Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations from The Gargoyles series.

Author's note: This story takes place the summer following "The Journey", and though it ignores the comic's continuity, I'm using Fang's real name, revealed in Bad Guys #2. This is also rated T for violence and language.

Chance Meetings

Chapter 6: Eyrie Expedition

By RemTar85

A clearly frustrated winged tiger soared through the night skies of Manhattan, flying as fast as he could. He was panting heavily, in part because exhaustion was starting to get to him after quite a while of restless flight, and in part by pure anger. Claw was still shocked at the sight of Talon beaten like that, and even more so at hearing that an escaped Fang had been responsible. Claw had felt that he had a responsibility to keep watch over Fang after obeying him in his underhanded schemes and bullying of the Labyrinth dwellers. Had he only been at the Labyrinth at that time, it was very probable that Fang would not have escaped and Talon would not have been hurt.

Claw grunted and shook his head. In a way, he felt that it was his fault that this had happened, not having been there when Fang made his escape and injured Talon. Still, he had to stop blaming himself over what happened and keep a clear head to deal with the situation. His foremost responsibility at that time had been to get a young boy home safely, after all, and now his top priority was to find Talon's sister, Elisa. Unfortunately, he was unable to call her due to being unable to talk, and had been roaming the city for quite a while now, hoping to find her.

The mutate decided to land on top of a building, folding his wings around his shoulders as he sat on the edge, taking a rest for the moment. He had already gone by Elisa's house and by the police station, keeping a sharp eye out for Elisa's red car, but to no avail, and knowing that both Talon and Elisa's parents were out of town, as was their sister Beth, it was becoming annoyingly difficult to pinpoint the detective. After a couple of minutes of rest, though, Claw decided to go to the only other place he could think of, and where he was sure to find help. Spreading his wings, Claw leaped into the air and began flying towards the Castle Wyvern, at the top of the Eyrie building.

Visiting the home of one of the people responsible for turning him into a mutate was something Claw never hoped or wanted to do, but he was desperate now, and knew that one of the gargoyles would be able to help him get in touch with Elisa, if she wasn't there already. As he could see the building looming in the distance and getting closer as he flew, Claw noticed something. His sharp eyesight caught someone in the distance, and his eyes opened wide at recognizing the large body and wide wings of the Manhattan Clan's leader, Goliath. Flapping his wings, Claw flew as fast as he could to catch up, knowing that where Goliath was, Elisa was certain to be around as well.

It took only a few moments for Claw to reach Goliath, and ended up passing him so the lavender gargoyle could spot him. Turning in midair, Claw faced Goliath and waved his hands over his head, immediately catching his attention. Spotting the mutate, Goliath instantly noticed the very serious and urgent look on his friend's face as he waved almost frantically with both arms, and thus drew closer to the mutate.

"Claw, what's the matter?" Goliath asked.

Claw knew there was no time to waste, and immediately motioned for Goliath to follow him. Both winged creatures landed on the rooftop of the nearest building, and a now concerned Goliath watched as Claw took a notepad and pen he had been carrying in the inner part of the waistband of his shorts and frantically wrote on it. Once finished, he handed Goliath the note, the gargoyle's concerned expression turning grim as he read.

"Fang has escaped the Labyrinth and badly injured Derek. Tell Elisa. We need serious medical attention A.S.A.P, and Fang needs to be caught."

"I will contact her right away, and also a doctor we know of," Goliath said, now looking serious. "And I will have the clan go search for Fang immediately. Come!"

Claw nodded, and ran after his friend as both gargoyle and mutate dashed towards the edge of the building and leaped into the sky. The tiger-man followed Goliath as they swiftly glided, noticing Goliath speaking into the small microphone and ear-piece he constantly carried to keep in touch with Elisa and his clan. He had managed to do his task, finding Talon the help he'd need, but Claw was far from satisfied. He would not be satisfied until he caught up to Fang and made him pay.

"Mom?" Daniel called out from the kitchen, as he finished washing the dish and glass his mother had used to serve up the Chinese takeout and soda she had brought for him.

"Yes, Daniel?" Daniel's mother called out from her room.

