-December 19, 1996 -
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! I SWEAR TO GOD, I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!"
"Alan, I just killed three of your friends who gave me that same useless answer!"
Goliath held the escaped convict by his ankle, dangling him upside down off the roof of a high rise. A 400 foot drop to solid asphalt - that's what separated the human from a ghost.
"Jesus Christ! I don't even know who the fuck you guys are! Pull me up, PLEASE!"
"Are you sure?" Goliath snorted "Cause I could just-" quickly loosening and tightening his grip to make the human slip to the base of his foot "-you know."
"FUCK!" he shrieked when Goliath did a fake-out drop "I swear to fuckin' God, I don't know anything! I don't!"
Goliath's growl could make a Bengal tiger cower. "Well then why am I wasting my time?"
Goliath's palm opened completely, and the criminal went plummeting down to earth. The terror only found in someone's final moments echoed as a blood curdling scream. He somersaulted in his freefall, jacket flapping to the wind in his fatal plunge to the ground.
SNAP*
Something snagged the human's ankle, ceasing his freefall. The sudden stoppage made four bones dislocate in his right leg. Hudson, who had been waiting in secret on a balcony 20 stories below the roof, had caught him and now held him aloft in a single hand - upside down just as Goliath had.
Goliath slammed down onto the balcony next to them "Remember something, now?!"
"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT!" he screamed "85th Street! 85th Street! I heard someone say they spotted a red gargoyle!"
Goliath hand snatched the interrogation subject from Hudson in a flash "WHEN!?" he bellowed, eyes so white, they were almost blinding.
"Two months ago! Three months!? I don't know!"
Goliath's wild snarl dulled "Thank you." He headbutted the human's face, knocking him out - a broken nose now a souvenir.
The purple titan tossed the human to the ground with a defeated huff "...These four were useless as well."
Hudson lashed rope around the unconscious human's torso to bind him, dragging him over to the other three of the muggers Goliath and Hudson had come across, propping them up. They were all probably nursing headaches the old gargoyle didn't even want to imagine, but they were all very much alive. The tried and true 'fake-out-drop in front of others for a fear factor' was usually so reliable as an interrogation tactic but…
Goliath snatched two up in a hand each "They didn't have anything useful, get them to ground level for the police, quickly." hoisting them "We'll need another group."
…This was just crazy.
"Lad. Wait." Hudson said sharply, rolling out his shoulder uncomfortably "We need's to slow down. I near missed that last one you dropped."
"Then I'll be the safety catch next time; you handle the interrogation." he responded almost faster than Hudson could finish his sentence.
Hudson wanted to shoot back a retort, but Goliath was already leaping and gliding to the street with his two in tow. Hudson had no choice but to hastily snatch the bindings of the other two remaining thugs and follow suit. He didn't even manage to catch up to Goliath until he was already back up onto the adjacent building's roof and was impatiently waiting for Hudson to join him.
The aging gargoyle panted with hands on his aching knees, his chest heaving and a talon wiping the sweat from his brow "Goliath…. Lad…. This isn't natural."
"Okay, take a minute then, catch your breath."
"That ain't what I mean laddie… this… this is just going off the deep end."
Goliath hadn't been the same since Malibu died and no one even entertained his attempts at denial. Seeing Brooklyn's clone die, followed by the original to remain missing for over a month? Well - something in Goliath had snapped. He wasn't at the castle for more than 20 minutes a night anymore, 10 minutes to brief search patterns at dusk, 10 minutes to hear reports at dawn. Great Dragon, he hadn't even been BACK to the castle in the past four days.
And it tore Hudson apart to watch it happen.
Goliath had made a horrible mistake, Hudson knew that, but Goliath was practically committing suicide by exhaustion! His son had visibly lost weight from the sheer amount of meals he had been skipping. Goliath himself hadn't even noticed until he bent down to pick something up last week and his belt nearly slipped off his waist. He had never needed it before, but the clan leader had now turned to the potion of 'caffeine', when patrolling with Broadway, he had fallen asleep mid glide from the lack of energy he had.
"Someone. HAS HIM." Goliath growled sharply "It's the only explanation for missing so long. The Phoenix Gate couldn't have grabbed him and he'd never disappear from his brothers like this. Someone abducted him, this is not for debate."
Hudson tried to find the words. Goliath wasn't patrolling anymore, he was actively looking for a fight - straight up hunting. Yes, the clan preferred to be proactive rather than reactive to crime, but this was just barbaric! Rushing into known drug peddlers and gun runners with barely a plan, proceeding to threaten each one with death until they forked over any information they had on a red gargoyle, snapping a few bones if they didn't comply?
Hudson understood Goliath was desperate to find Brooklyn, they all were, but he was starting to become obsessed!
"We haven't found any leads yet, therefore we aren't going deep ENOUGH." Goliath retorted darkly. The purple behemoth paused at that wording "Deep enough…" he repeated "Hmmm, yes. Of course, they must have him underground, or moved him into a place he can't glide out freely. Yes. Yes. Of course!" a sharp stride bringing him to the edge of the roof to look down with wild conviction in his eyes, his pupils darting as if somehow they'd suddenly gain the ability to see through asphalt "The subway. The sewer system perhaps! Yes, yes, they must KNOW a gargoyle is hindered when cut off from both moonlight and the sky. They must think they're able to hide him from me!"
"Lad… Lad…" Hudson tried to interrupt the younger's ramblings, but nothing could gain his attention. Nothing at all could. Not even the massacre of the clan had made him devolve into this obsession- no, fanaticism- over recovering his lost Second in Command. Because this wasn't a tragedy caused by a betrayal or an enemy, no, this was a horrid situation that he shouldered sole responsibility before. And the guilt was consuming his body as quickly as it consumed his mind. His continued failed attempts to get Broadway and Lexington to open up to him for even a moment were fuel to the fire.
Goliath simply couldn't move forward on anything, nothing could progress without Brooklyn. He couldn't forgive himself until he found his eldest child again; his two sons wouldn't give him the light of night until he did either. His daughter couldn't be unsaddled with the phantom jealousy and begrudgement until Goliath received his pardon. Goliath could have simply snapped a finger and ORDERED them all to fall in line and end their childish silent treatments, but this wasn't about clan members, this was about family.
Clan? What clan WAS THERE anymore? Hudson had to grimly scoff at the morbid humor to be found in it.
What clan WAS THIS? A single clan leader and his only blood offspring, a single gargdog, three young boys not old enough to know all their culture, and him - just a tired old man… It was a grim thought they ignored, but there was no future in this clan. Hudson had another 30 years left in him at most, Broadway and Angela (the ONLY possibility of a breeding pair in this clan) couldn't even attempt to have an egg for over another decade, that wasn't enough to repopulate. The reality of all this was, there was simply no future for this clan. They were the final generation.
Hudson could see what his once-second was trying. Goliath didn't WANT the clan to just fall back in line, he wanted to atone and reforge the parental bond between child and father. He didn't want obedient warriors, he wanted his sons to just let him be part of their life again… and the increasingly daunting task took its toll with every passing night.
"Lad…. Lad….. LAD…. GOLIATH!" he barked.
Goliath's nonsensical grumblings ceased, a furrowed brow almost irritated at his theory's interruption.
"My friend. This… You're going mad."
Those irritated purple lips curled back into a snarl.
"FANGS AWAY, BOY." Hudson snapped, his voice flattening to a scold "You have no idea what you're doing, I grant none of us do! But look at yourself! You're wearing yourself down to the bone and you still haven't a lead on where the boy's gone off to! So stop this! We need a new plan!"
"What other plans ARE there!?"
"I… Dragon above, Ah haven't the slightest clue, but it's not this! Yer bringing in more criminals than Elisa or 'er police force know what ta' do with! Some of them didn't even have warrants out for their arrest!" raking his mind for what terms he had heard Broadway mention in his detective hobby "Without evidence they're let back out onto the street and go RIGHT to the Quarrymen, yer just fuelin' the fire! We need help!"
"The Labyrinth Clan is out in force just as much as we are. Xanatos has even agreed to have his sources sweep everything they can! There are no more resources than what we already have! What else CAN we do?"
"I… Just…" Hudson shook his head in a thrash "...Goliath, it's been a month… I think we need to start considering that maybe Brooklyn won't-"
A VERY audible growl, followed by white eyes from Goliath made it clear he had zero intention of entertaining the end of that sentence. The purple clan leader flared his wings and took off.
