Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations from Gargoyles, those belong to their owners.
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.
Chance Meetings
Chapter 10: A Second Try
By RemTar85
A week had passed since Fang had escaped the Labyrinth. After having rested for a couple of days, Talon was now fully recovered, quite active, and with a newfound appreciation to his mutate body's ability for healing fast. Maggie was positively delighted to have him back to full health, and Claw was glad to see his friend back on his feet as well. Still, neither Talon nor Claw were fully at ease, for the fact that Fang was still out there was still heavy in their minds.
Once Talon had fully healed and all the Labyrinth dwellers had stopped worrying about whether he was going to be well or not, they were quite happy upon knowing that the one who had tried to basically enslave them was not down there anymore. Good riddance to bad rubbish, as some of them said, and Maggie found herself joining in that sentiment. Nevertheless, both Talon and Claw felt uncomfortable at knowing that Fang was still out there, getting ready to carry out any wicked idea that would end up in people being hurt, or worse, and both felt they had a responsibility to make sure that he wouldn't hurt anybody. Both of them had gone out during the evenings, to search alongside the Manhattan clan, sometimes both going and sometimes taking turns, one going while the other stayed in the Labyrinth.
Talon and Maggie were glad to see that Claw had also mellowed out a bit as the days passed by. Though there were times where he was rather moody and irritable from not finding Fang, the fact that Talon was okay and things were so peaceful in the Labyrinth without Fang's constant shouting had helped restore the tiger-man's good mood and gentle demeanor. It certainly made everybody around him glad, and Claw had to admit to himself that he certainly did not miss taking Fang his daily meals. The fact that Claw had lightened up for the most part had done nothing to deter in his search for Fang, though, and he remained still the most determined to find him out of all those that searched for him.
The more Talon saw Claw's determination in the search for Fang, the guiltier he felt at hiding the truth from him. Though they all constantly searched the city in hopes of getting a glimpse at the fugitive mutate, Talon, along with Elisa and the gargoyles, knew where to go to find information on Fang's whereabouts, if not find the cougar-man himself there, that being the apartment where Daniel Sykes lived with his mother and stepfather. After having discovered that Daniel was Fang's nephew and that he had helped Fang escape, they knew that they had to keep a close eye on the boy, which they were already doing by patrolling the area where he lived every night, though so far they had been unlucky. And yet, considering how attached Claw had become to the boy, they had decided to not tell him about Daniel's connection with Fang, at least for now, fearing that he might react badly. What Talon dreaded most, though, was the fact that sooner or later, Claw would very probably find out anyway, especially if they managed to recapture Fang, and awkward wouldn't even begin to describe how the situation would get.
Now, one week after Fang's escape, Talon was pondering whether he should tell Maggie about Fang being Daniel's uncle. He knew he could trust her with it and that she could be discreet about it around Claw, though in a way, this made him feel even guiltier about keeping Claw in the dark about it. But then he would remember how Claw had gotten attached to Daniel, and how much he hated Fang. Telling him about Fang and Daniel, and especially how Fang had been having Daniel help him out so far, would probably cause Claw to get emotional enough to go out and do something impulsive, so Talon would end up still feeling guilty, but convincing himself that keeping that knowledge from Claw was probably best for the silent mutate.
It was now an early Friday evening, and the three mutates and a few Labyrinth residents were currently cleaning up after dinner. Everybody started going their own way, some to talk, others leaving the Labyrinth to roam the streets, Al and some others keeping the clones occupied and entertained. After cleaning up, Talon told Maggie that he was to go on patrol that evening to look for Fang. The she-cat nodded understandingly, though Talon could tell that she wished that Talon and Claw would cut back a little on the constant search for the cougar-man. Giving her a hug and a kiss, and assuring her he'd be back in a few hours, Talon set out for the surface.
As he was walking out the Labyrinth's large main door, Talon heard footsteps behind him. Turning back, he saw Claw catching up with him, writing on his notepad as he walked. The note was finished as Claw reached his friend and showed it to him. "I know we were going to take turns tonight, Derek, but do you mind if I tag along right now?"
