Recruitment
Part 1
Author: Darkness. Address: darknessdescending2000@yahoo.co.uk
Author's Note: Once again, I don't own the Malus Codicium, it was created by sci-fi author Dan Abnett (who rocks!), now that that's cleared up, don't sue me!
A skyscraper roof
He was alone now, completely and utterly alone. He looked out at the vast expanse of light, noise and concrete that was Manhattan Island and sighed mournfully.
Angela was pregnant.
She and Broadway had officially been mates for two years now; he'd been courting her for over a year and a half before he'd finally worked up the courage to ask her. He'd proposed to her right in front of the entire clan and she had readily accepted, to the cheers of everyone.
Except him.
It's true he'd been expecting it for ages, but it still hurt like a dagger to his heart when she screamed "YES!" and embraced him hungrily. He had patted Broadway on the back and wished them both many years of happiness together, before disappearing off to cry his eyes out.
He was on the roof of a skyscraper that had a perfect frontal view of the castle; set a top the tallest building on Earth, in it there was a party going on.
He had decided to leave as soon as he could. He sighed again.
-I've lost Angela forever. I've lost Broadway forever.-
He sat down, leaned against the wall from which he'd been looking over and pulled his knees against his chest.
-I've lost Lexington forever.-
Alexander was now over four years old, he could walk, he could talk, and Lexington fawned over him as if he were his own child. He spent every waking minute with the Xanatoses' kid; he had no time for him anymore. He didn't hate Alex for that, it wasn't his fault he was an adorable kid that absolutely everybody loved, it was just.
"I have no one," he mumbled to himself.
-It's not fair! How come absolutely everyone around me has somebody while I'm forever alone?-
His track record with the fairer sex was definitely not impressive. Maggie hated him; Angela had chosen someone else over him, while Demona.
His eyes flared up at the thought of that treacherous viper. She was another reason he'd left as quickly as possible. Angela had called her to tell her she was pregnant and had invited her over without telling the rest of the clan! Worst of all she'd accepted! He had to restrain himself from grabbing a sword off the wall and cutting her head off when she'd first arrived. Goliath, who had been quite shocked at this, gave Angela a "We'll talk about this later" look before acting with great courtesy towards their unexpected guest.
She'd asked him where he thought he was going, she'd probably been waiting to pounce on him, waiting for the right moment to put him on the spotlight, the atmosphere had gone tense for a few seconds in the main hall, everyone knew he hated her with a vengence.
He smiled at himself. He wouldn't play Demona's game; he had politely excused himself, saying he needed some air. He looked up at the dark clouds above his head, it would be raining in a couple of hours, by the looks of the clouds, there'd be thunder and lightning as well. At least in the storm, he could mope without anyone hearing him.
He smiled sadly.
-I'm so pathetic it's not even funny.-
The Labyrinth
-I'm in deep shit now.-
He pressed himself tight against the column as very angry voices grew steadily closer. He looked down the tunnel, at the only way out of this hellhole.
-God.if you really exist, then please let me make it.-
He made a bolt for the exit of the Labyrinth, a good thirty meters away.
They spotted him making a mad dash for the exit and gave chase.
He could hear very mad swearing behind him, along with graphic promises of what they intended to do to him when they caught up with him. But he was a fast runner.
He had to be down here.
He reached the outside, ran up the side of a hill and clawed his way up the wall of the first building he saw. They were calling his name now, but they were much farther off.
"Malibu!"
His body made painful protests at the sudden abundance of exercise it had to deal with. He ignored it. He wouldn't rest until he was in the air, and far away from his pursuers.
He reached the top of the building, it was three storeys tall.
-Please let it be tall enough!-
He ran to the end of the roof as fast as he could, trying to build up momentum.
-Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please!-
He spread his wings as he leapt over small wall surrounding the roof; all the while praying to a God he wasn't even sure existed for escape. His wings caught a small updraft and he soared.
"YES!" he yelled in triumph, it had been such a long time since he'd been allowed out, he was afraid that he had forgotten how to do it.
-Like riding a bicycle.I think.-
It felt so good to have the wind in his face again, to have it flow through his long white hair. He took a deep breath of the free air
-Never again,- he vowed.
-Never, ever again.-
He soared over the immense city, marvelling at the sheer scale of the buildings all around him. Suddenly, he felt very small. He needed a rest, somewhere where he could think out his next move from here on. He looked around him and saw the immense skyscraper that Goliath's clan resided in.
-That's a definite no no! I know all about their feelings towards us "forgeries."-
He picked a building close by and glided towards it.
The most depressing skyscraper roof on earth
Brooklyn sat huddled against the concrete roof shed, wallowing in total self pity at the fact he was totally alone. His ears pricked up on a faint sound on the wind, he stood up cautiously.
-What the Hell's that noise?-
"obuggerbuggerhelpaarghnoNoNoAarghBuggerNONOAAAWWCRAP!"
A light-green coloured blur raced over him, over-shooting the roof and going far too fast. It seemed vaguely familiar.
"Malibu?"
Brooklyn ran quickly over to the edge of the roof and peered over the wall. It was Malibu, his clone, and it looked he had been trying to land on this roof and had come in far too fast, now he was heading straight into the side of a building. His gargoyle instincts taking over from the general feeling of creepiness that seemed to follow his clone around, Brooklyn leapt off the building and made a mad dive to try and stop his clone from splattering against a skyscraper wall sixty yards away.
