The following week of traveling into Wisconsin this time made Brooklyn yearn to reach New York quickly get to its peak. He liked being able to see different states, but he was certain once he got home, he wouldn't be going anywhere else again for a long time. All he wanted was to be with his family away from Anthony and just hide in his castle home until Anthony left him alone.

But then he saw the state's city of Madison coming up, a big city though not as large as St. Paul. He couldn't veer away from this city either, which meant going through it.

Swallowing, Brooklyn gathered his courage to go into the city. He had been feeling tired again and couldn't find any caves along his way to Wisconsin to sleep in. Hopefully there was another church he could spend a day or two in.

He flew in the night above the rooftops, sometimes landing to give his wings a rest before continuing on. Homesickness always attacked whenever seeing large cities that reminded him of home. This one was no better while gazing at the lights.

But this city was still something to admire by having two rivers around it and Lake Michigan several miles away. A church he finally saw then was one he read about, St Patrick's Cathedral. It was tall but not quite the size of St Paul. But looked like a good enough temporary place for him to stay.

Brooklyn let out a puff of air upon reaching the church, landing on the top tower with the cross, sliding a little on the curved roof, sweat coming from his exhaustion, then climbing down on one of the ledges, until reaching the lower roof where he could hopefully be hidden.

Ugh, my wings ache… Brook thought groggily, blinking his eyes in tiredness, rubbing his sore talons, wishing again for stone sleep to heal his sore muscles. But he knew he had to keep waiting for his reward at home. The red gargoyle curled up against the wall, taking his sack off and pulling a sandwich out. But then he saw his photo again, taking that out too and seeing Mark and Nora. He wondered if they still missed him.

Brooklyn shivered a bit from the cool autumn air, wrapping his wings around himself, lowering his head slightly, a pang in his chest from lack of company. His beak frowned, feeling like loneliness would swallow him up soon until he forgot what good company felt like ever again, tears falling down further. He wiped them away.

Get a grip. You're a gargoyle, just stop moping! Brooklyn argued with himself, but it didn't do any good. He wanted another friend with him now.

Suddenly, he thought he heard singing from the church, an organ. Brooklyn figured sometimes they did late night singing of hymns. But it gave him comfort a little, making him sleepy more. Eventually, he felt too worn out to keep himself awake once his sandwich was done, making himself comfortable as much as possible as his eyes drifted shut, sleep welcoming him in her arms.

….

The next night, Brooklyn woke to the night sounds of the city, at first thinking he was still in New York. But then he remembered his lack of stone sleep, and saw those different towers, knowing he was still lost here out west, feeling tears coming before wiping them away. He had been traveling a while now with not making any friends along the way, and the red male knew he desperately needed some but was still too scared to speak to any human.

It was then he decided to leave, not wanting all this to hold him back and to keep pushing on. Brooklyn took off from the church building and began his way east again. But while flying along the streets he heard voices; two in distress and other mean ones, perking up his urge to help, quickly following those new sounds.

He landed on another roof where the sound was loudest, looking down at the sight of a couple, a man and woman in their mid-40s being cornered by another mob gang. This made Brook's eyes glow at the sight, growling softly, waiting for his moment to break this up.

"Hm, pretty boy, I see your lovely woman on ya. Ya think she's got anythin' fer me or the boys?" mocked one holding a sharp knife. The woman held onto her husband who glared.

"Leave us alone, we got to head home," he snapped. The thug leader shook his head. "Don't think so, you are in our livin' space, and anyone, especially her, should pay for walking in here," he said threateningly, holding out the knife. The couple were backed into the wall.

Brooklyn snarled, baring his fangs. He hated it when a couple were being treated this way since he too wanted to find the perfect female mate to protect with his life, too. Eyes glowing, he roared, leaping off the roof down there like he did with that single man in St. Paul.

All the humans looked up in shock seeing what they thought was a winged demon coming at them. The couple lowered themselves to the ground to avoid contact as the creature looked like it was heading more directly for the cowardly gang members.

Brooklyn swooped in and landed a blow on one's shoulders, knocking him down. Then he landed on the ground and growled at the rest.

"Get away, you monster!" Another panicked and tried to hit him with a board piece.

Brooklyn instantly ducked and used his tail to knock it away, then he grabbed the shocked man and pushed him hard into a wall. He continued to battle the gang of ten men. The couple were watching this strange creature fight the gang but not come for them.

By the time the gargoyle had all or most of the men knocked down and out, there was one that was playing possum and he took out his large pocketknife. Brooklyn had turned to the couple over by the wall. He saw them but wasn't going to stick around. He turned to leave but the woman spoke out, "Wait, don't go." She had a nice voice.

It made the red gargoyle turn around in fear for a moment.

"Uh, thanks, whatever you are, for saving our lives from those hooligans." The man said.