Derek nodded after reading the note. "Sure, you can come along," he said as he resumed walking. "Company's always welcome."
Claw smiled at that, and wrote once again. "Then I hope you don't mind if we make a quick stop by Daniel's place? I haven't seen or heard from him in a week, and frankly, I'm a little concerned, since he wasn't feeling well the last time he came by. I just want to check up on him, make sure he's okay."
Talon almost flinched upon reading that note. This was exactly what he didn't need right now. "Well, I don't know, Claw, maybe he just hasn't had a chance to drop by. Going to check up on him could be difficult, we could be seen."
Claw nodded, taking his notepad. "I understand, Derek, but it won't take long. Just stand on a nearby rooftop, try to catch a glimpse into the apartment through a window."
"Wouldn't you prefer me giving Elisa a call, so she can check up on Daniel?" Talon suggested. "It would be easier for her to do so."
Claw nodded once more, and wrote down. "That would be nice, but I don't want to bother her during her shift. Daniel's place should be on our way to joining the others on patrol, so it'll only take a moment."
Talon kept a straight face, and then nodded. "Okay, then, we'll check up on Daniel," he said. Claw smiled in satisfaction and gratitude, and both mutates continued on their way. Talon walked a pace behind Claw, a frustrated expression on his face. Considering that they wanted to keep a distance from Daniel's place and keep him close only when he came down to the Labyrinth, Talon only hoped that this little outing wouldn't backfire on them.
*
The week Fang had spent staying at Daniel's home had been a little stressful, to say the least. For starters, Daniel had warned about having to change his bloodied bandages at least once before his injuries healed fully, in order to avoid any type of infection. Daniel's mother and stepfather were in bed when Daniel slowly and carefully peeled off the tape that held the bandages in place, and Fang found it almost a torture to not cry out as he felt his fur being yanked off as the tape was removed, despite Daniel's carefulness. He was left frustrated at how those patches of fur had still to grow back fully, especially after having removed the second set of bandages (though this time it was done while they were alone), but at least now he was entirely healed.
He faced other things that left him irritated and annoyed, as well. He kept giving Daniel more of his money to buy food and drinks, and it rather pained him to have to give up more of the money he was trying to keep, but he knew it was necessary, and at least he knew how to cook for himself and Daniel, so nothing went to waste. Also, a few days after his wounds had healed, Fang and Daniel had noticed the stench coming off of the mutate's fur, and so they had to wait until they were alone again so Fang could use the shower. He had used up over half a large bottle of shampoo to clean up properly, and even enlisted the aid of a quite embarrassed Daniel to help him dry and comb his fur, using Daniel's mother's hair dryer and one of her hair brushes, not to mention having Daniel wash his uncle's only pieces of clothing in the building's laundry room. At least the result had been satisfactory, however, as Fang felt clean, refreshed and more comfortable, considering the circumstances.
Having to stay inside that apartment twenty-four hours a day didn't help any, either, for Fang felt himself a prisoner again, at times. Still, as the days passed by, he realized that other than those occasional mishaps, irritating moments and the constant hiding, staying in Daniel's place wasn't as difficult as he had initially thought. Things had gone basically as Daniel had described to his uncle before freeing him. His stepfather was usually out, his mother went out a lot as well and didn't pay much attention to him, and at times they left without leaving anything ready to eat. Fang constantly resisted the urge to step in whenever they did that, as well as when the occasional argument broke out and shouts filled the apartment. He was glad that Daniel at least made good company, though there was at least one moment when things were a tad stressful between the both of them.
"Are you sure you got the measuring right this time, Daniel?" Fang asked, looking weary.
"I think I did," Daniel replied meekly.
"You think?"
"Uncle Fred, you know I was never any good at math or anything like that," Daniel groaned. "I'm sorry we ended up ruining four shirts, but I'm honestly doing the best I can!"
"Okay, okay! I understand!" Fang exclaimed. "I suck at math too. Let's try it out, and if it doesn't work, let's just forget the shirts."