Hudson had no choice but to huff and follow. Goliath was right about one thing, unfortunately… they had exhausted every resource at their disposal. Their best wasn't enough.
…They needed help.
0000oooo0000oooo0000
Broadway swooped down with Bronx in tow, his stumpy legs skittering to the concrete. He had done more than a few missing persons cases with Elisa before, he just never thought he'd be using the acquired skills on his own case though.
Usually Talon was with him on these; a rookie detective and an experienced, retired cop made for a surprisingly effective pairing. Ever since the Malibu Incident, The Labyrinth Clan had joined in on the search parties in earnest - partly because Talon wanted to repay his debt to Brooklyn and partly because Maggie and Talon desperately wanted to bury themselves in work to distract themselves. The clones needed their time to grieve the loss of their brother, but they needed something to take their minds off of it.
"Sniff the perimeter, boy." he flatly tasked Bronx "I'm goin' in."
He forced the rusted door to the warehouse open with his shoulder. Talon and he had put their inspector minds together to think of every possible place the missing clan member could be (Whether Brooklyn would be there by choice or not) but they had quite literally found nothing. Not a lead, not a scent marker, not so much as a single criminal damn who had seen the guy. Broadway usually valued Talon's input on these things, but tonight? ….Man he just wanted to be alone.
He paced aimlessly in the clearly empty warehouse. What the hell was he supposed to do?
—-
Broadway looked into Hudson's usual room at the castle, the TV as dark and the recliner as empty as they had been for weeks. He turned his head and called "Hudson?" knowing full well he wasn't going to get a response, he was out hopelessly searching too.
When he ventured into the empty nook of the castle that was once a gathering place for them all, the musty air was the same stagnant stench. Xanatos and Owen had the decency to leave the Gargoyle's most frequented areas of the castle to themselves, but that meant they gathered dust all the faster.
At his feet was the NES console, having collected dust over a month of zero use. He plucked up the instruction manual, flapping it a few times to rid it of the thin film of dirt. Dragon…. He'd give anything to have a reason to use it again. The only thing he looked forward to now was Sunrise - that he'd go to sleep and wake up to all of this having been a dream. He'd roar awake with Brooklyn and Lexington to his side.
"Hey Broadway! You okay, dude? You look like you've seen a ghost! What? A fight with Goliath? Me going missing? You hit your head, bro? Come on, we gotta get to the kitchen! Didn't Dad and Hudson ask if they could try your pancakes for breakfast today? We gotta cook fast if you, Lex, Angela, and I are gonna make it to Aerosmith's 'Nine Lives Tour' Concert in time!"
He tossed the instruction manual down in defeat - it wasn't a reality to be.
—-
Him and Lexington were still as tight as ever, there was no bad blood between them - but all things considered, it was hard to get a laugh when the giant red elephant was in the room, or wasn't in the room.
'The Trio' wasn't a demeaning title given to them, it was something they had EARNED a millenia ago. Him, Lex, and Brooklyn were so inseparable they often got teased that they'd be the Wyvern's Clan's first ever Ménage à Trois. But, gay jokes aside, he was proud that they were attached at the hip! Together, they were a more formidable force than Goliath himself!
They were all geniuses in their own right! Brooklyn's genius for strategy, Lex's genius for technology, his genius for detective work? There was no problem they couldn't solve when all three of them were joined! You could capture one of them on their own, defeat them as pairs even. But all three at once? Not even in your dreams!
And now they were down a member. He felt as if a chunk had been ripped out of him. They weren't meant to be a duo, they were meant to be a trio. And with one of them lost? It was worse than both Goliath AND Elisa gone at the same time. Nothing could fill the empty space.
Not even Angela.
—-
"Broadway…" Angela's voice was so steady and cautious"...How about you just take even an hour off of searching? Someone needs to stay and guard the castle, anyways. How about we bake something together? Or… I know Lexington found some of your old comic books at the clocktower, maybe we could read those to get some reading practice in?"
"Sorry, maybe some other time." Broadway had said back emptily to her a few nights ago, just minutes after breaking free from Stone Sleep "Besides, Xanatos's got a million new defense weapons and crap whirling around here ever since Oberon, the castle doesn't NEED us anymore." his wings lifting up to take off over the edge. He looked back solemnly to her, his gaze hardening as he saw Goliath prepare to leap off the edge in a different direction - he knew full well Goliath was eavesdropping, all that limber stretching he was doing was just stalling for time.
"I'm going again with Talon for the Northeast this time. Got a few more spots we have good feelings about. I'll let you know if we find anything good."
—-
Was it some cruel joke? He and Angela had been a happy couple for less than three seconds in their entire relationship. The moment they had first locked lips in the kitchen was interrupted by Brooklyn's bloodied face opening the door. And it had all been downhill from there.
Cause who the hell did he support?
His lifelong brother, Lexington? Or his new lover, Angela?
Broadway WAS willing to show clemency, to not fully forgive Goliath until after Brooklyn was found and the apology accepted, but to at least let Goliath atone. It was clear as day that Goliath's remorse was genuine - Goliath didn't want things to go back to normal, he wanted to be better for them as a father and caretaker. He WANTED to do right by all of them and earn their trust, and eventual love, yet again. Broadway wasn't fully ready to forgive him, not yet, but he didn't want to just ignore him either!
But he was caught in the middle.
On one side, Lexington who was repulsed with Goliath's mere existence. On one side, Angela who still openly hugged him and called him father. But smack in the middle, just trying to hold together what little of them remained, was him. He couldn't serve as mediator forever.
…..Nor could he hold onto Angela like this forever. There just wasn't enough life in the clan to breathe romance into their now wilting relationship. After all that work, he had finally won her heart… and he couldn't even DO anything with it now. Every attempt to spend time together with his new love was saddled with the crushing dark thought at the back of their mind. Brooklyn was missing - and them being together was the detonator that made him flee. Had he shown up just a moment earlier, he wouldn't have seen their embrace.
He and Brooklyn had driven a massive wedge into their brotherhood in their fight to court Angela… and now that Broadway had his 'prize' (Dragon, he didn't want to put it like that)... what good was it? Neither of the lovers could put aside their duties to fuel a budding relationship. And with the drama between Broadway and Angela's father, the man she held above all others, the strain on their relationship grew with every passing night.
Not to mention something else was CLEARLY bothering Lexington now, something other than Goliath; but no matter how much Broadway spoke with him, he just couldn't get it out of him.
Bronx's clicking claws announced his arrival.
"Anything?"
Bronx's defeated whine came as expected.
Broadway exhaled, disappointed yet unsurprised "It's fine boy…. Neither did I," this was all going nowhere. All the resources at their disposal and none yielded results. The clan needed a new plan to find their missing member.
They needed help.
This spot was another dud. Broadway squatted down to pick Bronx up, but suddenly, the dog froze.
*SNIFF* *SNIFF*
Bronx marched past Broadway at racing speeds, his nostrils speared to the concrete and sniffing intently
"What is it boy?"
Bronx didn't respond, his big blue shoulders bust through the ajar door of the warehouse like a battering ram - his sniffing was so ravenous, he must've been trying to inhale the cement itself. Broadway managed to jog in after him "Smell somethin' bud? Place seems pretty deserted."
Bronx's head shot up, he whirled around with eyes so frantic, it made Broadway jump. Immediately, Bronx started barking like mad.
"WHAT? WHAT IS IT?" Broadway yelped, voice daring to be hopeful.
Bronx was leaping up and down, strafing a side to side leap in front of a small spot on the floor - a tiny drop of long-since-dried blood. His barking was deafening.
"Is… I-Is it?" dropping to a knee as if he could inspect it. Bronx's happily urgent bellows confirmed it.
"You're sure? It's Brooklyn's?"
0000oooo0000oooo0000
Talon slid the final crate atop the stack "Swear to God, I'm never gonna like this…"
Accepting gifts from Xanatos never sat well with the mutates. But, with his new found 'reformation' came untrusted tokens of atonement. So, The Labyrinth received weekly deliveries of food, medicine, and clothing from Xanatos Enterprises to give to the hundreds of homeless humans who had found refuge within it. David of course donated millions to charity for a tax write off, but Talon coldly insisted that he'd never trust to send his people to any organization funded by him.
"Mr. Xanatos has turned over a new leaf, Talon, I assure you." Angela policed.
"You weren't here when he was gene-splicin' people." Talon muttered.
