FINALLY, another chapter is here! I hate it when life gets in the way for me...it sucks. Anyway, here is another chapter. Hopefully, this doesn't happen again. Hope you enjoy it!
Owen Burnett stood at the docks as ship owned by Xanatos Enterprises was coming in at the end of the day. The expressionless man was overseeing the several crates being loaded off the ship with a cautious eye. When all the cargo were loaded on a truck, Owen checked his watch, seeing it was past the late hour.
"Looks like you were worried for nothing Mr. Burnett." One of the ferry workers spoke.
"I certainly hope so," Owen answered.
Unbeknownst to him and the workers, two people were spying from behind the crates. Both were wearing a gas mask, and one of them preparing a grenade.
Giving a quick toss, it explodes smoke near the truck. Many of the workers coughed and were blinded as people wearing special masks stormed in. They fired more smoke bombs as one of them tossed the driver out of the truck and getting himself in.
"Hold it!" one of the workers shouted raising his gun toward the masked hijacker. "Hit the deck! Do it now!" he was quickly taken out by another guy in a special masked.
The attacker turned to the hijacker. "Move it!" he snapped.
The hijacker answered by slamming to door shut and gunning the engine. The rest of the men who ambushed converged to the truck, except one that was intercepted by Owen by removing the mask and placing it on himself.
The rest of the hijackers got into the bed of the truck, speeding away from the docks, and into the toxic cloud of gas. Owen didn't follow as he removed his mask and threw it away in a rare form of anger.
The night was upon Castle Wyvern as the sun was setting in the west. Every day from dawn until dusk, the gargoyles were in stone slumber as ferocious guardians looking over the city. Soon, the sun sank below the clouds, and the sound of cracking was heard on the large statues. One by one, the seven gargoyles shattered their stone skin, stretching and howling that could outrun the sound of thunder.
"See you later guys!" Broadway announced and flew off into the city before anyone could say anything.
"Where's Broadway going?" Goliath asked, jumping down from his top perch.
The three other young gargoyles looked at each other with knowing looks. "Showdown." They said in unison.
Goliath was puzzled. "Showdown?"
Brooklyn turned to his leader. "Yeah, it's a new western." He explained. "Great movie. We all saw it the other day."
"You know, cowboys, horses, guns. Those things." Lexington added.
"It must have been really good for the big guy to miss dinner." Chelsea chuckled. "I mean, since when does Broadway skip a meal? Never!" she laughed as she jumped off her perch.
"Movies, television, video games…" Hudson noted with grim. He shook his head. "These days, it's hard to tell what's real and what's not."
"I suppose…" Goliath mumbled.
Meanwhile, at the police station where a certain detective works on 23rd Precinct, Elisa was talking to Captain Chavez about a certain case.
"Come on Captain," Elisa exclaimed with a tint of anger. "You know its Dracon. Who else could it be?! Look, just get me a warrant and I'll drag that piece of scum back here and-"
"You have no evidence." The chief interrupted. She leaned back in her chair with a sigh in frustration. "He's bulletproof."
"Big surprise." Elisa groaned, then realized something as she crossed her arms. "What exactly was in that crate he stole?"
Captain Chavez took out a piece of paper on her desk. "Non-projectile weapon prototypes from Xanatos Enterprises."
Elisa raised an eyebrow. "Non-projectile? You mean like lasers?"
"Something like that detective."
Elisa turned behind as Owen entered the office. He continued. "They are the latest design and high collimation charged particle beam technology. The laser is just for aiming, the particle beam itself is invisible."
"How many of these guns were stolen?" Chavez asked.
"Three hundred and twenty two of various styles, sizes, and power ranges,"
Elisa tightened her fists. "Great," she mumbled as she headed toward the door.
"Where are you going?" the captain demanded.
"To do my job captain," was all Elisa answered as she slammed the door shut.
Down at the movie theater, the late-night showing of 'Showdown' was about to begin. The theater was packed in tight as people were trying to find a seat. Unknown to them, Broadway slipped through the ceiling and landed on a pile of pre-popped popcorn.
"Perfect." He whispered with a smile as he opened a bag as the movie began.
The detective was able to track down Tony Dracon to the Park Manor, which was one of Manhattan's most expensive apartment complex in the city. Elisa spotted the black-haired man, who was surround by four of his "bodyguards" who were heading to the lobby.
"Dracon!" Elisa shouted over the crowd.
The man turned to her as his bodyguards went defensive but backed down as Dracon did a small wave of his hand. He stepped forward until he and Elisa were eye to eye.
"Something on your mind honey?" the dark-haired man asked, his voice smooth, but dripping with malice.