Still wearing only those blue briefs and wrist bands, Fang was already eager for new clothes, and had asked Daniel to go out during the afternoons to try to find a good place to buy some. Daniel had researched and explored all over his neighborhood and a little beyond it, and finally found a little thrift store that sold clothes at a quite low price. The boy had to describe his uncle as a physically tall and well-built man, though certainly omitting the fact that he had wings sprouting from his back. He had found a bunch of underwear, two leather belts, and three denim shorts that he knew would fit his uncle well. It took him longer to find shirts and t-shirts he thought would fit, but in the end found some he thought would be appropriate and bought an assortment of them.
The cougar-man and his nephew were currently sitting at the dining table, trying to modify the shirts to fit Fang's wings, and had found this task most frustrating so far. Daniel had tried measuring a good length to cut a hole on the backs of each shirt, but had so far been unsuccessful, having cut wrong in three shirts, one of them completely ripping apart as Fang had tried putting it on. By that time, Fang was growing quite annoyed at having three shirts go to waste. Now with a fourth, a simple red t-shirt, he had decided to simply fold his wings around his shoulders and put the t-shirt on as carefully as he could. As he had it on, Daniel marked an area of about two inches away from his wing joints in a full circle, using transparent tape to mark it down. Taking the shirt off, Fang now used the sharp claw of his index finger, cutting slowly along the transparent tape as Daniel held the shirt up, until a full circle of shirt fell to the table.
"There we go," Daniel said as he pulled the leftover tape off of the t-shirt. "Try it on now."
Taking the t-shirt and keeping his wings folded, Fang proceeded to put the t-shirt on once again, and then slowly and carefully pulled his wings through the hole he had cut on the back. Smoothing it out, he stood up and spread his wings, moved his arms up and down, testing it out. The t-shirt fit him well, tight enough to show his physique, but comfortable enough to move around without ripping, and after flapping his wings a bit, he saw that the hole cut for them was wide enough to not hinder his wing movement in any way. The mutate chuckled softly, as he smiled down at his nephew.
"It fits!".
"Thank goodness, we finally got it," Daniel said, smiling in relief as well. "So now we just have to cut the same length hole in the back of the rest."
Fang took off his new t-shirt, and using it as an example, they cut a circle in the back of each of the shirts and t-shirts that Daniel had gotten for his uncle. From normal button-up shirts to simple t-shirts, some with designs in them and some without, and shortly, all of them were set with proper holes in their backs and ready to use. As soon as they were done, they started tidying up, tossing the three ruined shirts and the cut-out pieces of fabric into a shopping bag to throw away later, and immediately afterwards, Fang started sorting through his new clothes.
"Okay, which one of these do I use?" he thought out loud, to himself and his nephew.
"You're going out, Uncle Fang?" Daniel asked as he joined his uncle at the table again.
Fang smirked, still sorting through the shirts, undecided. "Kiddo, I've been stuck inside this apartment for a whole week. I needto get out and stretch these wings. Besides, I want to try and see if I can find Demona, so I can ask if she has any need of me."
"It's a huge city, Uncle. I really don't think you'll be able to find her in just one night."
"I know," Fang said. "I have an idea of some places where she could be, though. We were cell mates for months, after all. You get to learn things about folks when you spend all that time locked up together."
"I guess," Daniel said, looking down at the shirts, smiling as he picked up a plain, white, button-up shirt. "How about this one? I have something to go with it."
"Oh? What's that?" Fang watched his nephew go into his bedroom after asking him that, and moments later, the boy returned, holding a black tie. Fang stared at the tie silently for a few moments, and then looked at his nephew, serious as could be. "You're kidding. Please, tell me you're kidding."
"Oh, come on!" Daniel exclaimed, an insistent tone in his voice. "What's wrong with a tie? It can make you look cool and also professional at the same time. You always wore a simple shirt and tie combo whenever you went looking for job interviews, remember?"
"Yeah, but that was a long time ago," Fang replied, "and I really don't think a tie will make any difference to Demona."
"Well, at least you'll look cool in the process, right?" Daniel added timidly. "Honestly, just rip the sleeves off of the shirt so your arms will show, take off those wrist bands and put on the tie. You'll look great!"
