Transitions

Story Concept by Alan Coleman Waltrip and Robby Bevard.
Written by Alan Coleman Waltrip.
Artwork by Lain.

"He is delirious," Sata said quickly.

"What?" Broadway asked, directing the question to his brother lying on the table. He eyed Sata, "What did he mean?"

"Your daughter… she's gone…" Brooklyn said, drifting back off into sleep.

"What? Brooklyn?" Broadway tried to wake him back up. "What was that about? What does he know? What do you know?" he asked Sata.

~ Waystation

* * *

"What do you know?" Lexington asked, now looking at Brooklyn directly in the eyes. He began to make his way towards his brother, ready to speak again. "You lied… to all of us. You lied to me."

~ Of Things to Come

Fox Xanatos had learned, over the years, to wake up slightly before dawn, just to make sure everything was all right as their permanent houseguests went to sleep each morning. As she slipped on her morning housecoat and began to make her way towards the dinning area, she remembered the old acquaintance that had come to her yesterday afternoon and smiled. By the time she had gotten home that evening, David was out, and it wasn't the most important thing in the world.

At least, not to her.

The dining room was an offset part of the castle, where both the public eye and the clan seldom entered. It was one of the few places the Xanatoses had to themselves anymore, and it had come to be one of Fox's favorite places to be in. It wasn't that she didn't want to see the clan; it was just that there were two families living in this castle, and there should be some boundaries, even if they went unspoken. David was already sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.

"Hello, dear," he said idly. Fox had learned that the first hours of her husband's day were not the best time to talk to him. She simply returned his greeting and began her breakfast, which Owen had set out only a few minutes before. The only sound in the room was the clink of knives and forks on glass plates, echoed by the vastness of the room itself.

Now was not the time to tell David about her visitor, but she would. She would have to.

* * * * *

Lexington had gotten into the habit of checking his e-mail directly after waking up each evening. Nobody seemed to mind him doing so, and as his computer booted up, he sighed. Minutes later, he clicked the mouse a few times, smiling to himself as he read what was on the screen. The small gargoyle stood up from his chair, reaching to turn the computer off. He turned and exited the room, leaving the castle without saying a word to anybody. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk to anyone in the castle; it was just that the events of the past few weeks had created bad blood between he and Brooklyn. And everything was reminding him of Brooklyn, from Graeme and Ariana to items around the castle.

So he had been leaving early every night for the past few weeks. And no one seemed to say anything. But he didn't really care anymore. Where he was going would cheer him up, at least temporarily.

* * * * *

Lexington and Liz hugged each other lightly. The night was surprisingly quiet, and it would give the two friends time to talk.

"What's wrong, Lex?" Liz asked him as they sat down on an abandoned park bench. "You seem distracted."

Lexington sighed. "Just some clan stuff. I wouldn't think you'd want to hear about it."

"What else am I going to do?" Liz said jokingly.

The gargoyle smiled. "You know what happened to Brooklyn, don't you?"

"I know he's older than you and Broadway. You told me once that he just went away for a while, and came back with Sata and the children."

Lexington looked at his feet, contemplating exactly what he should tell her. "This is going to sound really weird," he told Liz.

She laughed. "Lex, I'm sitting here having a conversation with a creature of myth and legend. There's not a lot more that can surprise me."

"Right," Lexington said. "Basically, Brooklyn spent forty years traveling through time."

"Though time?" Liz asked, somewhat astonished.

"Bear with me here. Yeah, he went through time. The past, the future, different places in the present, he's seen it all. Sata is from feudal Japan and the kids were born in the distant future. You following me?"

Liz nodded. "Why'd he stay gone so long?"

"He says he didn't have a choice. Wherever he was put, he did something to help people, that type of thing. It was a mission, but in that mission he learned things." Lexington stopped for a moment.

"About the clan," Liz said, not asking.

