"Gargoyles, like humans, are communal creatures. Our clans give our lives structure and meaning in a chaotic world. But there are times where every gargoyle finds himself at odds with his clan. How he resolves his trouble and how the clan members aid him in his quest determines whether this cherished bond will heal or be lost forever."
-Goliath, Runaways
3:12 AM
Lexington's claws clicked across the stone floor in step with his waddled stride "Brooklyn?"
Something was off.
Gargoyles returning one ahead of the other wasn't all that uncommon in the Manhattan clan, especially when Elisa and Goliath found themselves third-wheeled by another gargoyle. Come to think of it, the trio almost never returned the same time Goliath and Hudson did when they had 22 square miles of Manhattan to enjoy. So Brooklyn coming back alone wasn't that suspect. Honestly, he was probably just coming back after a dull evening while Goliath and Elisa went back to her apartment.
*Goliath...* That detail stuck.
No, something was off.
Lexington's suspicion didn't improve much either when he saw the balcony at the end of the hall was sans Brooklyn, and if he hadn't passed him in the hall... Lex paused slightly in his stride, sniffing the air "Hold on..." *sniff* *sniff* "Uh, Brooklyn?" he called out, louder this time. He promptly decided speeding up to a jog wouldn't hurt.
Moonlight bathed him as he hopped out up to the landing balcony "Brook! Hey, where are you, man?" he hollered with a hand cupped before his mouth. No response. He switched directions "Uh, Hudson is boring me to death with Shakespeare, could use a b-"
*PLAP*
Lex's froze as he stepped in - he looked down – blood. Thick and still warm. The olive drab Gargoyle let out a semi-audible cry as he recoiled, stumbling backwards and frantically wiping his foot on the ground. He snapped his head up, spine chilled "BROOKLYN?!" He didn't have Bronx's nose, but it was unmistakably his sibling's scent, and it led a sordid procession into the castle.
A parse trail of blood led a now sprinting Lexington to a wooden door that had been torn off its hinges, complete with Brooklyn's claw marks on the berth "Brooklyn!? Brooklyn, where are you!?" he yawped. What the heck happened? Had Brooklyn been attacked? Where were Elisa and Goliath? Were they hurt? Had Brooklyn raced back to call for backup?
Lexington's years of hunting and tracking experience in rural Scotland rushed back to him. The frequency of claw marks carved in the wall for stability paired with the infrequency of blood painted a blatant picture: this wounded beast was in more distress than he was in pain. The dark halls of the medieval castle did little to warn the frantic tracker of when a spot of blood was coming. Now sprinting on all fours, the palms of his hands felt the sickening warmth of another dark puddle.
Brook couldn't have just accidentally clipped himself against a fire escape on a tight corner or gotten sliced up on a clothing line, or else he wouldn't have been stumbling around and clawing up the place!
His scent led him to the library "BROOK!" no response, not from Brooklyn, not from anybody. He cleared the library in a single bound, scurrying over the backrest of the sofa "ANGELA?" where she had been a few minutes prior, now was empty. He ejected himself from the furniture and scurried back through the door, the scent getting stronger to the point it was sickening; or maybe it was just the drying blood on his hands.
His mind raced, but tried to rationalize *Okay, if he can get this far into the castle this quickly, then maybe he's not THAT hurt. I mean, it's not enough blood for it to be from an artery. Just find him and-*
Lexington rounded the corner.
*BA-BUM*
He heard his pulse throb in his ears.
His feet and talons refused all orders to stop, and he slipped across the floor into the wall.
His rookery brother stood frozen in the light of the kitchen door; The pitch-black hallway was contrasted with the haunting white light from industrial bulbs. The cold lighting made the crimson gargoyle's sunken features look even more jagged. If anything, it was a disturbing iteration of a deer in headlights.
Brooklyn looked like death. His usually silver mane that his brothers frequently ruffled, much to his complaining, laid flat and tangled over his face from the cold sweat that soaked his entire body. The entire left side of his face was a dark red: blood. A dried layer of it caked all the way back to his jaw from the wind of the flight here, but now a fresh stream had snaked its way down his chest, intermingled with his unkempt hair, and soaked a portion of the navy-blue loincloth he wore. Every haggard breath seemed to make a fresh pulse of it ooze out of his wound. Had he not even realized he was bleeding?
"No..." Brooklyn choked back a sob, his tremoring voice teetering on the edge of silence "...No..." shakily retreating from the room, somehow unable to tear his mortified eyes away.
"B-Brooklyn!" Angela's voice exclaimed from within.
"What happened?" Broadway's followed.
A prone Lex took a step forward, the edge of light able to illuminate just his face and shoulders. Brooklyn, oblivious of his presence until then, snapped his attention down towards him like a cornered animal.
Inside the kitchen, Lex saw the last movements of Broadway and Angela breaking what was no doubt the aftermath of a 'telling' embrace. He looked back to Brooklyn. The hollow lighting made their second in command's eyes fall into the shadow of his brow and messed hair. His beak hung slack while his lower jaw quaked, his whole body trembled.
The youngest rose from all fours to his feet, trying to reach out for Brooklyn "Who did this you? Where's Goliath?" Lex plead for an answer.
Brooklyn flinched and pulled away "I..." he said in a hushed rasp.
Lex's blood went cold. As Brookyln turned his shoulders away from the Broadway and Angela to retreat from Lexington, he revealed a massive welt mark on his chest that had already begun to bruise: the outline of a massive fist.
Broadway and Angela hurried across the tiled floor, but it only triggered a retreating Brooklyn to slip further from the light of the kitchen and into the darkness of the hallway "... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
Brooklyn fell/dove to all fours and fled, knocking his jaw on the floor as his claws found holds in the stonework. "BROOKLYN WAIT!" Lex cried, bounding after him.
Lex was the fastest in the whole clan, but Brooklyn was sprinting away like his life depended on it; he was halfway down the hall by the time Lex had heard Angela and Broadway even join the pursuit.
"Don't run! You're injured!" Angela pleaded.
Pleas fell on deaf ears, Brooklyn was on the move and gaining distance with a clear target as they skid around another corner: the outdoors. It didn't matter if Brooklyn, by some rare possibility, was planning on leading them to Goliath or something, he was in no condition to go airborne!
Lex just prayed Angela would have the good sense to close the distance midair and tackle him back down to a rooftop, dragon above knew Lex's wing type nor Broadway's weight could keep up with the clan's aerial specialist.
"Brooklyn, wait! Tell us what's going on!" Broadway hollered frantically.
"Where's my father?" Angela called out.
Lex's eyes went wide. Brooklyn threw himself over the balcony, feet still in the air while he hooked his hands into the lip of a parapet "Oh n- PEREGRINE! PEREGRINE! PEREGRINE!" He screeched three times from habit.
In a flash of red, Brooklyn launched himself straight down into a dive "NOOOOO!" Lexington screamed bloody murder. Throwing all instinct of self-preservation into the literal wind, Lex followed his brother's mad dive. It hadn't been enough. All he could do was watch in helpless horror whilst his brother disappeared into the cloud cover that hugged the towering heights of the Eyrie building.
Plummeting through the stratus, the screeching of wind and feeling of freefall did little to convince him this wasn't the longest three seconds of his life. Lex broke through the cloud cover to see the amber lighting of the streets below - Brooklyn now a dark shadow racing towards it.
To the relieved choke of Lexington, a terminal velocity Brooklyn struggled his wings open with barely a dozen stories left. He angled his body and catapulted down the boulevard at what was probably a world record Gargoyle speed.
Lex, however, made a knee jerk decision. Whether it was from fear or panic, he snapped his wings open to slow himself down, his chiropteran wings couldn't mimic such a stunt without dislocating every bone in both arms.
Feet clambering onto a gravel roof, the vastly slower gargoyle could only watch helplessly as his wild kin flew down the New York city streets faster than Elisa's car at max speed; no way were they catching him like that.
"BROOKYLN! LEXINGTON!" Broadway roared; his white eyes visible through the crowd cover before his body was.
"Here!" Lexington signaled with an arc of his arms overhead.
Angela was right behind him in the sky, but Broadway was a near blubbering mess "L-LEX!" he cried, snatching his brother and pinning his brother's arms to his side "Thank Dragon! You're okay! Yo- BROOKLYN!" his head snapped side to side "WHERE IS HE?"