Fang sighed and shook his head. "Fine, fine. At least to stop you from insisting," Fang said, smirking at the boy as he took the shirt and tie from him, walking to the bathroom. Once there, he proceeded to carefully cut off the sleeves from the shirt with a claw. As he did this, he could hear Daniel continuing to tidy up and put everything in order. "You'll be fine while I'm gone, right?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine" Daniel called out.
"Just make sure to lock the door and windows, except the one in your room, so I can get back in," Fang instructed.
"I know, I know. Gosh, now you're starting to sound like Mom," Daniel called out in a rather exasperated voice, and Fang knew the boy was rolling his eyes while replying, making him chuckle as he tossed away one sleeve and proceeded to cut the next. It was quick and easy for him to do so, and he put the shirt on. Afterwards, he removed his wrist bands and started dealing with the tie, trying to remember exactly how to put one on.
As the cougar-man dealt with the difficult piece of fabric, Daniel went into the living room, making sure that he and his uncle had picked up everything and left nothing behind that could be found by Daniel's mother or stepfather. Noticing nothing out of place and every bit of fabric and clothing picked up, Daniel decided to check on his uncle's progress with the tie. But, as he was making his way to the bathroom, he heard an odd noise coming from his room.
The boy stopped for a moment, wondering what the noise had been. He could now only hear his mutated uncle's grumbles from the bathroom, but he decided to investigate anyway. Making his way into his room, Daniel looked around, but noticed nothing out of the ordinary. It was then when he heard that same noise, and though it lasted only a second, he quickly identified it as the soft crackle of electricity. Waiting for a moment more, he now heard it again, but also saw a soft flash on his window. Feeling nervous now, Daniel stepped up to his bedroom window and peered out. And as he looked up, he gasped, because on the rooftop of the next building stood both Claw and Talon.
Despite the fact that they were several floors higher from where he was, Daniel could see the smile on Claw's face as he lifted a hand in greeting to the boy, whereas Talon stood next to the larger mutate, arms crossed in front of his chest, looking rather serious. It was obvious to Daniel that Claw had dropped by to pay him a visit, and he could not have picked a worse time to drop by, and accompanied at that.
"Oh, man, this is bad," Daniel muttered to himself, and immediately brought his hands up and held them in front of him, moving his arms a bit back and forth, and eventually lifting the index finger of each hand. From what he had learned of Claw's sign language, this meant 'wait one second', and the boy immediately rushed out of his room. Turning quickly to the bathroom, he saw his grinning uncle stepping out.
"Check it out, Danny Boy," Fang said, pointing to the tie he had put on. "I managed to get it just right. And I gotta admit, I look pretty damn good."
"Stay in the bathroom until I tell you to," Daniel said in a frantic whisper.
Fang's cheerfulness quickly turned into a confused expression, and then into a nervous scowl. "What's wrong, Daniel?"
"It's Claw and Talon!" Daniel quickly answered. "They're on the rooftop of the next building over, and I know they came to see me!"
Fang stood in stunned silent, but only for a moment, for he quickly started getting very antsy and nervous. "No. No, no, no! Goddammit," he muttered to himself. "I can't let them see me in here, or I'm screwed!"
"I'll go up to the roof and tell them it's not the best time to visit," Daniel quickly said, moving to the front door, but was quickly stopped when Fang grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.
"No, damn it, they'll smell me all over you!" Fang snapped, releasing his startled nephew. "Just… just signal at them through the window, tell them your folks are home or something!"
*
Claw blinked a few times, his smile fading into a look of curiosity and confusion when Daniel got so suddenly startled and frantic upon seeing him and Talon up in the roof. Turning to his friend, he tilted his head slightly, an eyebrow rising a bit. He pointed at the window and then shrugged, letting his friend know he was confused by the boy's behavior.
Talon, for his part, shrugged as well. "He does look pretty nervous," he said.
Claw sighed, looking rather worried now. Taking the notepad and pen he kept on his waistband, he wrote quickly and showed it to Talon. "Perhaps his parents are home at the moment."
