"Previously on Gargoyles..."

 

Possession

Iago(through Brooklyn):Actually, I'm a bit disappointed in Brooklyn's

fighting skills. Xanatos's robot might've been a better deal after all.

Look, it even heals itself.

            [Iago escaping Brooklyn, into Coldsteel]

 

Coldsteel: I'll be back!

Brooklyn: And this scrawny gargoyle will be waiting!

 

Brooklyn: I know every creepy thing that jerk made me do.

 

Coldstone: For one night, we truly lived again.

 

            [Alex escaping Lexington]

 

Ransom

Brooklyn: Check out daddy.

            [Lexington holding Alex]

            [Alex kissing Lexington's statue]

 

The Gathering{part II}

Oberon: We hearby strip you of all your powers, save when you are training

or protecting the boy.

 

*****************************************************************

About one month after Music Says It All

*****************************************************************

To Live Again

  Part I

 

by Slinky

 

Brooklyn stretched and yawned with the rest of his clan. He looked down at

the city with sorrowful eyes.

 

"Hey, Brooklyn!"

 

Brooklyn snapped his head toward Broadway. "What," he said harshly, more

like a sentence than a question.

 

"Aren't you going to come to the movie with us?" Broadway reminded him.

 

"No, I...have plans," Brooklyn said, turning his gaze back toward the city.

Broadway shrugged. He, Angela, and Lexington took off. Brooklyn glared

after them.

 

"Brooklyn," came Goliath's voice from behind him.

 

"Hmm?" Brooklyn said, hiding his hard glare from Goliath.

 

"Is something bothering you?"

 

"Uh...not really," Brooklyn said. "I don't really want to talk about it."

 

"Are you sure?" Goliath asked, concerned.

 

Brooklyn nodded, not wanting to speak, in fear that he might blurt out

everything that was going through his head. ~C'mon, leave already!~ he

thought.

 

"Well, if you need to talk, you can talk to anyone in the clan, you know

that," Goliath said turning around. Brooklyn's glare hardened.

 

Broadway, Angela, and Lexington had long been out of sight, but  Brooklyn

still wore a hard look, facing the place that he had last seen them. He

turned his head. Goliath had gone back inside the castle.

 

With a soft growl, he leapt off the castle and caught a draft.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

A pair of eyes watched him from the shadows of another building.

 

~That young gargoyle can feel the breeze,~ Coldsteel thought bitterly. ~I

chose power over reality.~

 

He began following Brooklyn, but kept a safe distance so he would not be

spotted. ~Perhaps I made a mistake that night." He watched the red gargoyle

that had housed him swoop around the currents. He made a decision.

 

~Perhaps I made a mistake.~

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

Brooklyn didn't really know where he was gliding, he was just following the

wind, going where it took him.

 

As he glided on further, he realised he was going somewhere he didn't want

to go. He wanted to turn, but something told him to keep going. He was

heading very far away from the home he knew.

 

At last, he landed at the Cloisters.

 

As he had before, he was amazed by its beauty. Memories of the `old days',

back in Scotland, came rushing back to him. A homesickness came over him.

 

But then more recent memories came to him.

 

*I knew you'd come.*

 

*I brought the book.*

 

*Excellent. Now all we need is Goliath, but how to get him here...*

 

*I'll handle that, anything to make him see the truth.*

 

Brooklyn gasped as he saw himself hand the Grimorum to Demona, agreeing to

bring Goliath here to be trapped.

 

*Sine dubio instantato...*

 

The spell echoed through his mind over and over. She had tried to cast the

spell on him, too. If she had succeeded doing that, he would probaly still

be under the spell today.

 

He sighed, and then thought of Coldsteel. The way he had used his body to

do all those things to his clan.

 

~Seems I get used a lot. Demona uses my soul, Coldsteel uses my body...~

 

He thought a moment more. He thought of the Early Hatchers and smiled.

 

~We were considered bad and had to be kept a secret, but we really weren't

bad...~ he thought, still smiling. ~Demona was an Early Hatcher, and even

she has still remained loyal to them after a millenium of hardship.

 

~But that was before she betrayed the clan to the Vikings. Before our clan

was destroyed. Before the end of the Early Hatchers.~

 

He looked up at the moon. ~Before...~

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

Coldsteel watched Brooklyn with intrest. He watched as Brooklyn's

expression went from amazed to angry to happiness to sadness all in one

minute.

 

~I wonder what's running through his head...~

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

Lexington was rather bored with the movie. It was an old-fashioned romance.

He would have enjoyed it if he had somebody to be with, but Broadway and

Angela were practically sitting on top of each other.

 

He sighed. ~I wish Brooklyn would've come. We could have gone to see that

sci-fi in the other theater,~ he thought.