"And other stuff." He nodded. "Point is, he knows stuff. He says that he can't remember specific stuff, but you can pick up things, from what the kids say mostly. And he hasn't come out with any of it. He says that he doesn't remember, but I know that's not true." Bitterness filled his voice. "Anyway, you know the other night, in the Labyrinth?" Lexington turned to look at her.

Liz simply nodded again. "I won't forget that for a long time."

"Well, Brooklyn went into shock, or delirium, or something like that. He said things about Broadway's daughter. Thing is, Broadway doesn't have a daughter, at least not yet. And I know he would have said more if the sun hadn't risen and healed him." Lexington's voice was shaky. "So, even before this, I knew. I knew that he knew something. About what was going to happen to me, about what I was going to become."

"And he didn't tell you," Liz said.

"Pretty much. But there's not a lot I can do about it now. What's done is done, and I know that. I'm just having a hard time even thinking about forgiving him."

"You can't change what's already happened, Lex," Liz told him.

"I've heard this before," Lexington said.

"No, hear me out. If Brooklyn did know about what was going to happen to you, and you sound pretty adamant about that, then to him, all of that has already happened. He can't change his past, what he did wrong or what he should've done right. All those opportunities are gone now. The fact that his past was your future shouldn't matter. You being angry at Brooklyn for not telling you about what's to come is the same as Goliath being angry at you for not being able to stop the massacre that brought you all here." They were both silent for a moment. "Did you understand my rambling at all?"

Lexington looked at Liz again, a look of understanding on his face. "As much as I can. I never thought of it that way before."

Silence stood between them for another moment.

"I know he has reasons for holding back. As much as I might understand them, as much as I might be able to forgive them, it's going to be a long time before I can trust him again," Lexington said finally.

"But not now?" Liz asked.

Lexington shook his head. "Not now."

Liz nodded. "I need to tell you something else now," she told him, looking straight at him.

"Sure, of course."

"It's pretty much why I wanted to meet you here, tonight. Lex," Liz sighed, "I'm going off to college. Soon, like within the next week."

Lexington stared into nothingness for a moment. Finally he said, "Where?"

"That's the worse part. It's in London."

To Lexington's own amazement, he smiled. "That's great." The gargoyle reached in to give her a hug.

"You're not upset," Liz said, surprised.

"No. Why would I be?" Lexington asked her. "I'd only be upset if you stayed here for a reason like me. You have great things in store for you, Liz. I'd hate to see that go to waste."

Liz smiled, pushing a strand of her short hair behind her ear. The two friends sat there, being exactly that: just friends. "So, what else is going on?"

"Not a lot. Goliath thinks that things are heating up again. When Matt was called back to Washington, it really got Goliath thinking. There are a lot of forces out there beyond his control, and that makes him irritated." Lexington stopped for a moment.

"He'll get better," Liz assured him.

* * * * *

"I know he will," Broadway said.

"Father just has a lot on his mind," Angela reiterated to her mate as they flew over the city. Goliath had sent them out on a quick sweep, and the two were almost ready to make their way back to the castle.

"More than I think he can handle. What do you think we should do about Brooklyn?" Broadway asked suddenly.

Angela looked towards him. "Why?"

"You said yourself Goliath has a lot on his mind. He hasn't been really paying attention to what's been going on with Brooklyn… or Lex," Broadway told her, recalling the night on patrol when their leader had simply told Lexington to deal with it. "So the way I see it," Broadway continued, "the Brooklyn issue falls to us."

"I thought we talked about this, though. You said you wanted to know more."

Broadway shook his head. "That's not what I said. I said that I thought I should be upset, but I wasn't. I'm still not upset about it."

"How could you not be?" Angela asked, a slight shock in her voice. "Brooklyn said something about our daughter. Don't you want to know what that is."

"No. No, I don't," he said firmly. "What would be the point of going on if we knew what was going to happen?"

"I just don't see it that way. If he knows that something bad is going to happen, he should share it. Maybe then we would be able to fix it before it breaks. If history can't be changed, what's the point in keeping the future a secret?"

"We'd lose hope. All of us would," Broadway told her. "You haven't even spoken to Brooklyn about this, have you?"