"I'm really tired, I'm going to bed," said Daniel as he walked to his mother's bedroom door.

"Did you shower first?" she asked without looking at him, carefully tying her hair in a bun. Daniel knew from that, and her wearing her bathrobe, that she was aiming to shower soon.

"Yes," Daniel replied, feigning a yawn.

"Go ahead, then," she said, eyes never leaving her image in the mirror. "Looks like your bum of a stepfather won't be getting here early tonight either, so I'll just shower, read a book for a while and then go to sleep, too."

"Okay. Good night, Mom."

"Good night, son."

Walking slowly to his bedroom, Daniel took a look back at his mother, then turned towards his door and stepped inside. After he closed the door, he suppressed a chuckle at the sight of his mutated uncle pressed firmly to the wall. The cougar-man let out a soft sigh of relief and slid down the wall until he ended up sitting on the floor. He had been uneasy and silent ever since his nephew's mother had arrived. At the very least he had been able to eat the Chinese food that his sister-in-law had brought for her son, which calmed his rumbling stomach. Understanding the need for silence at the moment, Daniel sat on the floor in front of his uncle, both of them smirking at one another as they simply waited.

Fang was growing increasingly frustrated, as the minutes ticked by slowly. He had already had to wait for about an hour or so for Daniel's mother to return home, so his nephew would not have to stay alone, and now had to wait until she went into the shower so he could go out without being heard struggling to fit through the window. Finally, footsteps were heard out in the hall, followed by a door closing, and moments later, the sound of water running. Fang heaved a sigh of relief and quickly stood up.

"Finally! I thought she'd never get in the damn shower!" he said in a low voice.

"I hear that," Daniel added with a slight groan as he also stood up. "She always takes ages when she goes for a shower, and also for getting ready whenever she has to go out."

"Women," Fang added with a scoff. "Anyway, now that she's busy, and enough time's passed, I'd say it's high time I go pay Xanatos a visit."

The mutate quickly got to the window, slid it open and once again started the struggle to fit through it. He folded his wings and shrunk on the shoulders as best as he could, and this time managed to get through easier than before. He stood on the fire escape now and stretched, then smiled and turned to say good-bye to his nephew. The smile on his face faded, though, as he watched the boy putting on his blue-colored jacket, and then put his extra pillow on the bed, covering it up with his blanket. The mutate panicked, understanding his nephew's actions, and he quickly kneeled to speak through the open window.

"No!" Fang said in a loud whisper, with yellow eyes open wide. "No, no, no, no! You are not coming with me, Daniel!"

"But why not?" Daniel asked as he finished setting the blanket.

"Oh, come on, Daniel, you're smarter than that," Fang said, sounding frustrated. "I don't want to even think of what would happen if your mother discovered you've gone and disappeared from your room!"

"She won't notice," Daniel said, looking rather serious. "I don't even remember the last time my mom came into my room during the night to check up on me. The pillow and blanket is just in case."

"Oh," Fang muttered. "That's… uh… not nice of her."

"I guess I'm used to it," Daniel said with a shrug, then clicked off the light and walked to the window. "It's fine, really."

"Look, Danny, even so, I can't have you just go with me," Fang said, reaching over to pat his nephew on the shoulder.

"Come on, Uncle Fang!" Daniel pleaded. "I'm dying to get to see that castle! It'll be great! Mom's never gonna notice I'm gone, and besides, you could use my help."

"Your help?" Fang asked with a scoff, but a curious smirk was etched in his face. "Okay, this I got to hear."

"Well, if you're going up there to beg Mr. Xanatos for some type of job and to live at the castle, what better way to convince him than to take me up there with you? He's a parent, he won't be able to resist an uncle looking out for his nephew's well-being."

"Is that so?" Fang muttered, but could not help to chuckle. "Ah, crap. That's actually a pretty good point."

"It'll work out fine," said Daniel, climbing out of his window to join the mutate in the fire escape. "Besides, you owe me."

"Excuse me?"

"If it hadn't been for me, you'd still be locked up in that little cell at the Labyrinth," Daniel said with a smile. "So the least you could do is take me to see that castle."