 

He frowned at the thought of Brooklyn. He still was haunted by a dream he

had a few weeks ago. The image of Brooklyn and Demona was still in his

mind, and it refused to fade. He also thought of the Early Hatchers. He

wondered if that was really part of Brooklyn's memory...

 

He slapped the thought away. ~It was just a dream- it didn't really

happen.~

 

 

But it made sense, the more he thought of it. Back in Scotland, Brooklyn

and several others, including Demona, all disappeared at once sometimes.

They would all come back at about the same time.

 

He glanced at Broadway and Angela, and he thought he saw Brooklyn and

Demona. He shivered. He tried to pay attention to the movie. The humans

below the closed off balcony, where the gargoyles were sitting, all seemed

content.

 

He decided he couldn't stand it anymore. He went to the window and glided

out, without bothering to tell Broadway or Angela.

 

He started to glide back to the castle. Maybe Brooklyn would be in less of

a bad mood by now.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"Hey, Alex!" Lex decided to stop by Alex's room. Alex had lately decided to

stay up all night so he could stay up with the gargoyles.

 

"Lex!" Alex cried, and jumped into Alex's arms.

 

Puck suddenly zipped into the room. "Whoops, company!" Puck said. There was

a flash, and Owen stood in his place.

 

"Oh, no need to change because of me," Lexington said.

 

"I assure you, there is," Owen said. "I was just training young Alexander

tonight, since he refuses to sleep."

 

Lexington put Alex in his bed. "It's okay, I just stopped by to say hi." He

turned back to Owen. "Have you seen Brooklyn around?"

 

"I saw him leaving a few hours ago. I do not know where he was planning to

go," Owen said. Lex sighed.

 

"Okay, thanks anyway," he said.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"Hey, Brooklyn!" Brooklyn turned quickly to spot Broadway and Angela.

Angela noticed that he was wearing a funny little smile on his face.

 

"Hey," he said, with more brightness then he had lately. "How was the

movie?"

 

Despite herself, Angela smiled. "It was great. You should have come."

 

Brooklyn grunted in response. "Hey, where's Lex?"

 

"We don't know," Broadway said. "He left in the middle of the movie."

 

Brooklyn smiled. "Lex isn't a real romance person."

 

"That's true," Broadway said, then smiled secretly at Angela.

 

Brooklyn raised an eyeridge. Angela could tell he caught that. Brooklyn

turned back to the city outside.

 

"He better get back soon. It's almost dawn," Brooklyn said, not at all

sounding real worried.

 

Angela pulled Broadway aside. "Isn't Brooklyn acting a little...weird ?"

she whispered. Broadway gave her a strange look.

 

"He's just actually in a good mood. We're not used it," he said.

 

"But-"

 

She didn't get to finish her sentence. The sun rose at that moment.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"I've got to warn them..."

 

"Got to tell them..."

 

"Have to warn them...Goliath..."

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

Angela woke with the usual roar and stretch. Broadway, next to her, did the

same.

 

She turned to Brooklyn and saw him still stretching. He still seemed happy

today. He still had the strange smile on his face. She felt she should know

something about it, but she couldn't place it.

 

She felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to face Broadway.

 

"Do you notice something funny about Brooklyn?" she asked. Broadway

squinted.

 

"Like I said, he's in a good mood, and we're not-"

 

"But there's something else! There is something different about him," she

said.

 

"Oh, do you really think so?" Angela cringed, and turned to face Brooklyn,

who was glaring at her.

 

"Uh, no, it's just...just..." Angela stuttered.

 

"Don't talk about me behind my back," Brooklyn said, then pushed past her

and went into the castle.

 

"Serves you right," Broadway said. Angela turned to him in shock. "He's

finally in a good mood, and you-"

 

"Oh, be quiet," she said, and turned and followed Brooklyn into the castle.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

The next night, Lexington had still not returned to the castle. The clan

was getting worried.

 

Angela still had a strange feeling about Brooklyn, but she pushed it aside.

~Lexington is more imporatant right now,~ she told herself.

 

Goliath turned to the rest of the clan. "We will split up and search for

him."

 

"I'll go north," Brooklyn said. There's an old building that he likes to go

to sometimes. Maybe he's there." Goliath nodded, and Brooklyn glided off.

 

"The rest of you, go on your usual patrol routes. Look for anything that

might suggest his disappearance," Goliath said.

 

The clan agreed and they were off.

                                                           

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"You can't keep me here forever!" Lexington yelled when he saw Brooklyn

step out of the shadows.

 

"Why not? Is there a rule? You should be happy you are still alive,"

Brooklyn said, crossing his arms. Lexington growled.

 

"Ooh, I'm scared!" Brooklyn said, mock shivering. "You know there isn't

anything you can do."