"Still airborne!" Lex said as clearly as possible, raising his hands slightly to try and steady his sibling... despite the fact his own heart raced in his chest "He didn't hit the ground. He opened his wings in time."
Broadway loosened his death grip "W-Where is he? Why did he go Peregrine?"
"I..." he shook his head fiercely before grimly turning his attention to the canyon of corporate towers "I don't know. He took the speed and disappeared down the street, he could be half a dozen blocks away by now."
The two brothers' eyes turned upwards as Angela came into a speeding landing "What WAS that? I've never seen someone glide that fast!"
"Peregrine Dive." the males droned in unison, glancing at each other.
"Uh... we call it a Peregrine Dive." Lex spoke up "You dive straight down from a cliffside and open your wings at the last second to use the built-up speed to fly faster and further than usual."
Broadway took a shaky breath to steady himself "And it's been BANNED for over a hundred years, Hudson himself made it forbidden back when he was clan leader. It's too dangerous. You mistime it: you either slam into the cliff's face at full speed... or you're going too fast to open your wings at all."
Angela glanced at the ground "And that's you yelle-"
"Peregrine, peregrine, peregrine. Yeah." Lex mumbled "Protocol is to shout it three times if someone goes to attempt it. Ya know, try and signal someone's attention to stop them. It just slipped out... Broadway, you're cutting off my circulation now."
Broadway's finally released his brother "Oh - Sorry!" the sweat on both their bodies causing his hands to stick ever so slightly "When you both disappeared below the clouds I... I... I thought for a second you both..."
Angela's comforting hand found itself on his shoulder "They didn't. They're both okay." she assured him.
Lexington blinked "OKAY? Did you just see what I saw?!" he exclaimed.
"RIGHT! Right!" Angela corrected herself with a frantic shake of her head and palm to brow "I... Oh gosh, where are the others? My father? Elisa! Why weren't they with him?"
"I mean... they should be okay! Brooklyn would have said something if they weren't, it's not like him to run away if someone's in danger!" Broadway responded to the female "He would've led us to them if they were in trouble."
Lexington's jaw hung agape "WHAT!?" he snarled "THAT'S what you're worried about?" he snapped both open palms in the direction away from Eyrie castle "Not HIM?! I don't know if you saw what I saw, but his face was spewing blood like a slasher film!"
His blood. Lex stared in dawning trepidation at his open palms. BROOKLYN'S blood that he had stepped in earlier; It had dried to his hands. Trying to keep his skin from crawling, Lex spun his body back around to face the other two "Brooklyn's terrified! Whatever happened to him must hav-"
Lexington fell dead silent. Broadway had stuck his arm out slightly in a reflexive move to shield Angela from his brother's outburst; she, in turn, squeezed his shoulder slightly as if to signal she was fine. Body language was the one vernacular that was universal to all tongues.
Lex kept his jaw from tightening but couldn't prevent his eyes from narrowing "...What is this?" he asked almost rhetorically.
The duo seemed to realize their body language. Straightening themselves, they exchanged unsure gawks.
"Broadway and I..." Angela tried to find the right words. Her expression shifted from uncertainty, a tiny glimmer of happiness sneaking through "Him and I have..."
Broadway scratched the back of his neck, stress taking a temporary backseat "Y-Yeah... We..." he cautiously extended a hand that Angela fully accepted "I think we're togethe-" his grin faded into a gawk "Oh No-"
Lexington didn't dignify it with an expression "Brooklyn walked in on you two, huh?" he said deadpan "That might explain SOME things."
The blue one gaped "You don't think that had something to do with him running, do you?"
"Clever deduction, detective," Lexington said tartly as he crossed his arms. "What was your first clue?"
"I... I didn't think it would make him that upset though." Angela rationalized softly.
*Then you know Brooklyn even less than I thought* Lexington grumbled in his own mind, partly wishing he could finally say it to her face. "Yeah..." Lexington grumbled, wishing the silence alone would serve as enough of a rebuttal.
Was she REALLY that oblivious? Lexington could barely hold Brooklyn's attention for the past month; he seemed to always be more in the mood to work out or try to bust open a massive crime ring that would create a good story. VERBALLY he had laid off Angela, but not once did he ever stop trying to get her attention. Everything he did seemed to be a dramatic ploy to impress her, well, that was until he started getting corralled away by Goliat-
Oh no.
... Angela wasn't the only one he had been vying to impress.
That fist mark on his brother's chest now plastered itself in his mind... there was only one biped on earth that could leave a mark that sized... why HAD Brooklyn come back before Goliath?
"So, what do we do?" Broadway broke the silence "He has a head start, but we can probably find him before sunrise." his unblinking eyes seemed to be extremely interested in his fidgeting hands "...but would seeing us just make him more upset?"
Angela worriedly shook her head "He could be anywhere by now and sunrise is only a few hours away." she pushed a more pressing priority "We can't find him...But my father. Elisa. They could be in danger!"
Lexington grimaced. No, they weren't; Brookyln hadn't come back because Goliath needed rescuing... he didn't want to dwell on the theory as to why he thought that.
"They're fine." Lex muttered.
"But we-"
"They're FINE."
"Broadway." Lexington exchanged a knowing glance with Broadway "...Care Package."
"Care Package." the larger gargoyle nodded in fierce agreement.
3:20 AM
"LEXINGTON? Where are ya, lad?" Hudson shouted through the halls, his old bones creaking in protest over moving so fast.
Hudson's ears aren't what they used to be; fortunately, that's what he had Bronx for. Not three minutes after Lexington had gone to retrieve his rookery sibling, Bronx started whining and butting his hand. A few seconds later, he started barking and tugging him.
A gargoyle knew to trust his dog... he just wished they could speak!
Bronx, who had raced ahead earlier, egressed back around the corner to bark urgently "Find anythin' boy?" he called to the garg-dog – a frantic bark being the confirmation he needed. Hudson rounded the corner and squatted to his knees, not the least bit phased as he dipped his finger into the small puddle of blood Bronx pawed at.
"Still Brooklyn's." He huffed in frustration "No blood from the others. He's the sole wounded." he growled, unable to put the pieces together "So if no one else is hurt, then where've they gone?"
He wiped his hand against his weathered belt and looked at an aging gargoyle's best friend "You've done wonderous, Bronx. Have ya found anythin' of Goliath or Elisa? Any scent of them at all?"
Bronx batted a forepaw at his nose with a defeated whine. The wise old gargoyle exhaled "No no no, boy. You've done a fine job." he reassured the best he could. Hudson stomped out onto the balcony, clapping both claws onto the edge of the stone wall "Bah... and of all nights for an overcast." he growled.
He couldn't just leave the castle unprotected, neither could he leave the homestead; at least one gargoyle needed to stay behind when someone went missing, lest they return to an empty home. He KNEW he should have been the one to go with Brooklyn and Goliath tonight! Elisa was a fine warrior with incredible talent, but he knew it his gut it was wrong to leave them alone!
He had raised Goliath since he was an egg and he had also raised BROOKYLN since he was an egg... he could tell when the two males weren't cooperating. Tensions seemed to be running high between the two, yet neither of them seemed to address it; well, at least they never addressed it with him. He was almost positive about what happened: They made contact with an enemy tonight, Goliath had come up with a battle strategy, Brooklyn saw something that set him off early, Goliath got hit while saving him, and then Brooklyn fled back to the castle to rally support to go rescue a captured Goliath.
Hudson grit his jaw... a whole fat load of good his years of experience did when he couldn't see something like this coming. Goliath had been too strict on Brooklyn and the short-tempered Gargoyle had closed himself off, making him an unpredictable variable... he knew that all parenting rights belonged to Goliath, it was not his place to try and step in on his fatherly duties... but still...
Hudson's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wings gliding through the air and a heavy gargoyle landing on a perch overhead. Bronx barked happily as Hudson turned around.
"Goliath!" Hudson greeted with a sigh of relief "Yer alright! Ah was getting' worri-"
Hudson paused "...Lad?"
2:40 AM
Air and Isolation was poison for a gargoyle's psyche; the half-hour flight back to the castle gave plenty of time for the tonic to work through Goliath's system.