"Okay, fine, you can come!" Fang said with a sigh, and looked at his nephew with a mix of scowl and smirk etched on his face. "You know, back in the day, you were the shyest, quietest, most obedient kid. When in the hell did you become so assertive like that?"

"I don't know," Daniel said with a shrug. "Guess I'm simply just growing up and getting more mature. I'll be a teenager in a couple of years, after all. And I'm just happy to have you back."

"And I'm happy to be back, kiddo," Fang said with a grin, and then he started climbing the fire escape to the roof. "Now come on. Time is money."

Daniel nodded, and followed his uncle up the rooftop, being careful not to get seen by anybody when they passed other windows on their way up. Finally on the roof, Daniel zipped up his jacket, and held on firmly to his mutated uncle as Fang picked him up. Glancing at the towering building in the distance, Fang took a running start, jumped off the roof and glided into the night sky, on their way to the Eyrie Building.

Goliath breathed deeply, trying to suppress the anger he felt. The sight of both Elisa and Maggie looking so heartbroken at the sight of the unconscious, badly injured Talon stirred many feelings in Goliath. But, just like with Claw, anger at the one responsible for this came the clearest out of all those feelings. Goliath and Claw remained at the entrance, having ushered the Labyrinth dwellers to leave some space for those who needed to be in the room. They were watching as an Asian man set up some equipment around Talon's bed after having checked on him quickly.

Claw sighed, leaning against the door frame, prompting Goliath to look at him. Gargoyle and mutate shared a look, and it was clear to both that they were thinking the same thing. Both were eager to just go out and find Fang, to capture him and make him pay for such a brutal attack on their friend. Still, they resisted that urge, as they knew the right thing to do was to support on their loved ones first, and neither would leave until they heard about Talon's condition. A few minutes later, they saw the doctor speaking to both Elisa and Maggie, and both came to attention. Elisa approached moments later, and Goliath and Claw were not pleased to see Elisa looking worse than when she walked in, while Maggie and the doctor remained with Talon.

"Will he be fine?" Goliath asked.

"Dr. Sato's not entirely sure, yet," Elisa said, looking back as the Asian man made sure all medical equipment was working properly. "He'll check Derek more thoroughly to make sure, and he says that later he'll pack up any other medical supplies he needs to bring, even extra, just in case. But it's not looking good right now. Dr. Sato said that the beating was brutal, and that if Derek doesn't wake up soon, he might be in a coma, and there's even a possibility of brain damage."

Both gargoyle and mutate could hear the distress in the detective's voice, even as she tried to remain as calm and composed as she could. Goliath's eyes glowed a bright white, and a low growl escaped him. Looking up at them both, Elisa sighed, and then reached to put a hand on Goliath's shoulder. The lavender gargoyle's eyes returned to normal as he looked down at her.

"As much as I wish to go out and find Fang, I'd much rather stay until we make completely sure how Derek is," she said.

"I agree," Goliath said, reaching to take Elisa's hand from his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Claw and I will look for Fang. I've also contacted the rest of the clan, and most of them have already begun searching for him."

"Thanks, Goliath," Elisa said, giving him a firm hug around the waist, which the gargoyle returned. "Just do me a favor. When you find Fang, take him down. Hard."

"I most certainly will," Goliath said in a low voice. Breaking the embrace, Elisa turned and went back to Maggie and Dr. Sato. Turning back to Claw, the both of them ran towards the entrance to the Labyrinth. Minutes later, both were soaring through the night sky, and hoping they'd get lucky in their search. After what happened to Talon, they did not want to think what Fang could do to someone else if he was not captured as soon as possible.

Daniel was glad that this time he didn't forget his jacket. He could feel the already cool evening air growing even colder as his uncle flew them higher and higher into the air. He dared to take a look down, out of curiosity, and gasped at seeing just how very far down the ground was. Instinctively, he buried his face on his uncle's shoulder, clinging firmly to his fur. Fang raised an eyebrow at this, and could not help but chuckle.

"I never knew you were scared of heights, Danny Boy," he said.

