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 16
by Remtar85
"You have got to be kidding me. Another kid?" Brooklyn groaned, looking severely disheartened. He, alongside Lexington and Goliath, were watching and listening to the footage from earlier that day at Daniel's home, captured by the cameras in the well hidden drones.
"We should've figured that sooner or later any of Daniel's friends would drop by," Lexington said.
"Indeed. An unfortunate oversight on our part," Goliath said.
"And it means one more person that Fang could put in danger. Another kid, at that," Brooklyn grumbled. "I can't believe how many lucky breaks this guy keeps getting. There's gonna be big trouble if we don't stop him soon."
"He's sure getting even more smug than usual about it, too," Lexington said.
"Then perhaps there is a positive side to this development," Goliath said. "Things have been going Fang's way for some time now. He's getting more pleased, more complacent..."
"More arrogant," Brooklyn added.
"Exactly," Goliath continued. "And arrogance breeds carelessness. We shall continue to keep our distance, let Fang continue believing that he's untouchable, all while we continue to keep an eye on him with these drones. There will be a time where we'll be able to capture him without anyone getting hurt in the process. Come, let us inform the others," Goliath said, turning to walk out the door.
"Let's hope Goliath's right," Lexington said as he and Brooklyn followed Goliath out the door.
"Are you kids sure?" Carmen asked her son and his best friend, Tyler.
"Sure we're sure, Mom," Daniel replied.
"Yeah, totally," Tyler added.
"You've been doting on us all week," Daniel continued. "Dinner, taking us to the movies, and the arcade. But you should still have your own time with your friends."
"He's right. Don't neglect yourself or your friends on our account, Auntie Carmen," Tyler said.
"That's very kind of you boys," Carmen said. "But then what are you two going to do?"
"It's still early, so we planned to go to the comic book shop for a while," Tyler answered.
"Yeah, the owner told us that he's getting some cool new stuff that we'd wanna see," Daniel said. "Not like we'll buy anything, we'll just browse all the cool new stuff and geek out about it."
Carmen chuckled. "Okay then, you've convinced me. But the girls are planning to stay out late tonight, like midnight or so. You boys won't mind?"
"Of course not, Mom," Daniel said with a smile. "Go out and have fun."
"And don't worry about us, we'll be just fine," Tyler said.
"Alright then. You two be good then. I'll go get ready," Carmen said, giving both boys a kiss on the cheek, then headed for her bedroom, though just as she was about to go in, her husband, Richard, came out.
"Hey. I'm leaving for work now," he said. "Got the late shift tonight."
"Okay," Carmen simply said in a curt tone.
The red-haired, stocky man nodded just as curtly, and just as he was about to go out the door, his eyes landed on the two boys. "Hey, uh... you boys doing okay?"
"Uuh... yeah?" Daniel said, rather confused. Richard had never asked the boys such a thing, or ever acted nice towards them in any way for a very long time now.
"Yeah... we're good," Tyler said, just as confused as Daniel.
"That's... that's nice. You take care of yourselves," Richard said rather awkwardly as well, then headed out the door and left for work.
"What was that all about?" Tyler asked.
"I don't know," Carmen said, having witnessed the whole thing. "He's been acting weird lately."
"Yeah," Daniel said. "He's not being a jerk, and not showing up drunk anymore."
Carmen nodded. "He's barely bought any beers lately. I think he's drank just a few of the ones he's brought."
The boys looked at each other, knowing that Fang had been sneaking a beer or two over the last few days. "Maybe he's quitting with the drinking?" Daniel asked.
"I sure hope so, because I'm liking how peaceful the apartment has been lately," Carmen said. "He's been going out a lot lately, but he doesn't come home drunk. I wonder if maybe he's going to AA meetings."
"Maybe," Tyler said. "But hey, Auntie, you're gonna be late to meet your friends if you don't go get ready."
"Oh, you're right!" she said. "I'll go shower now. You boys be good, okay?"
"We will, Mom," Daniel said. The boys then went into Daniel's room, where they found Fang casually leaning against the wall. The trio waited for a few minutes, then heard the moment when the shower started running.
"Comic book shop, riiiight," Fang said with a smirk. "You two're going to the Labyrinth, aren't you?"
"Oh, we so are," Tyler said with an excited smile.
"Tyler's been begging me non-stop to take him for days now," Daniel explained.
"We haven't had the time, but we finally got the chance," Tyler said. "And it won't be long till we get back to school. I don't want to wait until then, since we'd only be able to go Fridays and Saturdays. I want to go there as much as I can before school starts."
"And on that note, I'm gonna go out again tonight to stretch my wings and see if I can find a place to stay," Fang said. "Once school starts, you boys'll be out most of the daytime hours, so I gotta find a way to make do. Plus with Carmen being a lot more friendly and outgoing with you kids lately, it's getting real difficult to hide. She's almost caught me a couple of times these past few days, and I don't wanna risk it."
"Can't you just bunk at that Demona lady's building, Uncle? Those big business buildings usually have rooms with beds for employees who stay extra hours so they can take naps, don't they?" Tyler asked.