Brooklyn didn't see the one man sneaking up on him and he saw the woman's face light up in fear, thinking it was about him. He had better get out of here. That's when she yelled out, "Look out behind you!"

Brooklyn felt a tear of pain rip through his left wing flap. He cried out in pain, then he turned around and saw one of the gang members with a knife. He instantly slammed his right fist into his cheek bone, rendering him unconscious.

The red gargoyle winced and lowered himself to the ground. He felt the stinging pain in his wing flap. The couple saw he was hurt and hesitantly began to walk over to the red creature.

"Hey there, Red. We aren't going to hurt you." The man said gently.

Brooklyn began to move away from the couple of humans coming toward him. His eyes had returned to normal, and they were full of fear.

"It's okay now, red creature. We want to thank you for saving our lives. But we see that you are hurt. Come, let us help you get somewhere where you'll get some treatment for your wing."

Brook really didn't want to be around these strange humans, but his sadness could be curved by them.

"Stay back!" Brooklyn shrieked at them in panic. He backed away from them.

The couple saw a creature that was in fear of them despite what he had just done for them, even having signs of PTSD from the woman's point of view, though she wondered what it was from.

"It's okay, Big Guy." The lady tried again, thinking the creature might respond better to a feminine touch. "You just saved our lives and want to help you with your injury. It's alright, if you'll come with us, I can treat your wing."

"Please, just stay away from me." Brooklyn begged them, cowering against the wall.

"What's wrong? We just want to help you." The man said.

Brooklyn heard gentleness in the couple's voices, but he was very wary. He saw gentle eyes too. They were not trying to harm him.

"How… can you help?" Brook asked nervously.

"I am a veterinarian. I can treat your wing." The lady replied.

Brooklyn remembered that Mark and Nora's mom had been a vet even though they had never met. He knew they treated animals. He wasn't an animal, but a vet would likely know how to treat his wing than a human doctor could. It was amazing that these were adult humans and not afraid of him for just how he looked. They must have been that special kind of human.

"O…kay." Brooklyn gave in. He began to pull away from the wall.

"Just come with us, Big Guy." The man said softly.

The red male followed but kept his distance from the couple. "Wait, I have to get my bag first." Brooklyn said. He then went and climbed the wall to the roof and got his pack. Then he jumped down to the ground again, which made his wing sting from pulling on the torn flaps, making him hiss in pain.

"Not a good idea." The man said.

"Do you have a name?" The lady asked.

"Brooklyn." He replied.

"A nice name. This is my husband, Barry, and I am Thalia." The lady introduced themselves.

"Nice to meet you." Brook tried to talk in a friendlier voice. These humans were after all going to treat his wing and were treating him nicer than most other adult humans would.

Brooklyn followed them to their van. It was a big, bulky blue van. They got into it.

"Do you have anywhere to go here in Madison?" Thalia asked.

"No. I just want to get home. I'm on my way home." Brooklyn simply said.

"From where?" Barry asked.

"Montana."

When Barry heard that, it put a thought into his head about someone he knew who lived out there. If it was who he thought it was, no wonder this poor creature was afraid. Then Barry saw the brand on Brooklyn's arm. It was precisely who he thought it was!

Brooklyn saw the man looking at it. He covered his brand. "Please don't go looking for who owns this brand. They are not my master! They were cruel to me! I don't want to go back to them!" The gargoyle exclaimed in fear.

"It's alright, Brooklyn. Calm down. We are just going to help you get the wing treated and go from there." Thalia tried to calm him.

Barry turned and started the van, getting it into gear. This gargoyle had been his brother's property. He sure had come a long way to get away from him.

It had been a while since Brook had ridden in a vehicle. This sure would give his wings a rest, especially until the left wing was sewn up.

They soon came down a driveway at the edge of the Madison on the southeast side. They all got out and they went into the house. There was a medical room in there for patients.

Brooklyn stood on the floor while Thalia had him place his wing on the surgical table. She got some sewing thread and a sterilizing agent. She sprayed his wing to sterilize it before she would put the needle through the flap.

He winced when the needle began to pierce his flap. But little by little, the flap was sewn up and looking more like its original look.

"There you go, Brooklyn, all sewn up. It might take a couple weeks to heal." Thalia said.

"Thank you, Thalia." He replied.

"Is it true gargoyles turn to stone in the daytime?" Barry asked.

"Yes." Brook stated. "But my captor used a serum on me while with him that he took my stone sleep away from me. My wing would be healed tomorrow night if I still had it, but now that I don't it will take the longer approach to heal."

"Sorry to hear that. No one should take that away from you. It is your natural ability." Thalia proclaimed.

Brook agreed, testing his wing. It seemed to feel better now but tender. Barry looked at him.

"We'd like to offer to you to stay, Brooklyn after saving our lives. There's a guest room in our house for you to sleep in. There's no way you'd be going anywhere with that wing for at least two weeks," he said. Brooklyn felt unsure. He didn't like the idea of staying with strangers again. But they did heal him, so maybe he'd consider.