"I have a few questions for you about that armed hijacking that took place earlier today." Elisa retorted, not even phased by Dracon's words.
"Hijacking? Sorry honey, but you got the wrong guy. I'm just a businessman." Dracon mocked, and his bodyguards began laughing.
Elisa gritted her teeth and tightened her fists as her anger was rising.
"I assume you have an alibi?" she asked as her anger was rising.
Dracon gestured to his bodyguards. "I was with these guys." He replied. "We were out doing the town."
The so-called 'businessman' walked past her, a smug smile plastered on his face, and his bodyguards following him. Each of the guards looking down at Elisa with a smug smile.
Not wanting to have the last word, the detective spoke up again. "One of these days, you're gonna slip up Tony." She warned. "And when you do…I'll be there."
Dracon stopped in his tracks, then turned to her.
"Hey, I told you. I'm not the guy." He told her, his voice still smug. "And if I were the guy, you couldn't do a thing about it. In fact, if I were to tell one of my associates to go and sell off some merchandise to raise some operating capital, you couldn't do anything about that either. Face it sugar, you got nothing."
After Dracon's speech, he and his men walked off, leaving Elisa standing where she was in a steaming with anger.
After her shift was over, Elisa arrived at her apartment. When she entered, she removed her jacket and her holstered gun and hangs them up on a coat rack. She gasped when she looked down, seeing her gray cat was meowing and rubbing lovingly against her leg.
Elisa smiled as she picks him up. "Hey Cagney." She gently pets him behind the ear as she walks to the kitchen. "You hungry Cagney?" the cats answer was yes, and he meowed again. The detective smiled. "Be glad you got a home Cagney, the streets just got a whole lot meaner…"
Broadway enjoyed the Showdown movie, even if it was the fifth time in a row. Now that it was over, he decided in wanting to see what else there was to do.
The potbelly gargoyle stretched, tossing his empty popcorn bag aside, and heading out through the ceiling exit.
When he got out, he glided off into the night, and was pretending his claws were a gun. He then remembered he was close to Elisa's home, and thought about paying her a visit.
"Hey Broadway!"
Broadway turned behind him and saw Chelsea gliding toward him with something in her claws.
"Hey Chelsea, what are you doing out here?" Broadways asked as the female glided next to him.
"Well, I came out to return this book from Elisa's place," Chelsea explained showing a book to her friend. "And thought of seeing how Elisa is doing since we haven't seen her in a while."
"Yeah, wonder what Elisa is doing at her job?"
Chelsea shrugged. "I think Elisa told us she wasn't going to visit us that much because of some big case, but I'm not sure."
Broadway gave a questioning look. "You think we should ask?"
"Maybe, if she doesn't mind."
Just as Chelsea said that the two young gargoyles landed on Elisa's balcony of her apartment building. As Chelsea stood behind him, Broadway knocked on the slide in door.
"Elisa?" Broadway called out. "You home?"
There was a slight pause until a voice called out. "Is that you Broadway?" It was Elisa.
"And Chelsea." Chelsea called behind the potbelly gargoyle as she and Broadway entered the apartment.
"We were in the neighborhood," Broadway spoke in the family room.
Elisa turned to the two gargoyles from the stove. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll put on a couple of steaks."
Broadway and Chelsea looked at each other with equal grins and the female chuckled.
"Thank you Elisa," Chelsea grinned, then lifted the book. "Oh, I also came to return your book. Where do you want me to put it?"
"Oh, put it by my desktop. I'll put it away later." Elisa called still occupied at the stove.
"Okay," Chelsea turned to the desktop that was by the screen doors and placed it next to the computer mouse.
Over by the door, Broadway was looking around the apartment with upmost curiosity. He turned to the television and saw a picture of what looked like Elisa's family and picked it up to look at it closely. He continued to survey around the place when something shiny and familiar caught his eye. On the coat hanger was Elisa's gun holster.
Seeing that Chelsea was busy looking at the other end of the apartment, Broadway put the photo away and went to the gun. He slowly pulled out the gun from the holster and gazed at it with utter curiosity.
"Cool…" Broadway murmured as he put his finger on the trigger, but found it was difficult because his claws were a little too big for the small trigger. As he got it right, he started quoting from the movie.
"Let's go pilgrim, and don't forget the horse!"
Chelsea, who was gazing at an abstract painting on the wall, didn't really paid attention to Broadway prancing around the room with the gun in his hand. When Chelsea slightly turned to the other gargoyle, only to gasp at what the gargoyle was doing. She turned with shock and called out suddenly.