"Or kidnapping people off the street." Maggie dryly said, appearing from nowhere
"Or peddlin' guns to gangs, yeah, that was a fun week." Talon grumbled, patting his dusty hands on his thighs "-Anywho, only came back to help with the offloadin' of the cargo and to pick up the boys." His feline lips pecked against Maggie's forehead "We're patrolling Lenox Hill and Yorkville, nothin' dangerous, I'll radio if anythin' happens."
"I'll have dinner ready." she responded - her words loving, but her tone empty.
"Oh!" Angela said, almost shoving her way in "Well if you're looking for another hand in patrolling, I can join you~!"
Maggie immediately shot her a glare, Talon raised a hand in dismissal "...Nah, we got this covered. Give your clan my best."
Talon exited as announced, but then so did Maggie without a word. Trying to ignore the slight cold of that, Angela pursued her with a slight stride "Well in that case, I'd be happy to help you unload."
"It's fine." Maggie said without turning her head "Won't need to open that up for another few weeks anyways."
Well, that was another clear sign. Angela never saw much of the mutations before the clones were born, but they seemed agreeable enough. It wasn't until after Malibu died that she started to realize how cold they could be... well, to her in particular. Broadway and Hudson were treated amicably enough, sure, and Lexington was welcomed every time with open arms. With how much practice with young minds Lexington had gotten with Alex, the clones had taken to him like moths to a flame. Every time Angela stopped by, they always came swarming and asking if "Uncle Lex" came with her, only to slink away when he hadn't.
But with her? She never could get the same response out of them as the others did... well, at least it was better than her father. Even though Goliath had done all he could the night the clones became infected, Malibu succumbing to the stone disease was a dreadful tragedy. The fight between Brooklyn and Goliath was common knowledge now, and with Brooklyn not being there to donate the lifesaving blood to his clone?
... Well even though fingers weren't officially pointed at her father, some grudges could still be inferred.
"Well then is there anything I can help with?" Angela hummed with high spirits, trying to push through the hybrid's dismissal "I can at least help hand out food or something of the like."
"We're fine, thank you." Maggie rasped.
Well, that was going nowhere – she switched tactics before Maggie could get to the end of the hall "...So... how is Claw? I haven't seen him in a while."
The lioness's stride hesitated; her neck seemed to twitch "...he's fine."
"I haven't seen him in a while. I'd love to chat with him! Maybe see how good his vocabulary is coming. I bet he's going to start speaking any day now."
Maggie didn't respond.
"I mean, Christmas is less than a week away. I think getting the two clans together at the castle would be a great way to bring him out of his shell!"
"NO." Maggie raised a fierce hand, before slowly lowering it "...thank you... I appreciate it though."
Angela reeled in the eagerness quickly "Oh, of course... I imagine you have something modest planned for the clones to ease them into their first Christmas."
"Yes... You could say that."
Angela stopped. She exhaled before asking directly "Okay Maggie, what is it?"
Maggie stopped and looked over her shoulder, her feline eyes were remarkably uninterested "Excuse me?"
"I'm doing my best to extend an olive branch and you keep slapping it down." Angela stated bluntly "Like... what's going on? What is it I did?"
"Nothing. Thank you for your help with the cargo." turning to walk away.
The purple gargoyle could hardly believe she could be dismissed so halfheartedly "Look if you have something to say, then by all means say it!" marching after her.
"I've got NOTHING to say to you." Maggie retorted, this time with more force.
Angela's tone softened ever so slightly at the rise to her challenge "I just want to know what issue you have with me, don't deny you have one! Ever since Malibu die-"
Maggie slapped a hand over Angela's mouth, and shoved her into one of the adjoining rooms – her foot kicked the door shut behind them. Angela had only barely managed to yank the feline's wrist away before the cat hissed "We told you not to say his name!"
"Get off me!" Angela took a large step back "And I didn't say it in front of the clones like you asked! Which is more than adequate. Even when I asked to do something as simple as go lay flowers at his statue, I made sure to not say it in front of them!"
"Sure didn't seem to stop you from askin' to go see him non-stop, no matter how many times we told you 'no'!"
"NO, you always said 'later'!" Angela barked, before waving her hand "But back on topic, WHAT is your deal with me, Maggie? Talon and I are fine. You seem to be just fine with the rest of my family, except me. You clearly wanted it known; well, it's known. So out with it!"
"Really? REALLY?" Maggie scoffed "You ask to attend Malibu's funeral, you ask to see his statue, you pry into the clan over and over again: yet still have the GALL to play dumb?"
"What on earth are you talking ab- You wouldn't even TELL ME where you put his statue after!"
"Why would I?" Maggie Spat "When you're the REASON he's dead!"
Silence hung.
Angela broke it, chops now curling back "I FOUGHT FOR Malibu that night! I held him down even when he attacked me! Don't you dare try and say that!"
"I don't care what token, fake virtue move you did at the last minute! I care about the fact that you did EVERYTHING within your power to ensure Brooklyn wasn't there to save him!"
Angela had her "So you DO blame my father for Malibu's death?" she called her out "Well my father did everything he possibly could to save Malibu that night, without HIS help, none of the clones would have survived in the first place! Yes, there was a fight, but how could he have possibly known Brooklyn would run away? And whatever it was, I had nothing to do with it!"
Maggie hissed "Oh I don't need Goliath's screw up to tack onto you, girl. You chased Brooklyn off all by yourself!"
Angela blinked "...WHAT?"
"Elisa tells Derek everything and Derek and I tell each other everything." Maggie sneered "And Goliath didn't scare Brooklyn away from the clan that night… he scared him back to the castle! Yeah! All that blood n' screaming and he STILL ran back home straight away! But what was it that made him run FROM the castle? Sweetheart, it was YOU."
Angela's eyes hinted at their glowing red "Don't you even attempt to pretend that I-!"
"Oh please! Stop me whenever I say something wrong, by all means! Even AFTER Brooklyn's 'big, epic fight'-" she said while mockingly dropping her voice and waving her hands "- with Goliath, Did he or did he not fly straight back to the castle? Was Goliath the thing that made him disappear? Was it Demona? Was it Xanatos? Or or or or! WAS. IT. Because when he came back, the FIRST thing he saw was you sucking on his brother's face behind his back!?"
Angela's eye tint went full red "How DARE you!"
"Oh? Am I wrong? So you WEREN'T tyin' tongues with Broadway while Brooklyn was out?"
"THAT! That wasn't even- Brooklyn and I were NOT together! I told the trio that I wasn't interested in any courting unti-"
"BULLSHIT!" Maggie snapped so loudly, it echoed off the concrete "I saw you with Brooklyn plenty of times! You always had your hands ALLLLL over him! You were always gettin' physical! Always throwin' him clues! Honey, you were absolutely leading him on!"
"I… I did no such thing!"
"Really? REALLY? Well guess what? I was at the Halloween Party too! I saw you flirtin' with him clear as day to get him into costume! …Also noticed you chose to do it while Lexington and Broadway had their backs turned. I'm sure you'd just HATE to lose all their extra attention if you made a clear choice, wouldn't ya?"
Angela barred her fangs "You pathetic little - Are you trying to call me something!? I explicitly told them I wanted their attempts at courting to stop!"
"But you sure never stopped wantin' the attention! Not just their's, EVERYONES! You were so obsessed with showin' off your 'Holier Than Thou' Supremacy all the times our clans fought together, I thought you were waiting on a medal or something! Brooklyn had a major Savior Complex, but JESUS it's nothing compared to yours! Is that why you held him at arm's length? Havin' him as a backup, just in case Broadway didn't work out?"
Angela twitched "Don't dare try to lecture ME on how I treated Brooklyn! I know how ungrateful you were to him and all his help!"
"Fine! But at least I was HONEST to him about it!" Maggie shouted, before raising one hand "Yes, I was a bit of a bitch to him at first, I'll admit that! I was awful to the ENTIRE clan! But once I straightened up, I never ONCE tried to lead Brooklyn on or make him think the way you did! I had the common human decency to not fuck with someone's head!"
Angela's purple wings snapped open "HUMAN decency!? YOU used him far more than me! You treated him like trash, yet he was the first and ONLY gargoyle you could go to for help when Fang, a HUMAN, took over! But you never once said one simple 'thank you' to him! You've never once said thank you to any of us!"
"Oh right right! Maybe I should do what you do? Bat my eyelashes a bit, stroke his chin, give him a kiss here and there. Ration JUST enough affection so my men are good and eager to obey me!"