"I'm not!" Daniel replied. "But I've never been up this high before!"

"Come on, you little scaredy-cat!" Fang said with a laugh. "You're with me! I'm not going to let you fall."

"I know you won't," Daniel said. "Still, I'd rather just play it safe and not look down anymore."

Fang shook his head, smiled, and put his arms a little tighter around his nephew, reassuring him on being safe. Flapping his wings, he flew quicker, going higher, watching as the castle atop the Eyrie Building came closer and closer. Moments later, he reached his destination, and carefully landed on top of the highest turret. Once he felt that they had come to a stop, the boy finally dared to take a peek, lifting his head from his uncle's shoulder.

"Are we there yet?" he asked, his voice shaking a bit.

"Yup," Fang replied, letting his nephew down. "You're looking at your uncle's new home sweet home, kiddo."

"If we can manage to convince Mr. Xanatos, that is," Daniel said, walking towards the edge of the turret to take a look. "Wow. You can see the whole city from here!"

"Yeah, great view," Fang said, joining his nephew at the edge of the turret, "which you can enjoy later."

"Aww, come on," Daniel complained, looking up at the mutate. "I want to check the place out."

"And you will, Danny, but you'll be able to do it much better after we've made sure I'll be sticking around," Fang explained. "Xanatos is a busy guy, and I don't want to risk him not being around tonight."

"Okay. You're right, Uncle," Daniel said, slowly moving back from the turret's edge.

"Good," Fang said, walking now towards an opening on the floor, leading to some stairs. "Come on, Danny. I know where his office is."

Daniel nodded, taking one last look at the magnificent view of the city. He turned to see his mutated uncle now going down the stairs, and quickly followed. They made their way down the stairs, until they reached a large courtyard, where Daniel took a moment to take in his surroundings. It took Fang a few seconds to notice that his nephew had fallen behind, and he turned to watch the boy walking slowly, astounded by the castle. The cougar-man could not help but smile, stopping to allow his nephew to catch up.

"This place is huge," Daniel said the moment he caught up, and both resumed their walk. "The parties here must be awesome."

"I wouldn't know," Fang said, opening a door to go inside. "Xanatos doesn't let people up here as often as most people would think. And whenever he did, he made sure we were out for the night. Couldn't have the guests run into us, you know. But other than that, it's all peace, quiet, a fully stocked kitchen, and about five hundred channels on the TV."

"Five hundred channels?" Daniel uttered, looking astonished.

"Knew that would get your attention," Fang said with a grin.

"I'm so gonna love coming by to visit you," Daniel said.

Fang chuckled at that comment, walking down the hall with his nephew. During their walk, Daniel stopped a few times so he'd get a chance to peek at rooms they passed by, with a couple of instances needing for Fang to insist they move along. It did not take long for them to finally arrive at their destination. Fang sighed once, looking down at his nephew and flashing him a thumbs up. Daniel nodded, smiled, and tried to not look nervous as his uncle knocked on the door.

"Mr. Xanatos?" Fang called out as he knocked. A few seconds passed, and there was no response, which prompted Fang to knock once again, a little louder this time.

"Mr. Xanatos," Fang called out once more, and again received no reply.

"Maybe he's out," Daniel suggested. "How about you take a peek?"

Fang nodded, and slowly pushed the door open. He peeked into the room, and groaned in frustration when he noticed it was empty. Opening the door all the way, he entered the spacious office, walking to the desk and leaning a bit over it, resting his hands on the smooth surface while looking at the empty leather chair on the other side of the desk. Daniel followed, resisting the urge to have another look at a great view of the city from the large transparent wall on the other side of the desk. He stepped up beside his uncle and looked up to notice a frustrated frown on the cougar-man's face.

"Of all the nights he had to be out, it just had to be tonight," Fang grumbled, looking down at the boy.

"What if he's in another room of the castle?" Daniel asked. "You know, just taking the night off or something?"

"Maybe," Fang said.

"Want to go look for him?" Daniel asked eagerly.

