Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

January 10th, 1997

Brooklyn wasn’t sure how long he had been flying blindly through the city. He lost track of all the buildings he weaved around and how many times he scrambled up buildings to gain height so he could keep gliding, claws digging into the stone and metal of the skyscrapers. The only thing he was conscious of was the throbbing in his ribs and the cut below his right eye.

Where was he supposed to go? How did he even get here? One of his best friends blamed him for what Coldsteel made him do. Teamed up with his mate against him. And then his leader, his father, cast him out. Struck him like another enemy to defeat. Where was he supposed to go? Who would even want him?

By the time Brooklyn snapped out of the roiling storm within him, he had fallen hands and knees into an unfamiliar dark alley. There was musty, dank water dripping from exposed pipes on the walls. There were no lights within the alley; only the distant streetlights in the opening were the only illumination. No one else was there, and the loneliness only enhanced the gloom. A fitting place for Brooklyn right now.

The red gargoyle didn't climb to his feet, too exhausted from his frantic flight. He simply curled into a ball along the wall, hugging his knees while he sat. The adrenaline had worn off, leaving only an empty numbness. It just didn’t feel real. After everything he went through with the clan, everything he suffered, they couldn’t just throw him away like this. Right?

It was supposed to be a simple patrol. Even with Lexington and Hudson going to London with Macbeth, it should have been a walk in the park. Sure, things hadn’t been the best with Goliath since…. Really, ever since he came back from Avalon, this was his chance to fix that! They could start to grow as close as they once were while Brooklyn trained to become the leader he was supposed to be.

Brooklyn’s heart had sunk when Angela and Broadway basically invited themselves onto the mission. The whole reason Brooklyn had suggested this patrol mission was so he and Goliath could train together. Brooklyn had been overjoyed when the clan’s mighty leader, his practical mate, and their loyal hound finally returned after being missing for months, and with a beautiful gargoyle female the same age as the Trio no less. But that happiness soon soured when Oberon attacked Xanatos. Not because of the harrowing battle against a god who was so far above the clan that they might as well have been ants trying to slay a dinosaur. No. It was Goliath’s reason for helping the man who had done nothing but hurt them all and who, quite frankly, shouldn’t be trusted with a child, let alone one with magical powers.

“I know from experience the transforming power of a child’s love…” he had said. Looking at Angela.

 Only at Angela. Not Brooklyn, Broadway, or Lexington. The woman he had only met half a year ago had been the one to show him that… not the three of them who had been with him their whole lives. Fought with him. Bleed for him. Goliath had raised the three of them with all his other mothers and fathers, as was the Gargoyle Way. After the Wyvern Massacre, he was the only father he had.

But at that moment, Brooklyn realized all that meant nothing to Goliath.

Since then, Goliath poured all his attention into Angela rather than doing anything to make up for the time lost with the family he was separated from for months. His “real” child. Most of the time, it was like the Trio wasn’t even there, and it only confirmed what Brooklyn concluded from the fight with Oberon (although calling that struggle a “fight” was a strong word). Where Goliath had called after Angela being chased while Brooklyn was being strangled by a statue. Brooklyn, despite all of his efforts to keep the clan safe and together, all of his efforts to follow Goliath’s wishes, meant nothing to his leader.

The Coldsteel incident had only made things worse. Just as the Trio had found reasonable boundaries with Angela and they had been starting to settle into the new dynamics, Puck, and Coldstone came and set a bomb on everything. The war of the three souls inside of Coldstone had been a thorn in their sides for the past few years, so when "Goliath" had stepped forth with a solution, they were all eager to pitch in however they could. "Goliath," who had actually been Puck, had said if there were volunteers to host Coldstone and his wife, they could place those souls inside living hosts temporarily, remove the evil soul from Coldstone’s mechanical body to dissipate, and then put the souls back. Brooklyn had volunteered along with Broadway and Angela, even though he knew there only needed to be two volunteers for the spell, to look good in front of Angela, and because he genuinely wanted to do what he could to solve the issue.

But instead of the conflicted soul of the warrior who risked his life to save Goliath, he got the enemy. The one who tried to kill them all multiple times over a woman who would never love him. The one who slithered into his body like a snake, filling his body to his limps and fingers like a glove to make him his puppet. The one who trapped him in his body and made him watch as he plotted against his family, struck them, tried to kill them.

He could still remember the whispers in his ears the whole time. The breath of the one who would be called Coldsteel down his neck as he laughed at Brooklyn's attempts to fight him off. How cute he had found Brookyln's struggles and how it made his "conquest" all the sweeter. How happy he would make Brooklyn, how alike they were. How strong they were together. How he would help him get the girl he wanted. He would never be alone again. All he had to do was submit….

But despite the fact that Coldsteel had made him do horrible things, Broadway and Angela seemed to hold everything that had happened against Brooklyn. At first, Brooklyn had brushed it off as the initial shock of the event making things awkward, but when the two of them kept giving him the cold shoulder over the course of months, it became clear they blamed him for what Coldsteel had made him do.

And yet, despite the uncomfortable tension between them all…. The two gargoyles wouldn’t leave Brooklyn alone either! They were always just… right there in his periphery. Not interacting with him but with each other. They were being a lovey, Dovey couple, and it was as if they were rubbing their relationship in his face because both knew Brooklyn had been interested in Angela! The Keyword was "had been"because between this passive-aggressive treatment over something that wasn't his fault and the way she wrapped Goliath around her finger…. Any attraction Brooklyn had had was starting to be replaced with resentment.

Even with that anger and his desperation to please Goliath, Brooklyn knew that the tension between the three of them would make for a very volatile mission, and he tried to persuade Goliath to come with him alone. Unfortunately, it only took some pleading from his seemingly only child for Brooklyn’s leader to overrule him and let the lovebirds in on the patrol. After all, the more the merrier, right?

Wrong.

A speeding car made Brooklyn jump behind a dumpster to avoid being seen. His ribs practically screamed in painful protest as he landed on the spot that was hit earlier. Fuck. It was definitely broken…

They had to pursue the arms dealer without getting caught and pounce at the right moment to catch him. The most basic thing an evolved predator species like a gargoyle could do. They should have had it in the bag. But while Brooklyn was focusing on actually trying to catch the guy, Broadway and Angela were flirting with each other and paying no mind to the fact that they were supposed to be quiet. Despite that, Brooklyn found just the right moment to strike. He almost had it…. But just as he was about to pounce, he looked to see where his so-called allies were, only to find Broadway and Angela kissing.

That sudden sight distracted Brooklyn into tripping over his pounce and tumbling into the alley right into a dumpster. Needless to say, the perp spotted the garbage-covered gargoyle and took off. Before any of the others could catch him, he ran into a building and screamed about how the "monsters" were after him, and all four gargoyles had to bail before the Quarrymen made it there.

Everything happened so fast after that…. Goliath lying into him about his failure and ‘lack of discipline’. Brooklyn had gotten defensive, telling Goliath that if anyone had lacked discipline it had been Broadway and Angela for sucking face in the middle of a mission. That had riled up the two lovebirds, causing them to lash out at him and say he should have been paying attention to the quarry instead of looking on in jealousy. And, of course, Goliath said nothing about that deliberate pettiness on their parts and just jumped in on the “Let’s all get Brooklyn!” bandwagon and said he "had to be better." As if he hadn't spent almost a year leading the clan while Goliath was on vacation in Avalon. Brooklyn snapped back, yelling at Angela and Broadway for blaming him for their own irresponsibility, at Goliath for constantly coddling and favoring Angela when the Trio were supposed to be his children too. They had all gone at it for a while, trading verbal blows and digging up past failings that he thought had long been buried. Things went to a head when Angela brought up the Coldsteel incident, saying that Brooklyn had invited that monster in, that he had LET him use him as a weapon against the clan, and that he wanted to use that situation to get her for himself. Brooklyn saw red at that, snapping that he HATED Angela and wished Goliath had never met her.

A roar from Goliath, followed by a flurry of fists and claws. A futile resistance from the second in command. Brooklyn being pounded so hard into the roof they were fighting on that he fell through the crumbling floor. A frantic dive through a window followed by a desperate flight away from that horrible place.

Brooklyn’s moan of pain turned into a sob of sorrow. Why? What had he done!? What had he done to deserve this!? It wasn’t enough that all his mothers, fathers, and siblings had to die all those centuries ago? No! Demona had to choose him to enact her scheme to brainwash Goliath! Maggie had to call him a monster despite his every attempt to help her and keep her safe! Coldsteel had to possess him and utterly rape his free will to use him as a weapon! His attempts to get Angela to acknowledge him had backfired so spectacularly that she, Goliath, and Broadway can’t even look at him! They'd surely tell Lexington and Hudson when they got back from London tonight and, with Elisa, kick him out of the clan officially! He still couldn't believe those two wanted to spend Christmas with strangers rather than their own family! Because they “felt like part of a clan again”! Yeah, thanks for telling the clan back home how you actually feel!

Every time he had busted his butt for the clan, for the humans who would never be grateful for the help of Gargoyles, everyone spat his efforts back in his face. Just… why was he even here? If everyone was just going to hate him no matter what and grind him into the dirt over everything…. Should he just disappear?

“Lad, are you hurt?”

Brooklyn's sobs stopped immediately, and he jumped up from his seat to look at the source of the new voice. It was hard to make it out against the tears still in his eyes, but the voice had come from a small red figure standing before him. Brooklyn hadn't even noticed them approach….

“Who are you?!” Brooklyn growled on instinct, wiping the tears from his eyes. “What are you doing?!”

"Asking if you are hurt," the figure said, almost amused. “You were crying quite loudly.” The figure was short, even shorter than Lexington, so they had to be a kid. They were dressed entirely in red robes with golden honeycomb patterns at the bottom and wore a large red and yellow fez-like hat that had a blue cloth covering the figure’s face. The hat band appeared to be made of a thick jade ring with a large eye in front. Brooklyn could swear he saw the eye move….

“What, that funny to you?” Brooklyn retorted, feeling like he was being mocked.

The masked figure shook their head. “I find no amusement in the suffering of others.”

“Why do you even want to know?” Brooklyn asked. “Who are you?”

The masked figure cocked its head. Then, without warning, it pulled the cloth covering its face up. Even in the dim light of the alley, Brooklyn could see its face was not human. Instead, it resembled a feline with white fur on the face. Brooklyn could even see pointy ears on the top of their head, folded under their hat.

"A kindred spirit," the catlike youth answered with a calm smile, opening their round eyes to reveal completely colorless irises. “Please…. Let me help you as your noble kind helps the apemen.”

The guard that Brooklyn had kept dropped slightly. “Another one of Xanatos’s mutates”

The cat man shook his head. "No. I am no artificial creation. I was born like this, as was the rest of my kind.”

"Never seen something like you," Brooklyn sighed, sitting against the wall. "Naturally anyway. The humans give you shit too?”

The cat chuckled. "On the contrary, there was a time when the apemen considered my kind gods.”

“Apemen?”

“Our name for humans.”

“Ah. Well, if you guys were gods, you a member of the Third Race?”

“No.”

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow. “If you aren’t that or a mutate, then what could you be?”

The cat turned around and stepped towards a door in the side wall. “Why don’t you follow me into my shop? We can discuss things there.” The cat cocked its head at Brooklyn. “Unless you like sitting in the alleys in this part of town?”

Brooklyn cringed, mind filling with images of thugs with bats and knives for a split second. “Actually, your shop sounds lovely….” He frowned. “Uuhhhhhh….”

"Ji," the cat said as they opened the door. "Call me Ji. And before you ask, I am a man."

Brooklyn tried to stifle a laugh. “You get that question a lot?”

"Yes," Ji replied bluntly as Brooklyn stepped through the door.

As he entered the shop, the smell of incense and candles filled Brooklyn's nostrils. It was a small, single-floor place with wooden flooring and walls. The lighting was almost as dim as the outside alley, with the only illumination being some candles placed on the glass displays and on golden plates hanging from the ceiling and walls. In those displays were an eclectic collection of things like jewelry, tapered candles, tarot cards, and strange, leatherbound books.

"This some kind of occult shop?" Brooklyn asked. Ji went behind the counter to get something.

“A magic shop," Ji replied, coming to Brooklyn with a cloth… and a first-aid kit? “I provide all sorts of good here, along with fortune telling. It all depends on the needs of the client, really. Bend down for me.” Brooklyn obeyed, and Ji started wiping the wound on his face with the cloth.

“H-hey-!” Brooklyn protested.

"Hush," Ji replied, cleaning the wound on Brooklyn's face. “I won’t have a client bleeding in my shop.”

“I-I’m not a client?" Brooklyn countered half-heartedly, unsure what to think of someone treating his wound without prompting.

“Any person in need that comes into my shop is a client.” Ji said, rubbing in what Brooklyn assumed to be medicine from the first-aid kit on the wound. “Regardless of species or needs.”

“I see….” Brooklyn replied awkwardly. “Thanks?”

“Anytime. Now hold still. I need to bind your ribs. It’s obvious from the way you’re holding them at least one is broken.”

“…Okay.” Brooklyn let the cat man do so, only wincing slightly as Ji tightened white bindings around his ribs. The gargoyle wasn't sure what was more surprising: the fact this stranger seemed to care enough about him to mend his wounds, how Ji didn’t have given his species a second thought, or how obviously experienced with this sort of thing Ji seemed to be.

Just… who was this guy? And, more importantly, what was his end goal?

“There we are.” Ji said as he tightened the last bandage around Brooklyn. To Brooklyn’s relief, the throbbing had ceased, and the aches were far less painful. “Just be sure to leave them on until the next sunrise. You should make a full recovery then.”

“You seem to be familiar with that aspect of our biology…” Brooklyn said curiously.

“I’ve been alive long enough to have been around the block, so to speak," Ji said, putting his first aid kit back behind the counter.

“Right….” Brooklyn said doubtfully as he got up. “Well… Thanks a lot, but… I should really get out of your hair. I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality….”

“Oh, perish the thought!” Ji laughed. “Fate has brought you here for a reason, Brooklyn, even if you don’t know why yet.”

Brooklyn stopped dead. “How do you know my name?”

Ji stared through Brooklyn with those penetrating, colorless eyes. “How indeed, young gargoyle?”

"I'm serious," Brooklyn growled. "I am not in the mood to be fucked with right now!”

"Please calm yourself," Ji said, not reacting to Brooklyn's irritation. "If I wanted to harm you, I would have done so while you were wounded, no?”

“Then what do you want?” Brooklyn demanded.

"Like I said," Ji said, walking to another pile on the other side of the counter that Brooklyn couldn’t see. “To help you. And to that end…. I have a gift for you. Two of them, in fact.”

With that, Ji placed a leatherbound book almost as big as the catman on the counter. It had no title but was red with silver and gold spiral patterns engraved on the cover and spine. Brooklyn hesitated momentarily before taking it off the counter and flipping through the pages. He didn't read much but could see various inked pictures and words written in Latin inside. It… it reminded Brooklyn of the Grimorum Arcanorum.

“What the…?” Brooklyn asked aloud.

“The Grimorum Revolutionis.” Ji replied as he kept shuffling around the pile in the back. “Not quite as complete as the Grimorum Arcanorum, nor as powerful. But it certainly gets the job done and can provide beginners with the means to start on their journeys. For your purposes, I’d pay particular attention to the Sanctuary spell.”

“The what?” Brooklyn asked, confused.

“The Sanctuary spell. Purifies most diseases and curses, including vampirism and lycanthropy. Trust me, where you’re going, you’ll need it. After some modifications, of course.”

Brooklyn’s head snapped to the cat man. “Where I’m going? Wha-?” And Brooklyn’s blood froze at the sight of what Ji held in his hands. It was an amulet shaped like a small golden shield with a turquoise-colored inset and a phoenix in gold. Brooklyn had only seen it a handful of times, but he would recognize that amulet anywhere.

The Phoenix Gate. One of the three Keys to Power that allowed the user to travel through time and space.

Before Brooklyn could even react, Ji tossed it at Brooklyn. "Good luck," he said as the amulet clattered to the ground. In an instant, the amulet disintegrated and then exploded. From the fiery ashes, a bird of flames erupted forth with a deafening screech and lunged at Brooklyn.

The last thing Brooklyn thought before he was engulfed in flames was, "What did I do to deserve this?!"

….

            When Goliath’s vision cleared from the blood flowing through his skull, he saw the crumbled and bleeding form of Brooklyn meter below him from a hole in the ceiling that he had made. There was a claw mark under his eye, and he was heaving through what must have been a broken rib. The sheer horror of the sight brought the giant gargoyle to his knees, bile filling his throat as the fact that he was responsible for this struck him so hard he couldn’t even hear the panicked and anguished cries of Broadway and Angela. But before any of them could do anything, the red youth stomped to his feet, arm crossed over his chest. His eyes met Goliath’s, and the complete panic and sorrow on Brooklyn’s face tore the leader’s heart in two. Then, Brooklyn threw himself out a nearby window so fast that he started flying before the glass hit the floor.

            Goliath shouted, attempting to take off after his son, but unfortunately, Broadway had the same idea, and they tripped over each other. When the two men got back on their feet, Brooklyn was out of sight. He was too fast for them to catch up to now.

            “Damn it!” Goliath growled, slamming his fist onto the roof so hard it cracked. “Why?!”

            “You tell me, Goliath!” Broadway snapped, eyes glowing white in rage. “What the hell where you thinking? There was no need to go that far!”

            Goliath whirled around to face the blue gargoyle. “Do not lay the blame on me alone! You agitated the conflict just as much as I did! You tore him apart with words as you would have with claws!”

            “You agreed with everything I said!” Broadway retorted. “Otherwise, why didn’t you stop me?”

            “Stop it!” Angela cried, stepping between her father and her mate to force them apart. “This arguing is not helping anyone, least of all Brooklyn! We need to find him at once and make this right!”

            “You really think he’s in any mood to listen to us?” Broadway replied, voice strained but calming down as the white in his eyes dimmed.

            Angela gave a shaky sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t know Broadway, but we still have to find him! With the Quarrymen about, he’ll be in danger all by himself. He’s still clan, even if he helped Coldsteel hurt us.”

            “Angela is right," Goliath said, giving a sigh of his own as the glow in his eyes faded. “We hurt him, and only we can make it right.” Goliath swallowed as images of another gargoyle filled his mind. A female gargoyle with blue skin and red hair. “We have to, before it’s too late. We can’t lose more of our clan…”

            "We should call Elisa," Broadway said. "She'll be able to help. Finding people and stuff is her whole thing.”

            “Pity Lexington and Hudson aren’t here.” Angela sighed. “They’d be able to help.”

            Broadway blinked. “Wait… aren’t they supposed to be coming back tonight?”

            Goliath’s heart stilled at those words. “Oh no…”

…

            Lexington knew something was wrong the moment he, Hudson, Coldstone, and Coldfire touched down on the castle and went into the Great Hall. Everything was too quiet. There was no sign of Goliath, Brooklyn, Broadway, Angela, or Elisa anywhere. He had been so excited to see the look on Goliath's face when he saw that his long-lost brother and sister were back with them. But the castle was ominously empty.

            “Where are they?” Coldstone asked, mechanical red eye gazing around the courtyard for a trace of his brother and rookery children.

            “On patrol, perhaps?” Hudson offered, seemingly not bothered by their absence. “We did arrive a little early.”

            “Still, you'd think they'd leave one person to greet you two," Coldfire said, her mechanical voice somehow sounding wary.

            “That you Hudson?” A voice from the elevator as it dinged open. Out of the door came Elisa Maza, detective friend of the Manhattan Clan. “Lexing-oh!” She paused, seeing the two robotic gargoyles standing by the side of Lexington and Hudson. “Ummm….”

            "It's a long story, lass," Hudson waved before stepping towards her to shake her hand. "But it's good to see ya! How have you been?”

            "I'm doing well, all things considered," Elisa nodded in reply.  “I see Coldstone and Coldfire have resolved their business."

            "Not quite, detective," Coldstone said. “But we decided that regardless of where he is, it would be better for us to be with our family.”

            “Speaking of, where is Goliath?” Coldfire asked.

            Elisa’s face fell. “He was out on patrol with the other, last time I knew. Is he not back yet?” A series of familiar thuds outside answered her question. “Speak of the devil. Come on.”

            All members of the clan, old and new, exited the Great Hall to head out into the courtyard. Goliath, Broadway, and Angela were trudging up the stairs. One look at them was all it took to snuff out any excitement Lexington had about being back home with old clan members. They looked like they had just come back from a funeral. And… where was Brooklyn?

            And why was there blood on Goliath’s hands?

            Coldstone and Coldfire shared a look, probably noticing the same thing Lexington did. Then, Coldstone called out, "Goliath! My love and I are home!"

            Goliath froze, and when he looked up to see Coldstone, no spark was visible in his eyes. No joy of seeing his long-lost brother. No excitement. No positive reaction at all. Just… a numb emptiness that formed a pit in Lexington's stomach. "Oh… you're all back…. And Coldstone and Coldfire are with you…?”

            Coldstone’s face fell in a mixture of hurt and worry. “Yes… we’re home… Brother, what ails you? Why are you so crestfallen?”

            That’s when Lexington pointed out the person that was missing. “Where’s Brooklyn?”

            Saying the name caused Broadway and Angela to go still, and Lexington noticed that neither of them was looking at the clan. In fact, it seemed to Lexington that they were avoiding anyone's gaze, especially his. That wasn't a good sign. "Guys," Lexington pressed. "Where is Brooklyn?"

            Something like a hiccup came from Broadway’s mouth. "He's…" Broadway sobbed, “He’s gone.”

            “Gone?!” Lexington and Hudson exclaimed at the same time.

            “What happened?” Elisa cut in, her face becoming serious. “Were you guys attacked?”

            Goliath shook his head. “No… we had a fight…”

            “Was it the Quarrymen?” Hudson growled, his eyes burning white. “They captured him, didn’t they?”

            “So what are we waiting for?” Coldstone asked. “Let’s give chase and bring him-”

            “No!” Goliath shouted in frustration. “WE fought! Clan against clan, no outsiders. We fought each other and he fled in the end!”

            The courtyard went dead quiet for a moment at that. Then, unable to take the suspense, Lexington growled, "What do you mean, Goliath? What happened?”

            Goliath gave a deep exhale through his nose before answering. “We had an argument over a mission that had gone wrong. Brooklyn made a mistake during patrol that cost us the target, so I chastised him. He got defensive and laid the blame on Angela and Broadway. Things escalated, and Brooklyn said that he wished that I had never met Angela. I… I reacted to my baser instincts and lashed out at him. I didn’t hold back….”

            “….what?” Hudson growled, the white in his eyes returning, this time directed at Goliath. “What do you mean, boy?”

            “….is that his blood on your claws?” Lexington asked, knowing full well what the answer was.

            The tension in Goliath’s shoulder was palpable as he answered, his voice a whisper. “Yes…”

            “YOU SON OF A BITCH!”

            The roar from Hudson caught Lexington so off guard he almost didn’t see the old gargoyle move. In the blink of an eye, Hudson closed the distance between himself and Goliath and punched the clan leader in the face so hard that he was knocked on his back. Before anyone else could react, Hudson leaped on top of the purple gargoyle and pinned him to the ground by the throat, his eyes burning white as he barred his teeth in Goliath’s face.

            "Hudson!" Angela exclaimed, but she stopped when Lexington growled at her in a warning.

            “How could you?!” Hudson screamed. “How could you lay your hands on yer own son?! Make him bleed?! How could you betray the clan you swore to protect?!”

             “He went over the line!” Goliath choked out. “He blamed my daughter for his lack of discipline! Said I shouldn’t have ever met her!”

            “What exactly did he say?” Lexington yelled, not trusting the lack of details Goliath was giving them. “What were Broadway and Angela doing to make him say that?”

            “We were just kissing!” Broadway protested, looking between Hudson and Goliath in fear.

            “In the middle of a mission?!” Lexington screamed. “You couldn’t stop sucking face for ONE HOUR?!”

            “He let himself get distracted by us!” Angela protested.

            “Maybe you should have fucking stopped doing that in front of him!” Lexington yelled. “You KNOW it made him uncomfortable! Why do you keep insisting on doing it around him?”

Angela scoffed. “Please, his jealousy is not my burden to bear. He’s just acting out because he can’t enjoy seeing me and Broadway happy! Just like how he let himself be used by Coldsteel to spite us!”

            “WHAT?!” Everyone except Goliath, Broadway, and Angela exclaimed in sheer disbelief.

            “How could you say that?” Coldfire cried. “He was possessed by an evil man! Coldsteel used him against his will! None of what happened that night was his fault!”

            “He let him in!” Angela shouted. “He didn’t fight! He enjoyed every minute of it!”

            "I can assure you he fought with all his being," Coldstone said, gazing at Angela in a mix of disappointment and incredulity. “He didn’t enjoy it at all. And it wouldn’t have mattered. How could you think so lowly of your brother?”

            “He’s not my brother!” Angela snapped. “He never was family!”

            “…did you say that to him?” Lexington growled. “Did you say all of that was his fault? That he enjoyed it?”

            Angela looked at Lexington like he had hit her, and that was answer enough. Lexington turned his glare at Broadway, the man he once called brother. That Brooklyn called brother. “And you let her say that?”

            Broadway nodded, and to his credit, he had the decency to look ashamed. “Yeah… I did…”       

            SMACK!

            Lexington wasn’t sure when Elisa had walked up to them, but the sound of her hand slamming against Angela’s cheek rang with the impact of a gunshot at him. Elisa was so gentle and patient with them all, even when they annoyed her. To see her lay a hand on any of them….

            Broadway only had time to gasp in surprise before Elisa slapped him with her other hand. It almost certainly didn't hurt, but the shock and fear on Broadway and Angela's faces meant the message got across loud and clear.

            “How DARE you!” Elisa screamed. If the detective was a gargoyle and not a human, Lexington was sure they would have been glowing red to match Hudson’s white. “Angela, you went on and on about how you wanted the boys to respect you, to give you space and treat you like a person. But not only did you not respect Brooklyn’s by continuing to rub your relationship in his face, you have the unmitigated GALL to blame him for being a victim of possession?! For being violated on a level none of us here can understand? Forget treating him like an object to be won, you treated him like absolute DIRT! What is WRONG with you?!”

            “And you!” Lexington cried, glowing eyes staring into the panicked ones of Broadway’s. “You’re our BROTHER! You’ve known him for DECADES! And yet the instant some girl you haven’t even known for a year shows up, you throw him under the bus for her? You KNEW it wasn’t his fault! You KNEW he felt horrible about it! And you let Angela walk all over him over it anyway! You LET Goliath hurt him! I… I can’t fucking believe you, Broadway!” Lexington sobbed as his eyes faded into brown. “You chose a girl you didn’t even know for a year over your own fucking brother…”

            Tears formed in Broadway’s eyes as he reached out to Lexington. “No Lex. That’s not…”

            Lexington snarled, biting at Broadway’s hand. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

            “And you let her say all that to him uncontested, didn’t you Goliath?” Hudson growled, hand still around his leader’s neck. “Ya let her abuse him without a word, and that’s what got him so riled up. And then ya punished him for it! Why?!”

            “Because Angela is my daughter!” Goliath choked. “I… I will defend her at all costs!”

            “Are Broadway and I not your sons?!” Lexington shouted through a sob, tears blurring his vision. "Or do we not count because we don't have your blood?!"

            “That’s not what I meant!” Goliath gagged in response.

            “But it’s true, isn’t it? You never treated us the way you treated Angela! Ever since she showed up, you always fly with her, read with her, everything! You’re never interested in what the three of us do! Fuck, even during fights, you only care about her, not us! When Oberon attacked us, Brooklyn was literally getting choked out by a statue and where were you focused? Who were you calling out to? Angela, who hadn’t even got a scratch on her! You didn’t give a SHIT about Brooklyn!”

            Goliath flinched like Lexington struck him. “No…”

            “Yes!" The dam in Lexington's mind had broken, and all the repressed thoughts he had built up came flooding out without stopping. “And that night, you told Xanatos that you ‘finally understood the transforming power of a child’s love’! It was like Brooklyn, Broadway, and I didn’t exist, and it’s been like that for MONTHS! Brooklyn tried to give you the benefit of the doubt you know! He told me you were just trying to make the new clan member feel welcome! And I wanted to believe that! But not anymore! The three of us could drop dead right now and you wouldn’t give a shit if Angela was okay! God, I KNEW you wished it hadn’t been us who survived that night!”

            “LEXINGTON!”

            The hand on Lexington’s shoulder snapped him out of the raging torrent in his mind. He looked up to see Hudson, who had gotten off Goliath and looked at him in worry. "Lad… breathe… please.”

            Lexington obeyed, taking a few shallow gasps. The gasps gave way to sobs, and the little gargoyle pressed his face into his elder’s chest, crying. Hudson patted his head, folding his wings around him in a soothing embrace. “Fuck… I just… goddamn it, we just got home. We were in London living it up while he was dealing with THIS….”

            “It’s not your fault lad…” Hudson whispered. “It’s okay…”

            “No, it’s not!” Lexington cried into Hudson’s chest. “My brother is GONE, and he’s not gonna want to come back because three of our own clan stabbed him in the back! If we… if we can’t count on our clan, who CAN we count on?!”

            "We'll find him," Hudson declared. "I don't know how, but we'll find him.”

            Goliath got up, looking upon his crying rookery child in shame and remorse. Regardless of what was said and what Lexington thought, the truth was Goliath did something unforgivable. He allowed his baser urges to let him lash out at his child. And worse… he had been acting in such a way that neither he nor Lexington believed he loved them. When Brooklyn had said he favored Angela, he had thought it had been him immaturely deflecting from the botched mission. But now, given some time to think and what Lexington said… he had no choice but to face the facts. He had been so wrapped up in his bond with Angela that he neglected the ones he had with Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington. And now the entire clan was suffering for it.

            “Lexington…” Goliath said, ignoring the pain in his throat and trying to talk as gently as possible. "You are right. And Brooklyn was right. I have been terrible to all three of you. I love Angela dearly, but I let that love blind me to the love I feel for you. I… I had forgotten you are still my children who need me, not warriors who are expected to follow my every command. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I vow that at this moment, I will do everything in my power to make this right with all of you. I promise you, I will find Brooklyn and mend the bond I have let fray. I swear it."

            “You're going to find that promise impossible to keep any time soon."

            The entire clan froze at the unfamiliar voice. “Back-to-back!” Goliath ordered, and despite all the tension and anger they all had towards each other, everyone obeyed, jumping in a rough circle back-to-back so they would be protected as they tried to find the intruder.

            "No need to be wary," the soft voice called from above. "I mean no harm." Goliath looked up, and standing under the light of the moon, on top of a battlement looking down on them, was a small figure in red. “I’m simply here to deliver a message.”

            “Who are you?” Goliath shouted. “How did you get here?”

            The figure cocked its head and then, without warning, leaped from the battlement. To Goliath's shock, they landed on their feet at the top of the stairs, no worse for the wear. “I climbed.”

            “What did you mean that the promise is impossible?” Elisa asked, hand hovering over her pistol as she stared at the red-robed figure.

            "No more or less than what I said," the red-robed figure replied. The eye in his hat was shifting to look at all of them. “You won't find him."

            Goliath growled. “What do you know? Did you do something to him?”

            “I believe what you should be concerned about is what you did to him," the figure said. "You were the one who chased him away after all.”

            “I am in no mood for games, stranger!” Goliath roared. “Tell me where he is!”

            At this, the figure took off the cloth mask covering its face. To the surprise of everyone in the clan, it wasn’t a human face under there. It was the face of a white feline, lips curled in a serene smile through closed eyes.

            The feline in question chuckled. “He had that exact same face a few hours ago. Like father, like son, I suppose.”

            “So you do know where he is!” Hudson exclaimed. “Out with it, creature!”

            "Please, call me Ji," the feline said. "And to answer your question, I don’t know exactly. All I did was send him along his destiny.”

            “Quit talking in riddles and give us a straight answer!” Lexington growled.

            “Oh, I’m being quite sincere, young man.” Ji replied, that serene smile not faltering one bit at the aggression thrown his way. “He’s far out of anyone’s reach now. You can thank the Phoenix Gate for that.”

            "Impossible," Goliath snorted. "I threw that into the abyss myself. With no mind to guide it, it's stuck."

            “And what made you think it lacked a mind of its own?” Ji asked.

            “…what?”

            “It’s astonishing how someone with no knowledge of magic can be so sure about his own assumptions.” Ji continued. “Yes, the Phoenix Gate has a will of its own, and it wanted Brooklyn. Now, it whisked him away, far beyond your reach. You couldn’t find him if you tore through every brick in this city.”

            “Lies!” Goliath snarled.

            “Snarl and roar all you wish, Goliath," Ji said. "It won't change the truth. Nor will it cleanse your guilt.”

            Goliath growled again, but this one was softer than the others he gave. He stomped up the stairs towards the feline man, barring his teeth all the while, but the smile never left Ji's face. Then, when he was only a few steps away from Ji, Goliath fell onto his knees, bowing his head. “Please… I’m begging you. If you have any compassion in your heart… help me find my son. Help me make this right.” 

            The silence that fell between the two was deafening. Neither of them said a word for a full minute. Finally, Ji opened his eyes. They were completely cloudy white, with no pupils visible at all. “There is a world where I help you find him…. But sadly, that’s not a world that I know. All I can do is tell you the prophecy I gave him when we first met.”

            Goliath looked up at the white feline. “Prophecy?”

            Ji nodded. “Time is a domain that opened itself to me from the moment I was born. It doesn’t pass for me, and I see the past and future unfold through my hexagrams. In my world, I served as a prophet, sharing my visions to all who would listen. Just as I did that young gargoyle who showed me what it meant to live once more.”

            Something shifted from beneath Ji’s robes, and Goliath saw a sphere with golden bands around it. An astrolabe Goliath realized as it levitated in from of Ji’s face. “This is the message I came to deliver. Whether you take heed of it is up to you. And remember…. This is Brooklyn’s fate that I shared with him.” With that, Ji took a few steps away from Goliath, sat down with his legs crossed, and, to Goliath's shock, started to float off the ground along with the astrolabe. A faint green glow surrounded Ji as he began to speak.

I see a blossoming romance

I see the sacrifice of man

I see portrayals of betrayal

And a mentor’s final stand

I see you on the brink of death

I see you draw your final breath

I see a man who gets to make it home alive

But it's no longer you

            Goliath’s heart stopped at Ji’s words. “No…. No! You can’t have come all this way to tell me it’s hopeless! You can’t mean to tell me Brooklyn’s fate is to die alone because of my foolishness!”

            But Ji kept going.

I see your castle covered in red

Faces of men who have long desired you dead

I see your father with a man who is haunting

A man with a trail of bodies

            “Stop this!” Goliath roared. “Taunt me no more!” The gargoyle lunged at Yi, claws drawn and teeth barred as if he wanted to tear the feline apart.

            But just as suddenly, Goliath was knocked away. Elisa and Hudson barely had enough time to move out of the way as he crashed all the way down the stairs. They looked back at Ji, who didn’t even seem to have moved. What the hell had happened?

            The prophet continued unperturbed.

I see a blossoming romance

I see the sacrifice of man

I see portrayals of betrayal

And a mentor’s final stand

I see you on the brink of death

I see you draw your final breath

I see a man who gets to make it home alive

But it's no longer you….

            At those last words, Ji stopped floating and landed on the ground. Then, without warning, a puff of green smoke exploded from beneath him, completely obscuring him from the clan's view as they all charged at him. By the time they reached the last step, the smoke was gone, and so was he.

            “Damn it!” Hudson yelled. “Coldstone, Coldfire, ya see anything?”

            "Negative," Coldfire said, red eyes blinking as she ran her visors. “No other life readings detected…”

            “Fuck!” Lexington shouted, stomping his foot so hard it split a tile. “How the hell did he do that?!”

            Elisa, for her part, was attending to the still-dazed Goliath down the stairs. "Big guy?" she asked, concerned despite her anger at him. "Are you okay?"

            Goliath didn’t answer, just managed to sit up as his vision cleared. He had barely heard Elisa as his thoughts dwelled on the words that Ji told him.

I see you on the brink of death

I see you draw your final breath

I see a man who gets to make it home alive

But it's no longer you….

            Death. The prophet told Goliath Brooklyn’s fate…. And he saw death. Reiterating that he saw his final breath only made that clear. But what could he mean by a man making it home alive then? What did any of this mean? And why would he bother telling him…?

            No! He was wasting time pondering the words of a stranger! An enemy! He was just trying to confuse him! Make him lose hope so he won’t find Brooklyn! He had to know where he was, and he was hiding it from him! That was the only explanation!

            So why was he hanging on his every word? Why could he not shake the fear in his heart?

            “Goliath?” he finally heard Elisa ask. The footsteps from down the stairs told him that the rest of the clan was coming towards him. But he couldn’t answer, nor could he bring himself to say anything to his waiting clan. He sank his face into his hands and wept despite all his instincts as a leader screaming at him otherwise. He wept for the son he had wronged, neglected, and wounded. He wept for the fact that he had been the one who drove him away despite everything they suffered together and that he might very well be the reason that he lost his life.

Chapter Text

January 10th, 1997

The rest of that night had been spent in a mixture of crying and yelling from the clan, mainly (and rightfully) directed at Goliath, and frantic searching throughout the city for any trace of their lost clanmate. Lexington wasted no time recruiting Coldstone and Coldfire for a search party with him. When Broadway and Angela offered to help, he rebuffed them without even looking, growling they "had done enough" before leaving with the robotic gargoyles.

Likewise, Hudson and Elisa refused to let Goliath go and search. Not without a much-deserved scolding. For Goliath, Elisa went into her detective persona, laying out what he had done in terms of crimes in the human courts. Child abuse, assault, domestic violence. The accusations, however true they were, stung on their own, but what really pierced Goliath's heart was the sheer disappointment and cold fury in Elisa's eyes. What he had done that night had damaged, if not shattered, her trust in him, and until she saw a genuine effort on his part to make amends to Brooklyn, it would stay that way. In contrast to Elisa's frosted fury, Hudson's rage was searing hot. He practically roared at Goliath, Broadway, and Angela, cowing them all like they were all hatchlings who misbehaved. If Elisa was precise and methodical in her words, then Hudson was just verbally tearing into them, growling, and yelling about how they damaged the family. Their actions might very well have cost them Brooklyn's life, and even if they find him, there will be no guarantee he'd even want to come back, and rightfully so.

Both Hudson and Elisa outlined rules for the three of them to follow going forward during the search. Goliath would stay in the castle with Elisa, just in case Brooklyn returned on his own. Hudson, meanwhile, would take Angela and Broadway to search under his supervision. If Brooklyn was found by either party, Hudson or Elisa would do the talking, and under NO circumstances could the three of them, especially Goliath, speak to Brooklyn without anyone else present. Once Brooklyn was located, he would be moved to a safe place at Elisa's discretion. When Goliath tried to protest the implication that Brooklyn wasn't safe with them, Elisa shut him down with a glare so withering it would have sent Thailog running.

The groups completed their respective tasks once the ground rules were laid out. Goliath and Elisa stayed at the castle together, the atmosphere between them unbearably tense, as the detective refused to say a word to Goliath while they waited. Meanwhile, Hudson took the young gargoyle couple out on a search, ordering them to follow in a tone of voice that conveys he would have no patience for arguments or nonsense. Angela and Broadway followed the older gargoyle solemnly as he flew into the city in search of the missing second in command.

Hours passed, and by the time the sun was about to rise, Brooklyn hadn't returned. Lexington, Coldfire, and Coldstone were the first to return, and the tears running down the olive gargoyle's face said everything about their lack of success. Goliath tried to hug the small gargoyle, a desperate attempt to comfort him and show fatherly affection, but Lexington shoved him away and scurried into the castle. Goliath looked back at his newly returned brother and sister, and somehow their mechanical faces managed to convey all the disappointment towards his actions that they needed for him to understand. Hudson, Broadway, and Angela returned shortly after, still with no sign of Brooklyn, and the old gargoyle stomped past Goliath without a word, not even looking at him.

The last thing Goliath remembered before stone sleep was Elisa telling him she would do what she could at the police station to look for clues and contact her brother Talon.

January 11th, 1997

Goliath woke up to David Xanatos standing next to Elisa. Apparently, he had seen the whole drama between the clan and the sudden appearance of the mysterious prophet from his CCTV security cameras. When Goliath asked (more like demanded), Xanatos said that Ji wasn't a product of his experiments and had no idea who or what he was. He also promised to use every resource available to track down Goliath's wayward son. "After all, we can't let the family break apart over one little spat, can we?"

Elisa had also informed her brother Talon and the rest of the mutates in the Labyrinth about Brooklyn going missing. Talon promised that he and his clan would do everything possible to find the lost gargoyle, especially because Talon owed Brooklyn for saving his life during Fang's hostile takeover. Combined with the word that Halcyon Renard would devote his resources to the cause, all of the clan's allies seemed to be assisting in the search.

That fact alone gave Goliath hope, even though no trace of Brooklyn had been found that night.

January 18th, 1997

The clan spent the week scouring the city for any trace of the red gargoyle. Elisa and Hudson still didn't want Goliath, Broadway, or Angela to talk to Brooklyn alone if he was found. Still, they were at least willing to let them join the search, provided they searched with another so Brooklyn wouldn't be alone with them. While the rest of the clan took up patrols , Lexington would join up with Xanatos to use the computer to try to find any trace of Brooklyn online. Hacking into New York's CRT cameras, searching for stories about gargoyle sightings, anything that seemed helpful. He even tried to see if there was anything about the cat man Ji, who had invaded their home since he obviously knew something they did not.

No dice on any of those accounts. The patrols turned up empty, too.

Goliath, Broadway, and Angela were still in the doghouse with the rest of the clan. Lexington was barely talking to them, only giving noncommittal grunts or greetings from over his computer when they tried to speak to him. It wasn't much better with Hudson, as he only talked to them when he needed to and only said a word on patrols to give directions or orders.

Elisa was a little more cordial to Broadway and Angela, as she would at least give reassurance that they would find Brooklyn soon and get a chance to talk everything through as a family. It had warmed Goliath's heart to hear that until she pulled him to the side to speak to him alone. The detective made it very clear to Goliath that she was very disappointed in him over what he did to Brooklyn. Not only had he broken the trust Brooklyn had in him, but he had also broken hers. If he was willing to lay hands on his own child over an argument, then how could she truly trust him to handle cases ethically? Treat her with respect? And if they were to continue their relationship, she would want a child of her own, and the only viable way they could do that is if they adopted.

"If you consider Brooklyn lesser because he isn't by blood, the gargoyle you raised for decades, then how could I trust you with a human child?"

Those words haunted Goliath until the light of the sun turned him into stone.

February 10th, 1997

The Empire State Building might not be the tallest building in New York, especially compared to Xanatos' Eyrie Building, but it was by far the one with the most tourist traction. The 102-story building in the middle of Midtown Manhattan attracted hundreds of visitors every day. From 10 am to 10 pm, the top of the building would be flooded with humans, eager to see the City of Dreams from almost a mile in the sky. In the dead of night, the top of the building would be deserted. Just as it was that night.

Save for four figures overlooking the city, taking in the bright lights that seemed to turn night into day.

"So… This is New York?" the shortest figure said. The figure was dressed in a loose-fitting yellow robe with three insignia of origins no human alive would recognize on the shoulder and back. Underneath that robe was a tight-fitting black body suit with a jade ring over the short one's heart. His head was hidden beneath a wide-brimmed bamboo hat with a light green veil covering his face.

"Yes…" The tallest figure replied. This one had his whole body covered in a white cloak with golden trimming. His face was hidden underneath a hood as if hiding his face from the city far below. "This place is… this place is…"

"Home?" A third figure cut in. This one was in between the heights of the other two. Like the smallest figure, her face was hidden by a bamboo hat covered in a veil. She wore a yellow kimono and held one katana and one wakizashi on her back, and two fans on her belt.

The tall figure shook his head. "No. Not anymore. It hasn't been for a long time. Home… home is where you all are."

"Even me?" a boyish voice cried, a child tackling the tall figure from behind in a hug.

The tall figure laughed, turning to scoop the child in a twirling hug. "Yeah! Especially you, squirt!"

The woman and small figure smiled at the affectionate display and the tall one's words. "I take it we're not going to give your old family a visit?" the short one asked. "I'm sure I'd love to meet the in-laws and get to know them in person."

"Maybe not that," the tall one said. From beneath his white robes, black wings attached to his back emerged. "But I would love to show you around. This is the place we'll make the home always wanted, after all."

"Then, by all means, let's make a night of it," the woman said, stretching her own wings at the same time the child did. Without a word, the short figure leaped onto the tall figure's back just before the three took off, diving into the city below.

…

The four flew over the city for a few moments, the streets whizzing past beneath them. Occasionally, they would stop on a rooftop to look at one of the sites below, usually at the child's behest. In the present, they were looking at Times Square, the child enthralled at all the lights and screens on display.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "Are these things on all the time?"

"Language kid," the tall one in white said. "And pretty much, yeah."

The child whistled. "If only we could have been sent here earlier! This place is amazing!"

"It certainly has its charms," the small one said, gazing at the square below from under his hat. "The apemen certainly have come a long way. If not for the fact the machines run on petrol fuels rather than rhizomatic energy, I'd almost mistake it for a city on Penglai."

The tall one nodded. "Yeah. The 'apemen' have a long way to go before harnessing that sort of power. They'd better soon, if they don't wanna kill the planet."

The small one nodded from under his hat. "I'll add that to the list of goals then."

"Wait…" the woman interrupted, stepping in between the two men. "What's going on over there?" She pointed at the rooftop on the other side of the street. The other three people followed her finger and saw a large group of humans gathering around. Behind them was a helicopter with the insignia of a silver hammer emblazoned on the side.

A growl came from the tall figure. "Quarrymen… I know them all too well…"

"The anti-gargoyle hate group?" the short one asked as he took a telescope from under his robe and peered through it. "Well, we certainly can't let them go about as they please, can we?"

"It looks like they're up to something," the woman said. "What do you see?"

"It looks like they're boarding a helicopter," the small one answered. It's a military brand. It looks to hold 30-40 people. Whatever they're doing, it's big, and they're packing serious firepower. Assault rifles, helmets, the works." The small one looked at the tall one from under his hat. What's the call, cèshì?"

"We gonna crack some heads?" the child chuckled in a giddy manner.

"Not yet", the tall one replied. "We're going to follow them. See what they do. Get the Mystic Nymph ready and recording so we can capture it all on film. We can't let this chance to gather evidence for the eventual case go to waste."

"Understood," the short one said. He held his arm to his side, and a glowing blue light shaped like a dragonfly flew from beneath his robe and started floating around him. "Mystic Nymph is ready to record."

…

"Brother, you can't keep going on like this," the imploring voice of Coldstone said.

"I can and I will," Goliath cut back, attempting to force his way past the library exit but to no avail. Just a few weeks ago, Goliath could have easily pushed Coldstone back, but between his heavy eyelids and lost weight, he couldn't muster the strength, which caused Hudson's heart to sink.

The old gargoyle had never seen a time when the clan was more at odds with one another, more fraying at the seams and more ready to snap at any time throughout his long life. Either in Scotland or in New York. It had been a month since Brooklyn disappeared. Since Goliath's fight had driven their second in command away from home. Since the clan began their frantic search to find him.

The past four weeks had been trying for them all, but none more so than their leader himself. Their lack of success in locating Brooklyn had only made him more desperate, more obsessed with finding his son. During the past week, he hadn't even been at the castle for more than a few minutes between searches, only returning to brief search patterns at dusk, 10 minutes to hear reports at dawn, and then turning to stone. The stone sleep clearly had stopped giving him restful benefits, with his eyes being bloodshot and baggy. Worse, according to Angela, the purple gargoyle had fallen asleep mid-glide and almost slammed into a building during a patrol. Goliath had been so focused on spending as much time on the search that he had been skipping meals, enough to the point that he was visibly losing definition in his chest.

Goliath made a horrible mistake. One that would take time and effort to properly fix if they found Brooklyn and one that he personally wouldn't fault the second in command for not forgiving him for. But at the rate Goliath was going, he would kill himself long before they ever found Brooklyn, and it tore Hudson apart to see his son like this.

None of the other gargoyles were doing much better. After all, if the leader was reduced to such a weak state, what chance did the rest of the clan have? Lexington would spend days at a time on the computer, desperately trying to find a single trace of his lost rookery brother via the internet. He'd leave only to go to the bathroom and have small meals, and even the latter wasn't guaranteed based on the empty cans of energy drinks and coffee cups around the monitor. Stone sleep did little to relieve the tiny gargoyle of his bloodshot eyes that came from staring at a screen for so long.

Broadway and Angela were similarly exhausted, in their case, from scouring the city all night, every night. Hudson had to credit their resolve. They also felt the weight of their guilt for their part in the fight and thus threw themselves willingly into the search every night. But it was clearly taking its toll, with Broadway's trademark belly having shrunk from his lack of appetite and Angela struggling to stay awake through her lack of meaningful rest. Worse, the guilt about the argument had also taken a toll on their relationship. Hudson couldn't even remember the last time the two had had time alone together, and he had overheard the two of them arguing a distressing number of times the past few days. Whatever comfort they could have found in each other was tainted by the realization that their relationship had been a key factor in the argument.

Hudson couldn't deny that the situation was taking a toll on him too. He had been one of the less active members of the clan for a reason. At his age, his stamina was significantly lower than the others, so he shouldn't have searched with the ferocity that they did. But he'd be damned if he sat on the couch watching TV while his grandson was out there and the rest of the clan was looking for him. So, every night, he'd fight through fatigue, even as the strain pressed at his heart and left him utterly breathless by sunrise. Stone sleep helped, but the constant patrols and the perpetual atmosphere of dread and sorrow could only be withstood for so long….

Coldstone and Coldfire had been a godsend these past few weeks. Their mechanical bodies meant they lacked the need for food or sleep that the rest of them did, so they strove to pick up the slack with normal crime patrols as the rest of the clan searched. They also did what they could to talk to everyone in the clan to keep their spirits lifted. Elisa also did everything she could to help with the search and maintain morale, although she couldn't afford to take time off work after being missing so long after the Avalon trip.

Little by little, the clan was falling apart, and there was only so much Hudson and Elisa could do to keep them all together, even with the therapy dog that was Bronx. They couldn't keep this up much longer, so Coldstone was finally putting his foot down.

"Goliath," the undead cyborg urged, not backing down from his leader's stubbornness. "You are at your limit. Continuing the search at your current condition will only get you hurt, or worse."

"I will not sit here and do nothing while my son is still out there!" Goliath cried, eyes lighting up slightly but not glowing white yet.

"We are not saying you do," Coldfire replied softly, placing her metallic hand over Goliath's shoulder. "Getting rest is not doing nothing, Goliath. You have to rest if you are to remain effective in the search. You will be of no use to Brooklyn or any of the clan if you are weak."

Goliath snorted in agitation, but he seemed to be calming down. "Then who will lead the search?"

"Coldstone and I will search for Brooklyn tonight" Coldfire said, looking at the rest of the clan who was sitting in various spots around the library. "The rest of you will take tonight to recover your strength. The city wont' fall apart if none of us are there to guard it for one night."

Lexington gave a noncommittal grunt from over his computer, while Angela and Broadway only gave little nods, not even mustering a verbal response. Hudson could only sigh in relief at the thought of getting some much-needed rest. Maybe after tonight, once they approached the search with a refreshed and clear mind, they would make some headway in their search.

"Call us if you require our aid," Coldstone said as he and his mate headed towards the door. "And please, take care of yourselves."

…

The four figures followed the helicopter in the shadows of the rooftops, careful not to be spotted by the pilots. The Mystic Nymph flew by their side, capturing all the Quarrymen's actions in its luminous eyes. The question of what the Quarrymen were up to would remain… at least until they finally arrived at their destination.

"The Eyrie Building…" the tall figure said. "Should have known."

"A full assault in the middle of the night?" the short one asked. "They're either very bold or very foolish."

"With how much the city hates us just for breathing, the officials would probably look the other way if they did anything blatantly illegal. Still, a head on strike to the Xanatos building would be stupid with all the defenses he has in place. Unless…"

Before he could finish, all the lights in the massive building went out.

"They found a way to disable them," the short one concluded.

"Probably with a guy on the inside," the tall figure growled. "Shit! Come on, we need to get up there!"

….

Goliath had tried his best to heed his brother's advice and get some rest however he could, but that was difficult when his options were limited. He couldn't relax enough to fall asleep, nor could he focus his mind enough to read one of the many books in the library. He was in no mood to be with any of his clan, and quite frankly, he knew most of them didn't want to be with them either. Lexington couldn't even look at Goliath without glaring or growling since the night he came back, and the month of no success at finding his brother only intensified that feeling. Hudson and Elisa were a little better, as time and some talking had tempered their rage a bit. They understood that Goliath was trying his best and was willing to show clemency, but they were not going to forgive the leader until after Brooklyn was found. As for Broadway and Angela… they were too wrapped up in their own turmoil and efforts to atone to pay him any mind. Almost every night now, they argued, if not about Brooklyn, then about something else.

Ironic how Brooklyn being gone seemed to utterly destabilize the relationship that Angela and Broadway had forged for themselves.

And so, Goliath found himself on the rooftop, gazing out into the city below to gather his thoughts. Thoughts that inevitably would turn to the clan that was currently hanging on by a thread. How he was responsible for it all by hurting someone he loved so thoroughly.