"Well, no," Angela admitted. "But Lex feels the same way I do. It's just that I don't have a reason to speak out against it yet. At least not yet. Why do you feel that way? Why shouldn't he tell us?"

Broadway sighed. "We were brought up differently, Angela. I've known Brooklyn longer -- we grew up together. He and Lex are the closest things I've ever had to brothers. The three of us together have been through more than you could ever know."

Angela didn't say anything in response. He continued, "Yes, I think Brooklyn knows things… specific things. But it's his and his family's business, no one else's. If the future is inevitable, then what's the point in trying to change it? If we don't have you know the future, then we're not missing out on anything."

For all their love, Broadway and Angela were very different characters. But true love always saw through that type of thing, whether they wanted it to or not.

"All I'm saying is that maybe we should know. It's clan business, he should share it," she said as both she and Broadway started to turn around back towards the castle.

"You've said that, dear," Broadway said. Angela was silent for the rest of the glide back to the castle. He could tell his love was clearly upset. Broadway scolded himself for carrying on like he did, but he thought Angela should know how he felt about things.

Once the two landed, Angela immediately turned away from her mate, not saying a word. "Angela," Broadway said. His love stopped, turned slowly, and glared at him.

"What?" she said.

"Don't you want to talk about this?"

Angela sighed. "Not now. I'm going to see my mother," she said. "Just… just lay off for a little while." She turned, that air of sweetness still in her voice. Broadway, understanding why she was angry, turned the opposite direction, heading towards the kitchen.

At the other end of the room, Brooklyn had gone unnoticed. He smiled, and made his way to the kitchen. He stood in the entranceway, where he saw Broadway making a super deluxe über sandwich. Shaking his head, Brooklyn entered. "What's going on?" he asked.

Broadway turned, a butter knife in his hand. "Nothing, Brooklyn, nothing." He turned again, working on his sandwhich.

"You don't want to talk about it?" the older gargoyle asked.

"No. It's nothing," Broadway looked up. "Really."

"Okay, I'm here, if you do decide you want to," Brooklyn offered, still looking right at his rookery brother. Broadway smiled, picking up his plate and heading towards the door.

"I know," Broadway returned. "I just want to be alone right now."

Brooklyn realized how different Broadway and Angela's relationship was from his own and Sata's. In the early years of their companionship, before they fell in love and were married, Brooklyn and Sata were forced to be together, whether they wanted to be or not. Years later, when Sata was left in the future, Brooklyn wanted nothing more than to be with her again. When he finally had returned to her, well… Brooklyn grimaced at the memories.

He moved out of Broadway's way as he exited the kitchen. He didn't know what their fight was about, but he could easily guess. If Broadway wasn't going to let Brooklyn help, maybe Angela would. She had said she was going to Demona's, which didn't bother Brooklyn. Not anymore.

Brooklyn left the castle, not bothering to tell anyone where he was going.

* * * * *

Lexington saw Brooklyn in the distance as he made his way back to the castle. He was grateful that they hadn't had to cross each other. Lex knew that he would have to talk to Brooklyn about what had happened, but he truthfully didn't want to do that anytime soon. For a moment, Lexington thought about where Brooklyn might be going, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He started thinking about Liz leaving, and sighed. She had become the only friend he could really trust, and it saddened him greatly to lose her. But at the same time he was happy for her. He was not her life, and she deserved to be someplace better than here. For all its beauty and history, Manhattan was an extremely dangerous place to live.

The small gargoyle made his way to his computer. He hadn't seen Goliath or Hudson all night and assumed they had gone out on patrol themselves. Things were heating up again: Brooklyn's shooting, Vlad, Thailog returning, all had put Goliath seriously on edge. He had been going out on patrol by himself lately, worrying where he hadn't been before. Goliath seemed to know where things were going, and didn't want to share the burden or responsibility with anyone else.