Reading the note, Talon immediately nodded. "That makes sense," he said. However, he very much doubted that Daniel's nervousness came from his mother and stepfather being home, especially when they would not be able to notice him and Claw if Daniel stayed in his room while communicating with them.
While making sure nobody else was looking up at where they stood, the two mutates waited a little longer, and eventually Daniel returned to the window of his bedroom, still looking a little frantic. He came up to the window again and looked up at the mutates. First he pointed at himself, then he pointed to his door, and next he made motions as though he were putting up make-up, followed by his bringing his fist close to his face, pretending he was drinking from a bottle. Finally, he looked up at the mutates and shrugged, looking apologetic. Talon and Claw looked at this display of pantomime, and then looked at one another, with Claw looking rather amused.
"Yes, he definitely has been spending a lot of time around you," Talon told him, causing the tiger-man to grin and shrug, then both turned back to look at the boy. "Sure seems like he means his parents are home, or at least his stepfather."
Now certain he'd be unable to more properly chat with the boy, Claw nodded while looking at Daniel, gave the boy a thumbs up and also shrugged apologetically. Daniel nodded as well, understanding Claw's message, and he sent one more, first by pointing at himself, then at his eye and finally at Claw. Not sure how to continue, he simply used his hand to form the word 'soon' letter by letter with his fingers, letting his mutated friend know he'd see him soon. Finally, he waved goodbye and exited his room.
Straightening up, Talon reached and patted Claw's shoulder. "Well, at least you got to see him, and he's okay. Come on, Goliath and the others should be waiting for us by now," he said. The tiger-man followed Talon to the opposite edge of the building and jumped off, wings spreading and flapping as the mutates rose higher to better avoid being seen.
Still, calm as he remained on the outside, Talon was very conflicted on the inside. The boy had been too frantic, too nervous and acted quite suspiciously, especially when there really was no danger of the mutates being discovered. From what he saw, Daniel seemed more intent on making them leave, and that could only mean he had something to hide. Yes, there was no doubt for Talon now. He was absolutely certain that Fang was hiding out in Daniel's apartment. The panther mutate was quite glad that now they knew where he was hiding, and could proceed from there. Unfortunately, at least for now, he had no idea how to approach that development in a way that would bring no harm to Daniel, his family or any others.
*
After making sure he could see the winged figures flying off in the night sky, Daniel sighed in relief and left his room. Making his way to the bathroom, he came upon his very tense looking uncle, who was crouching down, electricity crackling in his fists, as though he were ready for a fight. As soon as Daniel peeked in, Fang looked up eagerly.
"Are they gone?" he immediately asked, to which Daniel replied with a nod. Sighing softly, the electricity in his fists dying down, Fang stood up straight, visibly calmer now. "Thank goodness. Shit, I don't remember the last time I got this spooked."
"I noticed," Daniel said in a low voice as he rubbed his arm, "considering you almost yanked my arm off."
Fang was momentarily taken aback, and then looked as apologetic as he could, patting his nephew's shoulder. "Oh, damn. Danny, I'm so sorry about that. I just panicked. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"It's okay, Uncle," Daniel said as he stopped rubbing his arm. "Just be a little more calm next time, okay? They didn't catch you, after all, so it's all good."
"It's all good for now, Danny. But sooner or later they could catch us off-guard and catch a glimpse at me, and then we'd really be in for it. Meaning, I really have to find Demona as soon as possible and hope she cuts me some slack." Walking into Daniel's bedroom, he checked himself in the mirror, readjusting his new tie. Daniel followed him, looking forlorn, which the cougar-man noticed quickly. "What's wrong, Danny Boy? You're looking pretty down for someone who just saved his uncle's ass for the third time in just a couple of weeks."
"It's just that, if you do find her and she gives you a break and a new place to stay, then that means you won't be here anymore," he said in a low voice. "Or at least not as often. I mean, I've really, really liked having you here every day. I really missed you, and I don't want you to go off again."