His thoughts turned to Brooklyn, the red gargoyle he called his son, and yet failed to back up that sentiment in action. How his last exchange with him had been him striking him down for voicing his understandable anger towards his daughter. That moment… might very well have been Brooklyn's last memory of him if Ji's prophecy was true.

I see you on the brink of death

I see you draw your final breath

I see a man who gets to make it home alive

But it's no longer you….

Those words haunted him every time Goliath went to stone sleep. Why did it take Brooklyn going missing and the idea of his death for Goliath to realize how much he meant to him? When he was stuck in Avalon, he had tried with all his being to get back home to his sons and father, but he couldn't deny the joy that journeying with Elisa and Angela alone had been. He was worried about his clan, but until Puck shared that horrible vision of the future, he had every faith that he would see them the next time he came home. But one mistake had ruined that idea, and if it were within Goliath's power, he would go back in time and hold Brooklyn after he had yelled. He would have told him he had every right to feel what he did, that he was sorry for prioritizing Angela so much more than him and his brothers, and swear he would do right by them all in the future.

But the chance to do the right thing had passed and all Goliath had were what-ifs and memories. Memories not just of the fight but of the time he and Brooklyn had together. He had always been a willful gargoyle and so eager to prove himself to his mothers and fathers. Brooklyn was always the first to leap to the defense of his brothers in both battle and out, and the whole clan both loved him for it and was exasperated by it. The latter is especially true when a human they were protecting is involved. Goliath remembered the trouble he and the rest of the trio would get in and the stunts he alone pulled. He could still remember how Hudson laughed when he tried to ride a horse on his own, and how he himself had to repress the laughter to scold him about responsibility.

Now, he could never make new memories like that again.

"Goliath?" a familiar voice called to him. The lavender gargoyle turned to see Elisa Maza walking up the stairs to the battlements to meet him. "Thought I'd find you up here."

"Is everything alright?" Goliath asked, mostly out of habit.

"That's what I'm here to ask you," Elisa said, walking to his side. "Know everyone's not doing too hot right now, but you look the worst, big guy."

"I apologize," Goliath sighed.

"Don't apologize…" Elisa gently scolded, putting her hand under Goliath's chin to get him to look at her. "Just talk to me, Goliath."

"The clan suffers because of me, Elisa," Goliath said. "Because I hurt Brooklyn. Not just during our fight but also through my favoritism of Angela. I love my daughter more than anything, but…. I love my sons just as much! And I failed them all, Brooklyn especially. And now he's gone…"

Elisa nodded. "I know… we've talked about your mistakes so much. It's something you need to fix. But Goliath, I don't want to see you kill yourself over it. It hurts to see you like this, so raw, so fragile. You need to take care of yourself, or you'll be no good to anyone, especially Brooklyn. We'll find him, and when we do, you'll be able to start to make this all right."

"It's been a month, Elisa," Goliath choked out. "A month, and no trace of him. What if… dragon, I shudder to think of it. What if that prophet was telling the truth?"

"He's alive," Elisa firmly said. "He's out there. You guys are the strongest people I know, and Brooklyn is no exception. He's out there, alive and kicking, and I know he misses you as much as you do him." Elisa smiled in a comforting manner. "I don't know when, and I don't know how, but he's going to come back. I know it."

Goliath smiled back at her, despite himself. "Thank you, Elisa."

At that moment, the lights throughout the castle went off.

"What the-" Elisa cried, but right then, Goliath's ears picked up a noise coming from below. It was the familiar churn of a helicopter, one that Goliath had dismissed as just an ordinary one passing by, but now was getting far too close to be a coincidence…

"Trouble," Goliath growled. "Come, we have to get the others!" Goliath ran with Elisa by his side just before the helicopter rose about the clouds to enter the castle's sight. The hammer insignia confirmed Goliath's fears. It was a Quarrymen aircraft, and there was a machine gun attached to the bottom.

Goliath and Elisa just managed to get below the stairs the moment the helicopter opened fire.

…

The tall figure grit his teeth as he heard machine gun fire above him. Damn it! He was hoping to get the jump on the Quarrymen before they attacked the Manhattan Clan, but that helicopter was too fast for them! If they were as armed as his companion said, there was no way they'd be able to end the fight without drawing attention!

So much for a night out in town with his wife, husband, and child.

The four of them broke through the cloud cover to see the helicopter firing upon the tallest battlement. Some ropes had been thrown over the side of the helicopter, with helmeted humans armed with hammers on their backs and pistols on their belts sliding down them. When the four figures landed on an opposing battlement out of the Quarrymen's sight, the tall figure heard gears whirring from the helicopter. Just as he wondered what was making the sound, three huge and lumbering objects leaped from the copter and landed in the courtyard so hard it cracked the stone. The objects were roughly humanoid but covered in dark grey and blue armor.

Great. They have powered armor. Nothing they couldn't handle, but it would make protecting the clan even more of a pain of the ass.

"See any more in that armor?" he asked as the other three stood beside him. The blackout allowed them to blend in the shadows.

The short one peered through his telescope. "Nope. Just the three. Seems those three exo-frames along with the minigun on the helicopter are their aces in the hole."

"I count 50 troops in total," the woman muttered. "Discounting you and the human detective, the clan is only six members strong. This will be dangerous even for gargoyles."

"I know, I know!" the tall one replied, rubbing his hand through his face. "I'm thinking! We gotta do this right! We're strong, but we aren't invincible!"

As the four planned, a roar from below drew their attention. Before the Quarrymen could react, a big purple gargoyle leaped from somewhere above and slammed into one of the men in the powered armor. The surprise had knocked the terrorist on his back but surprisingly, the Quarryman quickly recovered and used the gargoyle's own weight to send him flying off him.

"Goliath…" the tall one muttered softly as the gargoyle in question landed hard on his side. He growled as the Quarrymen surrounded him, activating the electric current in their hammers. From where he was, the copter wouldn't dare risk hitting the other Quarrymen with the gun, but he was still surrounded 50 to 1…

Hudson and Bronx managed to rush out the doors to the castle to engage the enemy, but just as Angela and Broadway got out, the machine gun from the helicopter fired, forcing them to scatter.

"Here's the plan," the tall one said. "Yi, take out the helicopter. Use the Azure Bow to destroy the gun, and then finish it with your talisman.

"Understood, cèshì," said the short one in yellow, leaping away from the battlement to get a better shot.

The tall one turned to the woman. "Katana, you and I need to destroy those mechs first. I'll support you all from a distance. Go down there and kick some ass for me."

The woman's smile could be seen underneath her veiled hat. "Gladly, my love."

Last was the child, who was currently ripping off a fire extinguisher that Xanatos had installed on the wall. "Nashville, scatter the troops. Disorient them with smoke or any other concealment. Support the clan and make sure no one dies. Be careful. Even with your powers, you are not immortal."

"You got it, Daddy-o!" the child exclaimed, and with sword and fire extinguisher in hand, he and his mother went off to find an ideal opportunity to leap into the fray.

The tall figure sighed as he held his hands out in from of him and let the power flow as he started to chant.

….

Damn it! Of all the time for the Quarrymen to come! And they bolstered their forces and arms in the past month. It wouldn't be a problem in and of itself, except everyone was so… tired.

Goliath grunted as he blocked a blow from the armored man, which, in his state, was enough to send him reeling back. He wanted to get away from this brute so he could deal with the gun on the helicopter, but this armor was no joke, especially with his friends jumping in to take a swing at him. He dispatched them whenever they came, but they just kept coming and distracted Goliath.

The other members of the clan weren't doing much better. Hudson and Brox were taking on the other two people in the armor and getting thrashed about. The Quarrymen had had time to unleash the weapons they had in their armor and managed to stun them with some sort of concussive blast. While the elder and the hound were stunned, the armored Quarrymen knocked them back with a well-placed laser blast.

Broadway and Angela couldn't even get a strike in edgewise as the machine gun from the helicopter kept them away from the fray. Elisa and Lexington were still at the door, with Elisa taking potshots with her pistol but they weren't making headway in breaking through, thanks to the other Quarrymen with guns and stray shots from the helicopter.

This is bad. Goliath thought as he made a futile strike at the armored man. They have us at a major disadvantage right away. Not only can we not contact Coldstone and Coldfire, but Xanatos is out of the building as well. If something doesn't change soon…

As if tempting fate, a stray bullet from one of the Quarrymen struck Angela in the leg. She cried out as she tumbled into some nearby bushes, the greenery obscuring her being the only thing that kept her from being shot even more. Broadway was able to scoop her up and carry her, but it was slowing him down, and the gunfire from the helicopter was catching up…

"No!" Goliath exclaimed, but that gave the armored man the opening he needed. Goliath's vision went white as an electrified hammer struck him across the face, burning and splitting his face as he was knocked to the wall. Through his blurred vision, Goliath could see the armored man raising his hammer again to finish him off…

…

The short figure in yellow found his spot on the roof of the Grand Hall. With a series of hand motions, a shining bow of bluish-white energy appeared in his hands. He pulled the Cloud Piercer Arrow of the Azure Bow back, taking aim at the rotating gun.

With one breath, he let the Arrow fly.

….

A flash like lightning lit up the dark courtyard, followed by what sounded like thunder. A split second later, the machine gun in the helicopter exploded, the boom drawing the attention of the Quarrymen, including the one who was about to kill Goliath. Goliath didn't let the opportunity go to waste, knocking him back with a well-placed kick to the chest.

Before any of the Quarrymen could get their bearings, there was the clatter of metal in the middle of the courtyard. Goliath had just enough time to see that a fire extinguisher had been thrown into the center of the Quarrymen from somewhere. Just as quickly, a sword flew in from nowhere and pierced it right through, spewing the white extinguisher agent in a cloudy burst that hid everything from the Quarrymens' sight.

Goliath caught a glimpse of something small dashing through the makeshift smokescreen before a shout of a familiar spell caught his attention. "Fulminous Venite!"

Goliath turned just in time to see a bolt of crimson lightning. On instinct, he tensed for impact, but the spell hit the Quarryman he was fighting rather than him. The Quarryman screamed in agony as the electricity coursed through his armor, short-circuiting the wiring and making the electronics pop and burn skin.

There was a guttural roar from above, a roar that was… familiar. A roar that only could have come from a gargoyle.

An instant later, something white slammed into the electrocuted Quarryman from above. The white figure was illuminated in the darkness by a broadsword wreathed in flames, which had penetrated the man's armor as easily as butter and ran the Quarrymen right through. The man gave a wretched gargle, reaching up in vain at his killer before going lifeless.

The figure in a white cloak pulled his sword out, and the illumination from the sword's flames revealed his face under his hood.

Goliath's heart leaped to his throat.

….

Hudson gagged as the extinguisher gas filled his throat. The smokescreen gave him some respite, but it choked him up just as much as the enemy! Who the hell had…?

"Get behind me!" a high-pitched voice cried. Hudson only caught a glimpse of a shape in the white smoke before it tackled him out of it.

Hudson landed hard on his back. After taking a second to groan in pain, he looked up to see his would-be rescuer resting on his chest. It was… a gargoyle child. One he had never seen before, with blue skin and long black hair trailing down his back. He wore a torn t-shirt with USN written on it, a pair of grey shorts, and some sort of Asian sword that Hudson didn't know the name of on his belt. But what really caught Hudson's attention was his face. The old gargoyle couldn't see his eyes because of the aviator goggles he was wearing over them, but he could still see the beak he had in place of his mouth.

Between that, his body shape, and his hairstyle…. He looked so much like Brooklyn.

"Hi!" the boy chirped with a cheerful grin, utterly at odds with the dangerous situation, snapping Hudson out of his shock.

"Who the blazes are you?" Hudson asked incredulously, hand over the wound the laser bolt had made.

"Call me Gnash!" The boy replied, still in that cheerful voice, as he got up and offered a hand to pull Hudson up. "Hang on. Mom and Papa should be thinning the herd right about… Now."

Just as the boy said that Hudson heard some cries from the Quarrymen in the gas. Something tall and winged was dancing in between them, swinging what looked like the outline of a sword at them. It also looked like there were bolts of fire being launched from somewhere above to immolate the few that the one in the smoke couldn't get. One of the Quarrymen outside the smoke tried to aim at whoever was striking his men down, but he couldn't get a good shot through the smoke.

The figure stopped, and a cool, feminine voice cut through the chaos. "Illusio Luceat Nubila!" At once, a howling blizzard swirled around the courtyard, blowing away what was left of the extinguisher gas and revealing what had been attacking the men for a split second.

It was another gargoyle, and this one was an adult female. She had pale blue skin and hair as black as night, identical to Gnash. Her face was beaked as well, though it wasn't as pronounced as with Gnash, and she had a pair of small horns on either side of her face. Her yellow kimono swirled in the freezing tempest she created, and Hudson could see a katana shimmering in the moonlight on her hands, with another sheathed sword on her back.

Just as quickly as she appeared, she vanished behind a curtain of frost and snow, hiding her from the Quarrymen's sight. The icy twister swirled over the armored Quarryman, buffeting him in wintry wrath. From where Hudson could see, the joints on the armor started to freeze, hindering the man's movement. Suddenly, the female gargoyle rushed out of the blizzard, with… was that another one of her behind her?!

Hudson rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, but no, his eyes were not mistaken. There were two of that strange gargoyle woman dashing around the armored man, who tried to swing at either one with his hammer but couldn't land a hit. As the ice crept further down his arms and legs, he grew desperate, dropping his hammer to pull out a gun. Without even stopping to aim, he fired upon the two gargoyles running around him.

The instant the bullets landed on one, she dissolved into snow and ice. The Quarrymen fired at the other one with a growl of frustration and confusion, but she just dissolved as well.

Hudson saw a shadowy figure from within the storm appear behind the Quarryman. "Where are you looking?" a voice cooed coyly. Before the Quarryman could react, what must have been the real gargoyle had grabbed his discarded hammer and swung at his frozen knee joint with all her might. There was an icy crack of metal followed by a horrible snap of bone as the knee folded in on itself, causing the Quarryman to collapse with a shriek. In the fall, he slammed his head on the ground, and he went still, unconscious.

"Way to go Mom!" Gnash cheered as his mother swung the hammer to fend off more of the enemies.

When the last one backed off, the gargoyle woman leaped back a few paces and yelled to the sky, "Now Yi!"

Hudson followed her gaze, and from the roof of the Great Hall, something yellow flew at the damaged helicopter. When the yellow thing reached the helicopter, Hudson saw what looked like a hand attaching something to the helicopter before dropping  down to the courtyard. As Hudson got a closer look, he saw the details he couldn't have seen from below. The thing was a humanoid wearing yellow robes and a veiled bamboo hat covering their face. It held out two fingers in front of itself for a moment before swinging its hand behind itself in a slashing motion.

In that instant, the helicopter exploded with a flash of verdant light. This time, the entire front was obliterated, its smoldering remains struggling to stay airborne for just a moment before careening to the ground. Quarrymen screamed as they scrambled to get away before the ruined copter crashed into them. The helicopter crashed through the castle walls before exploding one final time, lighting up the darkened castle in fiery light as metal was launched everywhere.

The short figure in robes sighed, standing up straight and taking off his hat. Hudson gasped at his face. It was a feline, just like Ji. However, instead of pure white fur with folded ears and wide pale eyes, this one had pale yellow fur on the verge of white, large, narrow eyes, triangular ears on the top of its head, and a small black nose. The back of his yellow robe had an insignia on his shoulders and back that Hudson couldn't recognize, and he wore a black suit of sorts underneath. On the center of his chest was a large jade ring directly over his heart.

He looked different… but he had to be one of Ji's people.

The woman ran up to the cat man's side, getting into a fighting stance with her sword to cover his back. "Great job with that helicopter, Yi. Now we just deal with the cannon fodder."

"Not quite, Katana" the cat man, Yi, replied, holding his hand out in his own stance, as if to fight bare handed. "Still one more armored one to deal with."

The armored man in question had only just avoided getting crushed beneath the helicopter and was shaking his head as if to get his bearings. He looked back at the debris left behind by the crash and explosion, and Hudson didn't have to see his face to know the horror he was feeling. "They're… they're dead…." He whirled back around to scream at them all. "They're dead! You monsters killed them!"

"Oh, boohoo" a new voice mocked. "You were here to do much worse to us for daring to breath the same air as you" Hudson turned his head to see a man in a white cloak, carrying a sword as he stepped over the lifeless body of the third armored man. The black wings on his back told Hudson he was a gargoyle, but… that voice…. It couldn't be…

Then Hudson saw Goliath standing behind the strange gargoyle, and the purple gargoyle looked like he had seen a ghost.

The gargoyle in white took off his hood, and Hudson almost fell down weeping right there. The man's face was red and beaked, with hair as white as the moonlight flowing down in a mane on the back of his head.

There were scars across his face that were not there before, and he had gotten bigger. But there was no doubt about it.

"Brooklyn…" Hudson sobbed in relief and joy.

"No way…." Broadway whispered as he watched his rookery brother saunter to the other two strangers in the middle of the courtyard.

Brooklyn didn't pay them any attention as he glared at the gathering Quarrymen. He snapped his fingers, and red flames started to dance in his claws. With a flourish of the sword in his other hand, he said to the Quarrymen, "Last chance. Leave now and live. Or stay, and we'll do to you exactly what you're here to do to them."

"Your parlor tricks don't scare us, demon!" the last armored man shrieked, picking up his hammer and activating it. "Attack!" With that last cry, he and the rest of his forces charged Brooklyn's group and the Manhattan Clan.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," the red gargoyle growled in a voice colder than the snow Katana conjured. With a snarl, Brooklyn lashed out with his claws, sending a wide arc of flames at the charging Quarrymen. The flames seared into them, knocking some back and setting others on fire. Not sparing a second, Brooklyn jumped next to Katana as the recovering Quarrymen who weren't burning shot their pistols at them. Katana flourished her hand, and a wall of ice manifested in front of her, cracking as it blocked the bullets.

Yi didn't join Brooklyn and Katana in the shelter of the ice wall. Instead, he swung his outstretched hand around so fast that all anyone could see was a yellow blur. The split second a bullet would land, it didn't knock Yi back, instead impacting with a green flash of light and launching itself back at the shooters. Three Quarrymen fell to their own bullets.

A group of Quarrymen split off from the center formation to go after the others. In response, Katana stomped her foot, and the stone floor suddenly froze, the ice creeping from where she stood to past where the Quarrymen were running in a blue flash. All but the armored Quarryman slipped on the ice and tumbled in all directions.

The rest of the Quarrymen had gone around to try and engage the other gargoyles. Three of them were approaching the still-winded Hudson and the gargoyle child standing defiantly in front of him.

"Got you covered, old man!" Gnash exclaimed as he thrust his hand out. To Hudson's shock, several discarded hammers flew toward Gnash before stopping in midair to float in front of the boy. The hammers started to break apart into dust, dissolving and remolding themselves into a single mass. When the mass of particles solidified again, it was in the shape of a long-length chain that Gnash snatched out of midair and swung in front of himself. "Bring it, chumps!"

The Quarrymen fired at Gnash, who twirled his chain around a split second before they started. The chain stopped the bullets, either catching them between its links or deflecting them away. With a triumphant laugh, Gnash flicked the captured bullets off the chain and lashed out with his free hand. The guns the Quarrymen were holding were ripped away by an invisible force and flew towards the young gargoyle, breaking into dust and forming a sword that floated next to Gnash's head.

The Quarrymen didn't have time to draw their hammers as Gnash charged at them, wrapping the chain around his arm so he could slash the nearest one's throat with a draw of the sword at his belt. The sword floating by him slashed at a Quarrymen directly behind Gnash, but the hostile human barely managed to evade the swing. With another swing of the sword in hand, Gnash sliced off the head of the second Quarryman, but before he could dispatch the remaining one, the human had gotten his hammer out and swung at Gnash. Gnash caught the hammer with his bare hand and immediately shrieked from the electricity he was doused in.

"Oh god!" he screamed. "It hurts so much! You've got me…!" Hudson raced to help the child, but then the screams from Gnash turned into laughter as he smirked maliciously at Quarryman. "Just kidding!" he shouted before grabbing the Quarryman by the neck. "Fry bitch!"

At those words, the energy shocking Gnash went into the Quarryman, causing him to scream horridly as he was electrocuted. This went on for a few seconds before the electricity faded, leaving the smoking body of the Quarryman limp in his hand.

"How in the-?" Hudson exclaimed as he reached Gnash, who still had traces of electricity flowing through him.

"Electricity doesn't work on me!" Gnash replied with a grin, tossing aside the corpse without a care in the world. "It's quite tasty, actually! C'mon, let's finish the rest!"

The rest in question didn't seem like that needed Gnash's help to finish off. Yi was keeping the last man in powered armor busy, dodging his attacks with an agility most gargoyles couldn't match. Whatever blows he couldn't dodge, he parried with that same green light from earlier. Katana was a bit more on the offensive, gracefully dancing around the Quarrymen's hammers and retaliating with her sword. With one swing, she decapitated a Quarryman, and with another, one would lose an arm. And Brooklyn…

Brooklyn was an utter beast. Hudson had no idea how the red gargoyle learned magic within a single month, but he was both precise and fierce with it. One Quarryman was incinerated by the flames he was unleashing from his left hand, and when another tried to get in close, he fell upon Brooklyn's sword, stabbed right through the chest. Hudson saw another one try to sneak up behind Brooklyn, but before Hudson could warn him, Brooklyn grabbed the human by the face without even looking, slammed him to the ground, and completely immolated him with an eruption of fire.

By Wyvern… The screams….

Brooklyn didn't pay the agonized death cries any mind, whipping around to survey the rest of the fight. There were only a handful of Quarrymen still left, and besides the armored one fighting Yi, all had gotten too scared of Brooklyn, Katana, and Yi to engage them. So, they were going for the rest of the Manhattan Clan, hoping to get some easy prey.

Unfortunately for them, the clan had started to get their second wind. Goliath seized a man by the throat and threw him into the battlement wall so hard it cracked. Now that they weren't pressured by the helicopter gun, Elisa and Lexington were able to get out of hiding and make a counterattack. Lexington charged at one with a roar, slamming him into the ground and knocking him out cold, while Elisa managed to down another with her pistol. Broadway was still hanging over the downed Angela, but he still clobbered any Quarryman foolish enough to get close.

This was the chance to finish the fight. Brooklyn turned his glare back to the armored man. He flourished his hand, shouting, "Ardentis Catenis!" With one last swipe of his hand toward the Quarryman, a stream of fire erupted from the ground at the feet of the man in powered armor. The flames wrapped around the armored man, forming burning chains that dragged the man down, pinning him in place as the searing heat roasted him through his metal shell.

"Now Yi!" Brooklyn shouted over the screams of the armored man.

Yi nodded wordlessly, jumped back a few paces, and swung two fingers in front of himself. Something like a sheet of paper appeared between his fingers, glowing light green, and Yi rushed at the man. He stuck the paper on the armored chest, zipped past him in the blink of an eye, and swung the two fingers again in a slashing motion. In that instant, the glowing paper exploded, shattering the armor and sending the man on his back as the chains faded.

"I held back," Yi said. "He won't die."

"Good," Brooklyn replied, dashing over to grab the fallen man by the throat. The Quarryman gagged as Brooklyn dragged the man over to the broken wall. He shoved the man out arm's length, dangling him over the clouds below the castle.

"Brooklyn!" Goliath exclaimed. "What are you-?" But before he could get close, Katana jumped in front of Goliath, back turned away from him and sword drawn. He wouldn't get close.

"I have a message for Castaway," Brooklyn growled. "Tell him there are gargoyles in town who won't take any more suffering from the likes of him and his ilk. If he's hellbent on treating us like demons to be hunted, then we'll act the part when he attacks. There won't be any more mercy for the merciless. You got it?"

The man choked in Brooklyn's grip, squirming as he struggled to break free. When he saw that doing so would mean a plummet to his death, he simply snarled, "Fuck you!"

"Good talk," Brooklyn said dryly, flicking the man in the forehead. He then smirked maliciously as he added. "Don't have a heart attack on the way down."

"Wha-" was all the man had time to say before Brooklyn dropped him. His screams echoed through the castle, growing softer as he fell down and down through the clouds below.

"What the hell-?!" Hudson cried. "Lad, there was no need to go that far!"

"Why?" Gnash scoffed. "They would have done the same."

"Then you're no better than them!" Angela, who had begun to steady herself, retorted.

Brooklyn and the three strangers he brought stared at Angela with what can only be described as disbelief and bafflement.

"Are you twelve?" Gnash asked incredulously.

"Brooklyn wasn't kidding about you lot…." Katana said, shaking her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Warrior clan, my ass," Yi muttered under his breath.

"Relax Angie," Brooklyn said curtly. "I put a spell that will stop the fall before he hits the ground. Can't exactly have him send a message if I kill him. Your precious Ku Klux Kopy will live. More than I can say for the rest of his friends. Speaking of, we get 'em all?"

"Looks like it," Gnash replied, glancing around the courtyard. Indeed, across the battlefield, the bodies of the Quarrymen lay in various states of intactness. There were a few that were still breathing, but most of them were dead, their corpses skewered, dismembered, burned, or destroyed in some other gruesome fashion. Either way, all the Quarrymen that were attacking them were incapacitated.

"Good," Brooklyn grunted. "We're done here. Let's go." At that, he turned away from them all and stretched his wings as if about to take off.

…..

"Wait!" Goliath cried, running to the son he had been searching around the whole city for a month. "Brooklyn, wait!" The leader of the Manhattan Clan grabbed the red gargoyle's arm desperately as if to confirm he was real…

Brooklyn froze, staring at Goliath with an expression the violet gargoyle couldn't parse. Wyvern, what had happened to him? He had only been gone a month, and yet he had grown several inches. Beneath the white cloak, split at the sides to accommodate his wings, he was wearing a leather jerkin that did little to cover the definition he had developed in his chest and arms. He had gone from a gangly gargoyle teenager to a gargoyle at the peak of his growth.

That wasn't the only thing about Brooklyn that had changed. His white hair had grown well past his hips, even if it wasn't obvious with the white cloak. The red gargoyle had taken to wearing leather gauntlets on his forearms, as well as a wooden pendent with an East Asian character Goliath couldn't recognize around his neck and a silver ring on his index finger. Most distressing to Goliath were the scars. With the healing stone sleep provides, it takes a lot to permanently scar a gargoyle, and just from what Goliath could see, there were far too many. There were traces of cuts all around his arm, and Goliath noticed a patch of discolored skin on his left forearm which seemed to continue under his gauntlet. Like the gauntlet was trying to hide a hand burn. Then there were the scars on his face. There were a couple of light ones that crisscrossed over his beak, but there was a deep one right under his eye. Where Goliath wounded him a month ago.

The mark from their fight still hadn't faded, and dragon knows how many new ones there were. Between that and the amount of growth Brooklyn underwent… Goliath had no choice but to conclude Ji had been telling the truth about the Phoenix Gate. But that didn't matter. All that did was that Brooklyn was here with him. That he was home.

"You're alive…" Goliath whispered, still struggling to believe it. His grip tightened over Brooklyn's arm like some part of him was afraid his son would disappear again if he let go,

Brooklyn blinked at him, still with that inexplicable expression. "What? Are you surprised? Thought that your second in command couldn't survive without the great Goliath?" Brooklyn shook his head. "Maybe that was true once. But not anymore…"

Before Brooklyn could say anymore, Goliath yanked him close, folding him tight to his chest and wrapping his wings around him.

"That doesn't matter now!" Goliath shouted joyously through a sob. "You're back! Thank the heavens, you're back!"

There was so much Goliath wanted to say right then. That he was sorry for everything he had done to Brooklyn and that he loved him with all his being. That he was proud of the warrior he was back a month ago and what he had become now. But all he could do was hold onto his son and relish that, in this moment, the family was whole again, and all would be right again,

But before he could voice any of the feelings stirring in his heart, Brooklyn's fist slammed into his stomach.

Goliath stumbled back, the wind completely knocked out of him, and he didn't get the chance to gain his bearings when Brooklyn slapped Goliath across the face so hard he saw white. Then, with a yell, Brooklyn kicked Goliath in the same spot he slapped, sending Goliath flying several feet back. Goliath landed hard on his side, retching from the blows Brooklyn made.

But Brooklyn hadn't even started yet.

"You don't get to do that!" Brooklyn exclaimed, cutting his hand through the air in a furious manner. "You don't get to treat me like shit for months, blame me for being possessed and used by Coldsteel, scar my face when I went against your favorite, and then act like everything is sugar and rainbows when I come back from hell!"

Goliath coughed as the other members of the clan stared in shock at what Brooklyn had just done. Meanwhile, Katana, Yi, and Gnash made their way to Brooklyn, standing by his side as he glared at Goliath. Goliath had known that forgiveness might not be an instant prospect, but actually being faced with that fact hurt far more than any of Brooklyn's blows did.

Still, it was far from undeserved. Brooklyn had every right to be angry, and he wouldn't drive him away again because of his pride. So Goliath got down on his knees and bowed his head, not attempting to retaliate or defend himself at all. "My son, I'm sor-"

"No!" Brooklyn screamed. "Shut it! You don't get to call me that after what you did! After you all but disowned me that night!"

"Brooklyn," Goliath tried to continue. "I'm truly sorry for-"

"SHUT IT!" Brooklyn roared, making his voice echo through the courtyard. "I'm going to talk, and for once in your damn life, you're going to listen!"

The leader in Goliath wanted to retort, but he knew that would only make things worse. Frankly, after everything, he owed Brooklyn to hear what he was feeling. To understand just what he had gone through and the turmoil in his heart. So, Goliath said nothing as his former subordinate continued to yell at him.

"40," Brooklyn growled. "Do you know what that number is? That's the number of years I spent being jerked around by the Phoenix Gate!"

Those words hit the entire clan harder than any of the Quarryman's hammers could. "What?" Goliath exclaimed, dumbfounded.

"Yeah!" Brooklyn continued, almost hysterical. "All because you thought you knew everything about a semi-divine artifact with a will of its own! Ya didn't think it would go anywhere if you threw it in the void? Fucking IDIOT!"

"I-"Goliath stammered. "Thought without a mind, it would be lost forever…"

"You thought wrong, Goliath! And because of that, I had to spend 40 years seeing the absolute WORST our planet and another had to offer! 40 years cleaning up other people's messes throughout time or setting things up so things would go how the Phoenix wanted them to!" Brooklyn laughed ruefully before saying. "But I guess I should thank you. No really. Thanks. If you hadn't been so stupid, I wouldn't have found my real family!"

Goliath looked up at Brooklyn in shock. "Real… family…?"

"Yup!" Brooklyn replied, spreading his arms to indicate the three people brought with him. "And those 40 years gave me a lot of time to think. And I realized something. Me, Lex, and Broadway didn't just stop being your priority when your precious Angela showed up. We were never your priority!"

"What are you-" Goliath tried to protest, but Brooklyn talked over him.

"Let's go back all the way to Scotland, one thousand years ago. When we actually had a clan until the Massacre. Caused by the traitor among our midst and that one idiot captain. You were so convinced that the humans would protect us if we played nice. If we just obeyed their every whim, built them a castle, and risk our lives to guard them and get food for them. And to that end, you made us endure their every insult. Every injury. Every abuse without a word. And if we dared step out of line and voiced our displeasure, our resentment, you punished us. We can't have the humans feel bad, can we?" Brooklyn gripped his hands so hard that they drew blood. "You sent us down in the rookery for not taking it in the ass when the people whose lives we saved treated us like monsters! You always turned a blind eye to what they did! It didn't matter what we had to suffer so long as the humans who hate us were happy! You never cared about us! We were just disposable sacrifices for those humans!"

"That's not true!" Goliath protested.

"It is!" Brooklyn yelled with a stomp of his foot. "But I guess I can't blame you considering who filled your head with that nonsense. Right Hudson?" Brooklyn growled, aiming his glare at the elder gargoyle.

"What?" Hudson cried in disbelief.

"'A gargoyle can no more stop protecting the castle than breathing the air.'" Brooklyn growled venomously. "That's what you always said, even as the so-called castle was beating our faces in. What about when half the 'castle' wanted us dead? Or when you consider the 'castle' a whole goddamn city? Who gets to be considered the "castle' then? Everyone, even the ones who don't want it and hate us for it? What about when you put those same people who hate us over your damn clan? How is that 'guarding the castle,' Hudson?"

"Lad…" Hudson said, voice gentle but clearly rattled at the red gargoyle's words. "A gargoyle's natural instinct is to protect those who can't protect themselves. To be otherwise is to be corrupt, empty, lifeless…."

At those words, something changed in Brooklyn's eyes. But this wasn't the usual white glow of gargoyle males in moments of fury or passion. No. Instead, darkness grew past his pupils, engulfing his iris and spreading across his cornea. Goliath gasped, unable to hide his confusion and horror as Brooklyn's eyes became as black as the void. It was like a piece of a starless night sky became embedded in Brooklyn's skull.

What sorcery was this?

"So, our only choice is to be slaves?" Brooklyn hissed. "Because that's what we were back then. We built their castle for them, protected them from invaders, did their grunt work, did all that they asked. And it was never enough. They abused us, beat us, called us monsters at every turn. And you did nothing lest it upset your boyfriend, Prince Malcom!"

Hudson choked at that last sentence. "B-boyfriend?"

"Boytoy, fuck buddy, slam piece!" Brooklyn continued with a dismissive wave. "Whatever term you want to use to describe just how far up his ass your head was! You were content to let us all suffer in silence if it meant that stupid man was happy! We gave them our home, fought for them, sacrificed our lives for them! And they treated us like shit while you never even tried to make it an equal partnership like you pretended it was! All so you could play 'knight in shining armor' for a man who along with his bitch daughter killed our clan!"

"Don't bring my mother into this!" Angela shrieked. "She atoned for her part by raising me and my clan!"

"Oh, now blood relationships don't matter to you?" Brooklyn scoffed with a roll of the eyes. "And good for you, she made sure you got to live a life with no problems away from the real world. Never mind that your mother and the Magus invaded Avalon, overpowering the guards Oberon put there to keep people out to do so! Which not only put all of you and themselves in danger, but ensured Goliath had to come to them rescue again while abandoning us! All because she and the Magus had to take the easy way out and didn't even try to come up with another solution that didn't impose on other people! Even without a castle, she's an entitled princess to the last!"

"Brook, you don't know what you're saying…" Broadway said in a coaxing manner, slowly walking over to the enraged gargoyle with raised hands. "I understand you're mad at Goliath, Angela, and me, and you have every right to be, but you're not thinking straight…" Broadway tried to put his hand on Brooklyn's shoulder, but a surge of electricity coursed through Brooklyn's body, shocking Broadway and causing him to pull his hand away.

"Don't fucking tell me how I feel and what I think, Broadway!" Brooklyn exclaimed. "This has been 40 years coming! You have no idea the shit I've seen and what I had to do to survive while you all were playing hero for people who will never care about us! So, I'll tell you what I think! I'm done playing nice for humans! I'm done holding back on people like the Quarrymen who will stop at nothing to see us dead! I'm done suffering in the shadows while humankind continues to grind us under heel! Demona was wrong to take her anger out on all humans, but she was right about one thing: your 'Gargoyle Way' is going to be the death of us, and I won't let that happen!" Brooklyn jabbed his thump to his chest as he said. "I have my own Gargoyle Way now, and it says I won't take anymore suffering from horrible humans! I'm going to fight for a better world, and hell or high water, I will make a place for my family in it!"

"We are your family!" Lexington protested. "We spent all this time trying to look for you! We-"

"You just wanted back what you lost!" Brooklyn retorted with venom, his eyes still utterly black as he glared at the tiny gargoyle. "And stop using 'family' as if it means anything to you! You said it yourself this clan didn't feel like a real one anymore. That's why you and Hudson spent months with strangers, because they 'felt like a real clan'."

Lexington shook his head, tears running down his face. "No… that's- that's not what we meant…"

"Then why'd you say it?" Brooklyn asked. "If Broadway and Angela didn't really blame me for being possessed, why did they say all that? If Goliath didn't agree with all that, and didn't consider me a disappointment, why did he hurt me that night? It's easy to say you don't mean it now when the consequences are staring you in the face, ain't it Lex?"

"Brooklyn, please!" Goliath begged. "I know… I've done you a great wrong. I've made so many mistakes not just these past few months but across my entire leadership. But I want to make it right for you, for all the clan! If we don't have clan, if we don't have family, then what do we have?"

Brooklyn turned his gaze to Goliath, and the black eyes made it hard for Goliath to see what he was thinking. Then, to Goliath's relief, the darkness started to retreat, leaving the natural brown eyes Brooklyn usually had. "Goliath… family is many things. Blood, the people you spend your life with, and who you fight with. But there's one thing above all family is. A choice."

Brooklyn walked to the edge of the roof, but rather than taking off to fly like a gargoyle normally would, he just walked off. But instead of falling, Brooklyn floated off the roof like the wind was carrying him from below. Like a fae…

"You all made your choices," Brooklyn said, turning to look at the clan as he levitated off the roof. He pulled a dagger that had been hidden by his cloak with one hand and gathered his long white hair behind his head in the other. He placed the edge of the dagger to where he had gathered his hair, around two feet long. "So, I'm making mine. And Goliath…"

At that, Brooklyn pulled his knife, severing his hair, leaving only the two feet attached. He held the cut clump of hair out in front of him for all the clan to see as he declared, "You're no longer what I choose." He released his cut hair, letting the white strands scatter like moonbeams in the wind.

"Au Revoir, Manhattan Clan," Brooklyn said, not even letting what he said sink in. He turned his back on the clan one final time and flew away.

Words utterly failed Goliath in that moment. There were so many ways that he had imagined the reunion between himself and Brooklyn going, and a lot of them involved yelling and anger from his subordinate. Anger he had been prepared for and understood. But to go so far as to disown the entire clan….

This just couldn't be real.

"Come on, let's go," the voice of the child, Gnash, called out, snapping Goliath out of his trace. The boy who looked so much like his son ran to the edge of the roof and took off after his father, beginning the flight in the standard gargoyle fashion.

Katana stepped towards where Brooklyn and Gnash had gone, but she didn't leave just yet, stopping just before the edge. "Based on what he told me of you, and his experiences with touch, you should consider yourself lucky he drove a fist into your stomach instead of a dagger." Katana said icily.

"Indeed," Yi added, stomping his small feet towards Goliath. "We know better than anyone how long those words have been stirring in his heart. But you still have no idea what he's suffered. Both on the journey and on account of you."

The cat man stopped in front of Goliath and glared with verdant eyes, pupils slitted. Despite only being a little taller than Lexington, Goliath could feel in his bones how formidable he was. For the first time in a long time, Goliath felt like prey.

"So let me make this clear. If you ever give even the slightest indication that you'll repeat what you did to Brooklyn all those years ago, you'll answer to us. And you saw for yourself tonight how sharp our blades are. So do us all a favor and stay the hell away."

With that, Yi leaped onto Katana's back, and they flew away, leaving Goliath and the rest of the clan with a courtyard full of corpses and regret.

Chapter Text

Date Unknown

When the Phoenix took him, Brooklyn thought he was going to die. Immolated by the flames of that mystical bird, leaving only a charred corpse no one would mourn. But instead of feeling heat against his skin, he was simply… lifted. He was lifted and carried by some force while the fire blocked his surroundings from his sight. After a moment, Brooklyn heard the shriek of a bird before the flames started to die down.

When the glow of the flames faded, the force carrying Brooklyn did too, and he immediately started to fall. Brooklyn spread his wings on instinct, riding the air to slow his descent. As he was getting his bearings, he hit a rocky wall and dug his claws into it, making deep groves into the stone as he came to a stop just above the ground. With a sigh of relief, he stepped to the ground and looked around.

He was outside in some sort of rocky valley with ivy, vines, and trees growing all around him. His bare feet were touching cold dirt with soft grass and moss growing in it. He couldn't see any stars or the moon from where he was, but the darkness told him it was early in the night at best. The red gargoyle could practically smell the dampness in the air, along with the plant life and, strangely… something metallic.

Shit. He wasn't in New York anymore.

Brooklyn started walking, taking a few ragged breaths to keep calm. The Phoenix Gate… whatever was inside just took him away from New York. From his clan. With its powers over space and time, there was no way of knowing where he was and at what point in the timeline he ended up.

Brooklyn looked up, hoping to see any trace of the Phoenix that transported him. No hide or feather could be found. He was stuck in an unknown place without any of his clan or friends, separated from them not just by distance but by time as well.

Brooklyn could only let out a rueful laugh at the thought. He had run away to get away from Goliath, Broadway, and Angela. To not face the rest of the clan. Now, he was as far away from them as he could get.

Could this night get any worse?

Brooklyn ran his fingers through his white hair as he took stock of his situation. It was still night, seemingly early where he was, so he still had time to get his bearings and figure out where he was. Maybe he could find the Phoenix Gate tonight and get home…

The thought of the magical object made Brooklyn remember he didn't arrive here empty-handed. He held out the book that Ji had given him, the Grimorum Revolutionis. With his night vision, Brooklyn could just make out the letters of the spell book as he walked. He shook his head. He was no sorcerer. What the hell had Ji given him this for? How was he supposed to…?

Brooklyn stilled as his ears picked up a new sound. Was that… whispering? He looked around, trying to get a visual of the source of the noise. It was definitely whispering, of multiple people at that, but the gargoyle couldn't make out any of the words…. Brooklyn's eyes settled on a hole in the rocky wall of the valley. There was something… moving in the hole, and that's where it seemed like the whispering was coming from.

Against his better judgment, Brooklyn stepped towards the hole to get a better look. The closer he got, the louder the whispering became, and the more clearly he could see what was in the hole. It was… roots. Large black roots that seemed almost scaled, slithering around each other like a pack of snakes. Brooklyn rubbed his eyes to ensure they weren't snakes, but no, just moving roots. Moving roots that were… whispering. Before he even realized it, Brooklyn was reaching out to the roots, mesmerized by their slithering and whispering.

The moment the gargoyle's fingers contacted a root, it wrapped around Brooklyn's wrist, pulling him closer. Brooklyn gasped in shock, digging in with the claws on his feet as he tried to pull back to free himself. Just as he was about to break free, more roots slithered around Brooklyn's ankles, waist, and shoulders. Brooklyn gasped as the roots squeezed around his ribs, not enough to suffocate him but enough to completely immobilize him, rendering him helpless as the roots pulled him into the hole in the wall. Brooklyn desperately tried to thrash free, but more roots covered what was left of his body, eventually covering his neck and then his head, leaving him in darkness, cocooned by those scaly roots.

Panic filled Brooklyn's lungs, taking his breath away before the roots did. Was he going to die here, in a coffin of these strange roots? When his lungs burned for oxygen, he gasped… and realized that he could breathe just fine. Huh? Were these roots… porous?

Just as he made that realization, the pressure restricting Brooklyn released, and he floated like a feather onto solid ground. Before Brooklyn's eyes, pricks of light like stars came into view. More than that, the ground and the air seemed to be faintly glowing with a soft greenish-blue light. Brooklyn looked behind himself to look at where he had come out from, and he saw a pair of the roots that took him there, intertwined in a circle and curling within it. It sort of reminded Brooklyn of the Yin-Yang symbol. These roots were surrounded by a series of floating rocks, all shaped into single circles spinning around the roots.

Brooklyn gaped, taking in the strange and beautiful scenery. He was next to a ledge that overlooked what seemed like a bottomless, but in the distance, he saw mountains poking out from clouds, with trees sprouting from them. From this, Brooklyn could summarize that he was on a mountain. There were other floating rocks all around the mountaintop he was standing on, some also having plants or trees growing from them. From where he stood, he couldn't see anything else except those mountains and floating rocks…

Except… as Brooklyn looked, he saw a bridge of wood at the edge of the mountaintop he was on. Seeing nowhere else to go, Brooklyn approached the bridge, carefully looking around as he walked. As he moved, he noticed how it felt like he was weightless, like he wasn't really there. At the same time, the gargoyle felt… wired. Wide awake when he had been exhausted by his stressful night. It wasn't just because the potentially dangerous situation snapped him awake. There just… something about this place that seemed to invigorate him.

When Brooklyn crossed the bridge, he stopped dead.

There was someone else with Brooklyn right in front of him in the middle of the new mountaintop. He is not sitting on the ground or standing in place but floating in a lotus position with his legs crossed. He was dressed in deep blue robes with green trimming, but his apparel was hardly the most notable thing about him.

No, it was that he was of the same species as Ji. A man with a feline head, cat ears, and nose, covered from head to toe in pale yellow fur. The pale fur at the top of his head grew long like human hair, and he tied it back in a long ponytail that Brooklyn noticed became green halfway down. He looked at Brooklyn with a serene expression, and as the gargoyle approached, he saw the cat man had red eyes.

Brooklyn crouched low, preparing for the worst as he got closer to the man. But before he could do anything, the man spoke. "Ah…" the man said with a soft smile. "It's good to see you again, fellow disciple."

Well… that threw him for a loop.

"What are you talking about?" Brooklyn asked. "Who are you?"

The man laughed at the gargoyle's confusion. "Forgive me! Time has no meaning in this place, so I forget you might not know who I am right now."

"Time has no meaning?" Brooklyn repeated in befuddlement. "What is this place?"

"A limitless realm." The man said. "Where the forces of heaven and earth intersect with spacetime and consciousness."

"…..In English please?" Brooklyn asked.

The cat man laughed again, louder this time. "Well, I can't speak that particular tongue! We can only understand each other because all hearts are one in this place. All is one in the heart of the Tao!"

The last word was familiar to Brooklyn. "The Tao? You some sort of monk?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes," the man said. "You may call me Lear, my friend, and I am what my people called a Fangshi. A mystic, scientist, and alchemist, among other things."

"Great," Brooklyn shrugged. "So, Great Wizard, can you get me out of here?"

"You can leave any time you wish," Lear said, stroking his beard. "But before you do, I have some guidance for you. To assist in your current predicament with the Phoenix."

Brooklyn locked eyes with Lear immediately. "You have my attention."

"There is a man you need to find in the waking world." Lear said. "A Solarian Fangshi like myself, and my most prized pupil and colleague. He will be the key to your survival. And finding the Phoenix."

"Where do I find him?" Brooklyn pressed. "What's he look like?"

"He goes by the name Yi," Lear answered. "You'll know him when you see him. Your fates are intertwined quite intimately."

"Can you cats stop telling me cryptic bullshit and give me a straight answer?" Brooklyn growled.

Lear only laughed again, amused at the young gargoyle's annoyance. "Do not worry! Your heart already has the answer you're looking for! Just trust it, and you'll be fine, young gargoyle. Now before you go, I have a little gift for you."

At that, Lear touched the ground and started walking to Brooklyn. The gargoyle tensed but remained calm as Lear hadn't seemed aggressive yet. Then again, Ji hadn't seemed aggressive either….

"In this world you find yourself in, you'll need to be able to understand those in the waking world if you wish to survive," Lear said as he stood inches from Brooklyn. "Speak their tongue. Read their words. And so… I will bestow upon you the gift of knowledge. The gift of the language of Penglai." At those words, Lear gently placed a thumb on Brooklyn's neck and another on his forehead. Brooklyn felt a warmth flow into him through Lear's fingers, and for a brief moment, the gargoyle heard the same whispering from the roots from earlier surrounding him. This time… he could make out some of the words.

As above, so below…

All are one in the Tao….

Go with the flow… there is power in inaction…

The truth is more than what you see with the eyes…

The Tao swallows people up…. And the Tao gives birth to people….

Little seedling, become a tree, blossom into a fruit….

As Lear stepped away from Brooklyn, the voices ceased, but the buzz in his head got more and more intense. Eventually, it grew painful, forcing Brooklyn onto his knees and holding his throbbing head. Lear got back into his lotus position and started to float again. He said to Brooklyn, "Good luck, my friend. May the Tao guide you along your path."

The pain in his skull made Brooklyn's vision grow black.

….

When Brooklyn opened his eyes, he was back in the valley, face down in the grass. He groaned groggily as he stumbled to his feet. Fuck, it felt like he was getting teleported everywhere today. What even the hell was that he saw?

Unfortunately, the red gargoyle didn't have time to process what had just happened to him when he heard a scream in the distance. Goddamn it. One thing after another. With a weary sigh, Brooklyn shook off the grogginess and ran off in the direction of the scream.

Brooklyn's mad dash took him out of the valley into a field of tall grass. There were trees that Brooklyn recognized as peach trees scattered throughout the field, their pink petals in full bloom and occasionally wafting down as Brooklyn ran past. For a moment, Brooklyn wasn't sure if he even went in the right direction, but then he heard more screams of terror. Screams that had to be from multiple people. He narrowed his eyes in the dark and, with some effort, was able to make out a series of huts in the distance, just barely illuminated by a few torches.

A village. Without hesitation, Brooklyn picked up the pace, eyes darting around to assess the situation as he approached. He didn't see any people at the outset but could hear the screams. There had to be trouble coming from deep within the village.

Sure enough, as he arrived at the outskirts of the village, Brooklyn saw the shapes of people running around, crying out in fear over something. Something that soon became apparent when Brooklyn's ears picked some sort of mechanical groan. The red gargoyle snapped his head at the source, and he saw a group of humans being herded from a house by a dark figure in armor carrying a large sword. Brooklyn couldn't see much of the figure except that it wore some sort of wide-brimmed hat, and its eyes were glowing blood red.

A child from that group pulled at the armored figure's sleeve, pleading to it for something, only for the figure to slap the child across the face hard enough to draw blood from their mouth.

Immediately, Brooklyn's eyes burned white as he roared, charging at the armored figure with no hesitation. He didn't need to see anymore. No one was going to hurt children under his watch! The armored figure only had time to turn its head before Brooklyn's fist collided with its head. Brooklyn grunted as his knuckles felt the familiar impact of metal, but the force was still enough to knock the armored being back into the wall, dropping its sword.

A robot. No reason to hold back then.

The child ran back to their family as Brooklyn picked up the sword and put himself between the family and the robot. Out of the corner of his eye, Brooklyn saw more robots armed with swords heading his way to help their comrade. Good. Let them all come.

With another roar, Brooklyn swung his sword at the robot he knocked over, cleaving its head clean off. The severed wires on its decapitated body sparked weakly before the power shut down. Taking one last look behind himself to check on the family, Brooklyn charged at the approaching robots with sword in hand.

One robot took a swing that Brooklyn managed to evade and counter with his own strike, which managed to land home, slicing the robot in half. The other two circled around the gargoyle, trying to find an opening to strike. After a moment, they both swung at the same time from both sides, trying to kill Brooklyn by dividing his attention between the two of them. Unfortunately for them, Brooklyn evaded them both by leaping up high, boosting his jump with a flap of his wings. Then, using the force of his descent, he swung his sword with the full weight of his fall and sliced straight through his metal foe. The other robot tried to attack when Brooklyn's back was turned, but the gargoyle swiped it aside with a swing of his tail, smashing it to pieces.

Brooklyn looked around, trying to see if there were any more of those robots. Much to his relief, there weren't. Just a lot of confused and scared people.

"Are you okay?" Brooklyn asked the trembling family he had just rescued. Now that he was able to get a good look at them, Brooklyn noticed that the whole family had the same light brown skin and white hair with a slight lavender tint. Brooklyn couldn't see their eyes because every member of the family had hair long enough to cover them. They all were clad in similar-looking robes of varying colors, simply made.

The family stared at Brooklyn for a moment as more villagers started to gather around. Brooklyn began to feel uneasy, his mind going back to all the times he and his clan had saved humans only to be berated as monsters. This village seemed to be in the sticks, so there was no chance they had enlightened views on gargoyles.

Brooklyn was just about to take off before he overstayed his welcome when one of the villagers suddenly cried out, "The gods have sent us an angel!"

…..what?

"A guardian of the land has saved us!" another shouted, prompting a chorus of cheers and jubilation from the villagers.

The child that had been smacked by the robot ran up to Brooklyn and tackled his chest in a hug. "Thank you so much, Mr. Angel!"

Well, this was certainly a different reception than what he was used to. Different, but not unwelcome.

"No need to thank me…" Brooklyn replied, awkwardly patting the child on the head. "It was the right thing to do."

"So modest for a servant of the gods!" Brooklyn heard one of them laugh. This one stepped forward, and Brooklyn saw that this one was slightly bigger than the rest of the humans and wore blue robes. Brooklyn couldn't see their face because they covered up their face with a green depicting some sort of animal. A cat, he realized. "But words cannot express our gratitude! Especially after the disaster this year's Harvest Festival has been!"

"What exactly happened here?" Brooklyn asked. "And come to think of it, where are we? Kinda just got here, so I'm a little out of the loop."

The elder in the cat mask laughed. The high-pitched raspiness indicated to Brooklyn this was a woman. "Why, you're in Peach Blossom Village, angel of the land! A land fortuitous to be blessed by our gods with bountiful harvest! Just a few moments ago, we were in the process of sending some of our numbers to live with our divine protectors!"

…. Okay, red flag. "Sending people to live with the gods?"

"Indeed!" the elder said, turning her gaze to look at a statue placed in the middle of the village. It looked… catlike. Just like the mask the elder wore. Brooklyn's mind went to Ji's words before he sent him away with the Phoenix Gate: "On the contrary, there was a time when the apemen considered my kind gods."

Between the other catman, Brooklyn met in that strange place in the roots who told him to find another one of his kind… Were those cat men the "gods" the humans of this village worshipped? Then what does "sending them to live with the gods" mean?