"Heh. Trust me, kiddo, if you knew her and Sevarius, you wouldn't be asking that," Fang said with a smirk. "Anyway, I'll get going now, and you boys should too. You don't wanna be late, remember you gotta be back here before Carmen comes home."
"Yeah, you're right, Uncle Fang," Daniel said. "Have fun out there, and good luck on finding some place."
With that, the boys walked out the room and left out the front door, while Fang headed to the roof carefully up the fire escape, making sure to be quick but discreet, as per usual. Once up there and unaware that the hidden drones kept recording everything. Fang waited to see the boys walk out of the building before he leaped into the skies and took flight.
"There it is," Daniel said, pointing at the big metal doors as soon as they came into view.
The boys had been walking for a while now, and Tyler grew more eager as time went on, a big smile on his face as the Labyrinth's main entrance came into view. "You sure they won't mind you bringing me along?"
"Well, Talon might, but he's an uptight jerk," Daniel said. "And Maggie... well, Maggie's nice, I guess, but she's just sorta there. But like I said, Claw's awesome, you're gonna like him and I know he's gonna like you."
"Not as awesome as Uncle Fred, right?" Tyler more stated than asked.
"Well, no, but Claw's awesome in his own way," Daniel said. "And then there's the clones. They're odd, even if it's not their fault they're that way.."
"Yeah, I remember what you told me about them. What a psycho douchebag that Thailog guy is, doing that to them," Tyler said as the two finally reached the big metal door, which was ajar, and they slipped right in.
"Yeah, it's a bummer, but they're doing fine down here," Daniel said, but it fell on deaf ears, as Tyler took in the sight of the Labyrinth's big main area, and Daniel couldn't help but chuckle.
"Dude, this is the coolest thing ever," Tyler said after a moment. "It's like straight out of a movie."
"I know, right? Come on, let me show you around and see if we find Claw."
The two boys walked inside, Tyler looking around every corner, peeking into every area he could. Daniel couldn't blame him, for he had been just like that his first time in the Labyrinth, at least after he had befriended Claw and sated his hunger as well. Plus, Tyler was always the more outgoing and adventurous of the two. After several minutes of checking the place out, they were noticing the distinct lack of winged creatures.
Pondering where Claw and the others were, the boys went to a middle aged man who was reading a book and Daniel spoke up. "Excuse me, Mister?"
"Yes, children? Can I help you with anything?" the man asked, looking up from his book.
"Sorry to interrupt, but we're looking for Claw. Do you know where he is?"
"Oh. I'm sorry, boys, but you missed him. He, Talon and Maggie took the clones out to stretch their wings. They tend to do that once or twice a week," the man explained.
"Awww, man," Tyler sighed. "That's the worst timing."
"Yeah," Daniel said, equally bummed. "Thanks, Mister."
The man nodded politely and returned to reading his book, while the boys walked away, Daniel looking disappointed. "Claw told me they do that, but I never asked for specific nights."
"Well, we could always explore while we wait and hope they don't take too long," Tyler said. "Oh, hey, can you show me the cells?"
"Yeah, sure," Daniel replied. "Let's just make sure nobody's looking our way. It's kind of a restricted area, even when no one's there."
The boys walked casually, Tyler following Daniel ever closer to the corridor that led to the cells. They had no trouble sneaking down the corridor, and Daniel pondered if maybe they had just eased up on the security since they had nobody locked up anymore. In a few moments, they reached the cells, and Daniel pointed at the furthest one.
"That's the one," Daniel said, walking up to the cell and pressing the button that released the lock from the door, the boy pulling it open.
"What a weird jail cell. No wonder your uncle got sick of it," Tyler said as he went in and checked it from the inside.
"Yeah, and the worst, he'd get no perks at all. No TV, nothing to read, crappy food," Daniel said as he followed Tyler inside the cell. "I can't really blame Uncle Fang for wanting to get out so bad."
"He's so lucky you found him and let him out," Tyler added.
"Hello!"
The sudden voice from right behind them startled Daniel and Tyler, both of them letting out a little yelp and stiffening a bit. Daniel's mind immediately went into panic mode, for he had just been caught saying that Fang was his uncle. The boys quickly turned to the cell's door and saw a gargoyle standing there. Daniel instantly recognized the teal skinned, beaked clone named Malibu
"You Claw's friend," Malibu said, pointing at Daniel. "But you also Fang's nephew, you just said it. So that means you help Fang escape."
"Oh, crap," Daniel groaned. "I'm in huge trouble."
"Ohmigosh, it's an actual gargoyle," Tyler said, walking over to Malibu. "Like a true, for real gargoyle."
"Yes, Malibu is gargoyle. Clone gargoyle," Malibu said.
"Yeah, Danny told me. You can tell by the colors, right?" Tyler asked, looking Malibu up and down, studying his features as the clone nodded in response.
"Um, Malibu," Daniel said, now walking over to the clone as well. "About that thing of Fang being my uncle, I really, really would appreciate it if you wouldn't tell anyone. It's a secret."
"Ooooh. Okay, Malibu can keep secret," Malibu said with a smile. "Because Malibu likes Fang."
"Really, you do?" Daniel asked in confusion. Fang was always pretty open about his general dislike for the clones.
