Brooklyn gaped at Goliath. "Protecting a ninja clan...?" he asked, confused. "I wouldn't fight for one group if I saw to groups of equal size trying to kill each other! I-"

"Sunrise is close," Angela said suddenly, staring at the slowly lightening east. "Father, do you think we should step up patrols in the East Side?"

"...No. No, I think that, for now, patrols will remain as they are. Unless this incident repeats itself," Goliath intoned, then walked out into the rain, the clan and Elisa following.

"Ummm, hello? Second in Command has opinion here, you see guys, I..." Brooklyn trailed off as he realized that no one was in hearing distance. "...know..." Brooklyn sighed and sagged slightly, wings dropping to his shoulders as he began to walk towards 'his' spot on the parapets. "Never mind..."

The terracotta colored gargoyle leapt up lightly, then glanced down with a wince as his feet hit several stones of various sizes. With a sigh, he dropped down to sit on his heels, wings still cowled about him, and began to clear away the stones. He paused in shock as he uncovered a letter, addressed to him beneath the rocks.

Curiosity aroused, he opened the letter, tilting his head slightly to the side as he saw a very vague map drawn on the back, with map symbols like those he and his clan had used back when Wyvern still stood in Scotland. He flipped the letter back over, browridges lifting as he read.

Brooklyn,
To be alone is a terrible curse.
Please... I need to speak to you. Meet me at the location marked on the map tomorrow night... You know what those symbols mean.

The terracotta colored gargoyle turned the letter over, then back again. No signature, but...

To be alone...

Brooklyn shivered. "Always alone." he stared over at the clan as they gathered onto their roosts. Goliath talking with Elisa, and sharing a quick hug while Broadway gallantly helped Angela up to her roost, stealing a quick kiss as he did so. Lexington and Fox spoke quietly, most likely about Alex, their only common point of interest while Hudson scratched Bronx behind the ears.

Brooklyn stared down at the letter for a few moments, then tore it apart and let the pieces flutter out into the rain filled night like confetti.

Tomorrow he would patrol Central Park...

Alone.

As he always was.

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Well? What did you think? Good? Bad? Must-slaughter-the-evil-author?
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Author's Notes:

Thanks again to Deana and Doppleganger for the help in names of both people and objects;) And thanks bro, for telling me that the (generally white) training suits are called dogi. Okay, I hope I haven't confused anyone TOO badly. This stuff will actually be mentioned in the stories as it goes on, but I'm keeping this here so people can get a quick summery of the history in 'my' realm. The year is currently 1997. The Goliath Chronicles did NOT occur here. The gargoyles portion of this fic-series goes off on a parallel course after Hunter's Moon. The Quarrymen do exist, as does the P. I.T. crew, however, most of the human populace think the gargoyles were just an elaborate hoax, someone creating robots again in the shape of monsters. The remainder of the public is torn between hating or loving the gargoyles... and just wanting them to go away. Jason Canmore has joined the CSI. He's still in a wheelchair, but he's enjoying the desk job (more or less) he has in the laboratory and is slowly proving himself to be a trustworthy. Robyn Canmore has been given parole and is job hunting and Jon is still MIA (actually, he's in charge of the Quarry men under the assumed name John Castaway).
Once again, this is for those of you that are actually reading this... Yes, the note is from someone we all know and love, no I'm not going to tell you how it got up there (yet), and yes, the clan is acting a bit odd towards Brooklyn, but I did that on purpose;). Pay close attention to how the clan, Fox, David, Owen, Elisa and the Mutates treat Brook... again, it's going to be vital in the Exile saga...
I'm using the new TMNT TV series for this crossover (primarily because it's following the comics, but I like the gadgets and tone of it a bit better then the comics... Never thought I'd say that) Since the show isn't over yet, I'm using what has occurred so far in the series and mixing it up with the comic book history, first and second movie and my own imagination. The new series seems to be taking place in 1995 (cell phones, DVDs, etc) The Purple Dragons are a bit more like the gang we see in the first NT movie. There's a silent crime wave going on as the Purple Dragons recruit teenagers and teach them the basics of breaking and entering, pick-pocketing, etc. The better fighters in the Purple Dragons are being taken in to be taught ninjitsu. Tatsu (yes, the grunting guy from the movie;) is in charge of training the foot, while Hun is in charge of their deployment. The Purple Dragons aren't aware of who they're working for, so even if the police break them up, there's no way of connecting the crimes to Oroko Saki, the respected business man.
No, the gargs and turtles aren't really aware of each other. In the comics and new series, most of the turtles actions are happening very quickly topside, inside buildings, or underground, while the 'Gargoyles' action occurs in hard to reach places, on top of secluded buildings, or in midair. The odds of the gargoyles or police realizing that there is a 'Foot' clan are somewhere between very low and flat out impossible.
In the year since Hunter's Moon and Logic of Dreams
/Alone, Demona has gone seemingly MIA and has done nothing illegal or genocidish, so though Elisa, Matt and the others are watching Nightstone Inc, there's nothing for them to find. Leo and Raph have been getting a bit more aggressive towards each other, but it has yet to reach a head. Goliath is following the route he seemed to be taking in the Goliath Chronicles and is pushing for the clan to take on more human customs and let the public know about their presence. Meanwhile, also following his GC 'path' Brooklyn seems to be resisting the changes, and openly disagreeing with Goliath about revealing their presence. Or at least, that's my take on the circumstances;)

And yes, Splinter STILL kicks ass;)