Timedancer: First Impressions by kiatrix [Reviews - 0] 
Timedancer/Charmed: First Impressions Part Two by: J. Daniels email: jdanielsdvm@hotmail.com Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone in the Gargoyles universe, including Brooklyn or the Timedancer story. Likewise, I do not own anything or anyone in the Charmed universe, including Phoebe, Prue or Piper. I am writing this without the knowledge of the creators of said universes and characters. This is entirely fan fiction. Previously... The visions were always in black and white. Phoebe saw the gargoyle approach someone who was too far in shadow for her to make out clearly, a building nearby. It looked like a warehouse, the placard reading off the name of the building smudged on one corner. Suddenly, a small flash of light exploded in the gargoyle's face. He reared back, staggering. His mouth gaped open and his hands went up to grip his head in obvious pain. His whole body tensed and spasmed. His back arched, triangular wings flaring out behind him, tail arcing upwards. The gargoyle dropped to the ground on his knees, body hunching over and wings curving over his back, tail curling in around his knees and still gripping his head. Suddenly his muscles all relaxed, the wings folding to his sides and hands dropping, tail falling limp to the ground. The gargoyle stood up, his posture slumped. Phoebe could see his eyes, glowing softly in a way that left her no doubt that the gargoyle was no longer in control of his own body. ~ First Impressions, Part 1 **** Brooklyn landed by the warehouse, rubbing at his chest with a small wince. "Man, no wonder this guy doesn't want to tangle with them himself." he grumbled. If he didn't have a cracked rib, he'd be very surprised. At least this time, he had only minor cuts from the broken window. He glanced around, frowning as he didn't see the man. He glanced up at the sky, measuring the time until dawn. He still had time before he'd need to find a place to sleep. Brooklyn pushed open the gate and entered the warehouse grounds. "Did you get it?" asked a voice from his left. Brooklyn turned, a little surprised that he hadn't seen the man when he entered. The nondescript fellow was still cloaked, and he stood in the shadows. Shaking his head, Brooklyn admitted sheepishly, "No. I got... uh, distracted. You know, one of them really packs a wallop. Is there any other way to get the book or the gate?" "Not really. But you'll still serve a purpose." Brooklyn frowned, "Uh oh. I don't like the sound of that." he said quietly, drawing back and crouching slightly. "I was really hoping you'd be able to get the book for me, or at the very least destroy one of the Charmed ones. Or die. Any of the three. But you gargoyles really are useless, aren't you?" The shadowed figure moved his arm, bringing it up and pitching it forward like he was throwing something. A figure hurtled in from the side, slamming into Brooklyn. With his attention so focused on what he had thought was a friend, he hadn't heard the sound of running feet. Surprised and not expecting an attack, the light weight of the woman tackling him like he was about to score the winning touchdown and she was the sole defensive end was enough to send him flying to the side. A spark of light passed where he had been standing a second before, sputtering out harmlessly. Brooklyn measured his own length in the ground, instinctively curling an arm around and cupping a wing up to protect the woman from suffering the same scrapes and scratches he was currently having the joy of experiencing. One of the women from the house landed slightly on top of him. "Piper, freeze him!" he heard another woman shout. "He's too far away." came a third feminine response. Brooklyn looked at the woman on top of his chest and she gave him a bright, somewhat embarrassed smile and wave of her fingers, "Uh hi." Pushing himself up, Brooklyn grabbed the woman as she started to fall off of him by her upper arm, and supported her as she got her feet under herself. Once she was standing, he got to his feet himself and said, "Not that I'm not grateful, 'cuz I don't think that was fairy dust, by why the turn around?" The two sisters in the background came jogging back from where they had just tried to chase the shadowy figure and now watched him, blue-eyes with a narrow expression that had him flinching in preparation for another of those mystical body-bunches. The other held her hands in front of her, her fingers in a loose quasi-fisted position, as though she was expecting to fling water at him, her hands half hidden by the sleeves of her jacket. The one standing closest to him explained brightly, "Well you see, I saw you get attacked in a vision. And since I saw you in my premonition, you were /obviously/ an innocent," she said, stressing the last few words and swinging her head around to arch a brow at her two siblings, before turning back to Brooklyn as she finished briskly, "And so here we are. Tada." She spread