Anglea audibly hissed in her gargoyle garble, before English took the reins again "And yet you knew FULL well Brooklyn would help you! Why is that? Why did you go to HIM specifically? Why not Hudson or the others?"
"He knew Derek well enough-!"
"You KNEW that he felt something for you! That's why!"
"Fine! He liked me, I kinda guessed tha-"
"He LOVED you, Maggie!" Angela screamed
"It was a crush! One he could get over because I was honest with him! YOU were the one he was in love with! I only saw you two together a few times and dear GOD was it painful to watch!" Maggie sneered "Like, I know he's a creep and all, but-"
"A CREEP!?" Angela's eyes were blistering red.
"Guy is PERSISTENT and you know it!" Maggie barked "He was after you like crazy and you EXPLOITED him for it! You CLAIMED you didn't want him chasing after you, but you sure as shit didn't back it up with action! All the touching and caressing! How ELSE was he supposed to take it? I swear, what is it with you people? It's like ya dangled your promise of affection in front of him like a carrot on a stick! I'd say you were manipulating him like a puppet, but it was more like he was putty in your hands! You could have told him to jump in front of a train for you and he woulda done it!"
"You're dragging his name- BROOKLYN'S name - through the mud yet condemn my actions towards him!? Why do you suddenly care so much about him?!"
"Cause him being gone got Malibu killed!" Maggie screamed, eyes now fully illuminated crimson "Him being gone is bad enough, but Malibu paid the price! Had you not built him up, just to knock him down, he would have been here to give blood! You're the reason Brooklyn ran away! YOU'RE the reason Malibu couldn't be cured! You played with him like a toy! A toy you played with until it finally broke!
Angela's claws glinted "You lying b… I.. You… I WOULDN'T… NO!"
"You keep denying it over and over, yet you sure aren't offering any evidence! You knew he was crazy for you! You knew he'd wait for you! You knew you could take your sweet time and use his affection to get what you wanted out of him! And you SURE as shit did! You exploited him!" Maggie's lips curled back "You really ARE just like your bitch mother!"
*GRAAAAAA!*
That was the last straw. Angela lunged for Maggie.
Maggie was ready, cause she snatched her hands in midair. They went to the ground in a struggle that kicked up dust from the abandoned floor. Everything went red. Claws and talons were slashed and swiped, gnashing teeth tried to sink into the opponent. Fists with the power to shatter bone made holes in concrete whenever they missed their target,
Then suddenly, they were pulled apart.
"MAGGIE!? MAGGIE!" Talon bellowed as he now had her bearhugged from behind. Angela felt her arms pinned to her side by the vastly bigger and stronger Claw, who tugged her away.
Angle and Maggie were pulled apart from each other. The two females snarled and thrashed to break free from the interference, but the distance forced their instincts down. Their shouting match had caught the attention of the humans, who had then gone to get Claw, who had then gone to get Talon.
Through one eye that felt like it was beginning to swell shut, Anglea could see the sheer damage she had dealt to the lioness. Maggie was slashed head to toe, a particularly nasty cut on her shoulder now bleeding profusely. Her body was peppered liberally with bruises and cuts - and judging the stinging pain Angela now began to feel with the dulling feral state… She doubt she looked any better.
Talon barked demands of "What the hell is going on?", but Maggie barely acknowledged them. The two females panted in exhaustion. Their blood and sweat mixed together, each spent and trying to ration what oxygen their lungs had left. Maggie hunched over in her mate's arms "Claw… let her go, let her go back to the surface… she won't be an issue." she muttered.
There was a long pause, but Claw cautiously loosened his grip slowly. Angela stumbled slightly as her toe claws hit the concrete floor, she straightened up her stance as much as she could. She wanted to say a million things to Maggie - scream half of them, cry the other half of them. But she instead delivered the hybrid only silence.
She had nothing ready to say in her defense.
Angela struggled to walk normally as she half-limped out the door. A hiss from Maggie demanded her attention. Angela turned just to see those yellow feline eyes shooting a death glare "...My son is dead…. And I blame you."
Angela shot her a glare, a glare she plastered to hide a face of dawning horror. She tried to think of a retort, but her mind produced nothing.
Angela's immediate flee up the many staircases of the Labyrinth's underground made her beating heart pump out more blood to her wounds, but she didn't slow. She sprinted out and clambered up the first building she could find. She flung herself into the air, the cold night air stinging her slightly open wounds.
Her mind was ablaze. How could she even explain the wounds to the clan without them freaking out? Had this tainted the two clan's relations? How could she bridge it? How could Maggie DARE imply she did such things to Brooklyn!? It wasn't her fault that he ran! It wasn't her fault that Malibu had died, either, that was Thailog! None of that had been her fault! None of it!
After all…. Brooklyn didn't REALLY love her in that way, right? He was too hot-headed and immature to truly understand what love was in the first place, as far as she could tell…. It wouldn't have been enough to make him run away.
It couldn't have.
0000oooo0000oooo0000
Lexington sat on a park bench.
Literally, he just sat on one.
Even in the dead of a winter night, Central Park could still be housing the stray human. Touching down in the massive greenery, no matter what time or place, always ran the risk of getting spotted - but Lexington didn't care. Lexington had just run out of reasons to care. "The Ramble" was the deepest center of Central Park and was the only place with enough foliage to maybe pretend you weren't in the middle of a concrete jungle.
But here he sat with legs and arms sprawled, out of the decency to care… worry and anger had just wilted into numbness. He was out of ideas. He was the idea guy, the SMART guy, and he had nothing. No more places to search, no new tech to break out, no new camera feed to hack into. Brooklyn was gone.
He didn't really want to be around anyone right now. If he had to see Goliath's face, he just might up and skip returning to the castle tonight. If he saw Broadway or Hudson, his repressed want for reconciliation might finally explode over into him breaking down and weeping into their arms. For once… he finally understood why he found Brooklyn here one time - and why the stonehead always ran away when he was overwhelmed.
His head turned to glance through the trees, their branches barren in the winter cold, able to see the lake. In fact, it had been right over there…
0000oooo0000oooo0000
"Brooklyn?" Lex called out "Brooklyn? Brook-"
He spotted the crimson gargoyle upon the lake's shore, his back turned and hunched over.
"Jeez, there ya are!" Lex said, his talons snapping twigs underfoot as he shuffled through the brush "Dude, do you got any clue how hard it is to find anyone in all this?" he laughed "Like, I know I could find ya in a heartbeat if I just followed the worst smell in the air, but-"
A blink-and-miss it, wiping of Brooklyn's hand to his sniffling red beak, made Lexington's words die down.
"Hey… you alright, man?" sitting beside the red gargoyle who had readjusted his sitting posture to appear more steady - not the curled up, hugging of the knees he had been in before he heard Lex coming.
"Huh? Course I am." he cleared his throat, his unconvincing smug grin masking the tremor in his voice "Just like to chill by the water every now n' then."
Lexington's silence told him he wasn't buying the act for a second.
Brooklyn's grin receded. His eyes turned away, followed by his entire head "...Yeah, I'll be alright, man. Just gimmie some time to recharge. Five, ten minutes tops."
Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx had been missing for over four months now. Well, 127 days, by Brooklyn's count, to be exact. The clan had done surprisingly well in adapting to a new routine and chain of command - Patrols still went underway, crime was still policed, and (As an added bonus) their more perilous activities had dwindled. Xanatos wasn't harassing them, Macbeth was nowhere to be found, and The Pack hadn't taken a single swipe at anyone in months. As far as Lex was concerned, he could get used to this kind of pace! Hudson and Broadway jokingly agreed with it several times to try and keep spirits high in Goliath's absence.
The only one not in agreeance, was their leader.
A bad case of "Imposter Syndrome" didn't do the scenario justice. Brooklyn was born to be a tactician, but being called a leader? Brooklyn practically had a phobia to the position.
Last month, when Broadway had jokingly saluted and sounded off "Aye aye, Clan Leader!" when given his patrol route, Brooklyn had flinched so badly that he had dropped the plate in his hands and sent it shattering across the Clocktower floor.
He still refused to take the ceremonial, center perch on the clocktower's balcony for sunrise - Goliath's perch. It didn't even matter how many times Hudson gently reiterated that the central perch was a place meant for the rank, not the man, Brooklyn still avoided it like the plague. Though he tried to lie about it, his rounds to Goliath's and Elisa's usual spots were nightly (as opposed to everyone's weekly check-ins).
None of the clan was going to move on from their clan member's return, not a chance. But Brooklyn flat out refused to move forward, period.