Malibu had started to slow down just a little, allowing Brooklyn to quickly reduce the gap between them. He reached out and got a firm grip on his flailing arms and began to pull up.
"Brooklyn?" said Malibu, after he got over the initial shock of having the gargoyle he was cloned from come out of nowhere to save him from a very painful appointment with the side of a building.
"Yep?"
"Um.ah.why are you helping me? I thought you hated us clones?"
"Gargoyles protect, and I don't actually hate you.I just don't feel all that comfortable being near."
"A forgery?"
"I wasn't going to say that."
"Then what were you going to say?"
"Ah.how about we land somewhere and finish this conversation then, your kinda heavy."
Brooklyn landed on them on a nearby skyscraper roof. They sat down beside each other on a helicopter-landing pad. For a few awkward moments, they remained silent; eventually Brooklyn spoke up.
"So.I.ah.haven't seen you in a few years. What ya been doing with yourself?"
"Nothing much. I been stuck in the Labyrinth for most of the time."
"Oh."
"That's why I kinda suck at this gliding thing. I haven't been in the air for almost three years. Bicycle my ass."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing. You look depressed."
"What?"
"I said you looked depressed. Something wrong?"
"I don't think you'd understand."
"Try me."
Brooklyn looked at the clone suspiciously. Malibu smiled back pleasantly.
-He seems genuine enough.-
"Oh what the Hell?"
Brooklyn told him everything, his heart break when Angela chose Broadway over him, how it got worse when Lexington started spending all his time with Alex, finding out that Angela was pregnant, how he couldn't stay there any longer when he found out Angela had invited Demona. Malibu listened intently through the entire thing, when Brooklyn was finished his tale of woe, Malibu did something very unexpected. He burst out laughing.
At first, Brooklyn was understandably a little annoyed at having his troubles laughed at, but the laughter was infectious. After several minutes, they were both laughing hysterically. When they had eventually calmed down, Brooklyn looked over at Malibu, suddenly, things didn't seem all that bad, he had someone who was willing to listen to him. Malibu looked back at him and smiled again.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Much. Thanks for listening. So, what are you doing out the Labyrinth?" The smile on Malibu's face vanished.
"I hate it down there."
"You do?"
"Of course I do! Wouldn't you?"
"I guess so. Why don't you guys go out then?"
"Talon doesn't allow us," said Malibu bitterly.
"Why not?"
"He thinks we'll hurt ourselves or do something stupid that'll be blamed on you guys."
"You don't like him?"
"It's not that," replied Malibu hurriedly, "If it wasn't for him, we'd never have learned to think for ourselves, but he treats us like children. He's so stubborn about some things that he drives me crazy. He's got one Hell of a temper to boot."
"That sounds very familiar," laughed Brooklyn.
"That's not the worst."
"What is?"
"Maggie and my brothers and sister."
Brooklyn's eyes widened in shock at this, "How so?"
"For the past three months Delilah and the others have been teasing and beating me, I told Maggie, but she turned a blind eye to it."
"That's terrible! But why?"
Malibu looked over at Brooklyn, "Its because I look like you."
"WHAT!" yelled Brooklyn, his eyes flaring.
"No offence Brooklyn but she doesn't like you that much."
"She doesn't?" said Brooklyn, getting a very familiar feeling in his heart.
"Sorry."
"It's okay," sighed Brooklyn, "I'm used to rejection. So what did you do about it."
"Something very stupid."
"What?"
"Well, Talon, Maggie and Claw are away to that party you walked out of," started Malibu, "Which meant that this was the best chance I'd have for escape."
"I see, go on."
"Well, Delilah saw me sneaking out and started the alarm before trying to beat the crap out of me."
"What did you do then?"
"I broke a baseball bat over her head."
"You killed her?!!!"
"No no no, I didn't kill her, the bat was old and worn while she has a very thick skull."
"You sure you didn't kill her?"
"Positive, she was still breathing when some of the humans who live down there came in and saw me standing over her with a broken bat. That's when I ran for it."
"Okay. So what do you plan on doing now?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Your not sure?"
"Hey cut me some slack!" said Malibu, getting angry, "I saw an opportunity and I took it! I was planning to think out the next part after I got out of that shit-hole! Do you think I'm some sort of idiot?"
"Calm down," said Brooklyn reassuringly, "I wasn't going to call you anything. You can always stay with us."
"No thanks," said Malibu, "I appreciate the gesture but I don't think your clan may be to thrilled about the prospect of having a clone stay with them. Besides, the second Talon found out where I was, he'd whip my ass and drag me back down to the Labyrinth."
Brooklyn sat and thought for a few moments while Malibu fumbled in a pouch on his belt, after a moment, he produced a packet of cigarettes and a battered old lighter, he took one out and then offered one to Brooklyn. Brooklyn hesitated, but only for a moment, taking a cigarette out, he let Malibu light it. He took a deep suck, and almost coughed his guts out.
"Goliath must keep you on a tight lease," laughed the clone.
"You have no idea," replied the red gargoyle, taking another drag, trying to accustom himself to the smoke. They stayed silent for several moments, Malibu enjoying his smoke, while Brooklyn continued coughing severely.
"Where'd you pick this habit up from anyway?" coughed Brooklyn.
"Fang."
"Fang!" sputtered Brooklyn, shocked.
"Yeah, he's not as bad you might think."
"We're talking about the same Fang here aren't we?"
"He's changed quite a lot since you last seen him," explained Malibu, "He was the only person I could talk to."
"He was friendly enough towards you?"