He clenched one palm over his face, shaking his head as he glided through the air. What had he done? He barely remembered anything. He didn't remember lunging for his second in command, he didn't remember tearing apart the car that he found ripped to pieces, and above all else, he didn't remember striking a howling Brooklyn away from him.
What he DID remember was a bloodied Brooklyn crumpled to the ground and Elisa shielding him with intent to claw. The look of betrayal and agony from his second was something not even Puck could wipe from his memory. Brooklyn was his clan. It was HIS job to protect him.
...And he had attacked him.
There was no enemy Goliath could track down for vengeance, no foe he could pour his hate into, nothing he could destroy to ebb his child's pain. There was but one person Goliath could hate – and he was trapped with him.
He didn't protest or defend himself in the slightest when Elisa had verbally eviscerated him. He didn't brace himself when she shoved him either. Had he seen ANYONE lay a hand on one of his children, he would have done far worse to them.
He did, however, demur fiercely when Elisa demanded he not to go after him.
He wanted to chase after Brooklyn, wrap him in his arms and never let him go again. He wanted to tend to the wound he bore sole responsibility for and beg for his pardon; not for just striking him, but for the sheer neglect he had suffered.
Brooklyn wasn't perfect, he knew that. He was hot-headed, irrational, quick to violence, and played favorites with his leadership, but what right did he have to criticize him on that? It's not like he had set any better example recently.
In his crusade to avoid making the same mistakes he had with Demona, he had made all new ones. He wanted to tell his son the truth, but he couldn't. He had no idea where he even was, and if he did, Elisa would never allow him within arm's reach.
Elisa said that, as a cop, she could not let Goliath go anywhere near Brooklyn now. Officer Maza used words like child abuse, neglect, and a dozen other charges. He knew he hadn't acted like it, but it hurt him to have her think he didn't care for Brooklyn in the slightest. Rather than go after Brooklyn, Elisa laid out exactly how they were going to move forward from here.
First, they would return to Castle Wyvern immediately. Goliath would fly, Elisa would drive, she wasn't in the mood to be carried there. Goliath was not permitted to speak with the clan, ESPECIALLY the boys, unsupervised; if he got back before she did, he would wait on his perch until she arrived.
Second, if Brooklyn was back at the castle, Elisa would assess his mental state and have him relocated to a safe place. Goliath wasn't sure how he felt about the implication that was made. Once there, Goliath could only see Brooklyn when he was ready and only under either Hudson's or her own supervision. If Brooklyn wasn't back yet, they'd send out a search party while Goliath stayed back with her in case he returned. In no circumstances were the two to be alone together.
Third and finally, Goliath had to speak with Angela and the trio. Whether or not Goliath played favorites was his own business, but if his priorities had changed, he had to be straight with them. Goliath fiercely rebuked the idea Broadway or Lexington were any less important to him; he would speak with them, but not for what Elisa said. Broadway and Lexington were more precious to him than his own life, he would make that fact unquestioned by all!
Now he was descending on Castle Wyvern and not since Puck's false vision had he felt such dread returning home. His stomach churned when he heard Hudson so happily greet him from below.
He merely grunted grimly and squatted on his usually roosting spot "Wait for Elisa..." he rumbled out, half to honor her wishes and half as an excuse to gather his thoughts.
Fortunately, Elisa had arrived only a few minutes later, though it felt like hours; somehow it still wasn't enough time for Goliath to think of where to begin. Hudson, however, had plenty of time to worry "Lassie?" he said with barely concealed urgency "What has happened? Is Brooklyn alright?"
Elisa looked at Goliath expectantly. He wasted no time leaping from his perch to stand level with his senior "No... He is not."
"Where are the others? Did you send for them?"
Goliath's eyes widened "...Are they not here?"
"No! Bronx and I have searched the castle top to bottom, they've nowhere to be found. Please lad, what happened? Were yee attacked?"
Goliath had prepared to face Brooklyn, the younglings, anyone... but the others absent, while locked with the worried yet lost eyes of another parent? Goliath breathed in and breathed out with a strained grunt. Well... he could practice for what he had to tell the others.
3:50 AM
"Chocolate covered pretzels and marshmallows?" Lexington asked his gliding companions.
"Check!" Broadway confirmed waving a grocery bag in hand "Sunglasses?"
"Right here." Lexington held up a case "Didn't have much time to shop around, but they're aviators. The kind he likes."
Shopping as a gargoyle was a process. It was a routine of sneaking into a store that had closed for the night, grabbing what you were looking for, and dropping cash at the register. Getting in was the easy part, acquiring the cash to leave? That was tricky.
Sure, Elisa had given the trio an 'allowance' every month so they could go have fun legally... but it was also ransomed behind a stern, 30-minute, finger waving lecture about "the importance of young men not spending money on alcohol or cigarettes and that true warriors didn't need to use drugs to be powerful." followed by "the modern 1990s were a dangerous time for the menace of marijuana."
All three of them had humbly declined the offer, saying she didn't really need to spend money on them... but one arm fold and finger tap on the jacket later, they capitulated: No taking anything without paying for it! Xanatos and Fox had generously offered to pay Lexington handsomely for all his caretaking of Alex, but he firmly refused that as well; he was Alex's guardian, not a babysitter.
"So, what's this care package?" Angela inquired.
"It's something we like to have on standby." Broadway piped up "Elisa does it all the time for us; anytime one of us is down in the dumps, she always spoils us with a favorite movie, meal, and a few other goodies. It works wonders!"
Lex chewed on the inside of his lip. Yeah, except Broadway failed to mention that Brooklyn was too stubborn to ever accept one. It would've tarnished his tough-guy image.
Brooklyn, regrettably, had the emotional availability of a brick-wall; he got it from Goliath. Lex and Broadway had always been able to be open with how they were feeling. Brooklyn, on the other hand, kept everything under lock and key. If something upset him, he'd shut down, fly off somewhere and sulk before coming back just before sunrise to never talk about it again. If something angered him, he'd hold a permanent grudge that he'd refuse to let go: Exhibit A being Demona.
Put up all the barriers he wanted; Lexington saw right through them.
The night Maggie had repudiated him with more than a few colorful words was a rough night. It was far from his first time being rejected by a girl; even back in Scotland, he was a hopeless romantic. Maggie had been different though. Between the massacre, the Demona incident, and more than a few other tribulations, the guy had too many losses piling on that he just refused to let out. All it took was one more straw to break the camel's back.
That night, Lexington managed to catch Brooklyn climbing up into the corner rafters of the clock tower where no one could see him. Once Lex was convinced no one else was in the tower's main chamber, he snuck up after him... much to his pique. Even when Brooklyn felt Lexington place a hand on his tensing shoulder, he refused to make eye contact.
All it took was Lexington to hush out "...It's just me..." for Brooklyn's glass armor to finally shatter. Lexington held his weeping brother in his arms as he quietly let out everything he had buried away for months. As much as it tore him apart to see Brooklyn in such pain... it warmed him to see him finally let it out to HIM. They sat up there on those cedar beams for an hour, Lexington combing his fingers through Brooklyn's silken hair as he held him.
But this time? He had his work cut out for him.
They were all too old for the dogpile cuddle they'd used to get into way back when they were kids; whenever one of the trio was sad, the other two were never far away. Countless nights, when a raid on the castle had all the young ones be ushered to higher ground or locked in the safety of the rookery, the three of them always found each other. Lexington would latch onto Brooklyn. Broadway would wrap his massive wings around the two of them from behind. Brooklyn would lace his arms around the two of them to hold them all together.
And like that they'd stay. Brooklyn would stroke Lex's head tenderly as he told them how Goliath was no doubt socking it to every bad knight and sending them packing. Broadway would rest his large head against them, his massive wings enveloping the three of them in his warmth. Lexington would bury his head into Brooklyn's chest while his short, olive arms found a way to lock the embrace.
Their breathing would calm, their shivering would cease. In those moments, the world seemed manageable.
…That was so long ago...
They weren't kids anymore. They were warriors a thousand years in the future, now flying across the rooftops of steel towers.
Broadway spoke up "Brooklyn's favorite dish is Beef Ragout, so I might need a hand in the kitchen, Angela." he requested. She instantly accepted.
Lex peaked into the case, aviator sunglasses "I'll get the Top Gun VHS and fast forward to the title."
Broadway gave Angela context by whispering behind his hand "Brooklyn HATES previews."