 

"Yes, there is," Lexington said. "You're a monster, you know that?"

 

Brooklyn's expression turned cold. He pressed a button on the remote

control he was carrying. The steel cables around Lexington tightened.

Lexington cried out in agony.

 

"Don't tempt me, Lexington," Brooklyn said. He set the remote down on the

table out of Lexington's reach. "I'll be back tommorow night." He turned

and walked out of the room, leaving Lexington glaring after him.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"E'sa!"

 

Elisa turned to see Alex jump out of his mother's arms. Elisa barely had

time to catch him.

 

"Whoa, little guy," she said, picking him. "Slow down." She turned to Fox.

Although Elisa still didn't trust Xanatos, Fox was now a good friend. Alex

thought Elisa as one of the family, as he did Lexington.

 

"Did they find Lex?" she asked Fox. Fox shook her head.

 

"No, but they're all back now. They are going to continue the search again

tommorow night," Fox said, sighing. Elisa turned and looked at the

gargoyle's stautes.                                                        

 

Alex broke away from Elisa. He pointed at Brooklyn.

 

"Bad," he said. Elisa and Fox looked at each other, alarmed.

 

"What do you mean, Alex?" Fox said, coming up to her son.

 

"Not Bukin," Alex said angrily.

 

"Alex, what-" Elisa said.

 

"Codeseel!" Alex said impatiently.

 

"Codeseel? Alex, do you mean Coldsteel?" Alex nodded.

 

"Got Lex."

 

"He has Lexington? Alex, where?" Elisa said, running forward. She put a

hand on Alex's shoulder.

 

"Coisters," Alex said.

 

"Coisters?" Fox said. "Alex..."

 

"Cloisters!" Elisa said, realising. She turned to Fox. Fox picked up her

son and they left.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"I haven't been here in years," Elisa said, walking around the giant door.

 

Fox followed her. "This is strange. This place isn't usually deserted."

 

Alex suddenly started running. "Alex!" Fox yelled. Elisa and she ran after

him.

 

He led them into the center of the Cloisters. The light from the windows

shone onto the floor, leaving an amazing array of colors. Elisa turned on

her flashlight and flashed it into the shadows.

 

There was a bright flash as Elisa shined it onto Coldsteel. She gasped, but

then realised he wasn't moving.

 

He also had Lexington in stone wrapped in his steel coils.

 

Elisa stepped forward, as did Fox and Alex. Elisa and Fox smiled at each

other.

 

"Looks like we found ourselves our piece of lawn scuplture."

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"We have to continue the search," Angela said. Broadway nodded, agreeing.

 

"Yeah," Brooklyn said. Angela glanced at him, but paid attention to Goliath.

 

 

"Tonight we will go in pairs," Goliath said. Brooklyn almost seemed to

panic.

 

"But we can cover more ground seperatly!" Brooklyn said. Goliath looked at

him.

 

"I know, but..." Goliath stopped. "All right. We will continue searching as

we were. Brooklyn, head north again. Broadway, east, Angela, west. I will

go south. Hudson, you and Bronx remain here in case he comes back. Meet

back here in one hour.

 

They took they're orders, and went their separate ways.

 

Angela sighed as she glided on. ~One hour- that's not enough time!~ she

thought.

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

Broadway landed on a rooftop for a rest. ~I don't see the point of going

for only an hour,~ he thought. He yawned, despite his worries about Lex.

 

He turned back to the sky and was about to glide off when somebody tapped

him on his shoulder. He turned back and gasped.

 

"You..."

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

"Did you find anything?"

 

Angela shook her head. "Maybe Broadway or Brooklyn found something."

 

"I did," Broadway said, landing behind them. Goliath and Angela turned.

Coldstone and Coldfire landed beside him. Angela gasped.

 

"If you're here, Coldsteel is here!" she said. Coldfire nodded.

 

"We believe he may have come here," she said.

 

"You bet he did," came a voice from above them. Lexington landed in between

Broadway amd Goliath.

 

"Lex! You're okay!" Broadway said, picking him up. Lexington motioned to

put him down.

 

"Maybe, but not for long," Lexington said. "Coldsteel had me captured, and

sort of held me ransom."

 

"What do you mean?" Goliath said.

 

"He means that he threatened to kill him unless Alex transferred Coldsteel

to Brooklyn's body," Fox said, running up from inside the castle.

 

Angela looked surprised. "But... Puck said it took voluntary participation."

 

"I guess Brooklyn had to be willing, or else Coldsteel would kill Lex," Fox

said.

 

"That means Iago is still hiding within Brooklyn!" Coldstone said.

 

"B-but... he said he was `disappointed in Brooklyn's fighting skills,' so

he went into the robot," said Broadway.

