Old Fears
Kellie Fay  Kfay198120@aol.com

Disclaimer:
Gargoyles belong to Disney.  

Special Thanks: 
To Constance Cochran and Batya "The Toon" Levin for their editing skills. 

Author's note.
To know who Rachel O'Neil is you must go back and read "A Friend In Need," by yours truly, and/or "Rumors"  by Batya "The Toon Levin, Constance Cochran, and Kellie Fay.  Thailog's dying reference can be explained by reading Absolom by  Batya "The Toon Levin and  Constance Cochran.  This has been another blatant plug. 

Time Setting:
This is before "Genesis Undone" (If you count the Goliath Chronicles)  The Epilogue is after that episode.

(Kellie shall now push Flotsam and jetsam out of the way and get to the story.)
*****************************************************************

Old Fears 

The night was clear and cool.  Stars sparkled in the ebony black sky.  Here
gliding above all the traffic and noise  Brooklyn could almost imagine he was
back in Scotland.

He loved New York.  If he lived to be two hundred he still wouldn't have
done everything this city had to offer.  The movies, The shows, The concerts,
Every night there was something new going on.

On some nights though Brooklyn found himself missing the world he was
hatched and raised in.  He didn't know why.  He guessed it was because
back there he had been surrounded by a clan of over one hundred gargoyles.
As much as he loved his two brothers he missed all the others who died.
Angela was a wonderful addition, but.....

She had settled on Broadway instead of him.  He was glad that Broadway had a girl, but he couldn't help feeling a little... jealous.  Brooklyn veered left, shaking off thoughts he wouldn't allow himself to have.

He let the breeze take him down by NYU.  He knew it was late.  Alison and
Rachel must be sleeping by now.  Maybe he'd just check on them to be
sure though.   Ever so quietly he dug his claws into the wall, and peered
into Rachel's window.

Alison's bed was empty.  Not really surprising.  Almost twice a week she
spent the night with her employer, simply because whatever research
they were doing was so fascinating.  Ricky was in her bed, and seemed to be
tossing and turning in an uneasy dream.

"No!  Your killing him!  Let him alone!  Jake!  Jake stop them.  Do
something!  No!  No!"

~ This is getting severe.  Maybe I'd better wake her. ~  He thought.  Ricky
always left the window unlocked even in the middle of winter.  He pushed the
window open and jumped in.

Just then Rachel opened her eyes.  She took one look at Brooklyn's shadowed
winged form, and screamed.
"Ricky wake up It's me Brooklyn!  Your having a nightmare!"  He backed up
and waited for her to recognize him.

Ricky blinked and sat up in her bed.  She flipped on her night-stand light
and looked at her friend a bit annoyed.  "Brooklyn!  For crying out loud
at least turn the lights on when you sneak into my room!"

"Sorry," he replied sheepishly.  "You were having a bad dream."

Suddenly Ricky became animated.  "Your right I was!  Hang on a sec!"  She
went under her pillow and pulled out an old composition book.  She opened
it and took the pen attached to her bed post and began to write."

Brooklyn sat on his haunches  and patiently waited for Ricky to finish.  When
she was done she put the book and pen back in place.  "Dad says that If I
have a dream I have to write it down, so I won't forget anything important."
She paused and looked at Brooklyn.  You know whatever I was dreaming of
looked something like you."

~ Well that explained why she screamed. ~  "You mean you were dreaming of
a gargoyle?"

Ricky brushed her ebony locks out of her face.  She wore an expression of
intense concentration.  "No it wasn't a gargoyle.  It just looked
like it.  It had the head of a panther, or some kind of cat, and it was
furry.  I never saw anything like it."  She then turned and looked intently
at Brooklyn.  "But you have!"

~ Uh Oh ~  When she gave the description of the beings she saw in her dream
Brooklyn knew exactly what she was talking about.  Now she looked at him
with her incredible brown/gold eyes.  Whether she knew it or not, he could
feel the words trying to escape his beak.

Brooklyn closed his eyes and shook off Rachel's influence.  "Cut it out!"  He
ordered.  When he opened his eyes again, Ricky looked embarrassed.  "You have
got to learn how to control that trick of yours."  He said tiredly.  She
looked so unhappy he finally said, "Look, If I tell you you're right, will
you promise not to pump me for any more information?"

"But I have to find him!"  Ricky said.  Brooklyn knew that tone of voice.
Four months ago, Ricky had similar dreams about Demona.  The dreams
seemed to take over her will.  Nothing had been as important as learning
about Demona. She had been willing to do anything, even use her unusual
empathic powers against them.  If she tried to ignore the dreams they would
drive her mad.

He held his hands up to her.  "Ricky I'm going to try to help you, but
we're talking about people who are as picky about their secrets as we are.
I'll meet you on your roof tomorrow night and I'll be able to tell you then
whether or not my friends will see you.  Okay?"

Ricky looked unsatisfied, but she nodded.  "You got one day hot-shot," she
said.

Brooklyn knew he was going to have to come through for her.  "Will that at
least get you back to sleep with no more dreams?"

"I think so."  She snuggled back into her bed.  "You can show yourself out,"
She said.  Brooklyn smiled, and jumped out her window.  Again clinging to the
wall he closed her window, and glided away.

Twenty minutes later, opening a sewer grate Brooklyn shook his head to
himself.  ~ You know it's amazing what Ricky can get us to do when she
gets one of her hunches. ~  He went down the sewer entrance and walked
to where the entrance of the Labyrinth was.  Charlie, one of the
transients who lived with Talon, was on guard.  He was used to gargoyles by
now, so he just gave him a nod and let him in.

~ I'll never understand humans.  On street level we're monsters and freaks.
Down here people who have nothing accept us as being different, but not
alien, and the one's above think that they're not worth helping.  Go
figure. ~  Every now and then a small part of him could understand Demona,
but at the same time he knew that she would kill these humans, as well as
the ones above.

Talon and Maggie were helping a new group of humans get comfortable in the
Labyrinth. It was a family with a little girl and boy.  The parents  gasped
and  backed away when they saw him.  Brooklyn just sighed.  ~ Here we go
again. ~

"It's all right,"  Talon reassured the parents.  "That's Brooklyn, one of
the gargoyles that visit here.  He won't hurt you.  None of the gargoyles
would hurt an innocent."

"Hi," he said more to the children than the parents.  He knew that the
parents would be too frightened to answer.  "You guys like peppermint?"
When the kids nodded he pulled out two peppermint candies that he had in
his belt pouch.  The two kids inched their way over to him and he handed
them the candies.  He tried to seem as friendly as possible, and it worked.
The kids smiled at him, and ran back to their parents to show him their
treasures.

Talon had Maggie show the humans away.  "I think you made two friends there."
Talon said with a smile.  "So what brings you down here?"

Brooklyn looked unsettled.  How much of this was Talon going to believe?
"Well...I've got this friend.  She has some really weird dreams sometimes.
Usually they tell her things that she has to do, and lately I think she's
been dreaming about you guys."

"Us?  What have you told her about us?"  Talon asked suspicious.

Brooklyn shook his head.  "Nothing, that's just it.  We can't explain it, but
she gets these hunches and feelings, and once she gets them she won't let
anyone stop her from finding the one she's dreaming about.  Believe me
I've been through this with her once before.  You don't know what it feels
like wanting to tell her things and knowing you shouldn't."

Talon looked at him confused.  "I don't understand."

"She has some kind of power.  We can't explain it, heck she can't even
explain it.  If she feels someone has something to get off their chest, or
that she needs to know they start to feel the need to talk to her.
Sometimes we can catch ourselves, but not always.  I managed not
to blab about you tonight, but I did tell her I'd see if she could come
down and meet you. Talon gave the young gargoyle a suspicious glance.  He obviously did not 
believe in magic.  "Are you sure she didn't talk you into this?"

Brooklyn smiled.  "Uh uh.  My first reaction was to just tell her about you,
but I caught myself just in time.  It's easier for us to just tell her
things.  I proposed  that she give me some time to see if she can come
down here.  I wouldn't put it past her to find her way down her on her
own though.  I'm beginning to wonder if It was more than a coincidence
that I stopped by her apartment, and she was sleeping when I got there.
She can't always control what she does, but when it's working somehow
everything goes her way."

"And you think it would be a good idea for her to come down here?"  Talon
said disbelivingly.

Brooklyn wasn't sure how to explain what he thought was Ricky's problem.
"Is Maggie still having nightmares?"  He asked instead.

Talon picked up on the hint.  "So you think she can do something about
that?"  He asked.

"Maybe,"  Brooklyn replied.  "I didn't exactly ask her for too much info
on what she dreamed, but she usually dreams about someone who needs her
help.  Her father is a psychiatrist, and she's beginning to follow
in his footsteps.  She's going to make an A one shrink one of these days.
She might be able to help Claw too."

Talon was listening, but his expression told Brooklyn that he was thinking
of something else.  "You say your friend is studying to be a psychiatrist?"
When Brooklyn nodded, Talon said, "Maybe she can help me with something else
too."

"What?"

Before Talon could answer Hollywood, one of the gargoyle clones that Thailog
had made of them, came up.  "Done, what do now?"

Talon made a slight face, but he spoke gently to the gargoyle clone.  "Why
don't you help Claw with the new supplies." Hollywood nodded, and happily
walked away.  As he watched the clone leave, Talon's face fell."

Brooklyn had a feeling he knew what Talon needed help with.  "Them?"  he
said cocking his head at the retreating gargoyle.

"It's been months since we brought them down here, and they don't seem to
be learning anything.  I don't know what to do with them.  They're
useful and friendly enough, but they're not growing independent.  They
rely on me to tell them everything."

"Hmmmm"  Brooklyn thought.  "Well you know they're not like normal gargoyle
They were programmed to obey Thai-umph"  Talon suddenly clasped his claws
over Brooklyn's beak.

"We don't say the 'Th' word anywhere where they can hear.  It upsets them."
Talon whispered.

~Ooookay!~  Talon's problem with the clones was getting stranger and 
stranger, but Brooklyn  began to understand.  "So you want Ricky to take 
a look at them?"

"Do you think she can help?"  Talon asked.

"Maybe.  If not she'll definitely have some ideas.  So it's okay with
you if I bring her down tomorrow night?"

"Yeah I guess.  It would be nice to have a few new friends."

"Great I'll bring her around about ten o'clock."  Talon nodded, and Brooklyn
took his leave.

************************************************************
The next evening Ricky was up on the roof waiting for Brooklyn.  "So
I'm I going to meet these mysterious flying cats?"

"Yeah, your in.  Just remember don't freak them out by telling them
things I haven't told you."  He picked her up, and she giggled.
"Hold on," he warned, then he took off with her.

Ricky was puzzled when Brooklyn landed them near a sewer grate.  "Your
friends have wings and they live underground?"

"That,"  Brooklyn said as he removed the grate and helped her down. "is
a much longer story than I'd like to get into."  Once Ricky was safely
down he lightly jumped down himself.  When he stood up Ricky was smiling
at him.

"You know it's amazing how you guys hardly make any sounds when you move."

"It's just the way we are."  Brooklyn replied.  He led her down the
cold damp corridor.  Ricky did not like her surroundings.

"My dad would have a fit and a-half if he knew what I was doing tonight.
Here I am walking down a damp abandoned subway tunnel, with a gargoyle."

Brooklyn couldn't help but chuckle.  Goliath had told them all the story
on how Elisa's mother reacted when she met him.  "Do you want to forget
about this?"

"No."  The answer was sharp and definite.  

"Here we are."  He recognized the human teen who guarded the gate.  "Hi
 Jackie!  What's going down?"

"Hi Brooklyn,"  The red-haired, scruffy-looking teen replied.  Brooklyn
grinned at her.  She smiled back and said,  "Talon's waiting for you and
your friend, go right in."

Ricky followed Brooklyn into an open airy area.  It reminded her of stories
her father use to tell about catacombs under ancient cities where
thieves, and outcasts of all sorts hid from the world.  It appeared that
even though New York was much younger than Rome, or Paris, it had the same
thing.

Suddenly from another doorway stepped two creatures that she had never
seen before.  They were tall, taller than Brooklyn.  Their resemblance
to gargoyles was uncanny, but they were definitely not gargoyles.  They
were feline in nature, just as she had seen in her dream.  Only these two
were not the one she dreamed about.

Brooklyn didn't notice her slight downcast look.  "Ricky, this is Talon, and
Maggie.  Guys, this little lady here is Rachel O'Neil, daughter of Victor
O'Neil, the best shrink in the country."

"Brooklyn!"  Ricky said annoyed.

Talon smiled, and extended his hand.  Ricky eyed him a moment and politely
took Maggie's hand instead.  She couldn't shake the feeling that if she
took Talon's hand she would learn more about him than she would be able
to hide.  Even so touching Maggie told her more than she wanted to know.
They had been human once.  She , Talon, and two others named Claw, and
Fang.  Someone had changed them into what they were now.

Her eyes widened, but she hid her shock and anger.  Who could have done
this to another human being?  She managed to hide her reaction, and simply
struck up a conversation with the female mutate.

Behind her Talon and Brooklyn walked behind her.  While Maggie told her
about the labyrinth, part of the conversation going on behind caught
her ear.  "I thought you said very little frightens her."  Talon said.

"You guys didn't frighten her."  Brooklyn replied with a slight edge to his
voice.  "She scared herself again."  Out of the corner of her eye she could see
Talon giving Brooklyn a very odd look.  Brooklyn made a slightly frustrated sound, and explained.    "When she touched Maggie I think something happened.  That happened to her when we formally introduced her to Goliath.  She shook
his hand and proceeded to tell him things about himself that we didn't even
know.  Then she apologized.  Sometimes we don't know what to do with her,
and she doesn't know either.  I think she didn't touch you because she
knew she'd pick up something she couldn't handle if she did."

"Sounds like quite an interesting person,"  Talon said with a smile.  They
were just reaching the little alcove where the clones chose to stay.  They
still had a hard time interaction with others.  That was one of the reasons
He wanted Rachel to meet them.  "Ricky,"Talon said as the dark haired girl came
over to join them.  "I don't know if Brooklyn told you but when he told me who you were, I asked if you could help with some friends of mine."

Rachel looked at the mutate with her incredible rich brown eyes.  Brooklyn
hid a snicker.  She was trying to figure him out.  "That's about all he
told me."  She said suspiciously.

Talon nodded, "Well here they are.  Brentwood,  Burbank, Hollywood, Malibu,
come out guys I want you to meet someone.

Ricky watched as she saw four gargoyles come out of the alcove.  She gasped
at what she saw.