Top Gun: an action movie about hotshot pilot who was a total ladies' man and was a rock star hero of the skies? Yeah, Lexington could only imagine why Brook adored the film so much. He WAS saving the aviators as one of his Christmas presents, but now was as good as a time as any.
"I'll get Hudson to peel his butt out of his recliner so we can push it back and give some room in front of the TV." Lex suggested "Brooklyn always rocks out to the opening song."
Angela perked up "Hey! That's a thought! Are there any bands he likes playing this week? Maybe we can move around the patrol schedule so he can see them!"
"Hey yeah! Goliath's been workin' him enough the past weeks, I think he's earned some time off." Broadway responded jubilantly.
Angela clenched her eyes shut at the mention of Goliath "Still... I'm worried for my father, if Brooklyn was hurt... and my father wasn't with him..."
Broadway placed a hand on her forearm in the air "Goliath is fine, don't worry. Brooklyn would never leave him behind without first getting help."
"Then from what did he get those injuries?"
"Bird Strike? Hit a clothing line? I mean, we banned Peregrine Dives even more so in New York! Going too fast in the city risks smashing into something at top speed face first!" he slammed a fist into an open palm to emphasize his rationalization "Movin' that fast would knock you right out"
"Doesn't explain why he would run away so upset after coming back to us..." Lexington glowered, forgetting to keep his thoughts in his own head. His scowl would have been less obvious had he not been glaring intensely at the two.
Angela looked away "I didn't know if he was still..." she struggled through a dictionary's worth of terms "...pursuing. We were working great together, all of us. I thought that he would be okay with us just being friends. I was trying to think of the best way to tell him, but it didn't seem the right time with everything going on. So, I just thought..." she trailed off, guilt soaking every word "I just didn't think he'd take it so hard." repeating her earlier statement.
Lexington's skin crawled, WAS SHE SERIOUS? For someone who liked to talk about feelings from a soapbox, she sure was dense! Lex himself had gotten over his competitiveness for Angela... well, honestly halfway through the night they tried to court her. Wasn't his type anyways, WAY too tame.
But Brooklyn? Lex knew him better than anyone else alive; he adored Angela. He was in love with her, and she couldn't even see it?
Lex wanted to rescind his previous description on Brooklyn; 'A Hopeless Romantic' didn't do him justice. Even back in Scotland, Lex had to bury his face into his hands from the sheer second-hand embarrassment Brooklyn gave him. The guy was HOPELESS. The second the hormones started to kick in, Brooklyn was the first of all the boys to stop sticking worms into girl's hair and switch to presenting them with flowers... that a human handmaiden would then slap him upside the head for having plucked them from the castle gardens.
In Lex's eyes, Brooklyn was the EVERYTHING a female could pray for. He was brave, intelligent, kind- and GENUINE kind, mind you. Broadway was a big softie, but his kindness stemmed from innocence. Angela was 'nice' as well... but why wouldn't she be? She lived that nice, soft, cushy life on Avalon... Watch your entire family get massacred and then be shot at a few hundred times, see how long you keep that loving naivety.
Brooklyn was a bit of a hot head, but Lexington preferred the term 'passionate'. He was a natural leader, loyal to a fault, and had a DESPERATE need to protect anyone that needed him; when Broadway went missing the night of the 'misfire' incident, he was practically on his knees begging Goliath to let him find Broadway rather than hunt down Elisa's believed shooter. When Lex had so stupidly jumped right into a trap by The Pack, Brooklyn was the only one who was right there with him.
Now if he learned to not be so pushy with women, they MIGHT'VE appreciated all those traits. They might have seen how his ivory mane turned a sterling silver in the moonlight. Or how that lean strong body of his looked as he soared... Or how his deep, gravelly could be so comforting when he held you close...
"LEX!" Broadway called out firmly "You home?"
His little brother's eyes snapped out of their glazed over empty stare "HUH?" his arms snapping back up to keep himself from slowly descending further.
"Uh... Castle." he said simply, pointing a thick finger ahead "Updraft is on the south side tonight I think."
"Huh? Oh, uh. Yeah, I got it." he responded flatly with a thumbs up, dipping his shoulders to try and pick up speed... though it seemed like he was trying to put distance between the two of them.
Broadway sighed "...Well, that's cryptic."
"Do you think he might be upset about 'us' too?" Angela worried.
"Who, Lex?" he swiped a hand down dismissively "Naaah, I think he's already known for about a week."
"Wait! He has?"
"Yeah, I mean... I think he at least knew we WERE heading together." he scratched the back of his neck "He honestly didn't seem that phased by it! Though now I'm kind of wishing I could go back and take his advice from earlier."
"Advice?"
Broadway sighed again and rubbed the crown of his forehead "...that maybe we shoulda told Brooklyn ASAP; better to hear it from us rather than him find out on his own and..." he made a sweeping gesture with his hands "Something like this happen."
Broadway couldn't deny it, he had been wishing Brooklyn WOULD find out on his own to avoid a super uncomfortable conversation. It would have been easier had he just accepted Angela chose him and dropped it, back to business as usual.
They were brothers, the bond between them had been forged in the fires of forty years' worth of trials and tribulations! Yet over the past month, he could feel the aggression radiating off the red gargoyle who had literally taken bullets for him. Broadway, unfortunately, had answered in kind; for all intents and purposes, Brooklyn was his rival. Yet now that he finally was lucky enough to have Angela in his arms... all he could think about was one relationship that he had snubbed for another.
He let someone he knew for a few months come in between someone he loved for a few DECADES. Sure, Brooklyn hadn't really tossed an olive branch his way either, but it didn't make him feel less guilty.
Angela touched his arm "After we've found my father, I think you and I need to sit down with Brooklyn. You are the one I've chosen, Broadway, I've chosen happily." she said softly "...But I feel we've hurt a member of our clan... Or worse, made him feel as if we didn't care at all."
Broadway exhaled "You're right, you're right..." he grunted with head hung low "The guy's always been a little touchy with these things. I feel like he's owed some kind of talk."
The crook of his thumb and index finger rubbed his chin "...But I still wanna know what happened tonight. He may be upset, but it would take more than just you and I getting together to make him run like that."
Broadway could only regret all the times he mockingly called Brooklyn "Loverboy" now. Soaring up the height of tower they now called home, he could only think of the friend he had left behind. Goliath had Elisa. Lex had become a third parent to Alex. Hudson had happily taken to the mentor life. He and Angela were now together. So what did that leave Brooklyn?
Still! He clenched the bag still in hand. THIS was how they were going to reconcile! Whatever happened tonight didn't matter! He'd put his heart and soul into making a Beef Ragout so good, it'd make a grown man cry! He and Lex would hug it out with their newest commander like they did back in Scotland and EVERYTHING would go back to normal!
All they needed to do was go back into the rookery and hold him until he got it through his thick head that they valued him. That numbskull their favorite red bro and he was going to know it!
As Broadway crested the merlons of Castle Wyvern, he could see Lexington frozen in place atop the wall.
"FATHER!" Angela cried with relief
Lex stood rooted on his perch as Angela dashed for her blood relative "Thank goodness!"
He had been right, something was off.
When Angela threw her arms under Goliath's to hug him, the patriarch of the Wyvern Clan barely moved a muscle. Rather than graciously return the embrace from his favorite child, like always, he instead nonchalantly patted her shoulder. Lexington saw vacancy in Goliath's gaze, not hostility; okay, that was a good sign. Maybe Brooklyn and Goliath weren't at odds. Maybe he, Brooklyn, and Elisa had all experienced something horrifying together, and Goliath hadn't actually-
As Lex's vision swept the castle bailey, that wishful thought vaporized.
Elisa was five paces behind Goliath, a critical and watchful gloom locked from her to him. If Lex didn't know any better, he'd say she was a proctor about to step in.
Angela must've felt the same tension "Father?" she craned her neck up at him, still not letting go "Is everything alright?"
An indignant snort caught their attention.
"I'd be more than obliged to answer that!" a thick Scottish voice snarled.
The three of them snapped their heads to see Hudson sat on the crenel of the wall opposite them, sword drawn and resting its point in the ground. The old gargoyle's sneer was laced with scorn, his hand grasping and ungrasping the pommel as if he was still on the fence of using it for what it was made for.