"Look dude, I know you miss, Goliath…" Lex comforted "That's okay. I miss him too. We all do."
"Yeah…"
"If you ever wanna talk about it, or like… anything, you know we're always here for you, right?"
"Yeah…"
"We all got your back, no matter what, bro. Like, literally, last night when you and Broadway were on patrol - Hudson joked that one of these day's he's just expecting you to walk back into the Clocktower with The Pack handcuffed together with bows on them!" he forced a chuckle.
"Yeah, wouldn't that be a great fantasy…" he muttered, unconvinced.
"Heh, they're probably too scared to try ANYTHIN' right now! After how badly you whomped them last time!"
"Nah, Goliath whomped them, last time." he muttered, his teeth grinding.
Lex saw a chance to nip the inferiority complex at the source "Really? Cause if I remember correctly, The Pack had beaten Goliath, Hudson, AND Bronx so badly that they were captured and helpless. Then you came along and fixed everything."
Brooklyn tensed up "Look, Lex, I see what you're trying to do and I appreciate it, I actually do. But that's not how things happened, so just drop it."
"Are ya nuts? The whole pack is in prison cause o' you!"
"No, cause of GOLIATH." Brooklyn retorted "My plan was nothing but to get Goliath out! Without him, there's not a chance in hell we would have beaten them!" he threw his hands up "You realize I've LOST every single fight with The Pack? Wolf has kicked my ass so many times now, I literally am starting to remember the unique shape of his fist! When Goliath got taken out so badly, that Hudson brought up the topic of a Second-In-Command, it was MY fault!"
"What?"
"Wolf was wiping the floor with me, dude! Goliath had to come in and bail me out AGAIN. He was so distracted with saving me, that they managed to get in a cheap shot at him. And I distinctly remember Dingo saying that the only one they needed to take out to win was Goliath!"
"Well… You still-"
"Bro all my 'plans' were just: 'Wait for Goliath to show up' and have him fix the problem." Brooklyn stressfully raked his talons through his hair "Dude, I got no clue how to handle a heavy hitter threat. I can't even figure out where to even search for ONE dang missing clan member!"
Silence hung in the air.
"...I don't know what I'm doing…" he confessed out loud "I'm trying to set a good example for you guys, but… dude… what the hell am I even doing?" he croaked "I'm not Goliath… I'm not fit to even be mentioned alongside Goliath. He always had a plan, he always knew what he was doing… I can't lead a clan like he does."
Silence followed again. The chirping of summer crickets and croaking of night frogs filled the distant white noise of the city.
"...First to unite a clan, though." Lex said simply "...First to try and help out a gargoyle stranger when she was scared and alone."
Brooklyn cringed at that thought of his blunder with Maggie's first meeting "Oh dude- don't make me remember tha-"
"Made them trust us enough to go to us for help." Lexington persisted "When Claw took over, Maggie came straight to you for help, not another human. Talon never did that with Goliath… yet Talon looks to YOU, not Hudson when he talks to us. Pretty sure that counts as forging the first Gargoyle-Clan-Alliance in our clan's history."
Brooklyn didn't have a self-demeaning retort for that.
"Helped fulfill an Ancient Arthurian Prophecy. Made it so Xanatos never tries to hunt us. Made it so Demona doesn't even show her face. Made it so Macbeth doesn't try something stupid again." Lex shrugged in his matter-of-fact statement "Made us have literally the safest home in our entire lives."
Brooklyn was silent before then saying "...Well, that Arthurian prophecy was a bit of a group effort." the hint of a suppressed smile tugged at his lips.
Lex snickered "Well when Goliath gets back, I'm sure you can swap leadership stories for fulfilling legends. But for the record, the score is:" he held up a single finger in one hand, and none in the other "Brooklyn: 1. Goliath: 0."
That earned something almost akin to a chuckle out of Brooklyn.
"You're doing great, man." Lexington's voice dropped to something more solemn "I mean… dude, I have no idea how you're doing it. If I was you, I'd have fallen apart months ago…"
Brooklyn turned his head quickly to him.
"Dude… I miss 'em too… And I'm scared too." Lex admitted "I mean, I'm not gonna just ignore it - I'm worried about how we'd manage without Goliath. I know I wanted the Second-In-Command title, too, but now that I see everything that comes with it?" he shuddered "...I could never be a commander."
"Lex." Brooklyn chastised with concern.
"I… dude, EVERYTHING I did when I was in control put us in danger - it put you in danger!" he admitted, his voice going weaker "When I went after The Pack, you came along with me to make sure I didn't do something stupid… only then I DID do something stupid and you paid the price! We were trapped in that oil tanker cause of me and all I did was piss and moan, not once worrying about the mess I had gotten you and Bronx into!"
"Dude, it wasn't like that-"
"It WAS like that." Lex shot back, throwing his arms into the air "I turned us into bait! I led the clan right to their waiting arms and blew the whole dang ship up! And…" he looked away "...You nearly got incinerated into charcoal cause of me! I was so busy caring about getting even, that I didn't realize you nearly got dunked into burning oil!"
"You saved my bacon before it got fried, Lex."
"I nearly got you killed!" Lex blurted out "Goliath and Hudson have asked ya to work on your temper, but I don't get it! Your temper has never gotten us in danger, but mine and Broadway's has. Heck, when we were staking out Xanatos, you had to reel me in again from going after The Pack AGAIN. Bro, I would never trust myself being commander, I'd…" he curled up around his knees "I'd have us all in shallow graves by now if Goliath made the mistake of naming me second."
Two red hands clamped onto Lexington's shoulders "Now you stop." his voice firm "Stuff like that is in the past. You've pulled me- all of us - out of the fire more times than I can count." he pulled him into the comfort of his crimson wings "Without you, we'd be toast ten times over. You're smarter than all of us put together and more importantly" he tapped Lexington's lithe chest "What you got in here is just as irreplaceable as what you got in here." tapping his head. Those lean arms wrapped around Lexington's little body, pulling him into his draped wings "So stop focusin' on every small mistake, man. Ya got a million triumphs that squash 'em."
Lexington let that last sentence hang for a minute, sinking into his brother's warmth "...So then are you gonna take your advice?"
Brooklyn held him for a moment, before his brow instantly furrowed "...Wait, did you just-"
"Gotcha~ No take backs." he said with a grin
Brooklyn huffed and shoved him away "Aw dude! You're the worst!"
Lexington laughed "Hey, you said it man, not me." he said with raised hands "Stop beatin' yourself up on the little stuff, and start giving yourself credit on all the big GOOD stuff. You keep stayin' on edge, wonderin' when you're gonna screw up." he gestured in a twist "Well… sure hasn't happened yet, dude!"
Brooklyn harrumphed, a smirk creeping again at his lips.
"Look, you're gonna screw up, royally. Goliath does. Hudson did. Whoever was before Hudson definitely did. And when it's time for you to take Goliath's place officially, It's gonna be a great ass day!"
"Hey, easy with THAT kinda talk though, dude." Brooklyn muttered
"Why? Second In Command ain't a temporary gig, dude. One day, Goliath's gonna step down as leader, and you're gonna upgrade from 'Acting Clan Leader' to full fledged 'Clan Leader', the real deal."
"Oog." Brooklyn sarcastically muttered like Broadway did when he had a stomach ache.
It was Lexington's turn to shuffle up to his brother "And there's no one I'd rather see in the role."
"Aw jeez, man… don't get all mushy on me…"
"Oh too late now." Lex rested his elbow on his brother's shoulder smugly "I'm serious, Brooklyn. You're the only one I actually want to take orders from, so quit being such an emo, it's makin' me look like a kiss ass~" he said, punching his shoulder "-And start sackin' up and take some pride in yourself. It's darn time you took some credit."
"Heh, fine. But if I start strutting around the Clocktower to the point the others are rolling eyes, I'm pointin' the finger at you."
Lex chuckled, sitting back down with his legs crossed "See? Now you sound like you again." leaning his shoulder against the larger one… dang, Brooklyn really HAD been bulking up.
They enjoyed the silence of the night for a brief moment. The crickets chirping, the warmth of the summer air, the canopy of the trees… All they needed was Broadway to be here too and it'd be perfect. It was like they were back in Scotland again, back home again. It was easy to push away the thoughts that they only had each other to rely on these days. When all was said and done, it was just them.
Lexington sat up slightly, drawing Brooklyn's attention with it. Lex looked at his open palm "...I trust you, Brooklyn, you know that right?"