Had anyone seen them, not knowing gargoyles well, they would have probably just
said that they were four gargoyles, but Ricky knew better.  The first thing she noticed is that their eyes were off color.  Gargoyle eyes were black with normal whites unless angered.  The whites of  these gargoyles eyes were red.  Their moths were the wrong colors too.   It made them appear very eerie.  Then her eyes fell on one crouched down  on all fours.  He wasn't the smallest, there was a little purple one next to him.  This one was a pale green.  There was something so familiar about him... Ricky turned around, glanced at Brooklyn, then turned back to
the gargoyle in front of her.  She did it again.  There was no doubt in her
mind.  except for the length of his horns the green gargoyle looked exactly
like Brooklyn.

Ricky looked at how these new gargoyles were reacting to her.  Now that
she had a frame of reference she noticed how the others reminded her of the rest of Goliath's clan.  She put that out of her mind for now.  She
needed to speak to them, and she wanted them to trust her.  She decided
to work on the one that looked like Brooklyn.  "Hi, my name's Ricky.
What's yours?"

The green gargoyle looked suspicious.  He turned to Talon waiting
expectantly.  Talon looked as if he were tired of this routine.  "It's all
right Malibu.  Ricky is a friend."

Malibu glanced at Ricky, Talon, then back to Ricky.  "Ricky friend.  Live
down here?"  He asked.

Rachel smiled.  "No,  I'm just visiting."

Brooklyn decided to make himself scarce for a while.  He moved off to where
he could watch Ricky interact with the clones, but where they couldn't see
him.

He knew that she was again picking up things from the clones, but she
was hiding what she knew.  She played with them a little, and talked to
all of them.  Finally Talon gave them some chores to do, and Ricky came to
speak to all of them.

"Well Doc,"  Brooklyn said teasingly, "What's the diagnosis?"

Ricky made a face at him, as she accepted a cup of tea from Maggie.  "Don't
be funny hotshot.  I think those four have a serious problem."  My fist
question is who is the low life that made them?"

Talon, and Maggie looked surprised, mainly because they didn't tell her that
the four were clones.  Brooklyn shifted in his chair slightly and said
"I knew she'd figure it out."

Ricky looked at the three again.  "I'm not wrong am I? Those four are the
clones that Demona made to substitute for what she lost?"

"Yeah, it's true."  Brooklyn sulked slightly."

"Why did they restrict their ability to reason so much?"  Ricky asked.

Talon, Maggie, and Brooklyn, looked at her with questions in their eyes.
"What are you talking about?"  Brooklyn said.

"They have the mind of a child.  It's very restrictive.  I doubt that they
can do anything but the most concrete reasoning."

"And you learned all that from just talking to them,"  Talon said.  Ricky
faced this type before.  Someone who just couldn't believe her.  She knew
how to deal with that type.

"Talon,"  Brooklyn warned.

Ricky looked at him and said, "I know the same way I know that the  man who
made them is the same creep that changed you from a human to what you are
now."

Talon and Maggie both looked at Brooklyn who immediately said, "I didn't tell
her that!"

Talon looked at Ricky curiously.  "Tell me something about
myself that Brooklyn doesn't know."

 She looked at Talon suspiciously and said, "You really do not want me to perform
for you.  I might learn more than you want me to."

"I'll take that chance,"  Talon said.

Ricky sighed and drew her chair closer to Talon.  "All right, I've never
done this on purpose mind you.  It usually happens on it's own."  She took
his hands in her, and looked deeply into his green slit eyes.  Talon didn't
feel anything unusual except he notice how her eyes seemed to glitter
like jewels.

 She stared right into Talon's eyes. When she spoke her voice had a strange musical quality to it. "Once, when you were ten years old.  You were in a desert somewhere out west.  There was a rattle snake.  You couldn't move or the snake would strike at you. Your older sister save you by hitting the snake with a ... pocket knife.  The knife was suppose to be a birthday present for you."

Talon was shocked.  Every word she said was true, but even then she didn't
let go.  "Your sister,"  She said.  The words had a harder edge to them."

"Uh oh,"  Brooklyn said.  He had a feeling that the vision she summoned was
getting out of control.  "Ricky stop it now."

"Your sister!" she shouted and released him as if he was made of fire.  She
jumped back into Brooklyn's arms.  "Brooklyn why didn't you tell me."

"Derrick are you all right?"  Maggie asked.

"Yeah I'm fine.  I didn't feel anything."  Talon insisted.  He looked up
to see the girl staring at him.

 "Your Elisa's brother.  Your what she's  been trying to hide from me."

"I knew this was a bad idea."  Brooklyn said.  He glared at Talon in
accusation."

"Your right,"  Talon said.  "But I needed proof of what she could do."

"I hope your satisfied."  Rachel said.  "So when do I get to meet the guy
I came to see."

"You mean you haven't?"  Brooklyn said.  Somewhere in the pit of his
stomach he felt something sink, as he guessed which Mutate Rachel had
dreamt about.  ~Oh no!~

"Who -"  Maggie began, but Brooklyn cut her off.

"Listen Ricky.  I think I figured out who you were dreaming of,  and if
you want him that badly.   You find him."

Ricky looked at him, and said slightly hostile.  "You want me to do that
after what just happened?"

"Are you kidding?  I'm hoping you'll give up and let me take you home."
He looked only half serious, but Rachel didn't like his tone.

"And spend another sleepless night there?  No thanks."  Rachel walked out of
the room, and closed her eyes for a moment.  "He's that way,"  She began
walking toward the cells where Fang was imprisoned."

"She want's Fang? Whatever for?"  Maggie asked.

Brooklyn shook his head.  "I have no idea, but I should have known.  She
went after Demona the same way."

"Demona?"  Talon said, but Brooklyn was already following Ricky to the
cells.

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

Fang was flipping cards into a bucket when he felt it.  A tingle in the
back of his mind.  Someone was watching him. He turned around
slowly.  "Hey!  Can't a guy get any  pri......"  He stopped and stared
at what he saw.

She hadn't changed.  Even after seven years she still looked like a pixie,
and she still had her father's incredibly brown eyes.  Eyes that she
shared with two of her brothers.  He hoped, prayed, that she wouldn't
recognize him, but he knew her.  He knew what she could do, and he
knew that she would know him.

"Jake? Jake, is that you?"  Ricky's voice hadn't changed either.  She 
still sounded like a princess in a story.  She stared at him as if he were a
rare piece of art.  Talon, Maggie, and one of Goliath's gargoyles, Brooklyn,
came into the room.

"Ricky, you know him?"  Brooklyn asked.  He sounded as amazed as she
was.

Ricky was still shocked at what she saw.  Fang made a wicked smile and
said, "Yeah I know her, and her precious family of witches."

"I'm not a witch, Jake,"  Ricky said suddenly finding her voice. It wasn't
a voice Brooklyn was use to.  It was hard, angry.

"Oh yeah?  Then how do you explain this?"  Fang spread his arms wide.
"Didn't you curse me.  Didn't you tell me fate would catch up with
me.  This is your doing you little witch!"

Ricky was real angry now.  Her eyes seemed to blaze with gold as she
answered him.  "And what did you do to me?  If fate nailed you with
that form it's for what you did to me!"

Brooklyn tried to put his hands gently on her shoulders.  "Ricky?"

Ricky ignored the gesture of comfort.  "After Owen told me about my heritage
I asked my brother Richard.  He told me that I wasn't suppose to get the 
gift.  Dad tested me.  I had the potential, but it was Dormant.  He said 
that the only way that the gift could have come out is if something traumatic 
happened to me.  Do you want to guess what happened Jake?  Can you figure 
out the day I started to read other people emotions?  I am what I am, 
because of you!"

Fang looked a little unsettled, but he recovered his attitude quickly
enough.  "I had nothing to do with it.  Your just mad because your
a freak!  Just like your freak brothers and your freak father!  I might
look like a monster, but you've been one on the inside for a long time."
                                     
Rachel's eyes began to glow almost like a gargoyles eyes.  Brooklyn could
feel a prickling of power on his skin.  Something was happening."NO I'M NOT!!"  Rachel said.  At the same time raw power flowed from her,
went through the plastic insulation kept there to keep Fang in, and struck
him in the chest.  Rachel then collapsed on the floor.

Fang suddenly went mad. "No!  No!  get out of my head.  Get away from
me!  It's not real!  It's not real!  No!"

Talon had to make a decision then.  He opened the door to Fang's cell
and struck him unconscious with a blast of electrical power.  He turned
to Brooklyn who held Rachel in his arms.  "What did she do?"  He asked.

Brooklyn looked as shocked as Maggie.  "Talon, I swear, I had no idea that
she could do that!  I don't even know what she did!"

Maggie knelt down next to Brooklyn.  "Well whatever she did, it knocked her
out cold.  Her pulse is weak too."

"That blast must have taken everything she had.  We'll wait until she
wakes before we ask her anything."  Talon said gently.  Even unconscious the
girl seemed to be grieving.

Rachel  woke two hours later.  Brooklyn was hovering over her worriedly.
"I really screwed around with your protective instincts, didn't I."  She
said trying to sound cheerful.  Brooklyn was not cheered up.

"Ricky what happened to you?  What did you do to Fang?" He asked as he 
helped her to rise.

Ricky shook her head.  "I wish I knew.  I only did that once before, and it
was him that set me off  too.  The last time I woke up to find myself at
home.  It was Richard who told me I freaked out Jake.  He never spoke to me
after that.  He left town soon after."

Talon came over and hovered over the pair.  "Do you want to tell us how you
know Fang, and what he did to you that made you psychic?"

~ So now I'm psychic.  Well it's a lot better than being called a witch. ~
She looked at the three figures in front of her.  "Jake is, was a friend to
my family.  He was just a little rough around the edges.  He used to hang
out with this gang called the Party Boys.  Once when, I was thirteen, he was
watching me when they came around.  He couldn't leave me so he brought me
along.  They were going to raid a neighboring gangs hangout.  It was just
a little coffee shop.  There was no one in the store.  Jake told me to stay
in the car, but I didn't listen.  I snuck out and saw them trashing the
place.  This guy, not much older than I am now, came out and tried to
stop him.  The leader ,a big guy, began to rough him up.  I told Jake
to make him stop, but he told me to mind my own business.  The fight was
getting worse, and then it happened.  The leader stabbed him, and that's when
it began."

Ricky stopped and shivered.  Brooklyn picked up an old worn blanket on the
bed she was laying on and put it over her shoulders.  It wasn't' that she
was cold, but he wanted to comfort her.  Ricky nodded her thanks and
continued.  "Something happened in me that instant.  I can't explain it, but
all of a sudden I felt as if there was a knife in my gut.  I could practically
feel the blood oozing out of a wound that wasn't there.  Jake must have
known what had happened.  I guess my dad must have told him what kind of
family I came from because he said.  'She's like Richard'  He tried to
get me out of there, but I wanted him to save that guy.  His buddies didn't
understand until....I guess I kinda projected what I was feeling.  They all
started screaming in pain.  Everything was a haze for a while.  I found
myself back in Jake's car.  He was yelling at me that I was really a witch
like my dad, and that his friends were mad at him now.  I asked him about
that guy they stabbed, and he said to shut up about it, and If I ever told
anyone he'd say I was out of my mind.  He...he told me that no one would
ever trust me because I was one of those freak mind readers.  Then I
guess I nailed him with whatever I did tonight, because I woke up at home
with a broken leg.  Marcus told me that Jake had freaked on the road, and
had an accident.  He was in the hospital for a few days."

She paused again to catch her breath.  "I told my dad what happened, and
he took me to the police.  We managed to put half that gang in jail based
on my testimony.  Jake when to jail to as an accessory, but his sentence
wasn't as long as some of them.  When he got out he left town.  I haven't
seen him until tonight.

She had witnessed a murder.  The shock must have brought out her powers for
the first time.  She felt someone die.  "You poor kid.  You didn't
ask for any of this."  Brooklyn rested his hands on her back.

She took one on his hands and drew it up to her shoulder where she held it
there. "Don't feel bad.  I'm a tough cookie, a survivor.  I did spend
a couple of months in my dad's office though.  I think that's when
I decided I wanted to be a psychiatrist too."

"Well if you want to talk about it, you've helped us enough that we should
return the favor."  Brooklyn reminded her.  He patted his shoulder and
said, "It's getting late.  In fact I don't think I can make it to your
house and back to the castle before sunrise."

"I'll take her home,"  Maggie offered.  Brooklyn nodded his thanks. He
watched as Maggie led the girl away.  He made a quick mental
calculations.  Thanks to Maggie he now had a fifteen minute leeway, and
that's all he needed.


"I want to talk to Fang."  He said.  Talon looked at him oddly.  Brooklyn's
voice had been flat and emotionless, a sure sign he was angry.  He made
his way back to the cells where Fang was imprisoned.  Claw was standing
guard.  "Let me in,"  He said in that same flat tone.  Claw looked at
Talon who nodded.

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

Fang was just beginning to recover when Brooklyn entered the cell.  He 
looked up and began to stand.  Brooklyn was standing there looking at 
him as if he was the one who would turn into a statue, and not the 
gargoyle "So what did the little witch tell you about me?"  He asked.

The next thing he knew  he was on the floor again and his jaw felt
dislocated.  He looked at Brooklyn who was rubbing his fist and staring at
him as if he wanted to deck him again.  "That was for Rachel,"  he said.
His voice was so deep it almost sounded like Goliath.

"So she told you."  Fang said.  He stayed on the floor.  It was probably
safer, if he stayed down.  If not Brooklyn might just decide to hit him
again.

"Yeah, she told me.  She told me how you let her witness a murder.  How
you let an innocent human die for no reason, and how you blamed her for
 her powers coming to the surface because of that!"  Brooklyn answered.
 
"She should have stayed in the car like I told her!  Then none of that
would have happened.  She would have stayed normal!"

"And that human would have died anyway.  Besides you never should have
taken her there.  She spent months in her father's care, because of you.
He trusted you with her."  Brooklyn picked Fang up and let his eyes begin
to glow.

Fang just grinned, "So she didn't tell you everything.  I was beginning to
wonder."

The light faded from Brooklyn's eyes.  "What are you talking about?"

"The kid lied to you pal.  She didn't tell you everything." Fang replied.

"Are you saying it didn't happen?"  Brooklyn demanded.

"Oh no it happened, exactly like she said,"  Fang replied, "she just left
one little detail out, an important one, one that changes everything.  Face
it Brooklyn, your little girlie pal wasn't completely honest with you."

"Maybe,"  Brooklyn said throwing him to the side, "but I'll tell you one
thing Fang,  I trust Ricky more than I trust you."

"Of course you do," he shot back as Brooklyn left his cell.  "Like you
have a choice!"

Brooklyn winced as the last words hit him.  He would have to think about
it later, right now he had to get home before sunrise.

The next evening the others noticed how upset he was.  "You got home very
late last night."  Goliath said.