her arms out to the sides, tipping her head with a bright smile, as though she just pulled off a magic trick. Brooklyn glanced between the three and said intelligently, "Oh." in a low voice. He shook his head and closed his eyes, lifting one hand. **** Piper froze him. The red creature was in the process of lifting a hand up. She hissed, "Phoebe, get away from it!" Phoebe turned back to her sister and said with a roll of her eyes, "Piper. I think if he was going to attack, he'd have done it by now, don't you? Will you two stop treating him like an enemy?" Prue pointed out, "We don't know anything about him." "Well, keeping him frozen isn't going to give us any answers, either." Phoebe said, turning back to look at the gargoyle and using a hand she kept lowered behind her back, gave a frantic wave-off to Piper. Piper sighed and said, "I don't like this." as she gestured with one hand, a brisk 'shooing' motion. The gargoyle finished lifting his hand, rubbing at his eyes with a weary expression. He sighed and dropped his hand again, eyes opening to look between the three, "Okay, so you hit like a truck," he gestured towards Prue, "You see things," he looked down at Phoebe, then looked up towards Piper, "What do you do? Tap dance?" The creature's low rough voice held a note suspiciously like jaded sarcasm. "Tap dance." Phoebe snickered, grinning. Piper folded her arms across her chest and answered pertly, "Try something and you'll find out, buster." One red four-fingered hand gestured absently and said, "Look ladies, I'm just trying to get back the..." it paused, then finished, "...the thing I was carrying when Mac there pile drived me out a window." Phoebe snickered again. "What do you want the Gate for?" Prue asked suspiciously. The red creature started a bit, then asked with his own suspicion, "You know what it is?" "A prison." Piper said shortly, "Which makes us wonder what you're doing with it?" Another deep sigh came from the red creature and he said, "I'm the Timedancer. It's my duty to guard it." Phoebe gave her sisters an arch 'See, I told you so.' look. "Well then, what were you doing in my office?" Prue said, after giving her sister an irritated, pinch-faced look. "That's a really long story." the gargoyle said wearily, "Just please tell me you have the Gate?" "Not... exactly." Prue admitted. The gargoyle slumped, hand again going up to cover his eyes as he muttered, "Great." Phoebe reached out and took the gargoyle's arm in her own, linking one arm through it and resting her other hand on top. The gargoyle dropped his hand and looked astonished, glancing down at Phoebe with a slightly dropped jaw. Phoebe patted him on his muscular wrist and said soothingly, "We'll get it back. But until then, let's get you inside somewhere before someone sees you. You stand out. Just a teensy bit." **** Piper drove, saying in angry alarmed tones, "And then you invited it back to the house! Phoebe, what were you THINKING?" Prue kept looking out the window overhead, catching sight of a winged figure gliding over the car. Phoebe sat in the back seat, leaning forward as she explained, "You can't still think he's a demon, can you? He's a Timedancer..." "Whatever THAT is." Piper interrupted. "He's guarding the Gate." "That's what he says," Prue spoke up, "But I still don't trust him. But at least if he's in the house, we can keep an eye on him until we figure out exactly what is going on." **** Brooklyn was privately astonished that the youngest of the three humans seemed to be utterly unconcerned that he was a gargoyle. He kind of liked it. He felt a grin tugging at the edge of his beak and guessed that if he had to be stuck somewhere, hunting for the Gate, then at least he'd have one person who seemed to be inclined to be friendly. He tried to not dwell on how easily he had been duped into trying to steal from the three women. But if he ever saw that man again... his hands curled into tight fists. Their jeep pulled up into the driveway and the three sisters piled out. He hovered for a moment as they walked up the path to their house, then folded his wings and landed lightly on the sidewalk. All three sisters jumped a bit. Brooklyn gave them what he hoped was a reassuring smile as he folded his wings back, slouching a bit to his customary posture. The two grumpy sisters entered the house, but the younger one waited for him as he walked up the steps, taking them three at a time. He entered their house, caping his wings and glancing around as he stepped in. An antique grandfather clock, a polished wooden table. Pictures on the wall. All the signs of a home. He sighed. The younger sister grabbed his arm again and led him to the living room, "Now that we're somewhere a little more private, let's hear it." "Hear what?" Brooklyn asked, still distracted as he looked around the neat and delicate looking living room. He had the feeling if he flexed so much as a single wing, he'd break something. "Your story." The woman said, leading him over to the