"Hudson." Elisa responded sharply. "You agreed."
Broadway came up beside Lexington just as Angela was letting go of their clan leader "Agreed to what?"
The three 'adults' of the Manhattan Clan exchanged glances of various expressions to various targets. Goliath's gaze locked in the direction of himself and Broadway... or was it a thousand meters behind them? Hudson's contemptuous dagger eyes did all they could to stab his former second in command. Elisa had one hand locked against her hip to match her locked out leg, eyes trained on the two males as if she was prepared to split them up.
Goliath closed his eyes, exhaling with a growl. He grasped his daughter's hand once "...Angela, I must speak with them..." before parting from her side.
Lexington didn't know what got into him, but he found himself taking a step backwards as Goliath strode forward. The alpha's steps were slow and heavy, a weight bearing down on him that he did very little to disguise. His leader's out of character behavior brought him back to the Coldsteel incident, but something told him Puck had nothing to do with it this time. Something had happened between him and Brooklyn.
Goliath knelt before Lexington and Broadway, catching the two disoriented gargoyles off guard "Lexington... Broadway..." he said solemnly, he placed his hands firmly upon their shoulders and looked both square in the eye in accordance with their names. He griped them tightly before hanging his head "...forgive me."
The brothers' confusion gave way to a silent shock; such an out of character gesture from their clan leader was rarely given, much less imparted unto them. Broadway barely managed to get a half a sentence out of his befuddled lips "Forgive you for wha-"
"I have wronged you, both of you..." he repented. Their leader's obsidian hair hung over his shoulders and face as he looked up at them again "In ways that I can never excuse nor defend."
Goliath was fluent in four languages and none of them had remotely enough words to express the remorse that suffocated him "Broadway, Lexington. Ever since I have returned to Manhattan, I have neglected the both of you-"
Broadway quickly shook his head "Wait, w-what? No you haven't!"
"YES. I have." Goliath affirmed "I have called us clan, I have dared to call us family... yet I have ignored that bond! Not once have I taken the time to sit down with either of you to know what you have gone through in my absence."
"In my callousness, I have been satisfied with mere..." he closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to find the right words "Field reports! And mission debriefings! such things should not be my only interaction with you!" he barked, less as a confession and more of a criticism of himself "I've stopped going on flights with you! I've ceased sharing the stories of the great gargoyles of old! I have not even sought you out to learn of what you have endured through the past months! Not as a group, but as individuals."
Goliath huffed with a raise of his heavy shoulders; it was time he stopped lying to himself "...because I have been pouring all such affection into Angela, neglecting both of you in doing so". he turned his attention back to his Angela, his flesh and blood gripped the torso of her garments "Angela, you are more precious to me than you could ever fathom."
His massive hands moved from the boy's shoulders to their cheeks, he almost seemed to cling to them "But so are both of YOU!" he proclaimed "You both mean more to me than life itself. Yet I have failed to reaffirm that value to you in so long. Angela is my daughter, but both of you... You are my SONS!"
The word 'sons' reverberated off the castle walls. The two brothers seemed to have their breath taken out of them, Broadway's eyes even began to glisten. A small glimmer of hope dared to flicker inside Goliath.
"You are my SONS!" he repeated "I know we haven't spoken of it, nor said such words out loud." He grit his teeth "And I have been a fool all for it. I do not plan to claim to be a father in your eyes and I have forfeited such right to claim I have acted like one... but you are my children!"
His soul quaked as he looked at them both... they had both gotten so big. Broadway, his innocence and compassion was unrivaled since he was but a hatchling; as the other parents had jocularly put it, the only thing bigger than his appetite was his heart. Lexington, he was such a wee thing when he hatched... they had feared he wouldn't make it. Yet that daring gargoyle never let his stature define him, that genius intellect was always at work, keeping his brothers tame and his clan safe.
They were becoming such incredible young adults now and he had been missing all of it. His newfound love for Elisa and Angela had taken his attention away from; he had not invested himself in the Trio's lives and it anchored him in the past. It was an anchor he had created on his own, link by link. While the trio was growing up and growing apart from him, he found their shared past adequate and was unable to recognize how things were changing.
Only after realizing how close he was to losing them all, did he even realize the anchor was there.
"I have always taught you that the children belong to the clan... yet ever since I have returned, I have been a hypocritical fool. Not once have I spent time with EITHER of you. Six months away from you and I have done nothing to catch up on the time I have missed." he growled with a shake of his head.
"I know I have not always been the parent you deserved or needed, I know I lack the attentiveness and nurturing that was stolen from you one thousand years ago..." he dared to look over his shoulder to Elisa, a second wave of relief washing over him to see her glare had softened greatly "...I am just happy there was another to succeed where I had failed."
He looked back at the two, Broadway being on the verge of tears didn't help Goliath maintain his bearing "Lexington, Broadway..." his voice waivered "...I love you both. You are my children... my sons. I can never ask for your pardon for not telling you that until now... I only beg you to give me a chance to be the father I should have been."
He looked at the children who had traveled with him across one thousand years and one thousand leagues "I love Angela, but I have forgotten to show my love for all of you as well. You are every bit as invaluable to me as she is, and I am so sorry for having ever made you think otherwise!" he repented "I have acted as if she is my one and only child when I have already felt such an irreplicable bond with you!" he said in long overdue gratitude
Broadway sniffled behind a quaking jaw, Lexington's eyes were frozen open. Devil curse him for not telling them this sooner. Goliath swallowed "My sons...Will you let me make amends?"
The answer came in the form Broadway crashing into Goliath like a meteor, one arm clotheslining Lex from behind to bring the three together "G-GOLIATH!" he cried out, tears finally flowing freely. The patriarch responded by snapping his arms around the two, gulping back a sob of relieved exultation.
Their bond wasn't gone, it had merely been lost. They could find it again and repair it together.
"I swear to do right by both of you" he vowed. It had been far too long since he had actually HELD his boys. He embraced the large form of his ever-growing son, Broadway, and poor little Lexington who had now been sandwiched between the two. Angela stood from a distance, not wanting to spoil the moment; overjoyed hands clasped together in front of her beaming lips.
As he felt Broadway sink to his knees to hug him tighter, that anchor on him seemed to loosen. He could have held them like that forever.
He was going to make up for time he had wasted, he was going to take them flying, he was going to see whatever new gadget Lex was building, he was going to tutor Broadway's reading lessons until his ears fell off. He was going to cherish them as he should have for so long. He was going to make promises and keep them. He was going to love his daughter AND his sons.
"...Goliath...?" Lex's voice droned out, lacking all the passion of Broadway's
Goliath loosened his bearhug (although only barely) to let the poor lad have some freedom to speak. Goliath's warm and relieved smile faded when he saw Lexington's expression.
"...Where's Brooklyn?"
Goosebumps raced across Goliath's flesh
Lex stared a hole through him, his arms were at his side. He had not joined in the embrace by choice, Broadway had just pulled him in with him. Aporetic and dry, he repeated "...Where's Brooklyn, Goliath?" like he already knew.
And like that, the warmness in Goliath's chest was snatched away.
Lexington stared blankly at Goliath. The silence was so intense, you could've heard a pin drop on the opposite side of the castle
Goliath having an apparent epiphany? After over a month of fawning over "his beloved child" without so much of a glance their way? What, did he suddenly feel a great awakening in the past five hours by pure luck?
Lexington's jaw tightened. The weeks of tension between their two leaders, A bloodied Brooklyn stumbling through the halls of Castle Wyvern, his best friend fleeing from their home with sobs of remorse, Goliath down on his knees and begging for forgiveness while Hudson looked fit to hang him from the rafters? It all made sense now
Goliath felt ill.
"Where is he, Goliath?" Lexington asked.
Goliath had no intention of concealing what he did... but seeing his words had no effect on Lexington at all?
"He's..." he held them tightly, wings still cocooning them "...He's yet another one I have wronged. Tonight, he confronted me about how poorly I had been treating the three of you... I handled it like an injudicious brute. We quarreled..."
"BAH!" Hudson barked out "Is THAT what ye call it, lad?" standing up.
"HUDSON." Elisa repeated his name... seeming to almost be on Goliath's side now.