Before he got to his destination, Lexington caught a glimpse of Broadway coming out of the castle library. It was a nice night out, and Lexington had contemplated going out for a glide to get his mind off the other things in his life. Then he saw Broadway's face, which was a mix of anger and sadness. Lexington could only guess why.

"What's wrong?" Lexington asked once he reached his rookery brother.

Broadway looked up, and shook his head. "Nothing. Just stuff," he said.

"Marital problems?" Lexington asked, guessing.

"Something like that," Broadway said, stubbornness in his voice.

"Want to go for a glide?" Lexington asked. "Get your mind off things?"

"No. No, I just…" Broadway's voice trailed off, still angry. But he was mad at Angela, not Lexington. "Yeah, sure. That'd be nice. We don't get time to just hang out."

"Let's go," he said. Lexington suddenly remembered the weeks after they had first awakened in Manhattan. Were they ever that young and naïve, wanting only to find out everything they could about this new world? He remembered that night when he accidentally destroyed a man's motorcycle and laughed at himself.

How things had changed since then.

* * * * *

Angela brought herself down into the walkways of the Labyrinth, taking in the stale, recycled air with a deep breath. She looked around, her eyes adjusting quickly to the low unnatural light. Her mind reeled back to her fight with Broadway. She had come down here to try and forget about him, but it was near impossible to do so.

Up ahead she saw a feline figure. From its size, she figured it was Maggie, and raised her hand to wave.

"Hi, Angela," Maggie greeted warmly. "Is there trouble?"

Angela shook her head. "No, no. I just needed some fresh air."

"This isn't the best place to come for that," Maggie joked with her.

The gargoyle smiled. "This seemed like as good a place as any to go," she said.

"Marriage problems?" Maggie asked, not really expecting to guess what the trouble was. She knew she was right when Angela hung her head, not laughing at the question. "I was joking," Maggie added.

"I know. It's just… stuff," Angela told her.

"Trust me, I understand. Want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really. I just need to walk awhile. Get my mind off things."

"Okay. Mind if I join you?"

Angela shook her head. "Of course not. I'd enjoy that."

The two started walking. "You know he loves you, right? No matter what, he'll always love you," Maggie told her.

Angela nodded. As they walked, the two females ended up talking to each other for most of the night.

* * * * *

It was dark. Brooklyn could see fine without very much light, but he was older than he used to be. He held in a mild cry as he stumped his toe on a table leg. His mind suddenly focused on one of his early dances, when he had encountered Demona on a ship bound for Scotland. It was dark then, as well. She was a different person then, though he still hated her with everything he had. Years later, after he had been through so much, he finally had learned to forgive her.

Brooklyn's eyes had adjusted somewhat to the light, but it didn't help him that he didn't know his way around. Obviously, no one was in this area of the house, especially not Angela. Brooklyn heard a click and turned around quickly as light flooded the room. The décor of the room was still dark, but at least he could see a lot better than before.

Demona stood in the doorway, looking at Brooklyn. Her shock was noticeable, and Brooklyn was suddenly at a loss for words. "What do you want, Brooklyn?" she asked, her voice stern.

"I was looking for Angela," he told her simply.

"She's… she's not here." Brooklyn realized that he had never heard Demona stutter before, especially not when speaking to him. "Why?" she asked.

"She and Broadway had a fight," he said, taking in his surroundings. "He didn't want to talk, so I thought I'd come see what it was about."

"Don't you think that it's their business?" Demona asked, clearly becoming more annoyed at his presence in her home.

"Not necessarily," Brooklyn answered, looking out the balcony window from which he entered. He turned back to Demona, looking into her eyes.

"What?" she asked, after a long period of silence.

"You think you've redeemed yourself, don't you?" Brooklyn asked.

Demona took a small step back. "I'm sorry?"

"You're getting along well with the clan. Angela and Goliath have accepted you again because you're not trying to kill the same people we're trying to protect. All is well. Right?" Brooklyn said, walking closer to the older gargoyle as he did.

Demona looked at him. "Get out," she said.

Brooklyn stood his ground. "Why? Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

"Not in the least. You still don't trust me for what happened with Goliath. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that was over forty years ago for you, right?"