Fuck, Brooklyn had a bad feeling about all this.

"Every few years, we choose one of our own to be sent to the heavens to live with the gods!" The elder continued, disrupting the gargoyle's thoughts with her increasing conviction and passion. "Upon the holy altar, where the gods whisk them away to paradise! But… this year… one of the gods was displeased. We don't know why."

Brooklyn's ears twitched. "What did this 'god' do?"

The elder shook her head. "The god smashed the divine altar just as the last member of the chosen was about to be taken. Then he made a great hole in the earth and disappeared inside it. After which, those monsters appeared. I don't know what we did, but the gods must have been displeased at us." Brooklyn could hear the despondency in the elder's voice for a split second before cheering up. She clasped Brooklyn's hands, not minding one bit his claws, and said in awe, "But your presence here means that the gods are not without mercy! Perhaps this was a test from the ones above!"

"Ummm… sure," Brooklyn said. While he was glad these people didn't want to kill him, he was uncomfortable being considered a literal angel. At the same time, he was afraid of refuting that notion because he didn't want them to turn to the usual reaction towards his kind. So, he decided to play along, even if he wasn't sure what an "angel" would say or do. "Where exactly is this hole? Maybe I can follow this god and get some answers for you all."

"Oh, that would be splendid!" The elder exclaimed. "You would be willing to do that for us?"

"Of course," Brooklyn replied. "I can't exactly stay here to protect you forever, and even if I could, just fighting those monsters wouldn't be addressing the problem. So, let's fix it at the source."

At those words, the elder turned to the villagers. "The Angel will speak to the gods on our behalf! He will bring peace and prosperity to village once more!"

The villagers cheered at those words, but Brooklyn's heart started to feel like it was filling with lead. Just raise those expectations to the sky, why don't you? No pressure here, no siree.

Once the cheers died, the elder and a few other villagers guided Brooklyn to the altar. It was in a round clearing that had a series of stone circles at the heart in contrast to the dirt and grass elsewhere on the ground. Built on top of those circles was an arch of gold, beneath which was some sort of metal circle suspended by beams. In front of that circle was a metal and stone slab that had crisscrossing glowing lines etched into it, along with runes. Runes that Brooklyn initially didn't recognize, but when he blinked, something clicked in his mind, and suddenly he understood them perfectly. Much of it was too faded to read, but he could make out one phrase. One phrase chilled Brooklyn to the bone: "Livestock Harvesting Unit 95."

"The god went down there," the elder said, moving past Brooklyn to point at a spot in the ground past the machine. Brooklyn followed her, and sure enough, behind the machine was a wide, circular hole in the ground. The walls of the hole were of grey metal, and Brooklyn could see electronic lights etched periodically into it. On the other side of the hole was a panel, clearly of an electronic nature.

Brooklyn snorted in wariness. This hole was obviously an elevator, and these villagers were not educated enough to understand this level of tech. If the machine was a "harvester" for livestock, and the humans sent their members to live with "gods" that obviously seemed to be higher tech than them….

Fuck, Brooklyn was hoping he was wrong about his hypothesis, but it was not looking good. There are far too many red flags for Brooklyn to be convinced otherwise.

Brooklyn took a deep breath to gather his thoughts. Then, he turned to the elder. "Keep everyone safe. I'll be back when I find your god."

"Will you be alright so soon after your fight?" the elder asked. "The bandages on your stomach… the wound on your face. You were hurt before the monsters appeared in the village, weren't you?"

Brooklyn sighed at the nerve the elder touched, caressing the open wound that Goliath had given him. "I'll be okay, I promise. When morning comes, this will heal."

"I see… Well, while you're down there, can you keep an eye out for two of our villagers?" the elder asked. "They went down to find our god as well. One was a big brute named Shennong. The other was a child named Shuanshuan, who was meant to go up and live with the gods today. He must have been so disappointed for the ritual to be interrupted so he followed the god down there."

Lady, if this ritual was what I think it was, your "god" may have saved him. "I'll keep a lookout," Brooklyn replied. "Wish me luck." With that, Brooklyn leaped into the hole, falling into darkness.

….

To Brooklyn's surprise, it took him a few minutes to land, so long that he felt the need to slow his fall with his wings multiple times. Eventually, his feet impacted on the cold metal floor. The red gargoyle looked around the bottom of the elevator; everything was dark except for piercing flashes of red displays. Brooklyn couldn't see any words, but he got the impression it was conveying some sort of warning.

Brooklyn took a few steps into a hall, and just as he wondered if he was going the right way, his clawed feet hit something, kicking it into a wall. He looked down to see it was some sort of metal that had landed among the trashed remains of one of those robots. There were other destroyed robots all along the hall, all in various states of intact. Something else had been here. Someone. Someone who didn't like the robots anymore than Brooklyn did.

A trail if he ever saw one.

Brooklyn made off in that direction, not minding the fragments that his feet kicked up as he ran. The hallway got a little brighter as he went along, but not much, just barely illuminated by a faint green glowing line in the wall. Brooklyn might have better sight in the dark than humans, but he still kept his wits about him. This was unfamiliar territory, after all.

Whatever caution Brooklyn had started preparing died in his throat when he came across a window to his left. He stopped, rubbing his eyes to ensure he was seeing what he thought he was. Behind the window was a series of conveyor belts, so many that Brooklyn couldn't count them all…. And they were moving… bodies.

Human bodies, all dressed in the same style of the village up above, and all without their heads, bleeding from stumps where their necks were.

Brooklyn couldn't fight the gasp of utter horror as he watched the conveyor belts move the headless corpses like they were parts of an assembly line. There had to be hundreds of these bodies, hundreds of dead humans, being carted off to god knows where! What the FUCK…?!

As if on cue, something beeped below him. Brooklyn only had time to see some sort of metal pedestal with a glowing light right under the window before it released a bright light. When Brooklyn's eyes adjusted, the light became a holographic screen with a lot of information. But what caught his eye was the text right in the middle.

Apeman harvesting in-process. Apemen will be taken from the livestock areas, where their bodies will be dismembered and sorted. Flowers and clothes are mixed in with the other useless parts and then disposed of in favor of their flesh for Solarian consumption and brains for other purposes.

Brooklyn's mind immediately went to the "harvesting machine" he had seen in the village. He knew something was wrong, but this was… oh god…

The bile had been built before Brooklyn could stop it, and he retched, spewing out everything he had eaten that night onto the floor. He heaved, trying to right himself on the wall, before vomiting once more in the hall. He gagged and gasped as he tried to breathe and steady himself, and thankfully the vomiting stopped. But the sick feeling was still strong, only strengthened by the sight of the atrocities still right outside the window. The gargoyle ran down the hall to get it out of his sight, but it was burned into his mind.

The "gods"… weren't helping those humans out of the goodness of their hearts. They were raising them like cattle! Animals to be fattened up and slaughtered to put on their dinner plates! Those cats were eating sapient beings! And the humans were none the wiser!

Every cell in the red gargoyle's body wanted him to go up, tell the humans the truth, and get them all out of there. But would they even believe him, angel or not? Even if they did, where would they go? And how could Brooklyn possibly stand a chance against an entire people with tech like this?

Gods… why had the Phoenix Gate sent him into this nightmare?

The hallway continued for quite some time, with more bodies being littered throughout the floor. A few holographic displays also manifested as Brooklyn passed, warning him of a "Solarian intruder" in the livestock area who was "armed and dangerous." There were also weird glowing green parts of the walls the gargoyle passed on the occasion that Brooklyn couldn't decipher the purpose of, but he decided to avoid them lest they prove to be harmful. Then, it occurred to Brooklyn that he shouldn't be able to understand the words, but he did anyway.

Looks like Lear was true to his word.

The gargoyle wasn't sure how long he spent running in that horrible hallway. Once, Brooklyn finally came across some stairs upward and, without hesitation, started climbing up. Just as Brooklyn thought he was getting somewhere, he went back down another flight to find another part of the "harvest," where behind glass, the limbs of the headless bodies were encased by some sort of cuff and then pulled off with the limbs, leaving just a torso. Brooklyn barely resisted the urge to vomit again, sprinting away from the terrible sight, only to almost run right into some laser beams that were randomly flashing in the hall. The gargoyle growled in frustration and fear, but fortunately, the lasers faded in and out in a consistent rhythm that Brooklyn easily used to get past them.

Fuck. Did the place have even less OSHA compliance than the Death Star?

Just as Brooklyn thought he made it past the hard part, he heard a scream. One that sounded human. Without any hesitation, Brooklyn ran in that direction. In only a few seconds, Brooklyn found himself at the top of some stairs in a large circular room with hallways built on four sides of the circle. In the middle of the room, at the bottom of the stairs, was a pair of massive statues made of the same white material, but that wasn't what got the gargoyle's attention. Under the statue, a large group of armored robots gathered around, surrounding two unarmed humans.

One was huge compared to the other villager, even bigger than Brooklyn, possibly the same size as Broadway. He even had a similar build, with body fat in the belly but thick with muscle throughout. He was bald, with long white hair on the sides and back of his head. In contrast to the simple cloth robes of the villagers, the colossal man's robes were made from leaves and foliage, with a leaf necklet, simple pants, and rope straps around his ankles to complement his primitive attire. His clothes were stained with a red liquid that Brooklyn assumed was blood, and he was baring his teeth at the robots viciously, eyeing them like a wolf defending his pack.

The other human next to him was a child, so tiny that he only just came up to his bigger companion's hips. The small boy had olive skin and short, shaggy white hair that covered his eyes. He wore a blue robe so loose that Brooklyn was surprised it didn't fall off him. The boy was clinging to the man's side, shaking in terror as the robots waved their swords at the two humans.

Brooklyn stopped for a moment, taking a moment to observe the battlefield and assess the situation. But before he could adequately get his bearings, one of the robots swung at the child, causing the little human to tumble on his back with a shriek to avoid the blade.

Brooklyn's eyes went white immediately at the sight, his blood boiling as red took over his vision. No! He would not sit by and watch them murder a child just like they had so many others!

The gargoyle roared, leaping from the top stair with sword in hand. The robot nearest to him couldn't even finish its turn before it was cleaved in half. At once, all the robots drew their weapons in his direction, piercing red eyes glaring from beneath their hats at him. Brooklyn was undeterred, swinging his sword in threat as he growled with glowing white eyes, "Bring it!"

The robots rose to the challenge, immediately breaking from their formation to try and attack Brooklyn. Unfortunately for one, the huge human bellowed out and used that opening to strike it while its back was turned with his bare hand. To Brooklyn's surprise, the metal on its chest was smashed into itself, rendering the robot inoperable. The colossal human ran after the robots charging Brooklyn, who stood in place with his guard up, waiting for his opponents to come to him so the child wouldn't be in danger.

The first robot went down easy, getting decapitated when he got close enough for Brooklyn to strike. Two more robots swung at Brooklyn simultaneously from different angles, forcing Brooklyn to roll under their jumps to avoid them. At the same time, the huge human grabbed a robot by the leg and slammed its body into another one, crushing them both. When Brooklyn stood up from his roll, he was back-to-back with the hulking man, facing down the rest of the robots. As the robots circled around them, Brooklyn looked over his shoulder at the man behind him, who looked back. Without a word, they exchanged a knowing nod before each taking a swing at the nearest robot.

If the robots had been struggling against the one big unarmed human, they wouldn't have had a chance when that human was aided by a gargoyle with a sword. The big human dodged their strikes with practiced ease, each blow missing by an inch, before retaliating with his fists. Brooklyn either cut them down before they could get in range for their own strikes, blocked a strike with his sword, and countered, or evaded a blow altogether, taking advantage of his more lithe frame. One by one, the armored robots were destroyed, metal limbs, sparking wires, and discarded nuts and blows littering the once pristine white floor.

With a roar, Brooklyn sliced off the head of the last robot seconds before the huge man slammed his fists into its chest so hard it went straight through the metal shell.

Brooklyn heaved in and out, dark eyes darting back and forth around the room to check for any remaining threats. When he saw no more robots, he sighed, sliding his stolen sword into his belt on the opposite side of the pouch that held the spell book. "You alright?" he asked the big man, who was rubbing his bleeding knuckles.

"I'll live," the man grunted before looking off to the side. "Shuanshuan!" he bellowed. "Come out, it's safe!"

At those words, the boy who had been on the man's side poked his head out from behind the statue. "That was scary…" he muttered as he ran to Brooklyn and the human. "But you're so strong, Shennong! You took so many of them bare handed! No monster could take you down!"

"Got that right, kid," the man, Shennong, replied with a smirk.

"And you!" Shuanshuan exclaimed, turning to look at Brooklyn in an utterly starstruck manner. "I've never met an angel in person before! Thanks so much for helping us!"

Brooklyn chuckled sheepishly, still not used to the "angel" title. "The pleasure was all mine, believe me kid. Speaking of... you're Shennong and Shuanshuan?"

"Yeah," Shennong grunted. "That's us, what's it to you?"

"The elder of the village was worried about you too," Brooklyn said. "She wanted me to come find you and make sure you were okay."

"You mean the kid right?" Shennong scuffed. "She wouldn't be worried about me."

Brooklyn blinked at him, realizing he might have stumbled into some drama among the villagers. "No, she said both of you. She wants you both to come home."

"I can't, Mr. Angel!" Shuanshuan exclaimed. "I need to find my big brother, Yi!"

Brooklyn's mind immediately latched onto that name. "Yi? I'm looking for him too! Where is he? The villager didn't mention him."

"Probably because he was the 'god' that caused the whole mess to begin with," Shennong replied with a roll of his eyes. "And yet Shuanshuan here still thinks he's his brother."

"I knew what he was the whole time!" Shuanshuan cried. "I kept it a secret for his sake, and he brought us all good fortune! And yet… he stopped the ritual. I don't understand why…."

Brooklyn furrowed his brow in thought. One of their "gods". If Yi was one of Lear's colleagues, it would make sense if he was one of those cat folk, the Solarians. Yet if he was, why stop the ritual and lose another meal? Shouldn't he be a part of this? Was he a rebel? A Solarian with a conscience towards killing sapient beings?

God, this situation was getting more complicated by the second.

"We can ask him if we find him," Brooklyn answered. "I have some things I need to ask him too, so I'll go with you."

"Are you a friend of his?" Shuanshuan asked him. "You're an angel, so maybe you know him. Do you serve him?"

Brooklyn shook his head. "No… I don't really 'serve' anyone. I protect."

"Protect who?" Shuanshuan asked so innocently that Brooklyn couldn't help but smile.

"Anyone who needs it," Brooklyn replied with utmost sincerity.

"A guardian angel, huh?" Shennong questioned. "I'm no fan of the so-called gods, but nothing I've heard of you angels said anything about you that didn't suggest you had compassion for us humans. Servants of the gods sent down to protect us. And you did help save our lives just now… so sure Brooklyn. You can stick around. Just don't slow us down."

Brooklyn's eye twitched at the remark. "You're worried about me slowing you down, fatass?"

Shennong laughed out loud. "Ha! The angel's got bite! I like ya already! Seriously though, you look banged up. You gonna be okay?

Brooklyn rolled his eyes. "I'll be fine, old man. So, any idea where you'll find your brother, Shuanshuan?"

Shuanshuan shook his head. "No… I was letting Shennong guide me."

"It was mainly a matter of following the trail of dozens of those slain metal monsters." Shennong said. "I know the place in and out, so it wasn't hard getting our way around. So, we followed the mess the white freak left in his wake. Sure enough, it took us here." He finished the statement with a twirl of his fingers to indicate the whole room.

Brooklyn took a moment to observe the room now that the battle was over. Nothing really stood out to him… save the statues in the middle that were facing each other. He recognized one of them: it was Lear, standing in the same sitting position Brooklyn found him in the Tao, with the same serene expression, holding out his palm to the other statue. The other statue was of another Solarian Brooklyn didn't recognize. It seemed to be shorter than Lear, given Lear was the same size while sitting. It also depicted wearing flowing robes that were black at the arms and yellow in the torso. Under the robes were black underclothes with a green lotus flower pattern worn as a sash over the belly. The statue's face was very similar to the masks the villagers were wearing, with its pointed ears and sharp teeth sticking out, and it wore a cube-like black hat with a Yin-Yang symbol in the middle. Lastly, Brooklyn noticed the statue's hands seemed to be mechanical, like whoever it was supposed to depict had robot hands. It looked at the Lear statue with deference, like he was listening to a lecture or receiving orders.

Was… was that Yi?

As Brooklyn's eyes wandered from the statues, he noticed something in the wall closest to them, just in between. There was a large gate of yellow stone surrounded by an arched rooftop. On the door was a holographic circular symbol Brooklyn didn't recognize, but there were words above it that he could read, thanks to Lear's blessing. The words said: Four Seasons Pavillon.

"Think he might be there?" Brooklyn asked, pointing at the gate.

Shennong and Shuanshuan glanced at where Brooklyn was pointing. "Oh! That's a big door!" Shuanshuan gasped in awe. "We should check there!"

"It's a good a place as any." Shennong shrugged. "Can't see any more of the trail anyway, so it's probably where he scampered off to."

"How do we open a door so big?" Shuanshuan asked.

On a hunch, Brooklyn walked forward in front of the door. He waved his hand at the holographic sigil, and in response, the sigil blinked away. With the sound of scraping stone, the doors slowly pulled apart and opened.

"Wowwww!" Shuanshuan exclaimed. "This must be magic!"

"Sure, kid," Brooklyn shrugged, figuring it was easier to go with the flow. "Now let's go find Yi."

"If you've got the kid, then I'll be on my way," Shennong said, beginning to walk away. "Gotta go make sure the rest of those monsters are gone. If you need me, you both know the way back to the village."

"Thanks a lot, Shennong!" Shuanshuan said as the big man walked away into the hall. "Bye!"

"Think he'll be okay on his own?" Brooklyn couldn't help but ask.

"Shennong's the strongest in our village!" Shuanshuan said enthusiastically. "Besides Yi, of course! Come on, let's go!" Without even waiting for Brooklyn, the child ran through the doors.

"Damn it, slow down kid!" Brooklyn shouted as he followed, going through the doors just as they started to close. He kept his eyes focused on Shuanshuan, passing through benches and jars on stools placed on the wall and what looked like an elevator. There was a huge window overlooking a field of grass and trees with leaves of varying colors.

Suddenly, Shuanshuan stopped on some stairs leading up to a bridge, shouting, "There you are, Yi!"

Brooklyn caught up to Shaunshuan, standing at his side as he looked ahead at where Shuanshuan was facing. On the other side of the small white bridge was a Solarian. One with pale yellow fur and short stature, just a little taller than Lexington, and dressed in flowing yellow robes and a black skintight suit that accented his lithe frame. There was some sort of jade circle over his heart. The triangular ears on the top of his head flicked in curiosity and anxiety as he stared at the human boy. "Shuanshuan?" the Solarian asked, his voice quite a bit deeper and more refined than Brooklyn expected from his tiny frame.

"Hehe!" Shuanshuan laughed. "There's no way I would miss out on a hero's quest!"

"Stop fooling around," the Solarian said sternly with an annoyed glare of his verdant, slitted eyes. "How did you get here?" Suddenly, the Solarian turned his glare to Brooklyn, and the gargoyle flinched at his penetrating gaze despite how much taller than the feline he was. "And what are you doing with a Yaoguai?"

"Yaoguai?" Brooklyn replied with a raised eyebrow. "That's another new one today. The villagers kept calling me an angel."

"Of course, those superstitious people would," the Solarian scuffed. "They ascribe anything they can't explain to gods or demons. The truth, of course, is that you Yaoguai, like the apemen and Solarians, are flesh and blood. Or during the day, stone."

"He helped me and Ah-Nong fight the monsters, Yi!" Shuanshuan said. "We were looking for you, and he said he was too when the monsters were gone!"

"That paranoid Shennong brought you here?" the Solarian, Yi, questioned before his eyes narrowed at Brooklyn. "And why were you looking for me? Are you one of the Council's pets? Who sent you?"

Brooklyn raised his hands in surrender. "I don't know who this Council is! Lear told me to find you!"

Yi's eyes widened in shock. "Lear? You… you met him? How?"

Brooklyn rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "It's… kind of a long story. He told me that you were his most prized pupil and colleague, and that you could help me. Maybe I can help you to with… whatever it is your doing."

Yi stared at Brooklyn with those inquisitive, penetrating eyes for a moment before closing his eyes in thought. "There's no way the Council knows I saw Lear and that he called me his colleague. I only saw him through the Fusang Roots. Could you have a connection to them too?"

"Yiiiiiii…." Shuanshuan whined. "What are you two talking about?"

Yi sighed, opening his eyes. He then walked past Brooklyn and sat on a nearby bench. "Come sit. I think we have a lot to talk about, Yaoguai."

"My name is Brooklyn," the red gargoyle said curtly.

Yi cocked his head to the side. "I thought your kind had no names. Had no use for them they said."

"Oh, you talked to a few huh?" Brooklyn asked. "Well, my… old clan decided to take up the human tradition of names."

"I see…." Yi replied. "Well then, Brooklyn. My name is Yi. And if Lear is saying that I'm your only hope, your situation must be dire indeed. I'm certainly no hero of justice, no matter what Shuanshuan here thinks."

"Maybe not," Brooklyn said as he sat next to the strange catman. "But I have no other options right now. I'm all alone, and this place… this place is horrible."

Yi looked at Brooklyn, and the red gargoyle saw something like… understanding in them. "I know what it's like… waking up to this nightmare world. I can't promise you results nor that I will grant your wish, but if the Fusang reacted to you, there must be something we can do for each other. So please… tell me your story, and don't leave anything out."

Brooklyn took a deep breath to compose himself before he began. "It all started in a city called New York…."

Chapter Text

February 10th, 1997

Xanatos sighed as he watched his staff carting away the bodies of the Quarrymen off the courtyard. A few others were wiping away the blood staining the stone of the castle, as well as the ashes where the intruders had been incinerated.

Xanatos had arrived with his family a few moments before Coldstone and Coldfire, just in time to miss the invasion of Wyvern Castle and the not-so-joyous return of the runaway gargoyle Brooklyn. After their palpable fussing and worrying over the well-being of their attacked clan, Coldstone and Coldfire were especially baffled by the idea that the very man they left to find had appeared of his own will. The robotic duo had eagerly pressed for questions, desperate to know if their missing rookery child was safe, but the solemn looks on all the clans’ faces nipped any excitement they had in the bud.

Xanatos, for his part, was more annoyed about the damage to his home than the family drama of Goliath and his clan. Mending relationships cost nothing: stonemasons were expensive.

As the last of the crew finished their gruesome job, Xanatos saw Elisa emerge from the Grand Hall, looking weary. She and the gargoyles had joined in the cleanup at first, but after a while, Xanatos insisted that they take some time to rest, especially since it was very obvious that they weren’t as accustomed to handling corpses and blood as Xanatos’s employees.

“How goes it, Detective?” Xanatos said with his signature coyness.

Elisa just gave Xanatos a deadpan stare as one of his workers dragged a body between them and into a stretcher.

“Yeah, that’s about what I figured.” Xanatos chuckled. “Tough night all around, even without the prodigal son dressing everybody down. The least he could have done is help with the cleanup.”

“Are you finished?” Elisa snapped. “Because I have an entire clan waiting in the castle that needs to talk about what the fuck happened tonight.”

“And they haven’t done that already?” Xanatos asked.

“We waited for you considering this is your house and we need to pick your brain about a few things.” Elisa sighed. “Even if there’s a good chance what it comes with will be vile.”

"You flatter me, Ms. Maza," Xanatos said. “Come now, let’s not keep the family waiting.”

Xanatos followed Elisa into the castle, the heels of her boots and his shoes clicking against the stone tiles. After a few moments, they were in the castle library, and boy, did Xanatos walk into sight.

Hudson was sitting at a table all by himself, staring crestfallen at a bottle of beer with a shot glass in one hand and his sword leaned against the chair. The older gargoyle poured himself a shot of the orange liquid and sipped it all in one gulp without batting an eye. Goliath was right across from him, not drinking but still obviously distraught, his face hidden by his hand.

As Xanatos stepped forward, he saw Lexington off in the corner with his computer out, but he wasn’t actually looking at the screen; he curled into himself with tears running from his huge eyes. Broadway was tending to Angela's wounds, wrapping the wounds on her arms with some bandages with a forlorn look in his eyes. Coldstone and Coldfire had been on the library's second floor and were heading down to the others as the billionaire and the detective came down.

“Well, don’t you all look peachy?” Xanatos announced as he walked in with Elisa. Immediately, every gargoyle in the room except Goliath glared at Xanatos, causing him to laugh. “There now, that’s more like it.”

"Fuck off," Lexington growled. "Not in the mood for your bullshit."

"On the contrary, your mood is exactly why you need some levity," Xanatos replied, not fazed by Lexington's irritation. He walked up to Hudson and plucked his beer bottle away without warning.

“Hey!” Hudson shouted, sluggishly trying to snatch the bottle back.

"If you're going to drink yourself into a stupor, you're going to do it with the good stuff," Xanatos declared before pulling out his radio. “Owen, break out the wine collection. Bring the best to the library ASAP.”

"Right away, sir," Owen's staticky voice replied from the radio.

"Your overprized grape juice better be worth it," Hudson snorted.

"I only spend my money on the best, Hudson," Xanatos said before clapping his hands. “So… the reunion with Brooklyn did not go well I take it?”

“It could not have gone more worse” Goliath growled, taking his hand out of his face to glare at Xanatos. “I gave the sincerest apology I could muster, and not only did he reject it, he disowned the entire clan in response.”

“Did you really think things were going to get better after one apology?” Elisa sighed.

“Of course not," Goliath retorted. "I was fully prepared for my apology to not be accepted after I wounded him so. He…He has every right to not trust my word and be angry. What I didn't expect was for that anger to burn over to the whole clan to such a degree he'd… he'd no longer want to be with us."

“Well did you expect?” Lexington hissed through his tears. “You and your precious daughter made it clear how much you hated him. And thanks to you, he hates all of us too.”

“He doesn’t hate you, Lex…” Elisa weakly protested.

“Did you not listen to what he said?” Lexington retorted with a sniffle.

"I did," Elisa said, trying to make her voice soothing. "And what I heard was an angry man who has gone through God knows what and was lashing out at those he thought hurt him. That doesn't mean he hates you now…”

“He hates Goliath," Lexington snorted. "And the guilt by association is enough."

"There's plenty of blame to go around, lad," Hudson muttered. "You heard what your brother said. I did my share of harm, even if I didn't know it."

“What?” Lexington said in disbelief.

Hudson shook his head. "This whole time I've been pushing the gargoyle way, all that time I tried to protect the castle, Prince Malcolm, at all costs… I kept telling myself that it was for the good of us all. That our alliance would benefit humans and gargoyles alike, even if the humans hated us at first. But…" Hudson hiccupped, the drinks starting to get to him. "Was I just thinking about what I wanted? Humans never grew to see us as equals no matter what we did. I turned a blind eye to it all, even to Malcolm using us as boogeymen to his daughter, and in the end, it all fell apart. Even after that, I only thought about protecting humans without… without even thinking of what the clan needed. What you lads needed." Hudson squeezed the glass he was holding; with such pressure, it started cracking. "I chose not to see how he was hurting, especially when he was named second in command, and now…."

A lavender hand reached across the table to wrap around Hudson’s hand. The old man looked from his glass to see Goliath looking at him sympathetically. “It’s as you said, Hudson. There’s plenty of blame to go around. You were only doing your best, even if there were consequences you didn’t see. My decisions have been my own, as a leader and as a father.”

Hudson sighed. “Maybe so. But as your father, I can’t deny the way my actions shaped you and the other children. I shaped the gargoyle that you became, and… perhaps I instilled some things that are best left discarded.”

Elisa cleared her throat. “Regardless of who hurt Brooklyn more, I don’t think that’s the only factor, guys. You heard what he said about the Phoenix Gate right? It took him. We thought he was gone long enough this past month, but he lived for forty years! That’s almost half a century that he’s lived on his own. Even without factoring in your fight, can you imagine what he’s gone through? How much that time would change him? He’s not the boy that ran away a month ago…”

“He’s a monster now…” Angela muttered, making everyone look at her in disbelief. “What?” She protested. “You all saw what he did. He was horrible! He murdered all those humans without a second thought!”

“Killing people trying to kill you doesn’t make you a murderer, Angie!” Lexington snarled, eyes burning white. “Get off your high horse, you sheltered bitch!”

"Why you-!" Angela growled before Goliath gave a loud snarl, making both young gargoyles freeze.

“There will be no fighting right now!” Goliath yelled. “This clan is splintered enough!” Goliath’s gaze snapped to Lexington. “Lexington, I know you are upset, but you can’t snap at every offense!” Then, he locked eyes with Angela, looking at her with an anger he never sent in her direction before, and it immediately cowed her. “And you, Angela! I had thought this past month had installed some maturity regarding your rookery siblings! You might have issues with Brooklyn, but killing in the heat of battle is not a crime, even among gargoyles. Our priority is to protect ourselves and the castle, and sometimes, our opponents must die to see that happen. Brooklyn is not a monster for seeing to that.”

"Aye," Hudson agreed. "You'd be appalled at the rivers of blood me and Goliath had spilled, lassie. That being said, I won’t deny that Brookyln was… unsettling in that battle. And not because he’s a sorcerer now. Those eyes when he went feral on us… they weren’t normal. Black as night instead of white as stars. Even beyond that… He was fierce. Cold. Ruthless. He paid no mind to the ways he made his opponents scream.”

"He still gave them an out though," Broadway added. "They just didn't take it, so it wasn't like he was out to kill them all from the get-go."

“Can you say the same for his new companions?” Coldfire asked.

“Who even were they?” Coldstone added.

"That's a good question," Elisa replied, holding her chin in thought. "Three new unknowns in that fight."

Broadway nodded. "Well, the two gargoyles are obvious, right? The child looked like Brooklyn but with the female's skin and hair color. That must mean he's Brooklyn and that female's child.

“Which logically means that she’s his mate I suppose.” Angela added.

“That tracks," Elisa declared, taking out a notebook and writing something down. "That only leaves the cat man."

“Clearly the same species as that Ji fellow’ Hudson said. “That can’t be a coincidence.”

"No, it can't," Goliath agreed. "They clearly aren't human, gargoyle, or Children of Oberon. We've never seen anything like them, and yet two of them have become affiliated with Brooklyn in some way within the same month."

“Well, same month for us," Xanatos corrected. "Remember, it's been forty years for Brooklyn."

“Right…” Goliath sighed. “And you are sure you had nothing to do with these creatures?”

Xanatos raised one hand and held his heart with the other. “I swear on my mother’s grave that I had no hand in these beings existing. They’re as strange to me as they are to you.”

"I'll just have to take you at your word," Goliath muttered. "God help you if you are hiding something from me."

"Noted," Xanatos said with a smirk.

“Just who is that man to Brooklyn?” Hudson asked aloud. “A brother in arms? A wizard familiar?”

"Perhaps another member of his clan," Goliath suggested. "The child called him 'papa' no? That means he's considered one of his rookery parents. Considering Brooklyn's grievances regarding my favoritism, it would make sense that he would try to raise his child in the traditional gargoyle way with multiple parents, regardless of blood relation."

Angela scoffed. “You mean to tell me he’s pretending that cat is his family?”

“Who are we to say that he’s pretending, Angela?” Goliath growled slightly in warning. “His race is clearly sapient and we have no idea what they’ve gone through together. My only concern is that he’s influencing his behavior now. He seemed even more cold and ferocious than Brooklyn himself, and I could feel how dangerous he was.”

"If the bodies on the floor were any indication, ferocious is right," Xanatos cracked. “My employees are going to be cleaning the blood out for days.”

Lexington blinked, and Goliath could practically see the gears turning inside his mind. “Blood… wasn’t that part of the prophecy?”

“What do you mean?” Goliath asked, confused.

"The prophecy Ji told us," Lexington clarified. "'I see a castle covered in red. Faces of men who have long desired you dead.’”

Broadway’s eyes widened as he recited the rest of that part for Lexington. “’I see your father with a man who is haunting. A man with a trail of bodies…’” Broadway shook his head in realization. “Yeah… the castle was covered in blood from the fight and the Quarrymen have been after us for months. A castle covered and red and men who wanted us dead.”

Goliath put his fingers under his chin as he thought. “And Brooklyn… he had grown up, but in a way that was frightening. He was… haunting for lack of a better word, especially as he killed those men. A man who is haunting, who left a trail of bodies…”

“What about the rest of the prophecy?” Elisa asked. “Didn’t Ji say Brooklyn would die?”

Goliath frowned. “His exact words were…”

I see a blossoming romance

I see the sacrifice of man

I see portrayals of betrayal

And a mentor’s final stand

I see you on the brink of death

I see you draw your final breath

I see a man who gets to make it home alive

But it's no longer you….

Goliath shook his head after he recited the stanza, pacing as his thoughts started to race. “Yes… yes! Much of what that prophet said… it makes sense now! ‘A blossoming romance…’ Brooklyn has a mate now. And he has been gone for forty years, so we can’t say for certain, but he certainly could have witnessed sacrifice and experienced betrayal.”

Angela raised an eyebrow. “But what about Brooklyn being ‘on the brink of death’ and ‘drawing his final breath’? He’s still very much alive, father.”

"True," Goliath agreed. "But Ji also followed those lines with 'I see a man who gets to make it home alive, but it’s no longer you’. I think that means Brooklyn was on the brink of death, but the ‘drawing your final breath’ line was metaphorical. Whatever he experienced on his journey… it changed him forever. It killed the enthusiastic and optimistic Brooklyn that we used to know and left a powerful but jaded warrior in his place. That man made it back home alive… but it wasn’t Brooklyn anymore.”

Lexington looked at the ground with a haunted expression as he realized the implications of Goliath’s words. “‘I see a man who get to make it home alive… but it’s no longer you…’”

“Dragon...” Broadway whispered, holding his head in horror. “Brooklyn… what happened to you…?”

"We need to talk to him," Goliath declared. "We need to find out what happened to him, help him heal. We…"

“Did you miss the part that he wants nothing to do with you?” Elisa said with a glare. “We agreed that when we found him, you would leave him alone.”

“That was then, Elisa!” Goliath protested. “That was before we knew Brooklyn suffered so much!”

“And you think you can help?” Lexington snorted. “The one who scarred his face and told him he wasn’t worthy of him?”

“I know what I did!” Goliath shouted. “That’s way I have to mend this!”

"That's why you have to leave him alone," Hudson declared. "You trying to force yourself on the lad will only make him all the more irate. Especially with his new loved ones present.”

"Goliath…" Elisa said, more gently, this time as she placed her hand on Goliath's shoulder. "I get you're desperate to make this right… but if you really care for Brooklyn, leave him alone for now. I know he'll want to talk eventually, but right now, he needs time."

Goliath growled but didn't argue, throwing his hands down in defeat. In his heart, he knew what Elisa and Hudson were saying was right. But even so, the idea that his son had suffered so much that he didn't know and was in the presence of strangers who might harm him or have played a role in his current state… chilled him to the core. Especially knowing that he had been the catalyst for this to begin with.

All he could do was pray that there were still traces of the old Brooklyn within this new one.

The door opened, and Owen, Xanatos’ servant, came inside the library, holding a bottle of wine.

"Excellent timing, Owen," Xanatos remarked as the blonde put the wine on the table. “Merlot, anyone?”

…

"Mr. Renard," a clearly uncomfortable voice echoed over the intercom on the airship's bridge. "You have a visitor..."

Halcyon Renard, CEO and founder of Cyberbiotics spun his wheelchair around to face the terminal and pressed the reply button. "What? How? The Fortress-2 is a mile in the air! Unless…" Renard hesitated before continuing. "Is it Goliath?"

"No," the employee on the other side of the line replied. "But he's definitely a gargoyle. Big and red too…. I think he’s the one that Goliath has been looking for… and he’s not alone either.”

“Huh….” Renard muttered, stroking his chin in thought. “Well, send him my way then.”

“Understood sir.” The intercom replied and then cut.

Renard heard the sound of footsteps. He turned to see his assistant, Preston Vogel, approaching. "Well…" the man with close-cropped black hair dressed in a blue suit said while adjusting his square glasses. "This is certainly not how I expected that matter to be resolved."

"Neither did I," Renard said, rubbing his bolding, wrinkled head as he racked his brain on what was going on. "I promised to help Goliath find his son, but we haven't seen a trace of him the whole month. And here he is coming to me of all people."

"Well, we did promise Ms. Maza to shelter him if he was found," Vogel replied. "Perhaps he's merely here as we agreed."

“Without sending word?” Renard asked with a raised eyebrow. “I have a feeling this another matter entirely…”

“I suppose we’ll see…” Vogel said with a shrug. “Shall I go to meet them?”

"Sure, sure," Renard said with a dismissive wave. "And make sure the command center is presentable. Not that we're unorganized, but I want to make a good impression on our esteemed guests."

"Of course, sir," Vogel said before walking off.

Renard sighed, looking around the command room of his Fortress-2 airship. At times like this, he wondered if he made the room impractically large. The broad and rounded windows that took up much of the front walls gave him an unparalleled view of the world from the sky, but the room itself was as big as a house, just with many computer consoles with railings around them placed throughout. At the end of the room, where Renard was seated, there were two master computer consoles on either side of a staircase that led to a series of switches. A decently laid out control room, but it is so spacious and empty sometimes.

Renard waited around five minutes before the doors leading into the control room opened again. "And here we are," Vogel's voice declared. "Mr. Renard, your visitors have arrived."

Renard turned his wheelchair to face his guests, and the distance between the entrance and the master control consoles gave the old man some time to get a good look at his guests. He was surprised to find not just one gargoyle, maybe two, but three of them walking towards him, along with another being with their head hidden under a bamboo hat and dressed in a yellow coat. Two of the gargoyles he didn’t recognize at all, one of them being a dark-haired woman with blue skin with a beaked mouth and a kimono and the other a child with similarly blue skin, a beaked mouth of his own, and dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt. The last gargoyle, though… he never really saw much of him in person, having only talked to Goliath regularly and only seeing the other members of his clan when he helped them fight Oberon from his airship. But from how Goliath described him over the past month during the search, with the red skin, beaked mouth, and silver hair, it had to be Brooklyn. But… he was bigger than he imagined and dressed in white robes that made him look oddly regal despite his bestial appearance.

When Vogel brought the strange group over the bridge, Renard used the controls on his wheelchair to direct himself to them. "Welcome to the Fortress-2," the CEO said cordially. "I'll cut to the chase… are you Brooklyn?"

The red gargoyle blinked in surprise. “You… know me?”

Renard clarified. “I know of you. Goliath has spoken to me about you endlessly the past month. I daresay there isn’t an associate of his in the city that doesn’t know who you are.”

“Really?” Brooklyn snorted. “What, was he going around telling everyone what a screw up I was? That I insulted his poor daughter and picked a fight against my great leader?”

"No lad…" Renard said with a sad shake of his head. "He told us that he treated you like garbage when you had done nothing to deserve it. He drove you away with his foolishness and wanted to make amends." Renard wheeled forward and raised a hand to put it on the gargoyle's shoulder. "He spoke the world of you, Brooklyn. He just wanted to find you to make things right. As a father who has made his own share of mistakes, that's something I empathized with, even if what he did wasn't right."

Brooklyn scoffed, shaking the gnarled hand off. “That ship sailed long ago, Mr. Renard. I’m not the same gargoyle who was helpless against Goliath. Your month has been forty years to me, and I’ve outgrown that wannabe knight.”

Renard blinked in surprise. “Forty years? What happened to you?”

“It’s a long story.” Brooklyn sighed. “One I might tell you later. But I’m not here for me, or Goliath. In fact, I’m here for you.”

“For me?” Renard asked.

Brooklyn grinned wickedly in the old man's direction and motioned to his companions. "Let me introduce you to my new clan, Mr. Renard."

The woman gargoyle stepped forward and gave a short bow. “I am Katana, good sir. It’s an honor to meet you.”

“I’m Nashville!” the boy exclaimed, jumping forward to be at his mother’s side.

“Wife and kid?” Renard questioned.

"Indeed," Katana replied with a coy smile.

“And last but certainly not least…” Brooklyn said, motioning to the small figure in the hat.

Said figure stepped forward and took off his hat, and Renard gasped when he saw he had the head of a pale-furred cat. "Yi of the Valley of the Wind, the Sol of Innovation." The feline man declared.

“Sol of…what?” Renard asked, dumbfounded.

"A title among my people, the Solarians," Yi explained. "My people revered our sun, Sol, and gave their leaders the title of Sol to indicate their importance."

“Your people? What exactly are you?”

Yi shook his head. “We came from another star system to escape our doom, only to find it here anyway. You’re looking at the last of Solarian kind.”

"An alien, huh…' Renard said contemplatively. "If it were anyone else you were talking to, I'd probably think you were a genetic experiment who lost his sanity, but with the things I've seen, an alien would be among the more mundane I've encountered."

"Good to know you have an open mind," Yi said.

“What exactly are you to Brooklyn?” Vogel asked.

The cat man hesitated, which made Renard and Vogel curious. Suddenly, Brooklyn said, "He’s my husband.”

“Pardon?” Renard questioned, unsure if he heard right.

"I'm his husband," Yi firmly replied. He held out his hand to show a silver ring with a sun crest engraved. "I am married to Brooklyn and Katana both."

“….oh," Renard replied, unsure what to say to that new information.

"Yeah, people tend not to respond well when they find out," Brooklyn muttered, showing his own silver ring with a single five-pointed star. "But if we're gonna be around you, I figured all cards should be on the table.”

Katana nodded, and without a word, she revealed her ring, which had a crescent moon etched on the surface.

"That won't be a problem, will it?" Yi said, tilting his head. There was an edge to his pleasantly deep voice as if he was daring Renard to raise an issue with his relationship with the two gargoyles.

Renard shook his head. “No, no. It’s unorthodox certainly, but it’s not my place to judge. So long as you all agreed on it and are happy.”

"Good," Yi curtly replied.

"Anyway," Brooklyn said, changing the subject with a clap. "We're not here for ourselves or Goliath, but for what we can do for you."

"Elaborate," Renard said, curiosity piqued.

"The four of us have access to a wide variety of talents," Brooklyn replied, holding a palm. He snapped his fingers, and bright flames started to burn in his palm. "All of us are skilled in the arcane arts, which can be of invaluable use to you and your company, Mr. Renard."

Renard blinked in surprise, staring at the display of power. As he processed what the red gargoyle told him, Katana made a cutting motion with her hand. Renard heard water splashing as the gargoyle woman flourished her arm, conjuring a stream of water from thin air. The water crawled up her arm, covering her hand and freezing into ice claws.

Nashville grinned as he walked over to a railing and placed his hand on it. In an instant, the rail dissolved into dust and then melded into a saber. When the saber completely solidified, it dropped into Nashville's waiting hand.

Yi, for his part, had walked to another railing. Without warning, he thrust out two fingers, and a sword of green light appeared before them. He swung his fingers, the energy sword following his movements, and cleaved the metal railing into pieces as quickly as butter.

 "If nothing else, we would be unstoppable bodyguards," Brooklyn declared, clinging his fists to snuff out the flames.

"Clearly." Renard nodded as Nashville used his powers to break down the sword he made and the pieces Yi left and replaced the railings.

"Of course, combat is just the beginning of our uses," the Solarian said, dispelling the energy sword as quickly as he conjured it. "I'm sure with some discussion, a brilliant engineer such as yourself could figure some out. But in addition, I am a Fangshi. A mystic, alchemist, and scholar of the natural sciences and engineering. My people have produced technology that far exceeds what is available to earthlings.” Yi held an arm up by his side, lifting his yellow robe. “For example, the Mystic Nymph.”

At those words, a blue light flew from Yi's robes and towards Renard. It stopped to hover a few feet from the old man, allowing Renard to see that the light was shaped like a dragonfly. It made a sound halfway between an insect's buzzing and electronic humming.

"What is this…?" Renard whispered in awe, reaching his hand up to the glowing insect. To his surprise, the dragonfly was solid, feeling like smooth glass in his fingers.

"My own invention," Yi said, directing the Mystic Nymph to hover between Renard and himself with a wave of his fingers. "A semi-solid cluster of rhizomatic energy controlled via the will of the user."

“Rhizomatic energy?’ Renard asked.

"Qi," Yi clarified. "The life energy that permeates all. My people learned a great deal of its properties and uses, and some of our teachings made their way to the Far East on Earth. It was the foundation of our mighty civilization because of its wide variety of utilities. In this case, a multiuse drone composed of life energy. It can fly around at high speeds undetected, record and transfer all matter of data, and display it in 3D rendering. Observe…”

Yi snapped his fingers, and the Mystic Nymph started to shine with a pale blue light. The pale light expanded throughout the room, and suddenly, the holographic image of a planet that Renard didn't recognize appeared before Renard, rotating on its axis. The planet seemed like Earth, but much more water was covering the surface.

"My home planet, Penglai," Yi declared. "And with another signal from me…" Yi made a cutting motion, and suddenly, the planet dissolved away, giving way to a three-dimensional model of a city with architecture that seemed vaguely Chinese, but there were skyscraper-sized antennas planted throughout and pieces of land that were floating without any obvious way of suspension. "The planet becomes a city."

“What an incredible piece of technology!” Renard exclaimed in awe. “And you made this yourself?”

Yi nodded, signaling the Mystic Nymph to deactivate its hologram and fly back into his robe. “Holographic imaging, personal computer, and flying scout all in one.”

“Don’t forget grappling hook!” Nashville suddenly cut in.

Yi chuckled at the interruption. “And yes, miáozi, a grappling hook.”

Renard’s mind was too occupied mulling over the applications of the other uses to question how the magical insect could become a grappling hook. “This device alone would revolutionize electronics as we know it. The sheer utility it could provide to things like urban planning and military use…” Renard shook his head before locking eyes with Yi. “Young man…” he began.

"I'm much older than you," Yi curtly interrupted.

"Mr. Yi then," Renard corrected. "If you were to patent this device, you would almost certainly make millions, if not billions. You could make a whole company based around selling this as a product. Why are you showing to me?"

"That's a lovely idea," Brooklyn replied deadpan. "Let's just walk up to the nearest patent office and do that then. I'm sure they'll love to see our beautiful mugs, right?"

Katana gave Brooklyn an annoyed look and then cleared her throat. “What our husband means to say is that because we are not human, we’re hardly in a position to start our own company on our own. So, in order to do anything involving human business and science, we have to act through a proxy, at least at first.”

"And you're the most honest billionaire I know," Brooklyn added. "Granted, not a high bar to clear, but still. You have integrity. More than I can say for most."

“You’re proposing a partnership then?” Vogel asked, adjusting his glasses.

"Partnership, employment, whatever you want to call it," Yi stated. "So long as our family gets our fair share. And while I am happy to hear the Mystic Nymph already has you sold, that is only the beginning of what we have planned."

“Such as?”

“Mr. Renard…” Brooklyn began, his voice having a weight that wasn’t there before. “Would you like to walk again?”

“…pardon?”

"You're subject to a debilitating illness if my memory serves," Brooklyn said, stepping forward in front of Renard. He kneeled to look at the old man, eye to eye. "Through no fault of your own, your ability to walk was taken from you, all thanks to a random disease. That's hardly fair, isn't it? With a little time and research, we can even those scales."

Renard blinked at Brooklyn, looked at Yi, and then back at Brooklyn. “How?”

"As I said, Solarian technology can do many things beyond the capacity of earthlings," Yi replied. "At our peak, we molded lifeforms as if they were clay, shaping them as we saw fit through genetic engineering. I may not have access to all that technology now, but much of the knowledge remains in my mind. With enough research and resources, I have no doubt I can bring the gap between earthling technology and Solarian science. And in doing so, produce a cure for your condition." The Solarian reached with both hands to clasp Renard's wrinkled ones. "I can't promise immortality. My people searched to their own doom for such an impossibility. But if nothing else, I can extend your lifespan by a few more comfortable years.”

Renard looked up at the ceiling, drinking the words in. “A few comfortable years… no pain, no weakness. With my legs once again…. You can do that?”

"With your resources, my clan's magic, and my scientific knowledge, I am certain," Yi said with no hesitation.

Renard looked back at the feline, and despite all his cynicism and attempts to see any insincerity within the cat or the gargoyle, he couldn't find any. The strange alien spoke with the confidence of someone who knew what he needed to do to make what he proposed to happen, and he wanted Renard to be a part of it and reap the rewards.

“What do you get out of this?” Renard couldn’t help but ask.

“A stable job and income?” Brooklyn replied with a raised eyebrow.

“Brooklyn…” Katana sighed.

“What, that’s part of it, right?” Brooklyn protested.

“Maybe, but this is one time where it wouldn’t hurt to be sincere, love.” Katana chided.

“Right…” Brooklyn sighed. “Income aside… we want more for ourselves than just playing dark knights for a city that will hate us for doing it. There are so many ways we could contribute, so many things to do, but we can’t do them on our own because we’re so hated. Being vigilantes isn’t going to change that, no matter how many drugies we bust or purse snatchers we catch. If things are to get better for gargoyle kind, we have to change our approach. We need power. Resources. Some means of influencing society and showing what we can do. Producing things for a big tech company like yours, doing things like healing the sick or making gadgets people want, all the while gaining funding and influence… that’s the best means we have right now.”

Katana nodded at her mate's words and gave him a proud smile. "Indeed. We have all endured enough bloodshed over these forty years. Too much. I simply wish to live a peaceful life with my family and do what I can to ensure a better future for my children and the rest of our kind."

“As for myself…” Yi said. “This is about atonement. I have committed unforgivable sins upon my people and this planet. Spilled enough blood to fill entire oceans because of my arrogance and selfishness. Even if I lived for a thousand years, I would never make up for things I have done. But even so…” Yi looked at Renard with determination. “I must do what I can to give back to the world I stole so much from. I can’t fix the past, but I will do everything I can to make a better future. For humans and gargoyles alike.”

Renard smiled at those words. “You really mean all that… I may not know what you’ve done, but I know sincerity when I see it. It takes great integrity to admit a wrong, and even more to amend your mistakes however you can.” Renard looked between all four of his guests and shook his head. “Very well. I accept your offer. From now on, you’re partners in development in Cyberbiotics. We’ll spend this week figuring out the specifics.”

Brooklyn smiled, and though it didn't quite reach his eyes, Renard still saw warmth in them. "Thank you, Mr. Renard.

At that, Yi lifted the other side of his robes, and another Mystic Nymph, a pinkish-red, flew from him and over to Renard. "Keep this," Yi said as the insect landed on the old man's lap. "I authorized it for your use. Use it to contact us."

“Leaving already?” Renard asked.

“Gonna be sundown soon," Brooklyn replied as he and his family turned to leave. "So we’ll be on our way.”

“Do you have anywhere to stay?” Renard pressed.

"We got a mobile home hidden at the docks," Nashville replied, earning an elbow to the ribs from Yi. "Ouch!"

"If you wish, you're welcome to stay here," Renard offered.

Brooklyn blinked in surprise. “We don’t want to impose, Mr. Renard.”

"You wouldn't be imposing," Renard insisted, wheeling closer. "There's plenty of room, and I was prepared to host you if you were found, Brooklyn."

“What?” Brooklyn questioned, turning back to look at Renard.

The old man nodded in confirmation. “Ms. Maza and Hudson agreed that if you were found, you should not be forced to stay with Goliath if you did not feel safe there. So, they made arrangements with me and Talon to provide places for you to live away from the clan, until you feel comfortable or otherwise. And they took great pains to make sure Goliath did not know I or Talon were the ones they reached out to.”

“They…” Brooklyn uttered, not quite processing what was told to him. “They really did that?”

Renard nodded. “They did. They want to protect you, Brooklyn. The offer still stands in my book, even with our deal and the additional guests. What do you say?” Renard held out his hand to shake on the offer.

Brooklyn’s eyes shifted uneasily, and Renard wondered if he had overstepped. Even if he hadn’t, it didn’t bode well that an act of simple kindness would through the gargoyle for such a loop.

Katana put a hand on Brooklyn's shoulder. "I don't sense any ill intent, my love," Katana said reassuringly. "I believe he is sincere."

“The Skid is kinda cramped," Nashville offered.

“And we do have the other child on the way…” Yi added.

Brooklyn sighed, gave that same torn smile he had earlier, and walked up to Renard. "Alright Mr. Renard," he said, clasping the man's hand. "You've got a deal."

….

Mr. Renard let the family leave after that, giving them the rest of the evening and the next day to gather their things and reconvene at his manor. With that arrangement made, Brooklyn took Yi in his arms and flew away from Fortress 2, Katana and Nashville following behind. It was a pretty quiet flight, which the red gargoyle was grateful for after their rather hectic night. If there was one thing his forty-year journey had taught him, it was to savor the moments of peace while they were there. They never lasted long enough.

Thanks to the height of Fortress 2, it was pretty much a straight shot to its destination: a cable-stayed suspension bridge built over the East River. Even at this late hour, cars would travel across and from Manhattan, and boats of many sizes would dock in the nearby harbors. Where at the time of opening, it was once the longest bridge of its kind. Where else would this be but the Brooklyn Bridge?

When Brooklyn had chosen this location for their hiding place, Yi asked him if he thought it was even a little on the noise. Brooklyn replied that it was "so overt, it was covert.” He considered it his victory when Yi laughed at his joke. Even after forty years, that was a rarity to cherish.