couch and sitting down herself, patting the seat next to her as if she invited gargoyles to sit next to her on a daily basis. After eying the couch for a second, Brooklyn took a step back and said, "Thanks but... I'll stand. I don't want to break your couch. It doesn't exactly look sturdy." The terse one had disappeared into the house. Blue-eyes was sitting down as well, watching Brooklyn suspiciously. Brooklyn drew in a breath and let it out, then said "Look." gesturing with his hands, "It's a really... really long story. How about I just answer questions instead?" "How about a name?" Blue-eyes asked. "Brooklyn." The cute one smiled, "Brooklyn. That's cute." Blue-eyes gave her sister an incredulous look, to which she shrugged and said, "Well, it is." Blue-eyes looked back at him and said, "How did you wind up in my office?" A Siamese cat came out from under the couch and looked at him with slightly crossed eyes. Brooklyn gave his head a shake and said, "Wait a second... you tossed me out of not just one window, but two... and you aren't going to tell me what YOUR name is?" as he pointed at Blue-eyes. The cute girl gave her head a small smack and she said, "That's right, we never got around to telling you our names. I'm Phoebe. That's my sister Prue, and our other sister Piper is in the kitchen..." she raised her voice loudly, "Making tea for ALL of us, right Piper?" A muffled, "Yeah yeah." came from the direction of the kitchen. Prue cleared her throat and said, "Now that introductions are out of the way... how did you wind up in my office?" Brooklyn lowered himself to a more comfortable crouch, resting his elbows on his knees as he replied, "If you know what the Gate is, how do you not know what it can do?" The cat took this as invitation to come inspect his lap, and she jumped up onto his leg. Brooklyn lifted a hand and gently stroked down the slender cat's spine, causing her to arch her back and purr. And knead. He winced as claws dug into his bare thigh. "So the ball of fire was the Gate?" Phoebe asked, drawing her legs up under her, leaning on the arm rest as she regarded him. Brooklyn nodded, then glanced back at Blue-eyes and prompted, "Next question." His hand absently kept scratching the cat, who settled down onto his thigh, tucking her paws under her chest and half-closing her eyes. He used one talon to carefully scratch around the base of the ears and down along the jaw and chin, remembering Cagney's favorite spots. "Why did you come to me?" Brooklyn shrugged, "You got me." "What?" Prue asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing. "You don't know why you came to me?" "The Gate is broken. I don't exactly get to /choose/ where, or when, I go. But I really don't want to imagine what'll happen to someone if they're holding it when it decides to go off again." "Great." Prue muttered, "We'll just have to get it back from Hannah." Brooklyn perked up, "You know where it is?" "My boss' irritating assistant took it from me this morning. But I know where it should be." Prue said, glancing up as Piper entered carrying a tray of cups and a tea pot. Piper set the tray down and poured the tea, "I've been listening from the kitchen, no need to fill me in." She handed a cup to Phoebe, and then started to hand one to Brooklyn. She hesitated, saying in surprise, "Kit?" as she noticed the purring cat. Brooklyn chuckled, "Piper, right? I guess the cat is Kit?" He waved away the small delicate tea cup and said, "I appreciate it, but really, tea cups aren't exactly me." He held up one hand by way of explanation. None of his talons would fit through the delicate handles. Not to mention the fact that his beak wasn't exactly designed for delicate sipping from fine china. Piper stared at his hand. Brooklyn absently wondered what was going on in her head when she answered it by straightening up and lifting her fingers up, both index fingers pointing up in the air, "Right. Soup mug. I'll go get one." She turned and walked back towards the kitchen. Brooklyn glanced back at the two sisters who were still in the room with him and he asked, "When can we go retrieve it? I'm not comfortable with it not being... here." **** Phoebe watched Brooklyn as he spoke, chewing on her lip slightly. He sounded resigned, not eager, to get the Gate back. He sounds sad, she thought suddenly. And Kit liked him, which was unusual. Prue said thoughtfully, "It'll be in Rex's office. It's locked and I don't have a key, so we'll have to try to get inside during business hours..." "No can do," Brooklyn interrupted, "I don't know how much you know of gargoyles..." "Nothing, actually." Prue interrupted right back. "Actually, we know you turn to stone in the daytime," Phoebe interrupted Prue, "So Prue, we can't go during the daytime." "/We/ can't, no. But I can. And that's what I think we have to do. I'm sorry Brooklyn," Prue said, not sounding sorry at all, "But we'll get the Gate back to you." Piper entered, holding a large soup cup in her hands, "Ahha. This