"Broadway, what-"
*BANG*
Broadway exclaimed in shock as the loud noise from the gun bounced around the room, and he and Chelsea had to cover their ears.
"Sorry. My fault," Broadway apologized as he picked up the gun from the floor. "I was playing with the gun. Stupid me." He looked around the room, only to see Chelsea still hunched over, had her ears covered, and her eyes squeezed shut. He looked over at the kitchen but didn't see Elisa anywhere.
"Elisa?" Broadway called to her, but she didn't respond. The potbelly gargoyle made his way to the kitchen, only to find Elisa flat on the ground unconscious with blood seeping out of her stomach.
Broadway felt his body freeze up. "No…Elisa!"
He ran to the detective's side, picking her up and trying to wake her up. Elisa opened her eyes a little bit but closed instantly and was limp as a rag doll in his grip.
"No Elisa! Wake up!" he exclaimed. "Come on wake up!"
The detective was still limp as a doll. Fearing the worst, Broadway scooped the woman in his arms and hastily jumped into the skies. Unbeknownst to the potbelly, Chelsea was still hunched over in the room with her teary eyes squeezed shut and her claws covering her ears.
Broadway glided toward the nearest hospital as fast as his wings could take him. He landed at the front of the hospital where an empty gurney that was left by the emergency room doors. He laid Elisa down on it as gently as he could, afraid that he will hurt. When he pulled away, he looked horrified seeing Elisa's face going pale.
"What have I done…?" He looked down at his claws and saw blood…Elisa's blood covering his claws. His face twisted with utter horror as he gazed at them.
At that moment, he heard footsteps coming toward him. He dove behind the hospital's dumpster as two medics walked out to take the gurney. Just then, they saw Elisa laying on, and quickly ran to her side.
"What happened?" one asked.
"She's been shot! I can't get a pulse!" The other quickly replied.
The first one took out a clean rag, pressing it down on the wound. He turned the second one.
"Get her inside quickly!"
The two medics ran inside with the gurney carrying Elisa as Broadway watched from behind the dumpster. Seeing it being almost dawn, Broadway knew he doesn't have any more time to make it back to the castle. He climbed to the top of the hospital, still looking at his bloody claws.
"Elisa…" he quietly prayed. "Please be alright…"
Back at Castle Wyvern, the rest of the gargoyles were settling on their perches, waiting for the sun to rise. Over on his perch, Brooklyn gave a look of worry.
"Hey, where's Chelsea?" he asked. "She should have been back by now to return that book she was borrowing from Elisa."
"Maybe she was with Broadway," Lexington suggested, trying to assure his rookery brother. "She probably invited Broadway to see Elisa and are probably at her place."
"I guess," the red gargoyle didn't looked convinced.
"Let's hope they find a comfortable place to roost." Goliath said. He suddenly turned behind and Owen came up approaching him and the others.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," Owen said.
"What is it? Speak quickly, dawn approaches." The leader ordered.
"I just received word that Elisa has been shot," Owen informed. "They are not sure if she will make it…"
The gargoyles all looked terrified, and their shocked face were frozen as the sun rose over the city.
Back at the hospital, several doctors were working on Elisa, trying their best to save her life. They have been trying to save her for hours, but the extent of her injuries were very severe.
"Sponge," The head doctor ordered. One of the doctors immediately handed him one. "Get me more retraction here…" he ordered again. He shook his head with frustration. "Guns…"
The moment sunset came, the gargoyles broke out of their stone sleep and made a beeline to Owens office. Goliath was first, who flew open the doors, and stormed in with the rest of the clan looking worried and angry.
"How did it happen?! The leader demanded.
"We're not quite sure yet," Owen explained. "She was trying to get a stolen shipment of particle beam weaponry off the street," the man leaned back against his chair. "It was very important her."
"Where is she?" Hudson asked.
"Manhattan General." The man placed some papers into his briefcase. "Pardon me." Owen walked out of his office as the gargoyles watched him.
Goliath rumbled a growled, worried about Elisa being injured and might not make it… He went to turn to leave, but Brooklyn and Lexington grabbed him.
"Goliath, Broadway and Chelsea aren't back yet," Brooklyn uttered with worry. "I'm a little worried."
Goliath looked at the red gargoyle with a stone cold stare. "You and Lexington search for them, take Bronx with you if you must. I'll go check on Elisa." He pulled away as he spoke over his shoulder. "Hudson you stay and guard the castle."
Everyone nodded as everyone exited Owen's office and went to one of the towers to glide off. Goliath jumped one way to Manhattan General while Brooklyn Lexington and Bronx went another direction to look for Broadway and Chelsea. Hudson stood at the tower with a look of sorrow.