 

"Stick with the reliable, I always say," came Brooklyn's voice from the

ledge of the castle. Coldstone growled and turned a  light on the ledge,

revealing Brooklyn sitting there, one leg up, the other hanging over. "It

seems the charade is over," he added.

 

"Iago- get out of Brooklyn's body!" Coldfire said.

 

"Why should I?" he said.

 

Goliath began stepped forward, growling. Brooklyn looked at Goliath and

narrowed his eyes.

 

"I wouldn't do that, Goliath," he said. "Whatever you do to me, you do to

your precious second-in-command as well." Goliath stopped, still growling.

Brooklyn smiled evily. "Even if I do `remove myself,' he's still going to

turn out like me in the end, you know."

 

"Brooklyn is no meathead in training, you meathead!" Broadway yelled.

Brooklyn growled and pulled out a small ray-gun.

 

"My name isn't meathead," he said. "It's Iago." He stopped a moment and

thought. "Actually, now it would be Brooklyn, wouldn't it?"

 

"You aren't worthy of Brooklyn's name, you beast!" Angela snarled, allowing

her eyes to glow a terrifying red.

 

"Ahh, so much like your mother," Brooklyn/Iago said. "Demona is actually a

sweet woman, if you don't get on her bad side, which all of you have done."

Angela gasped.

 

"How do you know Demona is my mother?" she said.

 

"I have... access to all of Brooklyn's memories," said Brooklyn/Iago. "I

know things about Brooklyn that even you don't know."

 

"What do ye mean?" Hudson yelled.

 

"Ahh, Hudson. I believe this story starts when you were younger than

Brooklyn is..." Brooklyn/Iago said. He tilted his head, carelessly waving

the gun around. Hudson growled.

 

"Do you recall so many of the clan being banished because of `treachery'?"

Brooklyn/Iago said tauntingly. Hudson squinted, as if trying to remember.

 

"Aye, but how would the lad know that? Not even Goliath was hatched then,"

Hudson said.

 

"Ahh, but you don't know the whole story," he said. "I do. Or should I say,

Brooklyn does."

 

He sat back again. "You see, that group of gargoyles was a coven. They

seemed to be all connected somehow. They had certain...`abilities' that the

rest of the clan didn't.

 

"The coven was discovered. It was consided betrayal, and they were banished

from the clan.

 

"But they didn't know that the decendents could also feel the connection.

A few discovered the coven's old ways and handed their `talents' to their

children." Brooklyn/Iago smiled. "Brooklyn is one of those children. He

found out the old history from the `new' coven.

 

"Hmm, Demona was also another decendent. I really don't know why none of

the `talents' showed up in Angela," Brooklyn/Iago said, thinking. "Oh,

well."

 

"Why are you telling us this?" Goliath said. Brooklyn/Iago shrugged.

 

"I just love gloating, that's all. Besides, I can't decide what to do with

you," he said.

 

"Well, ye can't sit dere forever," Hudson said. Lexington was still

thinking about the tale Brooklyn/Iago had told. He turned back to him.

 

"The coven...did they call themselves...Early Hatchers?" Lexington asked.

 

"Why, yes, they did!" Brooklyn/Iago said, surprised. "How did you know

that?"

 

"I...don't...know," Lexington said. Brooklyn/Iago sighed.

 

"Anyway, Hudson, you're right. I can't sit here forever," Brooklyn/Iago

said. He stood up, still pointing the gun at them.

"But what to do..."

 

Goliath began inching forward, hoping Brooklyn/Iago wouldn't notice.

 

He did.

 

Brooklyn/Iago pointed his gun at Goliath and fired. It hit him in the right

shoulder. Brooklyn/Iago leapt to the ground.

 

"I told you not to move, Goliath," he said cruelly. "You should have

listened, because now you are going to die."

 

                                                            *                      *                      *

 

Deep inside the heart of Brooklyn's body, lay Brooklyn's soul.

 

He watched and listened as Iago controlled his every move, every thing he

said.

 

Brooklyn's soul wanted to fight, but he couldn't. He was dormant.

 

*At last I live again, Brooklyn,* Iago said mentally to Brooklyn.

 

*Leave my body alone. Give it back!*

 

*I am never going to leave, Brooklyn. I made that mistake before.*

 

"Now you are going to die," Brooklyn's soul heard.

 

*Stop this!* Brooklyn's soul yelled.

 

*Why should I?* Iago said, laughing. *I finally get to live again, and you

are telling me to stop?*

 

*Live? You're not living. I'm living, and you are just harboring.*

 

*Does something harboring kill an entire clan of gargoyles, pray tell?*

 

Brooklyn's soul refused to answer. He lay there, watching the dying of a

dream...

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED...

 

 

*******

 

Wait for Part II of To Live Again