will work!" she said with one of her subtle happy smiles. She walked forward and poured tea into the soup mug, then offered that to Brooklyn. The gargoyle reached out one hand and surprisingly delicately for such big hands, took the large mug from Piper, giving a nod of thanks towards the tea-dispensing witch. Brooklyn drew the mug in towards his chest, cupping both hands around it as he said to Prue, "Thanks. By the way... where and when am I?" Phoebe giggled, almost snorting, then trailed off when the gargoyle just looked at her solemnly. She sobered and said, "Sorry, that sounded like a joke." "You're in San Francisco, it's 1998." Prue offered. "1998?" Brooklyn echoed, his expression briefly settling into determined, sad lines. "Okay. Thanks." Piper asked, "Do you need anything? Food? A bed? Toothbrush?" her face registering consternation as she tried to figure out what a gargoyle would need by way of toiletries. Looking up, the shadows of pain disappearing from his face, Brooklyn said eagerly, "I'd kill for some food." Phoebe saw both Piper and Prue tense, and she laughed too brightly, "He's kidding! Kidding! Right Brooklyn?" Brooklyn ducked his head, wincing as he said, "Geeze, you'd think you guys never heard slang." Piper said briskly, "Right. Well. I'll go heat up a..." she paused, looking at the gargoyle, then finished, "Steak?" with raised brows and an inquisitive expression. The gargoyle nodded his head, "That would be great. Thanks Piper." The three witches watched in amazement as the gargoyle swiftly devoured the large steak that Piper had made, along with the potatoes. Prue had asked her sister quietly, "Steak and potatoes?" Piper had shrugged and said, "You can't just serve a steak by itself." At their looks, the gargoyle had seemed to flush a darker red than his natural brick color, "Sorry, it's been a couple of days since I ate last." he said as he offered the empty plate back to Piper. The grandfather clock in the hall chimed as Piper took the plate. Brooklyn looked down the hallway, then at the windows where the eastern sky was starting to brighten, "I need to sleep. Where can I stay?" Phoebe said brightly, "My room." She got three stares of disbelieving eyes, "What? He can't stay in the attic, I'm sure Leo will be able to come over to fix the window, and I don't think we can explain where we suddenly got a very large statue, or how we managed to get it into the attic. Besides guys, he'll be asleep, helllooo." Brooklyn gave his head a little shake and in a tone of bemusement said, "Uh. Thanks Phoebe." Prue and Piper exchanged glances and then Prue said hurriedly, "I'll show him to your room, Phoebe." "But..." she protested. "I know where it is, Pheebs. You get to help Piper clean up after Brooklyn." "Why me?" "Because I work." Prue gave her sister a kiss on the cheek and said to Brooklyn, "Alright you, this way." The gargoyle stood up and said to Piper and Phoebe, "See you guys at sundown." as he turned and followed Prue to the stairs. Phoebe watched the two go and then caught Piper's stare. She turned to look at her sister and said with a frown, "What?" **** Prue was very conscious of the gargoyle coming up the stairs behind her, but didn't let her nervousness show. She opened the door to Phoebe's room and gestured grandly for the large creature to precede her into the room. The white haired head ducked, habitually she thought, as he entered the room before straightening. She idly wondered why he wasn't wearing a shirt. She looked around and then shrugged, "I'll get you some extra pillows if you want..." She was surprised at the low chuckle from the gargoyle. She gave him a tense look, however, he just looked gently amused. It was really amazing, she thought, how swiftly she was learning to interpret the expressions on the very inhuman face. He said with a wry tone, "I'll be fine. Just ..." "What?" Prue asked, catching his slight anxiety. "Look, just don't break me, okay? Anything that gets knocked off stays off." "What?..." Brooklyn moved over to the corner, curling his wings around him as he crouched down, his tail curling around in front of him like some giant red cat. He glanced at Prue and then turned to stone. Prue gasped. The change was sudden. One second he was red, breathing... the next he looked like... like... "Like a gargoyle." Prue admitted, walking over and placing her palm on his beak, touching the stone. It felt slightly warm, but otherwise felt just like stone would. She shook her head as she drew her hand back. **** Rex paced around his room, "And now they're working together." he raked one hand through his hair. Hannah watched him with a rapt gaze as he moved, her face a little sorrowful as he fretted. Finally he stopped at his desk, upon which were an assortment of items, including the Gate. He picked it up, holding it in both hands, "We'll just have to do this as best we can." He glanced over to one of the other items tugged a piece of parchment across the desk. It was yellowed