When the gargoyles, minus Coldfire and Coldstone were stone for the day, Sato had been taking the opportunity to research Brooklyn's blood to see what had been harming it besides that drug.

What he had seen in there upon his research was rather worrisome; for it was quite a bit of sugar intake from what the doctor learned from Brooklyn when he mentioned some of the foods. The blood also contained a lot of high cholesterol that wasn't normal.

Sato knew he would have to tell Coldfire and Elisa about the results and what they would have to do to get Brooklyn's blood to behave normally once more.

Coldfire meanwhile, sat there on the bed, watching Brooklyn in his stone form. Over the past hours, she somewhat had been growing a fondness to the younger male in a motherly kind of way, happy to be in charge of caring for him. She put a hand on his stone one, hoping he would wake up soon.

"I am sorry my horrible brother did this to you. You'll soon be back gliding in the air with your clan," Coldfire spoke gently until she saw the sun going down. The stone began cracking. Brooklyn let out a small roar, stretching and his eyes glowing.

When he settled, Brooklyn's eyes darted about, thinking Coldsteel was still around until he felt a hand on his. Turning, he felt his ears flatten at the sight of Coldfire, who gave him a smile.

"Good evening, Brooklyn. Are you alright?" she asked him softly, getting a blanket to cover him after brushing the stone skin off of his bed.

Hands feeling clammy, Brooklyn trembled. "A… little." He croaked, until seeing his still rather round belly. Just seeing that instantly made him break out into tears. It was going to take so long to get his body size back to normal!

Coldfire noticed that right away, taking him into her arms again. "No need for tears. We will get you some more healthy soup. How about it?" She asked, her voice like honey in Brooklyn's ears, who buried himself into her arms. He gave a weak noise of agreement, seeing the glass of water on his nightstand.

The golden cyborg gargoyle took it in her hands, offering it to him. "Here. Drink up." Managing to get it on his lips, Brooklyn drank the fresh water, happy to not have any more soda. This water was heaven.

Goliath and the others had heard Brooklyn's sobs, coming to see what was going on. Lex looked in and smiled when seeing his red brother experiencing motherly care again. It had been too long since either of them had such love like that.

Brooklyn smelled their presence, turning in fear. His eyes were still a little bit full of feral fear, remembering his vision of them in that maze, afraid to be cast out.

"Hi, bro. You do look a little bit better than the last time we saw you," Broadway tried to greet, stepping in but Brooklyn squirmed, shaking his head, not wanting them to get close.

Coldfire held his arms gently. "It is your family, little one. They'll never hurt you."

Brooklyn's heart thumped noisily, still reliving that moment where Goliath and the others said mean things he couldn't forget, wanting to hide under his blankets and never come back out.

Lex could clearly see that Coldsteel probably did something horrible to make Brooklyn to not even want to be calm around them, which broke his heart. "If… if you want us to not be so close for now, Brook, I-I understand," Lexington said in a sad way, slowly backing away, his eyes threatening to spill a little. Goliath kept a hand on his shoulder.

"This isn't your fault, Lexington. Brooklyn, you're in no danger here. We won't let Coldsteel back, we promise." The lavender gargoyle tried, but Brooklyn wanted to have solitude again. He felt vulnerable around his family right now, no thanks to that monster, not wanting to reveal any weakness that Coldsteel exposed.

Angela herself figured Brooklyn would prefer the company of a female, as she did her best to approach. Broadway took her arm. "I wouldn't do that," he warned but she pushed his arm back.

"I'm sure he remembers me." Angela insisted, giving off a cheerful smile at Brooklyn, but all he did was let out a growl of resentment. Angela, he hated the most from his vision.

"Don't… come any closer…" Brooklyn snapped out in his quiet but scared voice. Angela's chest felt pain from those words, having her do as he suggested. There had to be something to help Brooklyn remember that his family still cared.

Soon, the doctor knocked on the door, and Sato came in with some notes. The clan stood aside to let him in, Brooklyn paling from his presence, squirming, Coldfire doing her best to keep him still. "Please! I-I don't wanna be cut open!" The beaked male wailed, struggling to escape.

Sato held up his hands. "You know I would not harm gargoyles. I just came to share some results of looking at your blood." He turned to the others. "And it is not so good news. His blood has quite a large amount of high sugar and cholesterol. If he doesn't eat more healthy foods, his body and muscles will soon collapse and things could get worse for him," Sato informed gravely.

Broadway again felt rather angry at Coldsteel. Every gargoyle in his clan deserved a proper meal to be healthy. Brooklyn's body he knew couldn't handle eating junk food so frequently. His eyes glowed for a brief moment, wanting to go out and rip off Coldsteel's head. Angela hugged him to calm him down.

"Then what do we do for the lad?" Hudson asked, looking over to Brooklyn at the sight of his round belly.

"Continue to give him plenty of water, soup, and perhaps some light crackers. Chicken, healthy chicken could also be good for him too. And Coldfire, you are welcome to keep being his mother for the time being. I can tell he still needs that care for his mind," Sato said to her then.