Fang couldn't help but smile, sitting on the bed and invitingly patting the space next to him. "That's okay, Danny Boy," he said as Daniel sat next to him, putting an arm around the child's shoulders. "Might not have been easy to stay here undetected, but I really liked to be here with you too. But if I manage to get me a new place, that's not gonna change. It'll be the same as if I had gotten to stay at Xanathos's place. I'll come visit you as much as I can, and that's a promise. I'm not leaving my favorite nephew again."
Daniel smiled when his uncle promised him that, and he leaned closer to hug the mutate, who hugged him firmly as well. When they broke the hug, Fang grinned. "So, how do I look?"
"You look great," Daniel told him, also grinning. "See, I told you a tie would make you look cool."
"Much appreciated, kiddo," Fang thanked Daniel. "I do look pretty damn good, I admit. Now, I better head out and see if I can spot Demona. Wish me luck, Danny."
"Good luck, uncle!" Daniel exclaimed, as Fang walked to the bedroom window and squeezed out of it.
"See you later, little pal," Fang whispered into the window, and then quickly and carefully moved up along the fire escape stairs, making sure to not be seen. Once at the roof, he leaped into the night sky and soared away.
*
Fang grumbled under his breath as he landed on the rooftop of an office building near the Nightstone Unlimited building, while holding his tie firmly in one hand. While he admitted he looked good with it, that it went well with his sleeveless, white, button-up shirt, he decided to make sure to not wear one again if he was to go out flying. Having the long, thin piece of cloth fluttering all over the place and smacking him in the face as he flew was highly annoying, and so he found himself having to hold it still the entire time.
He sat at the edge of the building, relieved at the chance to rest his wings, folding them around his shoulders. He had quickly arrived at the Nightstone building, and had waited for about an hour for any sign of Demona, but it was not to be. Quickly afterwards, he took off once more, and had crisscrossed the city, making stops at the spots he remembered Demona mentioning to her daughter Angela during their conversations while she had been captive alongside him. Still, he saw no sign of the female gargoyle, after having searched for a couple of hours, made a little more difficult due to the fact that he was also in constant lookout for Goliath and his clan, and this only slowed down his search. But Fang was not one to give up, so he merely returned to the first stop in his search and decided to just wait there for a while longer.
And wait he did, of course, for a couple of hours more. He paced the roof of the building, growing increasingly nervous and impatient. "Man, nothing to do, nothing to do," he mumbled to himself, pointing at the edge of the building and throwing a small bolt of electricity, blowing a few tiny chunks off of the structure, just to have something to do.
It was then when an idea came to him. Remembering the little practice session he had in Daniel's living room, where he tried to harness a large amount of electricity in one fist, he wondered if he could do it again. Having nothing better to do, the cougar-man looked around at the skies, and when he saw no sign of any winged figures gliding around, he walked to the center of the roof. Tossing his dangling tie over his shoulder so it wouldn't get in the way, he held his right wrist with his left hand, and concentrated in directing the flow of electricity in his whole body to just his fist.
Since he was now in an open space, Fang saw no need to worry about his surroundings, and thus could let loose. His fur bristled and stood on end as electricity crackled from his fist, accumulating more and more until Fang's entire fist could barely be seen due to the amount of electricity stored there. "Holy shit," he mumbled to himself, holding his wrist firmly to keep his trembling fist steady. "I think I could take an elephant down with this."
The electricity in Fang's fist was now so much that it was difficult for him to control it, and stray bolts kept coming off of it, harmlessly striking the building's roof around him, and so Fang continued. He was breathing deeply, gritting his teeth, still adding more and more electricity to his fist, so much that it now shook and trembled even though he held on firmly to his wrist, until he finally felt he had enough.
"Now let's really see what a full-charged 'Taser Punch' can do," he uttered to himself. Growling, he then crouched and punched at the roof itself. He had most definitely not expected the blow to have such power behind it, for the structure gave away, forming a wide hole as debris crumbled onto the floor down, and the cougar-man yelped as he almost tumbled down the hole himself, struggling to regain his balance.