"I trust you too, Lex."
"No, like… There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, man. I trust you with my life. Wherever you go, I go." he opened and unopened his palm.
He opened and closed his hand a couple times. But then, he sat up straight and opened it fully. The clawed index finger of his other hand came to his open palm, then swiped - drawing a tiny bit of blood.
"LEX!" Brooklyn barked in shock
Lex only shot him a knowing and confident smirk. Lex made a fist and beat it once against his chest, before raising it even with his head. His voice was clear and deliberate - a decree "I, Lexington of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to my Clan Leader, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor his command and no other's. I would raise my claws in his honor and raise a mug in his name." he made the ancient pledge
Brooklyn's beak was agape, his eyes wide… and now beginning to mist ever so slightly. Without hesitation, he drew blood in his open palm in the exact same fashion. He beat his chest and raised his fist.
"I, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to the service of this clan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor the trust of my clan and lead them with my last breath. I would raise my claws in their defense, and raise a mug in their glory." The second half of the pledge returned.
They opened their fists and clapped them together in a clenched binding - a blood pact between clan leader and clan member. The ancient ceremonial pledge made by a new clan leader when he ascended to the position. What was usually done after weeks of preparation and delivered with great fanfare in a Changing-Of-Command ceremony - now done here. Just two gargoyles by the side of an artificial lake.
"I'd follow you to the ends of the earth, bro." Lexington promised.
Brooklyn merely exhaled through his nostrils, his smile content. He hadn't done that in quite some time. Why desperately chase childhood when brotherhood was far more important? Why ignore what was by longing for what wasn't?
Their hands slipped away, Lexington turning sideways to rest his shoulder against his big brother's. Brooklyn's wing came over both of them "Heh, now how can I possibly run from the job after a speech like that?" he snickered.
He playfully punched Lex's knee "I hate you."
Lex returned the love tap "I hate you too."
Dawn was coming in just under an hour, not really enough time to make it back to the clocktower, but Lex's quick radio back to Broadway kept the remaining members of the clan from worrying. Lexington rested in his commander's warmth, both of them enjoying what was perhaps the first bit of release of tension in months. It felt all too short when the sun's rays started to come through the trees.
Ya know, he never really noticed how pretty Central Park was until now.
0000oooo0000oooo0000
Lex's wings caught the wind, with dawn only two hours away, he might as well start moseying his way back to the castle. The lights of the city below were a hazy blur to be hypnotized by, to enjoy the emptiness of.
The pledge of loyalty they made that night hung true. It was one of the millions of pledges in the gargoyle tradition. They had fallen out of style, sure, but keeping the culture alive in the name of ceremony was good enough. Hudson made the pledge to Goliath when he took command, as did all of the elite ranking warriors in the clan. He in turn, made the pledge back to all members of the clan. It made Lex snicker dryly, well, they were the elite warriors by default now.
He stared blankly at his palm. That pledge he and Brooklyn made to each other was as close as he'd ever get… well, that made him feel just peachy.
He flew in silence. Empty silence
"..."
"...A sentimental evening, my friend?"
Lex's blood chilled in terror.
He snapped his head around. Would life just let him have a break?
Where did SHE come from?
Demona.
That familiar wretched blue female took up his vision. She was flying above him, hands folded neatly behind her back, he body language so infuriatingly calm.
Fight or Flight.
"GRAAAHH!" Fight was the decided survival response. Lexington lunged for her in mid-air, his small claws swiping at only the sky. She corkscrewed down casually to the side, hands still neatly behind her back. Lex came at her again and then again. She deflected his blows with two fingers at the wrist like redirecting a floating feather - every time he lunged, she gracefully flowed the air around his deadly barrage of slashes.
The thousand year old scourge was untouchable.
His sixth attempt let her flip over him. He tried to spin over to snap his jaws at her but-
"Ah ah ah. Easy, easy." a set of claws glinted just below his throat, the other pair prickled its razor sharp knives into his back.
"S-Shit…" His chin lifted away, frozen stiff as he tried to remain airborne "...If you're gonna kill me, then get on with it. I'm not in the mood for this tonight."
The talons grazing his spine pulled back "I'm not here to fight, Lexington." she said, right into his ear "I'm here to talk."
"Oh. Goodie." trying to hold his gullet away from the fingers that could slice steel to ribbons "Cause that just always ends so well with you." his mind raced for an escape plan - she was faster, stronger, and (Dragon, he hated to say this) smarter than most gargoyles by several leagues "...Well? Go ahead. Talk."
She banked her wings, Lexington had no choice but to follow her to the rooftops below. The moment their feet touched the roof and her talons retreated from his throat
WHAM*
Lexington slammed his thick skull back into her chin and made a break for it. He bolted for the edge - Peregrine Dive, it was his only hope! But a talon snatched around his tail and yanked him back sharply in an instant. He was swung over Demona's form and spiked into the rooftop, sending a bark of pain from his lips. He rolled away and scurried to his feet, fists clenched for a fight.
"Listen to me." Demona held her hands up in surrender "I'm only here to talk."
Lex's teeth were still barred. She was unarmed, as far as he could tell. Her face was devoid of that wretched smirk he and the clan, especially Brooklyn, hated so much. He took a step back, keeping a cautionary distance as he drew an arc around her. His eyes glanced up and down, his jaw tightened "...well?"
Her body language was eerily solemn - and right to the point "I know Brooklyn's missing." She said bluntly, "I know about Goliath and what happened."
Lexington's mind felt like one of his circuit boards had glitched. His fists lowered "What… How do you-?"
"I keep my distance, Lexington." she said, almost insulted "But I never lose track of your clan. Even if you all have forgotten your love for me, I have not forgotten my love for you all."
Lexington snorted at the absurdity "That's a lie not even Angela would believe. You were just chipper to have Thaiolog gun everyone but her down. And last time I saw you, you had Brooklyn at gunpoi-" he froze mid-sentence. His spine prickled in the dawning thought. How did he not think of it until now? His eyes ignited such a blinding white, they were practically moon beams "YOU. What. Have you. DONE. With him?"
Demona, unphased, raised a hand with calm dismissal "I don't know where he is anymore than you do. I do not know where he has gone. Or why he has stayed gone."
"Yeah, I sure believe that." he sneered.
"If I DID know where Brooklyn was, Malibu would still be alive."
Lexington's light flickered "...What?"
"You think I didn't notice one of my creations went to his eternal stone sleep?" she stood straight, her voice heavy as she took a step forward. Lexington took a step back in response "I am the sole reason he was brought into the world… I named him myself, I knew him from his inception just as I knew yours, Lexington. I…" she hugged her sides "... I knew almost immediately after it was too late…"
Lexington felt his guard drop at the sight of genuine loss on the invincible terror's face, but he shook the pity away instantly. He knew this was the exact siren tactic she had used on Brooklyn to get the Grimorum Arcanorum.
Demona could be an inconsolable mess of frantic sobs and he STILL wouldn't buy even a single tear.
Lex blinked, eyes glancing around "So what? You want an invitation to a wake?"
Demona exhaled with a jerk of her head. Lexington's step back had him pinned to a rooftop HVAC. He didn't have time to maneuver around it before she was a single pace away. She looked down at him, with either a perfectly rehearsed look, or a genuine expression.
"I don't want anything from you. I want to help."
Lexington couldn't help it, he barked out a sharp laugh "Oh! Of course! Sure you do!" nodding with a twitching grin "We all just love it when you help!"
Her expression did not falter "I want to help you, Lexington. Help Brooklyn. Help all the gargoyles… even losing one of us is a tragedy."
"A tragedy? Oh yeah sure, You've tried to kill him, thrice." he snorted wryly, lifting three fingers "So you've just magically become overcome with a grand epiphany?"
"...Yes…"
"HA!" Lexington didn't even choose to laugh that time, the sheer absurdity of that statement forced it out of him.
"Lexington, I was crazy with rage and vengeance…" Her posture upright, yet her head hung in shame "I had become so addicted to exacting my revenge upon Goliath, that I had pulled you all into my fray. I cloned all of you, created husks, created marionettes in your likeness, because I so desperately wanted to have us all side by side yet again."
Lex squinted at her, half expecting her to burst out laughing herself at how stupid her reasoning was "...Yeah-huh." he used her closed eyes as an opportunity to silently maneuver around the HVAC he'd backed up into "So did that great awakening happen before or after you had us all chained up and ready to kill?"