Brooklyn didn't want to talk, but he knew Goliath wasn't letting him
off the hook.  "Yeah, well I was with Ricky.  I introduced her to Talon
and the guys in the Labyrinth."

"How come?"  Lexington asked, though he had a feeling he knew.

"Because she'd been dreaming of Fang."  When the other's looked at him
in shock he said, "I didn't know it when I brought her down there.  I only
knew she was dreaming of one of the mutates.  It was when she was down
there and she saw him that I understood."  Then he proceeded to tell them
everything.

When he was done Goliath said, "You could not have foreseen the events
that your actions brought about."

"I know it's not my fault,"  Brooklyn answered, "I mean you know Ricky, If
I didn't take her down there she would have found them on her own.  At
least this way I was with her when she needed a friend, but I still wish
it never happened, and I wish I knew what she didn't tell me."

"You mean you believe Fang?"  Angela said.  "I don't, he's probably
just trying to get you to lose your faith in Rachel."

"That's what I thought at first, but then why admit the rest?  He just
said she left something out, and for the life of me I can't think of what."Goliath placed a reassuring hand on Brooklyn's shoulder.  "If it is
important enough, she will tell you.  I would not concern yourself with
it."

"Your right,"  Brooklyn said the gloom lifting from his features a little.
"Still, I'd better go check on Ricky anyway."

Goliath nodded, and merely told him not to be too long.  With that Brooklyn
glided down to Ricky's apartment, only to discover her leaving her house
with an enormous canvas bag.  She walked to the grate he showed her last
night.  She tapped on it, and  Maggie's face popped up.

"Hi Maggie,"  Ricky said.  Maggie smiled at the girl.  It made Brooklyn
wonder if they didn't have one of Ricky's little talks last night when she
took her home.   "Here take this."  Ricky handed Maggie the bag.

"What's all this stuff?"  She asked as she dropped the bag to the bottom
of the tunnel.

Ricky replied, "It's a couple of intelligence tests that I picked up from
school.  I want to have Malibu and the others try a few."

The two girls walked slowly down the corridor.  Brooklyn followed silently
behind.  He wanted to see what was going on.  Just before they reached the
sentry, Talon appeared.  "Hello Rachel."

Ricky was startled.  Once she calmed down though her face wore a slightly
worried expression.  "Hi, you know you can call me Ricky.  Most everyone
does.

Talon smiled.  "Can I ask you something Ricky?"  His tone implied that
she wouldn't like the question.

"Shoot."

Hidden nearby Brooklyn had to smile.  'Shoot' was a bad term for someone
who could fire electrical bolts at will.

Talon paused to let Rachel prepare herself, then said casually.  "You know
after Maggie took you home Brooklyn and I had a talk with Fang."

Ricky gave a wiry grin.  "Is Fang still able to walk?"

"Very funny.  He said you left something important out of your story.
Something that changes everything."  Talon watched for Rachel's reaction.

She didn't wince, or look stunned.  Her expression was one of sadness, as
if she lost something very dear to her.  "Well, is it true?  Did you
neglect to tell us something about Fang?"

"A lie by omission is still a lie?"  She countered.  When Talon didn't answer
her, Ricky turned to face him.  "Yeah I left something out, but It has
nothing to do with you or Brooklyn.  It's a lie I tell myself.  Sometimes
its the only way I can keep from going crazy.  It's not like my dad
doesn't know.  He said it's all right so long as it keeps me sane."

"All right Rachel.  I trust you.  Now lets go see your patients.  They were
pretty happy when I told them you were coming back tonight."  Talon said.

Ricky smiled.  "Good.  I thought I gained their trust.  Now let's see
what I can find out about their thought processes."

Brooklyn watched as Ricky and Talon walked away.  Then he quietly left.
He had learned all he needed to know about this supposed lie.

During the next few weeks Brooklyn saw Ricky on an off.  Sometimes he
accompanied her on her trips to the Labyrinth, and other times he simply
followed her.  Talon caught him one night, but wasn't really surprised to see
him.

Brooklyn lay on his stomach, with his hands under his chin, on a narrow ledge
running along beneath the ceiling of one of the vast underground rooms of the labyrinth. Below Ricky played a child's game with Malibu and Hollywood.

Brooklyn heard a small sound behind him.  He sat up, and spun around to see
Talon simply standing there.  "Do you want some coffee?"  Talon asked
producing a thermos.

Brooklyn looked at Talon dumfounded.  "How did you...I mean I'm sure no
one saw me!"

Talon smiled. "Maggie was giving Rachel some coffee and she suggested we
bring some up here to you.  She said it must be chilly up here all alone
with no blanket."

Brooklyn sighed and accepted the thermos from Talon.  After taking a gulp
he said with a grin, "I warned you about her."

"You certainly did.  Next time I think I'm going to listen.  When she puts
her mind to it she can be pretty amazing."  He settled down next to the
young gargoyle.

Brooklyn smiled and nodded taking a second sip.  "I know, the problem is that
she puts her mind to it pretty often."  He paused a bit uncertain.  "Has
she tried to see Fang again?"

"No,"  Derrick answered.  He looked a bit unsettled.  

"What's wrong?"  Brooklyn said suddenly concerned.

Talon looked as if he was debating bringing up the problem.  He turned
his gaze back to Ricky and the clones.  "I don't know, maybe it has to do
with that psychic blast that she hit Fang with the first night, but he 
seems to know every time she's down here."

Brooklyn sat up and looked at his host.  "That is weird.  Does Ricky ask
about him?"

Talon shook his head.  "Not at all.  She's very good at hiding how she 
feels, but I get the feeling that she thinks about him a lot."

"Well your asking the wrong one if she does.  I'm no mind reader, she
is."  Brooklyn said with a slight grin.  He gazed back down at his
friend.   She was just finishing up with the clones.  "Well since
she knows I'm here I might as well give her a lift home."  He said.
He jumped down following Talon.  

Ricky smiled as he landed.  "Hi Brooklyn," she said.

Brooklyn made a face but kept the amusement in his voice as he said, "don't
'hi Brooklyn' me.  How long have you known that I've been watching you?"

Ricky just smiled and tuned on the charm.  "Oh...since the night after you
brought me here."  She kissed his cheek.  "It's really sweet of you, but
I can take care of myself you know."

"Does that mean you don't want a ride home?" He asked with a grin.  He 
knew better.  Ricky wouldn't miss an opportunity to go gliding with any
of them.

She matched him smile, for smile.  "I didn't say that."

To Brooklyn's surprise Talon offered to go with them.  
***********************************************************
"You know I saw Elisa the other day," Talon said conversationally
as they glided towards NYU.   "She said you and she had a little
talk about me.

In his arms Brooklyn felt Ricky tense.  "Rachel!"  Brooklyn said sharply.  A
conversation with Ricky alone usually meant someone spilled their guts about something, and it was never her.

"Hey," she countered, "Elisa came to my house.  She and Matt were asking
my dad about a patient of his."  When Brooklyn didn't stop glaring she
said, "yeah I pumped her a little. I mean, she knew I had been down there,
she asked what I had wanted, and I know Goliath told her  about Jake.  I
 told her about my work with the clones, and I asked her
how the four of you got turned into mutates.  That's all."

"That's all she told you?"  Brooklyn asked warily.

"That's all I asked her."  Rachel countered.  From the look in her eyes
Brooklyn knew that he wasn't going to get any more about that 
conversation out of her.
*********************************************************
Once Ricky  was home Brooklyn and Talon glided together back to the Castle.
"So did Elisa tell her more than she's telling us?"  Brooklyn asked. 
He tried to make it clear by his tone that Talon didn't have to 
answer if he didn't want to.

Talon didn't appear to be perturbed by the question.  "Quite a bit.  She
doesn't talk about me too much to our parents or Beth.  She said it felt
good to be able to talk to someone about it.  Basically all Ricky did
ask was about how Sevarious trapped us.  She seemed to know about
Maggie, but she was more interested in me and Fang."

Brooklyn considered that.  "Most likely you were an appetizer.  She 
probably wanted to know about Fang."  After a pause he said, "How did
Sevarious nail Fang anyway?"

"We don't know,"  Talon said.  He sounded as curious as Brooklyn felt.
"He never told us.  He and Claw were his first test subjects.  I was
the last one."

His voice had a hard edge to it.  Brooklyn understood.  He had been 
thoroughly snowed by Xanatos.  He had believed that Goliath was 
responsible for his transformation.  Only Elisa and the gargoyle had
known what lengths Xanatos would go to, to achieve his goals.  All of 
the mutates still hated Sevarious. Learning about Thailog, the clones
and Delila didn't improve their opinions of him.  If Talon and the
others ever went after him again, he wanted to be in on it.  Not just
because of the shivers he felt when he first laid eyes on Malibu, but
for Maggie and the others as well.**********************************************************
Talon left Brooklyn at the castle.  Then instead of heading back to the 
Labyrinth, he headed west to where his sister's apartment was.  He landed
and looked in the skylight.  He blinked at the scene inside.  

Elisa and Beth were going through Elisa's closets looking for Dresses.
What surprised him was that Angela was there as well.  From the looks
of things she was enjoying herself.  Gingerly he tapped on the window.
The three girls stopped what they were doing and came to greet
him.  

"Derrick!"  Beth ran over and graced him with a bear hug.  Elisa was
quick to follow.  Angela just stood politely in the background
and greeted him without an embrace.

"So,"  Elisa said when the hello's were done, "what brings you out here?"

"Brooklyn and I were just taking Ricky home," he said casually.  "I think
she's making some progress with the clones.  Malibu, Brentwood, and 
Delila really seem to like her."

"That may just be Ricky's power."  Angela warned him. 

"It probably is.  She said that she can't help it once someone starts
to respond to her.  The progress I was talking about is that she might have found
out why they have problems with independent thoughts."

"Why?"  Elisa asked, curious herself.

Talon paused as if trying to think of the right words.  "Well I don't know
if this is going to make sense but she says they think differently than
normal gargoyles."

Now Angela was intrigued.  "What do you mean they think differently?"

Talon shrugged his shoulders and wings.  "You got me.  That's how she
described it."  When the girls still looked confused he said, "okay.
What she told me is that she can somehow sense people when their close
by.  If they're familiar to her she can tell who it is, but she also
told me that even if she doesn't know them she can tell if it is a 
human or a gargoyle. They somehow feel different in her head.  According
to her the clones feel different from a normal gargoyle.  Last time she
came over she said if she were blindfolded and she had Brooklyn and
Malibu on either side of her she could tell who was where."

"Weird,"  Beth said.

~Weird is a definite understatement when it comes to Rachel,~ Talon thought.
"Well like I said she say's that the clones 'feel' different than you
and your clan do.  She thinks it has something to do with the fact
that they were programmed with their intelligence and didn't learn
it like a naturally hatched gargoyle would.  If she can figure out how
to counter-act their programming she thinks they'll start behaving like
normal gargoyles.  That's not the reason I came over though."

"Then why?"  Elisa asked.

Talon glanced at Angela.  "Angela, I would appreciate this if you didn't
mention it to the rest of the clan, especial Brooklyn."

Angela digested this.  In other words if she stayed, she couldn't tell 
anyone, or she could leave now.  "I promise," she said.

Talon nodded.  "Elisa, I'd like you to do some research on the Party Boys
for me."

Instantly Elisa looked up.  "The Party Boys?"  She asked amazed.

"So who are they?"  Beth asked. sitting on the bed.

Elisa made a face.  "A gang that the force has been trying to nail 
for years.  We get a few of them at a time, but we've never been able
to catch the leaders."

"Ricky said that Fang use to belong to that gang.  He said that she's 
leaving out an important detail about that story, and I have a feeling
that it has to do with who he use to be."

Elisa regarded her brother closely.  "So do you know his real name?

"Ricky said it was Jake.  She never gave his last name though.  
She said he was in jail about seven years ago because of that gang."

Elisa thought about it for a moment.  "I'll see what Matt and I can find
out."

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

Ricky entered her parents house with a sigh of satisfaction.  It was
the O'Neal Family weekly dinner.  She and her brothers all came to her
parents house.  She gave her brother Philip a hug, and smiled at Richard
and his family.  "Where's Marcus?"  She asked.

"Your dear brother found himself a gig yesterday out of town.  He sends
his regrets."  Philip announced.  Then in a whisper he said, "Mom's 
making shepherd's pie with blueberry pie for dessert.  Marcus is miserable."

Ricky smiled.  That was one of Marcus' favorite dinners.  ~ He must be
so upset ~, she thought.  Then she noticed Richard's  worried look.
"Rich what's wrong?"

Her eldest brother frowned.  "Michael came home today with a Party Boy
bandanna today."  

Ricky's eyes widened in anger.  "No!  Say it isn't true!  Didn't you
tell him about Jake?"

Richard scowled.  "Do you think he cared?  He worships the ground Jake
walked on.  He still doesn't believe the gang had anything to do with his
disappearance."

"You think they did?"  Ricky asked.  From the grim look on her brother's 
face she knew the answer.

"They did," he answered.  "I can feel it the same way I know when to sell
my shares.  They had something to do with Jake vanishing right after he
got out of prison.  I'd stake my life on it."

Richard was always being accused of using insider information when he
bought and sold stock, but Ricky knew it was the same gift that she, Philip
and her father had.  If he believed it that strongly he was probably 
right.  There was only one way to know for sure.  "Richard, if you 
don't ask questions, and get me that bandanna, I'll find out what's going
on."  She promised.

Richard wondered at her words.  Since she and he talked about her emerging
talent he taught her a little about shielding her thoughts.  Still he 
trusted his little sister.

The rest of the meal passed in a blur for Rachel.  She remembered the food
and discussion, but it wasn't as fun as it usually was.  Later She managed
to excuse herself early and drive back to her apartment.

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

She didn't go home right away.  She parked the car and made for one of the
entrances to the Labyrinth.  Down below Malibu was guarding the door.
On Ricky's recommendation, Talon began letting the clones do some simple
guarding.  That was easy enough for them to do.  Friends were let in, and
those who were not friends were captured for Talon to question.

Ricky was definitely a friend.  He smiled when he saw her, but then 
frowned.  Usually so happy he noticed that she was not smiling.
"Ricky sad?"  he asked.

That made her smile.  Malibu was the most aware of the five she was
working with.  He often was sensitive to her moods.  "A little.  I have
a problem and I need to see Fang."

"Fang not good.  Fang bad!  Hurt people.  Talon shut away."  Malibu
said slightly hostile.  

Ricky drew her odd friend close and ruffled his hair.  "Yes I know that
Fang is bad, but I need him right now.  You can tell Talon I'm here
if you want."  That bit of indecision gone, Malibu ran off.  Ricky made 
her way slowly to the prison cells where Fang was. 

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

Fang was sulking in his cell when he felt her near.  He was about to turn
and let the little witch have it when she threw a small cloth at his
feet.  He bent down to examine it.  He recognized it immediately.
It was the bandanna of the Party Boys.