"Elisa, Broadway, Chelsea," Hudson murmured as if he were saying a prayer. "Please be alright."
At a large clock tower, Broadway sat on top of it with his wings wrapped around himself as he cried in sorrow. Even though the blood was gone on his hands thanks to stone sleep, he could still imagine it coating his skin. He could even remember the cold gun still in his hand, and the sound of it being fired toward Elisa. The vision of the detective sprawled on the ground still lingered as the gargoyle wept in grief.
"Elisa…" he sobbed as he tightened his wings around himself.
Goliath found Elisa easily at a hospital room that had a skylight. He found her laying in a hospital bed wearing a hospital gown, a nasal breathing tube, and had a heart monitor next to her. If not for the monitor, the leader would have believed she was dead…
He growled, his eyes burning with anger, but quickly calmed down when he saw his guessing the doctor and several people entering.
"Don't sugar coat it Dr. Sato." An older man asked, who the leader guessed was Elisa's father. "She's our daughter."
"I wish I could tell you she'll be okay," Dr. Sato said with a calm expression. "But the internal damage is extensive. The bullet hit high in her chest, ricochet off the collar bone, nicked the heart muscle and passed through her right lung. I removed from the base of her spine. The good news is, she survived ten hours of surgery."
The leader growled again, his eyes burning white.
"The next twelve hours are crucial." The doctor ended.
"Should we…Have her sister fly in from Arizona?" the father asked.
The other man placed a hand on the fathers shoulder. "Don't talk like that Dad. She'll be okay."
"Well, what can we do?" the father turned to his wife. "Diane?"
Diane, who was probably Elisa's mother went over to her daughter and took her hand gently. "We can pray Peter. We can pray…"
The doctor opened the door to leave and was met by Captain Chavez.
"Don't stay long, she needs rest."
Chavez nodded, then turned to the three other people. "Mrs. Maza, Sargent Maza, Derek. I'm sorry to see you under this circumstance."
"Just tell me you know who shot my sister?" Derek demanded, pained at the thought of someone wanting to shoot his older sister.
"Witnesses say Elisa braced Tony Dracon at the park manor. He stole an armed shipment, and she was pretty determined to get those guns off the street. Our guess is one of Dracon's men broke into her apartment and shot her with her own gun. Dracon may even have done it himself."
Goliath narrowed his eyes at this information.
"Any prints on the gun?" Mr. Maza asked.
"Some," Chavez answered. "But so badly smudged, they don't look human. Whoever the shooter is, we'll find him. No one hits a cop and gets away with it. No one…" she shore under her breath.
"I think we should let her sleep." Mrs. Maza spoke knowing that the doctor wants Elisa to sleep.
Soon the Maza family and Chavez left the room, leaving Elisa alone to sleep.
Knowing that she was alone, Goliath quietly entered the room and took Elisa's hand.
"Keep fighting Elisa," Goliath murmured to the detective who was still asleep. "Don't give up. Come back to us. Know that I will finish what you started. I'll find the man that did this to you, and I will make him pay…" the leader swore under his breath before taking off to find Dracon...
Bronx sniffed around on Elisa's rooftop trying to find the scent of either Broadway or Chelsea. So far, Bronx found Broadway's scent, which led in one direction, and Lexington decided to find the potbelly gargoyle. Brooklyn and Bronx stayed behind because the beast wasn't able to find Chelsea's scent yet.
Brooklyn tapped his clawed foot out of impatience that the beast had not found Chelsea's scent anywhere. Every second they were on Elisa's building, the more worried he was about the female gargoyle. It was strange that Chelsea's scent wasn't with Broadway's and wondered if something was wrong.
Bronx jumped down on Elisa's balcony as he tried to find Chelsea's scent. Since the roof didn't give a good scent, the balcony seemed to have a few stronger scents. He stopped and sniffed the ground more, then gave a hearty bark up top.
Brooklyn jumped down to the balcony and looked down at the beast. "You found something?"
Bronx's answer was he jumped on the railing and barked forward. From where he was standing, he was pointing downtown and looked like he knows where the female gargoyle is.
"Okay," the red gargoyle started as he helped Bronx onto the railing. "Lets find her." With a bit of difficulty, he lifted Bronx up and jumped in the direction Chelsea probably went.
While gliding, Bronx was pointing with his head in the direction where Chelsea probably went. As much as Brooklyn wanted to put the beast down because of how heavy he was, he wanted to keep gliding forward and find the female gargoyle as fast as he can.