It was a simple matter to swoop under the bridge when no one was looking. Then, Brooklyn weaved under the pillars near the end of the bridge to reveal their destination docked by the river’s edge: Skidbladnir.

Skidbladnir, or the Skid as the family liked to call it, was a sizable vehicle of green-blue metal floating in the water. Taking its design from the most advanced Solarian technology he could salvage, the Skid was designed by Yi to be a mobile home that could be used on land and water. On land, it would either hover across the ground through electromagnetic force or be able to be pulled like a carriage with the addition of some wheels. On water, it would float like any other boat and propel itself through the engines on the underside. In the middle of the boat/carriage was a house with a little pavilion extending from it that led to the vessel's controls.

A shimmer of red energy was glowing around the boat, invisible to all except Brooklyn. None of them wanted to risk what they had on the ship being stolen by thieves or curious police. So, before they left, Brooklyn had placed a few wards around their forty-year-old home to keep it away from prying eyes. Or scrying eyes.

With a final flap of his wings, Brooklyn passed through the wards he placed around the Skid and wafted down to the boat's floor. Yi lingered in Brooklyn's arms momentarily, giving the gargoyle a tight squeeze around the chest before jumping to the ground himself.

"Just a little while before sunrise," Katana said as she and Nashville landed. As they did, they heard a barking from within the cabin of the Skid. "I need to check on the egg before that."

“Of course, bǎo bèi," Yi replied.

Katana walked under the pavilion and towards a door that was rattling. When Katana opened the door, a creature burst from the house. It was a gargoyle beast, a lion-sized canine-like creature with green skin and a brown mane that didn't hide the four small horns on his brow. The beast kept barking in excitement as it bound toward Yi on all fours, and before the Solarian could react, bowled him over on his back and started licking his face.

“Down Fu-Dog!” Yi protested through irritated grunts, trying to push the hound’s face away from him. “Get back you filthy beast!”

Brooklyn, Nashville, and Katana laughed at the forced affection their pet gave Yi. "You call him that, and yet he still likes you the most!" Brooklyn pointed out.

“I don’t know why!” Yi cried as he finally managed to push the gargoyle beast off him. He wiped the slobber off his face with his sleeve. “You were the one that took care of him!”

"He just wants a playmate, papa," Nashville laughed as his mother went inside. "That fur of yours makes him think you're one of him!"

"Well, he's wrong," Yi glared at Fu-Fog. In response, the gargoyle beast wagged his tail with a tuft of fur on the end and gave a few happy pants with his tongue sticking out.

Brooklyn chuckled, giving Fu-Dog a pet on the head, which caused the gargoyle beast to jump up to lick his face, too. "Okay, down boy!" Brooklyn protested without any sincerity, laughing as he pushed Fu-Dog away. The red gargoyle wiped his face as he walked over to the edge of the boat to watch the ships of the East River pass by.

"All things considered; this was a good night," he heard Yi say.

Brooklyn couldn't stop grimacing as he contemplated what had occurred that night. When his thoughts came to Goliath, he felt the bile that had built up start to rise. He had meant every word he had said to him, towards all of them. That whole rant had been forty years coming, even if he had come to save them. He had been waiting to get all that off his chest for Dragon knows how long.

So… why did he still feel so horrible?

A tug at his sleeve drew Brooklyn’s attention. He looked to see Yi holding out a red smoking pipe to Brooklyn. “I know when you need a shot, ceshi.”

Brooklyn gave a fond smile as he took the pipe. “Well, who am I to refuse you, dianxia?”

Though Yi's mouth was usually hidden by fur, the happy flick of the Solarian's ears and slight widening of the eyes conveyed the spirit of a smile. As Brooklyn placed the pipe to his lips, Yi pulled out his green pipe and put it to his mouth. The two men pressed a button on the vaporizer of their pipes and waited a moment for the herbs to burn and release their smoke. Then, they took a long drag from the pipes, savoring the bittersweet taste of the medicinal smoke. Once they finished their dreg, the gargoyle and Solarian turned their heads towards each other and blew puffs of smoke in the other's direction, catching their secondhand smoke in the process.

“Better?” Yi cooly asked.

"It definitely helps calm the nerves," Brooklyn answered with a smirk. He bent down a little to nuzzle his beak on the top of Yi's head, hugging the Solarian close and wrapping his wings around him. In response, Yi buried his face into Brooklyn's neck with a satisfied purr. They held each other momentarily, not letting go even when they heard familiar footsteps approaching them. Brooklyn didn't flinch when he felt Katana's arms wrap around him from behind and pull himself and Yi to her. Brooklyn gave a rumble of pleasure as he tilted his head back to nuzzle his beak against his wife's, a gesture she happily returned while reaching one hand to Yi to stroke his head.

The Phoenix Gate may have forced them all to fight on its behalf and endure the worst that Earth and Penglai had to offer, but moments like this kept Brooklyn going despite it all.

“How’s the egg, babe?” Brooklyn asked after a moment.

Suddenly, a blue holographic silhouette appeared next to the trio with a cheerful "The egg is doing great!" The hologram had the nerve to laugh as Brooklyn, Katana, and Yi practically jumped out of their skin at the surprise, pulling apart in the process.

“I told you to stop doing that, Abacus!” Yi exclaimed.

Abacus, also known as Ruyi-2, laughed again. In contrast to her original model, a blue silhouette of Yi, the image she showed was a blue shadow of a feminine Solarian around Yi's size. "Well, what kind of servant would I be if I didn't keep my master's senses sharp?"

"Whatever," Yi growled. "I take it things were quiet over here?"

Abacus nodded its blank head. “Between the wards Master Brooklyn placed, Fu-Dog being an excellent guard dog, and the presence of yours truly, your future child was very safe, Lord Yi. And its vitals are as stable as ever.”

"Good," Brooklyn sighed. "Still, can't be too careful. Especially since we have the Three Sacred Treasures on board."

"You know they would probably have been safer if you had carried them on your person like you usually do," Abacus said.

"We wanted to ensure this would be a peaceful night," Katana replied. "And it would have not been wise to signal to the Manhattan Clan’s many enemies the full extent of our power."

"Fair enough, I suppose." Abacus nodded. "Power on hand invites challenge."

"Not that it kept things peaceful," Brooklyn groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "The Quarrymen are getting bolder and better armed. They were completely packing up the Manhattan Clan before we intervened."

"An elegant victory I must add," Abacus praised. "The Mystic Nymph got it all on record."

"Honestly, the hardest part was reading everyone for filth," Brooklyn sighed.

Katana placed her hand on Brooklyn’s shoulder. “I am proud of you, Brooklyn. It could not have been easy, confronting your old family and showing them how they hurt you. You showed courage tonight, and nobody can take that from you.”

Brooklyn snorted. “Please, it was hardly the most difficult thing I’ve done.”

“Take it from someone with his own daddy issues, Brooklyn” Yi countered. “It’s never easy to confront your parents, no matter what you’ve accomplished.”

“I should know that as well” Katana nodded before giving a coy smile. “In fact, you both saw to my confrontation firsthand.”

Brooklyn chuckled. “Well, you were in a league of your own when it came to family drama, Katana.”

Katana gave a little rueful laugh. “Honestly, I’d take yours any day of the week. At least no one has been stabbed.”

"Yet," Yi added ominously.

“…so, are they our enemies?” Nashville asked.

“No Gnash” Brooklyn sighed. “They aren’t enemies. We aren’t fighting them. They just… aren’t our friends. They’re people to avoid, because they won’t be nice to us. They weren’t to me, and I lived with them for decades. I…don’t even want to imagine what Goliath might do if he knew who you all actually were…”

Nashville frowned before pulling the aviator goggles he had been wearing over his head. With the light of Abacus, Brooklyn could see the boy's deep brown eyes that were like his own, with slitted pupils that were not like either biological parent. "He would…hate me for not being a real gargoyle, wouldn't he?"

Brooklyn's heart clenched at those words. "No, no, no, Gnash!"  He tried to correct. "That's not what I-“

"It has nothing to do with you, my child," Katana said soothingly, leaning down to look at her son in the eyes. "It has everything to do with your parents and the things they have done in their long lives. That clan has rigid views on right and wrong and wouldn't accept us."

“And you are a real gargoyle," Brooklyn added, going to Nashville's other side to put his hand on his shoulder. "You're as much of a gargoyle as any of us. You just have a little extra from Yi because you were sick and needed help. You're as real as any of us, and don't let anyone tell you different."

Yi nodded at those words. “If they actually thought a little Solarian DNA made you less than them, I daresay they aren’t worth listening too.”

Nashville looked at all his parents unsurely before nodding his head. "Okay… thank you."

"As for the clan, we don't need them," Brooklyn declared, rising to his feet. "Those bootlickers have no intent on making things better for people like us, content to waste away in the shadows while we rot under heel. They'd never accept our plans, and they don't need to." He stepped over to the control panel of the Skid, pricked his finger, and whipped the drop of blood on a plank right under the panel. In response, the floor in front of the panel, right by the end of the ship, opened, revealing a white chest. “We have everything we need right here and in ourselves. We made the first step tonight, and it will be the first step of many.”

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step," Katana said. She and Yi approached the chest from the floor as Brooklyn approached.

"Indeed," Yi agreed. "It's been a long journey, but we're finally free from the Phoenix's clutches. Now that we're free from the timestream, we can finally make the world a better place our own way."

Brooklyn opened the chest and inside was three objects. One was a jian, a Chinese double-edged straight sword with a spade-like guard. Its blade was a jade-like color that gleamed in the moonlight. Another was a hand mirror with the deepest azure engraved on the back with the Japanese character for wisdom. The last object was a crimson magatama, a curved comma-shaped jewel with a hole on the end and a string through it.

Brooklyn reached for the magatama and put the string around his neck, the jewel falling alongside the character he already was wearing. “The bird fights its way out of the egg…” Brooklyn began.

Katana gingerly took the mirror from the chest and held it to her chest. "The egg is the world, and we are the bird," she said.

Yi grabbed the sword from the chest, holding it aloft in front of himself as he said. “Those would be born must first destroy a world.” He declared.

"And so…" Brooklyn said, facing his two mates and holding out his necklace. "In order for us to be born, we will smash the shell of this world."

Yi and Katana nodded; their faces filled with resolve that matched Brooklyn's.

The sword, the mirror, and the jewel met together, and the three chanted, "For a world for us all!"

Chapter Text

Date Unknown

"So let me get this straight…" Yi surmised as he set down the tea that he had prepared in the facilities of the Four Seasons Pavillion. "You are not just from the Pale Blue Planet, which to my knowledge is completely frozen over and lifeless, but you are also from an unknown point from its history. A magical Phoenix brought you to this point in time, where you made contact with the Fusang roots and Lear told you to find me."

"That's the long and short of it, yeah," Brooklyn sighed, taking a sip from his cup, styled in a way Brooklyn could have sworn was Chinese, despite the Solarians seemingly being aliens. "And if Earth is frozen over…. That would mean it's going through its Ice Age. Last I checked, the last Ice Age from my time was about…" Brooklyn blinked as he did the math. "Fuck! Over 100,000 years ago!" he shouted in dawning horror.

"So we're assuming you came from the future then?" Yi asked doubtfully.

"It's the simplest answer," Brooklyn groaned, running his fingers over his eyes. "Not that it makes my situation any easier. I'm as far from home as I can possibly get!"

Yi gave him a quizzical state. "And I'm supposed to believe this is true and not a hallucination brought out by overuse of medical herbs?"

"I'm not high, dammit!" Brooklyn snapped. "My leader-" Brooklyn's heart clenched at the thought of the man who wounded him not two hours ago. Or would do so in a hundred thousand years? Fucking time travel. "My old leader would make sure I never even thought about touching drugs, let alone take them myself."

"A boring man then," Yi deadpanned.

"That's putting it mildly…" Brooklyn grumbled. "Point being, I'm as sober as I can get. I know what happened to me was batshit crazy, but it doesn't make it any less true."

"Hmph," Yi grunted dismissively. "I'm a man of science, Yaoguai. I don't believe in the inexplicable. I don't believe in magic, charms, superstitions, or any of that nonsense. I only trust what can be verified with my own senses and experience."

"You say that and yet you claimed to have a connection to those roots…" Brooklyn muttered. Those words gave him a thought. "Wait, what about Lear? I can get him to vouch for me."

Yi blinked, seeming to consider Brooklyn's words. "Perhaps… although I didn't exactly meet him on purpose. But if it happened to you and I once, logic dictates it can happen again."

"Just need to get to those roots," Brooklyn said. "Which…." He sighed in defeat. "Are on the other side of the bloody station, with an army of robots in between them and us…"

"There's no need to go all the way back to Peach Blossom Village." Yi declared, standing up from where he was sitting. Brooklyn snorted in amusement when he found that, sitting down, he was level with Yi's standing height. The Solarian didn't seem to notice as he started to walk away, motioning Brooklyn to follow.

The red gargoyle followed the Solarian Fangshi through the Pavillion, walking past Shuanshuan, who was napping by a window overlooking a field. When Brooklyn looked out the window, though, he saw the sky and grass pixelate and blur for a split second, revealing metal walls before snapping back to the image of a field.

"What the-" Brooklyn gapped.

"The field is holographic," Yi replied, having looked back to see Brooklyn's confusion. "This area uses advanced photon manipulation to simulate the appearance of the outside. For mental health purposes, while the denizens are stuck in a metal coffin floating in the void of space."

"Isn't the real gardens where Peach Blossom Village are good enough for that?" Brooklyn questioned.

"How would you want to mingle with the cattle?" Yi countered before coming to a stop and turning to the right.

Brooklyn followed his gaze and flinched at what he had just run past without even noticing when he came in. A great hollow in the wall was framed in gold like a large fireplace. Inside the hollow were big, black roots, identical to the ones that Brooklyn had found near Peach Blossom Village. They were winding around each other, tightening into a splendid rope of roots in the middle of the hollow and crawling into an opening that led to parts of the ship unknown.

"There is a Root Node here in this room," Yi said. "You might not be from Penglai, but you can feel its energy, can't you?"

"More than that," Brooklyn answered, placing his hand behind his pointed ear. "I can hear them whispering. Like hundreds of little voices calling out to me…. No. To us."

"You… you hear voices?" Yi asked, shock evident on his face.

"Can't you?" Brooklyn asked, confused. "You said you had a connection too."

"I… I can't hear them exactly." Yi clarified. "There's only one person I know that heard voices from the roots…"

"Who?"

"It doesn't matter," Yi dismissed with a shake of his head. "Come. If the roots led us to Lear once, then maybe…" Yi stepped out and held out a hand towards the slithering roots. At once, the roots nearest to the edge of the hollow snaked up the walls towards the feline man, wrapping around his ankles. Yi didn't flinch as more roots wrapped around his chest and arms, pulling him closer to their heart. On instinct, Brooklyn shouted in shock, forgetting why Yi had done this, and rushed forward to attempt to free him, but a black root had slithered around Brooklyn's ankle, tripping him. Brooklyn's cry of pain was cut off by a root wrapping around his beak, and in a matter of seconds, he was cocooned entirely in darkness.

….

Brooklyn gasped as he sank into a familiar, floating feeling. He opened his eyes to see that he was in the glowing green mountainous region he had been taken to before, facing the circle of roots wrapping around each other. He was in the "Limitless Realm" once again. He looked away from the spiraling roots to see that Yi was right next to him, looking around in curiosity.

The Solarian stopped when he saw Brooklyn. "Huh. You made it after all."

"A little warning next time!" Brooklyn exclaimed.

"Why so distressed?" Yi asked.

"Those roots are fucking freaky!" Brooklyn shouted in disbelief. "Moving like snakes and grabbing at me! Who wouldn't be distressed at least a little?"

"I suppose I'm simply used to them," Yi surmised. "Regardless, we made it to this place. So that means Lear can't be too far away."

"Right…" Brooklyn sighed. "Just gotta find the old man."

Yi nodded and then turned his gaze to the mountaintop they were on. Much like the last time Brooklyn was there, a single wooden bridge connected to another mountaintop. Strangely, this time, the other mountaintop was shrouded in mist. This didn't deter Yi, however, who immediately made for the bridge, Brooklyn quickly following.

As they stepped onto the bridge, Brooklyn and Yi's ears perked up as they heard a sound. At first, the distance and fog muffled the sound a bit, but around halfway across the bridge, it was clear that it was a voice—a deep voice singing.

On a wagon bound for market

There's a calf with a mournful eye

High above him, there's a swallow

Winging swiftly through the sky

Brooklyn listened to the song as he and Yi crossed the bridge and entered the mist. Although it was hard to see, the singing voice was a beacon for the duo to follow. The voice sang beautifully as far as Brooklyn was concerned, possessing sincerity and passion that resonated through the fog, even if the lyrics were haunting.

How the winds are laughing

They laugh with all their might

Laugh and laugh the whole day through

And half the summer's night

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna

Donna, Donna, Donna, Don

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna

Donna, Donna, Donna, Don

It was then that it occurred to Brooklyn that he knew this song. He heard it on the radio when Elisa had come over at some point. It was a Hebrew song written in 1941 and made famous by Joan Baez. How the hell was it being sung here?

"Stop complaining!" said the farmer

"Who told you a calf to be?

Why don't you have wings to fly with

Like the swallow so proud and free?"

How the winds are laughing

They laugh with all their might

Laugh and laugh the whole day through

And half the summer's night

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna

Donna, Donna, Donna, Don

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna

Donna, Donna, Donna, Don

The mist started to disperse, and in the middle of the mountaintop, floating off the ground as he sang, was Lear.

Calves are easily bound and slaughtered

Never knowing the reason why

But whoever treasures freedom

Like the swallow has learned to fly

How the winds are laughing

They laugh with all their might

Laugh and laugh the whole day through

And half the summer's night

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna

Donna, Donna, Donna, Don

Donna, Donna, Donna, Donna

Donna, Donna, Donna, Don

Lear sighed as he stopped singing, seemingly catching his breath, before opening his eyes to look at Yi and Brooklyn. "Well met, my fellow disciples. I see you've met at last in the waking world." He said with a smile.

"Yeah, I did what you told me, old man," Brooklyn curtly replied. "So what now?"

"No need to be hasty, dear boy," Lear said with a chuckle. "Your journey has only just begun."

"So you did send him to meet me…" Yi surmised. "Is what he said true then? That he comes from another time period?"

"It's as true as the Fusang saving your life," Lear replied, stroking his beard. "There are possibilities in his world that you would never have dreamed of, just as Penglai is full of wonders he never would have considered. Such is the will of the Tao."

"Right…" Yi said doubtfully. "And how exactly as a Yaoguai supposed to help me defeat the other Sols, let alone am I supposed to help him travel through time once again?"

"Your fates are intertwined in ways you can't see right now," Lear said. "But in time, all will become clear. Trust in the will of the Tao to guide you. And trust yourselves and each other. Your hearts will know what to do."

"Okay Yoda…" Brooklyn grunted with a roll of his eyes.

"Who is Yoda?" Yi asked.

"…Can I go home now?" Brooklyn groaned in defeat.

"A moment of both of your time first," Lear said. "You both lent me a hand many years ago, so I must not bring an end to our cycle of Tao."

"I told you before I had never met you," Yi said, confused. "And it seems you are also a stranger to the Yaoguai."

Lear ignored him as he reached into his robe and pulled something out. It was a green jade horn with painted hexagonal patterns on the surface. "For you, my fellow Solarian, this horn allows its user to resonate with Fusang, enabling travel between the central and outer nodes."

Yi blinked in surprise. "This thing will take me back to the Four Seasons Pavillion? I never thought the nodes had this sort of function. If it actually works, this will save me a lot of time."

"Hah," Lear laughed. "This horn is of no use to ordinary people. You, however, are different. Please accept it." At those words, he reached forward to place the horn in Yi's hands. It was big in the short Solarian's palms, but Yi could still pocket it in his robes easily enough.

"As for you, guardian of the night," Lear said, turning his gaze to Brooklyn. "I have a tool to supplement that spell book my colleague gave you." Lear held out his hand, and a root among the ones winding around each other broke away to slither towards Lear's hand. It wound just under Lear's outstretched palm, and suddenly, a tiny branch sprouted, growing into a twig in Lear's hand before the sage plucked it off.

As the root slithered away, Lear held the branch out to Brooklyn. The gargoyle saw that it was a black stick with a blunted point, made of the same scaley plant tissue that the roots were made of. "The wood of the Fusang makes for a great arcane focus." Lear explained. "A great starting point for a fledgling wizard as yourself."

"Me?" Brooklyn asked. "But… I'm not a wizard. I don't know a single spell."

"Yet," Lear replied, that same calm smile on his face. "Now that you are free from your old master's thumb, perhaps now is the time to explore things he never would have allowed, no?"

Brooklyn blinked, contemplating those words. Before he knew what he was doing, the gargoyle reached for the wand and took it from Lear without a word.

"Use it well," Lear replied before leaning back. "All paths eventually converge. We shall meet again."

Before Yi or Brooklyn could react, they heard the scrape of stone on stone. The rotating rock slabs around the roots had rearranged themselves, lining themselves onto the same plane. Then, Brooklyn felt roots he hadn't seen slithering behind him wrap around himself and Yi, blocking his sight, and he knew no more.

….

Brooklyn gasped when the roots came away, stumbling onto his hands and knees to the ground. He looked around to see that he was back in the Four Seasons Pavillion, with Yi behind him, unbothered by the roots warping them again.

"Never gonna get used to that…" Brooklyn grumbled as he stood up. He held up the wand still in his hand, giving it a short look before returning to Yi. "So, you believe me now?"

"The only thing we confirmed is that Lear believes you," Yi responded, unimpressed. "That doesn't make it true."

"Oh, c'mon…." Brooklyn groaned in annoyance.

"However…." Yi added. "I suppose I have no proof you are lying either, and if nothing else, this proves you are no ordinary Yaoguai. So with that in mind, I'll keep you around. For now."

"Gee, thanks," Brooklyn said dryly. "How will I ever repay such generosity?"

"You can start by giving me some space," Yi replied. "I need to make a few repairs around the Pavillion before I can get started on my mission. Don't touch anything, and try not to make too much noise."

Brooklyn scoffed. "Whatever you say, kitty cat."

"Don't call me that," Yi snapped.

….

For the next hour or two, Yi was tinkering with a mass of electronics near the entrance of the Pavillion. To Brooklyn, it looked like some sort of gumball machine or fish bowl connected to some robotic body. It was not the weirdest thing Brooklyn had seen that day, but it was still odd. But the attitude Yi had given him dissuaded the gargoyle from asking questions.

With Yi busy tinkering and Shuanshuan still asleep, Brooklyn decided to take the time to explore the Four Seasons Pavillion. He started with the first floor, wandering around the white-painted room to see if anything was interesting besides the holographic fields at the window.

When he left the room Yi had been in, a static voice called behind Brooklyn, "How may I be of service, Sir Brooklyn?"

"Jesus!" Brooklyn shouted, whirling around at the source. The one who had said that was a blue, glowing humanoid who had just appeared out of nowhere. Brooklyn blinked as he took the thing's features in. It was another hologram, shaped in a blue silhouette of Yi, with no facial features or clothes. "What the fuck are you?!" Brooklyn exclaimed.

"Forgive me for startling you," the hologram said stoically but politely. "I am Ruyi, Master Yi's personal assistant and artificial intelligence system. I am responsible for the upkeep of the Four Seasons Pavillion and providing guidance for Master Yi's mission."

"Artificial intelligence?" Brooklyn asked. "Like a robot?"

"Similar, yes," Ruyi replied. "Although my intelligence vastly outclasses most ordinary automation, if I may say so myself. You can thank Master Yi's brilliant mind for that."

"Okay…." Brooklyn replied doubtfully. "What do you want?"

"Simply to offer my assistance," Ruyi said. "I have heard your conversation with Master Yi, and by all accounts, you will be staying with us for now. As such, I thought it prudent to introduce you to the facilities we possess in the Pavilion."

"Oh," Brooklyn consented. "Okay then. Show the way… uhhhhh?"

"Ruyi," the hologram answered. "Do try and remember it. Now follow me."

With that, a glowing AI hologram guided Brooklyn around his current home base. Ruyi took him across a bridge, past a vast image in the distance showing a field of grass blown by a breeze. A little past the bridge was a great stone door similar to the one that led to the Pavillion. "This is my central processing room. I cannot imagine you'll have a reason to come here on your own, but just in case, this is where you can find my body if you need direct assistance."

"Gotcha," Brooklyn nodded.

"You've already seen everything on the first floor, so let us take the elevator to the second," Ruyi declared. Brooklyn followed the hologram to an elevator to the left of them, and with a wave of Ruyi's hand, the elevator shut and took them upstairs. The second floor was not too different from the first floor, but a machine was a short distance away. As Brooklyn and Yi approached it, the gargoyle saw that it had a screen interface in front of a glass box-like display. Below the screen was a hollow, which Brooklyn assumed was where things would be placed.

"This is our 3D printer," Ruyi explained. This machine takes Jin and converts them into various objects."

"Jin?" Brooklyn asked.

"A precious metal that is used in most Solarian technologies." Ruyi clarified. "It is used as a currency and raw material. This device takes Jin and uses that as material."

"Can it make weapons?" Brooklyn questioned; curiosity piqued.

"With the right materials, yes," Ruyi said. "Though as of now, the stock is for more utility purposes. Vials for Master Yi's medicine pipe. Tools for different purposes and the like."

"I'll have to stock up on Jin, then," Brooklyn concluded as Ruyi continued. The gargoyle was guided to a round room with a small wooden table in the center and four red cushions on each side.

"The living room as you can see. Yi is quite fond of playing Qiankun here."

"Qiankun?"

"The oldest board game of Solarian civilization." Ruyi said.

He and Brooklyn exited the room via the other side and came out to a room that seemed to be a workshop. Tools lined up along the wall, and a wide rectangular table was in the middle. A little behind the table was a sizable balcony that overlooked the front of the Pavilion. The red gargoyle was heading towards the balcony, standing by the edge to take in the vast room. With the holograms' perspective from his point of view, if Brooklyn hadn't known any better, he would have thought that the Pavilion was truly in the center of a lush, vast field. Those horrible human harvesting machines and the black robots seemed so far away, almost like another world.

But Brooklyn knew the truth. It was just one wall away, and sooner or later, it would find him again.

"Nice place to hide for a bit," Brooklyn said, Ruyi walking behind him. "But…. I can't hide forever."

"I suppose not," Ruyi replied, his static voice somehow sounding somber. Come. I still have the kitchen to show you. I can't have my master's guest growing hungry."

…

Yi was still working on the machine when Ruyi showed Brooklyn the rest of the Four Seasons Pavillion. Brooklyn groaned, exasperated by the fact the feline was still working. Just as he was about to walk up to the Solarian and tell him to hurry, Brooklyn felt the weight of the book that Ji had given him become pronounced in his pouch. Almost like it was calling him.

Brooklyn pulled the tome out of his pouch and intently looked at the leatherbound cover. The title, Grimorum Revolutionis, stood out to him like a beacon. The "Grimoire of Revolution" it meant. Brookyln frowned as he contemplated that meaning. Why call a spellbook that?

Revolution… The word invoked to Brooklyn events like the American Revolution. An overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new one. But it could also mean a dramatic change in a general sense.

Thinking about it, maybe that was a fitting title for a book of magic spells. What was magic but the power to use the universe's power to change things? Would that not, in a sense, be a revolution? Could someone who studied this book, who learned magic, gain the power to revolutionize the world?

Brooklyn thought back to his fight with Goliath. He was weak and helpless against his leader, who had thrown him away after everything he had done for him and the clan. More than that… he thought of how, despite everything Brooklyn had tried in every crisis, he was useless compared to his clan members. He didn't have the strength or martial prowess of Goliath, Lexington's sheer technical brilliance, Hudson's experience, or even Broadway's deductive skills.

Brooklyn's grip tightened around the tome as the frustration mounted. From how he got imprisoned by Macbeth, to getting drugged when he first tried to rescue Maggie, to needing Hudson to bail him out when he tried to rescue him and Goliath from the pack to Coldsteel possessing him… the list went on and on. Every time there was trouble, Brooklyn was either useless at best or a hindrance at worst. No wonder Goliath had been sick of him, even without how he insulted Angela. Despite being second in command…. Brooklyn contributed nothing to the clan worthwhile.

But maybe… this book could change that. The thought of studying magic had crossed Brooklyn's mind before. Your clan can't possess the world's largest spellbook and has not considered the possibility at least once. Beyond that, magic had always been on the periphery of Brooklyn's life. Castle Wyvern always had at least one wizard in its court, even if both were jerks. Demona was a sorceress of some renown, and the entire clan had encounters with members of the Third Race.

Brooklyn had tried reading the Grimorum Arcanorum once, a little after Demona had tried to permanently brainwash Goliath to be her slave. He just wanted to gain insight into Demona's abilities and the other magical beings they might face. But then Goliath saw him doing so and immediately became furious. His leader had sternly told him not to look at the Grimorum Arcanorum because magic wasn't a toy. "More than that," the purple gargoyle growled. "It is a tool of the weak and cowardly to bend the world to their will. The Magus used it to take what was left of my clan away from me, and Demona used it for evil every day. We have no need of such a depraved art."

…Depraved? Was a sword depraved when its master used it to kill his enemies? Were the claws of a gargoyle depraved when they used them to tear into their enemies? What made magic, something that could be used for so many things, so different that its bad uses meant its good uses couldn't be considered? And where did Goliath, a gargoyle blessed with such natural strength from birth, get off on judging Brooklyn for trying to make up for his weakness? Why was Goliath the arbiter of right and wrong because he was the leader? Especially since he only got that position because of his own power?

Now that you are free from your old master's thumb, perhaps now is the time to explore things he never would have allowed, no?

With those words echoing in the gargoyle's mind, Brooklyn opened the book. These words greeted him on the first page:

Welcome eager student to the Grimorum Revolutionis! This page marks the first step of fledgling wizards who seek to change the world! In this tome, you will learn not only the spells necessary for self-defense and utility, but you will also receive guidelines on when and when not to use such power and how to use it responsibly, for the betterment of yourself and the world around you.

Always remember: the life of a wizard is a journey upon which he must constantly strive to reach new heights of understanding; though his path be strewn with myriad obstacles and temptations, he must not be deterred nor turned from his goal. He must push on, for it is only through perseverance that he may one day face the ultimate destiny of all wizards and his greatest challenge, which is to become a sage. But above all, a true master of magic must wield his power with a compassionate and altruistic heart. The gift of magic is meant to serve the denizens of this world, not rule over them. Keep that idea within your heart, and your magic will never fail you.

….

When Yi finished his repairs and went to find Brooklyn, the gargoyle was in the middle of trying to cast a spell, waving his wand with a dramatic flourish and annunciating the incantation with all the conviction he could muster. "Augue….Augue…! Au-"

"What are you doing?" the small Solarian flatly asked, eyeing Brooklyn with a deadpan stare.

Brooklyn rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Trying to cast a Fireball spell…" he replied. "According to the grimoire, it's as basic of a self-defense spell as magic can get. The theory and incantation were simple enough, and it doesn't require any special components besides a wand or grimoire as a catalyst. But I can't seem to get it."

"You really think just waving a stick around and saying the right words will conjure a sphere of plasma?" Yi asked doubtfully.

"I know it can," Brooklyn protested. "I've met and fought several magic users. Just never used it myself."

"What you call magic is nothing more than science that you don't understand," Yi dismissed. "Those so called wizards just used technology you couldn't see."

"I know the difference between magic and tech, cat," Brooklyn retorted, annoyed by the Solarian's arrogance.

"Do you now?" Yi questioned. "In that case…" The feline man slashed two fingers before him, and a blade of green light manifested in front of his fingertips.

"What the?!" Brooklyn exclaimed in surprise. "How are you doing that?"

"A simple application of my body's qi, otherwise known as life energy or rhizomatic energy," Yi answered, giving the energy blade a few swings before dismissing it. "You probably assumed it was a spell at first, something mystical that couldn't be explained, but it was merely the result of study and practice on my part."

"…you say it's scientific while referring to your power as life energy in the same breath." Brooklyn deadpanned. "After being dragged into a place beyond space and time by roots."

"Life energy is something that can be verified, observed, and manipulated." Yi countered. "It runs on principles that have been studied and mastered. There's no magic to it. And I'm positive that so called Limitless Realm is the same. I just don't know how it works yet."

"Magic runs on rules, too," Brooklyn retorted. "There are so many books dedicated to it. Just because you can't see it so obviously doesn't mean it's not real. And I've seen magic."

"God, you sound like my sister…" Yi muttered.

"You have a sister?" Brooklyn asked.

"None of your business," Yi snapped. "I didn't come to debate superstition with you, Yaoguai. I finished repairing the Shanhai unit. Unfortunately, it lacks any usable map data at the moment, so I'm going to have to proceed blind. I'm requesting that you stay here and keep Shuanshuan safe."

"How am I supposed to find my way home if I'm couped up here?" Brooklyn asked. "This place is hidden and Ruyi can take care of the kid, right? Let me go with you."

Yi's ears twitched at that. "It's going to be dangerous. I can't babysit you."

"I can take care of myself!" Brooklyn growled. "I've already turned plenty of those clankers into scrap. They won't stop me!"

Yi blinked at Brooklyn, gazing at the gargoyle contemplatively before sighing. "Just don't get in my way. Ruyi! You're in charge until we get back!"

"Of course, Master Yi," the AI voice replied as the hologram spontaneously appeared between Yi and Brooklyn, making the gargoyle jump.

"Fuck!" Brooklyn exclaimed. "Wear a bell!"

"I'm afraid as a hologram I can't do that." Ruyi replied earnestly. "I will do better to not startle you in the future, Mr. Brooklyn."

"Please do…" Brooklyn sighed.

"Are we going or not?" Yi cut in impatiently.

….

The massive door of the Four Seasons Pavillion slammed shut behind Brooklyn and Yi with a tremendous boom. The two men started their journey upon that sound, with the Solarian leading the way. As the duo walked behind the two statues, something started to ping. Brooklyn saw a flash of blue light shine briefly from beneath Yi's robes, and then Yi placed two fingers to his temples, making it cease. Suddenly, the staticy voice of Ruyi spoke. "I hope you haven't gone far, but...There is something I am unsure as to whether I should share."

"Speak freely," Yi replied, apparently speaking through some sort of radio or comm device Brooklyn couldn't see.

"In truth, I owe my existence to the decision of a certain Sol." Ruyi continued. "It was through his decision that I wasn't destroyed."

"Who?" Yi questioned.

"The Sol in charge of the Power Reservoir, Lord Kuafu."

Yi's eyes narrowed into slits as he growled with a deep fury that belayed his small frame. "...That damned bastard."

"I understand you hold a grudge against him, but in my humble opinion, it might be worthwhile to engage with him." Ruyi stated. "After all, Lord Kuafu's unique talents are undeniable. Even if he declines to cooperate, he could still be of value to you."

"Fair enough," Yi curtly replied. "I'll consider it."

"The Power Reservoir is located at the base of the Central Core. Take the transport elevator down, and you should be able to find it." With that, the comm beeped, and Yi took his hand from his face.

"Looks like we have our first target," Yi stated to Brooklyn icily.

"Who's Lord Kuafu?" Brooklyn asked.

"A traitor like the rest of the Sols." Yi growled. "And depending on the answer he gives me, a dead man like the rest of them too."

Brooklyn blinked in confusion. "What's a Sol?"

"The leaders of the Tiandao Council, and the would-be leaders of this dying world," Yi snorted. "As you can see, they've been doing a superb job of screwing everything up."

Brooklyn considered the Solarian's words before giving an audacious grin. "I see. Sooooo….. we're going straight for the bosses? Cut the serpent off at the head?"

"Something like that," Yi replied. "I just need their Seals so I can fix what they broke. If they hand them over willingly, great. If not, I'll pry it off their cold, dead bodies."

"So what are we waiting for?" Brooklyn urged. "Let's get going!"

Yi nodded and led the red gargoyle down the grand hallway, down some stairs, and eventually to an elevator similar to the one in the Four Seasons Pavillion. With a series of hand gestures, the elevator groaned and crawled downwards, sinking into the depths of New Kunlun.

….

When the elevator stopped, Brookyln found that he and Yi were in a dark room, surrounded by glowing green electronics, frayed wires, and blue pipes. Energetic hums buzzed throughout the room, and Brooklyn could see more of those robots in black wandering through in the shadows, carrying swords and spears.

"Let's see what you're made of, Yaoguai," was the only warning Yi gave Brooklyn before the Solarian rushed over to the nearest soldier and sliced its head clean off. At once, the rest of the robotic soldiers were alert, whirling around to see Yi with a dreadful droning noise before rushing at Brooklyn and Yi with weapons drawn.

Brooklyn wasn't one to back down from a fight, so he brandished his sword and, with a roar, charged at the robots. His blade clashed against the nearest guard's, locking their weapons together for a second before the gargoyle kicked the robot in the stomach. The robot slammed into another one, stunning them both, and Brooklyn took the opportunity to thrust his sword into the robot's chest, piercing through the metal body and managing to run the other robot through as well.

Just as Brooklyn pulled his sword out, a spear tip thrust across his vision, grazing his cheek and just barely avoiding stabbing his eye out. Brooklyn yelped as he leaped back to face his attacker, who twirled his spear in his hand before slashing the tip at Brooklyn a few times. One of those strikes nicked Brooklyn in the tail, causing the gargoyle to growl in fury and give a mighty shove at the soldier, throwing it off balance to provide an opening for the gargoyle to punch the head with all his might, smashing it off.

Brooklyn looked up to see how Yi was doing, and he was momentarily awed by what he saw. In contrast to the furious shows of strength Brooklyn used, and indeed most gargoyles, Yi fought his opponents in a fluid dance. The small Solarian weaved around sword strikes with graceful sidesteps and short dashes, retaliating by thrusting two fingers forward to conjure the green energy sword and cutting the robot apart. Another robot tried to take this opportunity to strike at Yi, but the Solarian swung his hand toward the sword. Instead of the sword cutting off his hand, a green light flashed between his hand and the sword, deflecting the blade away and knocking the robot prone. Before the robot could recover, a glowing slip of paper appeared in Yi's sword hand. The Fangshi dashed forward, slapped the paper into the robot's chest, and kicked it away. Yi sliced with two fingers, and the glowing paper slipped in a green light, completely wrecking the robot.

Brooklyn couldn't help but whistle at the display. The Solarian may have been small, but he was a beast in battle. Like if Yoda picked up a lightsaber and started fighting.

The gargoyle barely resisted laughing at the image. Yeah, like that would ever happen.

"That was incredible!" Brooklyn said as Yi put away his energy sword. "Was that all the 'qi' stuff you mentioned?"

"Indeed," Yi replied, turning back to look at the gargoyle with something like approval. "And you weren't too bad yourself. Perhaps you'll be of use to me yet."

"I'm not here to be your servant, cat," Brooklyn retorted.

"And yet according to Lear, I'm your only hope," Yi countered. "If you're to be fighting alongside me, you'd best be able to keep up, no?"

"Fair enough," Brooklyn assented.

Yi reached into his robe and pulled out what looked like a jade smoking pipe. The Solarian clicked a button that caused the rounded outlet to start smoking, placed the pipe to his lips, and took a large drag from it. After a moment, he pulled the pipe away and blew a big puff of smoke from his mouth.

The vapors wafted over at Brooklyn, who wrinkled his nose at the bitter scent. "Is that weed?" he incredulously asked.

"It's medicine," Yi curtly answered. "It was crafted by the outstanding craftsmen of the Ying nation. Just one puff from the herbs will quickly alleviate any discomfort and accelerate the healing process."

"So smoking heals you?"

"Pretty much," Yi replied before putting away the pipe. "Come on. We still have a ways to go."

The strange duo continued their trek, walking through the dark halls. The place was worse than a maze to Brooklyn. Not only did the halls make all sorts of winding and dizzying turns, but there were also often places where the hallway would break off into pits with electrified surfaces at the bottom, with only floating platforms coming between floors of the building periodically if they had even that. Yi would navigate these obstacles by leaping into the side of the platforms, sticking to the surface with some sort of qi technique, while Brooklyn would either use his wings to float down to the next floor or climb up by clawing the walls.

During one of the times that Brooklyn was climbing down to a lower floor, the gargoyle heard a shout of surprise. Brooklyn looked up to see that Yi had slipped from his riding platform, falling toward the electrified floor below. On instinct, Brooklyn jumped from the wall and flew at Yi, folding the Solarian tightly to his chest as he soared to the safe ground above the electrified floor.

Brooklyn sighed in relief before looking down at the Solarian in his arms. "That was close. You okay?"

Yi looked back up at the gargoyle, still reeling from the unexpected fall. "I'm fine…. You have sharp reflexes."

Brooklyn couldn't help but laugh. "Is 'thanks' so hard, man?"

"…thank you." Yi said. "Now could you please let me go?"

Brooklyn acquiesced, and they continued their way. "Seriously though, why the fuck is this place a death trap? Didn't you say people were supposed to live and work here?"

"You can blame the Sol's negligence for that," Yi growled. "Though I suspect at least one of them made the halls so inhospitable the moment they were alerted to my presence."

"I see…" Brooklyn nodded before suddenly stopping. Something red was moving in the corner of his eye. "Wait… what's that?"

Yi also halted his movement, looking in the direction Brooklyn turned his gaze. The movement came from a pedestal-like structure with a glowing red cap resembling a large flower bud. It was shaking in place, like something alive inside was trying to get out.

"That's a root node…" Yi muttered, walking towards it. "They usually don't shake like that though. Still, connecting to it would be wise given the dangers we face."

"How will connecting to it help us?" Brooklyn asked, following Yi to the node. When Brooklyn was next to him, Yi reached out a hand to the pedestal and touched the red flower-like cap.

The instant the Solarian made contact, the cap burst open, releasing a glob of white light, followed by a massive tangle of the Fusang Roots. Brooklyn only had time to curse "This shit again?!" before the roots wrapped around himself and Yi and pulled them into their realm.

….

Once again, Brooklyn landed on the faintly glowing green mountain of the Limitless Realm with Yi by his side. However, there was no bridge at the mountain's edge this time. Instead, there was a Solarian man in a pale yellow and gray uniform with pastel green accents. A gray cowl surrounded his head, a ponytail extending behind him, and a round white mask with a black swirling pattern hiding his face. His masked face was only visible briefly before he turned away from Yi and Brooklyn, facing a weird glowing green ball floating from the mountain. "What am I doing...?" the masked man muttered to himself. "I'm not trying to dance..."

"Who are you?" Brooklyn yelled, irritation of being repeatedly dragged into this bizarre place starting to come to a head. When the man didn't react, he snapped, "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

The man continued to ignore Brooklyn, which made the gargoyle growl in frustration. He whirled around to shout at Yi… but stopped. The Fangshi's eyes looked glazed, faraway, like he was under a trace. Brooklyn waved his hand before Yi's face, but the feline man didn't acknowledge him. Instead, he walked towards the mountain's edge, joining the masked man's side.

Then, without warning, Yi and the masked man leaped from the mountain's edge. Brooklyn cried in surprise, running after the two Solarians as their jumps reached their height near the green orb in the air. However, instead of falling, the two Solarians twirled in the air, creating a flash of green light that allowed them to bounce themselves off the orb, adding height to their jump and landing on the next mountaintop.

Brooklyn took flight, following the Solarians in the air as they proceeded to leap through a series of mountains in the fog of the Limitless Realm. Despite his distance, Brooklyn could hear the masked man clearly, as if he were right next to him as if his voice was everywhere in Tao. "I'll call it the Tai-Chi Kick!" the masked man said as he and Yi landed on another mountain. "But then, perhaps it's too early to give it a name?"

"Slow down you jerks!" Brooklyn called after them, flapping his wings to pick up some speed.

The two Solarians kept at it for a while, leaping between mountaintops, using the Tai Chi Kick on those inexplicable orbs to cross gaps they otherwise wouldn't. By the time Brooklyn caught up to them, they stopped on the widest mountaintop in the area.

"The trick is not to predict but to expose, " the masked man said. Your reaction is as important as your timing. Leverage the power and dissipate the flow. That's the key!"

"What are you talking about?" Brooklyn protested. "Yi, say something!"

"….I think… I realized a new skill." Yi replied, sinking into a fighting stance. "Strike at me, daoshi."

Without warning, a green light flashed around the masked man as he conjured a green sword and swung at Yi. In a split second, he did all that, and Yi hopped into the air and twirled. As the masked man's blow was repelled, the sword and Yi's hand collided, creating a verdant spark between them. The two Solarians landed, facing each other momentarily, before bowing.

"To think that the green Qi aura was visible all along..." the masked man muttered, stroking his chin. "Expose the flow of Qi to make it suit your ends."

"You have my gratitude." Yi said. "I'll put this lesson to good use."

The masked man nodded at Yi before looking at Brooklyn for the first time. "The principles of the Tao are for all, young wizard. Just as with Qi, knowledge alone is not enough to spark the arcane. It's something you feel within you. That you drive with your will. You have more than enough of that. You just need to sharpen it to a fine point. Manage that, and you will take your first step."

"What does any of that mean?!" Brooklyn shouted.

"When the time comes, you will know. Thank you both for the lesson. May it serve you in the waking world…."

…

Brooklyn groaned as his vision returned to him, still hearing the slithering of the roots that just released him and Yi. "What the hell was that about?"

"Seems that someone in the Limitless Realm wanted to bring a use for Qi that I didn't know about to my attention," Yi replied, completely unbothered as the roots released him. "A way to guard against enhanced attacks and propel myself off certain Qi filled objects…."

"What is it with those roots?" Brooklyn asked. "And why the hell didn't they teach me shit?"

"Because you aren't a Fangshi, I suppose." Yi shrugged. "As for the roots…" Yi's eyes narrowed into slits. "Look out!"

Brooklyn turned his head to see a robot slash its sword at him. He didn't even have time to tense as a horrible squish filled his ears and blood sprayed on his chest. On instinct, Brooklyn lashed out his hand, sheering the face of the robot with his claws, deactivating it, but it was too late to prevent the damage the guard had done.

Damage that, Brooklyn realized as the robot hit the ground, he never felt. He looked down, and instead of a gushing injury slashed across his chest… there was Yi. Somehow, the tiny Solarian had dashed between Brooklyn and the robot in the time it took for the former to swing their sword. Yi coughed up blood as Brooklyn saw, to his mounting horror, red flowing from his neck and mouth. Yi gurgled, giving Brooklyn an agonized look before collapsing to the ground.

"No!" Brooklyn roared, lowering himself on top of Yi, holding the Solarian as he frantically searched for something, anything to stop the bleeding. Deep down, he knew that a wound like this wasn't something you couldn't just bandage, but he had to do something! He couldn't just let this man die! Not when he was his only guide in this horrible place! Not after he took the blow for him!

But it was no use. Yi tightened his hand over Brooklyn's, released a couple last gurgles of blood, and then went slack, his body lifeless.

Gods… a gargoyle was supposed to be a protector! They were the ones who were supposed to lie down their lives for others! So why did every time Brooklyn tried, someone else suffered? Why was he this much a failure?

It somehow got worse. Before Brooklyn's eyes, Yi's body became viscous and squishy, like it was turning into a blob of semi-solids. A pink-white lotus flower sprouted from Yi's skull; its beauty was a cruel irony against the melting corpse. Despite only knowing the Solarian for a few hours, Brooklyn sobbed, tears threatening to tear from his face. This man died because of him, and because of that, he would be all alone in this hell forever. He would never get home, and if he couldn't even prevent this, maybe this was what he deserved….

A booming gong started Brooklyn out of his grief and self-hatred. It came from the root node, which was glowing with a whitish-green light. As Brooklyn watched, a figure started to materialize from the light. It molded itself in verdant brilliance, becoming a silhouette of a feline humanoid in robes. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the light faded, revealing the figure that it produced.

Brooklyn's jaw dropped. It… it was Yi, eyes closed, but not a scratch on him. It was like his throat was never slit.

The Solarian sighed, opening his eyes and looking at Brooklyn with a penetrating gaze. "It was careless of you to let down your guard," he said in a familiar patronizing tone. "If I hadn't spotted that stray, you'd be dead."

"I…" Brooklyn choked. "You should be dead! You were dead! So why…?"

Yi sighed. "You were going to find out sooner or later I suppose. The Fusang, the Primordial Roots that grew throughout our planet and nurtured our early civilization, and I have a… special connection. The Primordial Roots convert sunlight into rhizomatic energy, and during an experiment involving that energy gone wrong, I sustained life threatening injuries. But the experiment caused the roots to react to my predicament, and the Fusang filled me with their energy, saving my life. Since then, the roots and I have shared a symbiotic connection that I can't explain. They healed my body, and once I reached the peak of my growth, I stopped aging entirely."

Brooklyn shook his head, still reeling from Yi dying before his eyes, the still-melting corpse right in front of him while Yi in his new body spoke to him. "The roots… made you immortal?"

"No," Yi replied, shaking his head. "It's regeneration, not immortality. If I sustain an injury that kills me, the roots regenerate my body from their biomass. But… I had no idea the extent of their power until the Tiandao Council betrayed me."

"You mentioned that before…" Brooklyn muttered before realizing the implication of Yi's words. "You mean… they killed you?"

Yi nodded. "Because I threatened to expose their lies to the people, they saw to my death. But thanks to my connection to the roots, I survived. And now, I'll do unto them what they tried to do unto me." With those words, the Solarian walked past Brooklyn, stomping over the now-liquefied corpse that used to be him. He turned to glare at Brooklyn. "Are you coming? I'd rather not wait for the guards to kill me again."

Brooklyn nodded rigidly, wondering once again what he had gotten himself into.

….

Things were considerably tense after that, even without the hallways full of robots that the duo had to fight. Even knowing that Yi would heal from any fatal injury, Brooklyn was much more cautious than before. Yi might be practically immortal, but Brooklyn was still quite killable and didn't want to be snuck up on again.

The Tai-Chi Kick had quickly proven useful, as several gaps in the station only had more green orbs in between, albeit connected to a wall rather than just floating in the air. When Brooklyn asked what they were for, Yi replied that they were nodes to help the station regulate rhizomatic energy. Using the Tai Chi Kick, Yi could use the built-up qi in those orbs to bounce himself into the air and cross those gaps without Brooklyn's help. The technique also allowed Yi to better counter the attacks of some of the robots, not that Brooklyn could see the difference as he couldn't see Qi.

Considering how the robots seemed to only grow bigger and nastier as they went through, Brooklyn couldn't complain. The robots weren't just arming themselves with swords or spears anymore but with bows and guns. Nothing too unmanageable, even if the extra range was annoying to deal with. A few dog-like androids also gave grinding, mechanical barks before rushing at Brooklyn and Yi, only to whimper and howl as they were cut down.

They kept up the pace for a good while, even with the distractions from the guards, until they found themselves in an expansive room with another Root Node. The Root Node was placed in front of a massive statue cut in the same style as Yi and Lear's statue in front of the Four Season Pavillion. It depicted a large Solarian lying on his side on a bed with one hand over the belt on his robe and the other resting on the side of his head. He wore no shirt, leaving his muscular chest and arms completely exposed, and he looked in the viewer's direction with a smirk that Brooklyn couldn't decide if it was trying to be confident or seductive.

The gargoyle didn't have time to wonder about that as a call suddenly beeped on Yi's comm. As Yi pressed his fingers to his head to answer it, a disgruntled, low-pitched voice grumbled, "Hello? Hello, can you hear me? Gah, this is such a hassle. This is the central control room for the Power Reservoir. Please listen carefully. I don't know how you woke from hibernation or how you and your Yaoguai managed to get here. However, this is a restricted zone. According to the law, all trespassers will be removed. If you are lost, I urge you to leave soon. I've already summoned the Dusk Guardians to handle the situation…"

"Who the hell-?" Brooklyn began, but Yi interrupted him.

"It's me, Yi," the small Solarian answered.

The voice on the other end of the line paused momentarily, seemingly stunned. "Who did you say you were?"

"You heard what I said," Yi replied curtly. "Disarm the security system already."

There was a growl of rage from the other end of the line. "Now, you listen to me. I don't know what kind of hilarious prankster you think you are, but did you really think you'd fool me with that crude disguise?! Leave now!" The voice sighed before adding. "What a nuisance…" Then, whoever was on the other side hung up.

"Who was that?" Brooklyn asked.

"The Sol of 'Loyalty'" Yi scuffed. "We're getting close."

Brooklyn found that night that his definition of "close" did not match Yi's. They were wandering through the halls for at least an hour, fighting robots while navigating more frighteningly common obstacles. By the time they stopped again, Brooklyn panting, doubling over himself as he fought to catch his breath.

"Tired already, Yaoguai?" Yi asked in a tone that Brooklyn could only call mocking.

"Not on your life…" Brooklyn gasped, glaring defiantly at Yi.

"Good," Yi said, pointing across a vast chasm in an even vaster room that Brooklyn couldn't see the end of. "Because there's our destination."

Brooklyn followed his finger with his gaze and gasped in awe at seeing a great pyramid built of deep blue stones with blood-red Solarian characters written on the side that said "Power Reservoir". As Brooklyn took in the wonderous sight, Yi stepped over to a square-shaped gateway, and with a wave of his hand, the gate lowered into a triangle. Panels of blue energy materialized from the gate and an opening in the pyramid, connecting into an ethereal bridge. When the bridge was produced, the pyramid lit up with green-blue light.