"I hope your happy," she said viciously.  "Little Michael isn't little 
anymore, and for some bizarre reason he still thinks it's Richard's fault
that you split."

~ Well it was ~, he thought,  but not directly.  He crushed the bandanna
in his hand, and used his electrical power burned the cloth.  "Ricky you
got to tell Michael to drop those guys.  If they find out who he is they'll
kill him.  They nearly killed me!"

The hate faded from her eyes.  "What are you talking about."

"When I got out of jail I looked up the guys.  They took me in real nice
and pally like.  We went out for a few drinks.  They got me nice and
drunk and then stabbed me and left me in the alley.  If it wasn't for
Sevarious I would have been dead."
"And I suppose you let him do this as a thank you for saving your sorry 
life."  She shot back at him.

"No.  I was still laid up when he shot me full of his formula.  He said 
it would help me heal.  He didn't tell me about the side effects!
But this is no time for an autobiography!  If the Boys find out about
Mikey they'll kill him too.  Rickster you've got to talk him out of 
it."

Ricky felt Talon came in, but she ignored him.  "Only my brothers 
call me Rickster."  She paused, and an uncomfortable silence fell.
"Michael  won't listen.  Richard's talked to him, my
father's talked to him, I've talked to him, Heck even Philip's talked
to him.  He hasn't listened to any of us.  I don't know what to do
anymore."

Just then Fang noticed Talon.  "Talon!  I need to get out!  This kid has
no idea what he's getting involved in.  Those guys will kill him!"

Talon just glared.  "You almost sound concerned for this kid Fang,"  he
said.  "Who is he to you?"

Fang looked at Ricky slightly sad.  "He's my godson.  Talon I know I've 
been a jerk but this is a little kid we're talking about!  He doesn't 
know who he's dealing with."

Talon considered this for a moment.  He eyed the young woman.  "Ricky,
what do you think?"

Rachel looked at Fang warily.  "You don't think you can trust him, do you?"
Talon shook his head.  Ricky sighed and asked, "can you send someone else
to just watch Michael?"

Talon considered.  "Well that all depends on if you think Malibu can
handle the job."

"Him?"  Fang said incredulously.  "He can barley talk!  Your not going to
let one of those half wits look after him!"

Talon considered Fang evenly.  "That all depends on weather or not 
Ricky thinks he can handle the job, and Malibu volunteered."

Suddenly all worry left Ricky's face.  "He did?  By himself?  That's 
terrific!  He thought of something by himself!"

"He saw how upset you were, and he wants you to be happy.  Do you 
think he can do it?"

"Actually considering what you told me, I think he can.  If he feels 
uncertain about something he can always come back to tell you."  

Rachel felt one hundred percent better after the talk with Fang, and Talon.
She explained to Malibu what she needed, she gave him a picture of Michael,
and sent him on his way.  Once the gargoyle clone was gone she turned
to the mutate leader.  "Thanks Derrick I owe you."

"Consider it my payment for all the time you spent with them."  He said.
He had Claw take her home.  Then he went to see Elisa.  He was beginning
to wonder about Ricky's relationship with Fang.  He noticed how sad he 
looked when she called him Fang instead of Jake, then when she said only
her brothers called her Rickster, he positively winced as if she had
wounded him.  He needed to see if Elisa found anything on Fang, and his
association with the Party Boys.

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


It was a very cold night.  Brooklyn wasn't particularly fond of the cold, 
but tonight was incredibly clear.  On cold nights like this most humans
stayed indoors, so it was quite to.  On nights like this he could 
ignore the cold taken by the beauty of the night itself.  Maybe when he
got back to the castle he would talk the guys into going on a little
trip with him.

While he was lost in his thoughts he saw something glide below him.  On
a more closer inspection he recognized the gargoyle as the clone Malibu.

~ What is he doing out? ~  Brooklyn wondered.  As a rule unless they were
doing something for Talon, the clones stayed below.  So he must be 
doing something.

Brooklyn began to follow.  He wasn't sure if he was simply curious, or
if some deep rooted grudge prevented from trusting the clone.  Malibu
didn't appear to be up to any mischief, but he had some unknown purpose.

Malibu seemed to find what he was looking for.  There were a group of 
teens, and a few older men, hanging out.  Malibu landed on a roof top, and
simply sat and watched the group.  Brooklyn noticed that Malibu was 
watching one human in particular.  Someone had given the clone 
a job to do.

Brooklyn landed lightly behind Malibu, but not so lightly that he would
be startled when he began speaking.  Malibu was surprised but did
not react hostilely.

Brooklyn tried to emulate how Ricky behaved with the clones.  He kept
his voice low and even.  "Hey there.  What's shaking?"

Malibu looked at him.  He didn't appear to care whether or not Brooklyn
was there.  "Ricky sad.  Talon say watch boy keep safe.  Ricky be happy
then."

~ So Ricky needs him to stake out one of those kids.~  "So which one are
you watching?"

"That one,"  Malibu answered pointing.  "Ricky said, watch.  If he hurt 
humans scare, if humans hurt him help.  If not sure tell Talon."

"Hmmm."  Brooklyn nodded in understanding.  Obviously the human was 
important to Rachel.  "Do you mind if I tag along?"

Malibu turned to him.  From his expression Brooklyn got the impression
that Malibu didn't trust him.  "What for?"

"Well Ricky is my friend too.  I brought her below, and If the kid gets
into trouble I'd like to be there."  Malibu didn't look convinced.  
"I want her to be happy too."

Malibu considered that.  Then he just turned back to his watching.  He 
didn't complain that Brooklyn was there.   Brooklyn shrugged, and 
settled down to keep the clone company.  He smiled as he thought, ~ If
we stay until sunrise the two of us will look like a pair of bookends. ~

For three day's the pair watched the boy.  He seemed to be in a gang of
some kind.  Thinking about Fang Brooklyn realized why Ricky was worried
about this human.

Tonight the boy went to meet his friends in a deserted part of the docks.
Four larger boys were there.  It was the first night the two could get
close enough to listen to the humans talk.  

"So Mikey, you ready for the good stuff?"

"Yeah I can handle it."  He sounded tough, but Brooklyn could see that 
he was just a kid.

"Come on."  The older guy led the kid into a warehouse building.

Brooklyn had a bad feeling about this so called 'good stuff'   He and 
Malibu landed silently on the roof.  Sure enough Brooklyn saw a neat pile
of syringes and needles.  Brooklyn's sharp eyes also noticed the label
on the illegal substance.

"Dream elixir I might of known,"  he said.  This kid was getting into
deeper trouble than he knew.

"What dream elixir?"  Malibu asked.

Brooklyn tried to think of a way to make the clone understand.  "It's a 
drug...a potion that is bad for you.  It makes you dream about things.
The drug itself doesn't kill you, but if you take too much of it the 
stuff gives you nightmares that has killed four kids with heart attacks.
They were scared to death by their own dreams."

Malibu pondered this for a moment.  "Dream elixir bad?"

"Yeah,"  Brooklyn said tiredly.  "It's bad."  As much as Brooklyn wanted
to go in and stop them he knew that it would be impractical.  The drug 
wouldn't kill him if he didn't over-dose, and if they show up to stop
him they could get into serious trouble.  After thinking a minute he
said, "you stay here and keep an eye on them.  Elisa wants to nail the 
guys who are distributing the stuff.  If these guys are giving it away
for free they just might be it.  I want to look around."

Brooklyn didn't leave the roof.  Instead he went to the back of the 
building and looked around.  Down below were several kids all about
the same age as the boy they were watching.  They were doing various chores
in the compound.  Their eyes seemed glazed over.  From what Brooklyn knew
about dream elixir it made it impossible for the user to move around.  
~ They must be under the influence of another kind of drug, but why?
For what reason? ~  

There seem to be a lot of coming and going from one building in 
particular.  That one had a light coming from the sky light.  Brooklyn
glided over to see what was going on inside.  The room was pretty barren
only a few tables with various lab equipment.  Two older men were in
the room, plus a third figure in the shadows.  The shape seemed to be too large for
a human

"You were right," One of the human's was saying.  "The new formula worked
like a charm.  Living zombies to do our bidding.  They don't even noticeyou."

"That's the way I planned it.  Soon I'll have enough of a cash base and you
will help me to distribute the drug to the employees of Nightstone 
Industries.  Eventually I will have back what is mine"  the shadowed 
figure answered, in a deep, resonant voice.

Brooklyn's talons tightened over the edge of the roof, digging gouges into
the metal. "No, it can't be possible!" He whispered.
He had thought he died.  Everyone thought he was dead and gone out 
of their lives, but he wasn't.  Thailog was alive.  "No!"  He repeated.

Suddenly the shadow moved into the light and looked up at the skylight
at him. ~Stupid idiot! Humans couldn't hear you but he has a 
gargoyle's ears! ~  He admonished himself.  He had no fantasies of saving
the day.  The last time he tangled with Thailog alone the larger gargoyle
beat him.  He shot off the roof and rejoined Malibu.  

"Come on Malibu time to go!"  He said as he took the clones hand and 
pulled him alone.

Malibu followed a bit reluctantly.  "What wrong.  Why not watch boy?"

"We have a much bigger problem than we thought."  Brooklyn said, his voice
was full of worry.  Once on a conversation with Ricky they young psyche
major said that she wondered if some of their problems were related to the
fact that they were programmed instead of developing like a normal gargoyle.
If that programming was still operational....   Brooklyn knew that the
only thing Malibu was programmed with was one command;  'Obey Thailog.'

"Well what do you know," a voice spoke from behind them.

Brooklyn turned, slowly.  On the other end of the roof, wings cloaked, stood
Thailog, the night wind tugging at his hair. Malibu, come," he said
commandingly, extending his arm towards the clone.

Malibu froze the moment he heard Thailog's voice.  His eyes glazed over
as if a spell had been laid on him.  "Master," he whispered. He began to 
make a turn, but Brooklyn tackled him .

"Malibu no!  You can't go back to him!  I thought you liked living with
Talon and the mutates.  Fight it Malibu, I know you can.  You can't let all of
Ricky's work go to waste!"

Malibu was struggling, but Brooklyn thought it seemed half-hearted.

Malibu did look confused and torn.  "Don't want to go.  Have to go.  Want
to stay with Thai-  No!  Stay with Talon!  Want to fight it, but must
obey."

Thailog called again.  "Malibu, come."

Brooklyn shouted in the clone's ear drowning out the compelling call.
"Don't listen to him!  We have to get out of here.  We have to warn
Talon!"

Now the clone was trembling under Brooklyn.  "Can't go, can't move.  If
move go to Thailog."

"No pal my blood line is not running back to that nut case."  Brooklyn 
was trying to think of something  that would keep Malibu focused on 
warning Talon.  "Malibu, go to Ricky.  Ricky is your friend.  Ricky
can help you feel good.  Find Ricky.  Go to her.   Don't think of 
anything else.  Just find Ricky."

Malibu understood.  He was to focus on only finding Ricky.  Ricky was
his friend and she would help him.  "Find Ricky," he said more to himself
than to Brooklyn.  "Find Ricky."

Brooklyn pointed him away from Thailog who was now advancing.  "Find Ricky,"
Brooklyn whispered in his ear.  "Find Ricky"  He let go of the clone, and
Malibu began to run along the roof-top on all fours, away from Thailog

Malibu come!"  Thailog now said, louder, angrier.  He began to walk slowly
after Malibu, as if confident that the clone would not leave him.

Malibu paused, looking back over his shoulder as he crouched near the edge
of the roof, poised to take flight.  
  
"Find Ricky!"  Brooklyn yelled.  

The clone's head turned sharply from Thailog, back to Brooklyn.

Without pausing to see if Malibu obeyed, Brooklyn hurled himself at Thailog. 
Then he turned back, He knew that if Thailog kept calling Malibu the clone might eventually come to him.  If he was to keep going, he was going to have to stop Thailog from calling Malibu.

He knew full well that he couldn't take Thailog alone, but he knew that
he had to stall for time.  He struck Thailog first in the waist, then
he landed a right cross on his jaw.  Thailog countered with a blow to
the belly.  Brooklyn had to think about breathing for a moment, then 
went back for more.

He again struck Thailog in the side.  Thailog came back with a blow to the
back.  Brooklyn went head first into the ground.  He lay still for a second
hoping Thailog would think he was knocked out.  Then in a flash he was
on his feet, and running towards the edge of the roof.  With a surge of
relief he saw that the clone was no where in sight.

Two seconds later his body felt like it was on fire from the inside.  He
collapsed to the roof paralyzed.  Above him he could hear voices.

"I thought you could use some help boss,"  Someone was saying.

"Very good."  Thailog's voice answered.  "This one made me lose one of my 
wayward children.  Now I can use him to get them back."

~ No matter what, ~  Brooklyn swore to himself, ~ I'll never let him use
me. ~  Then his world went black.

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


Talon came in through his sisters sky light.  As much as he enjoyed gliding
and as much as he enjoyed his girlfriend Maggie, there were times
he wished that he was simply human once again.  ~If only I had listened
to Elisa in the first place.~  Then he would shrugged it off.  Might-have-
beens don't change anything, and he vowed to himself ,right after he learned
the truth about Xanatos, that he would always listen to his big sister.

Elisa was there pouring over her computer.  The expression on her face was
sever and puzzling at the same time.  "Hey sis,"  he called.

Elisa barely glanced at him.  "Hi Derrick," she answered.  There was 
something about her voice that made him worry.

"Elisa is every thing all right?"

Elisa turned away from her work, she breathed out forcefully making a 
hissing sound as the air escaped from between her teeth.  "I have that
information you wanted on the party boys and Rachel,"  She said.

Derrick took a chair and sat next to his sister looking at the computer
screen.  It was mostly a normal set of police report.  Such and such was 
arrested on such and such a date.  Was tried on this date.  He was 
convicted on that date. The next three were pretty much the same.  Then
at the fourth he looked closer.  "Elisa, am I reading this right?"

"Yep."  His sister gave him a grim look.  "That's what Ricky didn't want
to tell you."

Talon considered this for a few moment.  "Now it all makes sense. He
closed the file and began to leave.  "Thanks sis, and by the way-"

Elisa smiled and finished for him.  "Don't worry I won't tell Brooklyn or
the rest of the guys."

Talon smiled, his fangs dipping out slightly.  "Thanks again sis."  Then 
he went back to the sky light, and glided away.  He had the distinct 
feeling he should talk to Fang about Ricky.

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


Brooklyn came to slowly with a pounding headache.  He could feel that he 
was lying on some sort of table.  His arms and legs were bound in such a 
position that he couldn't move.  He opened his eyes and closed them again 
quickly.  The bright light hurt, but worse than  the light was the 
chuckling of an evil voice.  "Come now.  Rise and shine."