"Come on Chels," Brooklyn murmured looked down at the rooftops. "Where are you?"
"Stop…"
"Huh?" Brooklyn hovered in the air as he heard a faint voice in the air.
"Get out of my head…"
Brooklyn looked around as the voice sound close, but sound faint as it was far away. Bronx whined as he looked around.
"Chelsea?" the red gargoyle looked around as he recognized her voice. Her voice sounded distressed, but it didn't sound like she was physically in danger.
"Please…"
The hothead turned his head down below on a rooftop close to him on his right. He angled his wings down to the building.
When he landed, he let go of Bronx and let the beast look for the female. He followed the beast close, hoping that Bronx could find Chelsea.
"Huh?" Brooklyn turned when he heard the sound of sniffling. He went around a brick wall, only to stop and freeze. "Chelsea?"
The female gasped and turned to the hothead with a surprised face. She was curled up with her legs were to her chest, her back against the wall, and her wings were capped around herself. Her eyes glazed with tear stains on her thin face and looked to be crying for a while.
"B-Brooklyn?" she stammered, fresh tears forming around her eyes. She quickly turned away to dry her eyes before the hothead could say anything. When she felt no tears, she turned back to the hothead.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, her voice brittle.
"I was going to ask you the same thing," Brooklyn answered.
Bronx, who was next to Brooklyn the whole time, came over to Chelsea and laid beside her. The female turned to the beast, let her legs down and the beast instantly places his head on her lap. He whined as Chelsea softly petted him on the head.
Brooklyn slowly went over Chelsea's legs and took a seat on her other side. He turned to her with a look of concern. He needs to know what happened at Elisa's place. Does Chelsea know about Elisa being shot, or does she know where Broadway is? Not only that, but he is concerned about why she is so upset. He didn't want to budge, but he was just worried for her at whatever experience she endured.
"Um," Chelsea slowly turned to the hothead, trying to think of something to say. She gulped, then continued. "How did you know I was here?"
"Bronx found you, but it wasn't easy." The hothead answered. "Bronx only found Broadway's scent, probably because he always visits occasionally, but yours was harder. Probably because you glided too far from the apartment."
"Oh…" Chelsea looked away with a gulp, then rubbed her eyes. "Did you find him? Broadway I mean." She asked turning back to Brooklyn.
The hothead shook his head. "Lexington is looking for him."
She nodded, then looked forward with a small frown. There was an awkward silence between them, neither knowing what else to say.
"What happened?" Brooklyn let out.
Chelsea turned to him abruptly. "What?"
"Back at the apartment, what happened in there?" The hothead asked again.
The female looked at Brooklyn with a nervous gaze, then looked away with her hands over her ears as she tried to think. As she tried to think, all she could remember was the sound of the gunshot. The shot fired out of nowhere behind her and then someone collapsed down in a heap. Thinking of those memories, something triggered in her mind, new memories began to pour through her head…but they weren't their own.
She grunted as the unexpected sound of metal on metal screeched through, and the shrill screech of a woman came through her mind like a hot knife sizzling through butter.
Chelsea squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her jaws as the memories kept coming. The screaming soon stopped when the sound of a baby crying came through along with the sounds of hard footprints on grass were heard in the distance. Whatever they were, they sounded close… Then out of nowhere, a faint voice echoed through her head, almost sounding close.
Chelsea?...Chelsea?!
The female shrieked and jumped abruptly from the ground. Her wings spread out, knocking Brooklyn and Bronx away, both of them getting their bearings at what just happened.
After getting his bearings, Brooklyn looked with shock when he saw Chelsea pacing with her hands over her ears and exclaiming certain words occasionally. He jumped over to the female who was still going out of control and took ahold of her. He held her shoulders and found her eyes squeezed shut and holding her head. Her wings were shaking out of control, and sometimes accidently hitting him.
"Chelsea!" Brooklyn shook her body as she was still unresponsive. "Chelsea, snap out of it! You're safe! You're not at Elisa's apartment anymore!"
Like it was magic, Chelsea opened her eyes abruptly, and was staring eye to eye with the red gargoyle. Her breath was shallow as cold sweat was forming on her brow. Her body that was riled with fear started to relax as she now remembers that she was in a safe area.
Brooklyn looked down at his claws and saw that he was holding her very hard. Relaxing them, he saw that he made a few indentions in her upper arms, but she didn't look like she didn't noticed them. He looked up at her.
"Chelsea?" he whispered as he looked at her with concern. "Are you okay?"