Fang smirked. It was easy to tell that, by the eagerness in his voice, Daniel wanted to make use of any excuse he could think of to further explore the castle. Putting a hand on his nephew's head, Fang led the boy to the door, opening it and stepping out.

"Okay then, Danny Boy," Fang said. "Tell you what. First up, I'm tired of flying, so I need a rest. Plus, that Chinese takeout your mom brought wasn't filling enough. So, here's what we'll do. I'm going over to the kitchen to grab me a quick bite to eat, and then I'm coming right back here to the office. So, I'm giving you a half hour to explore the place, and then come back to the office."

"Great! And if I run into Mr. Xanatos on the way, I ask him to come see you in his office, right?"

Fang grinned and nodded, patting the boy's back. "Exactly. I know you can somehow tug at his heartstrings enough to make him unable to resist lending a hand to a good uncle looking out for his only nephew."

"Don't worry, no adult can resist the big, begging puppy dog eyes," Daniel said with a chuckle.

"Damn right!" Fang replied with a hearty laugh. "Oh, you might also bump into some blonde guy with glasses, a suit, and a real stiff, stick-up-his-butt attitude. If you run into him first, just make sure to mention that your uncle Fang is in Xanatos's office and really needs to have a business chat with him."

"Got it," Daniel said while nodding.

"That's my boy," Fang said with a grin. "Let's go for it."

Daniel nodded, and then walked away. Fang kept an eye on his nephew until he disappeared around a corner, then he set off down the opposite way Daniel had gone to. He wasn't surprised at still knowing his way around despite being away for so long, as it had been the one place he was most glad to have called home in his entire life. His escape had thrilled him, but he did not feel fully secure out there. As he walked along the familiar halls, he smiled contently, feeling quite positive and looking forward to feeling the most relaxed and secure he could, and calling this place his home once again.

Brooklyn frowned in frustration as he glided around the same area he had been searching around not long ago. He and the others had been shocked upon hearing the news from Goliath, and had immediately set out in search of the fugitive mutate. It had not been long after they had spread throughout the city that Brooklyn realized, as much as a winged cougar man who could shoot electricity was easy to spot, Manhattan was still an enormous city with countless hiding places, even for someone who could stand out as much as Fang.

"We spent a pretty long time hiding from the whole city right on the top of a police station, after all," he muttered to himself, starting to reluctantly get used to the idea that finding Fang would be extremely difficult.

The red-skinned gargoyle sighed, and continued on his search. He kept a sharp eye out on all his surroundings, peeking down dark alleys and along rooftops. Brooklyn growled, shaking his head. This simply was not working. He was getting very annoyed now. He looked over at the Eyrie, not that far from where he currently was. His eyes opened wide, and he smiled. Immediately, he clicked on his ear-piece and brought the tiny microphone to his beak-like mouth.

"Goliath? Are you there?" Brooklyn said, and quickly heard the clan leader reply.

"Yes, Brooklyn. Are there any news?"

"No," Brooklyn said. "The city's too big and the whole clan won't be enough to search properly. But I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"I'm going back to the castle," Brooklyn explained. "I'll see if I can get Owen to lend us some equipment to help in the search. Some Steel Clan robots could be a big help in this, or anything else we might get our hands on."

"It's a good plan, Brooklyn. Carry on with it right away."

"Got it, over and out," Brooklyn said, shutting off the microphone. He immediately set off towards the castle, hoping that with the added help, they'd get a lucky break in this search.

"This place is awesome" Daniel said to himself. "Between this and the Labyrinth, it's like a treasure trove."

The boy was having a blast exploring the castle. He took a peek in every room he found open, finding all sorts of things, from bedrooms and bathrooms, to other halls that he did not venture into just yet. He did not want to get lost, after all, as the place was a lot bigger than he imagined, and he did not have that long to check what he could before he had to return to his uncle.

As the inside of the castle was much warmer than the outside, Daniel removed his jacket and tied the sleeves around his waist so he could be hands free. He had arrived at some sort of elegant mess hall, with a desk and elevators. He figured this was the main area one would enter from the lower parts of the building through those elevators.