When Goliath had told Hudson everything, just before the younglings landed, he was far from understanding; Elisa had to throw herself in front of the old gargoyle just to keep him from swiping a talon. They had to put rules and requirements in place just to keep him from leaping off to find Brooklyn himself!
"I'm lettin' him handle it, lass! I'm lettin' him handle it." Hudson snorted out defensively, as he agreed to do "But HE agreed to tell them everything, nothin' excluded!"
Goliath's blood chilled as he heard his daughter finally speak up in dawning realization "...father?"
"Goliath?" Broadway echoed, head untucking itself from beneath his chin.
Goliath closed his eyes and clenched his jaws. How could he even explain it? He had to tell them before someone else did; perception was reality, if he looked like he was avoiding the truth, they'd never forgive him... but even still, it was impossible "...I hurt him..." he confessed "Too many things were said, things I didn't mean. We fought one another."
"Fought one another? I don't see a scratch on you, lad." A sardonic Hudson observed.
Goliath stiffened "That is because I was the one who started it... I am the one who struck first. I let his words seep too deep in and-"
Lexington pushed away. Goliath reflexively tried to hold onto him.
"What did you do?" Lexington pried
Goliath could taste the bitterness coming from his youngest "I let the words seep in too deep." he repeated, ashamed "I... Lexington, I am so sorry."
Lexington shoved his shoulders out of both Broadway and Goliath's embrace, the seal of the patriarch's wings was broken. One glimpse of the boiling anger in the imp's eyes almost broke Goliath... what he did next, however, did. Lexington snapped his hands open to Goliath "WHAT. DID YOU DO TO HIM?" showcasing to him the evidence of his crime.
Dried blood caked the inside of all four fingers down to the base of his palms. WHAT? Brooklyn was here in the castle? He got here first?
Goliath quickly reached a hand out for the little one's palms, but Lex snapped them away "WHAT DID YOU DO!?" he now demanded, his eyes one wrong word away from glowing full white "My brother's blood is on my hands! We all tried to help him, but he was so frantic at the sight of us, he went Peregrine!"
Goliath's as well as Hudson's eyes snapped open "WHAT!?" the elders shouted in unison.
"Where do you THINK we were!?" he barked at the two "He took one look at us, looking like death, and ran! Before we could even find out WHAT he was apologizing for, he threw himself off the balcony! He waited so long to open his wings I thought he was trying to-" A lump in Lexington's voice silenced him.
"Lexington, where did he-" Goliath's words faltered as he felt now even Broadway wriggle out of his grasp, his face more laced with disbelief rather than Lexington's knowing judgement.
"STOP DODGING THE QUESTION! WHAT HAPPENED!?" the smallest member of the Manhattan Clan screamed to the largest "TELL US!"
Goliath looked back and forth between the two, the peace they made mere moments ago slipping through his fingers like grains of sand.
"I attacked him!" Goliath found himself blurting out "Our mission had failed and we let our emotions overtake our judgement. Brooklyn said he wished Angela had never been born and it sent me into a frenzy. We fought and Brooklyn refused to yield... I..." one hand gripped his temple as if he craved recompence "...I didn't hold back."
He couldn't reveal that he saw Demona instead of Brookyln. When he put all he had into that final blow, all he saw was that vile demoness in his second's place. He didn't know if that made it better or worse.
"He fled. I wanted to apologize, but Elisa was rightfully untrusting of me to chase after him." His other hand came up to reach out for the child who he knew had every right to be angry with him "I am so sorry you had to see w-"
Lexington slapped Goliath's hand, hard and talons out.
"Don't touch me!"
Goliath's fingers splayed, too shocked to even hiss out. His look of disbelief was shared by even Hudson. Lexington snapped "So Brooklyn spoke out against your favorite, and you just split his face open!?"
"NO!" Goliath barked. Had he not heard a word he had just said?
"YEAH!" Lexington shot back "And wipe that self-pity off your face! I've been biting my tongue for weeks because I didn't want to drag Broadway and Brooklyn into it. But now that you've already decided to beat your most loyal of lieutenants, I can say what I SHOULD'VE said weeks ago!"
"Lexington, what I did was wrong! But it wasn't-"
"SHUT UP!" Lexington ordered; eyes fully white and tiny fists clenched "It's YOUR turn to listen! You wound our best friend and think everything is going to work itself out after an apology? You honestly think you even KNOW what you've put the three of us through?"
"You children? Our father? You honestly think you can even fantasize of that anymore? You look down on us so much that you think you can even refer to us as children anymore?" he jeered through frenzied laughs "I don't know what delusion you've been living in but- Oh wait I DO!" He speared a finger at Angela "It's HER delusion."
"Oh whoops! I said something BAD about Angela!" Lexington threw his hands up in fake surrender "Better get your licks in now, Goliath!"
Goliath didn't say a word in response. He had let the argument with Brookyln get out of control and the results had been disastrous. This time, he steadied himself and let Lex scream; he needed to let him get it all out of his system. ALL of it.
Broadway's massive blue hand quickly came to his brother's shoulder "Lex, enough." he said sharply (though with very little defense for Goliath), Angela quickly joined to try and break the two apart; Lex merely shoved them away.
"You don't just like her because she's biologically your kid, you like her because she's EASY, don't you? She's always big, happy smiles and glass-is-half-full, isn't she? Breathes a bit of life into our dreary clan that's slowly on its way to extinction!"
"You clearly faun your attention over the one who's the happiest" Lexington snapped his head in her direction, talking to her now "Yeah! I imagine a cushy, sheltered life in Avalon can do that to someone! A nice castle that's never attacked, no getting called a monster by the very people you protect, and NO mass genocide where you stand among the gravel that was once your brothers and sisters! Your mothers and fathers!" he spat.
"I don't know what delusion you're living in Goliath, but the three of us aren't kids anymore! SHE sure is, she hasn't HAD to grow up yet! But the rest of us had no choice! You ordered us down into the rookery one night..." he grit his teeth, taking a haggard breath before continuing his assault "...And we came up the next night to see EVERYONE we knew and loved slaughtered without even getting a chance to say goodbye. But HEY! Everyone YOU played favorites made it out scott-free! Your mentor! Your lover! AND your kid! LUCKY YOU!"
Lex snapped his arms open "Next thing we know, we're pulled into a fight to get revenge for a slaughter YOU failed to stop! Then we're catapulted a millennium into the future and here we are now!" he boisterously celebrated with hands in the air, his words beginning to stumble over one another "Now we're hiding from an entire city filled with people trying to kill us every other night!"
Lex snapped his arms down and jabbed a thumb into his chest, eyes now every bit frantic as Brooklyn's had been two hours before "Yet, somehow, we got along just FINE when you left! We missed you at first... but... but... The four of us were HAPPIER than we are now!"
Goliath felt like he had just been stabbed
"We got into a new way of living! Brooklyn stepped up and lead us! I become a stronger fighter! Broadway became our moral compass! We became a stronger team than ever! We were closer in the past months than we've been in years! We were HAPPY!" he heaved and looked down "...Sometimes I woke up from stone sleep expecting us to be back in Scotland, like we were back to the way the three of us once were..."
Hudson had joined Broadway and Angela, he came up to hush the little youngling's rant. All snarls had disappeared from his wrinkled face; with sword sheathed, he tried to steady him with a hand on his shoulder "Lad..." he consoled softly "You still are... you-"
Lexington didn't skip a beat "And then YOU came back! It wasn't the Goliath WE knew! It was one that looked to us as troops, not family! And I'd be okay with that! We AREN'T your kids anymore! We haven't been in a long time! Why? Cause our childhoods were STOLEN from us!" he howled "SHE got hers! The rest of us had to grow up!"
Sure, biologically they were all still teenagers. They had only participated in castle defenses for only about three years prior to the great stone sleep. But that didn't change the fact that they had taken responsibilities FAR beyond their age! Brooklyn held the record for the youngest Second in Command by well over a decade. The three of them faced life and death situations no gargoyle their age ever had. Age be damned, they had more experience than most gargoyle adults!
He wiped his nose "And I could stomach that... I could ACCEPT this apology for all of it! But you're so SELF RIGHTEOUS! To the point it makes me sick! Always standing over us! Always looking down on us like we're trainees and children who need to be guided! Like we couldn't hold out forever without the GREAT Goliath to lead us! Well, I got news for you: we got along just fine without you! Then you just had to come back and ruin it! You had to rip open a scar that had healed and then you filled it with salt!"