"Be on guard," Yi said without giving Brooklyn a moment to process what he saw. "Kuafu likely sent his most elite guard to protect his dwelling place. I might be able to regenerate, but I can't save you if your carelessness gets you killed."

Brooklyn blinked at the Solarian's words. Then, determination filling his chest, he nodded, tightening the grip on his sword. "I'm ready…"

The walk to the pyramid took several minutes since it had to be a mile away. When they crossed through the entrance, they entered a dark room lit by monitors covering the walls. The monitors displayed a diagram of the Fusang Roots, showing routes of their growth and the nodes and pathways that channeled their power. There was a root node in the room that Yi wasted no time connecting to before he and Brooklyn walked through another hallway.

This hall led into another expansive room. In the center of the room was a great pedestal with a blue sphere floating above it. A thin current of electric power flowed from a hole in the ceiling into the sphere, coalescing for a bit before flowing back into the roof. Glowing Solarian characteristics absolutely covered the walls of the room.

None of this technology drew Brooklyn's attention: it was the enemy in the room. Resting on the pedestal was an absolutely massive robot, a large, centaur-like being with a red body covered in dark gray metal armor. It held a large spear wrapped in crimson wire. Its head had a metal visor and a seemingly mechanical jaw with large teeth. It was leaning on the pedestal when the duo came in, plugged in via outlets on its back, but Brooklyn knew better.

Sure enough, the moment Yi and he moved towards the pedestal to move past it, the robot whirred mechanically, followed by a digital beeping from the helmet. "Defense mode activated," it droned before leaping from the pedestal. It landed in front of Yi and Brooklyn with a loud crash and then roared so loud it shook the room.

In response, Brooklyn drew his sword, and Yi held his hand in a fighting stance. "Don't space out again, Yaoguai," Yi warned.

"I won't," Brooklyn growled back.

The two charged at the huge enemy. The mechanical centaur swung its spear down at them in a sweeping arc in response. Yi countered the blow with his qi while Brooklyn leaped up to avoid the blow and continue his advance.

Brooklyn pulled his sword behind him and swung it in a huge arc at the centaur's chest. To his shock, instead of cleaving straight through like he had with the other robots, the blade clanged off, leaving only a shallow gash.

The centaur roared again, swinging at Brooklyn as he landed. Having no time to dodge, Brooklyn braced both hands on his sword and attempted to block the strike. The moment the spear impacted the sword, Brooklyn was knocked away, his ears filled with the sound of metal slicing metal and his flesh tearing. Brooklyn cried out as his back slammed into the wall. He put his hand to his chest and came back with blood.

He had managed to deflect the worst of the blow, but he still got grazed severely, and now his sword was in pieces.

Brooklyn groaned as he put his eyes back on the battle. The centaur didn't press his advantage on the gargoyle; instead, he engaged Yi, who was still at full strength. The Solarian countered a few more strikes before dashing at the robot and attaching a talisman to its chest. Yi swung his hand behind him and made the talisman explode as the centaur thrust its spear at Yi. The small Solarian cried out as his side was grazed by the tip of the great spear, blood spraying the floor.

"No…" Brooklyn growled as Yi scrambled to get some distance from the robot. "I won't… let you die again." But the robot had shrugged off all of Brooklyn's strength. Without his sword, what could he do? What did he have?

The clatter of wood on stone drew Brooklyn from his panic, and he looked down to see the wand Lear had given him falling out of his pocket. The red gargoyle looked back up to observe the battle. Yi was still holding his own, weaving through the attacks and striking back a few times despite his injury, but he was losing his breath fast. He would lose steam any moment, and the results would be deadly.

The voice of someone that Brooklyn used to consider his mother, someone he now hated with all his being, echoed in his mind. When we fly, it's not a matter of can or cannot. There are some things in life we just do. There are times when we either fly or die. The choice, my child, is yours.

Brooklyn snatched the wand from the ground and held it before himself. "Drive the arcane with your will…" Brooklyn whispered, imagining the formulas in his head, followed by the image of the tip of his wand burning. "Sharpen it to a fine point…."

When there was no response, Brooklyn tried harder. He imagined everything he experienced on that night. He imagined the humans above that he was fighting for and the decapitated bodies of their brethren. He recalled every time he felt powerless and afraid and didn't want to feel that way anymore. Then, he thought about his clan. His sister Angela, who blamed her for his own possession and stole Goliath's affections. His brother Broadway, who, after decades of knowing and loving him, agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment and blamed him as well.

He closed his eyes with a snarl as his thoughts went to Goliath. The man who had raised him all his life and yet threw him away the moment the child who looked like him came into the picture. The one that he had given everything to please and follow the example of, and yet slashed his face when he dared speak against his favorite. Brooklyn took all of these frustrations and anger and commanded them to burn on the tip of his wand.

With a roar of rage, Brooklyn opened his eyes, now shining white, and swung his wand in the direction of the centaur. "Augue!" He cried. This time, Brooklyn felt the power well up within before being released through his wand. Sparks danced from the wood, turning into a mote of crimson flames that flew towards the centaur.

The centaur turned its head, seeing the light of the flames barreling towards it out of the corner of its eye, but it was too late. The fireball slammed into the centaur's head, scorching it black and causing it to roar in agony.

Yi didn't waste this chance. He leaped up before the robot could recover, soaring to the massive robot's head. At the apex of his jump, he slammed a talisman on the spot that Brooklyn had hit, still burning from the flames. When Yi landed back down, he motioned his fingers, and the talisman exploded. The heat from the fire must have weakened the robot's shell because the explosion made the head of the robot blow apart entirely. The now headless centaur gave a few last feeble swings of the spear before collapsing onto the floor, motionless.

Brooklyn gasped, catching his breath as his mind caught up to what just happened. Then, with a grin, he whooped in triumph, leaping in the air and bumping his fist. "Hell yeah! Take that you bucket of bolts!"

Yi eyed Brooklyn curiously, pulling out his pipe as he did so. "What was the ball of fire just now?" he asked, taking a drag from his pipe.

"That was real magic, you arrogant cat!" Brooklyn answered haughtily. To emphasize this, he channeled those same emotions, along with the elation he was currently feeling, and waved his wand again. "Augue!" At that word, another ball of fire erupted, sailing over Yi and crashing to the wall.

"You see that?" Brooklyn crowed. "I'm a wizard!"

"Give me that stick," Yi curtly demanded as he stomped towards Brooklyn. Without waiting for an answer, the Solarian snatched the wand from the red gargoyle's hand and said, "Abacus, analysis."

A blue ball of light flew from Yi's robe and hovered over his hand. Brooklyn saw that the "ball" was actually a glowing blue dragonfly, ethereal like it was made of light. It briefly hovered around the wand in Yi's hand before flying back into Yi's robes.

"Analysis complete," Ruyi's voice said. "Just an ordinary branch, albeit one rich in rhizomatic energy."

"Impossible," Yi protested. "No one has manipulated rhizomatic energy like that. With a branch at least."

"Now do you believe in magic?" Brooklyn smugly asked.

Yi glared at Brooklyn in an annoyed fashion. "I believe there are things we haven't found the explanation for yet. There is a principle behind your trick with the flames, just as there is with my qi sword."

"Stubborn cat…" Brooklyn growled.

"That being said…" Yi added. "You certainly are full of surprises, Brooklyn. You're an interesting one in many respects, and though I'm confident I could have taken Yingzhao on my own, you no doubt made it easier with your fire."

"You're welcome," Brooklyn snorted.

Yi rolled his eyes. "Don't let it go to your head." Without warning, Yi tossed his pipe to Brooklyn. "Here, take a puff of this. It will take care of that chest wound at least."

Brooklyn gagged, not at the strong scent, but at the fact Yi was just smoking from this vial. "You want me to smoke after you put your nasty mouth on this?"

Yi rolled his eyes again. "Just smoke it, you big baby. I'm hardly disease ridden, and you're made of tough stuff, right?"

Brooklyn sighed in defeat. With that, he placed the lips of his beaked mouth to the pipe and took a deep breath. A strange swirl of sour, bitter, and sweet flavors filled his mouth. As he inhaled the herbal smoke, the pain across Brooklyn's chest started to subside, and he felt his taut muscles relax. In the back of his mind, Brooklyn imagined Elisa would have a conniption if she saw he was smoking drugs, but he was enjoying the concoction too much to fully care.

When Brooklyn stopped his inhalation, he blew the smoke from his mouth, making a respectable puff of smoke above him. "Huh. That is better. Thanks."

"I'm just taking care of an ally," Yi replied. Now come. We have a Sol to extort."

The path ahead was clear, as there was only one other way out. Yi and Brooklyn made for that exit, going down a short hallway that led into a dark room. There was boxed junk everywhere, as well as a large computer console towards the back and machinery of sorts attached to the roof. Next to the console was a desk, where someone in a large chair was sitting in the dark.

"Tch," the familiar low-pitched voice said. "You made it in after all. You not only hacked the Padgoa's controls, you also defeated Yingzhao. Who the hell are you two? Let me have a look at this imposter…. He who dares impersonate my deceased friend…"

The room lit up, giving Brooklyn a clear look at the one in the chair. He was a large Solarian, one as big as Broadway, and built like him, too. Only… even more cuddly. He had orange fur, small, round eyes, and a pudgy face. He was wearing a dark green jumpsuit with a floating gold headrest-esque bar around his head and a device on his chest that held, to Brooklyn's confusion, a boba tea bottle.

The large Solarian's face shook, and he exclaimed, "Is that you, Yi?" right as Brooklyn cooed, "Oh my God, he is adorable!"

Brooklyn clamped his hand over his beak, embarrassed he said that out loud. Thankfully, neither Solarian seemed to notice or care.

"Why? Is that really you? You're still alive?" the large Solarian, Kuafu, stammered.

"Barely," Yi icily replied with a glare. "And judging by your reaction, you don't seemed too pleased to see me."

Kuafu shook his head. "No… I'm dreaming again. This must be a trick of my grief. Or Goumang and Jiequan playing an evil prank on me again. You can't be him… He's dead…"

Yi cocked his head at Kuafu, gazing at him for a moment. Then, he sighed and, to Brooklyn's surprise, started to sing.

Walk on, wandering souls

For your respite, we pray

Let our humble song clear your hearts of dismay,

Rekindle the flame in your souls and set you free

So walk on and become the light that guides the way

Of all the things he had expected from the small scientist, Brooklyn hadn't considered being a good singer to be one of them.

It must have sounded beautiful to Kuafu too, because the large Solarian was now crying in his chair, futilely wiping away tears with his hands. "That song… that was his song! The one he sang to his sister…. Oh, thank the heavens, I never thought it would be you! Friend! Brother! You're not dead! I don't believe it! Praise the heavens, praise the earth, praise Fusang! I thought you fell off that cliff! I saw it on surveillance! How did-?"

"Slow down," Yi curtly interrupted. "Let's not get too friendly just yet. There's one thing I need to check."

Before Brooklyn or Kuafu could react, Yi rushed over to the large Solarian, holding a glowing green claw at Kuafu's face, making him gasp in shock. "Are you in league with them?" Yi demanded, his voice cold enough to freeze a lake and his eyes. "Or are you not?"

Kuafu took a few ragged breaths as more tears fell from his face. "In a sense… I suppose I am. All I can say is… over the past five hundred years I've spent in my vital sanctum, I've spent every single moment reliving that nightmarish day."

Kuafu looked at his desk. On it, there was a photograph. It showed Yi and himself smiling cheerfully at a camera as they took a selfie. "How can I make you believe me? I truly didn't know before it happened. I thought they went after you to bring you back… Just so we can sit down and talk. I didn't think it would end up like this."

At this, the large Solarian broke, openly weeping as he cried, "I swear I wasn't involved! I didn't do anything! But I suppose… that was my greatest sin. I don't have the right to ask your forgiveness. If this is your ghost coming to seek revenge, I suppose I deserve what's coming."

The room was silent for a moment, so quiet that Brooklyn could have heard a pin drop. Then, Yi let down his claw, dispelling his qi. "Forget it. I get your situation. You were never given an option either. Besides, I never fulfilled that promise I made to you, so let's call it even."

Kuafu gasped. "You're… actually forgiving me? Wow, when did you become a nice guy?" Kuafu raised his eyebrow in a way that could only be described as sardonic. "These last five centuries must have taken a toll on you." Then, Kuafu sighed. "In the end, it's all my fault. If I had the ability to stop them…"

"If you truly wish to atone, then help me retrieve the Sol Seals." Yi said.

"You're really asking me to betray the council?" Kuafu asked. "Is there no room for negotiation?"

"Don't be naïve. Haven't they already shown their true colors?"

"Maybe so, but once we betray the council, the other Sols will come from all over the island to hunt us down like sitting ducks. And we both know they aren't pushovers, brother."

"Either that, or I can let you be the one to carry my dead body." Yi said drily.

"Woah!" Kuafu exclaimed. "You know I can't handle that, you trickster! You knew I wouldn't refuse you! It's just my luck to have a friend like you…"

"Don't worry," Brooklyn said. "We'll take them all down before they even have a chance, big guy."

"And who are you, exactly?" Kuafu asked. "Yi has never been one to consort with Yaoguai."

"This is Brooklyn," Yi answered. “He'll assist us for the time being."

"Not like I have a choice…" Brooklyn scuffed.

"I see…" Kuafu said unsurely. "Well, my Sol Seal is in the back."

"I'll go get it then. Brooklyn will escort you to the Four Seasons Pavillion. It's currently safe under the cover of Abacus."

"Then we'll be on our way then. When your done, meet me back at the Pavillion. There's something I need to return to you."

Kuafu's chair floated from the ground and next to Brooklyn. "After you, Yaoguai."

"It's Brooklyn," the red gargoyle retorted.

"My mistake," Kuafu replied dismissively. "Don't want to upset Yi's pet after all…"

At those words, Brooklyn seized Kuafu by the collar and pulled his face down to glare at him dead in the eyes. "You call me anyone's pet again, and I'll make you wish Yi slit your throat just now! Got it?"

"Got it, got it!" Kuafu cried. "I surrender, I surrender!"

"Good!" Brooklyn growled, releasing the large Solarian. "We'll meet you at the hideout, Yi. Don't get killed on the way back."

"I should be saying that to you, Brooklyn." Yi said with a slight chuckle. "You think you can survive without me, Mr. Wizard?"

"Fuck you," Brooklyn responded without heat as he left the room, Kuafu following behind.

Chapter Text

February 11th, 1997

Lexington sighed as he typed away on his computer, for the first time in a while, not using it to conduct research, hack, or spy. Instead, he was in a chat room, taking advantage of one of the rare times when the difference in time zones between New York and London allowed him to have this conversation. His eyes lit up when he saw the indicator that Staghart was in the chat room, and he wasted no time in typing.

Tin Man: Thank god, you made it. This week has been… well, I can't say downright awful, but pretty intense.

Lexington waited after he sent the message. Sure enough, after a few moments, there was a response.

Amp: Shit. You okay? Did anything happen with your brother?

Tin Man: Very much a good news, bad news situation on that front. Good news is he's alive and well and came back of his own accord. Bad news is he only came back to tell us how much he fucking hates us now, and with a wife, kid, and new friend in tow who all also hate us.

Amp: …..A wife and kid? In a month?

Tin Man: Long story. Apparently, time travel was involved because our idiot leader didn't get rid of the phoenix gate like he thought. What was a month to us was 40 years to him.

Amp: ….If our own leader wasn't a time traveler, saved by your leader no less, I would tell you to lay off the opium. As is… that's… a lot.

Tin Man: Oh, it gets better. Brooklyn learned magic in that forty years and used that magic to kill a dozen quarrymen that were attacking us with that new family of his, who also have magic. 50 quarrymen attacked our castle. Only one survived, and only because Brooklyn let him live to send a message. The rest were either butchered or literally incinerated. I still catch whiffs of burning flesh in the battlements.

Tin Man: Afterwards, Brooklyn proceeded to beat Goliath's ass and tell us we're not his family anymore and that he's tired of living in the shadows of a humanity that hates us, all the while we enable that treatment, and he's going to make a new world for himself and his new family.

Tin Man: Haven't seen hide nor hair of him since.

Amp: ….fuck.

Tin Man: Yeah.

Amp: I'm really sorry, Lex. Really. I know you've been beside yourself trying to find him all month and to see him do this must hurt.

Tin Man: Yeah. Yeah, it does.

Amp: Is there anything you need from me, love?

Tin Man: Just being able to talk to you helps loads, Amp. Sorry that you have to waste a good deal of our precious time together listening to me dump on you.

Amp: Think nothing of it, Lex. Just get it off your chest.

Tin Man: I just… I don't know what to do. I understand why Brook is so pissed at Goliath, but he's pissed at ALL of us now. He wants nothing to do with us, and though we know he's in town, we don't know where he is. So I don't know how to fix this.

Tin Man: I saw him alive and well, but I still don't have my brother back. And I think he's gone forever….

Amp: Hey, hey, hey. Don't say that. Like you said, he's mainly mad at Goliath, not you. He just needs time to simmer down and once he does, you can talk to him. He just needs time.

Tin Man: Yeah. And god knows what else he's gone through in the forty years he was gone.

Amp: Still wrapping my head around that.

Tin Man: Heh. Time travels' confusing, right?

The two spent some time chatting in that manner, eventually moving on to lighter topics to lift their moods. It was a refreshing change of pace from the tension that Lexington had been dealing with the best month to just unwind with his boyfriend, even if they weren't in the same room.

But, like all good things, it came to an end. In this case, with a giant purple gargoyle coming into the library. To his credit, Goliath didn't immediately try and talk to him, hanging out by the entrance out of the corner of Lexington's eye. But after a few minutes, when Lexington stopped typing for a while, he came in.

"…Talking with… Staghart, was it?" Goliath asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," Lexington replied with a grunt, not elaborating further.

"I heard from Hudson that you two really… 'hit it off' as they say today, in London," Goliath continued, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "It is good that you made such a good friend over there."

"Sure Goliath," Lexington scoffed.

"I mean-"Goliath stammered. "I'm assuming your friends. Hudson seemed convinced there was something… more. Was he correct?"

"Why do you care?" Lexington snapped. "You got a problem if there was?"

Goliath held his hand up in surrender. "Of course not. I simply wanted to see where my son stood in his relationship. And to let you know that if you ever wished to talk about how things were going with it, you could come to me anytime." Goliath gave a smile at Lexington, although it seemed a little tense. "I'm happy for you Lexington. Truly."

Lexington rolled his eyes, not buying the conspicuous kindness Goliath was giving him. He had been like that for weeks now, during the search for Brooklyn. All soft and agreeable, never raising his voice or growling like he used to. Like that false kindness would be enough to erase the fact that Goliath had been so cruel to Brooklyn and utterly ignored Lexington and Broadway, too.

Goliath cleared his throat after a moment of awkward silence. "Lexington… I was thinking that you, Broadway, and I could go on patrol tonight. Together. Just the three of us. Angela will go on a route with Coldstone and Coldfire while Hudson guards the castle with Bronx. It has been some time since the three of us had spent any time together."

"And who's fault is that?" Lexington snorted.

Goliath sighed. "Lexington… I know you are angry with me, and you have every right to be. Not just for what happened with Brooklyn, but for the share of neglect I gave you. Please…I wish to start making things right between us, if you would allow me. You don't have to come with me, but my time is open for you." With that, Goliath turned and walked away, leaving Lexington alone in the library.

The small gargoyle mulled over his leader's words. The purple gargoyle was right in that Lexington was still very angry at Goliath for a wide variety of reasons, but… Lexington couldn't argue that he was not trying. If nothing else, Lexington didn't want to say he was being a hypocrite for not even giving Goliath a chance. The worst thing that could happen was that his leader would give him more rope to hang himself with. And as mad at Goliath on Brooklyn's behalf that he was… Lexington simply didn't have the energy to keep hating Goliath as relentlessly as he had.

Lexington took one last look at his computer, where new words from Staghart greeted him.

Amp: Sorry to cut this short, but something has come up on my side. Take care of yourself, love.

It seems that Lexington's night plans are set.

….

Brooklyn didn't know what to expect when he and his family took the Skid to the address that Renard had given them. Apparently, Renard's legal residence was a slice of property within the Ridgewood Reservoir in the Brooklyn District. Ridgewood Reservoir was a decommissioned 19th-century reservoir that has been converted into a nature preserve for wetlands. Usually, the government wouldn't budge on allowing anything to be built in that area, but as Brooklyn learned many times over the years, money talked, and Renard was willing to shell out a substantial amount to get a house away from the city's noise without being too far.

As Brooklyn stepped from the Solarian vehicle and onto the ground, he looked up at the building before him. They had taken the Skid through a dirt road into the forest, following it until they stopped in front of black iron gates. Behind them, Brooklyn could see a magnificent courtyard with a fountain at its center, flanked by two verdant trees on either side.

Renard and his assistant Preston Vogel had been waiting for them outside the gate. "Ah!" the billionaire hummed in his chair. "You arrived. Welcome to Casa Renard. It's no Eyrie Building, but I preferred my homes with less pomp than Xanatos. Hope you don't mind."

Brooklyn chuckled. "It looks a lot cozier than that stone coffin in the sky, Mr. Renard. I'm sure we'll love it here. We'll try be too intrusive."

"Oh please, make yourselves at home!" Renard replied, waving away Brooklyn's concern. "You're guests. My casa is your casa."

"You have our gratitude," Katana said as she stepped out from the Skid. In her arms was an egg the size of her chest, a pale purple color with dark purple spots. "This will be a fine place to raise the egg."

"You're expecting?" Renard asked with a laugh. "Congratulations! Let's make sure to keep the egg safe here, yeah?"

"Of course," Katana smiled. Behind her, Fu-Dog jumped from behind the Skid and ran to Brooklyn's side, sitting down beside the red gargoyle, panting happily.

Preston Vogel adjusted his glasses. "Is this your mobile home? It certainly is a lot more advanced than any make I've seen with its hovering capabilities."

"It's a modified model of Solarian make," Yi said as he climbed out the driver's wheel, with Nashville following close behind. "With yours truly having done the modifying."

"Naturally," Vogel replied. "Do you have all your belongings inside? We have people who will take it in the manor for you."

"Thanks, but it's really not too much," Brooklyn said with a shrug. "Kinda had to travel light. Just some emergency food supplies, some magical components and weapons, and some important souvenirs from the places and times we ended up."

"You say that like it won't take multiple trips, oh mighty husband," Katana drily snarked.

"Well, I'd rather not leave our magical shit with the hands of strangers!" Brooklyn protested. "Even the paintings are dangerous if you aren't careful!"

"Paintings?" Renard asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" Nashville exclaimed excitedly. "Wanna see one?" Without waiting for an answer, Nashville hopped back into the Skid, rummaging around some sort of pile in the back. After a moment, he jumped right back out, holding a bronze frame in his arms. Within the frame was an oil painting of a ship surrounded by a coral reef and the rich blue waters of the ocean.

"Hmm…." Renard observed. "It is a nice painting. Did one of you…?" Renard stopped his question as he looked at the painting more closely. The blue oily ink around the ship was…. Moving. Flowing in ripples and waves like the water it represented.

"You see?" Nashville asked with a grin. "It's magic!"

"It's a gift from the Artisan's Guild," Yi explained cooly. "We were students there for a time, and when we left, we exchanged a few pieces as farewell gifts."

"Exchanged a few pieces?" Renard asked. "Implying you made pieces for them in turn." Renard chuckled. "I didn't take you lot for artists."

"Many mages say that art is the original source of mortal magic," Brooklyn said. "While the exact claim is dubious, it is true that they are heavily intertwined. Our master told us that getting in touch with the Muses would allow us to unlock greater depths of our magical potential, so we each took up one of the Mediums in the Artisan's Guild." Brooklyn chuckled. "You wouldn't happen to have a piano in the manor, would you?"

"What self-respecting tycoon wouldn't?" Renard replied with a smile. "And it's been rather lonely without a player since Fox moved out."

"Well, I'll see to it that its loneliness is eased," Brooklyn smirked. "Hope you like Chopin."

"What about the rest of you?" Renard asked.

"For my part, I am a Paintress of sorts." Katana said. "There's a few pieces I would like to hang up and one that I would like to finish."

"I am partial to Writing," Yi added. "Just need a quiet place to do it."

"Can I practice my violin with you while you play, dad?" Nashville asked Brooklyn.

"Of course, Gnash," Brooklyn said, ruffling the child's hair. "We just have to get everything inside first."

"Between all your strength and the movers, that should be taken care of pretty soon." Renard assured.

"So let's get to it then, shall we?" Katana said.

Renard was very much correct that it didn't take long to get everything inside. With all four family members working with Renard's hires, it only took one trip to gather all their tools, clothes, and supplies into the house. The inside was as beautiful as the outside. The walls were made of polished black and white stone with brass and gold highlights. A golden chandelier hung in the middle of the entrance hall, illuminating the room below. A grand staircase stood opposite the entrance, splitting into two ways before going onto the second floor.

It was a guest room on the second floor that Renard led Brooklyn and his family to. It was a rather lavish master bedroom, complete with a bed that was more than big enough to allow all four of them to lay in it comfortably at once (not that Nashville ever planned to sleep in the same bed as his parents), a large television on a drawer, and a desk facing a window outside.

"Now originally I only had this room prepared for you," Renard said as the movers placed their belongings around the room. "But considering you have a whole family in toe, should I at least prepare another room for your son?"

"Thanks for the offer," Brooklyn replied. "But we don't want to impose. Besides, gargoyles are used to sharing a room anyway."

"That, and there's not a lot of room on the Skid," Nashville muttered.

"Please, I insist," Renard pressed. "It's not like I'm expecting a lot of guests anyway. Not like Fox ever visits or I have many relatives…"

"Well, if you're insisting…" Brooklyn said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Sweet!" Nashville exclaimed. "Finally, don't have to hear you three getting lovey dovey before dawn!"

"Nashville!" Brooklyn, Yi, and Katana exclaimed in protest, making Renard and Nashville laugh.

"I'll go put my stuff in my new room!" Nashville said, snatching up a knapsack to sling over his back. "Can you show me, Mr. Renard?"

"Gladly," the billionaire replied as his assistant guided Nashville out of the room. "You three make yourselves comfortable, yeah?"

"Actually, if it's all the same to everyone," Yi said, adjusting the yellow robe he was wearing. "Since everything is already in, I'm going to head into town. I would like to get a lay of the land."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Renard questioned. "You don't exactly blend in…."

"People don't look up," Yi replied. "And Katana has taught me a thing or two about stealth among the humans. They won't see me unless I want them to."

"If you say so," Renard said.

"Still, be careful, Yi," Katana insisted. "The Quarrymen will still be on the alert, especially after killing so many of their numbers."

Yi chuckled. "No need to be paranoid, bǎo bèi. You know I'm hard to kill."

"But not immortal," Katana countered. "You reiterated that many times in our travels, and you'd do well to remember that."

"Of course Katana," Yi said, walking up to the blue gargoyle to give her a kiss on the side of the beak. "I'll exercise caution."

"If you're going out, try to get your hands on that Pocky candy Gnash loved." Brooklyn asked. "Now that we're here, he can have more that one box from before."

"I'll grab some the way." Yi said, giving a small jump to give Brooklyn a peck on the cheek. "Do try and get some rest, ceshi. God knows you've more than earned it."

"Stay safe!" Brooklyn called Yi as the Solarian walked out the door.

"I always do," Yi replied over his shoulder with a smirk.

"We all know that's not true…" Brooklyn sighed.

…

Broadway sneezed as he felt the chilly winter air blow. The cold may not inhibit the gargoyle kind, but they could still feel it to mild extents, even if it didn't harm them as it did humans. One thing Broadway and Brooklyn had in common was a dislike of the cold, which meant they would prefer not to patrol on brisk nights like this. But when Goliath asked them to patrol, they did it no matter what.

Tonight was no different. Regardless of the bad blood between the clan, when Goliath had asked Broadway if he had wanted to go on a patrol with just himself and Lexington, the big blue gargoyle accepted without a second thought.

It wasn't just because of the decades of ingrained clan dynamics. Ever since that night of the fight, when Brooklyn had gone missing, a gulf had appeared between himself and Angela. It seemed almost like a cosmic joke: Broadway had been competing against Brooklyn for the heart of Angela, and despite Brooklyn being the more desirable man by a country mile in the blue gargoyle's opinion, Broadway had succeeded! The first few months had been magical, the best Broadway had ever experienced in his life. As Shakespeare would have said, it had passed like a midsummer night's dream.

But when Goliath, Angela, and himself had driven Brooklyn away with their foolishness, it all came crashing down. Not only did the disappearance itself and the search for their brother strain the whole clan, but Broadway and Angela's part in it had driven a wedge between them. The guilt over how he had been treating Brooklyn, along with how he hadn't acted in time to stop Goliath from hurting him, had eaten the blue gargoyle alive inside. He threw himself into the search, helping Elisa dig through every possible lead, interrogating mobsters he knew had connections, and doing anything he could think of. Broadway wouldn't stop until his brother was found, and once they knew he was safe, he would beg for the chance to be forgiven.

Angela, though… she didn't seem even the least bit remorseful. More than that, she seemed offended by the sheer notion that she had anything to apologize for. While she joined in the searches, her efforts were half-hearted, as if she was in no rush to find their missing clanmate. She never said it outright, but Broadway could feel the apathy practically emitting from her every night, and every night that passed in the search, their relationship wilted on the vine. Neither of the lovers could spare the time to nurture a budding relationship. Eventually, the tension boiled over into an argument when Angela openly admitted she saw no point in searching for Brooklyn, as he didn't want to be found.

Dragon, Broadway had seen red at that, and he had to quickly remove himself from the situation before he said anything he couldn't take back.

So here he was, flying with Goliath, who was awkwardly trying to make conversation, and Lexington, who still could barely stand to look at either of them. Broadway had to admit that upon having the month to reflect, he had been hurt by how little attention Goliath had been given him and the other members of the Trio once Angela came around, even if that had been dampened when he got together with her. Over the past month, it became clear as day that Goliath's remorse over his actions was genuine - Goliath didn't want things to go back to normal; he wanted to be better for them all as a father and caretaker. He wanted to do right by all of them and earn their trust and love once more. It wasn't Broadway's place to say if Brooklyn or Lexington could forgive him, but he knew Goliath was trying. He appreciated it despite the strain between them all.

This is why Broadway kept trying to breech the long periods of awkward silence between them with whatever small talk that he could. "So… how's the long distance relationship with Amp going?" Broadway whispered to Lexington.

Lexington snorted. "No need to be all sneaky. Goliath knows."

"Oh!" Broadway chirped. "All right then! So, how it's going?"

"Good, all things considered." Lexington sighed with a faint smile. "Time zone difference is a bitch to deal with, especially since he's as busy as we are over in England. Makes setting up time to talk to him exhausting for the both of us…"

"But you enjoy your time together, right?" Broadway asked.

"So much…" Lexington agreed. "It's just hard sometimes."

"It's within that hardship that you'll find how strong your relationship truly is," Goliath interjected as he slowed down to fly side by side with Lexington and Broadway. "You can tell the depths of people's feelings for one another by the lengths they will go to for love."

Lexington glanced at Goliath, and to Broadway's relief, it didn't hold any sort of anger or irritation. "I guess so…"

After a while of flying around the city, they couldn't find any notable criminal activity to stop. So the three of them decided to rest in a building near Times Square for a while. If nothing else, it provided a good view of the city below while the gargoyles caught their breath.

Unfortunately, that "good view" tonight consisted of a large crowd of humans wearing black hoods, many of whom were waving signs and hammers, shouting and screaming in protest. Broadway squinted to read some of the signs, which said things along the lines of "Death to the Demons!" and "No Gargoyles in Our City!"

"Quarryman rally," Broadway sighed, unable to shake the despair the sight filled him with. All the gargoyles ever did was try and protect humans from themselves. All they wanted was to live their best lives, and yet these people hated them all so much.

"Fucking idiots…" Lexington growled. "Why do we even bother if this is the reaction?"

"It's not about gratitude," Goliath chided. "It's about defending castle. Using our strength to protect the weak."

"Even when it's not wanted?" Lexington retorted.

"It's the Gargoyle Way, Lexington," Goliath insisted. "We protect, even if it's hard at times. It's the essence of who we are."

"…Brooklyn doesn't seem to think so," Broadway said sadly, thinking back to the night before. The red gargoyle's words echoed in his mind: I have my own Gargoyle Way now, and it says I won't take any more suffering from horrible humans! I'm going to fight for a better world, and hell or high water, I will make a place for my family in it!

The mention of the missing clan member caused their stoic leader's face to fall. "Brooklyn…" Goliath hesitated. "Brooklyn is lost right now, Broadway. His spirit is broken, unable to find the light right now. It will take time for him to find the right path once more…"

"Once more…?" Lexington snarled. "When was he ever on the right path in your eyes? When did you ever consider him not broken? You didn't think he was when you fought him! Why should he care what you think now?"

"That's not-" Goliath stuttered for a moment. "That isn't what I meant…"

Lexington rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, 'all knowing leader'"

The silence between them all was so tense that it unnerved Broadway even more than the hateful din of the streets below. The large blue gargoyle racked his brain, trying to come up with anything for the three of them to talk about to get their thoughts off the circumstances the clan found themselves in.

The moment Broadway opened his mouth to speak, his eyes spotted something in the streets below. A single individual dressed in a yellow coat and wearing a veiled bamboo hat slowly approaches the protesting crowd. "Hey…" Broadway said, squinting his eyes to make out the form he was looking at. "Is that…?"

…

In his defense, Yi truly hadn't intended to go into the city to cause trouble. He just wanted to explore his new home at his leisure before he had to dedicate all of his free time to their plans. Admire the great lengths that the apemen had advanced their architecture and engineering. See some of the famed landmarks that Brooklyn hadn't been able to show him. Perhaps stop by a few of the shops that catch his eye and pick up some souvenirs.

He had been in the middle of the latter when he saw the Quarrymen protest. For all of Brooklyn and Katana's stressing of the importance of staying out of sight, it was truly amazing how little the apemen would question someone if they couldn't make out most of their features, minded their own business, and just acted like they belonged. It was no trouble for Yi to just slip into a shop, take a quick perusal of their wares, pocket what he wanted, and slip back out the door, leaving a few gold coins as payment where only the employees would find it. So far, he had done this to get some of that Pocky candy Brooklyn had asked him for, as well as some parts to repair Nashville's bolt rapier.

All in all, it was quite a pleasant and enlightening night in the city. For all their flaws, the apemen had come a long way, and it warmed Yi's heart to see after all this time.

But as Yi walked out of the store, he was suddenly assailed by the sound of humans screaming in anger. Yi's feline ears flattened beneath his hat as he tried to adjust to the volume as he made out some of what was being screamed.

"DEATH TO THE DEMONS!"

"DON'T LET THEM GET OUR CHILDREN!"

"MAKE OUR CITY SAFE AGAIN!"

As Yi's ears acclimated to the din, he saw the crowd of black-hooded people marching through the streets, hammers and signs in hand. The Solarian glared at the man in the lead, who was not wearing a hood, showing his slicked-back blonde hair and mustache. A name, straight from the memories Brooklyn had shared with him, came to the face Yi saw: John Castaway.

"People of Manhattan!" the man shouted through a loudspeaker. "We are tired of fearing what lays in the shadows! We are tired of the monsters that lurk in our midst, watching out every move, waiting for the perfect time to strike! These demons need to be purged from our city without hesitation or remorse! Only then will our children be safe once more!"

Despite knowing that these were the words of a foolish fearmonger, the part of Yi that despised illogical thinking and convenient lies, along with his love for his family, made his blood boil at the words. What could possibly be going through that man's mind, through any of their minds, to so blindly want to kill people who had done nothing to them?

You could end this now. All it would take is one shot of the Azure Bow, and you could vanish before his body hit the ground. You could make things safe for Brooklyn, Katana, and Nashville right now. You could make his family pay for their sins…

Yi clinched his fists so hard he could feel blood seeping into his furry palm. Deep down, he knew he couldn't just kill Castaway. He would only be making a martyr and further instilling fear of gargoyles in the apemen. But he couldn't just let Castaway get away either, not without trying something to stop this hatred or at least give the city pause.

Yi released his fist as he got an idea. If he couldn't start a fight, then surely he could at least pick Castaway and his sycophant's brains about their flawed ideas. Try and make them see sense. And if they started to fight in response… that was on them.

With his mind made up, Yi held his hand to the side to release the Mystic Nymph, which flew up to hover in the middle of the street, getting a good view of the protest and road in front of the crowd. Then, once he made sure it was recording, he stepped into the street, walking towards the marching crowd with hammers with resolve.

Castaway and the rest of the protestors didn't notice Yi at first, whether that was because of the solarian's short height, the protestors were too absorbed in their own activities, or both. This suited the Solarian fine, as it gave him time to listen. To gather information.

"The police keep saying that they have it all handled, but we know that's a load of crock!" the blonde yelled, causing the crowd to uproar in turn. "They have let those monsters run rampant for far too long! Those creatures are a menace that must be dealt with at once!"

It's as good an opportunity to cut in as any.

….

As Broadway scrambled down to the roof of a lower building to get a closer look at the short figure in yellow, the cat man had planted himself in the middle of the street, right in front of all the Quarrymen protestors. Then, with a volume and authority that was at odds with his small frame, the cat man Broadway knew as Yi shouted, "And just what have these creatures done for them to be menaces, pray tell?"

Goliath and Lexington caught up to Broadway and down at either side of him as the crowd slowed. Castaway looked taken aback that someone, especially one so small, would have the audacity to just walk up to an entire protesting crowd to ask such a question. It was only for a moment, though, as he pulled up his megaphone to shout at Yi, "They destroyed the police station! Brought the entire thing to the ground!"

Yi wasn't deterred. "If I recall, the police haven't actually caught the one responsible for the clocktower explosion. The investigation is ongoing, but the police have serious doubts that the gargoyles were the ones responsible. I know illiteracy is a problem in America, but I would think the would-be leader of a movement would know how to read."

Broadway snickered despite himself as Goliath, less amused, grumbled, "What is that fool doing?"

Castaway also failed to appreciate Yi's wit. "Those fools have no idea what they're doing! They let the gargoyles terrorize the city for years now!"

"Again, how exactly have they been 'terrorizing' anyone?" Yi pressed. "You can't just scream that they're doing it without examples."

"They go around at night beating people up!" One of the protestors screamed. "Just last week, they attacked my brother without warning!"

"Interesting…" Yi replied sarcastically, with a finger under his veiled chin. "There have yet to be any records of death or hospitalization by a gargoyle encounter. And the only people they have 'attacked' were people attacking other people or crime gangs like the mob."

"That's not their business!" another one cried. "They aren't the police!"

Yi cocked his head in curiosity. "Didn't you just say the police were incompetent? If they're just going after criminals, it sounds like they are doing them and the city a favor."

As Yi spoke, people from outside the Quarrymen crowd started to gather around, murmuring in curiosity as the debate between the cat man and the protestors continued.

"They're monsters!" Castaway insisted, stomping closer to Yi, attempting to tower over him. "They are savage beasts with no moral code! They will kill us if they are not taken care of! Anyone with eyes can see that!"

"Anyone with a brain can hear you're just fearmongering," Yi countered. "They might not be human, but they've demonstrated clear intelligence through their successful hiding from the police and clear moral codes by only targeting criminals. Has anyone here actually seen a gargoyle in person?"

The question caused a lot of muttering among the Quarrymen, but there was no actual retort.

"I have!" Castaway shouted. "I fought them myself!"

"And we should trust the word of you only?" Yi inquired. "One so clearly biased against them?"

"Why are you defending them?" Castaway screamed. "They're beasts!" It was then that Broadway realized that they couldn't tell that Yi wasn't human from where they were standing. That veil must be doing wonders.

"Because that word, and others like it, has been used to other and villainize innocent people just for being different from those with power in the past," Yi answered, the wind fluttering the veil under his hat. "And they still are used against other members of mankind. It's a different target every time. Africans. The Jews. The Romani. Called rats, insects, animals, the works. Same story, different characters. This time, the target might have wings and claws, but it's part of the same pattern. They have done nothing to any of you, and yet because of their differences, you want them to vanish. And no matter how many times you repeat the lesson, you never learn."

"You dare compare those animals to humans?" Castaway growled.

"You are the one claiming they don't deserve to be considered people. That inherently compares them to mankind. And like those demographics in the past, you offer no actual fact or reason to other them so. Just blind hatred and fear. So again… has anyone here actually met a gargoyle?"

The crowds murmured to themselves for a moment, mulling over the man's words. Then, someone from outside the protest stepped forward. A mousey girl with glasses who didn't appear to be any older than fifteen. "I-I have…" she said so quietly that Broadway almost couldn't hear her, even with his gargoyle hearing. "A big red one swooped in an ally I was in…"

Broadway leaned in closer at those words. Was she talking about…?

"You see?!" Castaway shouted. "The red demon attacked this little girl!"

"He didn't attack me!" the girl suddenly cried. "He protected me from some people trying to mug me and do god knows what else!"

Castaway looked as if he had been slapped in the face. "…what?"

"They were people from Dracon's family," she continued. "Said my dad's shop owed them money for 'protection'. I told them I didn't have anything, and they said they'd 'get what they were owed'. The red gargoyle jumped them when they pulled a knife on me." The girl shook her head. "I…I was so scared at the time. I think he tried to talk to me, and in my panic, I thought he was trying to threaten me. I screamed and ran away, saying a monster was attacking me. But in hindsight… I think he was trying to make sure I was okay. I… I wish I could take it back and thank him…"

"Brooklyn…." Broadway whispered, warmth flooding his chest at the thought. Next to him, Goliath was smiling with pride at the girl's words.

Castaway, however, did not appreciate the girl's story. "No…" he growled, his grip tightening on the loudspeaker so hard it was shaking. "No! You're lying!"

"So because her story contradicts yours, it's less credible?" Yi questioned as the murmuring of the opposing crowd got louder. "Sorry, but the truth doesn't care about your agenda or your feelings, Mr. Castaway." Yi stepped forward so that he was only inches away from the other man, and despite being so much shorter, his presence was overpowering. "Or should I call you Mr. Canmore?"

Broadway gasped at the use of Castaway's actual name. He knew it, of course, but the cat man's use of it felt like a decisive blow. Sure enough, Castaway stepped back, and Broadway saw the shock and horror flash just long enough to know everyone in the crowd saw it, too. "No…" he tried to deny, but it was too late. His reaction betrayed the lie.

Yi cocked his head, and Broadway could feel the smug smirk beneath the veil. "How can someone who isn't even honest about himself be trusted to be honest about another species? Especially one he so clearly hates for breathing the same air as him?"

"You're with them!" he shrieked. "You're with the demons!"

"The leader of the Quarrymen, ladies and gentlemen!" Yi declared, holding his hands up in triumph.

"Yeah, you're full of shit, Castaway!" someone from behind Yi shouted.

"We have bigger things to worry about than a few aliens!" another shouted.

"You're just fearmongering to drum up support for your election!" yet another screamed.

Castaway stepped back along with some of his supporters. He was losing them. The other crowd could hardly be considered 'pro-gargoyle,' at least right now, but they clearly weren't 'pro-Quarrymen' either, and all it took was a few minutes from Yi.

Broadway had to hand it to the little guy. He knew how to play to a crowd.

The girl in glasses stepped past Yi, holding her hands in front of herself nervously as she asked, "What are you so afraid of? If you really think you're doing good, why do you have to lie?"

"SHUT UP!"

Castaway's slap rang out like a gunshot as he struck the girl across the cheek. The blow knocked her glasses off, making her shriek as he fell to the ground.

On instinct, Broadway, Lexington, and Goliath snarled, standing up from their seats on the roof as Castaway bore down on the girl like a man possessed. But before he could strike her again, Yi caught his wrist and pulled him back despite his short frame. Before Castaway could react, Yi leaped up and delivered a spinning kick across the man's face, sending him careening into his crowd of Quarrymen.

Both crowds went wild at that, as Yi pulled the girl from the ground and handed her the glasses. Broadway saw Yi part his veil, and the girl gasped upon seeing his face. "I'll give Brooklyn your thanks. Maybe one day, you can do it in person. Now go."

The girl stared at Yi for a moment, seemingly unable to process his words. But a growl from Castaway snapped from her stupor, and she dashed away from the ensuing riot.

"You ruined everything…" Castaway snarled.

"Implying there was something of value to ruin…" Yi retorted smugly.

"You little…!" at that, Castaway pulled a hammer from a nearby protestor and charged at Yi, going in for an overhead strike. Yi didn't move in an inch as Castaway brought the hammer down. The instant before it made contact with his skull, Yi reached up with his bare hand and stopped the blow dead. Yi snapped the shaft of the hammer with a flex of his wrist before slamming his palm into Castaway's face so hard that it knocked him to the ground.

"We gotta get down there!" Broadway cried.

Goliath growled , preparing to pounce himself. “We’ll be seen, so we’ll have to be quick!”

"….I don't think he needs our help," Lexington said, pointing at the fight in the streets. More Quarrymen were charging at Yi, with hammers in hand, swinging wildly at the cat man. Yi dodged all the attacks without any effort and countered with blows of his own. Broadway watched in awe as the cat man wove around the Quarrymen in a graceful dance, not appearing to struggle at all in the brawl. Yi looked so tiny and unassuming, and yet he was making sport of all of them.

Eventually, one of the Quarrymen growled and pulled out a pistol from his belt. "Die!" he screamed, firing the gun at Yi, completely without regard for the people behind his target. A split second before that happened, Yi turned to face the Quarryman as if he sensed his intent, and when he fired, the cat man swung his hands, deflecting the bullets back at the enemy. The Quarryman screamed as the bullets pierced his body before going limp.

Things escalated quickly after that. More Quarrymen pulled out guns, but before they could even aim, Yi dashed to one so fast that it seemed almost instantaneous. Yi made a slashing motion with his hand, and to Broadway's horror, blood spurted from the Quarryman's body as his head was severed from it. Broadway had just enough time to see that a blade of green energy was emitting from Yi's fingers before the cat man dashed again and stabbed another armed Quarryman.

"This is getting out of hand!" Goliath roared. "We have to go down now!" Without even waiting for Broadway and Lexington to reply, Goliath leaped from the building and flew towards the growing chaos of the street.

Yi was pulling his energy blade out of a third Quarrymen when Goliath landed. The din of the panicking and fleeing crowd made it hard for Goliath to find a spot, but he managed to land on a car near the sidewalk and shout, "Enough, murderer! You go too far!"

Yi tilted his head towards Goliath, glaring at the gargoyle out of the corner of his eye. "Oh. Now you decide to interfere."

"Only because you escalated this to killing!" Goliath growled.

"They were the ones who pulled guns on me first," Yi coldly retorted, not even fully looking at Goliath like he wasn't worth his full attention. "If they were ready to kill, then they were ready to be killed."

Before Goliath could reply, Broadway and Lexington landed next to their leader just as police sirens started to whine from down the street. "Maybe we shouldn't do this here!" Broadway yelled, tugging at Goliath's shoulder.

Goliath snarled in the direction of the sirens before turning his glare back to Yi. "Follow me. Now."

"It's cute that you think you can make me," Yi replied, not fazed by the large gargoyle in the slightest. "But very well. I'll indulge you, Great Goliath." With that, Yi dashed to the car, jumped onto the roof of it, and in a single bound, leaped to the wall of the nearest building and started running up it as though he were on the ground.

The three gargoyles didn't stop to gawk at the strange feat. They followed the cat man by digging their claws into the roof and climbing the building, making it over the roof just as the police arrived on the street.

…

The gargoyles and Yi traveled for miles across the rooftops: the gargoyles through flight and Yi through leaping between them. They didn't say a word to each other the whole time, but the tension was still palpable. Not only did Yi show himself to have no reservations about killing unnecessarily, but he was a complete unknown to the Manhattan Clan. Beyond his association with Brooklyn, they knew nothing about him or his people. Coupled with the power he seemed to wield, it was plain to Goliath that the mysterious man was very dangerous. Even so, Goliath couldn't let his murderous behavior go acknowledged, dangerous or not, Brooklyn's friend or not. It was his duty as a gargoyle.

Besides, he couldn't let this opportunity to learn more about Brooklyn and this strange man pass by without taking advantage of it.

The four men came to a stop in front of a wide building near the center of the city. Yi landed on the building first, back facing away from the gargoyles. As Goliath, Broadway, and Lexington landed behind him, the cat man took off his hat, revealing his feline head, and pulled out a jade pipe with ornate patterns.

"You have my attention," Yi said coolly before placing the pipe to his lips. He took a deep puff of it, blew a puff of smoke into the air, and then asked with a voice dripping with sarcasm, "So what does the Great Goliath have on his mind?"

"What's on my mind?" Goliath cried incredulously. "You murdered humans!"

"'Murder' implies it wasn't done in self-defense," Yi replied, his voice even. "They pulled out guns with intent to kill. I merely answered their intent in kind."

"You stooped to their level!" Goliath insisted. "You erased their lives when you didn't need to!"

"Those men were a part of a dedicated hate group against your kind," Yi said, tilting his head slightly in Goliath's direction but still not looking at him in the face. "They would have continued their efforts to see to the deaths of any and all gargoyles, including your clan." At those words, Yi turned around, finally facing Goliath to meet the gargoyle's brown eyes with his emerald green eyes. "Can you look me in the eyes and tell me you'd risk your clan to let the enemy live another day?"

"That isn't our call to make," Broadway interjected. "Killing in the heat of battle is one thing, but it shouldn't be the first thing we do. We're here to protect people, not kill them."

"That was the heat of battle," Yi countered. "And I gave them several opportunities before they pulled guns. And they were the ones who resorted to violence first."

"Because you provoked them!" Goliath shouted.

"You mean challenged their fallacious beliefs directly." Yi scoffed. "I wanted to see for myself what sorts of thoughts they had to justify their hateful movement, and much to my expectation, they had nothing to offer but bigotry and blind hatred. And they simply didn't like me calling it out. And now all the public knows what they're really like."

"They also saw you kill people!" Lexington hissed.

"In self-defense," Yi retorted, lifting his yellow coat to the side. Something like a glowing blue butterfly flew from beneath the robe. Before the gargoyle's eyes, images started being projected onto the rooftop. Castaway and the teenage girl at the protest appeared between the gargoyles and Yi, and they saw Castaway slap her to the ground, as he did a few moments ago. The image changed to Yi protecting the girl and then the Quarrymen attacking him unprovoked.

Just as quickly, the images disappeared, but the butterfly continued to soar. "I have it all on record, and when Brooklyn and I make our case, the whole world will see what truly happened."

Lexington gaped at the glowing insect. "What… what is that? How did it record…?"

"The Mystic Nymph," Yi answered. "It serves many functions. Recording information is one of them."

Goliath snorted in dismissal. "Regardless, it was still your first instinct to kill. That alone makes you a murderer."

Yi cocked his head at Goliath, giving him a look he could not identify. "Do you truly value the lives of the apemen trying to kill you over your own clan so much?"

"It's not about valuing people over my clan!" Goliath snarled. "It's about valuing the sanctity of life! And showing humans that we are not monsters!"

"And yet the apemen are free to act however they please in turn?" Yi asked. "And you've acted like a model protector for years now, and yet they still fear and hate you."

"They only just learned about our existence. They need time to understand us. Then, we can live in peace."

Yi took another drag of his pipe at that and then sneered. "Funny. That was exactly what you thought in Scotland. And we all know what happened there."

"What?" Goliath growled, his eyes starting to shine with anger but not yet going white.

"Back then, your plan was much the same as now." Yi snapped. "Be on your best behavior, grovel before the apemen, and hope that they'll start treating you like the people you are. Even while they spat and beat you, you kissed their feet. And what did that get you in return? A castle full of shattered statues."

"Don't speak like you know our history!" Goliath snarled, eyes going completely white now.

"Oh, but I do!" Yi sneered. "Brooklyn showed me!"

"Showed you?" Lexington asked, confused by the wording. "You mean 'told you'?"

Yi shook his head. "He showed me. He allowed me to step into his heart and experience his memories. Feel what shaped him into who he was. Such is the miracle of Solarian technology."

That statement threw Goliath so much that the white faded from his eyes. "He… he let you inside his soul?"

"Yes, and you know what I saw?" Yi growled, the calm in his voice burning into rage. "I saw you continually placing the wellbeing of the people who hate him over his own. And whenever he deviated from that standard, you punished him as if he were a failure. The only reason he even survived the massacre is because you sent him to the rookery for being rightfully angry that the apemen that he protected were trying to hurt him."

"That's not true!" Goliath cried. "Protection of the innocent and helpless is the Gargoyle Way! I raised him in that way like any of my other children!"

"…even Angela?" Yi asked.

"….what?" Goliath growled in warning.

"You never ask the same from her," Yi continued. "In fact, you never ask anything of her. You drop everything at a moment's notice to accommodate her every need, and do nothing for Brooklyn or your other so called children. Consider when you first came back from Avalon…"

Yi's flourished his hand in an elegant motion, his fingers forming signs that Goliath couldn't recognize. In response, the Mystic Nymph glowed brighter and overlayed another image over the roof. This time, it was from the perspective of one's own eyes, flying through the air as stone statues screeched and clawed at them. For a brief second, Goliath saw Broadway and Lexington fly through the field of vision before settling on the massive form of Oberon, the King of the Third Race, towering over the buildings and attacking the Eyrie Building.