"I won't try to reason away what I did… nor will I beg for forgiveness I do not deserve." she said with a heavy voice "It is why I did not harm Brooklyn the last time we met the night of the hunters. The woman I was but a few weeks ago would have been blinded by vengeance and killed him… but after having my eyes opened? I only stunned him and held him at bay to give myself enough time to finish the spell over the praying gargoyle."
Her head lifted and her eyes opened, Lexington braced. She only spread her hands "I had allowed my anger for Goliath to consume me. I had let it poison the most important things in my life-" she gestured a hand to him with a pained look "I was so filled with envy… for HIM to be the ones you chose to follow. I was jealous of all the love and trust you gave to him… all the affection. It made me confuse my pain for anger; none of you are at fault for HIS sins."
Lex scoffed, only this time, he wasn't able to muster a laugh "And what? You think YOU'RE a better candidate?"
"I would never throw the first blow against my own child-" she said darkly "-and you know THAT'S nothing but the truth."
Lexington tensed up, jaw unclenching
"Goliath attacked his own son, his own second in command. He neglected his children, neglected your needs. Neglected your SAFETY, your wellbeing." she gestured to herself "Say what you will about what I've done - but I'd never beat one of you bloody and cast you away had you'd ever come to me."
"Don't you DARE!" Lexington bellowed back "Goliath never did anything like tha-" he paused. He was defending Goliath.
"If you wish to defend your father, Lexington. Then speak."
"He's not my fathe-!" Lexington's words froze dead again, but he sparked them on the rebound "Stop that! Don't you even PRETEND like you're above him or better! That's not what this is, that's not what ANY of this is!"
Demona extended a hand, but Lexington hissed, making her slow its ascent "He took your love for him for granted, like he was OWED it. He has always acted like you were supposed to be there for him, when he was supposed to be there for you. Has he ever said 'I'm sorry' to you? To any of you? Even once? When the humans attacked you in Scotland - which of us defended you? And which of us banished you to the rookery?"
"Yeah, and which of you two turned a BAZOOKA on us?"
She hung her head again "And it was wrong of me to do, and I'm sorry - but I'm not OWED your forgiveness, nor am I going to beg on my knees for it." she deflected "I wouldn't try to double back on having neglected you for a new sibling - would not allow human customs to allow me to love a blood related child more than any of my clan children."
"YOU!? The only reason you didn't let Thailog kill us is cause you wanted to save Angela! Ya didn't give half a rat's tail about us!" he scoffed "You're even WORSE than Goliath with your favoritism."
"I saw her as a fresh start!" she barked "Someone untainted, someone clean from my past sins. I know I have hurt you, Lexington. I have hurt all of you, but with her, she was someone who I could have a clean slate with - a second chance." she looked into her fists "I have been so blinded by my need for revenge - my lust for vengeance on Goliath, that I let it spread to you. YOU of all gargoyles must understand!"
Lexington flinched. It was his turn to talk, but he had nothing.
"Goliath wronged you ...You feel it too, don't you? That anger for him and what he's done? The betrayal? The loss? ….The lingering cinders of a lost-love that still tempt you to hold on? But holding on only makes that anger burn worse?" she gestured to the empty rooftop "And look at what it does to you… how what he does INFECTS your love for others. Where is Broadway? Where is Hudson? Why are you, a gargoyle with clan, roaming the night alone?"
Lexington hissed at her implication with disgust… but he had no words of rebuttal - she had him.
"You just 'wanted to be alone' didn't you? Wanted time to think? Just a harmless rationalization in your self-isolation, hm?" she said sagely "Before Goliath wronged you, did you ever want to do that? Did you ever want to push your brother away? …..Did you ever want to lash out at your sister in anger?"
Lexington snarled and swiped a wing "SHOVE IT!" he snapped out, eyes white "You… Don't you even TRY twist this into something it isn't! Goliath… he… none of that…" he bared his fangs and turned his back on her "If you wanna put your money where your mouth is, then let me leave!" he stormed away
"If anything I said is untrue, then say it!" she raised her voice, but did not pursue.
"SHUT UP."
"He has failed you time and time again. Not once has he benefited you!"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" he leapt up onto the rooftop's edge.
"You've run out on leads for Brooklyn, haven't you?"
Lexington froze
"You have NO idea where he is. You've exhausted everything, haven't you?"
Silence.
He slowly turned his head "...What… Do you WANT?" venom in his words.
He could have sworn he almost saw a smile tug at the corner of her lips "...I've already told you: I want to talk. And if not talk, then at least listen."
Lexington glanced down at the streets below - the distant honking of cars in the city that never sleeps. He could never outrun, Demona, but he could sure as hell lose her. The split second head start would be more than enough for him to make a few tight turns and leave her in the dust. All he had to do was jump.
But….. Instead he turned his body fully around to face her "...I'm listening."
"Brooklyn's been taken. You know it. I know it. Even if Brooklyn threw Goliath's name into hellfire, nothing would make him willingly exile himself from you or Broadway." she clenched a hand before herself "...It may pain you to acknowledge it, but I raised you three since you were eggs…. And I know your bond is invincible. The only explanation is: someone has captured him."
Lexington didn't relish the idea…. But he concurred.
"You have no idea where he is, and neither do I." she held up her index and middle finger "On our own, we are stumbling around blindly while Brooklyn is enduring Dragon knows what. But together?" she joined the two fingers together "Together? We could do so much more."
Lexington grumbled "And what? Just let you come along on patrols?"
"Patrols? Aimless search parties? Hardly" she scoffed "I have what you don't have, Lexington - Resources; COUNTLESS resources, a thousand years worth of connections and assets at my disposal. I could pick clean in an hour what would take your clan a year to scratch the surface of."
Lexington hopped off the ledge, trudging towards her "Yeah, I figured. Well, if those resources are so impressive, why haven't you found him already? Sounds like it'd be a day trip for you."
She shook her head "Because you have what I don't - a soul that TRULY knows Brooklyn. Someone who can think like him, someone who knows every little detail of his mind and what he would do. I may have intel, but I'm not omnipotent. I need someone with a mind like yours, a HEART like yours, if we're ever going to find him." her voice was overtly honeyed and sweet, something Lexington knew was impossible to ever be genuine "I need you…. BROOKLYN needs you."
Lexington tightened his jaw. Demona's resources WERE considerable… second only to Xanatos in terms of being interwoven into NYC, having that kind of power at his disposal would let him comb through every security feed in on the island. He'd be a fool to reject an offer given so freely…. But….
"And… what would you want in return?" he muttered with what little tact he could fake.
"I already told you - nothing." she said bluntly "The life of ANY gargoyle is beyond precious, no matter how they may think about me."
He glanced at her, this time sans a sneer "...Forgive me if I don't believe you."
"Of course, after all, how could I expect you to?" she admitted "Fine - you've forced a confession out of me, Lexington. So here it is: in return for all my help. When we find Brooklyn. When he's been returned into your arms and back to the castle… I only ask that you remember that I was the one who reunited our family; the family that Goliath fractured."
Lex closed his eyes midway through her words… the certainty she had in them, the conviction in Brooklyn returning to them. Not wishful thinking, but a very real goal of him at his side as they returned to the castle…
"-So that when the lynchpin of your clan returns and the old wounds begin to mend in your newfound clan… that you remember who it was who made it all possible."
All she wanted was to do this as a favor to be cashed in later? In exchange for Brooklyn finally being returned to them? To Him? It was a fair deal, a good deal - a deal too good to be true "I… I don't know… I don't trust you."
"I didn't expect you to." she said in disappointment "...but Brooklyn trusts you."
Lex looked down.
"Doesn't he? Doesn't he trust you with his very life? Don't you trust him with yours? Well… his life is currently entrusted into your hands, Lexington. And I can't help but ponder what he would say if he'd be in your position."
"He's fanatical about you and the others." she continued, slowly circling him - the little gargoyle felt rooted in place "There's NO lengths he wouldn't go to to rescue even one of you. Even if I was the one to offer him help, he'd never reject it."
"Don't pretend to know what he'd think." Lexington mumbled.
"I DO know what he'd think, his spirit is a strong one. And he probably needs that spirit right now… who knows what his spirit is being put through right now? Who could possibly have him? Where can they have taken him? …How much longer can he last?" her voice purring out those last words in a way that made his spine chill.
"Brooklyn doesn't have forever, in fact, he probably has very little time left as it stands now. I wonder what the current him would say - seeing someone offer up the chance to find him… and his best friend hesitating?"