"Something like that. But you're wrong. I forgave you a long time ago, Demona. I was scared, alone, tired, and then I met you in the future. I know what happens. Well, most of it."

Demona was silent. Brooklyn couldn't tell if she wanted to speak or not, so he continued. "I know at some point, probably very soon, the little facade you've set up for everyone to believe is going to come falling down on you, and you are going to look at everything, and realize you have nothing."

"Facade?" Demona repeated. "How dare you." Her eyes glowed a deep red.

Brooklyn simply smiled. "See? Exactly my point." Demona stood back, her eyes back to their normal color. "I know it's an act. Everything good that's happened to you since Angela came here was just handed to you. Though she'll never admit it, her friendship is there because she wants it to be, not because she thinks you've changed. But I know what you feel, how you act, what you're doing. And it won't last for much longer. Angela will stop trusting you, so will Goliath. And one day, after everything you thought you had comes crashing down on you so fast you won't know how to stop it until it's to late, the entire world will hate you for you've done."

"Why are you telling me this?!" Demona yelled at him, breaking his speech.

"Because when that day comes, I don't want you hating the entire world back. I want you to know that I've already forgiven you. And no matter what you've done or what you will do to me or anyone else, that I am your friend, even if you might not believe it now."

Demona breathed in deeply. She closed her eyes, and in the moment Brooklyn could not tell what she was thinking. "Leave," she said finally.

"If that's what you want," Brooklyn told her.

"Now!" she screamed.

Brooklyn turned, exited though the window. Once he was gone, Demona sat in one of the chairs in the room. She held her face in her hands, but she did not cry, not at first. She thought about Angela, and how for centuries she would never have believed that she could have survived the massacre at Wyvern. She thought about when she had first seen her daughter in Paris -- when she was with Thailog and Macbeth; how for a long time after they had met, Angela must have thought the worst about her; and how Angela never would have joined in her mother's campaign to take out the human race -- even if she had endured the same life as Demona herself. Then she thought about when Angela came to her after the last time she had tried to kill the human Elisa Maza -- her daughter had told her that if she ever harmed any member in her clan again, including Elisa, that she would never talk to her mother again; never come to visit with her or laugh or cry or to ask for help with matters she knew nothing about; never come to tell her about the wonderful life she had made for herself. A life that was so much better than hers.

After she had thought about all those things, only then did Demona cry.

* * * * *

It was still dark, but the lights and sounds of the city illuminated the darkness. Lexington and Broadway flew across the city, and as hard as they tried, they could not let their guard down for very long. Their conversation had consisted of numerous things: their childhood, Angela, things they didn't normally get to talk about. They were enjoying their time together, as it was something they didn't get to do very often.

That was then the two of them saw another winged figure in the sky. Lexington immediately recognized Brooklyn. He landed on a nearby rooftop, and Broadway and Lex followed.

"What are you doing here?" Lexington asked him.

"Just out for a glide. Checking things out," Brooklyn told him.

"Same here," Broadway said.

"Mind if I join you?" Brooklyn asked Lexington.

The small gargoyle turned and made his way towards the edge of the building.

"Lex, wait," Brooklyn called out. Lexington stopped for moment, and Brooklyn ran to him. "We have to talk about this, now," he said.

"Fine, let's talk about it. Did you know about Madoc and what he was going to do?" Lexington asked.

"Lex – "

"Just answer me. Did you know what was going to happen?"

Brooklyn sighed. "Kind of. I didn't know about Madoc or what he was going to do to the city. But… in a way… I knew what was going to happen to you. But I didn't know how it happened until he had already done it to you."

"What do you mean 'in a way'? You told me. You told me that you knew what was going to happen to a friend of yours, but you couldn't tell them because it would change the present," Lexington said.

"I remember that day," Brooklyn said.

"So do I," Lexington told him bitterly. "Was it me?"

"Yes. I was talking about you. I was talking about what was going to happen to you. But Lex, you have to understand that if I warned you, my children might not be here with me today. I might not even be here today," Brooklyn admitted.