This was their battle against Oberon, and the red arms that extended from the point of view of the camera made it clear that the one they were seeing this from was Brooklyn. Just as Goliath had the chance to process this information, a statue pounced into Brooklyn's point of view and grabbed him, seizing him by the neck and crushing his windpipe to its rocky chest. Brooklyn gagged and choked, desperately flailing in the air as Angela flew past him, a statue on her tail. The statue flew by Goliath, and Brooklyn reached out, trying to call for Goliath but only managing to gag.

Goliath locked eyes with him for a second. Then, his eyes shifted upwards, shouting "Angela!" before rushing off to help her, leaving Brooklyn choking in the statue's arms.

"You left Brooklyn." Yi said, his voice sharper than any blade Goliath had felt. "You left him suffocating in the golem's arms while you chased Angela who wasn't hurt in the least. Afterwards, you told Xanatos that you finally knew the transforming power of a child's love, as if Brooklyn, Broadway, and Lexington were never there at all."

Goliath's heart stilled as the scene finished. No…. That couldn't have been what happened. Brooklyn had been fine. He could have handled that. He didn't need his help, and Angela did. But the more Goliath thought, the less he could convince himself that he had thought about Brooklyn at all…

Yi wasn't finished, making more hand signs in the air. "Or how about the night of the Hunter's Moon, where you confronted both the Hunter's trying to kill you, and Demona trying to kill the apemen?"

The scene shifted, the translucent image of a city skyline replaced with the inside of a cathedral. Brooklyn had burst into the prayer room, where Demona had laid the Praying Gargoyle statue and was preparing the spell and virus that would kill every human in the world, leaving the gargoyles to rule the dead earth. Brooklyn tried to charge at Demona, but her reflexes were faster, and she shot him square in the chest with a laser blast. Brooklyn's shriek of pain filled the room, along with the flash of red light.

The scene jumped forward. The rest of the clan was in the room, trying to talk down the insane gargoyle sorceress. Goliath, thinking quickly, smashed the Praying Gargoyle, which was the only thing protecting Gargoylekind from the deadly disease that she had prepared. Unleashing the disease would doom both species. Goliath told her this while holding a scared but determined Angela to his side. This time, he didn't even look in Brooklyn's direction, as he was still groaning on the ground, hand over his wound.

Demona tossed the virus up, forcing the clan to catch it before it broke on the floor and released. Goliath caught it and gave it to Angela with an affectionate gesture to the cheek before rushing to try and head off Demona, leaving Brooklyn as he struggled to his feet.

"You comforted Angela because her feelings were hurt while not even acknowledging Brooklyn, who had gotten shot," Yi pointed out, his voice lowering into an irate growl. His fingers twisted into more signs as he added sarcastically, "Oh, and how can we forget my personal favorite…?"

The scene shifted once more. This time, Brooklyn was with Goliath, Angela, and Broadway just behind their leader, on top of an all too familiar rooftop. Goliath knew what this was. He knew what moment the cat man was conjuring, and he dreaded it all the same.

Brooklyn had just blown a mission for them, falling into a dumpster because he had let himself get distracted by Broadway and Angela's public displays of affection, alerting the arm's dealer.

"You're getting onto ME for being irresponsible when THEY were the ones sucking face on a mission?" the image of Brooklyn growled at Goliath.

"You are the second in command!" Goliath growled back. "You are the example! You need to be better than this!"

"Please, we both know that has nothing to do with it!" Brooklyn snarled. "It's because it's Angela, and she can do no wrong with you, can she?"

"Brooklyn…" Goliath growled in warning.

"No, I've had enough of this!" Brooklyn shouted. "Ever since she's come along, it's been all about her! You drop everything just to spend time with her, even the training you keep saying is important! You keep saying I need to be better, and yet you don't actually want to teach me anything because you only care about HER! Even in the middle of fights, you do everything to shield her while doing NOTHING for the rest of us!"

"She's my daughter!" Goliath shouted.

"And I'm your SON!" Brooklyn shouted back.

"So that's what this is about?!" Angela yelled, "You just being jealous because Goliath isn't paying attention to you? Are you really such a slave to your pettiness? No wonder Coldsteel saw an ally in you."

"WHAT?!" Brooklyn hissed, eyes going white.

"You LET yourself host him, didn't you?" Angela accused. "You wanted the power to get at me and Broadway because you knew what was going on between us and a convenient scapegoat to pin the blame on. I bet you loved it when you touched me, didn't you?"

"I HATE YOU!" Brooklyn screamed. "I wish Goliath never MET you!"

Goliath stared in silence as he watched himself claw Brooklyn's face at those words, breath leaving him as Brooklyn howled in agony, not from the pain, but the betrayal. The leader and his second-in-command tussled for a while, Brooklyn putting up a truly admirable fight but unable to overcome Goliath's strength and experience. Goliath had Brooklyn lifted by the throat, breathing heavily as the red gargoyle squirmed in his grip.

"Why…?" Brooklyn gasped, blood gushing from his face. "I've done everything you've asked…. Given everything I am… and it's not enough. Why is it not enough for you?"

"Because you're a failure!" Goliath snarled. "Gargoyles protect and put others before themselves, and you have failed that at every turn! You are unworthy to call yourself a gargoyle, let alone my child!"

The bleeding image of Brooklyn made one last feeble strike at Goliath, who responded by slamming him into the roof so hard it broke beneath him. The projection shattered along with the false rock, leaving the real roof unlit.

Goliath stared at where the illusion of himself and Brooklyn had stood, struggling to breathe as the memory of that night stuck anew. But Yi didn't let him rest, as he snarled, "You wounded him for daring to speak against your favoritism. No…. for daring to have emotions you considered 'unfitting' of a gargoyle."

"That's not…" Goliath protested weakly, shaking his head in denial. "I didn't…"

"Maybe I shouldn't call it favoritism at all, because you didn't want him as your child to begin with." Yi scoffed. "You wanted the perfect solider. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. And when he deviated from that, you punished him." Yi shook his head in disgust. "The Phoenix getting him away from you was the best thing it ever did."

"What about us?" Broadway snarled. "We're his brothers! We never treated him like that, and yet it still…."

Yi rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, how can I forget you, Calorie Crusher? The brother who sold Brooklyn down the creek for some pussy."

"What?" Broadway growled, irate at both the demeaning nickname and the insinuation of what he did.

"You knew Brooklyn for decades, and yet the moment some girl you didn't even know for a year showed up, you not only let her treat him like dirt, you joined in at the end. Let's hear what you said, shall we?"

Yi snapped his fingers, and Broadway's voice emitted from the Mystic Nymph. "It felt good, didn't it? Having that much power, and none of the responsibility for what happened with it?"

"I was mad, okay?” Broadway admitted. "I was sick of his jealousy and didn't know why he couldn't just let me be happy! He wasn’t innocent in our fight either!"

"And yet he didn't weaponize one of the most traumatic incidents of your life and blame you for it, now did he, Calorie Crusher?" Yi snapped back. "And he probably would have been happy for you if you had left him alone. Instead of taking every opportunity to rub your new relationship in his face like a child who got the toy you both wanted."

"Why don't you let him talk to us then?" Lexington shouted. "We hurt him, we get it. But we can't help if we don't…"

"And why would he trust you when you were all too eager to befriend the one who violated him to begin with?" Yi spat back.

"We never befriended Coldsteel!" Lexington cried, offended by the mere notion.

"I wasn't talking about Coldsteel." Yi growled. "I was talking about that faerie that lives in your castle."

Lexington blinked at that, confused by the words before it clicked. "You mean Puck?"

Yi rolled his eyes. "'Smartest gargoyle in the clan' he said. Yes, Puck. Did it not occur to you that Coldsteel was not the sole one to blame for Brooklyn being possessed? That Puck violated his consent by twisting his offer to host Coldfire or Coldstone to host Coldsteel instead? Did it really not occur to you that makes him at fault for Brooklyn being possessed and Coldsteel using him?"

"I…" Lexington shook his head. "He was trying to help us… Sure it was overly complicated, but he just wanted to give Coldstone and Coldfire their own bodies, and he did…"

"Yes, and all it cost was Brooklyn's soul getting raped," Yi snarled. "That monster didn't have to do it the way he did. There were a million different ways he could have solved that problem if he wanted to help you. But like always, his priority is his own entertainment. Fuck whoever has to suffer for it." Yi shrugged sarcastically as he stepped forward to stand inches from the yellow gargoyle. "But it's alright I suppose. Goliath got his brother, who should have been long dead to begin with, back in his life. The brother in question got his beautiful wife back. Calorie Crusher and Goliath's favorite realized their feelings for one another. Even you Lexington found a new playmate through being a host to the son of Xanatos, the apeman trafficker and experimenter who tried to kill you dozens of times. You got all of that… and the only price was Brooklyn being possessed by a man who spent that night toying with him, using his body against his will like a puppet and laughing all the while. And he had to see all of you be happy while you all didn't even check on him to see if he was okay. But that's alright. You all got what you wanted…"

Tears fell down from Lexington's face as Yi's words sunk into all three of the gargoyles. "I didn't…" Lexington hiccupped.

"Didn't think twice about making Brooklyn share a home with the one who violated him?" Yi finished. "No, you certainly didn't. Didn't think anything was wrong with being friendly with the abuser either. All so you can play big brother to someone already well taken care of." Yi gave the little gargoyle a disgusted look. "And you want to tell me you care for him at all? I'd say 'don't make me laugh', but that would require a semblance of humor in the situation to begin with."

"Shut… up…" Lexington growled through gritted teeth. "Broadway and I have been his brother for over thirty years. We know him. He knows we love…"

"And I've fought by his side for the last forty!" Yi shouted, holding his hand out to display a silver ring on one of his fingers. "I've been married to him for twenty of those years! I know damn well what's in his heart! More than you lot ever cared to know!"

Those words made all three of the gargoyles gasp. "Married?" Goliath gawked.

"But… he likes girls…" Lexington protested in disbelief.

"He can like boys too, alleged genius," Yi retorted.

"But… that woman…" Broadway questioned. "The kid was obviously theirs. She's gotta be his mate."

"She is," Yi said. "So am I. And she's my wife as well."

"He can't have two mates…" Goliath insisted.

Yi rolled his eyes again. "Yes, because the man who scared his son's face is clearly the arbiter of right and wrong. You get to say what people can and cannot do."

Goliath snarled. "Don't you lecture me, murderer! A monster like you doesn't know anything about love!"

Yi snapped his gaze at Goliath, and for a split second, the purple gargoyle could see the catman tremble before going still. "You're more right than you could ever know." He said, his voice ice as he approached Goliath. "I am a monster. I've done far worse things than the lot of you combined. No… more than all of your enemies combined, even the likes of Xanatos and Demona. You could fill oceans with the amount of blood I spilled…."

Yi stopped inches away from Goliath. His height, barely taller than Lexington, meant he had to tilt his head up to look at Goliath in the eyes. Yet despite this, the weight of his presence made all three gargoyles heed his words. "But… I know what real love is. When the person I cared for the most was about to be killed, I threw myself on top of her to shield her from the explosion. Because I would rather have died than ever let her suffer. That's what love is. Even now, I would tear down the sky if it meant I could keep my family safe. But you Goliath? You throw your clan into danger. You force them to fight the worst this world has to offer. All for the approval of people who will never love you. All so you can feel like a hero. And you call that love."

"It's the Gargoyle Way!" Goliath screamed. "It's our duty to fight for others! My clan is supposed to deal with danger every day!"

"You never gave them a choice!" Yi shouted. "You forced them into that hellish life, and never even considered what else they wanted to be!"

"I never forced them!" Goliath retorted. "They always were free to make their own choices! I didn't shape them from the yoke!"

Yi sneered. "Sure. Like when Brooklyn tried to tell you something you didn't want to hear. You took that soooooo well."

"You…" Goliath growled.

"You ruled your whole clan with brute strength and martial prowess," Yi declared. "No one would ever go against you because you were the strongest. And if they did, you forced them in line. Just like with Brooklyn." Yi chuckled. "When your family won't be the perfect reflections of your ego, you cast them aside. Really… why did you part ways with Demona, when you are just like her in that regard?"

Goliath roared, and before he could stop himself, he swung his claws at Yi's face.

Some strong force stopped Goliath's claws inches from his cheek. Goliath tried to pull away, but his wrist was stuck, and Goliath saw that the force that kept him in place was Yi's hand. That tiny cat caught Goliath's blow like it was nothing.

"Still reacting to words with violence," Yi totted. "You truly have learned nothing this month."

Goliath opened his mouth to snarl, but all that came out was a choked scream of pain as Yi's fist slammed into Goliath's chest. The big gargoyle doubled over, only for Yi's palm to strike him across the face. Goliath's world whited out, which became red when Yi finished his counterattack with a kick to the face, right on the same spot that he struck. The kick sent Goliath spiraling to the edge of the roof, past Broadway and Lexington.

Yi landed gracefully from the kick, staring down at the gargoyles in challenge. "This talk is over." He said. "I have no more words to waste on fools."

Yi turned, clearly about to walk away, but Goliath snarled as he staggered to his feet. "You are not leaving without telling me where Brooklyn is…"

Yi peaked behind him and saw that the Lexington and Broadway were running around him, trying to surround him on all sides of the roof. "Why would I ever do that? Brooklyn isn't safe with you."

As the gargoyles sunk into fighting stances, the Mystic Nymph shined, and a feminine voice resounded from within. "Shall I call the family, Lord Yi? Seems that you got into another fight."

"No need, Abacus," Yi replied without a care in the world. "They're all weak."

"Weak?!" Goliath roared, causing Broadway and Lexington to do the same. The three gargoyles charged at Yi, Goliath raising his claw, Lexington leaping to whip with his tail, and Broadway pulling his fist back to strike.

Yi didn't move from his spot. Instead, he gathered his hands together near his chest. For a second, a ball of green light appeared between his palms. The second before all three gargoyles swung their blows, Yi suddenly pulled apart his palms, the ball of energy bursting around him in a green aura and colliding with the gargoyles' strikes. Goliath, Broadway, and Lexington were knocked back, blown away by the sudden force as their blows were halted.

"Wha-" Lexington cried in shock, but he left himself wide open. Yi dashed towards the tiny gargoyle and slapped him across the jaw. Lexington shouted in pain, but Yi didn't let up, delivering a relentless series of punches to the face, chest, and arms before kicking him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground so hard he bounced several times before stopping.

"You son of a-," Broadway shouted, rushing at Yi once more.

Yi was unphased by the hulking gargoyle, pulling out a glowing slip of paper. A talisman Goliath realized. Before Broadway could even prepare a strike, Yi rushed past him, slipping the talisman onto the blue gargoyle's chest. Yi swung his fingers behind himself, and Broadway screamed as the talisman exploded on him.

"Broadway!" Goliath cried as the blue gargoyle collapsed, smoke streaming from his form. The explosion wasn't powerful, and to his relief, Broadway was still breathing, but it was ragged, and there was blood from where the attack had broken the skin and from his mouth. The force of the explosions surely did some internal damage as well.

"He'll live. That was just a stunner." Yi said coldly, looking up to glare at Goliath. As he spoke, a green aura appeared on his hands and feet.

Goliath roared, going down on all fours to charge at Yi as fast as he possibly could. Yi dashed to Goliath in kind.

The small martial artist slammed his fist to Goliath's face so hard that the gargoyle heard the bones of his nose break. Before the purple gargoyle could even scream, Yi kicked the elbow of his right arm with his glowing foot. The bone snapped before the impact, shattering and twisting Goliath's forearm at an awkward angle.

Goliath's knees buckled, the pain filling his body so suddenly that his voice died in his throat. After a few seconds, his mind caught up to his body, and he screamed in agony, his bestial roar echoing through the rooftops. At this point, Broadway and Lexington were conscious, bleeding from their mouths, struggling in vain to get to their feet as they watched in horror while their leader was laid low.

Yi didn't react at all to Goliath's misery, simply looking at the gargoyle with a calculating expression. Then, he turned away with a flourish of his robe. "We're done here." He said. "Reflect on this loss and repent."

"Coward…" Goliath growled, clutching his broken arm. "Relying on the shortcut of magic to stand a chance against a real warrior…."

Yi halted his walk immediately. "It's not magic, it's science," Yi retorted. "And even if it was, magic is a skill like any other. One that requires years of discipline, practice, and study to master. Like the martial arts." Yi turned to face Goliath completely. "You speak of shortcuts, what about you? You were born with that Herculean brawn and prodigious combat prowess. No effort required."

"You…" Goliath hissed, eyes burning white.

"I know exactly the type of person you are, Goliath." Yi spat. "There were too many like you in my homeworld, like the Jie clan. You were born into a tiny clan in a backwater part of the world. You happened to be the strongest of your clan, and it was solely by virtue of your natural gifts that you became the leader of your clan with an iron fist. Not anything you actually had to work for, like wisdom or compassion. Because of that strength, nothing and no one could challenge you, and so you stayed the strongest in your little backwater castle. A big fish in a tiny pond. Well Goliath, welcome to the ocean. Now you're swimming with the sharks."

Yi raised his hand, and a sword of green energy appeared above his fingertips. "Unlike you, I suffered and fought for the power I have. This power is something I worked blood, sweat, and tears to obtain. Someone like you, who had all of his power given to him on a silver platter, will never beat me. And it's why you'll never be a fraction of the gargoyle that Brooklyn and Katana are."

Goliath didn't know what came over him. Maybe it was his pride as a warrior. Perhaps it was fury at the notion that he didn't love his clan, especially Brooklyn, with all his being. Maybe it was something else. Regardless, he charged Yi, swinging with his good arm in a feeble attempt to bring Yi down.

Yi dodged to the side in an almost casual manner, kicking out with his leg to trip Goliath and knock him off his feet. Pain exploded through Goliath's body as his broken bones hit the ground, stopping him from moving.

"Like I said…" Yi said, his voice so cold it could have frozen the ocean. He stepped up to Goliath, leering over the big gargoyle's crumbled form as he moved his foot over his other elbow. "Big fish…."

Yi stomped his foot into Goliath's good elbow, snapping it with ease, causing Goliath to roar in agony once more.

"Tiny pond," Yi finished, walking away. He looked back at Lexington and Broadway, who had just barely gotten to their feet. "Take him home and get out of my sight."

The two younger gargoyles staggered over to their leader, carefully lifting him while trying to avoid aggravating his broken arms. As Broadway slung Goliath over his shoulders, the purple gargoyle groaned, glaring at Yi. "Who… who are you…?"

Yi looked back at Goliath as he reached the edge of the roof. "I am Yi. Last survivor of the planet Penglai. The Sol of Innovation,  the Autarch of Wood, and the greatest Fangshi who ever lived. And if I ever see your face around me or my family again, I will show you just what all that means. I won't be so gentle as I was this time."

With that, Yi leaped off the roof. The Mystic Nymph he launched lingered, still hovering where it had been. To the gargoyles' confusion, it didn't follow Yi, instead flying to the middle of the roof once more. It shined with a blue-white light as it activated once more.

This time, the Nymph overlaid the illusion of an ornate bedroom with a marble balcony, offering a nighttime view of the ocean. Laying in the wooden bed were Brooklyn and Yi, with Brooklyn holding the cat man in his arms, folding his wings over his body. It was then that Goliath realized both were naked, with only Brooklyn's wings covering anything revealing.

"Gotta say…" Brooklyn said with a chuckle. "The Greeks knew how to party. Don't remember the last time I had food that good."

Yi nodded against Brooklyn's chest, purring in agreement. "And the performances were excellent. Alexander certainly knows how to arrange a theatre."

"Hey, when you’re retelling the stories of your founding heroes, you go all out," Brooklyn replied. His face suddenly fell. "He really liked the tale of Heracles, didn't he…?"

"Is that a problem?" Yi asked.

Brooklyn shook his head. "No… it's just… I had my own Heracles."

"Your so-called 'father,' you mean," Yi concluded, disdain apparent in his voice.

"Yeah…" Brooklyn answered. "Born with the strength of a god, and he knew how to use it. Performed all sorts of labors and became a legend. Just like Goliath…." Brooklyn sighed. "I guess…. Seeing the story reminded me how I could never measure up…."

Yi looked up at Brooklyn. "Brooklyn… of course you can never be Heracles."

"Gee thanks…" Brooklyn wryly replied.

Yi softly placed his hand over Brooklyn's beaked face. "You can never be Heracles, because you are something much better. You are not Heracles, plowing through life with brute strength and divine gifts. You are Odysseus, braving impossible odds, and succeeding purely on your keen mind and your own merits."

Brooklyn smiled sadly at that. "I guess I could accept that… one problem though." Brooklyn stroked the scar under his eye as he said, "Odysseus had people back at home waiting for him. People who loved him. Not like me…"

Yi placed his hand under Brooklyn's beak, tilting his head so he was looking at the cat man right in the eyes. "You have me, Brooklyn."

Brooklyn blinked, clearly caught by surprise at the declaration, before smiling warmly. "I suppose I do…"

Their lips met.

At that, the holograms vanished, and the Mystic Nymph flew away, leaving the battered gargoyles alone on the rooftop.

Chapter Text

Date Unknown

It was actually a short trip back to the Four Seasons Pavilion, thanks to the private elevator located near Kuafu's quarters. Just one command from the fat Solarian and the lift brought them right back to the gardens that were near the Pavilion. When Brooklyn had asked aloud why he and Yi couldn’t have just taken the elevator to begin with, Kuafu answered that it had been restricted to his use, so they wouldn’t have been able to access it.

Kuafu didn’t take his eyes off Brooklyn the whole time, eyeing the gargoyle with a mix of curiosity and suspicion that irked him. It wasn’t a hateful look like the humans of the past, but one that regarded Brooklyn as some sort of animal to be wary of and studied.

When they got to the massive door leading to the Pavilion, Brooklyn waved his hand once. A computerized voice replied, “Recognition of approved person. Firewall temporarily released.” The stone doors opened, which prompted a sigh of relief from Kuafu, who flew ahead of Brooklyn into the room.

As Brooklyn followed, he heard a high-pitched voice cry out, “Yiiiiiii! Is that you?” As Brooklyn caught up to the Solarian on the floating chair, he saw Shuanshuan running towards them. “Oh! It’s you, Brooklyn!”

Before Brooklyn could answer, Kuafu gave a disgusted shriek, holding his arms out in a warding gesture. “What’s an apeman doing here?!” he exclaimed.

The human child didn’t seem to notice Kuafu’s distress, merely cocking his head to look at the solarian in curiosity. “This one’s all furry like Yi. Is he another god?”

“He’s one of his people anyway,” Brooklyn answered, eying the trembling Kuafu as he was deciding whether to find the big Solarian's reaction amusing or offensive on the kid’s behalf.

“Oh!” Shuanshuan exclaimed in excitement as he stepped towards Kuafu. “What’s your name?”

“Get that creature away from me!” Kuafu cried. Before Brooklyn could react, the Solarian steered his hover chair around and took off at high speed towards the nearby elevator. The elevator door slammed behind Kuafu before taking him to the second floor of the Pavilion, out of sight.

“….did I do something wrong?” Shuanshuan asked so innocently that it almost hurt for Brooklyn to hear.

“No,” Brooklyn sighed. “He’s just a jerk. You didn’t do anything wrong, kid.”

“Maybe he just had a bad day?” Shuanshuan suggested.

“Yeah, maybe,” Brooklyn assented, not wanting to distress Shuanshuan with a truth he couldn’t change. Brooklyn had more than enough bigots come after him when he was just a hatchling, and if possible, he wanted to protect Shuanshuan from that as long as possible.

“Where’s Yi?” Shuanshuan asked, looking around for any trace of the tiny Solarian.

“He had some business to take care of, but he’ll be back soon.” Brooklyn answered, sitting down on one of the chairs to rest his feet. The moment he did so, a wave of exhaustion washed over the gargoyle, clouding his vision as his back hit the wall. “Fuck…” he gasped. “Why am I so tired?”

“How long have you been awake, Brooklyn?” the voice of Ruyi asked as the hologram of the AI manifested before Brooklyn and Shuanshuan.

Brooklyn strained through the nausea to rake his aching brain. “Shit…. Must have been… a whole 20 hours at least.”

“That’s highly irregular for a Yaoguai,” Ruyi said, his staticky voice managing to convey sincere concern. “Your species needs to spend at least 8 hours every day in petrification to maintain your vitality.”

“Normally I would have turned to stone on my own…” Brooklyn muttered. “What’s stopping me now?”

“On the Pale Blue Planet, Yaogaui tied their petrification to the cycles of their world.” Ruyi said. “But you’re on the New Kunlun space station now. There are no planetary cycles for your body to lock onto, so your biological clock has been thrown into disarray.”

“What do I do?” Brooklyn croaked. “If I can’t go into stone sleep, I’ll…”

“We’ll have to trigger your body’s stone sleep through artificial means,” Ruyi declared. “Do you have the strength to follow my avatar?”

Brooklyn groaned, trying to push himself up, only to collapse back to the bench. “Shit…”

“Let me help you!” Shuanshuan cried, taking Brooklyn’s clawed hand. The child pulled with all the strength in his back, and it was enough to help Brooklyn stagger to his feet. Then, the small child slung Brooklyn’s arm over his shoulder so that the red gargoyle could lean on him as they followed Ruyi.  For a human so small, Shuanshuan was surprisingly strong, clearly struggling but still able to help Brooklyn support his own weight.

They followed Ruyi over the bridge, heading into a large door in the holographic wall. Darkness surrounded Brooklyn as they walked through the door. In the dark room, a large sphere of metal and stone stood, with wires and tubes protruding from it and attached to the wall, and a glowing, light-blue screen in the center. The screen displayed the same silhouette of Yi that Ruyi’s holographic avatar took the form of.

The hologram in question vanished when Brooklyn and Shuanshuan entered the room, leaving the image on the sphere’s screen as Ruyi’s representation. “There’s a door to the left of my central processing unit,” the artificial intelligence said, cocking its head towards that direction on the screen. “It will lead to a gardening room where I have control over many environmental conditions, such as sunlight, gravity, and air pressure. I should be able to manipulate those conditions in such a way that I can trigger your body’s petrification cycle.”

“…how?” an amazed and bewildered Brooklyn asked. “What are you, magic?”

“It’s simply a result of Solarian technology,” Ruyi replied. “Of course, it being so advanced would mean it seems like magic to you since you don’t understand it. Regardless, worry not. Manipulating the environment in such a manner is within my capabilities.”

As tired as Brooklyn was, he was hesitant. “I don’t like the idea of going into stone sleep with so much danger around,” he said.

“The Four Seasons Pavillion is perfectly secure,” Ruyi assured. “You will be safe while you rest.”

“And if anything happens, I’ll be here!” Shuanshuan declared cheerfully. “I’ll watch over you while you sleep until Yi comes back!”

Brooklyn couldn’t resist giving a weary smile at the boy. “Thanks kid. That makes me feel better.” The gargoyle turned towards the massive CPU. “Okay bot. Let’s do this.”

Brooklyn and Shuanshuan stumbled their way into the room. It was dimly lit at the moment, but Brooklyn could see several rows of long tables with various potted plants all placed upon them. It definitely seemed like a place to grow plants. If the artificial sunlight worked for the plants, maybe it should for gargoyles, right?

“Take a step back, kid,” Brooklyn sighed. “Don’t wanna hurt you when I change.”

“Change?” Shuanshuan asked.

An electronic voice echoed from above. “Simulating daytime on Penglai. Have a good sleep, Brooklyn.”

A golden light shone above Brooklyn. He felt his flesh harden beneath his skin, and then he knew no more.

….

Miraculously, despite everything that the young gargoyle had endured the night before, sleep brought no dreams for Brooklyn. There were no sweet dreams or pleasant memories explored, but he would take that over the frequent daymares that he suffered, especially when stressed. Still, when consciousness came back to Brooklyn, and the stone coating broke away from his skin, he was so groggy that he couldn’t even muster a proper roar, merely releasing a groan of relief.

As Brooklyn rubbed his eyes, his vision adjusted to the dimming room. Everything seemed to be in order from when he went to sleep, and after some tired stretching and another yawn, the gargoyle felt that he had more energy than at the end of last night. It seemed that the artificial stone sleep had worked.

The sound of snoring caught Brooklyn’s attention. The red gargoyle looked down towards a table to see the sleeping form of Shuanshuan, curled underneath one of the tables. Brooklyn chuckled at the sight as he approached the sleeping child. “ ‘I’ll watch over you’ he said…” Brooklyn gently shook the boy’s shoulder. “Hey… What would your brother think if he saw you sleeping on the job?”

Shuanshuan blinked as he stirred awake, stretching out as he gave a big yawn. “Ummmm…. Morning…” The boy suddenly bolted upright. “Oh! I fell asleep!”

Brooklyn burst out laughing. “Yeah, you did. Don’t worry, it’ll be our little secret, kid.”

“In Young Shuanshuan’s defense, he only fell asleep in the last couple of hours,” the voice of Ruyi said above. “He was quite vigilant otherwise as he promised.”

“Really?” Brooklyn replied. “Well, that’s definitely more effort than most humans would waste on me.”

Shuanshuan cocked his head. “Why wouldn’t humans try to help you? You’re an angel.”

Brooklyn sighed. “Not to everyone kid. Your tribe might consider me an angel, but most humans treat me like a demon because of what I look like. A monster…”

Shuanshaun blinked. “You? A monster?”

Brooklyn gave a rueful laugh. “I mean… look at me kid. To you humans, I look like a devil right out from the fire of hell.”

“I mean… boars can look pretty scary too.” Shuanshaun said with a shake of his head. “But we don’t call them monsters. Monsters don’t just look scary. They hurt people for no good reason or because they’re selfish. You helped me and my village despite how you could have gotten hurt. You can’t be a monster.”

Brooklyn looked at the boy, honestly stunned by the boy’s words and the fact that he couldn’t see any dishonesty from Shuanshuan. “Huh… I… thanks, Shuanshuan”

“For what?” the boy asked.

Brooklyn smiled. “Just for being you, I guess.” Before Brooklyn could speak anymore, a loud growl from his stomach interrupted him.

Shuanshuan laughed aloud. “Looks like you’re hungry, Mr. Brooklyn!”

Brooklyn’s cheeks burned in embarrassment. “Yeah… come on. You’re probably hungry too, so let’s get something to eat.”

“Master Yi returned some time ago,” Ruyi’s voice said. “He’s currently resting in the prime Root Node. If you could go retrieve him, I’ll be happy to prepare a meal for you all.”

“Okay, Abacus!” Shuanshuan cried out before bounding out of the room, Brooklyn running on all fours to catch up.

The two came out into the main Pavilion, where the artificial light illuminated the large room without triggering Brooklyn’s stone sleep. In a few minutes, Brooklyn and Shuanshuan approached the black knot of roots still slithering in the hollow in the wall. Held within the roots like a cocoon waiting to hatch, with only his head visible, was Yi. His eyes were closed, but Brooklyn could see the rise and fall of his breath as he slumbered within the roots.

Brooklyn wondered if he should wake the Solarian up, but Shuanshuan took it out of his hands. “Yiiiiiiii!” the boy called. “It’s time to wake up!”

Instantly, Yi’s eyes snapped open, pupils darting around in brief panic before they calmed down. “Oh, it’s just you two. Why are you shouting?”

“Your computer wanted us to wake you up for breakfast?” Brooklyn replied, unsurely if it was a question.

“…I see. Well, it was time for me to wake up anyway. Have no time to lose.” With that, the roots released Yi, and the solarian landed next to Brooklyn and Shuanshuan. “You stay out of trouble, Shuanshuan?”

“Yeah…” Shuanshuan pouted. “But it was so boring without you.”

“Be grateful that things are so calm that you can be bored,” Yi replied. “But good job staying put.” Yi glanced at Brooklyn. “I hope you had a good rest. We won’t stay here for long.”

“I did, thanks to your little assistant.” Brooklyn answered, rolling his shoulder. “Nothing like stone sleep to mend the broken ribs.”

“Broken ribs?” Yi asked. “I knew you came in injured, but what exactly happened to you beforehand?”

Brooklyn cringed at the question. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine now.”

“Your big friend doesn’t seem to like me,” Shuanshuan said, not seeming to notice Brooklyn’s sudden melancholy.

“You mean Kuafu?” Yi asked. “Don’t worry about him. Keep pestering him, and he’ll warm up to you in no time. He’s big, but he’s honestly too nice for his own good. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“Okay,” Shuanshuan answered, before looking at something on Yi’s belt that caught his eye. “What do you have there, Yi?”

“Don’t get too excited. This isn’t a toy,” Yi replied , reaching beneath his robe to pull out a blue box. The Solarian opened it to reveal an object that reminded Brooklyn of a Swiss army knife: a blue hilt with several tools protruding from it. “This is a multi-tool used by engineers to repair equipment. I found it when I was scrounging for supplies on my way back.”

“That’s great!” Shuanshaun cried in excitement. “I happen to need some tools. Can I borrow it?”

“No,” Yi bluntly replied. “What if you accidentally sliced off one of your fingers?”

Shuanshaun pouted again. “Come on, I’m not going to do that. Did you forget I made every single piece of furniture in our house?”

Brooklyn snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure, kid.”

“He’s not kidding,” Yi said. “I saw him work.”

Brooklyn looked at Shuanshuan in bewilderment. “How old are you again?”

“Who keeps track of that?” Shuanshaun asked back.

“Fine, just be careful,” Yi acquiesced, handing the child the tool.

“Let’s see…” Shuanshuan muttered as he fiddled with the Multi Tool. “What does this button do?” Shuanshuan pressed a button, and a vibrating blade sprang from the tool. “Ah!” the boy exclaimed in shock and amazement. “A knife popped out! Wow! It moves!”

“Careful, this is a product of Ying.” Yi explained calmly. “The blades are very sharp.”

“Who’s Ying?” Brooklyn asked.

“Ying isn’t a person. It’s a nation on Penglai famous for their crafting, but that was a long, long time ago. All the great craftsman have been in decline since the end of the Turbulent Era. The job of craftsmen became less and less popular. Kuafu suffered a lot because of this.”

“I don’t get it,” Shuanshuan said. “People who can make stuff are super popular in the village! Our neighbor Ah-Fong knew how to sharpen stones to make all sorts of tools. With her spears, even I could hunt boars! We had so much meat in the village back then.”

“Well, some might ask what if those spears were pointed not at boars, but other people?” Yi offered.

“Hmmm….” Shuanshuan wondered. “I did cut my hand on a blade once, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use spears or look down on the people who make them.”

“Exactly,” Brooklyn added. “Weapons and tools don’t kill people. People kill people.”

Yi gazed between his two guests with a look Brooklyn couldn’t identify, before saying, “Kuafu would be so happy to hear you say that.”

“Then does Kuafu mind if I borrowed his tool?” Shuanshuan asked coyly.

Yi sighed. “Fine. Just remember to hold it steady, only use the blunt blades, and never point it at yourself when cutting.”

“Okay!” Shuanshuan answered with enthusiasm.

“And don’t press buttons with it or let it touch electricity.” Yi added.

“And if you need any help, come to me,” Brooklyn offered. “I helped my brother craft quite a few tools and stuff back when I was a kid.”

“Okay!” Shuanshuan replied, before sheathing the blade and running off with the tool to somewhere in the Pavilion.

“You have a brother?” Yi suddenly asked when Shuanshuan was out of sight.

Brooklyn hesitated, repressing the pain the memories brought him, before answering. “I had dozens of them. Only two of them are still alive now. Or… alive back in my time.”

“I knew Yaoguai were intelligent, but I never took one for a craftsman,” Yi said.

Brooklyn snorted. “The one I built things with was the smartest person I ever knew. When we got to New York, surrounded by all sorts of technology like cars and helicopters, he wasted no time learning how it all worked. By the first month, he was building motorcycles from spare parts.”

“Impressive,” Yi said with a nod.

“He’d rather like this place, all things considered.” Brooklyn said. “He’d be all over the tech you cats have. He’d keep you up all night asking questions.”

“As if I don’t already deal with that from Shuanshaun,” Yi sighed.

“Penglai… that’s your planet, right?” Brooklyn asked, since apparently, they were asking personal questions now.

“It was,” Yi replied. “It was… it was beautiful….”

“Then why are you cats invading our planet if yours was so great?” Brooklyn pressed.

“The Tianhuo Virus happened,” Yi said, looking away from Brooklyn. “A degenerative disease that spread and choked our people like a weed. It was universally fatal, and upon an infected Solarian's death, a fungal flower sprouted from their corpse, allowing the virus to propagate itself. By the time we left, entire cities were covered in those horrible flowers…”

“Fuck…” Brooklyn muttered, imagining something like that happening to Earth. Everyone falling dead, unable to breathe, and flowers are coming from their corpses…. “I’ve seen a fair share of plagues in my time, but nothing like that. And you couldn’t find a cure for it on your planet?”

“No,” Yi replied, looking back at Brooklyn. “This entire facility was meant to be a second chance. A way to stall for time to find a cure and then begin anew. But then the Tiandao Council ruined everything in the name of their own greed and selfishness.” Yi shook his head. “Come on. Let’s go see Kuafu. Let’s see if his craftsmanship is up to snuff.”

….

“Yi!” Kuafu cried upon seeing the small Solarian when he and Brooklyn went upstairs into the workshop where the big orange craftsman took up residence. “Did you see that thing downstairs?”

“The Shanhai 9000?” Yi replied so deadpan that Brooklyn couldn’t help but chuckle.

“No!” Kuafu shouted.

“The Root Node?” Brooklyn offered.

“No!” Kuafu screamed. “The apeman!”

Yi blinked. “Oh you mean Shuanshuan?” he asked casually.

“Why would you name such a terrifying creature?!” Kuafu demanded hysterically. “I betrayed the council and moved out of my home, and now you want me to share a roof with an apeman? Give me a break!”

Brooklyn burst out laughing at the big Solarian’s distress. “Shuanshuan? Terrifying? My god, that’s the funniest shit I’ve heard all week!”

“It’s not funny, Yaoguai!” Kuafu shouted. “Just watching those hairless creatures walk around makes my skin crawl!”

Brooklyn snorted, growing increasingly annoyed by the specism. “Well, you can always leave.”

“Calm down,” Yi said calmly, ignoring Brooklyn. “Apemen aren’t that scary. You’ve seen them in the reports, haven’t you?”

“Seeing them in reports and seeing them in real life is like night and day!” Kuafu cried. “And that ape child keeps calling after you: ‘Yi, Yi, Yi…’ You’re not actually going to raise him, are you? What have you been up to all this time?”

“Shuanshuan is different from the others. It wouldn’t be in our best interest if the Council gets their hands on him.”

“I find that argument to be a bit of a stretch,” Kuafu said doubtfully. “I don’t understand why you need another pet when you have the Yaoguai here. At least he’s cute.”

Brooklyn growled at those words, and before he could stop himself, he whipped out his wand and shouted “Augue!” A ball of fire burst forth and rocketed towards Kuafu, the flame just missing Kuafu’s head. The Solarian yelped as the fireball hit the wall with a small explosion.

“What did I say about calling me a pet, you stupid cat?” Brooklyn snarled.

“Bioresonance?!” Kuafu exclaimed. “Yi, what did you do to this Yaoguai? I assumed he was a custom model, but….”

“Custom model?” Brooklyn questioned. “What?”

“And what’s ‘bioresonance’?” Yi asked, a rare, confused look on his face.

“That’s right, you wouldn’t know!” Kuafu exclaimed in realization. “Bioresonance is the term that Eigong coined for things like unexplained properties of the Fusang Roots that made themselves especially apparent with you, the Yaoguai’s petrification, the Kunlun clan’s prophetic visions, and other odd applications of rhizomatic energy that haven’t been explained fully yet. Basically, it’s how she refers to all the black boxes involving life energy, hence the ‘bio’ in ‘bioresonance’.”

“….so, it’s a fancy word for magic,” Brooklyn summarized dryly.

“I can see her logic,” Yi said. “‘Magic’ is antithetical to science and implies something unnatural that can’t be explained. This grounds such topics as a field of study, even if it hasn’t been figured out yet.”

“More importantly,” Brooklyn interrupted. “What did you mean by ‘custom model’?”

“Yaoguai aren’t produced in farms en masse like the apemen are,” Yi answered. “Their reproductive cycle makes it too hard to do so, plus their flesh is too rough for good eating. However, their incredible natural strength makes them too useful to disregard. So instead, they are selectively bred and genetically modified for specific tasks and roles.”

A sickening feeling spread in Brooklyn’s chest. His trembling fist clinched in his hand as he growled, “So you cats breed us like dogs?”

“Essentially,” Yi replied without hesitation or remorse.

“That’s why I can’t figure you out,” Kuafu said. “I haven’t seen a Yaoguai unit like you, and I can’t figure out your use. I thought you were a Húlí, a general-purpose Yaoguai that’s adaptable and used for miscellaneous tasks and reconnaissance. You’re too small and lanky to be a láng and don’t seem built for fighting. Your bioresonance is usually possessed by Cháiláng, but you’re bigger than them, and I have yet to see a Cháiláng that wasn’t female. So, what are you?”

“I’m Brooklyn,” the red gargoyle growled. “I’m no one’s pet, and that’s all you need to know.”

“He appeared on the station recently,” Yi said to Kuafu. “He’s an outsider.”

“A feral Yaoguai?!” Kuafu screamed. “Brother, why do you insist on playing with fire?!”

“Keep running your mouth and I’ll show you what real fire looks like,” Brooklyn warned.

“Perhaps you should just give me what you wanted to, Kuafu,” Yi deadpanned.

“Right!” Kuafu happily exclaimed, glad to change the subject. The big Solarian moved his hover chair to a nearby table and picked up a bow. It was made of light blue material with a golden locking mechanism in the middle to load arrows. As Kuafu handed it to Yi, Brooklyn saw that it was almost as big as Yi himself. “It’s the Azure Bow your family left for you.”

Yi’s eyes widened in shock as he held the bow in his hands. “Did you meet her?” he asked.

“Heng?” Kuafu asked back. “No, she had asked someone else to give it to you, but it somehow ended up with me.” Kuafu chuckled. “I never thought it would get any use. I just fine tuned it for you.”

“Thanks,” Yi replied with a slight degree of warmth. “Your skills haven’t gotten rusty, have they?”

Kuafu got a look on his pudgy face that Brooklyn could describe as smug. “You don’t need to worry about that, my friend. Remember my nickname?”

“Calorie Crusher?” Yi snorted.

Kuafu glared at Yi for a moment in response while Brooklyn laughed. “The Hammer of New Kunlun!” he suddenly exclaimed. “As you should know, there is not a single craftsman in all of New Kunlun that comes close to my level!”

“…is that why your guard robot fell to one cat and one gargoyle?” Brooklyn snarked.

“Not my wheelhouse!” Kuafu protested. “Now that I’m here, I can upgrade Yi’s bow and equipment. Provided he can get me the Jin and parts that I need.”

“Can you make me a sword?” Brooklyn asked. “Your toy broke mine.”

“Why do you need a sword when you have your bioresonance?” Kuafu asked.

“Because I’m still learning and I’d rather not be in a situation where I get shanked because I have no weapon to retaliate with while I incant.”

“Indulge the Yaoguai,” Yi concurred, reaching into his robe to pull out what seemed to be golden chips. Brooklyn realized it must have been Jin. “His martial skill is nothing to sneeze at, so I wish him to be as well-equipped as possible.”

“Very well, brother,” Kuafu sighed, taking the Jin from Yi’s hands. “What kind of sword will we have today?”

“Whatcha got?” Brooklyn asked.

“Well, nothing already here is probably your size,” Kuafu muttered, moving the chair so he was facing the plethora of weapons on display on the wall. “But they make a good blueprint for what I could make. Take a look, Brooklyn.”

The red gargoyle did so, slowly walking next to the wall as he checked out the variety of weapons. It was surprising that such an advanced people would still use so many cold weapons, but the neon colors, electronics, and buttons on each one told Brooklyn that they must have been enhanced in some way with technology. As a result, it was a bit hard for Brooklyn to really decide among all the swords, spears, axes, and such. He couldn’t tell what was good, like he would have back in Scotland.

When Brooklyn was towards the end of the wall, a weapon on the rack caught his eye. At first, Brooklyn thought it was a broadsword or a rapier, but when he looked closer, he noticed that the “blade” was shaped like a drill, a plane of metal wrapped around a cylinder that ended in a point. The hilt of the blade was round, with a button on the very end of the handle.

“…what is this?” Brooklyn wondered aloud.

Kuafu floated next to Brooklyn, took one look at the weapon, and then released a hearty laugh. “Oh my! I haven’t seen one of these in so long!”

“What are you talking about?” Yi asked, walking up to Brooklyn’s other side. He peered at the screw shaped weapon and frowned. “Oh. The bolt rapier?”

“The fuck is a bolt rapier?” Brooklyn asked.

“It’s a weapon of my clan’s make!” Kuafu replied in a mix of humor and pride. “What’s it doing rusting here?”

“Because it shows how practical it was,” Yi retorted with a roll of his eyes. “It was made by a member of the Ying Kingdom that was a bit of an eccentric to say the least. A blacksmith who valued raw power in a weapon over everything else. When opposing countries started using thick plated armored mechs, he tried making a weapon that could be used to penetrate their shells. And thus, he made an oversized drill, attached it to a sword hilt, and called it a bolt rapier.”

“….did it work?” Brooklyn asked, more intrigued than he cared to admit.

“Not really,” Yi replied. “The weight of the weapon made it hard to actually stick the drill in straight on, and even if one could, the force of the motor would shake in the hilt so much that the wielder would either lose their grip or the weapon would shatter in their hands.”

“Now hold on!” Kuafu cried defensively. “Yes, it was hard to wield, but a few warriors managed to make a name for themselves with it once they got used to the weight distribution and the force of the drill! Maybe not my kingdom’s best work, but it had its merits!”

“And that’s why you aren’t a martial artist,” Yi snorted.

“I’m still strong enough to throw you like a pillow,” Kuafu warned.

“Well, let’s put the value of the weapon to the test,” Brooklyn decided, grabbing the bolt rapier and holding it out to Kuafu. “Make me one of these.”

Both Kuafu and Yi looked at Brooklyn as if he were insane. “Are you sure?” Kuafu questioned. “It is hard to wield.”

“It’ll be a challenge,” Brooklyn reassured. “I’m trying new things now, so might as well give this a try, and if works great. If not, well I can always find another weapon.”

Yi and Kuafu shared a look before the smaller Solarian put some more Jin in the larger one’s hands. “Make him a jian as a spare for when the rapier inevitably breaks.”

“Very well,” Kuafu agreed. “Two swords for the Yaoguai then.”

“I’m going to go help Abacus make some breakfast,” Yi declared as he headed towards the door. “I’ll make sure to leave plenty for you two.”

Upon Yi's leaving, Kuafu reached under the table to pull out some metal parts. A laser from above started to flash, cutting through the metal as easily as a hot knife through butter. Then, Kuafu put on some gloves as the metal heated up and started to work on the swords.

With nothing else to do, Brooklyn sat down by the wall of the workshop, pulled out the Grimorum Revolutionis from his pouch, and picked up where he left off, opening to the next spell in the book.

When you chant the incantation, “congelatio”, and aim this spell at a chosen point, the temperature there will plummet, turning the very air into solid ice. Not only can this be used to immobilize and harm enemies, but it can also extinguish fires, freeze moving objects in place, and produce ice for various practical purposes. On a related note, sages agree that aspiring wizards should always carry a good supply of water with them, since learning how water responds to changes in temperature is the key to understanding many of the principles of advanced transmutation…

Brooklyn spent a long time trying to replicate this spell, trying to keep his voice down as he waved the wand and chanted the incantation so as not to disturb the working Kuafu. The big Solarian didn’t seem to notice, continuing to work on the swords while humming happily to himself. Once, when Brooklyn looked up from his tome to check on him, he saw that Kuafu had shed the top of his work suit, revealing a white tank top underneath. Brooklyn’s eyes took in the Solarian’s build. Though he was as chubby as Brooklyn expected, much of Kuafu’s bulk was thick muscle that was visible even beneath his orange fur. Kuafu watched the muscles in Kuafu’s arms ripple as he pounded the hot weapons with a hammer. A bead of sweat rolled from Kuafu’s face and onto his chest, making Brooklyn notice the definition it had…

Wait… why the hell was he staring at Kuafu’s muscles?

Apparently, the craftsman was a telepath, because as soon as Brooklyn thought that, Kuafu glanced back at him. “Something wrong with my face?”

“No…” Brooklyn answered embarrassingly. “Just thinking you’re pretty built for a guy who doesn’t fight.”

Why the FUCK did you say that?! Brooklyn internally screamed.

Kuafu blinked at the comment before chuckling lightheartedly. “Well, I am the Hammer of New Kunlun.” The Solarian flexed his forearm to show off his biceps. “I can’t afford to be weak when I’m swinging the tools around, you know.”

“Right…” Brooklyn replied awkwardly, thankful Kuafu didn’t take the comment weirdly while trying to turn his attention back to the spell he was working on.

“You’re a little small for a Yaoguai,” Kuafu said, as he slammed his hammer down once more. “Yet, I can see your strength as well. The fact you can keep up with Yi says as much.”

Brooklyn huffed. “Barely…”

“Please keep looking after him,” Kuafu suddenly requested. “He’s brilliant, and more capable than any other Solarian I know… but he doesn’t know his limits.”

“What makes you think he’ll listen to me?” Brooklyn asked.

“The fact he sees it fit to bring you on missions and have me arm you tells me he holds you in some regard,” Kuafu answered. “Yi isn’t good with feelings, but his actions always say volumes.”

Brooklyn sighed. “I’ll look after your emotionally constipated friend. Not like I have a choice in the matter anyway if I want to get out of here.”

“Thank you, Brooklyn,” Kuafu said sincerely, before continuing his work, leaving Brooklyn to his studies.

…

Yi came back into the workshop with bowls of eggs over rice for everyone. Kuafu had just finished the finishing touches on Brooklyn’s new weapons and was leaving them to cool, so it was perfect timing on the Fangshi’s part. Yi even had the foresight to prepare multiple bowls for both Kuafu and Brooklyn, given their size and strength. When Brooklyn noticed that Yi only had a single bowl for himself, Yi replied that he only needed the one bowl as he didn’t eat much to begin with.

“That’s why you’re so small…” Kuafu faux whispered into his bowl.

“Shut it,” Yi retorted.

When everyone was finished eating, Yi and Brooklyn got ready to go. Yi spent the rest of his Jin to buy more vials and install stronger catalysts for his medicine pipe. Then, Kuafu handed off the two swords to Brooklyn: one a double-edged straight sword with a spade-shaped guard, and the other a bolt rapier that was built to match Brooklyn’s size.

“This button here activates the drill bit,” Kuafu informed as he put it into Brooklyn’s hand. Before Brooklyn could react, Kuafu got closer, pressing his bulk against Brooklyn as he adjusted Brooklyn’s grip, like a sword instructor showing his student a proper stance. “Remember to hold it away from you once you activate it, and to maintain a steady grip so it doesn’t fly out of your hands. Like this, see?”

Brooklyn blushed at the sudden contact, feeling the muscles and fat of Kuafu’s form on his back as he stammered, “Right, right, got it. Thank you very much.”

Kuafu nodded before breaking away. “And don’t forget your jian as a backup.” He looked at Yi and asked, “Do you have everything, brother?”

“For the time being, yes,” Yi assured. “We’ll be heading to the Agricultural Zone next.”

“Goumang’s territory?” Kuafu gasped. “Brother, she hates you!”

“Well, the feeling is mutual,” Yi snorted. “How much of a nuisance I will be depends entirely on if she’ll cough up her Sol Seal.”

“Anything I need to know going in?” Brooklyn asked.

“Expect lots of plants and genetically modified insects,” Yi answered. “Goumang herself is a brilliant agricultural scientist and genetic biologist, but not much of a fighter. If she has any sense, she’ll hand over the Seal without a fight.”

“Or she’ll double down on her pride and fight you,” Kuafu countered. “And she surrounds herself with guards. It won’t be easy.”

“Then I get to test out my new magic,” Brooklyn said confidently, sheathing his new swords on his back and then replacing his wand on his hip. “We’ll be careful, Kuafu.”

“Okay…” the big Solarian nodded.

“Take care of Shuanshuan while we’re gone,” Yi said.

“Me watch that terrifying monkey?!” Kuafu cried as the two walked out of the Four Seasons Pavilion. “Fusang damn you, Yi!”

….

The trek to the location Yi talked about was a long one. The small Fangshi led Brooklyn through brightly lit, but deserted, halls filled with nothing but computer interfaces, furniture, and the occasional robot. The robots leading to the Agricultural Zone weren’t much of a threat, and in fact were a perfect target for Brooklyn to practice his magic. The first one he saw, he had Yi stand back. Then, he flipped out his wand, imagined the robot freezing with as much emotional force as he could muster, and shouted “Congelatio!”

The robot turned to face its foes, but it was too late. A freezing wind swirled around it, causing ice to creep on its metal shell. The robot tried to run at Yi and Brooklyn, but the ice formed around its feet caused it to trip and collapse. Wasting no time, Yi ran forward to finish the robot with a slice to the neck, cutting off its head with a single stroke.

“Got it!” Brooklyn exclaimed in triumph.

“Cryokinesis now?” Yi asked with a raised eyebrow.

“You bet!” Brooklyn crowed. “How you like them apples?”