Brooklyn opened his eyes again and squinted as he saw the shadowy figure
above him.  "Drop Dead Thailog."

"Oh, I've already tried that.  I didn't like it."  He chuckled. "I would
much rather you tell me where my little servant Malibu has run off 
to."

Brooklyn grinned confidently.  "Your really not stupid enough to believe
that I'll just tell you that?"  Brooklyn said his grin turning into
a sneer.  "You might as well just kill me and get it over with."

"I don't think so,"   Thailog replied.  "I think I have a way of 
loosening that stubborn tongue of yours."  He held up a vial of silvery
liquid.  "Do you know what this is?"

Brooklyn did, much to his regret.  "That's Dream Elixir, isn't it."

Thailog smiled, and Brooklyn felt an icy chill run down his back.  "Very
good Brooklyn.  Your quite clever, and I suppose that you know what it
does."  He took the bottle and began filling a syringe with the simmeringpotion.  "In small doses it produces some quite pleasant hallucinations,
but in larger doses it can produce nightmares capable of literally 
scarring the user to death."

Brooklyn had a sickening feeling in his gut about what was coming next.
He saw Thailog move slowly towards his left side.  Two humans he hadn't
seen before grabbed on to his bound arm.

"I will inject you with one dose ever twenty minutes." Thailog explained.
"The drug begins to work quite quickly I assure you.  Sooner or later
you will tell me what I want to know, or ...."  He paused as he savored
the understanding in Brooklyn's eyes.  "Well I suppose you get the idea."

Brooklyn tried to get free, but between the two humans holding his arms, 
and the restraints he was helpless.  All he could do was watch as Thailog
put the needle into his bulging vein.

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


Fang felt a familiar tingle in the back of his mind.  He got off his bare 
bunk, and looked out of the plexiglass barrier that kept him imprisoned.  
Rachel was coming towards him.  "Hi Jake," she said civilly.  "Have you 
guys heard from Malibu lately?"

~So I'm Jake right now, and not Fang.  I'd better not do anything to 
change her mind.  "Our illustrious leader hasn't heard from him tonight.  
Last night he said that you buddy Brooklyn started tagging along though.

Ricky brightened immediately.  "He is?  He is so sweet sometimes."  It took
everything Fang had in him not to make a lewd comment.

He did say something though.  "Don't tell me your falling for him."  

Ricky made a face and turned her back to him.  "No, I'm not," she exclaimed
stronger than he expected.  She leaned against the wall and shut her eyes.
"It's just that...well...he reminds me a little of Philip...or maybe 
Marcus, and sometimes he's a little like Richard.  Actually he's like
little bits of the three of them rolled into one."

"Humph,"  he retorted.  "You might as well add me in there.  I mean we at 
least look alike.  I don't know how those three would like being compared
to a gargoyle."

Rachel turned on him a little hostile.  "Looks have nothing to do with it.
When I first saw Brooklyn, well...I had just stopped a mob from hurting 
him, and some of the others.  To prove that I wasn't afraid of them I walked up to
Brooklyn and shook his hand."

 "And?"

Ricky smiled at the memory.  "Well he did something really cool.  He
took my hand and bowed over it, and started talking like in a movie.  Just 
like a knight or something from King Arthur's time."

Fang smiled sardonically.  "Your off by about five hundred years."

"I know, but he looked me right in the eyes, and then suddenly I knew him."

Fang felt her recalling the memory, he felt it, before he could stop what
was happening, before he could shut her out of his mind..

          **Many times before in her life she had known things 
          about people when they touched her or she looked into
          their eyes, but nothing she ever sensed before was 
          like this sensation.  It ran through her body like a 
          strong wind filling her completely.  She now knew this 
          gargoyle.

          The soul of a warrior burned behind those onyx eyes, but 
          at the same time she could also sense how sweet and kind 
          he was with a hint of playfulness that matched her own 
          sense of humor.  She knew that he would never shirk a 
          responsibility, but he deeply feared being all alone and 
          without the support of his elders.  There were many deep 
          hurts inside of him, but he would never let them affect 
          his duties.  Despite whatever he might feel inside he would 
          project calm and confidence to all under his command.

          Ricky found herself liking this gargoyle.  He was so much 
          like her older brothers.   Then as suddenly as it began the 
          sensation was gone.  He was once again just there holding 
          on to her hand.**


 Suddenly the memory ended.  Ricky turned sharply.  Fang followed her gaze to
see Talon standing there just looking at them.  The leader of the mutates had a strange expression
on his face, almost as if he  were seeing them together for the first time.

"Oh no,"  Rachel whispered to Fang.  "I've got this bad feeling he knows."

Fang didn't doubt Rachel's feelings for a second.  He knew better. 

Talon quietly entered the corridor that led to the cages.  "Hi Rachel."
He chose to ignore Fang for the moment.  "Malibu hasn't come back
yet, and its five hours to sunrise.  I don't think it's worth it to
hang around here."

As far as he could tell Talon wasn't going to mention if he knew their
little secret.  Strangely enough Ricky shook her head at the suggestion
that she go home.

"I don't think so.  I have this feeling that I should be down here.  I'm 
not sure I understand it, but it's important that I be here."

"If she's got a hunch Talon, your not going to get her out of here with
a forklift."  Fang said with a grin.  Talon glanced at his fellow 
mutate and nodded with a smile to match his.  He was beginning to learn
about Ricky's talent.

"Can you tell us why?"  Talon asked.  

Fang knew that was hard for her.  Empath's almost could never explain why
they felt a certain way.  Suddenly she stopped and lifted her head as
if listening.  "Malibu?"  She said into the air.

Talon and Fang exchanged a glance.  He had just said that Malibu wasn't 
due back for a while.

"Malibu!"  Ricky called again.  This time her face and voice were filled
with alarm.  

"Ricky what's going on?"  Fang asked.

Rachel held her arms wide and got down into a kneeling position.  "I'm here
Malibu!  I'm here!"  She cried out ignoring Fang.

Out of nowhere he appeared.  He was running on all fours at a speed that
Talon found amazing.  He never pushed the clones to their limits, but 
Malibu apparently found the need to.  He didn't even slow as he approached
Rachel.  He just slammed into her trying to hide his beak under her ebony
hair and quivered as if he had no bones in his body.  "Find Ricky, Find 
Ricky," he repeated.  apparently unaware that he found her.

Ricky was nearly knocked over when he ran into her arms, but she righted 
herself and then began to cuddle the gargoyle clone.  "You found me.  It's
okay Malibu.  I'm here.  I'll make you feel better.  Shh, shh  It's okay."
Ricky began to stroke the gargoyle's hair, then moved under the hair and 
started to rub a small circular pattern at the base of his neck.  

"Never go back,"  Malibu said,  "wanted to, but not want to.  Want to be
free.  Malibu scared.  Master's back.  Master wants us all back."

Talon's and Fang's eyes widened at that statement.  "Master?"  Fang said.
Fear and warning were both in his voice.

"Maggie!  Claw!  Get in here!"  Talon commanded.  As soon as the two 
mutates came in the room they noticed Malibu.

"What happened to him?"  Maggie asked.

"Never mind that now,"  Talon said.  He turned to Claw.  "Get all the other
clones together and Delila and get them into the deepest part of the 
labyrinth, and keep a guard on them."

Claw hurried to obey, but Maggie asked, "Talon what's wrong?"

Talon held onto his love's hands and said as gently as he could.  "He's
alive Maggie.  He's alive, and I think Ricky is right.  If their 
programming is what's keeping them from learning properly, then...."

"Then he could call them back to him any time he wants."  Fang said.

"And he could use them to kill us."  Talon finished.

Maggie held on to Derrick tighter and the three mutates watched as
Rachel tried to calm the trembling gargoyle in her arms.

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

Brooklyn was soaring above Castle Wyvern.  Something was wrong, but...no
he was in Scotland where he was supposed to be.  He was surrounded by
hundreds of gargoyles.  This was right.

But it was wrong, too.  Somehow things weren't suppose to be this 
way.  It was too hard to think about it.  He should just let the 
breeze take him where it wanted him to go.

"Brooklyn,  Brooklyn"That voice.  He knew that voice.  Of course Goliath his leader.  Everything
was all right.  He opened his eyes, ~but why were they closed?~  As 
expected Goliath was there.

"Everything is all right now, right?"

"Yes of course it is, but Malibu is missing."

"Missing?"  a tiny voice began to cry out in his head, ~something's wrong.~

"Tell me where he is.  Where does he like to go."

The tiny voice began to scream in his mind.  Something was wrong.  He 
closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it.  He opened his eyes again.
It wasn't Goliath.  It was Thailog.

Brooklyn spit in his face.  He had to fight this fuzzy feeling in his head.
He had to keep alert no matter how much Dream Elixir Thailog pumped into 
his system.

Thailog wiped the spit from his face.  "If I thought you could feel it 
I would break your neck.  Unfortunately in your present state you can't
feel anything.  It doesn't matter how you die though.  I will enjoy 
hearing you scream in terror at your own nightmares."

"I'll die before I let you trick me."  Brooklyn said.

Thailog glowered and his eyes glowed for a few minutes.  "As you wish."
He turned to someone, but in the haze of the drug's influence Brooklyn
couldn't see him.  "Double the next dosage."

A voice came out of nowhere.  ~Where am I again?~  Brooklyn shook his
head again to focus.  

"Yo Mr. Thailog, you've already given this joker three doses.  If you 
give him anymore, he'll die."

Thailog's voice was like stained silk.  "I know."

Brooklyn closed his eyes and let himself sink back into the dreams. ~I 
might as well enjoy them while I can they're not going to stay nice 
for long.~

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

"Shhhh,  shhhhh.  Malibu it's Okay,"  Ricky crooned again, and again.
All Talon and the others could do was watch as Ricky tried to comfort
the gargoyle clone.  She  gently rubbed his back.  Brooklyn had 
warned Talon about what happens to people when she touched them, and 
it appeared to have some kind of effect.  His breathing had slowed
considerably, and though he was still shaking, it was less than 
it had been ten minutes ago.

"Ah Ricky?  I don't want to presume to tell you how to handle him, but 
we need to know what he saw."  Talon said gently.

Ricky twisted her neck to face him, and glared at him.  Talon backed
off  and decided to let Ricky do things her way.  Just them Malibu spoke up.

"No,  Talon right.  Must tell.  Brooklyn say 'warn Talon'.  Brooklyn
saved Malibu.  Stopped Malibu from going back.  Stopped Malibu from going to 
him. Thailog not gone.  Making bad potion.  Brooklyn called Dream Elixir.
Brooklyn say Dream Elixir bad."

Now Ricky's expression was one of worry.  She and Talon exchanged a glance.
They both knew about Dream Elixir and it's effects.  Ricky, still holding
on to Malibu asked, "was Brooklyn with you?"  When Malibu nodded she said,
"where is he?"

Malibu shivered as if chilled for a moment.  "Thailog call Malibu.  Malibu
go.  Brooklyn stopped Malibu.  Brooklyn make Malibu think.  Brooklyn say
'Find Ricky.'  Malibu run.  Brooklyn ran to Thailog.  Make him stop
calling Malibu."  Suddenly Malibu shivered again and cringed as if he
expected punishment.  "Can't go back!  Must not go back!  If go back
Thailog call, and Malibu go!.

Ricky backed up just enough that Malibu was facing her instead of on her 
shoulder.  She grabbed his beak and held it in her hands, forcing the
clone to look at her directly in her amber-brown eyes.  "Malibu listen to 
me.  Listen and believe me when I tell you that you can fight Thailog's 
control.  You came here, not because Brooklyn told you, but because
you wanted to.  You chose, for yourself what it was that you wanted 
to do.  You are a free independent being.  You can stop Thailog from
controlling you.  I know you can!  All you have to do is choose it for 
yourself.  Choose it Malibu.  Choose freedom."

Talon watched fascinated as Ricky held Malibu with her hands and eyes.
On his left Fang blinked and said, "What the?"

In that same instant Ricky and Malibu flew apart as if they had been 
burned.  Ricky passed out on the floor of the tunnel.

"Ricky!"  Fang shouted.  Talon and Maggie went over to help her.  
Fang pressed himself against his plexiglass prison to watch.  No
one noticed Malibu in the corner.

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

Malibu sat alone and shook his head trying to get rid of the buzzing 
sensation in his mind.  He felt strange, different.  He wasn't sure
what had happened but to him it felt like someone had reached into his
head and broke something.  He shook his head out again to get rid of 
the pieces of whatever had broken.  He could hear voices.  

"Ricky come on!  Snap out of it."

"Talon what's wrong.  What happened to her?"

"I don't know.  Wait!  She's coming too.

Malibu felt a little better, but the strange new sensations didn't stop.
He opened his eyes and watched as Talon helped Ricky into a sitting
position.

"Man,  what happened?"   She said as she looked at them all.

"I was hoping you could tell us," Talon said.  Ricky shook her head no.

"Uh uh.  The last thing I remember was holding Malibu.  When he got
so scared I could feel it.  I had to do something.  Then....something
just popped."

"Popped?"  Talon repeated.

Ricky just shrugged.  "I can't explain it any other way."

Malibu saw Fang nod.  "It was a pop.  I heard it."

"You did?"  Talon asked.  Fang nodded again, but his eyes were on
Ricky, and she was looking right back at him.  Talon didn't notice
the message going between them.  "But what popped?"

"Malibu thinks Malibu popped," the clone said suddenly, wonderingly.  He almost
smiled as he saw the four faces turn towards him.

"Oh man!  Malibu!  I forgot about you.  Are you all right?"  Ricky went
over to him, but he brushed her back gently.

Talon followed close behind Ricky.  "What do you mean you popped?"

Malibu looked up.  It was so hard to find the words he wanted to use.
"Thailog gone."  From their expressions they were as shocked as he
was.

"Gone?" Maggie said, "but you said he was alive."

"No,"  Malibu answered still trying to figure out how to explain how he
felt.  "Thailog gone from here."  He pointed to his head.

Talon and Maggie looked totally perplexed.  Ricky seemed to understand.
"Malibu come here."  As he did so she gently took his beak again and
stared into his eyes.  Malibu didn't feel anything but Ricky looked
back with comprehension.

"I think....guys I think I did something to him.  His mind is different.
Its not working the way it was."

"I don't understand,"  Maggie said.

Talon leaned forward.  "I think I'm beginning to.  Ricky are you saying 
that you disabled Thailog's programming?"

"I think so."

"Ricky make Thailog go?"  he asked.

"I guess.  I just have no idea how I did it."

Malibu gently pushed his way out of Ricky's arms.  "No time to figure
out.  Brooklyn in big big trouble.  Fight Thailog to help Malibu, Now
Malibu help Brooklyn!"