with age and covered with a variety of dark cryptic writing, "We can do the ritual tonight." "What if they show up?" Hannah asked from her seat in one of the chairs before the desk. Rex put the Gate down and picked up a small golden rod, with a dark red stone at the end, "We'll just have to kill them." he said almost somberly, the effect ruined by the tiny smile at the corner of his lips. **** Prue and Phoebe walked through Buckland Auction House, heading for Rex's office. Prue whispered to Phoebe, "I'll get him out of the office, you slip in and get it." Phoebe nodded her head solemnly, her expression serious. Phoebe ducked into a nearby office as Prue walked up to Rex's door. She lifted her hand and was about to knock when it opened and Rex stepped out. He took a step back in surprise and said, "Prue! I was just about to come looking for you." Prue lowered her hand and said, "Mr. Buckland... eh, Rex." she corrected with a smile, "What did you need me for?" "I was wondering if you knew where that curious item that Hannah showed me came from?" Prue shook her head, and started to lead Rex away. "No, actually. I was about to come see if Hannah had given it to you? I was going to examine it closer today." Rex shook his head, the two about to pass Phoebe's hiding place, "She did, but I'm afraid it was stolen last night." "What?" Prue said sharply. Phoebe drew in a soft gasp of dismay. "We don't know what happened, but someone broke in and took it. And a few other items, but it was the only really valuable piece taken." "Any idea who it was?" Rex shook his head, the two passing Phoebe. She edged out of her hiding place and started to follow the two down the hall, hugging the wall with her back. "No. The security cameras went offline suddenly around the time it happened. None of the guards heard or saw anything." "Oh," Prue said quietly, "Well, I .. I guess I'll be off then. I hope it turns up." "Me too, Prue. I'll let you know if it turns up anywhere." "Thank you." Prue said warmly, Rex returned her smile with one of his own before turning back towards his office. Phoebe nearly fell into the room she was standing near, hiding around the corner. Once he had left, Phoebe poked her head out, then jogged down the hall towards Prue, "Pruuuue." she said in distress. Prue pulled Phoebe into her office and then let her go, one of her hands going up to flick her hair out of her eyes, "I know Phoebe. We'll find it." ** Piper eased open the door to Phoebe's room. Kit raced in ahead of her and made a flying leap to the top of the statue in the corner, as if she knew all along that's where the gargoyle would be sleeping. The cat paced around and then settled herself down between the two horns. One silvery paw came up and Kit started to groom herself, a loud purr sounding through the room. Piper said sourly to the cat, "Traitor." before she walked further into the room. She crossed her arms over her chest as she examined the statue, jutting her jaw out as she pursed her lips. She reached one hand forward and knocked on the stone beak, "Ouch." she muttered, wincing and rubbing her bruised knuckles. Glancing up at the cat, who had stopped grooming herself to stare, Piper said sourly, "Well Kit, you just let me know if he wakes up and wants to eat you, okay?" before she turned and left the room. **** "It's ten minutes until sunset." Phoebe said excitedly, bursting through the front door and hurrying towards the stairs. Piper and Prue followed behind her, "What's the rush?" Prue asked as she closed the door. "I think Brooklyn wakes up at sunset." Piper said with an eye roll, "Remember? 'I'll see you at sundown.'" she pitched her voice to a poor imitation of the deep rumble of the gargoyle's natural tone. Prue followed Phoebe up the stairs, saying to Piper as her sister trailed her, "You don't like him?" "I don't know him." Piper corrected, "I'm sure he's a very nice /gargoyle/, but how do we know he isn't lying? Timedancer? I mean, really Prue." "Have we checked the Book of Shadows for that? Timedancer, I mean?" "No." Piper admitted reluctantly. "Maybe we should." The two entered Phoebe's room, where she was sitting cross legged on the bed, looking as excited as a kid on Christmas morning. Kit was still resting on top of the gargoyle's head. Prue glanced at the cat, then at Piper with an arched brow. Piper shrugged and said defensively, "What? She likes it up there." "Now what?" Prue asked, turning back to the statue. "Do we have to do something?" "Maybe we should just leave him alone so he can wake up. Maybe he's grumpy when he first gets out of bed. Or the corner." Piper said dourly. "C'mon guys. How often do you think we're going to be able to see this?" Phoebe said in excitement, "A real life gargoyle." Suddenly Kit leapt off the gargoyle, practically from the supine position she had been in. The cat raced out of the bedroom. "Uh oh." Phoebe murmured, glancing back at the statue. Nothing happened for a long moment. Then the last of the sun's