She nodded in happiness, not wanting to leave Brooklyn alone anytime soon. "Will do," she replied, propping up Brooklyn more so Broadway could give him food.

"And I would probably need to inject an iv, to make sure the drugs really are gone out of his system." Sato said as well.

To Brooklyn, it meant needles, which was the one thing he feared the most besides being alone. His eyes were bright and round. "Don't-don't stick me!" He sobbed, pressing into his pillow.

Sato tried his best to look as friendly as possible. "It's the only way for you to feel better, Brooklyn. And you will also need some fresh air as much as possible here in this city since you seem to have been without it for some time."

Brooklyn's tears fell further when remembering not being without fresh air for nearly a month. He now longed for the wind in his hair again. Coldfire wiped his tears with a handkerchief. "You'll have some fresh air soon after you eat, little one."

It made the red gargoyle nod absentmindedly, wondering if he would ever be the same again. Little did they know that the healing process would take longer than Sato had said.

Broadway had left the room to get some food for his brother again, filling the bowl, putting it on a tray along with some crackers and juice. He came back with the tray, Brooklyn still struggling to calm down after hearing that he needed an iv.

"Here, bro. S-some lunch," Broadway said carefully to not upset him, handing the bowl over.

Brooklyn covered himself with his wings. He felt afraid to eat again even though he ate yesterday until Coldfire coaxed him to come out. She took the tray from Broadway, putting it on Brooklyn's lap and spooning up some of the soup. "Come on. You can do it." Still eyeing the soup with wariness, Brooklyn reluctantly did so. The soup still tasted nice, which was a relief to him.

Eventually, Goliath called them all out to go on patrol minus Brooklyn. Lex waved him goodbye. "Get well soon, brother. Maybe… we can play a video game once you're back on your feet." He offered with a smile, Brooklyn tensing from his voice, acting like he was still being tormented. Hudson ushered him out the door, giving a loving smile back to Brooklyn before they closed the door.

Brooklyn stared in longing. He wished to fly out in the open air, not lying down like a useless cripple. A small cough came out of him. He needed air again.

Coldfire took that sign, standing. "Do you want to get some air?" She offered kindly, holding out her hand after he finished eating. Eyeing her in fear, Brooklyn nodded, tears falling weakly down his face. "I'll be right with you," Coldfire assured, as he took her hand, having her help stand him up.

It took some time for Brooklyn to get his bearings, his legs wobbling dangerously, a whimper coming along, but Coldfire held his shoulders, murmuring encouragement to his ears until he could walk, but rather weakly.

The two of them walked down the hallway, which thankfully wasn't too far away from the parapets of the castle, which Coldfire felt was the safest place for him to be. And if there was any danger, she would take care of it.

Upon reaching the outside, Brooklyn flinched when the smell of fresh air hit his nose. It felt so wonderful despite it smelling like the city. A little smile appeared on his features. Coldfire smiled at him too.

"Here we are Brooklyn. Is that better?" She asked cheerfully.

Brooklyn's ears twitched quite a bit from the noise of the city, but he nodded, shaking. Little did he know that they were being watched.

Coldsteel had flown from Brooklyn to the Eyrie Building, though he landed on another building nearby to spy and find his little slave. He used his sharp eyesight, scanning along the castle until he saw the spot where the gargoyles usually roosted. And to his surprise, he saw Brooklyn standing there with the support of his sister, breathing the air.

A cruel smirk appeared on Coldsteel's face. This was too rich, seeing Desdemona being a caretaker to the body he wanted to inhabit. The more she did, he would soon be able to snatch up Brooklyn into his talons once more. That little pest belonged with him and him alone.

"You may think you're safe and cozy in your little nest now, Slave. But soon, I'll come for you…" Coldsteel purred, planning his time to attack for whatever time Brooklyn would be all alone. Desdemona would easily kick him out if he attacked now.

While Brooklyn had a good enough time breathing in the air, he at one point, felt something inside, like he was being watched by someone familiar. His legs began to tremble violently, eyes popping a bit. He didn't want Coldsteel to get him back! Never!

He backed up, swaying on his feet, a hand on his head like Coldsteel was still in there, moaning. Coldfire then knew they were done for the day, catching Brooklyn in her arms, lifting him up. "Easy, little one, easy. We can go back in now." She crooned, stroking his cheek.

Brooklyn stared into her eyes, still leaking tears, hating that he was reduced to feeling like he had only just hatched.

"Ok…" Brooklyn whispered, soon feeling himself faint into slumber in her hold, Coldfire taking him back.

Coldsteel had seen that too, his face full of malice and enjoyment of seeing how depraved Brooklyn was now. He couldn't wait to make his move, but not today.

Coldfire reached Brooklyn's room again. She was happy he had gotten air but the way he was around the loud noises of the city worried her. Maybe he needed to go to a place with fresher air, and a calmer atmosphere soon. Perhaps she could talk to Xanatos about that after they turned to stone. She put Brooklyn back into bed, who was still unconscious, wrapping him up in his blankets to keep him warm, giving him a small kiss on the cheek, knowing that this was going to take quite some time for Brooklyn to be stable once again and be the strong fearless warrior he once was.