Daniel decided to continue exploring the place, and moved away. He also noticed how quiet it was, and wondered if everybody was out for the night, having not seen anybody ever since he and his uncle arrived at the place. He sighed, really hoping the trip hadn't been for nothing. He had gotten to see the castle, but he also wanted his uncle to have a safe place to stay as soon as possible.

Figuring he had only about ten minutes or so left to check the place out, Daniel decided that perhaps it would just be better to return to the office where his uncle was waiting. He had walked quite a bit into the castle, but figured he could make his way back with no problem. As he made his way down a hall, he kept taking quick peeks into any open door he saw. At noticing a certain room, the boy stopped and entered it.

"Okay, this one's really out of the ordinary," he muttered as he checked the room. It was different from any other he had seen in the castle. Containing only a comfortable-looking recliner, a sofa-like lounge and a television, the room was even smaller than Daniel's bedroom back home. He thought it more proper to be a broom closet than a television room. He did remember his uncle's comment regarding the large quantity of channels on the television, though, and was curious to check it out when he heard footsteps out in the hall. The boy turned as the footsteps grew closer, thinking that it would be one of the men he was looking for, and was thinking how to best explain his presence there.

The footsteps were almost to the door now, but Daniel was quickly confused upon hearing loud sniffing sounds as well. Seconds later, the boy gasped out loud when not a person, but a creature came into view. The boy had a quick, sudden flashback to when he was five years old and was watching the Ghostbusters movie on television. He remembered being extremely frightened of the demonic dog-like creatures that appeared in the movie, and felt the exact same way as the creature outside the door turned to him after hearing the gasp. As he stared in fear and shock at the blue-skinned monster with glowing white eyes, Daniel slowly stepped back, with the creature approaching him, until he felt his back press against the wall. The boy knew he was trapped, with no way to evade the monster and try to escape due to the small size of the room.

Unable to do anything else, Daniel shut his eyes tight, trembling now, knowing this monster was about to rip him to shreds. Despite having his eyes closed, he could feel as the monster drew closer, until it stood right in front of him. He could now hear and also feel the creature sniffing him, much like a normal dog would. Daring to open his eyes and take a peek, he could see this creature now sniffing his shoes. The child's fear started to dissipate, and then disappeared entirely as the dog creature looked up at him with its tongue hanging out its mouth and what seemed to be a friendly look on its face. It was hard to tell with no irises or pupils, but Daniel could have sworn that the creature seemed to be smiling.

"Um… hey, boy," Daniel said in a low voice. The dog creature barked a few times, a deep, booming bark that startled Daniel momentarily, until it took a couple of steps back. Daniel hesitated for a moment, then knelt down and reached to stroke the dog creature's head. The response was instantaneous, as the creature let out a delighted whimper and pounced on the boy, wildly licking his face.

"Whoa, hey, cut it out!" cried out Daniel, though he laughed as he said it. The creature, despite its appearance, was quite similar, almost identical in behavior to a dog. The licking stopped, but the creature kept whimpering, louder, looking happier as the boy now scratched and rubbed behind both of its fin-like ears.

"When am I going to stop getting these surprises?" Daniel asked himself out loud, as he continued rubbing the creature behind the ears. The boy studied this strange dog-like being more closely, now that he knew it was friendly. It was about the size of a Rottweiler, only bulkier. Its skin was smooth, as Daniel took note of the little horns on its head and the three spikes on its back.

"Uncle Freddy never mentioned anything like you up here," Daniel now spoke to the dog creature. "You look like a gargoyle. Just without the wings, and… oh, no…"

Daniel slowly stood up, looking rather stunned, while the dog creature tilted its head in slight confusion as the boy stopped petting it. He remembered the conversation with Claw after he had first seen the clones in his second visit to the Labyrinth. Claw had explained how the clones had been created by the same mad scientist who had mutated him and the others. How they had been cloned from the DNA of the clan of gargoyles who lived in Manhattan. Daniel remembered seeing images of the gargoyles in the news, when they had allegedly blown up the clock tower atop the police station, but Claw had mentioned that they had been framed, and that they were good friends, that were now back in their original home. Daniel had never gotten to see any of those gargoyles during his visits to the Labyrinth, and looking down at the dog creature, he suddenly remembered even more.