"Yes. Fang is funny, so Malibu likes Fang," Malibu replied.
"You don't mind that he calls you names?" Daniel asked.
Malibu shook his head, still smiling. "No. Malibu doesn't get angry. Angry Fang is funny, so if Malibu can help funny Fang, then Malibu will help."
"Oh. That's really nice of you, Malibu," Daniel said, feeling relief. "I'm really grateful you won't tell anyone."
"Hey, wait," Tyler said. "Someone told us that Talon and the others took the clones out to glide around town. Why are you here?"
"Malibu wanted to watch TV, but then nothing good on TV, so now Malibu bored," the clone said, his smile fading, now looking forlorn. "Now Malibu want to go out, but can't without someone. It's the rules."
"That's a bummer," Daniel said.
"What if we take you, though?" Tyler asked.
"Wait, what?" Daniel asked in surprise.
Malibu's face perked up and he smiled again. "Really? You take Malibu out?"
"You're doing us a favor by keeping the secret that Daniel is Fang's nephew and he helped him escape, so it's fair we return the favor," Tyler explained reasonably.
"Guys, maybe we shouldn't," Daniel warned, ever the cautious one.
"Malibu can behave," the clone said.
"Yeah, we should have some rules," Tyler said. "Namely, not going off on your own. It's just us two with you and we can't keep up if you run off by yourself. So, promise you'll stick by our sides the whole trip."
"Malibu promises!" the clone exclaimed.
"Cool! Then let's get going," Tyler said, and Malibu eagerly awaited outside the cell as the boys got out, Tyler shutting the door.
"Tyler, I'm really not sure this is a good idea," Daniel whispered to his friend as they followed Malibu out to the Labyrinth's main area.
"I think we can trust him, though," Tyler whispered back. "He's really nice and he's keeping our secret."
"Yes, you can trust Malibu," the clone casually spoke up, then grinned back at them and pointed at one of his ears. "Good hearing."
Tyler chuckled. "Okay, so no whispering around you."
"Fine, not like I can stop you both right now, but at least let's be discreet about this," a resigned Daniel said. "Let's use that lower level by the tracks to sneak out so we don't get in trouble."
"Okay!" Tyler and Malibu replied in unison.
Daniel in turn sighed and shook his head. "Now what kind of trouble did I get myself into..."
The boys and clone proceeded to do very much as Fang did during his escape, using the lower side of the Labyrinth's main area, where the train tracks were, keeping low and moving quickly to sneak by unseen. They were rather lucky that most residents were doing their own thing and not really paying attention to anyone sneaking out. The trio easily snuck out the door and walked at a brisk pace till they were well away from the Labyrinth entrance. Once far enough, the three settled into walking along the many corridors, Tyler especially having a lot of fun.
"I can't believe I'm exploring a secret area beneath the city with my best friend and a gargoyle," he exclaimed.
"Well, so long as we stay out of trouble, I guess it's okay," Daniel said.
Tyler smirked and scoffed. "Dude, you helped your uncle in a jailbreak and you keep coming back to the place you helped break him out of. I think you're way past playing it safe."
Daniel couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Yeah, I guess you have a point."
"How did new friend find uncle?" Malibu asked.
"Pure coincidence," Daniel answered. "I just found the Labyrinth by following some people who live here, and on my third visit I met Uncle Fang, who I hadn't seen since before he was mutated, and he proved he was who he said. So I helped him get out."
"Oh, that's nice. Malibu remembers meeting you for the first time. You were scared of Malibu and other clones," Malibu stated.
"Uh... well, yeah, I kinda was at first," Daniel admitted. "But then I realized I was being really close minded, so I decided I should be nice to you guys." He was actually a bit surprised that the clone had been able to pick up on his feelings like that. Either he had really misjudged what the clones were capable of, or he was even less subtle than he'd realized.
"Oooh, so you not scared anymore, and now you and other new friend take Malibu out for walk. Thank you!" the gargoyle said wiith a smile that showcased his black teeth and the white of the inside of his mouth.
"And you're our new friend too. I'm Tyler," Tyler said, introducing himself.
"And I'm Daniel."
"Tyler, Daniel, and Malibu," the gargoyle said, pointing at each boy and himself in turn as he said their names, then he put a hand on one of Tyler's shoulders and one on Daniel's. "Friends."
"Friends," the boys repeated in unison and also smiling.
The trio then resumed their walk, and Tyler turned to Daniel, not bothering to whisper since Malibu would hear it anyway. "Seriously, how could you have ever been scared of these guys? Malibu's awesome."
"I know. My bad, but now I know better," Daniel said.
The boys and Malibu continued walking around the underground area, exploring, and Malibu was having fun showing his new friends around, taking them to varied areas and different paths one could come to and go from the Labyrinth to the topside, some of which Daniel was already quite familiar with thanks to Claw. And when exploring a corridor, the trio came upon a rather small door, which made Malibu chuckle.
"Here is where Hollywood got stuck when he and Malibu went for walk. It was funny," Malibu explained.
Daniel stifled a chuckle at the mental image of the portly Hollywood getting stuck in that small door. "I believe you."