The female took a deep breath, and tears started to rise on her eye rims. Her mouth opening and closing, but no words were coming out. Before the hothead could say anything, Chelsea wrapped her arms around Brooklyn's waist as she softly cried in his mane. The hothead was surprised at this but soon relaxed as her cries became harder and her embrace tightened as if she didn't want to let go. She was really crying.
He looked down and saw Bronx looking up at the two with a look of worry. The beast gave a soft whine as he rubbed up against Chelsea's leg as a sign of comfort.
Brooklyn looked back the female gargoyle, who was still weeping in his mane. This was just like a thousand years ago in the rookery. Her crying with utter sadness, and he was the only one around to comfort her.
With the only way he could tell her she was out of harm's way, he wrapped his arms around her, and his wings encased around both of them as a protective shield. He may not know what she was thinking about, but all he cared about was making sure she was alright...
Goliath flew through the night sky, eyes glowing brightly with anger wanting to end the man who shot Elisa… He found the Park Manor and sure enough, Dracon was in his suite, talking to his four henchmen. He hid in the shadows as the man spoke.
"Our buyer is going to pay top coin for all this buck rogers stuff."
"We're set for midnight, down near the dock." A black man with thick glasses spoke sitting casually on a large sofa. "I'll meet you there."
Unbeknownst to the men inside, a very riled gargoyle had heard every word, and decided to follow the one in glasses.
Around that time in Central Park, a man was running down trying to get home but found himself being stared down at a barrel of a futuristic handgun.
"Look…" the man whimpered. "Let me pass. Please."
"Not likely." The punk replied with a sly grin. "I'm gonna need your wallet first." He pointed the gun at the man who staggered back. "Come on, give it up. Otherwise…"
Before the punk could say another word, a low growl emitted through the trees. The sounds of branches shaking as if someone was walking on them. Before the man could react, Broadway jumped out of the tree and straight on the human's back. The man managed to get away as the punk stared up at the angry gargoyle in absolute fear.
"St-Stay away!" the punk cried cowering on the ground.
Broadway growled again and heaved the man up into the air by his shirt. The punk shrieked, not expecting any of this.
"What's this?!" Broadway demanded wrenching the gun away from the punk. "A new kind of gun?! A new kind of way to kill people?!" He looked at the gun, then with force he crushed the gun and threw it away like a piece of trash.
"Where did you get this?!" Broadway howled. "Who gave it to you?!"
Terrified of his life, the punk told the whole truth. "A-A guy!" he stammered. "They call him G-Glasses! He's selling them!"
"WHERE?!"
"D-Down on Canal Street! Right by the docks!"
Broadway tossed the punk across the park, then took off toward the docks!
Back at the hospital, a long whine rose around Elisa's room.
"Code Blue! Code Blue ICU!"
The nurse was looking at Elisa's vitals while the doctors were checking Elisa.
"Flatline!" the nurse called. "No pulse!"
The doctor didn't have time to lose as turned to the assistant. "Epinephrine."
He was immediately handed a sterile needle, which he quickly injected into the detective, but there was no change.
"Still flat!" the nurse called out again.
"Get the paddles. 400 watt-seconds."
The assistant approached with the pads, placing them on either side of Elisa's chest.
"Clear!" the doctor called.
Elisa's body jumped as the pads did their work. The sound of beeping waft around the room, Elisa's heart beating once more.
"Got her." The nurse said with a relieved sigh. "Normal sinus rhythm."
The doctor too breathed in a sigh, wiping swear off his brow. He turned to the assistant.
"Bring the family back in."
Outside on the balcony, with free-falling tears rolling down her cheeks, Chelsea breathed with relief and turned her back away from the room. She turned to Brooklyn, who also had tears at the rim of his eyes, and they embraced as their only comfort, both of them worried for their friend.
"She needs to be okay…She has to…" she muttered softly as she breathed in his white mane.
The doctors weren't the only ones busy tonight. Out on the busy highway, Chief Chavez and her driver were doing their best to follow Dracon.
"Take it easy," Chavez murmured to the driver. "I don't want them spotting us."
Despite their best efforts, Dracon's driver spotted them like a sore thumb.
"Someone's following us, Tony." The driver announced. "Probably cops."
"You know what to do." Dracon ordered.
The driver nodded, then quickly swerved, nearly cutting off a large semi. While Chavez and her driver tried to get around that same tuck, Dracon managed to make a hard right, then disappeared into a garage. As the cops turned the corner and continued down the street, Dracon's car pulled out of the garage and turned back the way they came.
Unfortunately, they hadn't lost all their pursuers. Goliath watched the car drive off, then made a beeline after it.