"Sure, we used to spend hours talking whenever I had to guard him. And I always used to go with him whenever he was allowed to go out for exercise."
Malibu sighed, "I should have helped him escape with me."
"You know," started Brooklyn, "If you're planning to go anywhere, you might need to know how land without killing yourself."
"You offering to help?"
"Sure why not? And after it all comes back to you, me and you could try and find you a place to crash."
"Thanks."
"No problem, now take my lead."
Brooklyn spent half an hour helping Malibu master the finer points of slowing down in mid-air and landing on his feet. After that, the pair let the coastal winds carry them farther inland while overhead, a storm was brewing.
The pair spent the next few hours gliding over the city; eventually they passed the city limits. They were over a very large country estate and were about to turn back when the rain began to fall; they were forced to land in a small clump of woods.
"That place looks familiar," said Brooklyn. He and Malibu were hiding under a tall tree while the rain poured heavily around them. They had a good view of the castle that dominated a small hill through the trees; it was roughly half a mile away. Realisation dawned on him. "That's Macbeth's castle!"
"Friend of yours?"
"Well, we did kinda burn his house down a few times."
"That would be a no then."
"Not really, he used to be a bad guy, but he's different now."
"Like Fang?"
"I'll believe he's changed when I see it myself."
"Do you think he'd give us shelter until the storm's over?"
"I don't know," said Brooklyn, a little uncertain, "I'd prefer not to bother him."
Just then, there was a flash of lightning, followed by a mighty crack of thunder. Both gargoyles looked at each other briefly and then made a mad dash for the edge of the woods at breakneck speed. When they were nearly at the edge, a bolt of fork lightning flew from the sky and struck a tree a little over ten meters from them. The tree, for lack of a better word, blew up, filling the surrounding area with sharp splinters. A particularly large piece cut through the air and planted itself into Malibu's right shoulder, another pierced his hand while a third planted itself in his right leg, just above the ankle, the light-green gargoyle howled in agony and fell to the ground.
"Mal! Mal!" yelled Brooklyn as he rushed to help his friend. He knelt down beside him, checking his wounds.
"It hurts," said the clone weakly.
"We're gonna have to get those out," said Brooklyn, taking hold of Malibu's right wrist, "This is gonna hurt." The clone nodded and gritted his teeth. Brooklyn pulled the splinter in the back of his friend's hand out in a sudden, powerful jerk, the clone screamed and blacked out from the pain. Brooklyn was relieved at that, it meant Mal wouldn't feel the next two splinters being removed. After that unpleasant business was over, Brooklyn awkwardly picked his clone up, propping him over his shoulders into a fireman's carry. He looked up at Macbeth's castle; it seemed a lot farther away now. "I hope he likes unexpected guests," said the red gargoyle under his breath as he set out for the building as quickly as he could.
Inside Macbeth's Castle
Jezebel Tibbs scrolled through another museum website, stopping suddenly when she noticed an exhibit that looked familiar.
"Sir!" she yelled, "I found something!"
"Is it a Codicium?" replied Macbeth, rising from his table, which was littered with parchments containing any known reference to another copy of the Malus Codicium, along with a small tome of lesser magic he was planning to use against it.
"Something almost as good," replied Jezebel, pointing to the screen. Macbeth looked at where his old friend was pointing at the screen, his eyes widened. Shown was an iron rod, two feet in length, one inch in diameter, it was totally covered in runes that looked all too familiar to the immortal.
"It's called the 'Rod of Control," explained Jezebel, "It was supposedly created by a warlock by the name of Heldane after Lucifer himself told him how to make it, he was found by the Inquisition supposedly a week after he finished it's construction and burned as an Arch Heretic."
"And the rod?"
"He hid it along with an explanation of what it was, who gave him the instructions to create it, and it's purpose."
"Which was?"
"To be used in conjunction with a tome of demology and magic which was penned by Lucifer himself."
"The Malus Codicium."
"It gets better, there were supposedly three copies written."
"Three!"
"Not to worry, Heldane had one and it burned along with him."
"And the other two?"
"No information is available the other two, though one's obviously the one in the storage chamber downstairs. I have no idea where the other could be located at the minute."
"Damn!"
"How's your search progressing sir?"
"No luck at all Jezebel. Where's the rod located?"
"At a museum in Vienna."
Macbeth slumped back down in his chair and yawned, "If we can't locate the second Codicium, then I'm going to pay a visit to Vienna and destroy the rod."
"If I may sir, it's quite late, we should get some sleep and continue this in the morning," said Jezebel rising from her chair and stretching.
"Very well old friend," replied the immortal, rising as well and heading to his bedchamber. Suddenly, there was a massive banging at the door. Jezebel and Macbeth stared at each other for a moment, before carrying out a well practiced drill, Jezebel wrenching her shotgun from her thick woollen coat which had been hanging off the back of her chair, while Macbeth produced a pair of .5 calibre Desert Eagle pistols from his coat. Proceeding with caution down the stairs, the two kept the door covered at all times during their descent. Upon reaching the huge oak door, which was being banged again, Macbeth sheathed a pistol and moved to open one of the pair of huge oak doors while Jezebel kept it covered with her pump-action. With a mighty pull, Macbeth threw the door open and aimed his pistol at.
"Brooklyn?"
The red gargoyle was standing out in the rain, another gargoyle of a light green complexion slumped over his shoulders, they had been both completely drenched, Brooklyn was shaking from exhaustion and the cold while the gargoyle on his shoulders appeared to be bleeding from several places.