"But you said that Graeme and Ariana were born in the distant future," Broadway spoke up, stepping forward into the conversation.

"I did. And they were. Listen to me, I cannot go into the details. I can't risk it. And if you can't accept that, then I'm sorry." Brooklyn was looking at Lexington. "Not warning you to watch out was one of the hardest thing I've ever had to do, next to having to leave Sata years ago."

Lexington looked at the ground. "I think that I forgave you earlier tonight, Brooklyn. I just don't know if I'm going to be able to trust you again, and that thought pains me."

"Trust takes time, Lex. I understand if you can't trust me."

"I just don't want anyone else to be hurt. Not Broadway or Angela or anyone else. If you know something that can help them that won't hurt the future, shouldn't you let them know?" Lexington asked.

"Lex, peace comes from the pain we endure. I've seen the pain and I've seen the peace. They run hand in hand, and you can't skip one to get to the other," Brooklyn said. He saw Broadway nod, and turned his head to speak to him. "Yes, you and Angela have children. You have wonderful, smart children who will end up changing the future for the better. But that's all I can afford to tell you."

"I'm okay with that," Broadway said simply.

"I guess I am too," Lexington admitted. "I'm as okay with it as I can be."

"That's all I can ask for," Brooklyn told him, smiling. "On another matter, the kids and I have been working on something for the past few weeks."

"Something like what?" Broadway asked.

"You'll see. Let's go, the night's still young." Brooklyn took to the air and the other two followed. As they flew, he realized that their friendship had not died, but was starting to bloom again.

* * * * *

Fifteen minutes later, the sound of a storeroom door opening was extremely loud in the quiet night. Broadway looked around nervously to make sure no one had heard Brooklyn slide the door open, and was not paying attention when the lights came on inside.

"Don't worry," he heard Brooklyn tell him. "This part of town is nearly deserted this time of night."

Broadway nodded, turning to look inside the room. He saw Lexington looking over what appeared to be a brand new motorcycle, almost exactly like the one they had destroyed upon arriving in Manhattan nearly six years ago.

"This is amazing," Lexington said, turning around to look at Brooklyn. "How'd you get this?"

"I was able to get it through Xanatos a little over a year ago. It was torn down and the mechanics were stripped down. He said it only cost him fifty dollars, and it was nothing. Anyways, he let me keep it here for a while, and after the Unseelie ordeal, the twins and I started working on it every few nights. It runs like a beauty, just needs a paint job. Hope this makes up for the one I blew up." Brooklyn grinned.

"Can I… um…" Lexington started, his voice ecstatic.

"Ride it?" Brooklyn finished for him. "Of course." He smiled.

Lexington climbed on, pulling his wings behind him. He turned the key, started the engine, and listened to the motor purr in the night. He smiled, more to himself than to Brooklyn or Broadway.

Broadway blinked, and Lexington was gone, on his way into the street. "That was a good thing you did," he told Brooklyn.

"At the time, he really needed something to cheer him up. I suppose he still does. I hope it helps."

* * * * *

Brooklyn and Broadway followed their rookery brother from the air, just in case any trouble came his way. As luck would have it, the trio heard an explosion in the distance not an hour into the joyride. Lexington pulled the bike into an alley, shut off the engine, and made sure to take the key with him. He quickly latched onto the side of a building and made his way to the top, signaling for the other two to land.

"Where'd it come from," Brooklyn asked as soon as they were on the roof.

"Maybe where that smoke is rising into the air," Broadway said. Brooklyn looked to where he was pointing, and saw a large cloud of smoke rising into the sky, with no fire underneath it.

"Funny," Brooklyn commented at his rookery brother's sarcasm.

"Well, I try," Broadway said idly.

"Let's go, see what's happening," Brooklyn ordered the other two.

The three gargoyles took to the air, making the currents take them straight to the source of the smoke. The top of the building was triangular shaped, and the trio positioned themselves away from the smoke. Through a thick plane of glass on the roof, Broadway was the first to notice the feminine figure lurking inside.