Tyler had heard of which clone was which from Daniel, but his attention was on the door itself. "So where does that lead to?"
"A staircase. It goes topside," Malibu answered, then he walked right through.
"Hey, wait, where are you going?" Daniel asked.
"Topside," Malibu replied. "Malibu want fresh air."
"Fresh air? In this city?" Tyler snarked with a chuckle.
"Wait, you can't get far from us, remember?" Daniel said. "You promised."
"But Malibu want fresh air. Malibu hasn't been topside all week," Malibu continued, looking like a child who wanted a candy but couldn't get it.
"Where exactly do these stairs lead up top, Malibu?" Tyler asked.
"An abandoned building," the gargoyle answered.
Tyler turned to Daniel. "Well?"
Daniel thought about it. "Hmm... okay. No harm done if nobody sees us. We can go up to the roof, hang out a while, then come back."
Malibu smiled brightly. "Malibu lead the way!"
The boys followed the clone up the stairs and into the inside of an abandoned building's basement. It was dark, humid and smelled musty, and everyone wanted out of there and up top fast. Fortunately, Malibu could see decently in the dark interior, so he guided the boys up the stairs, and after a few minutes, the trio stepped out onto the building's rooftop. All three of them went towards the edge of the roof and leaned on it, peeking down at the streets below and at the city in general, taking in the sights.
"Malibu loves the city and the sky," the gargoyle commented. "Malibu wish to go out more often. So Malibu thanks new friends for bringing Malibu up here."
Daniel couldn't help but smile and reached to pat Malibu's back in a friendly gesture. "Anytime, new friend."
"Always. You can count on it," Tyler said, also patting Malibu's back, the gargoyle looking beyond pleased.
"There is one place Malibu wants to visit most," Malibu said, then pointed at the distance. "There."
The boys directed their gazed to where Malibu was pointing, easily making out where it was. "The top of the Xanatos building," Malibu said.
"You mean that super cool castle, right?" Tyler asked.
"Yes," Malibu replied. "Castle in the sky, it sounds fun to go to. Malibu always want to go there, but Talon never takes clones there when out to glide."
"Why not?" Tyler asked.
The clone furrowed his brow. "Talon not like or trust Xanatos." He then went on, his words sounding memorized. "And Talon says it's too dangerous to stray too far from Labyrinth. That clones not know enough yet to care for ourselves if Quarrymen attack."
"That's nice of him that he wants to protect you," Daniel said. "But honestly, he's gonna have to start giving you guys more freedom someday. He can't babysit you forever."
"Yeah," Tyler said. "If it was up to us, we'd totally let you go. And besides, I can't blame you for wanting to go there. The idea of a castle at the top of a huge building sounds even cooler than the Labyrinth."
"I was up there once, and trust me, it's totally awesome," Daniel said, more to Malibu than Tyler, as Daniel had told his best friend all about what had happened since he first found the Labyrinth.
"Especially with all the gargoyles living there, too. Including the one you got cloned from, right, Malibu?" Tyler asked, to which Malibu nodded in response.
"I've been wanting to go back again so much, but there's just no chance, since Uncle Fang can't take me," Daniel said.
"Yeah. I'd go right now if I could," Tyler said.
What happened next came without warning, to the point that the boys couldn't react at all. Before they knew it, Malibu stepped back, held a shoulder of each boy, turned them around so they would face him, then the gargoyle scooped them up in his arms and leaped off the building. The boys gasped and yelped, clinging to Malibu, wrapping their arms and legs around him as the gargoyle rapidly rose up into the skies.
"Oh my God oh my God oh my God oh my God..." Tyler chanted repeatedly, having never flown before and this first time catching him by surprise enough to scare him more than he could have imagined.
"Malibu, what are you doing?!" a panicked Daniel shouted. Though he had flown several times before, this time it was too sudden, and Malibu was also smaller than both Fang and Claw, and that combined with Malibu carrying two people instead of one, frightened Daniel.
"Don't shout, Malibu can hear you," the gargoyle said.
"I asked what you were doing," Daniel said, this time trying his bet to not shout.
"Malibu taking us to castle in the sky!" Malibu exlained, a smile on his beaked face.
"But we're not supposed to be going up there!" Tyler said, his face firmly pressed against Malibu's shoulder as he could feel them gaining altitude the farther they went.
"But new friends said they wanted to go now if it was up to you, so Malibu is taking new friends because it's up to new friends. And besides, Malibu not going alone. Malibu keeping promise to stick close to new friends. So no rules or promises are being broken."
"We didn't exactly mean right now, though!" Daniel said.
"But look, the castle in the sky is closer now than before!" the gargoyle explained excitedly. "Malibu and new friends can make it and have fun at castle!"
Both boys resigned themselves, realizing that it was no use trying to persuade Malibu to turn back, the clone's single-mindedness making him more akin to a small child, so the boys did nothing but cling to the gargoyle for dear life, Malibu holding them firmly as they went farther and higher. The air grew colder the higher they went, leaving the boys shivering, but Malibu was not much bothered by the cold, and the boys could hear him laughing softly as he clearly enjoyed the journey up towards the castle. Neither of the boys knew how much time passed, but it felt like an eternity, which they spend with their eyes closed, and they didn't open them until they felt Malibu land.