Malibu wasn't sure what he said wrong, but the others were staring at him
as if he were mad.

"Wait a minute!"  Fang said harshly.  "Less than ten minutes ago you were
quaking in your loincloth at the idea of going back.  Now you want to go?"

"Not want to go.  Thailog bad, very bad.  Thailog scares me, but Brooklyn
in trouble.  Malibu has to go."Talon looked at Malibu a bit uncertain, but finally he said.  "He's 
right.  If Brooklyn's in trouble we have to help him."

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


Brooklyn was gliding at nearly his top speed back to the castle.  As he 
drew nearer to the tower he could see Demona's powder blue form standing 
next to the others.  Brooklyn landed and said, "What is she doing here.  There's no
room for traitors in this clan."

No one looked at him or answered.  Demona just gave him an evilly amused 
look.  She chuckled, and said, "I have finally found a way for Goliath to
hear my point of view.  Show him my love."

Goliath turned toward Brooklyn.  They all turned.  Then Brooklyn saw, and 
understood.  Their eyes, the eyes of every gargoyle except for Demona had
no pupil, but they were not glowing like they do in battle.  Instead a dull
pale green took it's place.  Their faces were slack and without emotion.

They were exactly like Goliath had been when Demona had used the controlling
spell on him.  

Brooklyn  looked at all of them.  They were all the same.  When he turned 
to Demona she grinned triumphantly and held up a book.  Brooklyn backed
up in fear.  It was the Grimorum Acknorum.

"No!"  Brooklyn yelled.  He tried to escape, but Goliath grabbed him.
Demona laughed again.

"It is useless to fight me Brooklyn. You know that.   Remember you brought 
me the Grimorum. I have won because of you."

~The Grimorum?  But Goliath said that the Grimorum was destroyed, and I 
got the book back from her.  I remember.~

"Give in to me Brooklyn.  You know you cannot win."  She said shaking the
thought from him.

"Never," he answered defiantly.

"You will submit!"  Demona roared back.  She dropped her wings and Brooklyn
could see Elisa's dead inert form behind her.  He turned away from the
bloody scene before him.  "You will submit, or die,"  she said.  Then 
to the others she said, "take him."

Brooklyn tired to struggle, but Goliath was too strong for him.  "Do not
be afraid."  Angela, as entranced as the others intoned.  "Be one of us."

"No!  Never,"  Brooklyn said in desperation.  "Angela snap out of it!"

Goliath's voice was gentle, but it did not comfort him.  "Do not resist.
Tell us where Malibu is."

~Malibu?~  "No I won't!"

"Tell us," Goliath repeated, "Where is Malibu?"

~Why were they bringing Malibu's name into this.  Suddenly Brooklyn 
realized that something was wrong.  Goliath had told him that the 
Grimorum had been destroyed.  He was dreaming.  He closed his eyes tightly 
against the vision.  When he opened them again he was back in the 
wearhouse.  It seemed as if he were looking through some kind of filter 
that distorted the color and shapes of things, but now the nightmare was
over.

Thailog looked at him, and sighed most unsatisfactorily.  "Again?  I must
say you have a remarkable will."  He reached for another bottle of Dream
Elixir.

Brooklyn breathed in heavily.  He knew in his heart he was beginning to 
weaken.  He didn't want to give in to either the drug or Thailog.  He 
wanted Thailog to kill him.  Once he was dead he would no longer be a
danger to Malibu, and he would be useless to Thailog.  "Just lucky I 
guess," he replied saucily.  "You should just give up.  Your not going
to win, I am."

Thailog growled, his eyes glinted red (or were they blue?) for a brief
moment.  "Eventually your going to talk, or die,"  Thailog said.

Brooklyn smiled smugly through his haze.  "If I die, I win, and even if 
I don't I made Malibu run from you.  Face it, you'll never control him 
the way you did before.  You may kill me, but I've still won."

Angry now Thailog grabbed at the helpless gargoyle intending to snap his
spine in two.  When he saw a peaceful smile cross the youth's face he 
stopped.  "No I will break you!"  He let go and, returned to the syringe
and bottle.  "Hold him and keep him silent!"  He ordered his two aids.  
The pair of ruffians grabbed onto his arm and beak.

This was as bad as any nightmare that the drug had induced.  The fear
that he would inevitably break down before he died, and the anxiety 
over the terrifying visions were amplified by the drug as well.  He 
wanted to beg Thailog to stop.  He wanted to tell him where Malibu was.
He was willing to do anything to make the dreams stop.

Brooklyn bit his tongue hard.  He couldn't give in.  As Thailog began to
administer the next shot, he spit at him again.  Only this time, with his
vision distorted, he missed.

Thailog turned toward him immediately, and struck him across his beak.
Brooklyn couldn't feel it any more than he felt himself bite his tongue.
Still it caused him to lose his tenuous grip on reality.  He was falling...
falling back into the dreams.  He was falling...falling from the Erie 
building, and has somehow lost his wings.

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


Ricky was struggling before they even got close to the group of wearhouses
that Malibu was leading them to.  Malibu finally had to land, and let
her go.  "Ricky foolish girl!  Not have wings!  If fall, all gone!

Talon and Fang landed next to them.  Ricky seemed to be hysterical for no
reason.  Fang looked extremely worried.  He moved in front of her before 
she could get away from them.  He gently took her head and forced her to
look at him.  "Ricky, come on sweetheart tell me what you feel."

Ricky looked completely stricken.  "Brooklyn!  I have to get to him now!"

Fang shook her gently.  "Ricky!  Block him out!  Make a wall in your head
between you and him."  She was struggling in his grasp.  "Do it!"

Talon was about to stop Fang when Ricky blinked and her hysterics stopped.
She looked at Fang with a bewildered expression on her face.  "I think
it worked."

Fang breathed the tension out with a sigh.  "Hasn't Richard taught you
anything yet?"  

Ricky glared at him from between her dark eyelashes.  "We don't have 
time to have a fight.  Just because I can block him out now, doesn't mean
that I don't remember what he was feeling."

"And what is Brooklyn feeling?"  Talon asked.

"Ricky paused and looked puzzled.  "I'm not sure what I was feeling.  Brooklyn
was panicking,
terrified.  I've never felt anything like this from him.  I think something is really
wrong."

Talon made a cross between a growl and a hiss.  "We have to find a way to find
out what's going on.  Ricky do you think you can tell us where Brooklyn is?"

Rachel had a fierce expression on her face.  "Yeah I can.  It's the third building on
the left and he's hurting something awful."

"Hurting?"  Talon repeated questioningly.

"It's not a physical hurt.  It's more like an emotional one.  It hurts all the same
though,"  she explained.

Malibu found it hard to understand the words Ricky was using, but he had an idea
that she knew how Brooklyn felt.  "Brooklyn feel bad?  Ricky know?"  he asked.

"Yes I can feel Brooklyn, and he does feel bad.  It's like he's having a bad dream or
something."

"Nightmares?"  Brooklyn had used the word before.  "Bad dreams?"

"Yes, nightmares are bad dreams."  Talon said absently.

In a flash Malibu understood.  "Bad dreams.  Brooklyn say Dream Elixir make bad
dreams!"

"And Mikey was here?"  When Malibu nodded Fang's hand began to glow with
electrical power.  "You left Mikey here with those drug dealers?

Malibu backed up uneasily as Ricky placed a restraining arm on Fang.  "Talon say
if boy hurt human scare, if humans hurt boy save.  Boy not hurt or be hurt.  Men take boy into room.  Brooklyn go away, come back fast.  Brooklyn say run away, then Thailog come!"

"Jake he's right all this happened tonight!"  Ricky said.

The electricity died down, and Fang smacked his right fist into his left hand.  "If
Lou and Tank are still in with 'The Boys' I want a piece of them."

"Later," Ricky insisted.  "Right now we have to help Brooklyn."

"But how?"  Talon asked.  "We can't get down there without being spotted, andwe won't be able to get close to him."

A slow thoughtful expression played across Fang's expression as he watched
Malibu.  "We can't," he said quietly, "but maybe there's someone who they won't care about.  Someone who will really be on our side."

Malibu wasn't sure he understood, but suddenly Talon blinked with surprise. 
"No!" he shouted.  "Are you crazy?"

Ricky was right behind Talon.  "You have no idea how he felt when he came into
the Labyrinth tonight!  How could we ever agree to that!"

"It's not your decision to make Rachel."  Fang replied evenly.  "It's Malibu's"

"Me?"  Malibu pointed to himself.  Ricky's eyes widened, but she kept silent.

"Thailog has no clue that your over him.  You go in and play the obedient little
slave.  He'll probably ignore you after the first few seconds.  Then you find Brooklyn, ax the guards, and get us in."

"What if  he can't?  What if he falls under Thailog's control when he's in front of
him?"  Talon said.

Fang looked supremely confidant.  "I don't think he will."  

Talon turned immediately to Rachel.  "What do you think?"

Ricky eyed Malibu up and down.  "Malibu," she began softly, "do you think you
can be near Thailog and not obey him?"

Malibu did not hesitate to answer.  "Thailog gone here."  He tapped his head. 
"Never come back.  Thailog hurt people.  Malibu hate Thailog."

Ricky let out a soft, "wow."  Malibu wondered if it had to do with what he just
said, but the thought was driven away with her next question.

"Malibu, do you think that you could pretend to be Thailog's slave so you could
find Brooklyn?"

Malibu wasn't sure he understood.  "Pretend?"

Talon suddenly looked worried.  "Oh no, if he doesn't understand pretend this isn't
going to work."

Fang walked past Talon, and knelt next to Rachel.  "That's not a prob."  Malibu
made a face  He knew that Talon and Ricky  didn't trust Fang.  A glance from Ricky encouraged him to hold his  ground.

"Okay Malibu,"  Fang began, "you remember Thailog and Demona."

Malibu nodded uncertainly.  "Yes."

"Remember Thailog said he loved Demona then he brought out that other babe
Delila, and tried to ice Demona."

Malibu recalled that night in Coney Island.  "Yes Malibu remember.  Demona say
Thailog mate,  then Thailog say Delila mate."

"Right,"  Fang said.  "Thailog pretended to love Demona.  He made her believe
that he loved her, but he lied."

Malibu agreed readily.  "Thailog love no one.  Not like Talon and Ricky love."  He
had never been  sure what love was.  Ricky once said that whey you love someone, you want to keep them safe and happy.  Talon did that with he and the other clones all the time.  Ricky did too.  To his recollection though Thailog never showed concern for them.

Fang nodded, and said, "but he made Demona believe that he loved her.  That's the
clincher kid.  Do you think you can make Thailog believe you're still his slave?"

Now Malibu understood what was wanted from him.  To make Thailog believe
that he was not a threat to him.  That he was still as enthralled as the day he became aware.

It wasn't going to be easy.  Malibu was sure of that.  Thailog was far smarter than
him, and far stronger.  The idea of confronting Thailog terrified him, but he knew he had to.  Brooklyn lost his freedom saving him.  Now he had to save Brooklyn.

"Not know," he admitted, "but want to try.  Brooklyn help Malibu, and Brooklyn
get caught.  Now Malibu help Brooklyn."

Talon shook his head worriedly.  "I don't like this.  It's too risky.  One mistake and
Thailog will kill you."

"I don't care,"  Malibu shot back.  "Brooklyn in trouble because of me.  Have to
save Brooklyn.  Talon not stop me."

Talon opened his mouth to say something, but Rachel stopped him.  "No Derrick. 
If Malibu wants to we don't have the right to stop him.  She turned and drew closer to Malibu.  "Are you sure you want to do this?"  She asked.

Malibu took her hands in his.  "Not want to," he explained, shaking his head.. 
"Have to."  He nodded once to emphasize his point.  

Rachel looked at him with a light in her eyes that Malibu had never noticed before. 
"Yeah," she said with a hint of pride.  I guess you do."  She hugged Malibu closely to her.  "See what you can do on your own, but if you think you need help think about me hard, and please Malibu, whatever you do, don't give yourself away unless it means your life, or Brooklyn's."

Malibu understood.  She was trembling in her arms.  "Ricky not worry.  Malibu
save Brooklyn."  He gently disengaged himself from her and glided down where Thailog could find him.  

Talon still seethed.  He could believe that Fang wouldn't care what happened to
Malibu, but now Rachel also thought that Malibu should do this.  He glanced at the girl.  Her face betrayed her concern, but also showed a great deal of pride.

She must have sensed his curious glance.  "You haven't noticed have you."  She
said with a bit of mystery in her voice. 
Talon didn't understand, but Fang turned to her surprised.  "I'm not going crazy. 
He is acting different."

Rachel made a face.  "You mean that's not why you thought he should go?"

Fang snorted a small laugh at her.  "Sweetheart you said that you broke Thailog's
control over him.  Heck I even felt it when you did it.  Your powers are stronger than Richard's.  I figured if you could do that, he'd be okay."

Ricky sighed,  and Talon smiled in spite of his worry.  Fang didn't have any
confidence in Malibu.  He trusted Ricky and her unusual talents.

"Amazing," she said annoyed and impressed all at once.  She pointed a finger at
Talon, and then at Fang.  "You noticed, and didn't understand, and you didn't notice at all."

"Notice what?  Talon said impatiently. 

Fang looked at Talon as surprised as Ricky.  "Man you didn't notice how Malibu
was acting?  He talked back to you.  He knew he could handle being near Thailog.  When Ricky zapped him something happened."

"Happened," Rachel agreed, "and still happening."

Now Talon was curious.  "What is happening to Malibu Rachel?"

Rachel's hair blew in the breeze like a wild mane.  There was a proud smile on her
face and in her eyes.  "He's becoming a gargoyle."

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


Malibu wasn't sure if he knew what he was doing.  His heartbeat was racing, and
he had to make a conscious effort not to tremble.  It was odd.  Before tonight he never felt afraid.  He hadn't felt much of anything.  Oh there were people he liked or disliked, but he never worried about them or thought about how he felt before.

He wasn't sure if he liked these sensations.  He felt afraid, but at the same time
some inexplicable force was compelling him to stay and save Brooklyn.  He was also confused about how he felt about Thailog.  A cold  rage ran through him as he thought about his former master.  He was now aware that he was different from Brooklyn and it was because of Thailog.  Thailog hurt  the gargoyle clan, he hurt Demona, and he knew that if he ever found out that Malibu was planning to betray him, he would kill him.  Thailog was bad, and if he had to, Malibu knew that he would destroy him.

Talons clanking on the metal floors alerted him to Thailog's approach.  He allowed
himself to fall into a very old habit.  He turned the corner, ran up to Thailog, and prostrated himself at his feet.

Thailog was surprised, but as Malibu lay there trembling, a wicked smile crossed
his face.  "Malibu?  Where did you come from.