Lexington's face contorted in a vicious duel of insulted fury against devastated yearning. His left hand presented an imaginary visual aid "So you're either neglecting us by being a father who thinks he can leave us to our own devices." his right hand came up to match his other "Or you're insulting us by treating us like children incapable of functioning on our own!"
"WHICH IS IT!?"
Goliath's jaw hung agape. They were different. Brookyln's and Lexington's reasons for anger weren't the same.
Brooklyn hated him for neglecting their father/son bond by discarding him in favor of Angela. Lexington, on the other hand, hated him for the same reasons – but ALSO for doubting them as warriors and ruining the new clan dynamic they had grown accustomed to under Brooklyn's leadership.
Lexington had always been fiercely vocal of his own accomplishments, being the smallest breed of gargoyles forced him to earn every ounce of respect he had. Goliath wanted to kick himself, his speech and confession no doubt only made Lexington feel even more patronized! Goliath's eyes darted to Broadway for a split second; he wasn't even looking at him. If Brooklyn and Lexington had different reasons for this wedge, did that mean Broadway had a THIRD list of reasons too?
One son hated him for ignoring him. One son hated him for insulting him. One son hated him for reasons he didn't yet know. One thing was certainly shared by them though: ALL of them felt unloved by him.
Goliath didn't try to hide it "It's both!"
Lexington, and the others for that matter, weren't expecting that kind of response, evidenced by Lexington actually falling silent.
"You are right, Lexington... You are right... Not only have I neglected our bond as family... but I have slandered your ability as warriors!" he said in penance, openly accepting his fault "You three are an incredible fighting team, I've always known that... and I have-"
"-have forgotten it, right?" Broadway whispered, hands hanging limply and gaze downturned "Add it to the list..." far more hurt than anger in his voice.
Lexington's anger vanished for a fleeting moment. His eyes blinked free their white glow, his head quickly turning towards his larger brother. A pair of olive hands promptly found their way onto the massive blue ones to grasp them comfortingly.
Goliath took a step forward "Broadway..." he said in a form far too hushed. Broadway, innocent Broadway. How was the largest of his entire generation was also the gentlest of them all?
Lexington's growling snarl returned as Goliath tried to close the distance; he respected the warrior before him and halted just out of arms reach... much to the surprise and silent approval of Hudson just in the corner of his eye.
"Broadway... there are so many ways I have wronged the three of you... I do not know where to even begin. But I swear to you, BOTH of you. I will make it right." he lowered himself to one knee "You three are-"
"NO. You don't GET that." Lexington snarled.
"Lexington, my eyes have been opened-"
Goliath actually flinched. The blistering hate on Lexington's face would turn Demona to stone.
"AND IT TOOK YOU SPLITTING BROOKLYN'S FACE OPEN TO REALIZE THAT!" he screeched.
Broadway seemed to flinch, shutting his eyes and gripping Lexington's hands tighter.
"AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO HIM? You can't back pedal your way out of this one!" Lex shot, eyes starting to water as the touch of his brother brought him down from his fiery rage and into the cinders of what was now this charred reality "You had your chance! HUNDREDS of chances to fix this! You could've come to talk to us, but you didn't! It took Brooklyn standing up to you to get you to wake up! And LOOK where that got him!"
The anchor around Goliath felt tighter than ever, watching his two sons grasp each other from strength and security... from HIM? He felt so sick, he mentally had to keep himself from vomiting. The brothers could forgive many things, maybe even Goliath's behavior... but raising a hand against any of them?
That was unforgivable.
The flesh on Lexington's chin cratered, he was ready to breakdown "...Y-You... You didn't SEE Brooklyn's face! WE did... and you did it to him." he heaved "YOU did it to him, not by hitting him, but by everything else. Had you come on your own, maybe things would've been different; that door's closed now."
"Brooklyn and Broadway may forgive you for attacking him. But me?" Lexington let go of Broadway's hands, standing eye to eye with the kneeling leader. He choked back a sob "You and me? This father and son fantasy?" his flattened hand slashed his throat "We're DONE."
All blood left Goliath's face.
"You'll be my clan leader and nothing else; so don't try to PRETEND we're anything more."
Lexington's furrowed brow was canopy to what seemed to be a battle of a thousand different opinions in his eyes. They shook, they doubted, they seemed to even regret... but it didn't matter, there was one thing all his thoughts held in accord: they were in PAIN. Senior and Junior, the bridge between them now a blistering inferno, locked eyes for what seemed an eternity.
"Now if you don't mind... my ACTUAL clan leader needs us." Lex lamented, turning tail and slinking away with as much poise as he could muster.
An amethyst hand extended itself for a final time. Powerful talons that could shred cars like tinfoil now felt so powerless as they were forbidden from grabbing one of the most important things left in their life. Goliath raked his mind for something to say, anything to say; he tried to think of some magic phrase that could somehow fix all of this, something that could let Lexington how desperately he wished he could take it all back.
But he couldn't. What was done was done. He retracted his hand, letting Lexington go. He couldn't fix all this in one night... but he WOULD fix it, somehow. Their bond was too strong for it to just be severed with a single dispute!
His fingers curled into a clenched fist that he pressed into his lips, wings folded themselves with dignity over his broad shoulders and he rose to his feet. A clan mate had made their decision, and he would accept it with decorum. They needed time before they tried to reconcile, time he was willing to give them.
Hudson clasped a hand onto Lexington's shoulder as he went to the balcony, giving him a parting look of reluctant understanding.
Goliath would earn his child's trust back.
Up and over Lexington went, wings snapping open to catch the wing. He disappeared over the edge.
...He had to...
3:50 AM
Wind ripped through his hair.
His body's previous pangs of sweltering pain had been forced into silence.
The heart rate that had been pumping blood to his open wound eventually gave up as it began to scab.
Brooklyn was just numb.
A peregrine dive was dangerous at 300 feet, a dive at 500 feet was suicide. 2,000 feet from the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere? Brooklyn would be lying if he hadn't felt the call of the void when he went up and over the balcony.
Catching the wind nearly dislocated both of his wings, probably tore a few tendons as well. Not that he felt what was no doubt searing pain, though. It was just more noise in the white hum that enveloped all his senses.
He didn't feel real in that moment. Nothing felt real. None of it. Everything looked fake to him, like he was playing a video game through a grainy TV... a video game where every bad decision had been made for him, leaving him in the worst possible ending. He didn't even have the cognition to fly on his own, the speed of his initial fall from the castle (How pathetically ironic was that? Laugh it up Puck, wherever you are) was what forced him forward. Arms hung limply beneath him, it was only because of the cutting wind that they had forced to be streamline.
How long had he been flying? An hour? A few minutes? All night? Brooklyn moved like a drowned animal being sucked along by a current, only gliding because he had no reason to stop... at first he wanted to put as much distance between him and the castle, but now he did it because he was too empty to do anything else.
That luxury of mindlessness ran short, he was running out of altitude. He had to be miles from home, considering the apartments he fell to were as dark, hollow, and abandoned as he felt. His brain didn't turn on again until he had no choice but to flap his wings for a landing and his feet drop to the roof of a condemned building.
He stood there. Alone in the dark. Hearing silence for the first time all night. There was a morbid peace to it all, being alone. He stayed there for an immeasurable time, hearing nothing, seeing nothing, feeling nothing.
Then, he felt everything.
Shock. Fury. Devastation. Betrayal. Rejection. HATE. His hands quaked, his breathing quickened, his slack jaw clenched its teeth to the point they grinded together. Hate boiled his still blood until he could hear it rush back into his ears. A stomping foot cratered the roof. He screamed.
"FUUUUUUUUUCK!"
His other foot swung forward, kicking a rooftop generator clean from steel bolts. Electric sparks snapped in the darkness; shrieking metal screamed out.
Brooklyn let it out. Every piece of machinery on the roof was torn to scrap metal. The empty water tower on the roof had its stilts ripped out one after the other, a screaming gargoyle tearing the side of it apart just before it was sent plummeting to the street below with an ear-splitting boom.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUUUUUCK!"