"He'd…. He'd sure as hell hesitate if it was from YOU." he tried to imitate a sneer, but the lack of assuredness in it was pitiful.
Demona exhaled a snort "Your 'best friend' was rejected by his father. Your best friend was rejected by the one he pined for…. You mean to tell me you plan to reject him too?" she jeered
"Stop trying to put words into my mouth!' he snapped
She continued to circle him, her strides methodical "Why?" that smug persona he hated about her, the real her, was slowly starting to surface itself "...after all, you seem to be unable to form the words to him yourself."
"What was that?"
"Had you been more open with him, talked to him more, perhaps he wouldn't have ran away the night Goliath cast him out. Had you been there for him more, perhaps your best friend wouldn't have left… and alllllll would be right with the clan. Goliath would have been forced to apologize to you all and pardoned so you could finally move forward. You could finally live freely again. That parental bond would be reforged. Broadway and Angela would happily be together….. And you'd finally have Brooklyn all to yourself."
Lexington's heart stopped, his eyes shot up from the ground. That disgusting trademarked smirk of hers was etched over that wretched face "...Does Brooklyn know, by the way~?"
"...Does he know what?"
"That you're in love with him~?"
Lex reeled back, he felt like he'd been electrocuted "...I…"
The grin on her face was so knowingly smug, he couldn't even dare to lie "...How did you-"
"I raised you." she hummed, hand now on his shoulder "But really, my young friend, if you're trying to keep your confession of love a secret-" she lowered her chin to his neck, whispering right into his ear "-I suggest you don't scream it from the rooftops."
Lex was frozen, his knees wanted to shake. THAT NIGHT. The night of the clone's plague. The night he had blurted his confession of infatuation over Brooklyn to Angela. How he screamed that he loved his own rookery brother… and that third shadow he spied just as they lowered to the Labryinth's entrance.
"You…." his eyes frozen wide open "...Y-You were there."
"I'm always there, Lexington." she purred, slipping her head away from his "But don't worry, your little secret is safe with me~"
He looked at her with a stammering jaw, suddenly feeling all the more defenseless "I….."
"Oh, but will that secret STAY a secret, I wonder?" she mulled over aloud, giggling into her index finger "My, what if you never get the chance to tell him? I've seen so many would-be-lovers over the past millenia never get a chance to tell someone how they felt- it truly is SUCH a tragedy when it comes to pass. Oh, there's no hopeless longing like fantasizing about what MIGHT have been."
She had been playing him. All this time. She had just been walking him onto target! He knew that damn remorse was just an act! "W-What do you want from me?"
She groaned with a dramatic roll of her eyes, eyes that were twinkling with amusement, "I've already told you: All I want is for Brooklyn to be found and to come back running into your arms~" she purred "After all, everything I have ever done has been in the name of our clan."
"... I'm starting to understand how you got your name." he hissed through grit teeth.
She chortled "And what's better than a Demon in your employ? Hmhm, a Demon who happily offers to be~"
Her tail slithered over his calf as she stood before him "Your only chance to find your precious Brooklyn safe and sound. Am I your friend? Potentially. Your confidant? Conceivably. But your savior?" she chuckled, "Now that's for certain."
Lex kicked his foot away, stumbling back "I never agreed to EVER let you work with me!"
She merely laughed "Oh come now. Why play hard to get when you're in deep over your little head?" she mocked "One Runagate Gargoyle, two aching hearts yearning for love… and no solution in sight. I could fix it all…." she snapped her fingers "...like THAT."
Lex was utterly disarmed, this was all a deal for Demona to be in HIS service, yet somehow he felt like he was the one entirely at the others mercy. The offer was too perfect, too tempting. It was like an answer to a prayer! But his prayer was not to be answered by an angel from above, but a devil from below… and deals with a devil always had a hidden, awful price.
"I… I need to think it over."
That answer seemed to be enough for her, because she happily spread her arms "Oh of course, by all means, take all the time you need. I'm sure Brooklyn would be happy to let you mull the idea over in your precious little mind while he suffers! Your peace of mind is clearly far more important than his life." she crooned, sashaying past him and mounting the edge of the rooftop
"Try to find him yourself. Shop around even! Beg, borrow, and steal. Exhaust EVERY possibility until none are left. And when everything you try ends up all for naught, and you've done nothing but waste what precious time remains - that's when you'll come back to the one gargoyle who you should've relied on in the first place." she chuckled "Loyalty. Hahaha. how quickly you find out who you should truly entrust it to."
Lex could barely muster the resolve to look her in the eye "And if I decide I want to take your deal? How am I supposed to find you?"
Her hands returned to their pompous clasp behind her back, her blue shoulders shrugging "Oh, I'll be…. Around~" her eyes leering "When you're ready to get to work, just make it known. And I'll be there, your guardian angel."
Lex felt his stomach churn at the idea. Her blue wings opened proudly, a parting nodding of the head "Tata~" she fell back and glided away.
It wasn't until she was out of sight, that Lexington's knees gave out from under him. He collapsed with frantic gulps of air, his whole body shaking in a cold sweat. He had forgotten to breathe.
She hadn't threatened him once, but his gut was in knots as if he had just cheated death.
She had known everything. She had known absolutely everything. All this time, they had been fiddling hopelessly, but she was there patiently enjoying the comedy. It made him sick. She could have killed him a dozen times over in the past month alone, she could have had him in chains and forced him or anyone else to spill every secret she wanted… but she hadn't. The damned snake had been waiting for him to be desperate enough to align with her WILLINGLY.
He spat at the idea. She could find the one thing that could bring their lives back to normal… but whatever the cost would be, it couldn't have been what she just requested. It was too small.
A chance to find the one thing that could set everything right - and all he had to do was just invite the devil into their lives.
He swallowed back a shaky gulp of dried spit.
—-
"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, man."
"I, Lexington of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to my Clan Leader, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor his command and no other's. I would raise my claws in his honor and raise a mug in his name."
"I, Brooklyn of Clan Manhattan, pledge myself to the service of this clan. Before the ancestors, I swear to forever honor the trust of my clan and lead them with my last breath. I would raise my claws in their defense, and raise a mug in their glory."
"I'd follow you to the ends of the earth, bro." Lexington promised.
—-
His breathing steadied. His brain got its seventh wind. He tried to think of a plan. There had to be something else he could try, someone else he could use. Something that wasn't allies, friends, favors, or all the technology money could buy. Some other resource at his disposal that he hadn't thought of yet. Something! Someone!
Then it hit him.
Well if he wasn't ready to make the jump to trusting the devil… maybe he could get started by trusting a demon.
He flared his wings and leapt down to catch the wind. He flew as fast as his wings could carry him, not even bothering to make sure Demona was off his trail. There was ONE force stronger than her and it had been sitting under his literal nose this whole time.
0000oooo0000oooo0000
Lexington's claws that echoed across the castle's stone floor changed their pitch as the ancient stonework turned into the fine tile flooring of Xanatos Enterprises. He scampered down the stairwell, rounding the corner and now onto the imported rep carpet.
He didn't bother knocking. He threw, practically punched, open the double doors to Owen's office.
"OWEN!" Lexington called out, but then froze immediately. A scowl barely hid itself from his olive lips.
Owen was sitting at his usual desk. His suit was neat and proper, like always, and his thousand files were in their usual perfect order. His hands were neatly folded upon the tabletop. Everything was normal. Except, Goliath was here.
His massive purple hands were planted onto the disguised elf's desk, looming over him. The towering behemoth's usually reserved body movement would have had him barely turned a cheek in acknowledgement, but now he snapped his whole head and shoulders around to see Lex walk in.
Neither gargoyle said a word, but thankfully Owen broke the silence with "...Lexington." as his greeting/acknowledgement.
Lex debated dismissing himself and just coming back later, not wanting to acknowledge Goliath's physical presence in the mortal realm. (Why was Goliath even here? He never came ot see Owen on his own.) But pettiness was not Lex's ally tonight. He walked in and just tried to pretend Goliath wasn't there, as he had been for a few weeks… but with his towering, sweating form directly in between him and Owen, he couldn't hide the few glances he gave him. For a second, Lexington feared that Goliath had somehow been eavesdropping on his run-in with Demona… but Goliath didn't say a word.
He quickly returned his attention back to their resident sorcerer "Owen… I-I want to make a deal."
Author's Notes:
Thought I should explain one of the scenes in here
So…. yeah. This may come as a shock to literally no one
But I got beef with Angela./Embracethehavoc/status/1814674537352450180