Over at the docks, Glasses was pawning off a stolen pistol to a punk and was just about to make a deal. As the punk was about to pay, he suddenly looked up and screamed in utter terror. Glasses didn't have time to move as he was hoisted by the head, and into the air by Broadway.
"Who are you working for?!" the potbelly demanded.
At a warehouse not far from Broadway, Dracon arrived with Goliath behind him. He landed on the roof, peering through the skylight.
Looking in, he saw Dracon along with three other men walking toward three large boxes of laser guns.
"Now we wait for the buyer," Dracon announced. "He'll be here at midnight."
Back outside, Broadway just arrived and landed behind Goliath.
The leader turned behind him who gave a look of shock.
"How did you…?" the leader began, then shook his head as he looked back down. "Never mind. You're just in time to help me deal with the one who shot Elisa."
Broadway gasped. "What?"
"That's right you don't know. Elisa was shot, and the human responsible is in this building."
Broadway gave a look of guilt, which Goliath didn't take notice.
"Come," Goliath ordered. "There's no more time for talk."
The leader jumped off the building with a reluctant Broadway soon following. "Right…" he muttered.
"What?" Dracon asked into the phone. "Glasses you're not making sense…Calm down."
He put his hand over the receiver, turning to the rest of his men. "We better get the rest of this stuff outta here."
Just as he finished, Goliath and Broadway tore through the wall of the warehouse, running straight at the thugs. Dracon's eyes were wide as saucers, not expecting what he was seeing.
"Shoot 'em!" he shouted.
Dracon's men began open firing at the gargoyles, but they quickly dodged the shots and dove behind crates of merchandise. Goliath found the circuit breaker and made short work of it, plunging the entire warehouse into complete darkness. The goons huddled together around the table, guns drawn and weapons ready to fire. However, they failed to look up as Broadway landed from the rafters.
"You're mine!" he snared, eyes glowing brightly with rage. "All of you!"
One of the goons went to shoot Broadway, but he intercepted and threw the guy away. He exclaimed in a battle cry as he threw another lackey away.
Dracon managed to get away and began through a maze of crates. Goliath, who still hid in the crates, quickly followed the man, with murder edged in his bright eyes.
Back below, one of the goons was randomly firing around the building if he saw movement. However, his senses failed him as Broadway took the gun from the goon and went finish his off.
Dracon ran from another goon who was firing aimlessly and ran in another direction toward the upper scaffoldings of the building. Goliath quickly followed, wanting to end him quickly.
Over at the other goon, Broadway used his tail to cuff the man, letting his gun go in the process. The man was lifted up and was quickly thrown through a crate.
The potbelly gargoyle panted, trying to get his bearings, then turned over to Goliath who was chasing Dracon upstairs of the scaffolding.
"Goliath!" he cried as he quickly followed.
Dracon quickly and carefully climbed up the stairs, trying to get away from the gargoyles. He turned downward, seeing Goliath practically scaling the ladder with exceptional speed. The man gasped, then ran on the platform. He fired his laser down on the stairs where Goliath was but didn't know he missed…
Suddenly, Goliath's tail wrapped around Dracon's' wrist, throwing the gun away. The leader growled as he burst through the platform like the boogieman, which the man looked terrified.
"You are the one who shot Elisa Maza," Goliath growled as Dracon slipped and was about to fall. He grabbed the man by the ankle and dangled him through the air.
"Goliath! No!" Broadway cried climbing on a chain. "You can't kill him!"
"You think not?" Goliath asked, turning his direction back on Dracon. "Elisa will have her revenge through me…"
"But he didn't shoot Elisa," Broadway stated jumping on the platform. "I did…"
The glow from Goliath's eyes completely vanished. He stared at Broadway in shock and confusion. "What?"
"It was an accident…" the potbelly admitted in shame. He shook his head. "I was looking at Elisa's gun, and it went off…"
Goliath narrowed his eyes, and Broadway instinctively cowered behind his wings, effectively flinching.
"I'm sorry…" he whimpered.
Goliath looked at Broadway, then down at Dracon who was still dangling below. Shaking his head, he pulled a piece of the guardrail off and pulled Dracon back on the scaffolding. He wrapped the rail around the thug, entrapping his arms around it.
"Come," Goliath ordered softly. "We have much to talk about."
As Goliath made his way down with Dracon in his arms, Broadway followed him with his eyes closed and wings capped together.
It didn't take long to trap the last of Dracon's thugs together, next to the stolen weaponry. The sound of the warehouse main doors opening drew the gargoyles attention, and Goliath could only snarl who walked in.
"You were the buyer…" he growled as Owen came in.