"Macbeth, please help us," said the red gargoyle, falling to his knees, his charge still on his shoulders.
Macbeth and Jezebel caste their weapons aside and took the green gargoyle (which looked strangely like Brooklyn) off Brooklyn's shoulders, Macbeth carrying him over his shoulder, while Jezebel helped the red gargoyle to stand, letting him lean on her for support as they went inside.
An Hour later
Macbeth came into the living room, Brooklyn was sitting on an oriental rug, right beside the fire, he had several heavy blankets wrapped around him but he was still shivering. He went over to a table and drinks cabinet on the other side of the room; he poured the young gargoyle a large glass of brandy and, remembering his beak, put a straw in it.
"Here, drink this," said Macbeth as he sat down in front of Brooklyn.
"Thank you," said the gargoyle, taking the glass and emptying it. He stopped shivering and sat the glass on the floor. "How is he?"
"Jezebel's looking after Malibu, she's handled worse than his injuries, he'll be fine."
Brooklyn seemed greatly relieved at that, "I can't thank you enough Macbeth, I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense," said Macbeth, waving his hand dismissivly, "I always help my friends when they're in need."
"Thank you all the same."
"Are you two family?"
"Excuse me?"
"I can't help but notice a slight resemblance between the pair of you."
Brooklyn explained how Demona and Thailog had cloned Malibu from him, along with the rest of the clan, but then Thailog had created Delilah to replace Demona, how they all got in a huge fight, which left the clones with Talon at the end. Macbeth listened closely, when Brooklyn was finished, Macbeth asked him how they both came to be in his estate and why they were so far from the city. Brooklyn explained how Angela had invited Demona, insisting she had changed, to a party celebrating her pregnancy, how he'd left in disgust and ran into his clone fleeing the Labyrinth, he even told him what he'd done there and why.
Macbeth smiled, satisfied at the explanation, "You don't think Demona can change then?"
"I know she can't, all this is just an act to get close to the clan."
"I'd be inclined to agree," said Macbeth, his memory flashing back to the dream he had the previous night. He shivered at what may be his young friend's fate if he didn't stop it. He looked into Brooklyn's hazel eyes. There was a lot of anger in them, he was undoubtedly very paranoid about Demona's motives, but he could be a great deal of help to his cause.
-The enemy of my enemy, is my friend.-
"If I was to tell you I was aware of what Demona was planning, and that I intended to stop her once and for all, what would you say?"
"Can I be of any assistance?" replied the gargoyle, smiling.
"No one else knows you two are here?"
"No one."
"Then let me explain what I know."
Macbeth told Brooklyn of the Malus Codicium, the "Rod of Control" And of the prophetic dream he'd had. Brooklyn was shocked at what he described, especially at his fate and that of the clan.
"I don't understand," asked the gargoyle after Macbeth was finished, "How could she believe Angela would stay with her after what she'd done to us?"
"The Codicium warps the minds of those who use it excessively," explained Macbeth patiently, "It also contains many powerful spells, including mind altering ones, she would probably make Angela and Broadway think just like her, or just wipe your clan from their memories."
"How can a book warp someone's mind?"
"It's alive."
Brooklyn's eyes widened in shock at that, "Alive?"
"It's very hard to explain, will you help me?"
"If the clan finds out I'm involved, they'll kill me," replied the Brooklyn sadly, "I'm sorry."
Macbeth thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "I have a tome of lesser magic," he said quickly, "One of it's properties is the power of transformation, if I can guarantee you that the clan will never know its you who's helping me, will you help then?"
The red gargoyle met Macbeth's hopeful stare, and smiled darkly, "I'd follow you into Hell then if it would help destroy her."
"Then it's a deal," said Macbeth happily, shaking Brooklyn's hand, "I just hope that Hell bit's not necessary."
Macbeth rose to his feet, Brooklyn rose aswell, just then Jezebel came in.
"Jezebel, this is Brooklyn Wyvern, he's agreed to help us against Demona," said Macbeth happily as he went to get them all drinks to celebrate. Jezebel went over and shook Brooklyn's hand as Macbeth poured three glasses of wine.
"How's Malibu?"
"Oh he'll be just fine," said Jezebel reassuringly, "He just needs some sleep, which I'm sure he'll get plenty of when the sun rises."
"Thank you miss Tibbs."
"Oh please, call me Jezebel."
"What about Malibu," said Macbeth, giving Jezebel and Brooklyn their glasses, remembering to put a straw in Brooklyn's.
"There's no love loss between him and Demona," replied Brooklyn, "He was made to be a mindless slave to her and Thailog after all."
"Then he'll help aswell?" asked Jezebel
"If Macbeth explains things to him as he did for me then I've no doubt he will."
"Then let us toast," said Macbeth, raising his glass.
"What shall we toast to?" asked Jezebel.
" To the final destruction of a plague upon all of us," replied Brooklyn, raising his own glass.
"Agreed."
"That's good enough for me."
With that the three hunters to be drank to their success while the storm outside reached its peak.
Meanwhile, beneath the castle, behind a false wall, thirteen titanium doors, all with state of the art locking systems and codes, behind a laser- shield and an iron safe within a vacuum sealed room, something of immense power and evil smiled triumphantly to itself.
"And so it finally begins."
To be continued.
So what do you think so far? If anyone has any opinions (or questions) about the series so far then you know my e-mail address. I'll even accept flames, as long as they are decent, with intelligent arguments.
Until next time.
Darkness.