“‘Them apples’ are cold, so mission accomplished,” Yi grunted as he walked up to the frozen remains of the robot. Without another word, Yi thrust out his hand, sinking his claw into the body of the robot. Wires and metal were torn away, along with, to Brooklyn’s horror, frozen blood and flesh.

“Are… are those robots… cyborgs?!” Brooklyn shouted in dawning horror.

“Of sorts,” Yi replied with disquieting calm as he tore more into the flesh. “They’re not truly sapient, merely created by placing biomass into transmutation crucibles. They’re less robots and more puppets of cloned solarian and apemen flesh, with some biomechanical components mixed in for optimization. Which means…” With one last tear, Yi revealed the golden metal he had given to Kuafu. “They possess Jin as a conductor. Jin we can harvest for our own purposes.”

“…is every aspect of this place a fucking horror show?!” Brooklyn screamed, more so to himself than at Yi.

“It’s only going to get worse from here, believe you me,” Yi said wryly. “You wish to back out, my ‘angel’?”

Brooklyn growled, irritated at the insulation of cowardice and the demeaning nickname. “Not on your life, cat.”

The men continued, making their way through the wide stone and metal halls. The lighting and material of the walls started to get darker and darker as Brooklyn and Yi went, seeming to mark another part of the ship. The feeling was confirmed to Brooklyn when the metal halls gave way to a cave-like room, complete with a rocky wall, stalagmites and stalactites, and a brackish lake. In the distance, Brooklyn saw a great platform raised on stilts, housing several stone buildings on its surface.

Brooklyn looked around the cave to get a fuller view, and to his amazement, on his right, visible through an opening in the cave wall, was the entrance of what looked like a great stone tower that extended further up into the depths of New Kunlun. Bordering the entrance was a group of five bells of varying sizes, each with a different character displayed over it.

“We’ll be going into that tower later,” Yi declared, snapping Brooklyn’s attention. “So make note of it.”

“Geez, how big is this place?” Brooklyn wondered.

“Big enough to take care of thousands upon thousands of beings in the void of space,” Yi answered. “We had to harvest minerals and metal from asteroids and our moons to supply the material.”

“I imagine…” Brooklyn muttered. “How far is this Goumang?”

Yi pointed towards the horizon, beyond view of the platform. “Across the lake. We still have some ways to go.”

“Of course we do…” Brooklyn sighed.

It took them quite some time to traverse the lake. Fortunately, the cave entrance had a few rocks protruding from the surface of the lake to hop across and reach the platform, but the two men still had to fight enemies the entire time, hindering their progress. The enemies in question were different from the others. A few carried shields of energy that required some maneuvering from Brooklyn and Yi to get around so they could finish them. Then there were the robots dressed in green cloaks that helped them blend into their surroundings, allowing them to ambush the men with daggers as they danced around them, struggling to land a hit. The fact that these robots were accompanied by cybernetic dogs of sorts did nothing to alleviate the frustration of fighting them.

Despite these challenges, Brooklyn and Yi eventually made it to the other side of the massive platform. To Brooklyn’s confusion, there wasn’t anything at the end save for a glowing blue panel and a boat with no paddle, sail, or any obvious form of propulsion. Before Brooklyn could ask Yi where they went from there, the Solarian made some motions with his hand, causing the panel to hum.

There was a roar from beneath the water, and suddenly, a great green serpent burst from beneath the waves in front of the boat. Before it could sink back into the lake, a machine from the boat launched some sort of spike into the serpent’s neck to tether it near the boat. The serpent thrashed a bit before settling by the boat in the water.

“Get on” was all Yi said before he stepped onto the boat. The serpent started to swim away, carrying the boat with it. Brooklyn cried out in panic as he scrambled to the edge and leapt, using his wings to boost his jump to just barely land on the boat before it got too far away.

“Fuck!” Brooklyn exclaimed as he struggled to get his balance on the moving boat.

“Our target should be near the shore this beast will bring us to,” Yi cautioned. “Be prepared.”

After a few minutes, the serpent pulled the boat to a dark, sandy beach with a huge stone building constructed against the cave's wall. The serpent swam towards a wooden pier, tugging the boat along with it. The machine that linked the boat to the serpent suddenly released, leaving the serpent free to sink below the waves as the boat drifted with its inertia and came to a stop just next to the pier.

They wasted no time heading into the building. Brooklyn gasped in awe at what he saw. They were in some sort of great temple, with a massive statue of a sagely Solarian in robes in the center of the room. It was abstracted somewhat, but the Solarian had to be Lear, especially with that beard. The statue was surrounded by incense and other objects of honor and worship.

Brooklyn didn’t really have time to process this because Yi ran ahead of him, heading into a door at the end of the room. Brooklyn followed, leading to another part of the temple. This room was mostly empty, save for the hole in the floor. There was a golden elevator with a round, birdcage-like appearance, leading into the hole.

Yi stopped just long enough for Brooklyn to catch up, said, “This should lead us to the Agricultural Zone”, and then walked over to the elevator. Flustered at the feline’s relentless pace, Brooklyn followed without a second thought, stepping into the elevator with him.

When Brooklyn stepped into the elevator, the bars of the cage-like walls spiraled and shut behind the men. The elevator started to sink into the shaft…

For all of two seconds, before the lift suddenly stopped. There was a sound of gears locking in place as red warning lights flashed from the electronics in the elevator's bars.

“What the-” Brooklyn exclaimed.

Before he or Yi could get their bearings, an outburst of high-pitched laughter echoed from above. “Oooh, look who decided to show up after all this time.” A figure emerged from the shadowy walls of the cave, revealing a remarkably odd-looking Solarian woman.  She had dark blue fur, long ears that angled down slightly, and to Brooklyn’s bewilderment, red feathery wings on her arms. She had large, wide eyes, a small black nose, and wore both eyeliner and eyeshadow, as well as having a golden headdress and pierced ears. The earrings in question featured a golden ball at the top and red tassels at the bottom. Her red dress featured an ornament with white edges on the chest, paired with a rose-colored dress that split in the front below a red waistband. Below the knees, her legs became much thinner and were connected to silver metal prosthetics with bird claws instead of feet. One of those bird claws carried a large and ornate golden bell.

The winged Solarian halted her flight, hovering right above the elevator cage with a steady pace as she glared down at Yi. “Did your astounding intelligence lead you into this trap?” she mocked with disdain. “This is quite eye-opening.”

Yi, unfazed by their perilous situation, scoffed. “I could sense it from afar,” he dismissed.

“Then why’d we run right into it?!” Brooklyn shouted in disbelief.

The Solarian woman ignored the red gargoyle. “As stubborn as ever, I see.” She huffed. “I’ve got to give it to you, though. It takes courage to storm into my territory, with no help aside from a defective and feral húlí. And you only just came back from the dead, right? I figured anyone who had another shot at life would know better than to intrude on my farmlands.”

“I don’t intend to die in these barren fields, Goumang,” Yi retorted without missing a beat.

Goumang let out a shrill, chirping laugh. “Barren, you say? Then let us fertilize it with some remains. We farmers are naturally thrifty. Nothing goes to waste, not even a skinny little mouse. A pity about your pet though. I could’ve used another scout.”

“I’M NO ONE’S PET!” Brooklyn screamed, instinctively grabbing his wand. With an enraged flourish, he roared “AUGUE!” and launched a searing fireball at the winged Solarian.

Goumang cried out in shock, twisting herself in the air to evade the flames. “Bioresonance?!” she shrieked. “You’re no húlí Yaoguai! Change of plans then!” At those words, Goumang rang the golden bell she was holding, shouting, “Rise and shine, my beasts! There is work to be done!”

There was a hiss of something being depressurized, followed by a deep, droning roar. On opposing sides of the walls, Brooklyn saw what looked like stone coffins, which had blended in with the cave's stone, glow with a blood-red light and slam into the ground like sarcophagus lids. Two… things… stepped out of their coffins, and Brooklyn’s blood went cold.

They were…. They were gargoyles. Wings, talons, leathery skin, and all. But they were wrong. So very wrong. Not only did they both move like zombies with their arms outstretched and have skin as white as ivory, but Brooklyn could also see the glow of electronics or otherwise unnatural power flowing through their skin in lines, like revolting tattoos; their black, armless robes did nothing to hide them. Even more disgustingly, there were wires sticking out of their skulls connecting to collars on their necks, sparks flying as whatever device was used to control and manipulate them did their abhorrent work.

All that alone would have been horrible enough, but it was those changes, combined with what the gargoyles clearly would have looked like without those terrible modifications, that made Brooklyn mystified and disgusted in equal measure. One of the gargoyles was a man, large and powerfully built with dark hair and a chiseled jawline. The pinnacle of gargoyle strength and masculinity. The other gargoyle was a woman, not as big as the man but still stocky and muscular, with a mane of fiery red hair. The character for “magic”, mófǎ, was tattooed on her forehead, which brought attention to her face…. Her horrifically familiar face.

Brooklyn’s vision swam, his wand falling to the ground as he unwittingly dropped it. “D…Demona?” he gasped as his gaze fell upon the other gargoyle’s hauntingly recognizable face. “Goliath?”

It was impossible…. They were born thousands of years later, and their skin, along with the technological implants, made them wrong. And yet the gargoyles’ faces… their builds… they were eerily identical.

“Oh?” Goumang crowed. “Do you know these two? Well, good news for you! You’ll be joining our happy family, little húli, after I kill you and your master!”

“Jiangshi soldiers?” Yi exclaimed. “This technology was banned centuries ago. You would go so far as to modify the Yaoguai like this?”

“What’s wrong with putting everything to use?” Goumang sneered. “Lang and Cháiláng Yaoguai are hard enough to culture as it is, so I blessed these two with the opportunity to serve me beyond death! And you’re one to talk about modifications, given your bioresonant huli there!”

Brooklyn wanted to shout, wanted to snarl and growl at how he was being talked about, but all he could do was stare in horror at the lobotomized gargoyles before him.

“I was there when we captured the apemen and Yaoguai on the Pale Blue Planet.” Goumang continued. “They’re obedient creatures that can be quite cute when tamed. But whether as pets or livestock, in the end, they’re tools. Have you begun to think of yourself as one of them now that you’ve mingled with them in their cage?”

In response, Yi manifested the Azure Bow in his hands, pulled back the string, and released the arrow in the magazine. Brooklyn practically jumped out of his skin as, instead of an ordinary arrow, a great discharge of light was released, blasting at Goumang as quick as a flash. The shot missed, but impacted the cave wall with such force that it created a crater in the stone.

“Are you here to lecture me?” Yi said coolly as the magazine of the bow steamed. “Or kill me?”

“Oh right, thanks for reminding me!” Goumang replied in a sickeningly sweet manner. She rang the bell, shouting, “Bring them down with all your might!”

The gargoyles gave agonized roars as the toll of the bell echoed through the cave. The big male gargoyle leapt forward, landing next to the cage, and started pounding it with all his might, bending and folding the bars with his incredible strength. The gargoyle woman didn’t move closer, but still lashed out with her claws, and despite the distance, a great invisible force still struck the cage with the same effect as her male counterpart.

Telekinesis, Brooklyn realized as he stumbled in the collapsing and trembling cage along with Yi.

“Wait, no!” Goumang screamed with unexpected fury as the two gargoyles kept breaking down the cage, but not striking the two occupants. “That’s not what I meant when I said ‘bring them down’! You imbeciles!”

Yi and Brooklyn tried to plant themselves in the shaking cage in order to release a shot or spell, but it was of no use. The blows kept coming, crumbling the elevator cage until there was barely any room for Yi and Brooklyn to move, and the cage was just hanging in the air by a metaphorical thread. As the big gargoyle lifted his hand for one more blow, instincts overtook Brooklyn. The red gargoyle threw himself on top of Yi just as the zombie struck the cage, knocking it into the hole and sending it careening into the darkness below.

….

“Brooklyn… Brooklyn, wake up…!”

Brooklyn groaned, skull pounding as his vision returned to him. Through his pained eyes, he saw Yi looking down on him in concern, holding his beaked face as he wiped away the blood with a cloth.

“You…okay…?” Brooklyn moaned groggily.

“Am I okay?” Yi replied incredulously. “You were the one who took the worst of the fall. Why in the world did you throw yourself on top of me? You know I can heal.”

“Knowing in my brain isn’t the same as knowing in my bones…” Brooklyn groaned, back aching in protest as he sat up to look around. They were in a deeper part of the cave, the elevator cage a pile of wreckage some distance away. Yi must have pulled Brooklyn away himself. The cave was lit up with a warm, orange-yellow light from above, which provided Brooklyn with a clear view of what was growing within the cave. Most of it looked like normal greens, but then there were the things growing that resembled lotus pods, except instead of seeds, they were being cultivated. There were…

“Are those fucking eyes?” Brooklyn exclaimed, bolting upright at the sight. Sure enough, there really were eyes growing in the lotus blooms.

“Optoberries,” Yi said calmly. “They only look like eyes. Goumang has a particular fascination with them….”

“God, she’s awful to the core, isn’t she?” Brooklyn spat.

“…what happened back there?” Yi questioned. “Were you disturbed by the jiangshi? Or… did you recognize them?”

Brooklyn wrapped his arms around his knees as he took deep breaths to regain his bearings. “Those gargoyles…” he whispered in a hushed manner that didn’t just come from his bruised chest. “The ones she turned into her zombies… they… they looked like my parents.”

Yi’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Well, two of my rookery parents anyway,” Brooklyn muttered, running his hands through his hair to try and calm himself down. “I know it’s impossible. Those two haven’t even been born yet. But… they looked almost exactly like my rookery mother and father. Like only the skin and added tech in their bodies was different. It was like I was looking at their corpses being puppeted right in front of me by that bitch…”

Yi’s ears twitched in agitation and contemplation. “But if your ‘parents’ are to be born in the future, how could they possibly be here now as jiangshi?”

“I might have an explanation based on some files that Kuafu generously provided,” the voice of Ruyi suddenly called from underneath Yi’ robes. The Mystic Nymph manifested to fly between Yi and Brooklyn, projecting the holographic image of the AI assistant. “Though before that, are the two of you alright?”

“Alive and kicking,” Yi replied. “What do you have?”

“Well, as you know Master Yi, the denizens of New Kunlun have tamed Yaoguai to serve as pets and working beasts. To that end, much like the apemen, the Yaoguai have undergone a great amount of genetic modification in order to produce them for specific purposes. The two that Lady Goumang used against you two were of the lang and cháiláng breeds. Lang types are breed for combat and physical labor, their physical prowess and bodies carefully modified to maximize their muscular density and endurance. Cháiláng types in contrast are cultivated for their minds. They are one of the few Yaoguai with powerful bioresonance outside of their petrification. Not only do they have the standard Yaoguai physical prowess and stone stasis, they can influence the outside world through just their willpower. Among their recorded abilities, they can move objects telekinetically and influence minds.”

“Go on,” Yi urged

“As the most powerful breeds of the Yaoguai, they require extensive breeding and genetic tampering to produce,” Ruyi continued. “Their genetic makeup has been so strongly coded that individuals among their group look almost identical.”

“What does that have to do with them looking like my future parents?” Brooklyn demanded.

“Because their genes are so strongly coded, their offspring also look almost identical to them if the breed.” Ruyi explained. “Even if they interbred with other types, their offspring have a good chance of carrying many of their traits. It’s quite possible that your ‘rookery parents’ are descendants of these Yaoguai lines that carried their phenotypical traits.”

Brooklyn mulled over the hologram’s words. It was true that Goliath, according to what Brooklyn was told, had been born with much of his strength from an early age. If he were from a genetically modified strain of gargoyles that were bred for combat, that would make sense. And while he couldn’t speak for Demona, given how magic was something that was learned, if she had a natural knack for it, passed down from an ancestor with natural magical abilities, that would also track.

But… the idea that those two were the way they were because of things done to gargoyles so horrible… Dragon, it was awful. Brooklyn looked at his hands, a pit forming in his stomach as he wondered if he himself was a product of the Solarians screwing with the gargoyles’ genes. Was that why he was so weak compared to his family? Was Lexington only so smart because his ancestors were bred for it? Was Broadway only so strong for the same reasons as Goliath? Were his people all just the stray dogs of the Solarians? Freaks of nature cast away by an alien race?

A furred hand on his shoulder snapped Brooklyn from his spiral of disgust. He looked from his own hands to see Yi, looking at him with… Sympathy? Comfort? “Those jiangshi might look like your family, but they aren’t. Do not feel bad about fighting back against them. If you hesitate because of that the next time we confront them, it may cost you your life.”

“I know that…” Brooklyn sighed. “What… what did she even do to them?”

“Jiangshi were a bioweapon forbidden long ago for its ethical concerns,” Yi clarified. “The process of making one involves removing the cerebral cortex and replacing it with a computer bound to a collar. The collar picks up commands at the ringing of the bell and issues commands to the brain in place of the cerebral cortex. The subject… remains aware on some level, but unable to actually control themselves. Hence why this horrible technology was forbidden.”

Brooklyn almost vomited. He remembered how another gargoyle, in the form of a spirit, had slithered into his soul and seized control of his body. Made it so he was aware of his body, but unable to act on his own, while Coldsteel used him as he saw fit. Were the jiangshi like that, their souls held hostage by another, but through technology instead?

“Do you wish to go back to the Pavillion for the time being?” Yi asked sincerely, noticing the sick look on the red gargoyle’s face. “I can handle Goumang by myself.”

Brooklyn shook his head, giving out a rueful laugh. “And let you have all the fun? Never. Besides… those two need me even if they aren’t my family. I gotta try and help them.. somehow.”
“They’re already dead,” Yi bluntly said. “They’re nothing more than corpses being puppeted by circuitry now.”

“Then I’ll put them back to rest,” Brooklyn answered defiantly. “Guide them back to where they belong and teach that bitch some respect for the dead.”

Yi cocked his head at Brooklyn with a twitch of his ears, and the look in his eyes seemed… happy? “Very well.”

With that, Brooklyn got up, and the two men went deeper into the cave, Ruyi vanishing back into the Mystic Nymph as they did so. The mouth of the cave opened up into a vast, brightly lit cavern. Not only were there lines of various crops growing through the floor (mostly those horrifying ‘optoberries’, much to Brooklyn’s disgust), but there were parts of the floor that were replaced with metal grating. Sickly orange and yellow liquid flowed in streams throughout the cavern, some of those flowing into those gratings, just below the cultured plants.

A stench that Brooklyn could only compare to piss, shit, and vomit mixed together struck the gargoyle’s nose as he inhaled. “The fuck is this place?”

“The greenhouse,” Yi replied, disgust apparent in his own voice. “That fluid is Yellow Water, a liquid fertilizer composed of dragonsnake excrement, chemicals, and leftover biological waste from the breeding facility. Its high concentration can harm Solarians, and most assuredly you, feeling like acid if it contacts the skin.”

“EEEEEWWWWWWW!” Brooklyn screamed.

“As the child of farmers myself, fertilizer usually is revolting to make,” Yi snorted. “Just try and hold your…” Yi paused suddenly, his gaze focusing on something. Brooklyn followed his gaze to see a Root Node, shaking in place.

“Another one?” Brooklyn asked as Yi approached it.

“Only one way to find out,” Yi replied. The small Solarian reached his hands towards the node, and at once, the black Fusang roots emerged, wrapping themselves around Yi like a cocoon. Brooklyn flinched, expecting the roots to grab him too much like before, but this time, only one root slithered over to Brooklyn and gave his side a little tap.

A voice echoed in Brooklyn’s mind. You need not go into the Limitless Realm every time Yi and I have a lesson. Why not sharpen your own skills while you wait for him?

Brooklyn blinked as the root slithered back, along with the rest of the mass, covering Yi. It seems that he’ll be there for a little bit. So, given that he and Yi were going to face a tough opponent, Brooklyn decided to follow the advice given to him. The red gargoyle sat himself next to the wriggling mass of roots, pulled out his grimoire, and opened it to the next spell in the book: Thunderbolt

Now that you have mastered the powers of fire and ice, we will round out your basic elemental spells by combining their principles into a third element: lightning. No wizard should go into battle without the spell of Thunderbolt at their command. Not only does the fearsome power of the lightning shock your enemies, but it can also blow them away to a safe distance. Care must be taken, of course, to ensure that no innocent bystanders are caught up in the blast…

….

When the roots released Yi, Brooklyn was in the middle of shouting “Fulminous venite!” The Solarian jumped in astonishment as a bolt of lightning arced across the room from Brooklyn’s wand, creating a booming thunderclap as it sliced through a cascade of the orange fertilizer and crashed into a wall.

“I see you’ve been busy,” Yi said placidly as he stepped towards Brooklyn.

“Yeah,” Brooklyn replied, not breaking his concentration as he prepared another cast. This was the first success after several failed attempts, and he wanted to be sure he could consistently get it right. “Need more stopping power if we’re gonna fight Goumang. What about you?”

“The masked warrior taught me another new move,” Yi answered, closing his eyes in focus. As Brooklyn watched, he saw a faint verdant glow start to shine around Yi. Suddenly, Yi snapped open his eyes and then thrust two fingers forward. A massive green sword manifested in front of Yi and stabbed in Brooklyn’s direction, the tip stopping just inches from the gargoyle’s face.

“Damn!” Brooklyn exclaimed, surprised both at the move and Yi pointing the sword at him.

“This should take care of those shields that Goumang’s soldiers are so fond of,” Yi declared, dispelling the energy sword.

“Heh,” Brooklyn sneered confidently. “That bitch better watch out now.”

With new powers in hand, Brooklyn and Yi went on their way through Goumang’s fields. Navigating the greenhouse cavern was no easy task with all the acidic fertilizer everywhere and the enemies on patrol, but Yi and Brooklyn managed to get through, shutting down the flow of fertilizer in key places so they could get deeper into Goumang’s overgrown garden.

“This place is completely out of control…” Yi muttered as he and Brooklyn hacked through some crops. “What the hell has that woman been doing?”

“Filling her crops with literal shit?” Brooklyn deadpanned, before yelping when a drop of acid splashed on the back of his hand.

Eventually, the fields thinned out a little, leading into a wide room with another one of those massive statues. This one was clearly of Goumang, with her eyes closed and wearing a mantle that fully covered her body.

But that wasn’t what caught Brooklyn’s attention. Underneath the statue, groaning and trembling on his back, was Shennong.

“What the hell?” Brooklyn shouted as he and Yi immediately made for the large human. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Uggggghhhhh…..” Shennong moaned. “Oh… it’s you… the red skinned angel… and the white-haired demon….”

“Are you hurt?” Yi asked, leaning down to examine the downed man.

“…you got any poison on you?” Shennong asked.

“Poison?” Yi questioned. “Are you poisoned?”

“No…” Shennong groaned. “I need something poisonous... the more toxic, the better...”

“….what?” Brooklyn pressed, unable to keep the confusion out of his voice for the suffering man.

“...Are you sure this isn't just your deluded babbling?” Yi asked in a deadpan manner.

“It's not... Just feed me... something poisonous...” Shennong moaned.

“….Brooklyn, keep this man out of trouble,” Yi sighed as he stood up. “There has to be no shortage of poisonous things around here with how our esteemed agricultural expert has been handling things.”

“Okay…” Brooklyn replied as Yi left the area, still completely bewildered by Shennong’s request.

The gargoyle stood vanguard over Shennong for quite a while, trying to do what he could to soothe the sickly man. It gave him far too many memories of seeing to the sick and dying back in Scotland, where he and the other young ones were asked to watch over the wounded and those dying of the plague. How he and the rest of the trio would struggle to get water in the mouths of those struggling to breathe, and would get drenched in vomit when they couldn’t hold down what little they could eat. Shennong didn’t look much better than any of those poor souls, one foot clearly already in the grave. Did he want poison to end his suffering? To not prolong the inevitable to painful degrees?

Fuck, wasn’t there anything in his spellbook that could help?

Just before he gave in to the temptation to pull out his grimoire, his sharp ears picked up the soft sounds of footsteps. He turned to see Yi dashing back into the clearing. He was holding what looked like a sickly yellow-green fleshy orb in his hand. “This is a golden yinglong egg. The embryo contains a deadly neurotoxin. If he wants poison, this is as poisonous as one can get here.” He looked down at the sweating Shennong doubtfully. “You sure you want to die, Shennong?”

“J-just give me the poison, demon…” Shennong groaned.

Yi shrugged and, without any hesitation, leaned down and shoved the disgusting-looking egg down Shennong’s throat. The huge man chewed the egg slowly in his mouth before swallowing. Within seconds, the red on Shennong’s face faded, the sweat stopped flowing down Shennong’s body, and his breathing leveled out.

As Shennong opened his eyes, Yi asked, “Feeling better now?”

Shennong nodded. “Hmph, didn't think I'd end up owing you a favor. Why did you save me? Aren't you in cahoots with those demons?”

“I had no reason to watch you die,” Yi replied coolly. “What caused you to be at death's door just now?”

“My damn old condition again, that's what.” Shennong growled in frustration. “Just my dumb luck for it to act up now.”

“What kind of condition needs poison as treatment?” Brooklyn asked, baffled by the quick recovery Shennong had just undergone.

Shennong snorted. “Hah, well this condition needs poison to be kept in check. If it's fatal to most folks, it'll work like ambrosia on me. That guru once told me I was blessed with a poison-resistant body. Most would probably die if they contracted the same condition.”

“A body immune to poison,” Yi wondered aloud. “Fascinating.”

“Let's get one thing straight, I don't take favors for nothing.” Shennong drawled at Yi. “I don't know who or what you are, but the idea of owing someone really grates at me.” He turned his gaze to Brooklyn, “And I owe you twice over, angel. Just this once, I'll treat you both to some of my special medicinal brew.”

“What's so special about it?” Yi asked.

“I've had my eye on you since you showed up in the village.” Shennong answered. “You looked sickly and had an unsteady gait. My brew's good for strengthening the body. Believe it or not, one sip and you'll feel like a new man.” Shennong chuckled as he eyed Brooklyn. “And it might help you put some muscle on you, skinny.”

“If one more person calls me skinny…!” Brooklyn hissed.

“...My illness has no cure.” Yi murmured.

Shennong shrugged. “Your loss. If you're scared, I don't blame ya.”

“Not a chance,” Yi retorted. “Pour me a cup.”

“And you?” Shennong asked Brooklyn.

Brooklyn thought. Back in New York, despite technically being an adult, Brooklyn avoided alcohol of any kind. Not because he had moral objections to it, but because he was trying to emulate Goliath, who himself abstained because he wanted to keep his mind clear and sharp. Given Brooklyn’s own mind was pretty much the only thing he had going for himself, he opted to do the same, and had hoped Goliath would respect him more for following his footsteps. But now that he was away from New York, what was the harm in trying? Hudson definitely loved his mead back in Scotland, and he was no less effective for it, so what was the harm in partaking it once? Especially if it had medicinal properties?

“Alright,” Brooklyn shrugged. “Hit me with your best shot.”

…

“How was it?” Shennong hiccupped. “I wasn't lying, was I?”

The big human certainly hadn’t been. When Brooklyn had taken a sip of the wine that Shennong had prepared over a campfire, a symphony of flavors harmonized on Brooklyn’s taste buds. It was sweet like plums, and yet perfectly balanced by both the bitterness of the alcohol and a flavor of something else he couldn’t identify. Brooklyn immediately downed the first cup in one swig as a result. His vision swam a few minutes later, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care as Shennong laughed and gave him another cup.

“It's not bad.” Yi slurred, his cheeks flushed as he purred contentedly. “Where did you get the recipe?”

“Can’t tell you that,” Shennong replied as he took a sip for himself. “All I can say is I'm the only person in the world who can brew this.”

“Magician’s secret?” Brooklyn giggled as he enjoyed the pleasant buzz in his head.

“It’s just chemistry at the end of the day,” Yi said with a roll of his eyes. “It can’t be that hard.”

“Chemistry? That some kind of sorcery?” Shennong drunkenly asked.

Yi burped before he replied. “Nonsense. Science isn't sorcery...”

“Then why don't you explain it for me... Hic!”

“Firstly you need to know that eth... etha... What was it again?”
“Not so simple, is it cat?” Brooklyn giggled again.

Yi waved the gargoyle off. “Bah, you wouldn't understand anyway! Pour me another cup...”

…

What must have been hours passed like minutes to Brooklyn. Though his memory was foggy, by the time the alcohol wore off, he actually felt more alert than before. More energetic. Could Shennong have been telling the truth about his brew?”

“Where will you go next?” Yi asked Shennong.

“I just decided.” Shennong answered. “I reckon I'll bunk at your place for now!”

“You mean the Four Seasons Pavillion?” Brooklyn questioned.

“..What whim made you think you can just waltz in without my permission?” Yi asked suspiciously.

“There's still so much to learn about this world of demons, but it's so damn dangerous.” Shennong answered. “...I need somewhere safe I can return to, and I've just got a good feeling about your place.”

“Then  take Shuanshuan back to—” Yi began.

“Don't worry, I won't be a freeloader.” Shennon assured. “In exchange, I'll continue to provide you with my medicinal brews. Provided you two keep the toxins flowing.”

“You've already thought out your terms...?” Yi sighed defeatedly. “I still haven't agreed to anything yet, by the way…”

“I think getting access to my special brew is a pretty good deal, though.” Shennong said with a smirk, throwing a sack over his shoulder. “Let's leave it at that. I've got work to do. Remember to come to me if you find any poison!” With that, Shennong stepped back into the fields, disappearing from view.

“Think he’ll make it all the way back there?” Brooklyn asked.

“He’s as strong as the apemen come,” Yi replied. “He’ll be back in the Pavilion waiting for us for sure. Kuafu is going to have a heart attack…”

…

They left the clearing, eventually finding their way to a great river of Yellow Water. There was a boat tied to a dock, with another great serpent past the helm, swimming through the corrosive liquid. The river flowed through a sterile stone hallway that stretched to parts unknown.

“This should lead to her chamber,” Yi declared. “We’re almost there.”

“Finally,” Brooklyn sighed as he and Yi stepped onto the boat.

Yi waved his hand and once again, a spike shot from the helm of the boat and pierced in its neck. The serpent roared as the cable embedded itself in its flesh and tried to swim upstream in panic, taking the boat with it.

As the boat made its way through the water, a thought occurred to Brooklyn. “Goumang seemed to really hate you.”

Yi scuffed. “We were students under the same mentor, so she always tried to gain her favor. But I would beat her every time. It made her very bitter. I don’t think she ever got over the fact that my project was chosen over hers.”

“Clearly!” Brooklyn snorted. “So looking forward to putting her in her place?”

“I never really cared for her petty rivalry.” Yi said with a roll of his eyes. “I was a student to learn, not to compete. If she surrenders, I’ll take her Seal without a fight. But we both know that won’t happen.”

“Definitely not,” Brooklyn agreed. “Honestly… good. It gives me an excuse to make her pay for what she did to those gargoyles.”

“Remember, those jiangshi are not alive anymore,” Yi warned. “There’s nothing more you can do for them. Don’t hold back, otherwise your life is forfeit.”

“I know…” Brooklyn replied grimly. “I’ll free them. Then, we’ll take down that bitch.”

“Good,” Yi replied curtly. As they spoke, the serpent roared once more, the cable releasing as the boat pulled up to a round room. Suddenly, a waterfall of yellow water poured from the walls, filling the room and lifting the boat up through the round room. After a few minutes, the boat was lifted onto another floor, where another dock was waiting for them. A Root Node was resting a little way inside.

They had reached their destination.

…

After resting at the Root Node for a moment, Brooklyn and Yi walked through a hall overgrown with vines and leaves, the foliage smothering the lights shining from above and making things eerily dim. There was a window overlooking a greenhouse along the wall, where red, bulbous fruits hung from trees and littered the ground like tumorous growths. Brooklyn felt his bare feet crunch against the floor as he drew his bolt rapier in one hand and pulled out his wand with the other. He was ready, and this time, he and Yi would beat her, hell or high water.

At the end of the hall was a circular throne room with vegetation creeping around the circumference. Pillars supported the roof from four corners, with red iridescent vines wrapping around them. Along one side of the room was a black staircase with gold highlights, leading up to a throne made of black and green wood. On either side of the throne were jars of plants: one contained a bush of those eye-like berries, and in the other was a plant that sprouted watermelon-sized fruit that looked disgustingly like brains.

Sitting on the throne with her legs crossed and munching on the optoberries was Goumang, who glared when Yi and Brooklyn entered the room. “Why the hold up?” she asked with menacing casualness. “Did you stop to smell the roses? I thought you of all people didn’t like to waste time.”

At those words, the pillars in the room started to glow from within, revealing the inside to be made of a shining fluid that illuminated the room. Thanks to this, Brooklyn was able to see the two gargoyle jiangshi were by the foot of the stairs, awaiting commands from their master.

“But enough about that,” Goumang continued. “I knew this day would come… The others might not have noticed, but when I first laid eyes on you, I knew what you would become. Ideologically bankrupt, impulsive, and self-righteous… it was only a matter of time before you turned against our noble endeavor.”

Brooklyn growled, but before he could tear into the witch, Yi shouted, “Was upending the truth part of this endeavor?! Does that make it right to manipulate and deceive the entire world?!”

Goumang took a bite of one of the eyelike berries, crunching the iris pattern in her teeth. “You see, that’s the difference between you and me. Did you know that farmers in the Tianshan mountains spent thousands of years domesticating and genetically modifying these delicious optoberries? Evolutionary pressures pushed wild optoberries to the brink of extinction, but we saved it. To put it another way, the entire species was saved through our intervention.”

“Is there a rest stop between now and the point?” Brooklyn snarled.

“Optoberries, apemen, Yaoguai, even my fellow Solarians… they all need greenhouses and incubators. Sacrificing a little freedom and yielding to your superiors is the path to a perfect society. What’s wrong with a little lie? The truth is, the meak and the meager fear the truth and cannot make choices for themselves.”

“What gives you the right to make those choices for them?” Yi growled.

Goumang laughed. “The strength I wield upon these reins of power that’s what!”

Brooklyn snarled. “If you’re so strong, why don’t you come down here and face me yourself? Instead of being a coward whose only real power is hiding behind the actual strong ones?”

“Your pet yaps far too much,” Goumang mused. “Like pet, like owner I assu-”

“Fulminous venite!”

Goumang yelped, leaping from her throne just in time to evade the blast of lightning Brooklyn unleashed.

“I’m gonna fry you so crispy they won’t be able tell if you’re a cat or chicken!” Brooklyn screamed as he prepared another spell.

“Damn bioresonance!” Goumang shouted as she flew overhead, the golden bell in her claws. She rang it, the gong resounding through the room as she shouted, “Beasts, heed my orders! This time exterminate them for good!”

In response, the two zombified gargoyles roared. The large male stretched out his arms towards the two interlopers and started hopping towards them. The female, to Brooklyn’s shock, started to levitate, her wings spread behind her as nine black and gold spears floated with her.

The male jiangshi snarled as he made a bound that crossed the distance between himself and Yi, bringing his hand down to strike the Solarian. At the same time, the female jiangshi threw five of the spears at Brooklyn with her mind.

Brooklyn and Yi split from each other, the Solarian leaping out of the way just as the large gargoyle slammed his fist into the ground with such force that the stone shattered, and the red gargoyle, scrambling to evade each of the spears tossed his way.

Brooklyn instinctually sought higher ground, running to the wall to dig his claws into the stone and making a frenzied climb up just as the Demona lookalike launched more spears towards him. As the last one missed, Brooklyn gripped his wand, pointed it at the jiangshi, and shouted “Augue!” The ball of flame manifested, sizzling as it flung itself towards the female undead.

In response, the jiangshi jumped over the fireball in a single bound to avoid it, before lashing out twice with its hands. Brooklyn saw the spears that had embedded themselves in the wall start to vibrate, so he sprang from the wall to begin to fly, holding his sword out. As he expected, one of the spears tore itself from the wall to throw itself at Brooklyn, who deflected it with a swing of his bolt rapier.

Down below, Yi was engaged in combat with the male jiangshi. Though the undead gargoyle certainly had the strength to match Goliath, it lacked speed, which gave Yi plenty of time to avoid its wide swings and deliver a few swings from his spirit blade. However, though Yi was able to get in quite a few strikes, there was no real damage done, so the jiangshi wouldn’t slow down.

It was time to try something different. Brooklyn prepared his spell just as a green light started to surround Yi. When the male undead struck at Yi, the small Solarian leapt up over the blow and thrust two fingers at his foe’s face, forming a massive verdant sword that pierced clean through the gargoyle’s skull. At the same time, Brooklyn roared “Fulminous venite!” and with a swing of his wand, summoned forth an intense bolt of lightning that struck the other jiangshi right in the chest.

The two undead gargoyles didn’t make a sound. They just shuddered and twitched from the impacts of the mystic arts performed on them before going still.

Brooklyn grinned in triumph, turning his head to look at Goumang, but he was surprised to see that the birdlike Solarian was completely unfazed. In an almost lazy fashion, she swung the bell once more.

As the sound filled the room, the two jiangshi roared in unison. The hole that Yi made in the male’s skull sealed shut, flesh growing and knitting back together in a sickly fashion as the creature started moving once more. Before Yi could react, the male jiangshi lashed out with the back of his hand, striking Yi with such force that he went flying and slammed into the wall.

“Yi!” Brooklyn cried, altering his flight so that he could help his friend, but suddenly, an invisible force clamped down on his wrists and ankles, suspending him dead in the air and halting his movement. Brooklyn grunted, looking down at the female jiangshi, whose eyes were glowing red as she stared unblinkingly at the red gargoyle.

Panic rose in Brooklyn’s chest as the female aimed one of her spears at the red gargoyle’s direction. Shit, he was a sitting duck like this! He tried to move his wrists, his ankles, anything, but it was as if his limbs were encased in steel.

The female lifted her clawed finger ever so slightly, but before she could do anything, a flash of blue-white light ripped through her chest, causing the pressure in Brooklyn’s limbs to release and the spears to drop. Brooklyn desperately flapped his wings to right himself in the air, and he saw that Yi had fired his Azure Bow, blood flowing from a wound on his head.

Brooklyn didn’t have time to be thankful as he saw that the male jiangshi was charging at Yi. Brooklyn roared, swooping down from the air as he pressed the button on his rapier, causing the bit to whirl in his hand. The whir of the drill was almost louder than Brooklyn’s battle cry as he thrust the bolt rapier into the back of the jiangshi’s head. The drilling rapier ran straight through the creature’s skull, giving Yi enough time to roll out of the way as the jiangshi slammed headfirst into the wall. Flesh and brains splattered everywhere, including Brooklyn’s chest, as the bolt rapier dug and tore away at the undead gargoyle, until Brooklyn managed to pull away with a great tug.

Brooklyn felt his chest heave as he struggled to catch his breath. The heat of Yi standing back-to-back with him was oddly reassuring as he heard the shrill laughter of Goumang. “By all means, keep killing them!” she crowed as she rang the bell once more, activating her minion’s regeneration once more. “I’m sure you’ll overcome their regeneration eventually!”

As the male jiangshi grew his flesh around his skull, Brooklyn saw his face that looked so much like Goliath’s...

He remembered when Goliath first flew with him as a hatchling. When Goliath told him the legend of King Arthur and how his example of chivalry inspired gargoyles for generations. When Goliath first sparred with him as the second in command….

Goliath roaring at him, beating his chest and legs, clawing his face, pounding him into the roof so hard the stone broke….

It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him, it’s not him, it’s not him, it’s not him, it’s not…!

“We need to get that bell…” Yi muttered, snapping Brooklyn from his growing panic as the two jiangshi shambled back to life.

“No shit…” Brooklyn hissed, becoming aware that he had gripped his sword so tight that the handle was cracking. “Can you keep them both busy while I try and take it off her?”

“I will do my level best,” Yi replied. The female jiangshi stirred, lifting her spears in preparation for an attack, but Yi whirled around without warning, conjuring his Azure Bow and notching an arrow in a single motion. The arrow was launched with a clap like thunder as it tore through the undead’s chest once more.

Brooklyn didn’t waste his chance, rushing past Yi towards the recovering jiangshi. The red gargoyle jumped, planting his feet on her head to use as a springboard to take flight, knocking her to the ground in the process.

Brooklyn soared towards Goumang. All those times she was attacked, and she still couldn’t be bothered to move away from her throne. She thought she still had this under control, so there was no need to move. If she kept going back to the throne… he could use that.

Brooklyn waved his wand and shouted, “Congelatio!”

Goumang’s reflexes were as sharp as ever, taking flight just before the air around her throne froze, frost forming with a sharp crack. Expecting this, Brooklyn sped up his flight, charging at the avian Solarian with sword in hand. Goumang yelped as the bolt rapier grazed her shoulder, tearing off some red feathers in the process.

“Get back here, chicken!” Brooklyn roared as he planted himself on a wall. “You say you’re strong, come and prove it!”

“I have nothing to prove to the likes of you!” Goumang spat out as she zoomed to the other side of the room.

“Augue!” Brooklyn roared, launching another fireball at Goumang, who proceeded to evade.

The two crimson fliers went at it for a while: Brooklyn alternating between attempting to rush Goumang with his swords and flinging fire, ice, or lightning at her, and Goumang dodging the assaults, but not retaliating. While Goumang was able to evade cleanly at first, as the fight progressed, the red gargoyle began striking glancing blows with steel and spells, her body starting to bleed from cuts and burns. As the ice around the throne started to melt, Goumang stopped to rest more and more on it in between bouts of her frantic dodging.

A shout from Yi tore Brookyn’s attention away from Goumang. Yi had been doing an amazing job keeping the jiangshi at bay, but the female jiangshi managed to pin the small Solarian with her telekinesis, suspending him in the air while the male jiangshi started wailing on him with his bare hands.

Brooklyn growled in protective fury, twisting his rapier in his hand, pressing the button to activate the drill, and throwing it like a spear at the female jiangshi. As the rapier drilled into her skull, the jiangshi collapsed, dropping Yi just as the male jiangshi swung at the Solarian, missing him entirely.

Brooklyn didn’t let up, pulling out his other sword and springing from his spot on the wall to divebomb the other jiangshi. He swung his sword with a shout, but the jiangshi caught Brooklyn’s blow with its bare hand. Before Brooklyn could react, the undead gargoyle slammed its fist into Brooklyn’s stomach so hard the red gargoyle could have sworn he heard his ribs crack.

Brooklyn coughed up blood as he slammed into the ground, red-hot pain filling his being. The male jiangshi raised his other claw to finish off his opponent, but Yi had managed to recover in time to run it through once more with his massive green blade.

“T-thanks…” Brooklyn crooked as he stumbled to his feet, his head still swimming.

“Save it for when we’re victorious!” Yi admonished.

“You think you weaklings will be the victors?” Goumang crowed as she flew back to her throne and sat down.

Brooklyn blinked, and when his vision cleared, he smirked. He saw that the ice had melted, flowing from her throne into streams of water that ran down the stairs, pooling just in front of Brooklyn and Yi.

“Victory doesn’t go to just the strong…” Brooklyn began as he crouched and placed his wand into the water. “It goes to those who pay attention to their surroundings.” Brooklyn grinned in satisfaction at the confusion in Goumang’s face, before shouting “Fulminous venite!”

Electricity surged through the room once more, but this time, not in a straight bolt of lightning. Instead, it crackled from Brooklyn’s wand in sparking tendrils, running into the water from the melted ice. Goumang’s eyes widened in realization, but it was too late. The electricity raced up the stairs through the water, to her soaked throne, and finally into Goumang.

Goumang howled in agony as the spell surged through her, her body flailing as she instinctively tried to fly away, but only managed to fall over into the puddle and further expose herself to the electricity. When she hit the floor, the bell she was grasping slipped from her claws, bouncing down the stairs with a loud ring with every impact. The jiangshi squirmed as they tried to recover from their injuries, but the toll of the bell slowed them down as they awaited commands that never came.

Brooklyn released the spell, causing the electricity to stop, and made a mad dash for the bell. But as soon as the lightning stopped, Goumang shrieked and leapt from her throne, reaching desperately for the bell. For a scary moment, Brooklyn thought he wasn’t going to make it, but a white and yellow figure from the corner of his eye dashed past him.

Goumang made a reach for the bell, but Yi leapt, forming a massive spirit blade in midair, and brought his weapon down on her full force. The chi sword cleaved her mechanical legs right off. Her shriek was so loud that Brooklyn didn’t even hear the bell as it landed next to him.

Brooklyn didn’t waste time, seizing the bell just as the two jiangshi descended upon them. He rang it, the toll echoing in the room as he shouted “STOP!”

At once, the two jiangshi halted their advance, staring at Brooklyn intently. Brooklyn’s chest heaved, waiting for any sign of movement from either of the creatures. Neither of them moved.

They had done it. They had won.

The joy of victory would have to wait, though, as Goumang was still screaming on the floor, grasping at the sparking and bleeding stomps that had been her mechanical legs. “Damn it all…” she snarled through her pain, her eyes bloodshot. “I had everything planned out… After Eigong found the cure…  I was going to rebuild Penglai… Sowing, plowing, irrigating, fertilizing… it would have taken less than a millennium to reestablish a proper ecosystem for our Solarian kin…! We were supposed to survive!! How did it end up like this…?”

“THAT’S what you’re worried about?!” Brooklyn roared, stomping up the stairs towards the fallen Solarian, blade in hand. “Your fucking glorious plan to be a hero?! Not the thousands of humans that have to die to see it fulfilled? Not the gargoyles you enslaved and disfigured to fulfill your whims?!”

Goumang just glared at Brooklyn. “It’s the destiny of the inferior to die serving their superiors. With your meager power… what can you possibly achieve on your own? Can you even hope to achieve anything?”

“We beat you, didn’t we?” Brooklyn growled. “We can beat the others like you. And if you lost… that means you’re the weak one here. So…” Brooklyn brandished his blade as he stood over Goumang. “Why don’t you follow your own advice… and die for the strong?”

Goumang’s eyes widened as Brooklyn lifted his blade, but Yi grabbed Brooklyn’s wrist, stopping him. “No, Brooklyn”

“Why?” Brooklyn snarled. “Are you seriously defending her?”

“No,” Yi said coldly, taking the bell from Brooklyn’s hand. “I have a better idea.” Yi rang the bell and commanded, “Release seal.”

There was a beep from the collars of the jiangshi, which then snapped off and fell to the floor. The jiangshi didn’t react, attack, or do anything as Yi took a collar from the floor and went back to Goumang and Brooklyn. There was an absolutely frigid look in Yi’s eyes that made Brooklyn afraid as the small Fangshi stared down Goumang. “I have been truly enlightened by your fascinating ideology…” Yi said, his voice eerily tight and quiet, like a cord about to snap. “To think all that’s needed is just the sacrifice of a little freedom…”

Yi leaned down, looking at Goumang dead in the eyes with the collar in hand, placing it around her neck. “Time to practice what you preach, Sol of Equality.”

The collar snapped tight over Goumang’s neck, and an electronic voice sounded, “Brain wave control activated.”

Immediately, Goumang yelped, her body bolting upright despite her stomped off legs, like a puppet that had been pulled by its master. She stood bleeding at attention, staring in horror and agony at the wall as she gasped out “Da-damn…yo---you….”

Yi cocked his head in response, and Brooklyn just knew that if his mouth was visible, he would be grinning like a sadist. Then, he threw the bell up and sliced it in two with a single swing of his chi sword.

Brooklyn stared, trying to process what he had just seen. “What… did you do?”

“Gave her a taste of her own medicine,” Yi replied smugly. “She thinks giving up freedom and thought is so good? Let her try it.”

“But you broke the controller,” Brooklyn said, starting to realize just what Yi had done.

“Exactly. No orders to give. So she’ll just stand here, waiting at attention for orders that will never come, fully aware all the while, but unable to move her body.” Yi looked at Brooklyn. “A fitting fate for one who did the same to your people, no? She never granted these two the release of death after all.”

Brooklyn blinked, mulling over Yi’s words. Goumang was proud of what she had done to the gargoyles. She was proud of stripping them of their free will and leaving them trapped in their own bodies and controlling them. Just like what Coldsteel did to him, only with no end in sight, and not even death would free them.

Really… what less did she deserve?

Brooklyn grinned so widely that he knew that if the Manhattan Clan could see him, they would be freaking out. “Brilliant.”

Yi turned to the jiangshi who were still standing. “Now what to do with them…”

Brooklyn’s grin vanished immediately. He took a few steps forward, seeing if the two undead gargoyles would react. “Hello? Can you... understand me?”

The jiangshi turned their head over so slightly at him, but did not say anything.

Brooklyn continued. “You’re free now. You can do anything you want now. You don’t have to listen to that witch anymore. So… what do you want?”

The jiangshi tilted their heads at Brooklyn, like curious animals. Then, the large one made a grumbling sound that Brooklyn couldn’t understand.

“What was that?” Brooklyn asked, leaning in closer to try to hear better.

The jiangshi vocalized once more, and Brooklyn was just able to make out the words “Free… me…”

“Free you…?” Brooklyn asked.

The female spoke in that same low grumble, albeit at a higher pitch. “End… us…”

Brooklyn blinked, standing upright to look at the jiangshi in sorrow. “Yi… is there really nothing you can do for them?”

“They’re already dead…” Yi replied quietly. “The process they underwent just trapped them in their bodies.”

“…how do I free them?” Brooklyn asked.

“You have to stop their regeneration,” Yi answered. “Either by acid, or…”

“Fire,” Brooklyn concluded. “I can do that.”

Yi nodded, and Brooklyn saw there was sympathy in his eyes. “I’ll go retrieve the Sol Seal. You do what you need to do, Brooklyn.”

“Thank you,” Brooklyn said somberly.

As Yi stepped out of the room, Brooklyn sighed. “I’m not your clan. I don’t even know if your clan is still here, or if you are each other’s clan. Even so, we are gargoyles. We’re kin. So even if we aren’t family… I’m glad I was here to set you free.”

When the two gargoyles didn’t respond, Brooklyn sighed once more. “I’m so sorry I can’t do anything more for you. And that this all happened to you. I swear, I’ll make the ones in charge pay for this. I won’t forget you, and I’ll avenge you. On my honor as a gargoyle.”

Brooklyn held his wand out in front of himself. “I hope you find happiness… wherever you go. Goodbye.” Brooklyn took a deep breath and chanted, “Augue.” The fireball erupted forth, flying between the two jiangshi before exploding, the conflagration lighting the undead ablaze. The two didn’t react to the flames at all, saying and doing nothing as the fire spread through their bodies. The stench of burning flesh hit Brooklyn’s nose as he watched the two jiangshi be consumed by the flames.

The chalk-white skin turned black as the fire began to erupt in intensity. It was only then that both jiangshi finally said something. The same words, at the same time. “Thank… you…”

Brooklyn said nothing, continuing to watch the fire as the jiangshi completely burned away into the ashes from which it had come.

By the time Yi came back, the gargoyles were gone, and Brooklyn was alone, saying the final rites that were traditional for every Wind Ceremony held after a gargoyle’s death.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. All is one with the wind.”

…

Brooklyn was thankful to every god in existence that Yi’s Fusang Horn worked on him, too. After that fight, he felt half dead, so he was not looking forward to the prospect of traversing the hellish gardens once more. With a single blow from horn, the roots from the nearby node covered them both, and when the roots parted, they were in the Pavilion’s central Root Node.

They found Shuanshuan and Kuafu on the second floor, working away at some wooden chair with the multitool that Yi had given Shuanshuan. There was a large jar of the green medicine that Yi put in his pipe resting in front of the chair. “You’re back!” the boy exclaimed cheerfully.

“What are you making?” Yi asked curiously.

Shuanshuan smiled triumphantly. “Look Yi! This chair can lean back! I designed it myself!” As proof, Shuanshuan pressed a button on the chair, and the back did indeed lean back. “Pretty cool, huh?”

Yi, for his part, did not look impressed. “I thought you were going to make a spear or something? I don’t need a lounging chair.”

“Why not?” the boy protested. “This chair can help you relax!”

“Hey kid, don’t even think about calling that a finished product!” Kuafu interjected, standing up to take a seat on his hover chair. “You didn’t even hook the medicine cauldron to the legs!”

“Was this a group project?” Yi asked. “When did you two become friends?”

“Probably when we were getting into slap fights with your former schoolmate,” Brooklyn deadpanned.

“I was just trying to make this chair, but Uncle Chubby kept coming back to take-” Shuanshaun began.

“You monkey!” Kuafu suddenly shouted. “This is my multitool! Didn’t either of you see my name written on it?”

“I did,” Yi answered plainly. “That’s why I took it.”

Kuafu huffed, palming his face. “I never wanted to play ‘house’ with an apeman child. And the appearance of that huge, smelly one downstairs is only fraying my nerves even more. But the way this kid uses tools is totally deranged.” Kuafu looked at Shuanshuan pleadingly. “My precious tools can’t stand up to blood or rust, got it?”

Shuanshaun laughed in response. “Uncle Chubby helped a lot with the joints. If he hadn’t, the chair would have collapsed the moment someone sat on it.”

“Does it have any special features?” Yi asked.

“No,” Shuanshuan answered.

“It’s just well made.” Kuafu added. When Yi and Brooklyn gave him flat looks, he became flustered. “Don’t look at me like that! We all need a sense of ritual in our lives.”

Shuanshuan laughed once more. “Okay, next, I wanna make bookshelf, a bed that can fly, and a pot that can cook all on its own!”