"Yakuza?" he proposed to the other two.

Brooklyn shook his head. "Not their style. Sata and I have patrolled this area before. I think this place is a biochemical warehouse, so there's not any money in there," he told them. "This was done by somebody in a hurry and who didn't care who saw them, probably because they could easily escape."

Lexington nodded. "But they're after something, all right," he noted. The small gargoyle's eyes suddenly went white. "It can't be," he said to himself.

"Lex? What?" Brooklyn asked.

"I think I know who it is," Lexington said. "Look."

The three turned their attention towards the front of the building, and saw the same feminine figure running out of the warehouse with a trail of smoke behind her. She made her way to a nearby alley, carrying something in her arms.

"Hyena?" Broadway asked in astonishment, catching a good glimpse of the figure.

Eyes filled with rage, Lexington took to the air once again, letting out a tremendous battle cry as he did so. "Lex, no!" Brooklyn and Broadway yelled in unison.

Sighing, the two followed Lexington, who had been noticed by Hyena in the alleyway. "Some things never change," Brooklyn grumbled as an alarm finally sounded from the warehouse.

Lexington finally caught up with his enemy, tackling her to the ground, the vial in her hands tumbling towards the ground. "No!" she yelled, but the vial stayed intact.

On his feet, Lexington growled, "Get up."

Slowly, Hyena got to her feet, her breathing harsh and labored. "What do you want from me?" she asked, not making an attempt to fight back.

"Why aren't you fighting?" Lexington asked her, not noticing Brooklyn and Broadway landing behind him.

"Why do you keep coming after me?" Hyena yelled between breaths. "What did I ever do to you?"

Lexington almost laughed in surprised at the question. "You know full well how you betrayed me!" The small gargoyle's eyes were still a bright white. He plunged towards Hyena again, taking her to the ground. He slashed at her face and her flesh with his talons, bringing blood as he did.

She didn't fight back.

Lexington stopped, grabbing the vial behind her. The dark red of the liquid inside was almost black in the night. "What's wrong with you?" he asked.

Hyena was holding a cut portion of her arm in her hand as she got back to her feet. This time, she had to lean against a wall to keep from falling.

Breathing heavily, she said, "I'm dying, you little rat."

"But – " Lexington started.

Hyena cut him off. "No one I've been able to talk to knows what it is or knows how to help me." She took a breath. Let it out. "On the upside, you may get the same problem as me one of these days. You're not exactly on the up-and-up when it comes to being completely flesh and blood, anymore. Come to think of it, we're a lot alike, don't you think?" Hyena sneered.

Lexington was frozen, her words striking hard. "Lex," he heard Broadway's voice. "Come on. Let's go home."

"You… you're lying," Lexington stuttered. "You're not even human anymore. What could be killing you?"

"Like I said, rat, no one can tell me. I even went to Fox this morning to see if she would help. Miss I've-turned-my-life-around-and-you're-still-evil flat out refused me," Hyena admitted.

"You went to Fox?" Lexington asked in shock.

"Are you deaf? Yes, I went to her." She was still breathing heavily.

Lexington let out a scream of rage and gripped the building next to him. He started to climb up towards the roof. "Leaving so soon?" Hyena called after him.

"Watch her. Find out what you can," Brooklyn told Broadway as he followed Lexington. The larger gargoyle nodded. He slowly walked up to her, saw the hate and agony in her eyes, and kicked her to the ground. Hyena landed with a hard crash, and Broadway put his foot on her stomach to keep her still.

"Lex has the subconscious notion that if he kills you, then he'll have nothing to hate anymore. But I don't. So you have something to fear in me. Now, tell me the truth." Broadway stared right into her eyes.

"I wasn't lying before. I'm dying. Something biological, I think. But I'm not sure. It could be Madoc's implants. And in that case, your friend is going to have some trouble up his alley in a couple of years, if that long. You know –" She stopped at the pain of Broadway pressing on her stomach. The large gargoyle growled, realizing that he wouldn't get anything out of her tonight.