"Mr. Xanatos had to get the guns back somehow." Owen replied unapologetically as he went past them. "Excellent job by the way. He'll be pleased that you have recovered his property."
Goliath growled. "Are all the weapons that were stolen here?"
Owen turned to the collection of guns behind him. "Hard to say for certain, but I estimate that 37 guns, rifles, and heavy weapons are missing. No doubt they've already been sold on the street."
Goliath stalked forward toward one of the larger guns.
"What are you doing?" Owen asked.
"Making sure that no more of these fall into the wrong hands." He answered lock and loading his gun. He took aim.
"Wait-"
Before Owen could say anymore, the laser let off a shot, destroying all the guns in a bright red flash.
"Mr. Xanatos isn't going to like this…" the man warned.
"I'd be happy to discuss the matter with him." The leader replied, ripping his gun in the process, and laying the broken pieces right to Dracon's feet.
"What are you doing?" Dracon demanded.
"Making sure the police link you with the stolen property." He turned his back on Owen and Dracon, turning over to Broadway.
"Come, we have a sick friend to visit."
That made Broadway immediately perk up.
"You mean, Elisa isn't dead?" he asked with hope.
Goliath immediately turned away, and silence filled the room. That made Broadway remember that he was responsible for nearly killing her in the first place. His face fell once more, as he followed closely by Goliath, taking leave of the warehouse.
Back at the hospital, Brooklyn and Chelsea were watching through the window. They saw Elisa being surrounded by her family, each of them waiting for any sign of life. Wing flaps were heard behind them as Goliath and Broadway landed on the balcony together.
Chelsea gasped. "Broadway," she immediately ran to the larger gargoyle, wrapping her arms over his shoulders. The potbelly gargoyle gasped, not expecting this.
The female let go and looked at him with worry edged on her face. "Are you okay? You just vanished out of thin air. What happened to you?"
"I'm okay," Broadway whispered, then immediately gulped when he saw Brooklyn's somewhat warning glare. The potbelly looked back down at Chelsea who was looking at him with worry. "It's just…a long story."
Goliath turned over to Brooklyn. "Is Elisa alright?"
Brooklyn turned to his leader. "Elisa's still out cold, her family is still with her." That made the four of them look through the window.
Inside the room, Elisa was breaking out of consciousness. She twitched her hand and spoke in a soft moan.
"Mom…?" she moaned.
The whole family perked up when they heard her voice.
"Elisa!" Peter beamed in joy.
"Your awake!" Derek exclaimed.
"Thank goodness!" Diane ended with a relieved smile.
"How do you feel?" Derek asked leaning over to her.
Elisa moaned. "Lousy I guess…what happened?"
Peter came over next to his wife. "That's what we like to know."
"Captain Chavez just called," Derek added. "Dracon's been arrested for grand theft. They found him in a warehouse with Xanatos' guns, all of them destroyed. He was babbling about monsters attacking him and his men."
As Derek finished, a nurse came to check on Elisa's fluids and vitals. "You'll have to leave now. She's past the crisis point but she needs her rest."
Before they left, the Maza family gave a few last goodbyes, then exit the room with the nurse in tow.
The detective sighed, relieved that everything is going to be alright. She shut her eyes for a brief second but opened them again when she heard her window opening.
She turned as a few shadows loomed over her. "Hi guys."
The four gargoyles surrounded the bed, with Goliath and Broadway on one side, and Brooklyn and Chelsea at the front. Each with looks of concerns.
"Elisa, it's all my fault," Broadway let out, trying to keep his feelings in check. "I was…playing with your gun and…it went off."
Elisa slowly lifted her hand for Broadway to take gently. "I'll never touch a gun again." He ended with determination.
"I should have been a lot more careful where I left it," Elisa whispered. "We both made mistakes."
"Yeah," the potbelly agreed. "But you nearly paid for those mistakes with your life."
"Then it's a lesson that we all need to hear," Chelsea spoke, earning a gaze from everyone else. She gave a serious look. "Let's not repeat this ever again."
Broadway nodded to her, then turned his gaze back to Elisa. Gently nuzzling her hand at the end.
Goliath, who had been silent through the whole conversation, turned to the young gargoyles. "Come, she needs her rest."
As Broadway and the other two left through the window, Goliath lingered behind.
"Goliath…" Elisa called.
The leader shushed her, gently taking her hand in his claw, and using his other one to caress her face.
"Rest now…" he whispered to her. "You're safe…"
Knowing his words ring with truth, Elisa drifted off into a deep sleep. Outside, four stone gargoyles stood guard outside her window, protecting her as a new day began.