What had once been the roof of someone's home now became a sacrificial tribute to the rage he didn't even know he had. Everything he saw was something to hurt, to punish, to make him feel how he felt! When every generator and HVAC had been destroyed, he took to ripping the service staircases out of their supports, and when those ran dry, he settled for the brick wall. His fists bloodied themselves as he sunk every ounce of pain he had into his knuckles and gave it to the masonry, demanding they take it from him!
Dust, clay, and mortar; they all spewed into the air in a cloud. He clawed at the wall, he ripped off chunks he couldn't hold, he rammed every limb into every face of structure that dared be whole. He screamed until blood vessels in his eyes burst, he screamed until his voice fell silent, he screamed until his head ached with sound. Was he screaming in his normal voice? Was he roaring in his gargoyle shriek? He didn't even know anymore!
He snapped his head back and forth, chest heaving with exertion. Had he run out? NO! He wasn't done yet! He was nowhere near done yet! He stumbled forward, seeing red. There had to be something else to destroy! Something else to claim as an enemy! Something else to HURT! Something to pull apart piece by piece and yank out everything until they had some semblance of an idea of what he was feeling!
Brooklyn's talons snaked into his hair, clutching and tugging fistfuls of it as he collapsed to his knees. He didn't feel like he was watching himself in an out of body experience anymore. This was his reality. His shit awful reality.
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff* "...WHY!?"
What had he done!? What had he done to deserve this!?
Not Goliath! Not Angela! EVERYTHING!
Had some holy divine being made him the embodiment of a Christian faith Demon to mock him? All his life, it was always HIM! Not just his entire family, but nearly his entire race had been genocide! Every mother who loved him, every father who raised him, every sister who encouraged him, every brother who pushed him. They were all nothing but dust and gravel now. They were stories from one thousand years ago that no one could have anymore!
When the world decided it needed its whipping boy, Brooklyn was its favorite bitch! When the Coldsteel incident happened, everyone came out the other side just dandy! Goliath got a brother back. Coldfire and Coldstone got brand new bodies. Lexington got to feel the bond with Alex that had now turned them into surrogate father and son. And Broadway and Angela? Well, they got to go out and play LOVEBIRDS for the entire night! HIM?
Brooklyn retched. He had been violated! Violated in ways that still made him tremble when he was alone! He remembered in perfect detail the vile sensation of Coldsteel slithering into his body, his fingers and black soul slipping into his every limb and organ to puppeteer him from within. He was trapped in his own body, trapped in a literal HELL as his free will was raped. That night had been worse than the massacre, unable to do anything but be terrified at the idea of this being the rest of his conscious existence: trapped inside his own flesh... unable to scream while his body was conducted and desecrated by someone so depraved!
Why was it him? Why was it always HIM!?
Every attempt to do something RIGHT always blew up in his face! All it did was leave him alone! His attempt to free Goliath's mind, while still weighed with the grief of his slain family, ended up making him stupid enough to trust DEMONA! His attempt to save Maggie ended up being a humiliating failure that not only broke his heart but made him a fool in front of his entire family! His most RECENT attempts (desperate measures more like it) to get Angela to even acknowledge him had backfired so spectacularly that Goliath had all but disowned him!
Everyone else had someone, HE DIDN'T! Goliath had Elisa... Yeah... after his LAST bitch ended up causing the destruction of his clan! Hudson had already enjoyed a full mating AND children with his beloved, before she died of natural causes after a long and happy life! Lexington had found the joys of parenting when he came across Alex, raising him with every bit of adoration and care as his own biological parents! YEAH, TAKE SOME LESSONS FROM HIM, GOLIATH! And Broadway...
Brooklyn's head snapped back and forth again, praying he had at least one more HVAC to make burst into flames.
That BASTARD! That fat fuck who always mocked him as "Loverboy" really took the moral high ground AFTER moving in on someone he clearly wanted? What did Broadway have that he didn't? He was smarter, he was faster, he was... HE WAS BETTER! What!? Was having his own father survive the massacre not good enough for him?
Yeah! He knew Hudson was Broadway's biological father! It was the elephant in the room no one acknowledged!
Everyone had someone! Some of them even had MULTIPLE someones! HIM?! The outcast, the guy who was meant to do Goliath's job while he went off to run around with Elisa or go give all his parental love to Angela rather than spend time... you know... LEADING THEM!?
He tried to stave off the heartache and anguish that was washing over him, trying to bury it beneath more rage and anger... but it was impossible. He didn't HATE anyone, not even Broadway for taking Angela... But it just hurt so much less to give into anger than it was to face the hopelessness of his now hollowed out heart.
He hugged his sides, crumbling to the ground as he opened his mouth. A scream of bitter despair and a roar of unyielding rage battled each other to be heard... in the end, no sound came out at all.
Goliath lectured him constantly on how much the clan needed him... But didn't they know how much he needed them too?
One shaky hand came up to hold his wounded face, his heart rate had been so insane earlier, he had no doubt been dripping blood like crazy all over the castle floor. It had finally gotten enough air to seal itself off, but the stinging sensation was still there. Goliath had struck him and bellowed that he was unworthy of his love... Damn it all...
He had left the entire clan behind at the castle. The last words he heard were from Angela "Where's my father?" before he threw himself into a dive to flee. He knew exactly what was going on back at Castle Wyvernright now.
After what was likely only a stern scolding from Elisa, Goliath had probably told her that he had been considering Angela as the replacement for Brooklyn as second in command; and because of the night's events, it had proven the right move. The fireball she was, Elisa probably would have defended Brooklyn in his absence, before eventually sighing and saying what Goliath did with his chain of command was his business.
Right now, they were probably back at the castle. Goliath would be telling the clan how HE was the one who screwed up again and let the guys get away, followed by a lecture on the importance of setting the example and never letting your guard down. Whether or not Goliath OFFICIALLY announced Angela as his new Second-In-Command, was 50/50 to him... but it was a forgone conclusion at this point. He was a disgrace.
Brooklyn covered his eyes as he laid on the gravel-top roof... how could he go back? Goliath hated him, Angela had chosen someone else, his brothers were being pulled away from him by different loves. He had runaway, so Goliath no doubt had a VISCERATING ass chewing hot-and-ready for him the moment he touched back down. A single tear streaked down from behind his covered eyes... what did he do now?
The sound of an old engine gave him his answer.
Brooklyn stood to his feet and limped to the edge of the roof. He steadied himself over the wall with both hands on the rim... then crushed it. Rage and hatred were let loose back into him with a vengeance "Well, well, well... Fortune favors the desperate." he growled.
A white van, distinguished with four massive claw marks stretching its entire length, drove down the street below; the very one that had escaped from before.
Brooklyn hopped onto the edge of the roof, snapping his head to the direction where it came from: it wasn't being chased by any of the others - lady luck had just decided to toss him a consolation prize. His chops curled back into a snarl, eye flashing white as a guttural growl rumbled out; however, those crimson lips twisted up into chortling grin.
"Heh... heheheh."
He raked his fingers through his hair before his palms covered their respective eyes. Delirious snickers practically overtook him.
You know what? FUCK his second in command billet, Goliath could strip it from him with a song and dance for all he cared! In fact, Brooklyn would personally deliver Angela a hand-engraved title card reading "Goliath's Favorite Second in Command" on a nice satin pillow JUST for her! He didn't owe the clan anything at this point, as far as he was concerned, The Goliath Dynasty could take control! At least now he could sit back and not have to care about impressing his patriarch any longer!
In the meantime, he decided a special housewarming gift was in order! In the form of a few broken jaws, concussions, and traumatized humans. Goliath wanted this ring broken up so badly? FINE! Brooklyn would break up the ring, its members, and every bone in said members bodies just for him! He'd leave them dangling upside down from lamp posts, immolate the warehouse, and for Goliath? Why, he'd bring Goliath their ringleader with a neat little bow tied around him!
WOULD THAT FINALLY MAKE HIM HAPPY!?
Brooklyn flared his nostrils. He knew what to do with all the pain he was feeling: He'd take all this frustration, all this anger, all this HATE and beat it into every psycho in this whole damn ring! His crimson wings snapped open and he dove off the balcony, following the truck in a course that no doubt would give him a private procession back to their delightful gang of misfits.
"Well... I thank you fine gentlemen for volunteering to be my therapists this evening." he hissed with a crack of his knuckles "...I got some SHIT to work through."