Broadway looked down on Hyena, his foot still on her stomach. He could tell she was much weaker than she had ever been before. "If you're honestly dying, I won't fight you. Even you deserve that much," he told her. "This deal is only good once, though. Understand?"

The gargoyle didn't hear the metallic footsteps behind him. "Will you settle for me instead," he heard a raspy voice say. Broadway turned around quickly, seeing Jackal standing right behind him

"I would have come sooner, Sis, but there were too many of them," Jackal said as Broadway prepared for a battle. Hyena managed to pull herself to her feet and made sure she was out harm's way.

"How long have you been here?" Broadway asked.

"That's really not important," Jackal said, launching himself at the large gargoyle. He managed to cut Broadway's chest deeply, and the gargoyle groaned at the pain and grabbed his enemy's metal arm, flinging him into the nearest wall.

Jackal hit the brick with a metallic thump and fell to the ground. Broadway's eyes glowed a bright white. "Leave now, and we won't have to do this," he said.

"But that'd wouldn't be very fun, now would it?" Jackal was back on his feet, and slashed Broadway across his arm. Surprised, the gargoyle yelled in pain and he grabbed the wound. Jackal kicked at his stomach, then smashed the side of Broadway's head with the back of his hand. The impact made a loud cracking sound.

Broadway fell to the ground.

Jackal ran over to Hyena, helping her fully to her feet. "Did you kill him?" she asked. Jackal looked back at the gargoyle. He was moving, slowly, trying to get back to his feet.

"Come on, Sis. Let's get out of here before he gets back up." Arms around his sister, Jackal's implanted jetpack turned on. The two rose into the air and off into the night.

At the same time, Broadway was trying to push himself back up. His head throbbed, and he couldn't see very well. Back on his feet, Broadway looked up at the sky and saw his enemies reach a hover jet directly above his head. He rubbed the spot on his head and realized that Lexington and Brooklyn had already left and probably weren't coming back.

Alone, he began to make his way back to the castle.

* * * * *

Lexington landed back at the castle first. Goliath was there to greet him.

"Where have you been?" he asked the smaller gargoyle.

"Out," Lexington answered. "I have to do something, then I'll fill you in." He walked past Goliath and into the inner halls of the castle.

Then he saw who he was looking for and walked up to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lexington demanded.

"Tell you what?" Fox asked, honestly not sure what he was talking about.

"About Hyena. She said that she came to you this morning. She said she was dying. Is that even true?" Lexington was near screaming.

Fox hung her head. "Yes, it's true. I looked at the doctor's reports myself. We… they don't know what it is yet, but she's breaking down inside. She's not human anymore, Lex. I thought this would be something you would welcome. You hate her."

"I do hate her. But I'm not exactly all gargoyle anymore either. We were changed by the same person, Fox. What was she doing here?" Lexington asked her.

"She wanted me to help her find a way to help her. She thought I had the resources to do so," Fox told him.

"And what did you tell her?"

"I turned her down," Fox answered after a time. "It's not my place to help, and I knew you or the others would never forgive me if I did."

"And why didn't you tell me when I first woke up tonight? I had a right to know."

"I… I don't know," Fox admitted.

Lexington breathed deeply and walked away. He didn't want to look at Fox for a long, long time.

* * * * *

"You're hurt," Brooklyn said as Broadway landed. His Second-in-Command hadn't been there for very long, and Broadway saw Goliath was standing next to him, his arms crossed in a manner that meant that he was looking for some answers. Broadway had cuts and bruises on his arms and chest, and a large bruise on the side of his head, but it was nothing he considered serious.

"I'll be fine," he said. "How long until the sun comes up?" he asked, moving his shoulder in circles to try and dim the pain.

"Half an hour, perhaps. Brooklyn, what happened tonight?" Goliath asked him.

Brooklyn sighed, and turned to Goliath with a somber expression.

"Things have changed."

THE END.

Read the next story