Swallowing, he replied. "That-that's nice of you. But I really don't want to stay in any place for too long. My clan needs me," he said timidly.

Thalia had a hand on Brooklyn's arm. "We insist, honey. You can't travel in your condition. I can give you dinner if you'd like to." She offered. Brook felt his stomach rumble at the mention of dinner. Having a home cooked hot meal had all he been thinking about besides his clan, too.

The red male gave a small smile. "I… suppose," he said, still shy, heart beating fast. Brooklyn was now realizing how exhausted he was, now thinking that a bed could be good for him. Barry smiled too. "I'm glad you can stay," he said. "I'll take you to your room. Thalia will get dinner going." He said to his wife who nodded, going to the kitchen.

Barry guided Brooklyn to his guest room, who still carried his bag on him, more than ready to kick it back for a little while, feet feeling tired. He noted Barry's slight limp from his walking but didn't ask yet, looking away from it.

They arrived to the room. Barry opened the door. "Here you go. You can get settled until dinner is ready," he said. Brooklyn nodded to him. "Thank you." He entered the room, putting the bag on the bed that was queen sized, a possible fit for him.

Brook tested the bed. It seemed comfy enough. It felt so nice he couldn't help but lay back on the pillows for a bit. He let out a little sigh, happy that someone was willing to take him in again like Mark and Nora. He gazed up at the ceiling, thinking about his clan again. He would have quite a story whenever he got home.

Eventually, Thalia had dinner prepared, which was meatloaf and Brooklyn went out to have dinner with his new company. He was eager to eat whatever was there, smelling the dinner from the hallway. He reached the dining room where she was already setting down the plates. Thalia smiled at Brooklyn when he came in. He wrapped his wings around his shoulders, still shy but ready for the food.

"You can sit here, dear," Thalia offered, gesturing to the seat next to hers and her husband's. Brook nodded, slowly moving to his seat, and sitting down. She placed his food before him and then Barry joined too. Brooklyn smiled at the food in front of him. After nothing but sandwiches he was willing to eat all of his dinner.

Eventually, they began to eat. The couple ate slowly but Brooklyn ate his speedily with his fork, moaning a bit in happiness. Barry laughed at their new guest's enthusiasm. "Easy there, don't give yourself a stomach ache," he said, somewhat surprised but pleased that the gargoyle already knew how to use utensils like a human would. It was pretty fascinating.

Brooklyn blushed then slowed down. "Sorry. I-I just forgot what cooked food was like," he said, taking a drink of his milk.

Thalia though had other questions. "I hope you don't mind my asking Brooklyn but from what we've seen on tv you're from New York, aren't you?"

This made Brooklyn tense up a bit from this revelation but so far these humans seemed to be trustworthy enough. He swallowed. "I-I used to live there with my clan but then got sold off to my kidnapper. He had given me a cruel name he forced me to use; Diablo. I have been making tracks to get away and go home. But I don't wish for anyone to give me too much help to go home. I don't want them in danger because they've helped me."

Barry and Thalia glanced at each other and Thalia took Brooklyn's hand gently from her sitting next to him. He looked at her with sad eyes and she smiled at him.

"Listen dear, we believe it wasn't right of Anthony to give you a name you didn't like. We both prefer Brooklyn over Diablo. Who gave you that name?"

Brooklyn flushed, recalling that first time he thought of his current name. "M-me after the Brooklyn bridge and the town," he stuttered.

"That name suits you, Brooklyn. Don't ever let anyone take that away from you." Thalia soothed. This made Brooklyn feel a little happier. Nora had said something similar too.

Barry himself smiled. "And not to worry, we will ensure you're healthy enough to travel by yourself," he said.

Brook finished the rest of his meal. "Thanks," he replied. Eventually though he yawned.

Thalia saw the time. It was nearly dawn. For she knew gargoyles slept during the day from research and newsreels. "It's probably time for you to rest now, right? But will you be alright without your stone sleep?"

This made Brooklyn tense, his eyes filled with sadness. "I suppose but I'm hoping to get my stone sleep restored once I return home to my clan," he said. Thalia took his hand. "I hope you'll be able to find your home again too," she said. He smiled just a bit. After that Brooklyn didn't feel like talking anymore, yawning.

"Th-thanks for dinner," he said tiredly, going to bed. The couple looked at one another, hoping they could help this gargoyle restore his confidence since it seemed his captor had clearly wanted to take that away. And maybe they could help get that brand off of his arm if Brooklyn was willing to let them.

In his room, the red male rubbed his eyes tiredly; more than ready to sleep all day in this bed. He got under the covers which felt warm, causing Brooklyn to sigh softly. He buried himself into his pillow before falling asleep, knowing he was in a safe place again, for now.