"You," Daniel said, leaning down a little to look closer at the dog being. "I remember now. When I saw the video of those gargoyles on TV, you were there. You were being carried by two of the others. And some of the others look a lot like the clones. So, then…"

Realization suddenly hit Daniel, as he stood again. He looked back at the confused-looking creature, knowing now that it really was a gargoyle. And besides the clones, there was only one group of gargoyles in Manhattan, who were friends with those who inhabited the Labyrinth. He knew his uncle's escape would mean they'd want to make sure to catch him and take him back to his cell, and asking their gargoyle friends for help could only aid that search.

"The gargoyles live here, and by now they have to be searching for Uncle Fred. Oh, man, he's a sitting duck in here!" Daniel exclaimed. He started running, exiting the room and dashing down the hall as fast as he could, and the creature barked and bounded after him. The boy knew he'd be unable to shake it, but he could not worry about that now. He had to warn his uncle, and leave this place at once.

Looking out at that great view of the city, Fang wondered just how time could move so fast yet seem like it was passing so slow, something quite different as to how time seemed to move so slowly and always seem like it when he was imprisoned. He had returned from the kitchen to Xanatos's office, having downed several sandwiches till he was satisfied, and now simply waited for anyone to come along. Having kept a close eye on a small clock on the desk, Fang noticed that it took him about twenty minutes to grab a bite to eat and return to the office, and had been waiting there for almost ten minutes now. He was getting a little nervous now, wondering just where everybody in this building was. He did not want to believe the chance that he could be so unlucky as to show up precisely when everybody was out.

Taking another glance at the watch, Fang saw that it was nearing midnight. After having been locked up in a cell for so long, he was perfectly willing to wait as long as it took until somebody he could speak to showed up. What worried him was that his nephew should be in bed by now, and yet he was here, first keeping him company, and now wandering around the castle. Fang realized that it had been almost a full half hour since he had allowed Daniel to go explore, and he had given him precisely half an hour to return to the office. It took him only a few seconds to come to a conclusion which made him groan in frustration.

"Eleven year old kid, given free reign to explore a castle on top of a skyscraper, which is the home of the richest man in the city," Fang said to himself, slapping his forehead. "What the hell was I thinking?"

He sighed heavily, resting his forehead onto the smooth, clear surface that overlooked the city. He wondered if his nephew had lost track of time while exploring the castle, or if there had been the slightest possibility that the boy might have run into somebody. If he had, then he would not mind his nephew taking longer than the time Fang had allowed, as it would probably mean good news for him if the child was able to make a convincing case in his mutated uncle's behalf. Fang decided that he'd wait for another fifteen minutes, and if nobody showed up by then, he'd go get his nephew, take him home, and then return. He'd even spend the night if he had to, but would not give up until he could talk to somebody.

A few more minutes passed, in which the mutate simply paced around the room. He felt tempted to turn on that big monitor in the office, and even had the urge to sit on Xanatos's desk chair and prop his feet onto the desk, just to be amused, but ultimately decided against it. He didn't want to jeopardize his chance of living here by being a disrespectful goofball in the office of the owner. Suddenly, he heard footsteps, too heavy to be a child's, and instantly faced the door with a smile. Finally, someone had shown up, and he was ready to explain his situation and expose his proposition as the door opened.

"Owen, are you in here? I need some help with…"

Brooklyn stopped mid-sentence as his eyes met Fang's. Both of them just stood there, their faces clearly expressing the shock of finding each other there. Still, after just one second of stunned silence, both of them reacted, Fang shooting electricity at Brooklyn, and Brooklyn dashing out into the hall where he could not be hit. Both of them snarled, and both were thinking the same thing. They had no idea what the other was doing there, but they knew that this was going to get very ugly.

To be continued…

Extra author's note: Before I got to writing this chapter, Fang's real name was revealed in the comics, so at this point I went back and edited all the chapters to fit with it. Thanks for the reviews as well, I hope you readers continue to enjoy this, as long as writer's block doesn't keep me too long from it!