"A-a-are we there y-yet?" Tyler stammered, both from cold and from the frightening experience.
"Malibu in castle in the sky now, with new friends," Malibu said, putting the boys down.
"Ohmigosh, that was scary," Daniel gasped, bending over, hands on his knees, trying to calm down.
"I've never been so scared," Tyler said.
"Oh? Oooh," Malibu said, looking apologetic. "Malibu sorry, didn't mean to scare new friends."
"We know, Malibu," Tyler said, leaning against a stone wall. "It's just... it was really sudden, you know? If you're gonna carry us in the air like that, you gotta give us a warning."
"Yeah. We're not used to gliding, so it can get intimidating," Daniel said.
Malibu nodded. "Okay. Malibu promises to never startle new friends again. But now we here. We can explore!"
Both boys looked at each other for a moment, then Tyler shrugged. "Well, we're already here..."
"Yeah, it can't be helped," Daniel said. "I just hope we don't get in trouble."
"Then perhaps you should not have come here unannounced," a stern voice rang from behind the group, who all turned to find a well dressed, bespectacled blond man with a serious expression on his face.
"Oh no," Daniel groaned in a low voice. "We didn't mean to, I swear."
"It's just a misunderstanding," Tyler chimed in.
The man, though the trio didn't know he was named Owen Burnett, remained ever serious, looking at all three one after another, then turned around and began walking. "Come with me. We shall go see Mr. Xanatos and he will decide what course of action to take with this unexpected visit. And please do not try to escape by gliding away. We have the means to stop you if you attempt it."
Both boys sighed and started walking behind the man, knowing it was no use resisting. "We're in so much trouble," Daniel groaned.
Tyler nodded in agreement. "Dropping in unannounced at the home of the richest man in, like, the country? We're dead meat."
Malibu, for his part, did not seemed much phased at all, following along with a smile as he looked all over while walking behind the boys. They noticed once again his child-like behavior, the gargoyle simply thrilled to be visiting the castle and getting to see it up close. Daniel and Tyler rather envied the gargoyle's easy-going nature and calmness at the moment.
"Man, did I ever need to go out tonight," Fang said out loud, wings spread wide as he glided effortlessly through the night sky.
While glad at having a place to hide out, the apartment was becoming too cramped the more time he spent in it, and every day the chances of getting caught by Carmen or her husband grew. Fang knew he had to find a new place to stay at during daytime hours, and soon, especially because he'd be left to his own devices most of the daytime hours five days a week once the boys started school. He couldn't go out to eat, he couldn't use the groceries from the house to make a meal without Carmen or her husband discovering that food was missing, and Daniel wouldn't be there to cover for him if he needed to hide. He also figured he couldn't always ask for delivery and use the excuse of having gotten out of the shower to not open the door, should he be left alone during the daytime.
Unfortunately, finding a place to spend the day wasn't easy at all for someone like him. He figured he could sneak into apartments of people who worked during the daytime, but that was out of the question. Not only because he wouldn't know where to start, but also because he couldn't fly around during daytime without being easily spotted. He also didn't want to just duck into some abandoned building infested with all sorts of vermin.
"Damn it," he mumbled to himself. "Much as I don't want to, the idea of having to bunk at the Nightstone building's probably gonna end up as my only option."
Fang was hesitant about it from the very start. He'd rather keep Demona at arm's length, only do the jobs she asked for him and keep their interactions to just get told what the job was and then get paid for it. And he'd rather not be anywhere near Sevarius if he could help it, especially not sleep when the scientist was present. Fang shuddered to think of whatever bizarre experiments Sevarius would be tempted to try on him as he slept.
"Goddammit, what the hell can I do?" Fang groaned to himself. "Think, Fang, think... maybe a warehouse. Yeah. I've worked at one before, I know how things are there. Some are closed during daytime hours, and they always got a break room with cots and shit for when the overnight guys need a break. I could stay at one of those during the day. And if I eat any of their food from the fridge, they'll just think it was other employees, or just some common trespasser. Yeah, yeah, that's a nice option there."
Feeling more at ease now, Fang sighed in relief and continued to glide. His attention was caught when he heard loud noises from a group of people. Looking down to the street, he could see a group of bikers parked across the street from a small convenience store, and he swooped lower to see from much closer. The bikers, six in total, appeared rowdy and were laughing and joking around, and two more of their number came out of the store with several six-packs of beer. The others whooped and hollered as their companions brought them more alcohol.
Fang flapped his wings to stay aloft as he watched one of the bikers set up a couple of six packs atop the seat of a motorcycle, balancing them carefully so they wouldn't fall; then the two joined their buddies a few meters away and handed out beers for all. Fang had no idea what they were talking about, but he grinned as he realized they were already rather drunk, and not paying a bit of attention at anything other than one another and whatever had them in such a good mood. Fang waited a few seconds, then timing it properly, he swooped down at a pretty good speed, then swooped back up, snatching the two six packs of beers from the motorcycle seat as he did. He landed on the roof of the nearest building and looked down, chuckling smugly as he saw that the bikers had not yet noticed the theft.