Author: Darkness. Address: darknessdescending2000@yahoo.co.uk
Author's Note: Once again, I don't own the Malus Codicium, it was created by sci-fi author Dan Abnett (who rocks!), now that that's cleared up, don't sue me!
A skyscraper roof
He was alone now, completely and utterly alone. He looked out at the vast expanse of light, noise and concrete that was Manhattan Island and sighed mournfully.
Angela was pregnant.
She and Broadway had officially been mates for two years now; he'd been courting her for over a year and a half before he'd finally worked up the courage to ask her. He'd proposed to her right in front of the entire clan and she had readily accepted, to the cheers of everyone.
Except him.
It's true he'd been expecting it for ages, but it still hurt like a dagger to his heart when she screamed "YES!" and embraced him hungrily. He had patted Broadway on the back and wished them both many years of happiness together, before disappearing off to cry his eyes out.
He was on the roof of a skyscraper that had a perfect frontal view of the castle; set a top the tallest building on Earth, in it there was a party going on.
He had decided to leave as soon as he could. He sighed again.
-I've lost Angela forever. I've lost Broadway forever.-
He sat down, leaned against the wall from which he'd been looking over and pulled his knees against his chest.
-I've lost Lexington forever.-
Alexander was now over four years old, he could walk, he could talk, and Lexington fawned over him as if he were his own child. He spent every waking minute with the Xanatoses' kid; he had no time for him anymore. He didn't hate Alex for that, it wasn't his fault he was an adorable kid that absolutely everybody loved, it was just.
"I have no one," he mumbled to himself.
-It's not fair! How come absolutely everyone around me has somebody while I'm forever alone?-
His track record with the fairer sex was definitely not impressive. Maggie hated him; Angela had chosen someone else over him, while Demona.
His eyes flared up at the thought of that treacherous viper. She was another reason he'd left as quickly as possible. Angela had called her to tell her she was pregnant and had invited her over without telling the rest of the clan! Worst of all she'd accepted! He had to restrain himself from grabbing a sword off the wall and cutting her head off when she'd first arrived. Goliath, who had been quite shocked at this, gave Angela a "We'll talk about this later" look before acting with great courtesy towards their unexpected guest.
She'd asked him where he thought he was going, she'd probably been waiting to pounce on him, waiting for the right moment to put him on the spotlight, the atmosphere had gone tense for a few seconds in the main hall, everyone knew he hated her with a vengence.
He smiled at himself. He wouldn't play Demona's game; he had politely excused himself, saying he needed some air. He looked up at the dark clouds above his head, it would be raining in a couple of hours, by the looks of the clouds, there'd be thunder and lightning as well. At least in the storm, he could mope without anyone hearing him.
He smiled sadly.
-I'm so pathetic it's not even funny.-
The Labyrinth
-I'm in deep shit now.-
He pressed himself tight against the column as very angry voices grew steadily closer. He looked down the tunnel, at the only way out of this hellhole.
-God.if you really exist, then please let me make it.-
He made a bolt for the exit of the Labyrinth, a good thirty meters away.
They spotted him making a mad dash for the exit and gave chase.
He could hear very mad swearing behind him, along with graphic promises of what they intended to do to him when they caught up with him. But he was a fast runner.
He had to be down here.
He reached the outside, ran up the side of a hill and clawed his way up the wall of the first building he saw. They were calling his name now, but they were much farther off.
"Malibu!"
His body made painful protests at the sudden abundance of exercise it had to deal with. He ignored it. He wouldn't rest until he was in the air, and far away from his pursuers.
He reached the top of the building, it was three storeys tall.
-Please let it be tall enough!-
He ran to the end of the roof as fast as he could, trying to build up momentum.
-Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please! Oh Please!-
He spread his wings as he leapt over small wall surrounding the roof; all the while praying to a God he wasn't even sure existed for escape. His wings caught a small updraft and he soared.
"YES!" he yelled in triumph, it had been such a long time since he'd been allowed out, he was afraid that he had forgotten how to do it.
-Like riding a bicycle.I think.-
It felt so good to have the wind in his face again, to have it flow through his long white hair. He took a deep breath of the free air
-Never again,- he vowed.
-Never, ever again.-
He soared over the immense city, marvelling at the sheer scale of the buildings all around him. Suddenly, he felt very small. He needed a rest, somewhere where he could think out his next move from here on. He looked around him and saw the immense skyscraper that Goliath's clan resided in.
-That's a definite no no! I know all about their feelings towards us "forgeries."-
He picked a building close by and glided towards it.
The most depressing skyscraper roof on earth
Brooklyn sat huddled against the concrete roof shed, wallowing in total self pity at the fact he was totally alone. His ears pricked up on a faint sound on the wind, he stood up cautiously.
-What the Hell's that noise?-
"obuggerbuggerhelpaarghnoNoNoAarghBuggerNONOAAAWWCRAP!"
A light-green coloured blur raced over him, over-shooting the roof and going far too fast. It seemed vaguely familiar.
"Malibu?"
Brooklyn ran quickly over to the edge of the roof and peered over the wall. It was Malibu, his clone, and it looked he had been trying to land on this roof and had come in far too fast, now he was heading straight into the side of a building. His gargoyle instincts taking over from the general feeling of creepiness that seemed to follow his clone around, Brooklyn leapt off the building and made a mad dive to try and stop his clone from splattering against a skyscraper wall sixty yards away.
Malibu had started to slow down just a little, allowing Brooklyn to quickly reduce the gap between them. He reached out and got a firm grip on his flailing arms and began to pull up.
