Chapter 3
by Zzilly14
A few weeks later, Brooklyn and the other gargoyles awoke to rain showering on their backs. Elisa, wearing a large black raincoat, was waiting for them under a bright red umbrella.
"Hey guys," she greeted with a sigh. "It's been raining cats and dogs since eleven this morning, and I don't think it's going to stop any time soon."
The crimson gargoyle looked around. "Where's Sarah?" he wondered as droplets fell from his white hair.
"She said she had a lot of errands and might not make it till later."
"Oh," was all Brooklyn could utter.
"Well, time for me to do my job and protect this city," Elisa stated. "You got my back, Big Guy?"
"As always," Goliath smiled before gliding away. The raven-haired detective waved to the clan and headed back downstairs.
"Brook?" Broadway said. "Lex and I are going to watch that new James Bond movie. Wanna come?"
"Nah," he responded. "You guys go on ahead."
"Suit yourself," the green gargoyle shrugged.
Brooklyn was left alone in the clocktower with Hudson and Bronx. It wasn't that they were bad company, but the young gargoyle wanted to do more than just sit around watching T.V.
"I'm going to patrol," he told the elder gargoyle.
"Want me to join you, lad? I may not be a hatchling, but..."
"Stay here with Bronx," Brooklyn interrupted. "Watch some T.V., relax. I can take care of myself."
"I wasn't saying that you were incapable, lad. I just offered to..."
"See you later, Hudson," he said before leaving, gliding out into the city with nowhere to go.
...
A few hours later, Brooklyn returned to the clocktower looking as forlorn as he did when he left. But his expression changed instantly when he saw Sarah sitting beside Hudson on the couch, the both of them laughing hysterically.
"I told you this show was great!" Sarah managed to say while wiping tears of joy from her eyes. "If I'm ever sad, I watch 'Whose Line,' and it never ceases to cheer me up."
"It's sorcery! How do they sing songs that don't exist, and make it sound that good?"
"It's called talent," Sarah grinned before turning her eyes to the crimson gargoyle standing in the entrance.
"Hey," Brooklyn smiled softly. "Can we talk?"
"Of course," she replied, following him outside into the rain.
He stared at her as they became drenched with rain. She was wearing blue jeans with a purple sweatshirt, and her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
"What's up, Brook?" she wondered.
"I've got a problem, and I don't know what to do."
"I'm listening."
"Well," he began. "I've been depressed."
"Brooklyn..."
"And I'm starting to realize that when I get depressed, I don't want to be near anyone." Except you, he thought to himself.
"Why are you depressed? What happened?" Sarah prodded.
Brooklyn was silent as he looked up at the rain falling on him. He closed his eyes and welcomed the cooling showers.
"Talk to me!"
"I was out patrolling," he admitted. "And I saw this young kid running from a bunch of goons. They might've been the same ones chasing you. Anyway, I scared them off. And when the kid took one look at me, he screamed, as loudly as he could, 'Monster!'"
"Oh, Brooklyn!" Sarah sympathized, stroking his dripping hair. "You shouldn't let that get you down."
"But I can't help it! Everywhere I go, I'm labeled a monster, and people get scared of me. I'm tired of it, Sarah."
Sarah noticed tears coming from his eyes, and she gently wiped them away. "Come inside, Brook. 'Whose Line' will cheer you up."
"It might, but it won't fix the problem," he muttered.
"Brooklyn... this is a problem that won't be fixed overnight. I mean, unless you suddenly became human, people are still going to be ignorant fools when it comes to beings different from them."
Brooklyn's eyes lit up. "Thank you!" he smiled, embracing his human friend.
"Um, what for?" Sarah asked with confusion.
"I gotta go... see you tomorrow!" he said before gliding off towards the Eyrie Building.
...
"Good evening, Brooklyn. What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Xanatos asked from behind his desk.
"I need to talk to Puck."
"Puck is unavailable at the moment. He's with my son, for magic lessons."
"This can't wait, Xanatos," Brooklyn growled. "Get Puck over here now!"
"Hold on," the businessman relented.
He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed a number.
"It's me. You're needed."
Suddenly the trickster and five-year old Alex appeared in the office.
"Ah, the beaked gargoyle," Puck smiled at Brooklyn. "What do you want from me?"
"Change me. I'm tired of being a gargoyle."
"You want to be human?" he wondered.
Brooklyn nodded.
"Are you sure about this? Because I can't guarantee a life of happiness."
The gargoyle's eyes glowed white. "You will make me human."
"Fine, fine. Let's see," he pondered as he floated towards the ceiling. "Stone by day, warrior by night/This beaked one will take one last flight/Come the sunrise, his form will change/He will no longer be the same/Human form he will take/May this spell never break!"
Xanatos clapped his hands. "Excellent work, Puck. At sunrise, Brooklyn will be a new man."
"Sunrise..." Brooklyn smiled thoughtfully.
...
"That movie was great," Broadway laughed. "Did you see the way he..."
Goliath landed and looked around. "Where is Brooklyn? It's almost sunrise."
Sarah came out from inside and looked up at the rain clouds, which were finally dissipating. "He was kind of sad last night," she said. "He took off, I think towards that building with the castle."
"Xanatos?" Hudson wondered. "What would he want with Xanatos?"
"Hey guys," Brooklyn said as he landed. "Sorry I'm late."
Sarah stared at him. "Where'd you go?"
"Had to think," he said too quickly.
Before anyone could question him, the sun's rays began to appear from the horizon. The gargoyles turned into stone, save one.
Brooklyn screamed as his beak began to shrink, his wings disappeared into his back, and his coloring became lighter and lighter. When it was all over, he was down on the ground, out of breath.
Sarah stood frozen, not believing her eyes. "Brooklyn?" she whispered.
He looked up and smiled. "Wow, you're even more beautiful with the sun hitting your face."
She helped him up and couldn't comprehend what had happened, speechless at his new form.
"If you're wondering, which you probably are, it was a spell."
"A spell?" she finally managed to say. "Like, magic?"
"Yeah. Pretty cool, huh? Now I don't have to worry about people calling me a monster, ever again."
Sarah hugged him tightly, not wanting him to see the frown on her face.