"Suckers," Fang said, taking a can of beer, popping it open and guzzling down the whole thing in mere seconds. The mutate burped loudly and tossed the can aside, grabbing a second one. "Well, this night just got even better. Bottoms up, Fang, you magnificent bastard."
Daniel and Tyler followed the man in silence through the corridors. They pondered how the night had gone so wrong, so fast. Right now, as they walked behind this man, they felt even more dread than they did when Malibu was carrying them up to the castle. They peeked behind at the clone, who was barely keeping up, as he curiously looked at every door, into most rooms and down every hallway they passed by. It took only a few minutes to reach a set of double doors, though it felt like an eternity to the boys, and Owen opened one of the doors.
"Enter, please," he said.
The boys hesitated for a second, reacting mainly when Malibu, with an expression of awe on his face, pointed at Owen's left hand. "Blonde man has hand of stone!"
Owen remained ever stoic and said nothing, the boys too intimidated to react to the curious sight of a stone hand. They entered the room with Malibu right behind, the gargoyle's attention still fixated on Owen's left hand. Inside the room they instantly recognized David Xanatos from the many times they saw him on TV. Well dressed as always and accompanied by his beautiful, red-haired wife, Fox, and their one year old son, Alexander. The boys knew of Fox from the TV show "The Pack", and also knew that Xanatos and Fox had a child but didn't know his name. The couple were engaged in conversation as their son sat on Xanatos's desk and played with a toy car. However, as the trio walked in followed by Owen, who closed the door behind them, the married couple's attention now shifted towards the boys and the clone.
"Well, this is a surprise," Fox said. "We weren't expecting any visitors."
"I saw them land, Mr. and Mrs. Xanatos, and decided it would be prudent to bring them to you," Owen explained, while the trio kept silent, Malibu out of curiosity and the boys out of nervousness.
"Thank you, Owen," Xanatos said with a casual smile on his face, and his gaze was directed at Daniel. "I remember you were here not so long ago alongside your uncle, young man. I never expected Fang to drop by with family. Such a shame we weren't here at the time to greet you."
Daniel just nodded.
"And you're new to us," Fox said, looking at Tyler, who barely dared to look up. Fox chuckled and smiled in a friendly manner. "Don't be nervous, boys, we're not mad at you dropping by so suddenly. We'd like to know your names."
"Um... I'm Tyler."
"A-and I'm Daniel."
"And Malibu," the gargoyle said with a smile, pointing at himself.
"Aah, yes. We've heard a lot about you and your fellow clones, Malibu," Xanatos said, his gaze now on the gargoyle. "We've been hoping we could meet you all."
Fox picked up her child, who giggled at the sight of Malibu, looking happy to see him. "Boo Bookeen," the child cooed.
"Yes, sweetie, he does look like Brooklyn," Fox said with a smile. "It seems Alexander likes you, Malibu."
"Thank you, Alexander," Malibu said, looking happy at having the baby's attention.
"And thank you for visiting us with Malibu and giving us a chance to talk with him, boys," Xanatos told the kids.
"Well, it was kinda more his idea to drop by," Tyler said.
"We said we wanted to see the castle, so Malibu just grabbed us and brought us up here," Daniel added.
"Malibu not mean to cause trouble," the gargoyle said.
"And you didn't cause any. You're all welcome here," Xanatos said, getting up from his desk chair and walking around his desk to stand in front of it. "In fact, Daniel, as a family man, I admire the lengths you've gone through to protect your uncle."
"Thanks, Mr. Xanatos," Daniel said rather meekly. "Tyler here found out not long ago, so now we're both helping my uncle when we can."
"That's very brave of you, boys. So, Fang was looking to work for me, but from what I've heard, he now works for Demona," Xanatos said, to which the boys nodded. "That's a shame. But I'd appreciate it if you could let Fang know that I'd be interested to bring him into my employment, if an opportunity arises."
"Really?" Daniel asked. "Even after what he did, you'd give him a chance?"
"You mean when he wrecked my office and hurt Owen and Brooklyn? Owen and I have no hard feelings regarding that, and I was very impressed with Fang's performance that night," Xanatos said.
"But won't the gargoyles be against that?" Tyler asked. "I mean, they live here too, and they're trying to catch Daniel's uncle."
At this, Xanatos smiled very casually. "We may live in the same home, but they don't need to know all I do. You boys should know, keeping Fang a secret from Daniel's parents," Xanatos said, moving to the office doors and opening them. "That being said, I do need to talk to Malibu about something, privately. So, Daniel and Tyler, if you wish to explore the castle in the meantime, be my guest."
"Won't we get in trouble if the gargoyles catch us here?" Daniel asked. "Plus there's the security cameras. That's how they found out about me helping Uncle Fang."
"Yeah," Tyler said, "and Talon would be super mad if he found out we came here with Malibu."
"Hmm. Goliath's out with Detective Maza, and Brooklyn, Broadway and Angela are all out on patrol. That leaves Lexington, Hudson and Bronx," Xanatos said, then he smiled confidently. "Bronx won't give you any trouble. And as for the others, just give us a moment to check. Fox, dear?"