"Brooklyn?" said Malibu, after he got over the initial shock of having the gargoyle he was cloned from come out of nowhere to save him from a very painful appointment with the side of a building.
"Yep?"
"Um.ah.why are you helping me? I thought you hated us clones?"
"Gargoyles protect, and I don't actually hate you.I just don't feel all that comfortable being near."
"A forgery?"
"I wasn't going to say that."
"Then what were you going to say?"
"Ah.how about we land somewhere and finish this conversation then, your kinda heavy."
Brooklyn landed on them on a nearby skyscraper roof. They sat down beside each other on a helicopter-landing pad. For a few awkward moments, they remained silent; eventually Brooklyn spoke up.
"So.I.ah.haven't seen you in a few years. What ya been doing with yourself?"
"Nothing much. I been stuck in the Labyrinth for most of the time."
"Oh."
"That's why I kinda suck at this gliding thing. I haven't been in the air for almost three years. Bicycle my ass."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing. You look depressed."
"What?"
"I said you looked depressed. Something wrong?"
"I don't think you'd understand."
"Try me."
Brooklyn looked at the clone suspiciously. Malibu smiled back pleasantly.
-He seems genuine enough.-
"Oh what the Hell?"
Brooklyn told him everything, his heart break when Angela chose Broadway over him, how it got worse when Lexington started spending all his time with Alex, finding out that Angela was pregnant, how he couldn't stay there any longer when he found out Angela had invited Demona. Malibu listened intently through the entire thing, when Brooklyn was finished his tale of woe, Malibu did something very unexpected. He burst out laughing.
At first, Brooklyn was understandably a little annoyed at having his troubles laughed at, but the laughter was infectious. After several minutes, they were both laughing hysterically. When they had eventually calmed down, Brooklyn looked over at Malibu, suddenly, things didn't seem all that bad, he had someone who was willing to listen to him. Malibu looked back at him and smiled again.
"Feeling better?" he asked.
"Much. Thanks for listening. So, what are you doing out the Labyrinth?" The smile on Malibu's face vanished.
"I hate it down there."
"You do?"
"Of course I do! Wouldn't you?"
"I guess so. Why don't you guys go out then?"
"Talon doesn't allow us," said Malibu bitterly.
"Why not?"
"He thinks we'll hurt ourselves or do something stupid that'll be blamed on you guys."
"You don't like him?"
"It's not that," replied Malibu hurriedly, "If it wasn't for him, we'd never have learned to think for ourselves, but he treats us like children. He's so stubborn about some things that he drives me crazy. He's got one Hell of a temper to boot."
"That sounds very familiar," laughed Brooklyn.
"That's not the worst."
"What is?"
"Maggie and my brothers and sister."
Brooklyn's eyes widened in shock at this, "How so?"
"For the past three months Delilah and the others have been teasing and beating me, I told Maggie, but she turned a blind eye to it."
"That's terrible! But why?"
Malibu looked over at Brooklyn, "Its because I look like you."
"WHAT!" yelled Brooklyn, his eyes flaring.
"No offence Brooklyn but she doesn't like you that much."
"She doesn't?" said Brooklyn, getting a very familiar feeling in his heart.
"Sorry."
"It's okay," sighed Brooklyn, "I'm used to rejection. So what did you do about it."
"Something very stupid."
"What?"
"Well, Talon, Maggie and Claw are away to that party you walked out of," started Malibu, "Which meant that this was the best chance I'd have for escape."
"I see, go on."
"Well, Delilah saw me sneaking out and started the alarm before trying to beat the crap out of me."
"What did you do then?"
"I broke a baseball bat over her head."
"You killed her?!!!"
"No no no, I didn't kill her, the bat was old and worn while she has a very thick skull."
"You sure you didn't kill her?"
"Positive, she was still breathing when some of the humans who live down there came in and saw me standing over her with a broken bat. That's when I ran for it."
"Okay. So what do you plan on doing now?"
"I'm not entirely sure."
"Your not sure?"
"Hey cut me some slack!" said Malibu, getting angry, "I saw an opportunity and I took it! I was planning to think out the next part after I got out of that shit-hole! Do you think I'm some sort of idiot?"
"Calm down," said Brooklyn reassuringly, "I wasn't going to call you anything. You can always stay with us."
"No thanks," said Malibu, "I appreciate the gesture but I don't think your clan may be to thrilled about the prospect of having a clone stay with them. Besides, the second Talon found out where I was, he'd whip my ass and drag me back down to the Labyrinth."
Brooklyn sat and thought for a few moments while Malibu fumbled in a pouch on his belt, after a moment, he produced a packet of cigarettes and a battered old lighter, he took one out and then offered one to Brooklyn. Brooklyn hesitated, but only for a moment, taking a cigarette out, he let Malibu light it. He took a deep suck, and almost coughed his guts out.
"Goliath must keep you on a tight lease," laughed the clone.
"You have no idea," replied the red gargoyle, taking another drag, trying to accustom himself to the smoke. They stayed silent for several moments, Malibu enjoying his smoke, while Brooklyn continued coughing severely.
"Where'd you pick this habit up from anyway?" coughed Brooklyn.
"Fang."
"Fang!" sputtered Brooklyn, shocked.
"Yeah, he's not as bad you might think."
"We're talking about the same Fang here aren't we?"
"He's changed quite a lot since you last seen him," explained Malibu, "He was the only person I could talk to."
"He was friendly enough towards you?"