Malibu pretended not to understand.  "Malibu come to master," he said trying to
sound eager to please.

"Yes."  Thailog said patently, "but where have you been?"

~Pretend, dumb Malibu,~  the clone instructed himself.  "Been?" he repeated.

The ruse worked,  Thailog sighed frustrated."Never mind.  Do you know where
the others are?"

Malibu lied like a trouper.  "No," he said without feeling.

"Ah well."  Thailog began to walk down the hall.  Malibu simply followed behind. 
One of the two humans who were accompanying him spoke up."

"Mr Thailog are you sure he's safe?  I mean he ran away from you before."

Thailog looked down at his wayward little clone "Malibu made an effort to appearvacant and unaware.  "I am not concern.  Malibu is loyal.  He returned on his on his own.  In fact." Here he paused, and a wicked  grin crossed his face.  "I have a little job for him.

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

It was during a brief period of lucidness that Thailog came back  into the room.  It
was still hard to see.  Thailog's image would shift change shape and/or color or melt into the
hazy background.

"Brooklyn, Oh Brooklyn, he sang lightly.

Brooklyn's nerves were hanging by a wire.  He was now full of fear.  He was afraid
of the nightmares.  He was afraid of Thailog, and he was completely afraid that he was going to be broken.  He was not going to show Thailog that though.  He gathered the scattered fragments of his courage and said, "Aren't you through with me yet?"

"Oh no, I have a little surprise for you."  He dropped his wings, and Malibu came
forward. 

"No," he said, his voice sounding vacant and helpless.  Then louder, "No!"

Thailog laughed his slow maniacal laugh.  "You've lost the game my boy.  I've
won."

Brooklyn tried feebly to struggle against his bonds, but he knew it was no use.  No
use living either.  He failed, there was nothing left to live for.  He sunk back into his nightmares.

**********************************************************
"Hello there child.  I've been waiting for you."

It was Cold Steel.

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

Malibu's's heart was in his throat.  Brooklyn was a pale shadow of the gargoyle
who had saved him earlier this evening.  All he wanted to do was kill Thailog and bring Brooklyn back to the labyrinth where Ricky could heal him.

His former master watched with glee as Brooklyn's eyes glazed over and began to
speak to the empty air.  "Go away!  No I won't you can't force me!"

Thailog grunted and said to one of the humans, "Tank you may keep giving him
elixir, or you may kill him outright.  He is of no use to me any longer."  To Malibu he said, "guard this door and dispose of the body when they are done."  He led Malibu out of the room and left him guarding the door.

Once alone in the hall Malibu looked down where Thailog had gone.  For the first
time in his life he consciously suppressed a growl in his throat.  He then opened the door and peered in.  Three humans were surrounding Brooklyn.  They were going to kill him.

Malibu silently crept into the room.  He came up behind the tallest of the men, and
in a single blow, broke the human's neck.  

"What the?"  one of the other men begin.  They both squared off against the
gargoyle.  It didn't matter much.  Malibu easily dispatched the two men.  He left the one who Thailog spoke to conscious.  He heaved the human up six inches by his throat.

"Yggggg," the human choked Malibu squeezed a little.  He didn't want to kill the
human just yet. 

"What Thailog do to Brooklyn?"  The pale green gargoyle asked.

"Go to hell you freak!"  the man gurgled.

Malibu squeezed a little tighter.  "What Thailog do to Brooklyn?"  He demanded,
his eyes glowing like rubies.

The man gurgled some more.  Malibu couldn't understand his words so Malibu
relaxed his grip a bit.

"Okay, okay, we pumped the thing full of Dream Elixir.  That's all!  We'd thought
it would kill him, but it didn't!"

Malibu remembered about the Dream Elixir.  Ricky and Brooklyn both said that
Dream Elixir made bad dreams.  He flung the man aside, knocking him unconscious.  Then he checked on Brooklyn.

Brooklyn's eyes were open but he didn't seem to see anything around him.  He
looked as if he was staring at something, though Malibu could see nothing.  His entire body was trembling with fear.  He didn't appear to see Malibu at all.

Malibu touched Brooklyn's arm gingerly.  "Brooklyn you safe now.  Malibu here. 
Bring Talon and Ricky.

Brooklyn blinked and for a second Malibu thought that maybe he could see him. 
Then he cried out.  "Go away!  Your not real!  Your not real!"  Then he trembled and shouted again.  "Go away! Go away!"

When Brooklyn cried out the last time, he didn't even look at Malibu.  

Malibu was confused.  What was wrong with Brooklyn?  Then he
had the answer.  Get Ricky.  Ricky will know what is wrong with
Brooklyn.

He remembered what Ricky said.  ~Think about me hard.~  Malibu closed his eyes
and wished for Ricky as hard as he could.  He wished that Ricky could be with him.

A light rustle of wings above and a thud on the roof told him that she was here. 
The sky light opened and Ricky's face appeared.

"Did you call me Malibu?"  She asked.

Malibu nodded vigorously.  "Malibu find Brooklyn, but Brooklyn sick.  Ricky fix
Brooklyn?"

Ricky smiled to Malibu.  "We'll see.  She turned around and said.  "I'm going down
Jake." 

Fang picked up Ricky.  Spreading his wings, he slowly hovered down to
the floor of the warehouse with her..

"How bad is it kid?"  He asked.  Then he saw the thin blood colored figure on the
lab table.  Fang stepped back and the recollection of something no less terrifying crossed his face. 

Ricky at the same time was gasping in a combination of horror, fear, and anger. 
"Oh no!  Oh God no please!  Not again!  Oh Jake, he's dying.  I can feel it.  He want's to die!" 
She instantly ran over and place her hands on his temples.

"No!"  Malibu said following Ricky to Brooklyn's side.  "Brooklyn not die!  Ricky
fix!"  

Ricky looked at the confidence in Malibu's eyes.  "How do you stop someone from
dying when they want to? "  She asked helplessly.  

"We'll find a way."  Fang said.  He leaned over where Ricky was standing.  "Hey
Rickster, can you get into  people's dreams like the old man?"

Ricky looked at Fang dubiously.  "What do you mean."

"I know  that he can,  I've seen him do it before, but Richard can't  He's not strong
enough.  Now the way you blasted me when you found me told me that your stronger than Rich now.  Do you think you can do what your old man does?"

Ricky looked down at Brooklyn's prone form.  A grim determination was set in her
delicate jaw.  "I don't know," she admitted, "but I'll be damned if I let him die and do nothing."  She looked at Fang with confidence.  Tell me what he does."

Fang took in a short breath.  "Okay, put your forehead on Brooklyn's,"  When she
complied, he said, "now close your eyes and just reach out and touch those feelings with your mind.  After that your on your own."

Ricky did as she was told.  She touched the top of her forehead to Brooklyn's
snow white locks   She closed her eyes.  She gasped in surprise for a second, then her face set into a grim determination.

"Good luck Rickster."  Fang said grimly.  He then seemed to shake of the
sentimental emotion.  "Yo Malibu.  I'm going to head back to Talon for a few minutes.  He's going to want to know what's going down.  You watch out for her, and don't let anything break her concentration. " He paused, then added, more clearly, "Protect Ricky, Got it?"

Malibu nodded and watched Fang climb out the way they came in.  Then he
stopped for a moment and stared at Ricky locked in a mental battle with Brooklyn.

***********************************************************
"So how were you going to get rid of him?"  Cold Steel asked Brooklyn as he
struck him a fifth time across his beak.  "Trick him into a dangerous assignment.  Undercut his authority.  Frame him for some despicable act to get himself banished from the clan?  Or perhaps you were going to pretend friendship and then kill him once the two of you were alone."

"I'd never betray Broadway or my clan.  I'm not like you!"  Brooklyn tried to
shout, but it came out more like a soft whimper.  He was tired.  Tired of fighting,  tried of trying so hard to be brave.  He  lay there cowering in the corner.  "I don't want to fight anymore."

"Then perhaps I will take your body again.  Your brother's mate  is lovely. 
Perhaps I will try to woo her away from him once I have your form again.  Then we both will have her."  Cold Steel taunted.

"No,"  Brooklyn whispered head down.  He had no fight left in him at all.  "Just let
me die.""That's even better once your spirit it gone it will be far easier to take the body and
it will be mine forever, and no one will be able to stop me."

"That's what you think you high tech trash compactor."  A new voice said.  It
didn't sound weak.  It was strong, confidant, and angry.

Brooklyn looked up with some vague curiosity, and was shocked at what he saw. 
There clad in brown leathers, like she was out of the tenth century herself stood Rachel.  

And she was a gargoyle again.

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

Ricky had watched for a few seconds before deciding what to do.  What she saw
made her stomach real in terror.  Brooklyn had nothing left.  No wonder an overdose killed.  The dreams chipped away at all the mind's defenses until nothing was left.  Brooklyn was at that state now.  He was ready to just give up.  She wondered how she could make him want to live again.  What single thing could she do.  Then she realized.  She would have to appeal not to his mind, but to those base instincts that all the true born gargoyles she ever met had.  Malibu was
only now just beginning to develop those instincts, but Brooklyn had, possessed them all his life.

First an foremost, a gargoyle protects.  

Since it was a dream she knew she could change her form.  She changed into a
gargoyle because she knew it would be a subconscious source of comfort to him to fight by one of his own, and she knew that he would want to help her to return to her proper form.  She knew one more thing.  Brooklyn might choose to die for himself, but if she was in danger, he would pull out all the stops to save her.  She intended to fight, and lose to Cold Steel.

"What are you?"  The image of Cold Steel asked as if bored.

Ricky gave one of her fiercest looks, and allowed her gargoyle eyes to gleam a
bright red.  "I am whatever I choose to be to aid those that are my friends.  You leave him be, or you'll answer to me!"

The robot gargoyle laughed at that.  "Do you think you can defeat me, with your 
puny form?  I am Cold Steel  The power of science and sorcery runs through me.  I could destroy you within moments."


"Just try it Rusty!"  Rachel shot back.  Again using the logic that since this was a
dream, she could do anything, She let loose a blast of pure psychic power.  Ordinarily she could only do it if emotionally  worked up, and she would be wasted afterwards, but this wasn't real.   She let lose the bolt of energy effortlessly.

Cold Steel advance on her.  She sent forth  a flying round house kick.  That pushed
the robot away from her and Brooklyn.  Then she flew at him, wings flaring, and eyes blazing.  She kept the advantage for a few seconds then allowed Cold Steel to score a hit on her.

~Ow.  What idiot ever said you don't feel pain in a dream?~  Ricky used a precious
second to glance over at Brooklyn.   He was struggling to rise, pushing his talons against the floor, muscles straining.  Then he slumped down, then tried to rise again.

Now it was time for her to act.  She began allowing Cold Steel to hit her again and
again.  She cried out.  "Help me."

"I...I can't"  Brooklyn cried softly.  

"Help!"  Ricky called.  "He's going to destroy me!"

Ricky glanced at Brooklyn who's eyes were full of conflicting emotions.  She knew
that his instincts were screaming at him to help her, but he was still too full of fear and self loathing to do anything.

Ricky knew how to solve that problem.  After all this was a dream.  Any dream
could be controlled.  If one understood enough even the body could be controlled.  Ricky lay  gasping for breath, eyes closed,  limp at Cold Steel's feet.  Then Cold Steal kicked her body aside. "Worthless creature. I told you I am invinceable!"  He lifted his metal arms in a hammer to deliver the final blow.  "Now I will put an end to you."  

Then Ricky  heard a familiar battle roar. She opened her eyes just enough so she could see.

Brooklyn's eyes went white.  He raced forward, and met with Cold Steel. 
Brooklyn's fist contacted with  the robot's chest with a loud metallic clang.  With his other hand he ripped through he metal with his talons and pulled out a handful of wires.   The robot staggered backwards, his balance completely gone, and crumpled to the floor like a pile of discarded auto parts.   

Breathing hard, Brooklyn stood over the fallen heap,  the chilling, metal-gargoyle
features, now blank.

Then Brooklyn turned, slowly.  Kneeling, he gathered Ricky  in his arms.  "No," he
said softly.  "No!"  He shouted. "I failed again."  He began to weep softly

Ricky took in a breath and opened her eyes fully.  "Not by a longshot, bucko"

Brooklyn's nearly dropped her in shock.  "Ricky your alive!  But I saw....."

Ricky reached up and caressed Brooklyn's cheek gently.  "Hush, none of this is
real.  Close your eyes.   Now hold on to my hand."

Ricky closed her own eyes and reached for her own reality.  She pulled Brooklyn's
mind gently with her, until she felt herself standing again with her head on his.    She pulled away slowly, and watched awareness enter Brooklyn's eyes.

"Where....  What happened?

Ricky was holding Brooklyn's hand.  She squeezed gently.  "It's okay Brooklyn. 
It's me, Ricky."

"Ricky?  I.... I was dreaming,  and you were there.."

"Hush, I know."    I'm here now.  I'm going to help you."

He looked at her oddly.  "Your human again."

"It was just a dream before.  It's going to be all right."

Suddenly Brooklyn had fear in his eyes.  "No,  I...I can feel it.  I'm going to have
another nightmare!  I don't want to dream anymore!"

Ricky wondered at what she could do.   His body was trembling and tense.  He
was strung tighter than a violin string.  She had to do something with all that tension before he lost his mind.  It was the drug induced tension that brought about the dreams.  Then she stopped and thought.  There was something else that was just as intense that guys liked.  If she could turn his mind from the nightmares to that, he might just be able to ride out the rest of the drugs, or at least last until
morning.  A day in stone would take care of the drugs too.

That meant though that she would have to influence his  mind.  Normally she tried
to stop doing that to people, but this was a special case.  There was no sense having a gift if you didn't use it at the right time.  She continued to hold his hand, but she touched his forehead gently with her other
hand.  "We're going to ride this out."

Brooklyn weekly protested.  "No, I can't.  I can't take this anymore."

"Shh shh.  Your not alone Brooklyn.  She's going to help you."  Ricky whispered
into his ear.

"Who?"

"The gargoyle over there.  Don't you see her?  She's beautiful."  Ricky said softly. 
In her mind she tried to think of what would turn a guy gargoyle on.  

"But I don't - "  Brooklyn began.

Ricky cut him off.  "She a gorgeous yellow color, like gold.  Her hair is the color
of chestnuts.  She's wearing black leathers, and she's got a ruby tiara."  Ricky gently shoved Brooklyn's mind into the dream she was creating.  "Close your eyes.  Can you see her now?"

Brooklyn's eyes closed obediently.  His expression softened as he said mildly
surprised.  "Yeah, yeah I can see her now.  Oh she's wonderful."

"Yeah,"  Ricky echoed, "and she likes you.  She told me so.   She'd like to be with
you."