The boys watched as Fox moved behind Xanatos's desk, and as she held her child in one arm, she used her free hand to quickly type something on her husband's computer, then grabbed the mouse and moved it some, clicking a few times. After a few moments, she smiled and looked at her husband.
"Hudson is watching TV, and Lexington's busy with his new computer," she says, walking back around the desk, then directed her gaze at the boys. "As long as you two are careful and quiet, they won't notice you around."
"There you go, boys," Xanatos said. "And as for the security cameras, Owen will make sure to alter the footage. It will be like you and Malibu were never here."
"Oh! Well, okay, if you say so, Mr. and Mrs. Xanatos," Tyler said. "We promise we'll be careful."
"Is Malibu gonna be okay, though?" Daniel asked, looking back at Malibu, who had walked over to Fox and Alexander, smiling as the child grabbed one of the gargoyle's fingers with his tiny hands.
"I promise he'll be fine," Xanatos said. "It will be just a simple talk. We have some questions that he might be able to provide us the answers to, and it could be a big help to us."
"Well, okay," Daniel said after a second or two of hesitation.
Malibu took notice of the boys heading out and walked over. "Malibu promised to stick close to new friends."
"It's okay for now, Malibu," Tyler said.
"Yeah, it is. Mr. Xanatos needs to ask you some questions, and your answers could help him out," Daniel explained, patting one of the clone's arms reassuringly. "It shouldn't take long, and we'll come right back for you. We promise."
Malibu hesitated for a few seconds, but then nodded. "Okay. Malibu stay and help Mr. Xanatos and then get back together with new friends."
"Thank you, boys. We'll look for you when we're done here. Go ahead and explore," Xanatos said, and as the boys set out down the hall, he closed and locked the door.
"Ohmigosh, I was so nervous back there," Daniel said after they had gotten far enough from the door.
"I know, right?" Tyler sighed. "I thought we were in huge trouble. But do you think Malibu'll really be okay?"
Daniel nodded. "As far as I know, yeah. I mean, the gargoyles are living here, and they're the good guys. Plus Uncle Fred told me that the crazy scientist who created the clones went behind Mr. Xanatos's back to do so, and he said that Mr. Xanatos is really not gonna like that. And I think the reason he wants to offer Uncle Fred a job is to get him away from Demona, since she's one of the bad guys and she's an enemy of everyone who lives here."
Tyler nodded in understanding as they continued walking down the halls. "Okay. Then I guess we have nothing to worry about," he said, then slowly a grin appeared on his face. "But dude, look at this. We can explore the castle for real now!"
"Yeah, you're right! I didn't get to see the whole thing last time, so we..." Daniel spoke, but was interrupted by a loud bark, followed by the sound of rather quick and heavy footsteps heading their way.
"What was that?" Tyler asked.
"I know who that is," Daniel said with a big smile on his face, then raised his voiced, though not to the point of shouting, not wanting anyone else to hear other than the originator of that bark. "Bronx! Hey, Bronx!"
The sound of the footsteps became quicker, and a few seconds later the large gargoyle beast came bounding around a corner. He barked again and rushed towards the boys with a happy look on his face. Daniel knelt down and laughed as Bronx almost barreled into him, licking the boy's face.
"I'm happy to see you again too, big guy!" Daniel exclaimed, vigorously rubbing Bronx's sides.
"So cool!" Tyler said, kneeling down as well. "Hey, Bronx. I'm Tyler, Daniel's friend."
Bronx turned towards Tyler, his face turned into a clearly curious expression; he sniffed Tyler and his happy face returned instantly, now licking the other boy's face as well. Both boys petted Bronx, scratching behind his fin-like ears, the gargoyle beast absolutely delighted at the attention.
"Seriously, this is aiming to be the coolest night ever," Tyler said.
"Yeah, things are really turning out well after those scares," Daniel said, getting up. "Let's all go explore together."
"Sure thing," Tyler said, standing back up as well. "Come on, Bronx, give us the tour. But carefully, cause we don't want your friends to find us."
The boys then began walking, gargoyle beast accompanying them now, and they let their curiosity loose at getting to explore the castle thoroughly. The feeling of dread and fear they had up until this point was completely gone now.
David Xanatos locked the door after sending the two boys their way. He figured it would be best for them to not be around for now, just in case. Returning over to his desk, he sat on his chair, looking most casual as he watched Alexander giggling, both his tiny hands wrapped around Malibu's fingers after the clone had made his way back to the young child and his mother.
"It looks like you have a new friend, Alex," Fox said with a smile.
"Malibu likes Alex too. Now Malibu made three friends today," Malibu said cheerfully.
"Well, Malibu, we'd also like to be your friends," Xanatos said. "Would you like that?"
Malibu nodded. "Yes, Malibu would like that. But Talon not like that. Talon says you are a bad man."
"I admit I made my mistakes with Talon and his friends," Xanatos said. "I wasn't fair to them, so I'm trying my best to atone."
"And besides what Talon doesn't know won't hurt him," Fox added with a smile, following her husband's tune perfectly. "You're allowed to have your own friends."
"Oh. That sounds okay," Malibu said. "Then yes, Malibu wants to be your friend."