"Oh, shit!" Panicked, Fang quickly looked down onto the floor below, and sighed in relief when he saw nothing but a deserted hallway. Still, he knew that there might be night security on watch inside the building, so he'd rather not be around if they showed up. Running to the edge of the building and leaping, Fang took off for the roof of another nearby building, and he snarled in annoyance when his tie once again smacked him on the face before he could grab it and hold it still. "Dammit, I really need to find a place to practice. I think I really might be on to something here with the electricity thing."
Landing atop the roof of another building, still in sight of the Nightstone Unlimited one, Fang sighed and sat on the edge. Using all that electricity had taken a lot out of him, he realized, feeling a little exhausted. He made sure to, from now on, keep in mind that it was his electricity that gave him the energy for his wings to carry all his weight and fly, and so set his mind to practicing more on his control of electricity flow into his fists for his new trick. His thoughts were still on this when he suddenly spotted a familiar, winged figure take off from the roof of Nightstone Unlimited.
"Bingo!" he exclaimed, taking off in pursuit of the female gargoyle. "Finally found you, ice queen."
Not wishing to suddenly startle Demona, Fang stayed well behind her, but always keeping her in sight. It also bought him time to think thoroughly about what he would say to her. This being basically a job interview, Fang was determined in not screwing up and do the best he could to convince Demona to give him a chance. He followed her through the city for a few minutes, and while still practicing on how to make a good argument for himself, a sudden movement caught his eye.
It happened so fast that Fang barely managed to see it. He caught a quick glimpse of a flash of light, and Demona suddenly veering sharply in midair, almost losing control, and he could see that she had just managed to avoid something. Immediately, the female gargoyle was being shot at repeatedly by what Fang now recognized as lasers, causing Demona to quickly change directions, and Fang followed suit. She kept going, around buildings, moving further away from the laser blasts. Very curious as to who was attacking the female gargoyle, Fang used all the strength he could muster to fly faster, and drew closer, closer, until he reached Demona, gliding quickly alongside her.
"Hey, Demona!" he called out. "What's with the shooting?"
Startled by the mutate, Demona snarled as she turned to look at him. "Fang? Now is not a good time!"
"Just thought I'd…"
The cougar-man was unable to finish his sentence, because a booming sound filled the air. Both Fang and Demona barely managed to evade a net that had been shot at them by someone in a rooftop. Though they had not been caught in it, the sudden change of direction caused the two flyers to veer in-between two buildings, and gasp when they saw that they were in an alleyway. Flapping their wings to stop and prevent themselves from crashing against the wall, the gargoyle was forced to land due to the lack of strong wind currents, and Fang followed suit. The moment they landed, Demona suddenly turned and grabbed Fang by his shirt, slamming him onto the nearest wall.
"You imbecile!" she snarled, her eyes glowing a furious red. "If you had not distracted me, I would have seen him and properly evaded him!"
"Hey, hey, I'm sorry!" Fang exclaimed, startled. "How was I supposed to know there was somebody up there?"
Demona ignored him, backing away from him and facing the entrance of the alley, a low growl escaping her. Fang turned as well, and saw several figures approaching. They were dressed in dark clothing, wearing hoods that concealed their identities, with a symbol that looked like a sledgehammer inside a circle on their chests. But after a quick glimpse at their clothing, Fang's attention went immediately and solely to the sledgehammers they carried.
"Who the hell are these guys?" he asked in a low voice.
"Quarrymen," was the gargoyle's growled reply.
Fang's eyes were wide now. He had heard about these Quarrymen while he was imprisoned, and he never liked what he heard. He had always wanted to avoid them, if possible, but now he and Demona were cornered and surrounded. Looking up for a way out, the cougar-man groaned nervously when he saw that more Quarrymen were perched up in the rooftops and the nearest fire escape, and one by one their sledgehammers lighted up with electricity. Backing off a bit, Fang was overcome with a sense of dread, and could only shake his head at his bad luck.
"Oh, crap…"
To be continued…
Author's Extra Note: It sure has been ages since I last updated this, huh? Well, let's just say things have gotten complicated this year for me, and so my writing has suffered. Nevertheless, I've not given up on this story, and will do my damn best to keep it going.