“Why don’t you go to Abacus about all that?” Yi asked Shuanshuan. “Uncle Chubby and I need to talk.”

“Okay!” Shuanshuan replied before running out of the room with his arms on either side.

Kuafu sighed once he was out of the room. “I saw what you did to Goumang from Abacus’s comm. She was deranged to be sure… but did she truly deserve that?”

“Are you truly asking me that after everything she’s done?” Yi warned.

“I’m not saying she wasn’t evil… just wondering that was a little too far?”

“She did the same to gargoyles!” Brooklyn snapped, making Kuafu flinch. “I just had to burn her slaves because there was nothing else I could do for them! You gonna tell me that was too far now?”

“…they were only Yaogu-” Kuafu began, but the glare from Brooklyn stopped him dead. “Never mind. I’m just glad Yi is okay.” Kuafu chuckled. “And that my bolt rapier indeed came in handy. What was that bout it being junk, brother?”

“Brooklyn got lucky,” Yi snorted. “And it was truly his bioresonance and my skills that won the day.”

“Maybe, but my clan’s ‘eccentric’ weapon helped, did it not?” Kuafu teased.

Yi rolled his eyes. “Not as much as you think.”

“So it did help!” Kuafu laughed in triumph.

“I’m not saying it didn’t, just that-”

Despite everything that had happened, Brooklyn smiled faintly at the bickering Solarians before them. The obvious affection hidden behind barbs and wit was comforting, after all he had gone through. Welcoming. Familiar. Almost like…

A joke from Yi made everyone lose their composure, and before he could stop himself, Brooklyn said playfully through his laughter, “That’s enough, Lexington. Leave poor Broadway alone, huh?”

The room went dead silent. As Brooklyn realized what he just said, Kuafu, looking at the red gargoyle in a puzzled manner, asked, “Who are Lexington and Broadway?”

Brooklyn opened his beaked mouth to speak, but a twinge of pain in his wrist, caused by gripping the bolt rapier to still it during the rotations, stopped him. He looked down at his hands to see the indents. The same hand he used to stab gargoyles that looked just like his mother and father. God, what would they see about what he had done today, especially if the gargoyles looked so much like clan?

And yet… they weren’t clan. No matter how much the jiangshi he killed had looked like his parents, no matter how Yi and Kuafu reminded him of his brothers, his clan wasn’t here. Goliath had cast him out. Broadway and Lexington didn't care about him anymore. Angela didn’t want him. The Phoenix took him away for good measure. None of them were here with him.

He was alone. So completely alone.

“Brooklyn?” Yi’s voice snapped him from his thoughts.

“It’s nothing,” Brooklyn answered quickly, turning away so that Yi and Kuafu couldn’t see the whirlwind of emotions he was feeling. To see him weak. “I’m going to ask Ruyi for stone sleep. I’m tired.”

Brooklyn left the room before either of them could stop him and see the tears running down his face.

Chapter Text

February 11th, 1997

Dear Katharine and Tom…

This is Angela. I know it’s been a while since we’ve communicated, let alone seen each other. The way time flows more slowly in Avalon makes that difficult. Still, if all goes well, this letter should still reach the isle, and Gabriel should find this on one of his walks on the beachside.

As for why I’m writing this now… I must be honest. Things as of late have been… trying to say the least. I had thought that when father, Elisa, and I finally found New York, things would be peaceful and I’d find more family with which to make a home, but it’s been anything but. The humans of this city are so determined to destroy themselves that Father and the rest of the clan need to constantly protect them. But instead of being grateful or recognizing the nobility in our actions, the humans call us demons. Our existence has been made known to the public, and the humans immediately called us monsters. So hunted we are that we had no choice but to hide in the castle now owned by Xanatos, another human who doesn’t have our best interests at heart.

This all would have been overwhelming for me as it was, but now the clan has been fractured from within. The boys of the clan started to fight for my attention when I arrived, because I was the first female they had even seen besides my mother in years. I will admit… the bickering was obnoxious and it did create problems during missions… but I enjoyed the attention, even if I knew I had to make a choice in the end. After a few months, I chose one of the boys: Broadway. I know he’s not exactly what most girls would consider the ideal man, but to me, he’s the kindest and gentlest man I have ever met, and he’s far more intelligent and wiser than he and others give him credit for. It certainly doesn’t hurt that he is attractive in his way: heavy muscle tucked beneath fat like a bear, and yet so sweet.

One of the other boys, Brooklyn… didn’t take it well. He was quite jealous of my choosing Broadway, and he made his displeasure obvious. Broadway and I tried to ignore him, showing we would be happy in our relationship despite his moping, but that only seemed to provoke him further. I would only later learn that it wasn’t just Broadway that he was envious of, but of me. I was taking Goliath’s attention away from him, as is my right as his child, because he thought himself Goliath’s child as well. Things boiled over into a fight one night, one with Brooklyn against me, Goliath, and Broadway. Things got heated, we all said things we couldn’t take back, and Goliath and Brooklyn came to blows. Brooklyn ran away after and had been missing for a month with no trace.

Things haven’t been the same since then. The entire month, that clan has been looking for Brooklyn, but to no avail. All of us wore ourselves ragged trying to find that boy. Entire nights trying to find a red gargoyle. Checking every inch of the city for the slimmest possibility that a clue was there. Broadway and my father lost weight from the sheer stress of the situation. Lexington’s eyes went red from constantly staring at his computer. Everyone was at their wits’ end.

It wasn’t until last night that Brooklyn revealed himself during an attack by some humans that hate us… but what had been just a month for us was 40 years to him, thanks to the magic of the Phoenix Gate. He was not only older, but also wielded powerful magics and a merciless bloodthirstiness. He even had a so-called “clan” with him: another gargoyle female, their child, and a feline being that we aren’t familiar with. They all wielded magics that made sport of invaders. When the threat was over, instead of apologizing or attempting to mend bridges, Brooklyn lashed out at us verbally and disowned the entire clan. Over a crush I would never requit and bitterness that Goliath considered me his child and not him.

This wouldn’t be so bad in of itself, since it’s obvious Brooklyn needs space…but now the bond I had been cultivating with my father is decaying. Goliath doesn’t spend time with me like he used to. He has been so utterly preoccupied by the search for Brooklyn that he hardly spared me a second glance. And when we did talk, it was mainly about the fight and my role in it. And Broadway… we’ve been arguing ever since the fight with Brooklyn. About what we said in the fight itself, and our behavior beforehand. It then exploded into everything else in our lives, and it hasn’t stopped.

I just… I just want everything to go back to the way it was. But Brooklyn has severed any possibility of that with his new family. Even if he comes back, things won’t be the same. I know I played a part in this situation, but I’m unsure what to do now. So… Katharine, Tom… what do I do? How can I fix this?

With love,

Angela

Angela stood on the shores of the lake, taking one last look at the letter that she had written. When she was sure everything was right, she rolled up the paper into a scroll and slid it into a glass bottle that she retrieved from one of Hudson’s drinking sessions the previous night. The lavender gargoyle put a cork on the bottle, placed it to her chest, and whispered, as if praying, “Vocate venti fortunate, ex ricae Oberonis, et hic navis frugum regate, ad orae Avalonis.”

Call fortunate winds, from rich Oberon, and sail this ship of grain to the shores of Avalon.

At those words, Angela opened her eyes, and she threw the bottle with all her might towards the horizon. It landed in the middle of the water, just within Angela’s line of sight, before slowly drifting away on the current.

The lavender gargoyle stared at the water long past the point when the bottle floated from her sight, feeling the wind blowing through Central Park flow through her long black hair and listening to the tree branches lain bare by the winter sway. The surface of the lake rippled, disrupting what would have been a perfect reflection of the waxing crescent moon above.

Angela sighed, sitting down and hugging her knees as she breathed in the cold night air. The night was so peaceful that it was almost unbelievable that the last night had been such chaos. But try as she might, the smell of the winter air and sounds in the wind were not able to replace the screams of the Quarrymen and scent of burning flesh in Angela’s mind.

She shuddered, not from the cold, but at the horror of the memory. It had only been a month for them, and yet forty years for Brooklyn. And that time had turned him into… such a beast. He was the embodiment of everything humans feared about gargoyles. And her father wanted him back?

Angela growled, seizing a rock by the shore and throwing it to the water with all her might. Everything… it had all been Brooklyn’s fault! If he had just handled their conflict like an adult, everything would have been fine! Now her family was in disarray while he got to play pretend family with strangers who indulged his tantrums!

Who even were they anyway?

As Angela reached down to grab another stone to throw, a voice sounded beside her saying, “You seem quite angry, child.”

Angela yelled, leaping away from the source of the noise and getting into a ready stance, before gasping in shock. In front of her was the blue gargoyle woman who fought by Brooklyn’s side the night before. His mate, Katana, who had snuck up on her without alerting her at all, was smiling coolly at her like she was just giving a greeting to an old friend.

As if to confirm that feeling, the beaked gargoyle gave a little wave to her. “Good evening.”

Angela was in no mood for games. “You?” she barked. “What are you doing here?”

Katana shrugged. “Enjoying the lovely night, same as you.”

“And that requires you to sneak up on me?” Angela growled.

“If I wanted to sneak up on you, I wouldn’t have said anything.” Katana countered. “Talking doesn’t go well with daggers to the heart, regardless of what Shakespeare might impart.”

Angela couldn’t deny that point, so she lowered her guard, just a little. “What do you want?”

“A simple conversation,” the blue gargoyle said, taking a seat right in front of the water. “I want to know just what sort of people Brooklyn came from.”

Angela huffed. “You mean ran away from.”

Katana cocked her head. “And who drove him away, pray tell?”

“I’m not the one who chose to flee instead of talking!” Angela snapped defensively.

“And Brooklyn isn’t the one who blamed his siblings for being possessed,” Katana replied, not raising her voice or losing her calm in the slightest. “Nor was he the one who bashed his son through a roof over an insult.”

Angela bared her teeth, knowing she was visibly fuming. “I acknowledge that we didn’t act perfectly, but Brooklyn is the one nursing a grudge and keeping this family apart!”

“And yet you’re the one roaring in the night right now,” Katana pointed out. “Why is that?”

“Because this entire situation is ridiculous!” Angela cried. “I just wanted to be left alone! I just wanted to enjoy my relationship with Broadway in peace without Brooklyn’s jealousy looming over me! And yet instead of just moving on and accepting my choice, he continued to stew in his envy!”

Katana blinked at Angela in such a way that the lavender gargoyle wasn’t sure if she had heard her. “Wanted to be left alone? But that’s what Brooklyn wanted, wasn’t it?”

Angela returned the blink, now confused herself. “What?”

In response, Katana lifted two fingers in front of herself. Then, she chanted, “Air, become my canvas. Water, become my ink.”

At those words, the water on the surface of the lake rose slightly before dissolving into mist. The mist curled between the two women, expanding until it surrounded them and blanketed the lakeside in its chilly plumes.

“What are you-?” Angela began to shout, thinking that Katana was using magic for some nefarious purpose.

The other woman wasn’t deterred. “Let’s take this to a few months earlier, during your illustrious host’s Halloween party…”

The mist swirled around them, its closest parts condensing into shapes as water droplets began to refract into different colors in the moonlight. The mist kept shaping itself around them, shifting colors like a kaleidoscope, until suddenly, Angela and Katana were standing in the Great Hall of Castle Wyvern. Angela gasped at the sight of the people surrounding them, yelping when a couple suddenly walked towards her from behind. Her heart leapt to her throat as she braced for impact, but the pair of humans went right through her, their forms as insubstantial as the mists they were made of.

“What sorcery is this?” Angela exclaimed.

“Illusory,” Katana answered flatly. “Woven from memory. Brooklyn’s memory, that he so kindly shared with me.”

“Memory?” Angela parroted, still processing what was going on around her. Then, her eyes fell upon… herself. There was another her, with her hair tied into pigtails and wearing a checked blue-and-white gingham pinafore worn over a cream-colored blouse. She had dressed as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz that Halloween to match Broadway’s Cowardly Lion and Lexington’s Tin Man.

The past Angela had been conversing with Broadway, clad in his fuzzy lion costume, when she had spotted Brooklyn, who had been staring at Goliath and Delilah, a clone of Angela’s mother mixed with Elisa’s DNA, in obvious melancholy. The red gargoyle was also the only one of the clan, besides Goliath, that wasn’t in a costume. Not wanting to see her clanmate gloom during what was supposed to be a joyous occasion, the past Angela approached Brooklyn. “Brooklyn, you’re not in costume!” she called.

Brooklyn looked back at her with sad brown eyes. “Didn’t seem to be much point…” he muttered.

Past Angela wasn’t deterred. “I know the humans think we’re in costume, so we do not dress up for them, but ourselves.” She argued.

Brooklyn gave a bashful smile at that. “You do look great, Angela…” he said.

“Thank you,” the lavender gargoyle had replied, gripping the bottom of Brooklyn’s beaked chin in an intimate manner, looking at him right in the eyes. “But would you rob me of the opportunity to return the compliment?”

The red gargoyle’s smile became broad and awkward as he shook his hands in a nervous manner.
“Yeah! I mean, no! I mean I’ll go change right now!” the lovestruck Brooklyn stammered as he ran away into the mist.

At once, the scene dispelled, the party and all the figures from the past dissolved into mist. Angela looked back at Katana, whose cool expression had fallen into a glare. “For a woman who was already singularly committed to a mate, you were awfully eager to make passes at his brother to get into a costume.”

Angela’s gut wrenched at the words. “Are you accusing me of being disloyal to Broadway?”

Katana shook her head. “I am pointing out that you led Brooklyn on, even well after you allegedly chose Broadway. And before, I might add.”

The older gargoyle motioned with her fingers, the mist swirling with her movements, as if she were its conductor at an invisible symphony. All throughout the fog, scenes played within. Glimpses of moments between Angela and Brooklyn. Angela running to Brooklyn after a hard fall and then cupping his face, staring into his eyes as she checked on him. Angela kissing Brooklyn on the side of the beak after assuring him there were plenty of women in Avalon and that if things were to happen, they would happen on their own time. Angela holding Brooklyn’s shoulder after he had taken a bullet for her…

“I don’t know what conclusions you and Brooklyn drew, but I did NOT lead him on!” Angela roared. “I told the Trio that I wasn’t interested in any courting until I-!”

“Your actions say otherwise,” Katana countered. “You continually got physical with him. Always gave little breadcrumbs of affection and hints of something more. And made sure to do it out of sight of the other two as well. As if you knew you would lose their attention if you made a definitive choice…”

“I explicitly told them I wanted their attempts at courting to stop!” Angela insisted.

“But you didn’t want the attention to stop. Just to not feel bad when they fought over you. He was putty in your hands, and you loved the power it gave you over him.” Katana smirked, but there was no warmth or humor in it. Just malice. “Did you just want him as a spare if things didn’t work out with Broadway?”

“No!” Angela cried. “I-”

Katana kept going. “And then when Brooklyn took umbrage with your behavior, and your monopolizing of Goliath’s time, that destroyed the precious illusion that you were this pure hearted maiden who could do no wrong, you couldn’t take it. So you didn’t hesitate in throwing your clan mate, the one you were manipulating, under the preverbal carriage.” Katana snorted. “With how you had three men so thoroughly wrapped around your finger, your mother would be proud, little angel.”

“Shut up!” Angela screamed. Without realizing what she was doing, Angela threw herself at Katana, fist raised for a strike.

The blue woman simply stepped to the side, the mist vanishing as she did so, and Angela’s blow completely missed its mark.

“Like father, like daughter,” Katana tutted as Angela stumbled to the ground. “You aren’t used to people telling you the naked truth, are you? That’s why it hurts when someone tells you without any caveats.”

Angela pushed herself to her feet, her chest heaving as the anger and adrenaline caused her breath to hitch. Every part of her wanted to scream at this woman, shout that she was wrong. An even deeper, dark part of her that she would never admit was there wanted to pound this arrogant woman’s face in for assuming so much.

And yet… Angela couldn’t deny that Katana was righter than she ever knew.

“You think I don’t know?” Angela hiccupped. “I know I encouraged Goliath to give all his attention to me. I… I thought as his biological child, I was his true child. To me, the others were… wards under his care. Apprentices. Of course he should pay more attention to me over them. They aren’t his children.”

“You thought like a human.” Katana summarized. “You were raised by that Scottish princess, yes? A devout Catholic as any noble in her time and place would be. Whether knowingly or not, she spread her ideals to you, regardless of if they were compatible with gargoyle culture.”

“I don’t know why my father didn’t say anything if gargoyles were supposed to be raised by the clan as a whole!” Angela cried. “If they were his sons too, why didn’t he act like it or correct himself?”

“His failings as a father are not your burden to bear,” Katana said, her voice surprisingly soft.

“Even so, I didn’t stop him,” Angela sighed. “And I didn’t understand when Brooklyn got angry. No… I didn’t want to understand. I was just angry he was trying to take something I thought belonged to me. And… I thought he liked me. So that made it more confusing when he said he hated me….”

“So you admit you were aware of his affections?” Katana inquired, raising an eyebrow. “And that you were stringing him along?”

“No I-” Angela sighed. “I don’t know what I was doing. I didn’t like it when they fought over me but… I liked their affection. Their gestures. The way they’d push themselves to impress me. Even when I became inclined to Broadway, I… I didn’t want it to stop. And back in Avalon, physical affection is freely given even among mere siblings. I told myself all that touching was just that…”

“That sounds like plausible deniability.” Katana pointed out.

“Perhaps,” Angela admitted, before looking at Katana in the eyes. “Look… I’m sorry. Truly I am. I drove a wedge between Brooklyn and my father for my own ends, and toyed with Brooklyn’s heart. I know that. But… I can’t make things right if I can’t see him. None of us can. So… can you take us to him?”

Katana folded her arms. “Even if your remorse is genuine… I won’t do that. Brooklyn has no desire to see any of you. If I were to take you to him, you would inevitably tell Goliath and the rest of the Manhattan Clan. And that is the last thing Brooklyn, and the rest of our family, want.”

Angela growled in frustration. “So you dangle my wrongdoings in front of me, only to deny me the opportunity to make amends? And you accuse me of being self-righteous?”

Katana cocked her head, peering at Angela in an appraising manner. Then, she smiled a thin smile. “Perhaps, you can show me you are worthy of that chance.”

Angela looked up in surprise, but before she could ask what she meant, Katana walked off to the edge of the clearing, over to a rose bush. She plucked two blood red bushes from the bush with one hand and pinned them onto her robes over her breast. Then, she tore two branches from an overhead tree and walked back towards Angela.

“Take this rose and place it to your chest,” Katana said, tossing her the rose and one of the branches. “We’re going to have a duel.”

“A duel?” Angela asked as she caught the sword-sized branch with one hand and the rose with the other.

“Whoever’s rose is knocked from their breast is the loser,” Katana declared, giving her branch a few experimental swings. “If you win, I will take you to Brooklyn myself. No strings attached, save for a promise of secrecy.”

“And if you win?”

Katana scoffed. “As if you have anything that would interest me.”

A fair point. “So how do we start?” Angela asked as she pinned the rose to her tunic, pricking her finger a bit on the thorns in the process.

“In my homeland, it’s tradition for sparing partners to stand some feet apart and then bow.” Katana replied.

Angela nodded, taking a few paces to get some distance from Katana. Then, she turned to face Katana, seeing her robes and hair flutter in the night breeze. The lavender woman had to admit that the foreign warrior looked almost regal, with the moonlight reflecting in the lake behind her.

The two gargoyle women stared at each other for a moment, not taking their eyes off their opponent. Katana cupped her hands over the “handle” of her weapon and bowed, prompting Angela to do the same. When the women stood up straight, they each sank into a fighting stance, weapons at the ready.

“On my mark…” Katana declared. After a moment, she yelled, “Hajime!”

A cue if Angela ever heard one. With a snarl, the young gargoyle lunged forward, drawing her stick back before swinging it at Katana. Angela knew she wasn’t dexterous enough to get the rose off in a single blow, so she’d batter Katana a bit to give herself an opening.

Unfortunately, Katana had other plans. The blue gargoyle leapt around Angela’s strike with no effort. Before Angela could react, Katana’s branch struck her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her.

“Too slow,” Katana declared. “You’re fighting a person, not chopping wood.”

Angela growled, glaring at Katana before rushing her once more. This time, Katana blocked with her own branch, the sticks slamming with a loud whack that echoed through the lakeside.

Angela kept swinging, frantically trying to break through the older woman’s defenses with her strength. But try as she might, Katana stood firm and deflected all her blows. Then, just before Angela made one last swing, Katana stuck Angela in the knee, knocking her off balance before Katana shoved her away with one hand, sending her rolling into the water of the lake.

Angela strained to push herself up, her wet hair clumping together in front of her eyes as she looked at Katana, who was smiling smugly at the younger gargoyle. “What sloppy form. I thought you were the offspring of the two greatest warriors on earth.”

“I am!” Angela roared, picking up her stick and charging Katana once more.

The blue gargoyle laughed as she weaved around Angela’s strikes in an elegant dance. “Is this all you can do? How do you hope to defend the city if this is the extent of your skill?”

Angela only snarled in response, abandoning her original plan to make a swipe at Katana’s rose with her claws. But before they made contact, Katana seized her hand by the wrist, stopping the blow dead.

“Why do you fight for the human city?” Katana asked, her steel-grey eyes inches from Angela’s own.

“I’m a gargoyle!” Angela shouted, because what other reason could there be?

“Yes, I see that,” Katana deadpanned. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Does the Gargoyle Way not exist where you’re from?” Angela shouted, ripping her hand away from Katana’s grip.

“A version of it, yes,” Katana answered, being so unthreatened by Angela that she didn’t even raise her weapon at her. “It was the foundation of what the human samurai called ‘bushido’.” Katana gave a rueful laugh. “Though, the samurai of my time would kill you if you ever suggested that that. They were all too happy to take ideas from us, as well as our might for their own ends.”

The word Katana told her was familiar. “‘Samurai….’ You’re from Japan?”

Katana nodded. “According to Brooklyn, I was born during the Sengoku Period, hundreds of years ago. An era of civil war amongst many daimyo.”

“Then you fought by the side of many samurai warriors?” Angela asked, her frustration giving way to curiosity and amazement.

Katana laughed again, a mix of bemusement and bitterness. “More like served under. Forcibly conscripted. Enslaved from birth. My forebearers’ ‘bushido’ was twisted into justification for our servitude, where we had to obey the daimyo, no matter how we were treated, as punishment for our ancestors’ sins.”

Angela stopped dead, lowering her weapon completely. “You… you were a slave?”

“All but in name.” Katana replied. “For the longest time, that’s what the ‘gargoyle way’ meant to me. And it would seem that you western gargoyles aren’t much different.”

“No…” Angela denied, shaking her head. “That’s not true. Gargoyles aren’t slaves. We’re protectors. We devote our lives and strength to helping those in need. Defending the weak who cannot protect themselves…”

“Even when those so called weak don’t want it?” Katana countered. “When they take every opportunity to harm you and make sure you can’t live freely just because of our appearance and culture?”

“Father says we need to rise above that,” Angela protested. “That their fear shouldn’t make us weak and poison our spirits.”

“That’s true…” Katana remarked. “To a point. But when that means you let those who would abuse you treat you however they wish with no consequences, and continue to help them at your continued expense, that isn’t resilience. That’s cowardice and enabling.”

“But if we don’t protect humans, we’re lost!” Angela insisted, taking this chance to make another swing at Katana, who blocked with her branch. “That’s the essence of a gargoyle!”

“By who’s decree?” Katana growled as their sticks pressed together. “We might be gargoyles, but we still have free will. We are not automata programmed from creation to serve humans, and the Gargoyle Way is no divine law. So, I ask you again…” Katana brought her face close to Angela’s. “Why do you fight?”

“To honor my father!” Angela shouted, breaking the clash so she could make another swing at Katana. “Even if you don’t believe in the Gargoyle Way, I do!”

“So you have no reason.” Katana laughed. “You’re just a child blindly following her parent.”

“What about you?” Angela growled. “If not the Gargoyle Way, then what purpose do you have?”

Katana was silent for a moment, looking up to the sky as she contemplated her answer. “Back in Japan, I wasn’t too much different from you or Goliath. In fact, I was much worse. I obeyed the corrupted ideals of ‘bushido’ with a desperate zeal, ready to do anything to cleanse my karma that my mere existence stained. I sincerely thought that a gargoyle’s sole purpose was to dedicate themselves to humankind….”

Katana looked back at Angela, her eyes not red, but still seeming to shine with passion and determination. “But my husbands showed me that it didn’t have to be that way. They showed me that I could forge my own path, make my own life. What it truly means to protect the weak and how that can take many forms. That I need not have my existence defined by a slavish devotion to those who would hate me for simply being. I can never repay them for that… save for living my life to the fullest and making this world a better place for people like us. That is why I fight, daughter of Goliath.”

Angela blinked at her, mulling over the older woman’s words. She certainly said a lot for her to consider, things she never thought about before… but one thing stood out to her. “‘Husbands?’ Plural?”

Katana cocked her head at her and then burst out laughing. “Yes, my girl. Husbands plural.”

Angela’s grip tightened on her stick as her anger rose. “And you accuse me of being disloyal?!” she shouted.

“It’s not disloyalty when it’s a mutual agreement on all parties.” Katana scuffed. “It’s a partnership between all three of us, forged in love, passion, and commitment that only decades of journeying together can produce.”

“But Brooklyn was the only gargoyle your age present…” Angela muttered. “Who…?” Realization hit the brown-haired gargoyle. “The feline? He’s your mutual husband?”

Katana rolled her eyes. “You inherited your father’s intelligence I see.”

“That’s wrong… You can’t be devoted to two people at once. That’s against the natural order!”

“Ah yes,” Katana snarked. “So says your human bible, which has been well known to be an accurate source of information and never changed and rewritten to serve the ruling party’s ends at all.” Katana chuckled. “What? Are you envious that I managed to make a stable relationship with two men while you foolishly strung along three and failed?”

Angela saw red at those words, charging at Katana with a roar once more before her mind even caught up to what she was doing. As she was nearly upon Katana, the foreign warrior… moved. Almost faster than Angela could see, as if she were a vapor. Her branch swung, and Angela felt something brush over her chest before Katana’s fist slammed into her stomach, and her vision went white.

When Angela’s vision returned to her, she was on the ground, her face looking at the sky as her ears rang. The red petals were wafting down over her face, but as Katana came into view, her stick pressing against Angela’s neck, the lavender gargoyle saw that Katana’s rose was completely intact.

She had lost.

….

Katana couldn’t help but snort at the sight of the girl battered on the ground beneath her. She hadn’t expected much, truly, but that was disappointing even past her low expectations. “Not even a single blow landed.” Katana scuffed. “And you still pretend to be a warrior?”

Angela groaned as she strained to get herself up. “I never pretended to be a warrior!” she snarled, holding the side of her bruising head.

“No…” Katana countered. “You lived all your life on a magical island paradise, never wanting for anything. Raised by humans who treated you as an angel from on high simply because of who you shared your blood with. The most combat you ever saw before the Archmage attacked were play duels. And even when he attacked and you left Avalon, you always had other people to shield you from the worst of the fighting.” Katana snarled in disgust as she added. “Other men like your father to protect you like the helpless girl you are. You fancy yourself a mighty warrior who protects the weak, but you have no idea how awful real combat is.”

“You…” Angela growled as she staggered to her feet.

Katana shook her head, making her disapproval obvious. “Regardless, you lost. I will not be taking you to Brooklyn.” Katana tossed her branch to the side and tore the rose off her chest before turning away. “For what it’s worth girl, I do not think you’re a bad person, and frankly, neither does Brooklyn. Not truly. Just an extremely sheltered one who has no idea how the real world works and never had to consider other people’s feelings. But worry not. Time mends all things, naivety especially. Perhaps with enough time, and true experience here in the real world, you can become the warrior you want to be. But if that’s the path you truly wish to tread, you need reasons more concrete than an antiquated ideal like the Gargoyle Way. And that’s something you need to figure out for yourself, not given to you by Goliath.”

Angela said nothing as Katana gave a little wave behind her. “Mata ne, Angela.” With that, Katana started to walk away…

“Stop!” a new, deep, but slightly electronic voice roared.

Katana did so, not because she felt she had to, but because she was curious. She looked behind her shoulder, and sure enough, there was a new arrival. Two of them. One was a male gargoyle, with his wings, part of the left half of his head, his right eye, his right arm, most of his left leg, the end of his tail, and much of his torso replaced with metal cybernetic parts and a red electronic eye glaring at Katana with an organic black one. The other seemed like a gargoyle female, but was made completely out of golden metal. A robot.

The undead robots that Brooklyn told her about. The ones that he had been violated by Puck and Coldsteel for.

“Coldstone and Coldfire, I presume,” Katana said, any trace of cordiality vanishing from her voice. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

Coldfire didn’t answer, looking over Angela, checking her arms and body. “Are you alright child? You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine…” Angela replied, somewhat glumly. “Just a little banged up.”

“And who did that I wonder?” Coldstone growled, red eye flashing in Katana’s direction.

“It was an agreed upon duel,” Katana replied. “She knew the risks. And she lost. Nothing a simple stone sleep won’t easily heal.”

“And what gives you the right to challenge a child to a duel?” Coldfire shouted.

“She’s not a child anymore” Katana countered. “I don’t see you coddling Broadway, Lexington, or especially Brooklyn the way you do her. It seems Goliath isn’t the only one who plays favorites.”

“You know where he is, don’t you?” Coldfire growled, her voice cracking with static. “Take us to him. It’s time this clan is made whole once more.”

“Oh…” Katana crowed. “Now clan means something to you? After you’ve been absent for how long to chase a ghost that you failed to stop?”

“Don’t speak on matters you know nothing about!” Coldstone yelled.

“Brooklyn told me everything” Katana said, returning the glare that Coldstone and Coldfire were sending her way. “The two of you have been nothing but thorns on the side of the clan for years. And now you want to come back and play the part of concerned and loyal clan members?”

“That was because of Coldsteel!” Coldfire insisted. “He influenced my love’s body while we shared it!”

“From what I gathered, that wasn’t the case the first time you fought.” Katana retorted. “That was all him. And how is it that even with two of you, Coldsteel was ever able to dominate? Sounds to me as though your resistance of him was half-hearted.”

Coldstone roared, and with other warning, pointed his arm at Katana, opened a cannon from his forearm, and fired a laser.

Predictable.

With no trouble, Katana jumped to the side, somersaulting in the air before she landed in the water. But instead of sinking beneath the waves of the lake, she skirted along the surface of water, dragging her hand over it as she went, before coming to a stop. As if she had landed on solid ground.

Katana stood upright, taking a few steps on the water in the middle of the lake as she took stock of Coldstone and Coldfire. With her skill in ninjutsu and illusions, it honestly wouldn’t be too difficult to flee these two without a fight. But as Katana looked upon those walking crimes against the laws of nature, and remembered what Brooklyn had suffered on their account, she wanted nothing more than to put them in their place. Especially since they fawned on Angela so much over scratches while giving no thought to Brooklyn.

Besides, it had been so long since she had a real fight.

“In my country…” Katana began as she put her hand over the handle of her blade. “Warriors on the battlefield would announce their names and rank to whatever opponent that they challenged, so that whoever was victorious would know whose head they collected and they could claim the appropriate reward. That tradition stayed across the centuries, remaining and changing into new contexts, as a sign of respect for worthy opponents. So in the spirit of that tradition… I’ll give you two mine.”

The blue gargoyle pulled her weapon from her sheath, the blade reflecting the moonlight. “I am Katana of the Divergent Star Clan. The Autarch of Water, and Head Diviner and Paintress of the Artisan’s Guild.” Katana held out her blade in front of her in challenge, smirking as she said. “I do hope Goliath’s siblings aren’t as disappointing as his daughter.”

Coldstone growled. “You already know our names, coigreach.”

Coldfire stood next to her mate. “You’re outnumbered. This won’t end well for you.”

“Quality over quantity.” Katana sneered, beckoning the cyborgs to approach. “Now don’t keep me waiting.”

The two cyborg gargoyles wasted no time taking her challenge. Coldstone and Coldfire flexed their metallic wings and activated the jet thrusters at their feet, rocketing into the air above the lake in tandem. Coldstone aimed his arm cannon at Katana and fired simultaneously. Coldfire unleashed a tongue of flame from her palms.

Katana sneered, blocking the lasers with her sword as she shouted, “Blade, cut through the flames!” She spun in the air in the middle of her swing, just before the fire reached her, and slammed it down onto the conflagration, scattering the flames all around her while leaving the warrior harmed.

Katana laughed aloud as the cyborgs flew around her. “Come now, Brooklyn is a pyromancer of the highest caliber! You think those embers can hurt me?”

“You’re awfully confident for someone who can’t reach their opponents!” Coldfire retorted.

“Oh really?” Katana crowed, moving her sword to the side, closing her eyes in concentration. She moved her sword once more, as if wielding a great paintbrush, and with every stroke, water was pulled from the lake in streams, as if through an invisible force. The water shaped into icicles, and with flourishing from Katana’s blade, were launched flying at Coldstone and Coldfire.

The two metal gargoyles scattered, swatting the icicles away as they did so. Katana didn’t relent in her icy volley, gathering more water from the lake to freeze and launch at her enemies.

Coldstone grunted, then cried out as one of the icicles tore at his flesh on his hip. “Damn you!” he roared.

Katana raised her hand as she left off the water she was standing on. More lake water twisted around her, gathering into slabs at various heights before freezing into platforms of ice. Without wasting a moment, Katana leapt onto the ice slab and then the one higher than that. The samurai kept doing this until she was as high in the air as the other two gargoyles, before bounding off the platform and taking to the air.

“Clever witch!” Coldstone shouted. He aimed his laser cannon, but before he could fire, Katana had flown right in his face, sword at the ready. Before Coldstone could pull away, Katana slashed, cleaving the whole arm right off Coldstone’s body.

“Since you’re metal…” Katana said with icy serenity as she flew past the reeling Coldstone. “You won’t mind that I go a little rougher on you two, no?”

Coldfire emitted an electronic scream. “Leave him alone!” The ensouled robot unleashed more flames from her cannon, and the fire rushed around the lake's perimeter to reach Katana. In response, Katana, as she landed on the side of a tree by the water’s edge, thrust her free hand up to guide a torrent of water from the lake at the attack. The fire fizzled out as the liquid blanketed the conflagration, much of it turning into mist.

The rest of the water, instead of falling to earth, wound through the air, curling into itself in a spot suspended above the lake. The two cyborgs took no heed of this, however, focusing on flanking Katana, even as the ice she had launched started to gather into the same spot as the rest of her manipulated water. Since Coldfire wasn’t having any luck with her flames, she decided to rush Katana in midair, going in for fisticuffs. Katana grunted in surprise as she blocked a sturdy blow with her sword, but she held firm, spinning in midair to regain some distance from the robot. Coldstone, for his part, kept firing from his still intact arm cannon, some of them missing wildly but others getting too close for comfort to Katana.

She talked a big game, but these two tin gargoyles were certainly the strongest in the Manhattan Clan for a reason. Fortunately, she had a plan.

With a heave from her blade, Katana sliced through Coldfire’s metal wing and kicked her, sending the gold robot careening towards the ground beneath her husband. Then, the samurai chanted.

You who would sever your bonds to soar free through the skies, denounce your false pinions and learn the blessings of the earth!

Katana swung a hand down in Coldstone’s direction, her claws glowing an intense violet. Coldstone blinked his one organic eye in confusion; then, his body suddenly started to feel much heavier. He flapped his mechanical wings, rocket thrusters straining to keep himself aloft for just a second, before Coldstone tumbled through the air like stone, screaming all the while. The male cyborg crashed into the ground with a clang, only having time to strain his body before his golden wife crashed on top of him.

Katana laughed, sheathing her sword and holding it by the handle behind her as she flew just above the great ball of water she had accumulated, stopping dead and hovering in place in a way that no gargoyle could do naturally. “Need some refreshment?” she shouted down below. “Imbibe!”

Katana unsheathed her blade, swinging it with all her power with the same movement. As she did so, the ball of water started ejecting pieces of itself at Coldstone and Coldfire at blinding speeds. The two cyborgs had only just attempted to get up before the deluges slammed into them, knocking them down once more before pounding into them repeatedly with torrential force. Then, just when the ball of water ran out, and it seemed like it was over, Katana descended upon them, rearing her hand back as it shone with an inky black light. The blue gargoyle roared as she slammed her hand into the ground between Coldstone and Coldfire. A pool of black magic, raw mana, erupted forth around her, knocking the two cyborgs away with crushing force.

….

Angela held her hands over her mouth, watching in a mixture of awe and horror at the display of power Katana just unleashed. She still saw the flakes of dark magic and dust from the ground wafting through the air as Coldstone and Coldfire groaned on the ground. Katana, who wasn’t even winded, brandished her weapon, not pursuing but still at the ready. Katana’s eyes were visible from her hair for the briefest of moments…. And Angela could have sworn they were completely black.

Angela couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She had been fighting this the whole time?

Coldstone finally dragged himself to his feet, glaring at Katana as he held the stomp of his arm. “What… are you? Able to cast such spells with so few words? With no words at all?”

“Forget that…” Coldfire retorted in Katana’s direction. “Where’s your catalyst? Your wand? Your spellbook? No mortal should be able to use magic without one!”

“I believe there’s an English phrase about assumptions and them making an ass of you,” Katana shrugged.

“Then how are you doing this?” Coldfire demanded.

“That’s for me to know,” Katana countered. “I owe nothing to those who would betray their own children.”

“What are you babbling about?” Coldstone shouted.

“Brooklyn heard your conversation while you were in the bodies of Angela and Broadway….” Katana answered, any levity in her voice giving way to frigid anger as she glared at Coldstone. “When you thought that Coldsteel had taken the body you wear right now while you possessed our own child, you seriously considered destroying that body and leaving yourselves in Angela and Broadway’s. When your wife protested, you shut her down, fully willing to stay in those bodies indefinitely.”

“We had to make sure Coldsteel wouldn’t wreak havoc!” Coldstone cried.

“Please….” Katana scoffed. “We all know that wasn’t the reason. You wanted a real body again, and that battle was the perfect excuse. Never mind that those bodies weren’t yours, and the children you possessed were completely conscious within them but unable to act. You just wanted flesh and blood once again.”

Coldstone growled, gripping the rocky ground so hard that it shattered in his hand. “You dare accuse me of something so vile? I simply had to destroy my brother!”

“And the fact the you and your wife would have been the ultimate beneficiaries in the end had nothing to do with what you were so willing to do, even at the expense of the children you claim to love?”

Angela blinked, her heart hammering in her breast as she recalled that night. She had been willing to lend Coldfire her body in order to facilitate the transfer spell, for a chance to be rid of Coldsteel for good. Anything to help the clan.

Puck, disguised as Goliath, hadn’t told them the details of the spell. How she felt in excruciating detail, Coldfire slithering into her body, filling every gap in her spirit. Until what was in her body was just Coldfire, with Angela’s mind tucked away to the side, forced to watch and feel everything in her puppet body, but left hopeless to do anything but watch.  And when Coldstone had declared that they would have to destroy Coldsteel and stay in Angela and Broadway’s bodies…. Angela could feel what Coldfire felt. Guilt and sorrow, surely at what would happen to Angela… but also… Deep down…

Excitement. Elation at the prospect of having a body that can feel, sleep, eat…. Live again.

Coldfire’s red eyes in the present locked with Angela’s, and at that moment, Angela knew that Coldfire knew what she had felt that night.

Coldfire gave a staticky snarl. “What would you have had us done then?!” she shrieked. “What would you have done in all your wisdom in our place?”

“Die,” Katana replied, without any hesitation or thought.

Silence filled the lakeside as that word sank in. “W-what?” Angela stammered.

“You all heard correctly,” Katana said. “Die. Because I would sooner leave this world behind than ever harm my child. You two are wraiths, shades brought from beyond the veil through the dark arts. You don’t belong in the world of the living to begin with. Your time had long come, whether it was fair or not.”

Katana growled. “Both of your existences are abominations. I would look past that, as you had no choice in the matter, if it weren’t for your plotting to take your children’s bodies. Even if you didn’t go through with it in the end, the fact that you even considered that, that that even entered your mind, is abhorrent. Your lives ended. You have no right to take the lives of others, especially that of the clan you were supposed to be protecting! And you all would have me take you to Brooklyn, Goliath’s apostate, to feign remorse, when you were all too happy to do that to Goliath’s favorites? You expect to believe he is safe with people like you?! That overpraised English Bard couldn’t spin a more unbelievable tale! You probably just want him for a spare body one you grow weary of your metal ones. You hardly cared about him before!”

Coldstone and Coldfire roared, charging at Katana from either side.

Katana sheathed her blade once more, crouching down and curling into herself. Angela saw the air rippling around her for a moment as Coldstone and Coldfire approached her, the color around Katana draining away, everything becoming grey. Angela could have sworn she could taste the salt of the sea in the air, along with…. Something Angela couldn’t describe…

The two cyborgs leapt, and the instant their feet left the ground, Katana flung her arms out as she bolted herself upright, roaring so loud Angela swore she saw the water surge with just her voice. The air rippled once more, a shockwave bursting from Katana as what Angela could only describe as pure force erupted forth and blew the cyborgs away, color returning as the pressure was released.

Katana’s voice, a whisper in Angela’s ear despite being so far away, echoed by the lakeside. “Can those clockwork eyes track the point of my sword?”

Coldstone had time to land on his feet as a blue blur rushed towards him. There was the sound of a sword leaving the sheath that seemed slower than the flashes of moonlight reflecting on a blade as a sword cut through air and cyborg alike. Coldstone screamed as Katana cleaved through his mechanical leg from his body, his wings, and then finally his head.

Katana sheathed her blade, finishing her attack in the second that it took for Coldstone’s severed head to hit the ground. Then, after another second, the rest of Coldstone’s body collapsed to the lakeside, limbs scattering from the torso.

Angela stared with trembling eyes, too tight chested, too horrified, to even scream as those dark eyes drifted towards her and Coldfire. This gargoyle, this foreign samurai… she was on a whole other level compared to the rest of the clan, even her father. She was a monster in every sense of the word. If this continued, she would kill them all. What could she do? She had to do something, or…!

Poor princess…

Angela’s eyes darted around upon hearing that strange, ethereal voice that came from nowhere, taking her eyes off the battle just as Katana charged at Coldfire to engage her. Where did that voice come from?

Perhaps… I can be of help.

Angela’s eyes fell towards the lake, reflecting moonlight on its still pristine surface. There, shimmering in the moon’s silver light so subtly that Angela almost wasn’t sure what she was seeing was real, was a woman with long white hair, dressed in a white samite...

….

Katana was laughing as she traded blows with Coldfire. The gold gargoyle’s wing was starting to grow back, the severed appendage having reduced itself to gold dust and started weaving itself back into shape as if by magic. Katana at first wondered if Coldfire had a similar affinity to metal as her son, but the lack of a magical aura told her otherwise. It seemed to be more similar to the Azure Sand Yi used for his bow and small weapons. What had he called it? Nanotechnology?

Regardless, brute forcing Coldfire like her mate apparently wasn’t an option. No matter. Decades of traveling with Yi gave her plenty of experience with dealing with the Azure Sand. Those tiny machines didn’t like the cold, for example….

Katana herded Coldfire closer to the edge of the clearing, bringing her up near the trunk of a large tree. Perfect. Coldfire tried to regain the advantage with a haymaker, but Katana weaved around it and took the opportunity to seize Coldfire by her metallic throat and shove her back first onto the trunk. The instant her back hit the wood, jagged ice crept from where Katana had her by the neck and froze her in place to the trunk. Coldfire writhed as she tried to get out, but the ice crept across her body before she could break free. Once Katana saw that Coldfire was indeed trapped, she leapt away with a laugh.

“Is this truly the extent of the two strongest in the clan?” Katana flaunted, sheathing her sword. “You’ll never keep anyone safe if…”

Katana suddenly stopped. The air around her started to grow cold, yet it was filled with energy that made the roots of her hair stand on end. It… it was coming from…

Katana looked behind, to where Angela was. The girl was on her knees, hacking and coughing with her hands around her neck as if she was choking. Katana, in a mix of fright and worry, was about to run to help her, but then she saw a white aura shimmering over Angela’s skin, as well as a silver mist entering her eyes, ears, and nose.

“What are you doing?” Coldfire screamed at Katana.

“What’s going on back there?!” the dismembered head of Coldstone shouted impotently from the ground.

“This is not my doing!” Katana shouted back. The samurai fumbled in her robe pocket for an ofuda, a paper talisman, but the mist finished entering Angela. The lavender gargoyle stumbled for a moment, holding her head as if in pain, before suddenly standing upright like a puppet pulled taut.

Angela’s eyes shot open, and instead of the wet brown they were supposed to be, they were pure white. She spoke, and along with the young gargoyle’s voice, there was another, older, much more powerful voice echoing, as if overlayed on top. “You defile my lake with your presence, kishin.”

Katana crouched down, sword at her hip, as she racked her brain trying to figure out what the being possessing Angela could be. Then, she recalled a story that her mate, Brooklyn, told her about his time in New York. When he, his then clan, and King Arthur met the Lady of the Lake in the Central Park Lake. Could it be…?”

“The Lady of the Lake?” Katana asked, not intimidated by the Third Race Member’s threats or appearance. “Shouldn’t you be at Avalon kissing that false king’s feet?”

“You insult me and Oberon in the same breath?” Angela… no, the Lady of the Lake, demanded in a haughty voice.

“Yes,” Katana bluntly replied. “A man with so frail an ego that he needs to think he rules the world, when really, the rest of his race consider him a joke, and only play along for their amusement. It’s only a matter of time before someone like Anubis or Odin gets fed up with his nonsense and puts him in his place. Him and the rest of his sycophants like you.” Katana unsheathed her blade. “Now release Angela at once.”

“Or what?” the Lady of the Lake sneered. “You’ll harm the girl if you attack me.”

“That won’t be enough to stop me,” Katana countered. “And you know it, fae.”

That wiped the sneer off the possessed Angela’s face. “You’re nothing without your precious ‘Fae Slayer’!”

Katana gave a laugh with no warmth. “As if I need my son to kill a third rate water spirit like you.”

“Third rate?!” the Lady screamed. “I’ll show you third rate!”

The Lady of the Lake lashed out with her hand, and columns of water erupted from the lake towards Katana, who rolled out of the way just in time.

Katana laughed again as she jumped back to the lake, her feet landing on the water’s surface once more. “Girl, you’re weaker than a single Weird Sister. And all three of them were defeated by a second-rate human sorcerer who didn’t even have his catalyst. On Avalon. They had every advantage on the planet, and they still lost to that fool. As my husband would say, you are punching far above your weight class here.”

“You think yourself so superior with that borrowed power, kishin?” the Lady shrieked, waving her hands in the air with a calculated fury. Water spewed from Central Park Lake, molding itself into two shapes in front of Angela’s body. One took on the form of a watery lion and the other an eagle. The Lady swung her arm, and with wet cries, the water familiars bounded on the water’s surface towards Katana.

“The one who thinks themselves superior is you, fae!” Katana snarled. As the water forms approached, Katana stomped, causing a boulder to shoot up from the water’s surface in front of her, before she launched it at the watery lion with a spinning kick. The lion’s liquid broke apart from the blow. Katana leapt in the air to get on level with the eagle as she shouted, “You think I don’t know what you’re playing at? What you and Merlin were scheming to do with that puppet king of yours?”

“Arthur is the Once and Future King!” the Lady insisted, lashing out with her arms as the eagle attempted to dive-bomb Katana. “He will bring peace and prosperity to Britian! No, the whole world! You would betray Merlin by opposing that vision?”

“That man already killed his kingdom before!” Katana shouted, lashing out with her sword to dissipate the water eagle. “And all he had to show for it turned into an empire that slaughtered and pillaged the world over! You would put that failure on a throne for the world in the name of peace? To recapture the glory of a fallen empire built on blood, fear, and control? Nay! He’s merely a pawn for you and the rest of your ilk to have us dance to your tune! An aristocracy with you all at the top!”

“And you’d have the chaos we have now in its stead?” the Lady demanded. “Humans are helpless without their betters to guide them! They need a leader!”

“Maybe…” Katana conceded. “But that isn’t you, Merlin, or Arthur. We need not be slaves to divine will. People can guide us just as true, so long as they act with conviction. Conviction that you, a fae born with all her power and thinks herself above mortals, lack.”

“Silence!” the Lady roared, weaving the air in front of her with her hands once more. “I’ll silence that impudent mouth forever!”

As Katana landed back on the surface of the lake, the water started to weave around her. She raised her weapon to attack, but before she could follow through, Katana was engulfed by the water, trapping her in a massive bubble.

“Even a mage of your caliber still needs to breathe!” the Lady laughed, her voice and Angela’s overlaying to an unsettling effect.

Katana didn’t lose her cool, closing her eyes as she felt herself sink into the cold water of the lake.

Inside herself, there was a lock, to a grand gate, keeping the raging torrent at bay. It was time to spring the lock.

Katana opened her eyes, her brown eyes now as black as night. And she spoke. “The mother of darkness shall intwine you in her tresses.”

The Lady of the Lake gasped, pulling her hand away as if she had been burned. The water around Katana fell back into the lake. Katana wasted no time in finishing her spell, lashing her arms in a wide motion. In response, Angela’s shadow warped beneath her, before tendrils of black mass burst forth like a trap had been sprung and wrapped themselves around the possessed gargoyle’s form. The Lady of the Lake snarled, desperately trying to pull away from the ensnaring shadows, but it was futile.

Katana knew she wasn’t finished. She pulled out the paper talisman she had prepared in her robes. She whispered into the paper, closing her eyes, “Akuryo…” Katana opened her eyes and then dashed towards the Lady, still invading Angela’s body. “Taisan!” At that word, she slammed the talisman onto Angela’s forehead.

Angela shrieked, the sound filling the lakeside with her agony. A white mist started to form around the lavender gargoyle as she held her face in her hands, her dual voice starting to warble back to normal. Katana noticed that Angela was starting to sink into the water as the Lady of the Lake’s power left her body, so she quickly scooped her up and dashed to the lakeside as the mist started to coalesce in the moonlight.

Katana set the unconscious Angela gently down in front of the still-restrained Coldfire. Then, with a wave of her hand, the ice keeping Coldfire in place melted. “Protect her. I dislike you all, but I don’t wish for you to get caught up in this battle.”

Somehow, despite her metal face, Coldfire managed to give Katana a bewildered look. “What can you do against the Lady of Lake?”

Katana gave a coy smile. “Would you like to see?” she asked, before walking away towards the lake.

The mist that was expelled from Angela gathered together in the moonlight, making the form of the woman with white hair. The Lady, no longer floating, was on her knees, hunched over as she gasped in pain. “You… you cretin…” she hissed. “You… you… shouldn't be in this lake... you shouldn't exist at all!”

“This world is your canvas no longer,” Katana said, her eyes practically burning that coal black shade. “Now… get out of my city.” Suddenly. Katana lunged forward, grabbing the Lady by the face as she growled, “Gommage fantôme!”

All color around Katana and the Lady of the Lake was sucked away, leaving them and everything around them in greyscale for a moment. When the surge of power faded, color returned to Katana, and she took a step back, glaring at the Lady of the Lake, whose color had not returned, with hateful eyes.

While this was happening, Angela stirred, groaning in Coldfire’s arms as she came too. She blinked, becoming fully conscious just as Katana finished her curse. “What…?”

The Lady of the Lake looked down at her desaturated hands with a mixture of shock and horror. Angela was confused, as nothing seemed to have happened.

Then, the Lady’s hand started to dissolve, her fingers melting away into grey dust and red flower petals. “No…” she whispered. “Our… our kingdom… it was going to be… wonderful…”

The rest of the Lady’s body was overtaken by the dust and flowers, melting into the dark magic that Katana had cast on her. She reached out towards Katana in one last futile gesture before collapsing completely to the ground, her body completely breaking apart into the black dust and roses.

The Lady of the Lake was no more.

….

Angela was struggling to breathe. Whether it was from the horrible experience of that fairy possessing her like Coldfire had, or from the sight of the foreign warrior reducing a legendary figure to dust, she couldn’t be sure.

“You…” Angela whispered, terrified. “You killed her…. The Lady of the Lake…”

Katana didn’t answer her, simply sheathing her blade one last time. Then, she turned slightly, and Angela could see the starless sky completely filling the samurai’s eyes. Just like Brooklyn’s the night before. “Go home.” She ordered. “There’s nothing more to be gained by our continued engagement. Leave.”

Angela wanted to protest, to say something, to call Katana a monster for slaying the one who had given King Arthur Excalibur all those centuries ago, but Coldfire took the choice out of her hands. The golden robot ran to the scattered remains of Coldstone, releasing Angela for a moment to gather her mate’s torso on her back. “Take his head and his limbs. We won’t be able to fix him unless we have everything.”

“We can’t just…” Angela began.

Coldfire silenced her with a glare. “We can’t handle this. I won’t lose anymore clan. Especially not my children.”

Angela relented, taking Coldstone’s decapitated head in her hands. “Are you alright?”

“I’ll live…” Coldstone replied in a gravely voice as Angela slung his limbs over her shoulder.

Seeing her mate secured, Coldfire activated her rocket thrusters and flew away. Angela gave one last look behind her to see that Katana was staring at them all from the water of the lake with an indescribable expression, before she followed Coldfire into the night.