"That's great, Malibu. And friends do help each other out," Fox said. "We could help you and you could help us."
"Malibu like helping friends," Malibu said.
"We could start right away, then. Doctor Sevarius created you and your fellow clones, right?" Xanatos asked.
Malibu nodded. "Right."
"And Thailog, in order to make you complacent, messed with your programming to keep your intelligence at a low level and to make you subservient to him," Xanatos continued.
"Yes," Malibu said, "Master Thailog said so. Malibu and other clones not dumb. We try to learn, but learning not easy. It takes time. Master Thailog make clones that way."
"That's horrible," Fox said, handing Alexander back his toy.
"It sounds like you would've had normal intelligence had Thailog not deliberately sabotaged the process, so that's why you have difficulty learning things," Xanatos said pensively. "May I ask, Malibu, what would you and your fellow clones do if Thailog showed up all of a sudden?"
"Malibu and other clones go with Master Thailog," Malibu replied with no hesitation.
"What if he told you to hurt your friends?" Fox asked. "The mutates, the people in the Labyrinth, or even Daniel and Tyler?"
Malibu looked forlorn now. "Malibu not like that. Malibu not want to hurt friends. But if Master Thailog says Malibu must hurt friends, then Malibu hurts friends. Malibu must obey Master Thailog."
"Thailog really went in deep with that reprogramming. It's ingrained deep in your psyche, making you and the other clones completely unable to disobey Thailog," Xanatos said, a frown on his face. "Thailog's likely biding his time, but there's no doubt that sooner or later he'll return for you and your fellow clones, Malibu. He'll want you all back as his personal soldiers and he'll kill anyone for it, whether they get in his way or not."
"I wish there was a way to help," Fox said, still cradling her son. "Some way to break Thailog's hold on the minds of the clones."
Owen, who had been watching in stoic silence up till now, spoke up. "Actually, Mr. and Mrs. Xanatos, there is one possibility to not only break Thailog's hold on the clones, but also to restore their intelligence to what it would have been before Thailog reprogrammed their minds to suit his needs."
All eyes turned towards Owen, a smile in Xanatos's face. "Now there's the good news I wanted to hear. You're always so dependable, Owen. And what is this solution you've thought up?"
"Before I explain, Sir, I must inform Malibu that, for this to work, he must be willing to accept the change," Owen said, looking now at Malibu. "Do you understand? If you do not truly wish to break Thailog's hold over your mind, then this solution will not work."
Malibu looked a touch apprehensive. "This solution... change Malibu? Change how? Malibu not be Malibu anymore?"
"There is no need to worry," Owen assured the clone. "You will not only be yourself, you will effectively become who you were always meant to be. Your memories and experiences that you've lived until now will remain in your mind."
Malibu thought about it, still looking doubtful, but then Xanatos spoke up again. "Let's put it this way, Malibu. Do you want to hurt your friends? Because I have no doubt that Thailog will make you do just that."
Malibu shook his head "No. No, Malibu not want to hurt friends," he said emphatically.
"If you let us help you, then Thailog won't be able to order you around anymore," Fox mentioned.
"You'll be smarter and be able to think independently," Xanatos said. "Instead of putting your friends in danger, you'd be protecting them. Do you find that acceptable?"
Malibu's expression changed. The apprehensiveness that was present ceased to be, and Malibu now looked resolute. "Okay. Malibu accepts. Malibu want to be better."
"Excellent," Xanatos said, looking most pleased. "Owen, go ahead, please."
"Allow me to elaborate. You may remember, Mr. Xanatos, the time when Demona utilized a spell from the Grimorum Arcanorum to take control over Goliath's mind," Owen said, remembering having shown the aftermath and solution of the event to his boss from the castle's numerous and mostly hidden security cameras.
"Yes, I do," Xanatos said. "The gargoyles were unable to find a counterspell. Detective Maza had to use a loophole to defeat the spell, quite impressively so."
"Indeed," Owen said. "It shows that, loophole or not, there are ways to combat mental manipulation. Sorcery can be used to not only manipulate minds, but also to liberate a mind from it."
"Sorcery? Does that mean magic?" Malibu asked. "Like in movies?"
"Yes, Malibu, it definitely means magic," Xanatos said.
Fox was smiling now, and looked at her son. "That means that you'll be helping Malibu out, Alex," she told the child, who cooed and giggled, looking at Malibu.
Malibu, for his part, looked confused. "How Alex help Malibu?"
"I can answer that," Owen said, taking his glasses off and putting them into his jacket pocket. "As I am normally forbidden to use magic on my own, I will teach Alexander how to help you, but for that I must assume my true form. Do not panic by what you will see now, Malibu."
"Not panic by what?" Malibu asked, but Owen's only reply was to start spinning in place, despite his body being completely still.
To Be Continued...
Author's extra notes: Hey everyone. As you know, for some time now I've been writing my story in a make-it-up-as-I-go-along way, with not many things planned for it. The events of this chapter, however, I have had planned for some time now, so I was actually able to write it without much trouble. However, I didn't imagine it would be as long as it got, so I decided to divide it into two separate chapters. I'll post the second part before long, so I hope you look forward to it. Thanks for reading!