Suddenly Brooklyn pulled back.  "No, no one want's me.  Maggie didn't want me. 
Angela... "

~Oh Lordy this boy has a ton of problems.  Definitely a therapy session later.~ 
"But she wants you.   Don't you see?  She's waiting  for you over by the lake."

"By the rookery?"  Brooklyn asked in a puzzled tone.

Ricky wondered where Brooklyn thought he was.  She closed her eyes and
allowed herself to see what he was seeing.  She stood at the base of a rocky cliff.  Looming ahead of her was Castle Wyvern.  as it was one thousand years ago.  To her left an old cave with large wooden doors and symbols that she only saw if she went with Alison to Mr MacBeth's house.   Suddenly she knew where Brooklyn thought he was, Scotland.

~Okay Scotland it is.~  "Yes right over there.  She's calling you."  Ricky took a
deep breath, and eased herself out of his mind.  There was only one thing as intense as fear and anger, and she hoped that this wouldn't cause more problems than it solved. She then quietly, and ever so gently began to whisper in Brooklyn's ears a highly suggestive passage  from one of her sister-in-law's romance novels.

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

Malibu watched amazed.  He didn't understand half of it but as she came out of hertrance, and began to simply talk softly to him, he suddenly began to feel odd.  He resolved himself not to listen.   Instead he tried to occupy himself by analyzing his new feelings.  Then a strange sound made him pay attention.  The all too familiar sound of talons on the floor.

He had no clue what to do.  Thailog was coming and Ricky could not be disturbed. 
He fought his indecision for five minutes.  Then it was too late. Thailog came in.

Thailog stared a full minute.  There in a heap were his three business associates. 
Malibu, eyes glowing an angry ruby, was protectively barring his way to the bed where Brooklyn lay. Thailog's eyes fell on the girl next to the bed, as his expression darkened.

"What is going on here?"  He asked angry.

Ricky looked up from her work.  Her entire expression changed.  Her eyes
narrowed, and sparkled an angry amber.  Her lips compressed, then opened to show her teeth. Her hands which lay on the bed next to Brooklyn clenched into fists.  "Your Thailog," she said.

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


"While I was there I counted about fifteen empty vials.  It's a wonder he wasn't
dead when we found him, but he was darn close I'll tell you Talon.  I just hope Ricky can do something for him," Fang said.

Talon eyed him suspiciously.  "I'm surprised you care.  Besides I thought you
hated Ricky."

"I don't hate her!"  Fang said.  When Talon continued to stare he said softer,  
"she's scares me sure.  When she freaked that night in the store, I didn't know what to do.  I mean I'm not psychic.  I guess I got scared, and then I got mad at her.  Man she was only thirteen at the time."

"Why did you take her out there anyway?"  

Fang slammed his fist into his hand.  "I wish I knew.  I've tried to forget that night
every day since, but then she waltzed back into my life to remind me what a screw up I am."

Talon thought about how he wished he could forget how he fought with Elisa over
Xanatos.  If he had only listened....  "You know after we met my family my dad took me aside and told me something."

Fang had been pacing, but now he made a half turn to Talon.  "What?"

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life,"  Talon replied.

Fang looked away, back toward the wearhouse again.  "Sounds like something my
old man would say."

"Maybe,"  Talon agreed.  "The point though is that you can't let the past affect
anything you do now.  Learn from it, correct it if you can, but don't let it prevent you from living your life to the fullest."  Fang didn't answer, so Talon made another point.  "She still cares about you.  She cares enough that she had a long talk with Maggie about what to tell your family."

Fang spun around.  "What did she tell my-"  He broke off suddenly and his face
filled with fear.  "Oh no!"  Then his expression grew angry. He stared intensely at a spot just ahead of him, as if at some invisible foe. "I'll kill him.  So help me, if he so
much as touches her I'll kill him!"  He suddenly ran for the roof and dove for the wearhouse.

Astonished, Talon was unable to move for a moment.  Fang always knew when
Ricky was around whether or not he saw her.  He wondered.....Then he followed behind.

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

Ricky hoped the Brooklyn would stay in his little fantasy for a few minutes without
her.  Despite claiming that he never spent a lot of time with a girl, he seemed to have a vivid imagination.  Right now Malibu was the one who needed her help.

Thailog towered over his former slave.  "Malibu If I didn't know better I'd say you
were developing a mind of your own.  We can't have that now can we?"  

Malibu roared.  It didn't sound exactly like the way the guys roared, but it was a
valiant  attempt.  He rushed at Thailog wings full spread.  With a single back handed blow Thailog struck the clone and send him against the nearest wall.

A large dent formed where Malibu contacted with the metal wall.  He slumped to
the ground unconscious.  

"Malibu!"  Ricky shouted.  She moved in front of the bed.  "Leave us alone you
genetic reject.  Honestly what was Xanatos thinking when he made you?"

Thailog ignored the insults.  He began to advance on her.  

Ricky picked up a handful of empty syringes that had been lying on a table near
where Brooklyn lay imprisoned.  With a skill that came from years of playing darts with Marcus and Philip wherever Marcus had been playing, she threw the darts at her looming target.

Thailog roared and tried to Deflect the darts.  Some of them stuck in his sensitive
wings.  When she ran out of darts she began to throw the empty, then full vials of Dream Elixir.

It did no good.  Though slowed in his progress, Thailog eventually reached her
position.  "You've run out of ammunition."  He growled deeply in his throat.

A sudden blast of electrical power force Thailog away from the girl.  "Sorry ~pal~
but I've still got my ammo and the little lady is not on your dance card. "

Both Ricky and Thailog turned to see Fang standing there with Talon behind him.  "You mess with her,"he said pointing at Rachel, "and you mess with me!"

"So be it,"  Thailog replied.  Then he charged.  Talon let a show of electrical
power loose, but Thailog ducked underneath it.  Then he lashed out with his tail, and struck Talon on the side of the head.  Then faster than Ricky could see, he turned and sent a right cross  along Fang's chin.  

One punch wouldn't hold Fang or Talon down.  Both rose up again, but now
Thailog was too close to hit with electricity.  he flared his wings and struck both mutates at once. When Talon tried to rise again he kicked him down, and in a second fluid motion, backhanded Fang.  Ricky watched helplessly as Fang struck the ground.

Behind her Brooklyn moaned pleasantly.  His own mind now taking over the more
pleasant dream.  He didn't need her at the moment.  Fang did.  Once both mutates were unconscious Thailog turned toward her again.  When she looked into his eyes she picked up some of his emotions.  Inwardly she shuddered.  She never knew that such evil could exist.  "You just made a big mistake bucko"  The girl said savagely.

"Oh really?"  Thailog replied tauntingly.  "Why?"

Rachel's anger was so real she could taste it.  She took the anger and forced that
emotion into psychic energy.  She held it back until she was ready to release.  "Because nobody, but nobody messes with MY BROTHER!!!"  Then she let loose the tempest within her.  Just like in the dream the power flowed effortlessly from her.  Thailog unprepared for such an assault staggered backwards being bombarded with all of her anger, and all of the pain she had felt from Brooklyn.

Ricky wasn't aware of what was going on after that.  She heard a flurry of voices
behind and above her.  "Talon......Ricky!........Look it's Thailog...............After him.  Some sense told her that the voices belonged to friends.  She almost didn't care.  Normally after  a blast like that she fainted, but she was determined to stay awake this time.  She was barely aware of someone holding on to her arm.  "Easy lass, we're here now."

"Hudson?"  Ricky began to lean into that friend.  "Oh man I'm I glad you guys are
here.  Is Jake?..."

"His arm is broken,"  The aged gargoyle said, "but other than that, he'll live."

Ricky sighed satisfied.  She leaned into Hudson allowing herself to rest for a
moment.  She felt completely wasted.  A few seconds later she heard footsteps, and Lexington's voice.  "Awww he got away."

"Yeah," that was her own brother Jake, "but these guys didn't. "  She heard some
painful moaning.  Then a shriek of terror.  "Hi Tank! Remember ~me?~

Ricky opened one eye.  Fang had one of the guys Malibu KO'd  by the front of his
shirt with his unbroken arm.  the guy was trembling, and Ricky thought he looked familiar.

The man said, "Your not a gargoyle!  What are you?"

Fang feigned hurt.  "He doesn't remember me!  Why Tank I'm wounded, really. 
How could you forget your old buddy Jake?"

The man in Fang's arms shook violently.  "No!  That's not possible!  Jake's dead."

Fang answered cheerfully "Yeah you stabbed me.  Some crazy doc gave me a new
body.  Like It?  Do you want to know what else I can do?"  Fang's hand began to glow ominously.

Talon stepped forward.  "No Fang!  Don't do this!"

"Stay out of Talon. You don't know what he put me through!"

"Fang your doing it again!  You care more about your own feelings than about
Rachel!  Isn't that how you lost her the first time?  Your sister is  over there, half conscious, and you didn't even notice!"

Lexington's voice said in shock, "SISTER?"

Ricky then opened her other eye, and lifted her head.  At that same moment Fang
came over.  "Oh Ricks, I blew it again.  Are you all right?""I'm in a desperate need of a Tylanol, but I'll live."  Ricky said tiredly.

"GO AWAY!"

Ricky's head snapped up.  That was Brooklyn's voice.  She pushed both Hudson
and Fang away, and rushed to his side.  Hudson looked surprised, but Fang just sighed.  "Forget it old timer She's got a patient."

Brooklyn was cringing on the lab table.  Someone had untied him, and he was
crouched in a corner of the table, wide eyed and trembling,  trying to pull as far away from the other gargoyles as he  could.  Goliath and the others stood there stunned.

"What's wrong with him?"  Broadway asked.

"Brooklyn It's me Goliath!"  He said leaning forward.

"Your not real!  Get away from me!"  Brooklyn shouted back.

Ricky looked at the gargoyles surrounding the table.  "Oh guys.  Go away, shoo! 
I'll take care of him."  She waved her hands at them all until they backed away.  She knelt down at Brooklyn's side.  "Shhh, all the bad dreams are over.  I promise."  She took a deep breath, then tried something her brother Richard told her about.  She felt inside his head for how he felt now, awake.  then she gently began to  guide him, step by step, to the way the mind should feel in sleep.  She wasn't too sure how this would work in a gargoyle, but it was the only thing she could think of.  

To her relief it worked.  Brooklyn's eyes lost their wild look, soften, then closed
entirely.  His pulse slowed, and his breathing became deep and even.  His own mind began to take on the sensations of someone in an extremely deep sleep.

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

Ricky opened her eyes in a strange room.  What had happened?    Without moving
she saw a high stone ceiling, and beneath her she felt an extremely comfortable feather bed.  A warm down comfiter, and thick flannel sheet covered her.  "I must be in heaven," she said, not able to imagine where else she could be.

A familiar voice made her turn.  "Sweetheart, if this was heaven  would I be here?"

Ricky looked around to see her brother sitting next to her bed, his right arm in a
cast.  "Jake!"  She rolled over and hugged. him.  "What happened is everyone all right?"

"Ohhhh," Jake moaned.  "My sister the doctor.  Yeah we're all fine.  Brooklyn
never woke up so the gargoyles didn't even have to deal with your instructions.  Not that they didn't have a few questions about it."

Ricky looked at her brother puzzled.  "I gave them instructions?"  She didn't
remember anything after helping Brooklyn.

Fang noticed she was confused.  "Yeah you told Goliath to let Lexington and the
Hudson to take care of him if he woke up before dawn.  You told the rest of them to stay out of the way.  Man! you sounded just like Dad."

Ricky sat up slowly.  "I guess I must have.  That sounds like what I would have
said.  After all the way Thailog messed with Brooklyn's head, Goliath was the last gargoyle he should see.  Ricky looked around the room.  At the foot of the bed a stone gargoyle sat.  A second one was standing in a corner.  Now she knew where she was.  The Aerie building.  Angela was the gargoyle in the corner, and the one at the bed was......

"Brooklyn?"  she asked.

Fang shook his head.  "Nah it's Malibu.  No matter what Talon said, he wouldn't
leave you."  He chuckled softly.  "I think Talon is beginning to wonder if having an independent Malibu is such a great idea. He talks back, he says no, You'd better be careful sis.  I think he's got a crush on you."

Once she felt well enough she was allowed to leave the building.  Xanatos was
very accommodating and had a private van take her, Fang, and the stone Malibu, to an empty wearhouse, near an entrance to the Labyrinth.  Of course Ricky didn't leave until she saw the stone figures of all the Gargoyles.  As per her instructions, Lexington and Hudson were hovering over Brooklyn on a low  couch.  Goliath was on the other side of the room looking worried.  Ricky wrote out two
notes.  

                        Goliath:  Keep an eye on Brooklyn.  If he starts acting funny 
                        or has any bad flashbacks let me know ASAP.  Also he'll feel 
                      better about what happened if he talks about it, but I don't know 
                      how those drugs affected his memory.  Lastly I'm sure I don't 
                      need to tell you not to tell him what state you found him in when 
                      you got there.  If you're worried at all call me.
                                                                                                Rachel.

This one she taped to the inside of Goliath's wing.  The second note went to
Lexington.  This one read.

                        Lex:  Time to do a role reversal on BK.  If you're worried call.
                                                                                                       Ricks

After Xanatos dropped them at the Labyrinth Ricky spent the entire day with her
older brother.  They had a lot of things they needed to talk about.  Jake had missed her.  He had felt guilty about what had happened to her, and he needed to apologized.  When dusk came, Ricky spent half the night examining Malibu.  She still wasn't entirely sure what she had done to him to break Thailog's
control, but it seemed that once that was done, he had begun to behave like an
ordinary gargoyle.  Talon immediately put him in charge of the others.  Then on Talon's, Fang's, and Malibu's insistence Ricky went home to go to bed.

Rachel  woke the next day.  Her roommate Alison had left earlier to go to a class. 
The only indication of her presence was a note.  "Lex called last night.  Message on machine."

Ricky leaned over in her bed, and punched the answering machine button.

Lexington's high alto voice came through the machine.  "Hi Ricky, it's Lex.  I got
your note and I know what you meant.  I'm not sure.  He wouldn't talk about what happened to him, except that Thailog captured him and stuffed him full of that Dream Elixir.  I'm worried though.  He's avoiding us.  All of us, and when he thinks he's alone he looks so upset.  Alex says he's scared, but he's not scared of anything outside of him.  I think he needs to talk to you."

The answering machine beeped indicating the end of the message.  Ricky rolled
over slowly, and glanced at her clock.  It was only one-thirty in the afternoon.  ~Yeah, I think he does too.~

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

Brooklyn woke and took a minute to realized that he was still safe in the castle. 
The dreams from two nights ago were still plaguing him.  He wasn't dreaming about them, but they haunted his thoughts whether he was awake or asleep.  He needed to stop thinking about it.  He needed to do something.   He went into