"Sure, we used to spend hours talking whenever I had to guard him. And I always used to go with him whenever he was allowed to go out for exercise."
Malibu sighed, "I should have helped him escape with me."
"You know," started Brooklyn, "If you're planning to go anywhere, you might need to know how land without killing yourself."
"You offering to help?"
"Sure why not? And after it all comes back to you, me and you could try and find you a place to crash."
"Thanks."
"No problem, now take my lead."
Brooklyn spent half an hour helping Malibu master the finer points of slowing down in mid-air and landing on his feet. After that, the pair let the coastal winds carry them farther inland while overhead, a storm was brewing.
The pair spent the next few hours gliding over the city; eventually they passed the city limits. They were over a very large country estate and were about to turn back when the rain began to fall; they were forced to land in a small clump of woods.
"That place looks familiar," said Brooklyn. He and Malibu were hiding under a tall tree while the rain poured heavily around them. They had a good view of the castle that dominated a small hill through the trees; it was roughly half a mile away. Realisation dawned on him. "That's Macbeth's castle!"
"Friend of yours?"
"Well, we did kinda burn his house down a few times."
"That would be a no then."
"Not really, he used to be a bad guy, but he's different now."
"Like Fang?"
"I'll believe he's changed when I see it myself."
"Do you think he'd give us shelter until the storm's over?"
"I don't know," said Brooklyn, a little uncertain, "I'd prefer not to bother him."
Just then, there was a flash of lightning, followed by a mighty crack of thunder. Both gargoyles looked at each other briefly and then made a mad dash for the edge of the woods at breakneck speed. When they were nearly at the edge, a bolt of fork lightning flew from the sky and struck a tree a little over ten meters from them. The tree, for lack of a better word, blew up, filling the surrounding area with sharp splinters. A particularly large piece cut through the air and planted itself into Malibu's right shoulder, another pierced his hand while a third planted itself in his right leg, just above the ankle, the light-green gargoyle howled in agony and fell to the ground.
"Mal! Mal!" yelled Brooklyn as he rushed to help his friend. He knelt down beside him, checking his wounds.
"It hurts," said the clone weakly.
"We're gonna have to get those out," said Brooklyn, taking hold of Malibu's right wrist, "This is gonna hurt." The clone nodded and gritted his teeth. Brooklyn pulled the splinter in the back of his friend's hand out in a sudden, powerful jerk, the clone screamed and blacked out from the pain. Brooklyn was relieved at that, it meant Mal wouldn't feel the next two splinters being removed. After that unpleasant business was over, Brooklyn awkwardly picked his clone up, propping him over his shoulders into a fireman's carry. He looked up at Macbeth's castle; it seemed a lot farther away now. "I hope he likes unexpected guests," said the red gargoyle under his breath as he set out for the building as quickly as he could.
Inside Macbeth's Castle
Jezebel Tibbs scrolled through another museum website, stopping suddenly when she noticed an exhibit that looked familiar.
"Sir!" she yelled, "I found something!"
"Is it a Codicium?" replied Macbeth, rising from his table, which was littered with parchments containing any known reference to another copy of the Malus Codicium, along with a small tome of lesser magic he was planning to use against it.
"Something almost as good," replied Jezebel, pointing to the screen. Macbeth looked at where his old friend was pointing at the screen, his eyes widened. Shown was an iron rod, two feet in length, one inch in diameter, it was totally covered in runes that looked all too familiar to the immortal.
"It's called the 'Rod of Control," explained Jezebel, "It was supposedly created by a warlock by the name of Heldane after Lucifer himself told him how to make it, he was found by the Inquisition supposedly a week after he finished it's construction and burned as an Arch Heretic."
"And the rod?"
"He hid it along with an explanation of what it was, who gave him the instructions to create it, and it's purpose."
"Which was?"
"To be used in conjunction with a tome of demology and magic which was penned by Lucifer himself."
"The Malus Codicium."
"It gets better, there were supposedly three copies written."
"Three!"
"Not to worry, Heldane had one and it burned along with him."
"And the other two?"
"No information is available the other two, though one's obviously the one in the storage chamber downstairs. I have no idea where the other could be located at the minute."
"Damn!"
"How's your search progressing sir?"
"No luck at all Jezebel. Where's the rod located?"
"At a museum in Vienna."
Macbeth slumped back down in his chair and yawned, "If we can't locate the second Codicium, then I'm going to pay a visit to Vienna and destroy the rod."
"If I may sir, it's quite late, we should get some sleep and continue this in the morning," said Jezebel rising from her chair and stretching.
"Very well old friend," replied the immortal, rising as well and heading to his bedchamber. Suddenly, there was a massive banging at the door. Jezebel and Macbeth stared at each other for a moment, before carrying out a well practiced drill, Jezebel wrenching her shotgun from her thick woollen coat which had been hanging off the back of her chair, while Macbeth produced a pair of .5 calibre Desert Eagle pistols from his coat. Proceeding with caution down the stairs, the two kept the door covered at all times during their descent. Upon reaching the huge oak door, which was being banged again, Macbeth sheathed a pistol and moved to open one of the pair of huge oak doors while Jezebel kept it covered with her pump-action. With a mighty pull, Macbeth threw the door open and aimed his pistol at.
"Brooklyn?"
The red gargoyle was standing out in the rain, another gargoyle of a light green complexion slumped over his shoulders, they had been both completely drenched, Brooklyn was shaking from exhaustion and the cold while the gargoyle on his shoulders appeared to be bleeding from several places.
"Macbeth, please help us," said the red gargoyle, falling to his knees, his charge still on his shoulders.
Macbeth and Jezebel caste their weapons aside and took the green gargoyle (which looked strangely like Brooklyn) off Brooklyn's shoulders, Macbeth carrying him over his shoulder, while Jezebel helped the red gargoyle to stand, letting him lean on her for support as they went inside.
An Hour later
Macbeth came into the living room, Brooklyn was sitting on an oriental rug, right beside the fire, he had several heavy blankets wrapped around him but he was still shivering. He went over to a table and drinks cabinet on the other side of the room; he poured the young gargoyle a large glass of brandy and, remembering his beak, put a straw in it.
"Here, drink this," said Macbeth as he sat down in front of Brooklyn.
"Thank you," said the gargoyle, taking the glass and emptying it. He stopped shivering and sat the glass on the floor. "How is he?"
"Jezebel's looking after Malibu, she's handled worse than his injuries, he'll be fine."
Brooklyn seemed greatly relieved at that, "I can't thank you enough Macbeth, I'm in your debt."
"Nonsense," said Macbeth, waving his hand dismissivly, "I always help my friends when they're in need."
"Thank you all the same."
"Are you two family?"
"Excuse me?"
"I can't help but notice a slight resemblance between the pair of you."
Brooklyn explained how Demona and Thailog had cloned Malibu from him, along with the rest of the clan, but then Thailog had created Delilah to replace Demona, how they all got in a huge fight, which left the clones with Talon at the end. Macbeth listened closely, when Brooklyn was finished, Macbeth asked him how they both came to be in his estate and why they were so far from the city. Brooklyn explained how Angela had invited Demona, insisting she had changed, to a party celebrating her pregnancy, how he'd left in disgust and ran into his clone fleeing the Labyrinth, he even told him what he'd done there and why.
Macbeth smiled, satisfied at the explanation, "You don't think Demona can change then?"
"I know she can't, all this is just an act to get close to the clan."
"I'd be inclined to agree," said Macbeth, his memory flashing back to the dream he had the previous night. He shivered at what may be his young friend's fate if he didn't stop it. He looked into Brooklyn's hazel eyes. There was a lot of anger in them, he was undoubtedly very paranoid about Demona's motives, but he could be a great deal of help to his cause.
-The enemy of my enemy, is my friend.-
"If I was to tell you I was aware of what Demona was planning, and that I intended to stop her once and for all, what would you say?"
"Can I be of any assistance?" replied the gargoyle, smiling.
"No one else knows you two are here?"
"No one."
"Then let me explain what I know."
Macbeth told Brooklyn of the Malus Codicium, the "Rod of Control" And of the prophetic dream he'd had. Brooklyn was shocked at what he described, especially at his fate and that of the clan.
"I don't understand," asked the gargoyle after Macbeth was finished, "How could she believe Angela would stay with her after what she'd done to us?"
"The Codicium warps the minds of those who use it excessively," explained Macbeth patiently, "It also contains many powerful spells, including mind altering ones, she would probably make Angela and Broadway think just like her, or just wipe your clan from their memories."
"How can a book warp someone's mind?"
"It's alive."
Brooklyn's eyes widened in shock at that, "Alive?"
"It's very hard to explain, will you help me?"
"If the clan finds out I'm involved, they'll kill me," replied the Brooklyn sadly, "I'm sorry."
Macbeth thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up, "I have a tome of lesser magic," he said quickly, "One of it's properties is the power of transformation, if I can guarantee you that the clan will never know its you who's helping me, will you help then?"
The red gargoyle met Macbeth's hopeful stare, and smiled darkly, "I'd follow you into Hell then if it would help destroy her."
"Then it's a deal," said Macbeth happily, shaking Brooklyn's hand, "I just hope that Hell bit's not necessary."
Macbeth rose to his feet, Brooklyn rose aswell, just then Jezebel came in.
"Jezebel, this is Brooklyn Wyvern, he's agreed to help us against Demona," said Macbeth happily as he went to get them all drinks to celebrate. Jezebel went over and shook Brooklyn's hand as Macbeth poured three glasses of wine.
"How's Malibu?"
"Oh he'll be just fine," said Jezebel reassuringly, "He just needs some sleep, which I'm sure he'll get plenty of when the sun rises."
"Thank you miss Tibbs."
"Oh please, call me Jezebel."
"What about Malibu," said Macbeth, giving Jezebel and Brooklyn their glasses, remembering to put a straw in Brooklyn's.
"There's no love loss between him and Demona," replied Brooklyn, "He was made to be a mindless slave to her and Thailog after all."
"Then he'll help aswell?" asked Jezebel
"If Macbeth explains things to him as he did for me then I've no doubt he will."
"Then let us toast," said Macbeth, raising his glass.
"What shall we toast to?" asked Jezebel.
" To the final destruction of a plague upon all of us," replied Brooklyn, raising his own glass.
"Agreed."
"That's good enough for me."
With that the three hunters to be drank to their success while the storm outside reached its peak.
Meanwhile, beneath the castle, behind a false wall, thirteen titanium doors, all with state of the art locking systems and codes, behind a laser- shield and an iron safe within a vacuum sealed room, something of immense power and evil smiled triumphantly to itself.
"And so it finally begins."
To be continued.
So what do you think so far? If anyone has any opinions (or questions) about the series so far then you know my e-mail address. I'll even accept flames, as long as they are decent, with intelligent arguments.
Until next time.
Darkness.