rays faded, the last light filtering out of the room and a single crack started in the statue, glowing a bright white, as it cracked down from the blank left eye of the statue. Soon, it was joined by more small cracks and crevasses, spidering their way across the surface of the statue. A low deep roar started from somewhere, and then abruptly, Brooklyn stood up, wings cracking as he stretched them out to the sides, one almost knocking over Phoebe's vanity. His tail snaked, flecks of stone falling free. Little bits of stone flew in all directions actually, and all three sisters held up their hands with startled exclamations. Brooklyn's eyes were glowing an inhuman white as he yawned, the roaring sound dying as he drew his arms back in and caping his wings around his shoulders. He glanced around himself, and then at the stone on the floor. "Oops." **** It had been a few years since he'd had anyone watch him wake, and it was a little disorienting to find himself in a woman's bedroom, with three wide eyed humans watching him in amazement, but not alarm. Aware that he had nearly knocked over a few things, he caped his wings as swiftly as he could and said, "Oops." He eyed the stone on the floor and then offered with a wave at the stone shards, "I can.. uh, clean this up." "No, no, that's okay!" Phoebe said, bouncing off the bed and coming forward to claim his arm, "Are you hungry?" "Yeah, but.." Brooklyn let himself be led out, past Piper and Prue, "I'm a little more concerned with the Gate. Did you find it?" Prue spoke up from behind him, "No. It's been stolen from the auction house." A low growl ripped from his throat before he was aware of it. He however, was aware that Phoebe dropped his arm and took a single alarmed step back. He cleared his throat and said, "Sorry. That kind of... slipped out. You were saying?" Phoebe hesitated, then took his arm again and took up the narrative, "We tried to track where it may have gone, but we haven't had any luck. We thought with you awake, we'd be able to scry for it better, since you've actually used it." "You mean, been used by it." Brooklyn pointed out, he gently disengaged his arm from Phoebe's and gestured for her to go down the stairs, "You guys go first." he offered. The three sisters started down the stairs, and Brooklyn followed. The treads were designed for human feet, not gargoyle, so he was careful to not accidentally tear up their house as he made his way down, tail held for balance. Or worse, he thought, embarrass himself by falling headlong down the stairs. The sisters led him to their living room again, where Phoebe drew out a map and a small crystal. She set the map on the coffee table and held her hand out to Brooklyn, "Take my hand." Reaching out, Brooklyn gently took Phoebe's hand, so like Eliza's in their delicate strength. Humans had always been something of a contradiction to him. Strength and frailty, all wrapped in one. "Now, close your eyes." Phoebe ordered. Crouching down next to the table, Brooklyn bent his head slightly and closed his eyes. Phoebe's voice said next to him, "Now, focus on the gate in your mind. See it, feel it." His free hand clenched. He'd tried to throttle the damn thing more than once, so he knew intimately how it would feel clenched in his talons. Suddenly Phoebe said, "Ahha. The old refinery." Brooklyn opened his eyes, the crystal that had been held in Phoebe's hand now rested on the map. He leaned a little closer and asked, "And, waving the crystal around on the map tells you where it is?" "It's called scrying. Trust us, it works. It's how we knew you were in the attic that first night." Phoebe said reassuringly, patting him on the arm. Brooklyn glanced at the map and said wryly, "So I have to thank this for my broken ribs?" "Your ribs are broken?" Phoebe asked worriedly. Brooklyn sighed and said, "Seriously, have you guys never heard of a figure of speech?" ** The jeep pulled up outside the old refinery. Brooklyn drifted down and landed next to it as the sisters got out. They glanced around and Prue said, "It's somewhere, let's split up and..." Brooklyn abruptly pointed up, "What's that?" There was an iridescent glow to the air. Piper said worriedly, "Looks like magic." Brooklyn commented quietly, "Yeah well, looks like a bad special effect to me." Prue said swiftly, "We need to get up there. Fast. I don't know exactly who's in that Gate, but I don't think we want anyone messing with him." "You got that straight," Brooklyn said and ran forward. He leapt for the wall, powerful legs taking him up almost a full story before his talons sank in, climbing up the wall swiftly. "Brooklyn, wait!" Prue called out, then said in frustration, "No one ever waits." "At least it isn't me this time." Phoebe said consolingly as the three sisters started to run for the door, "But that is just so cool." **** Brooklyn pulled himself up over the edge silently, slipping over the side as he spotted two shadowed figures chanting around a small altar, the Phoenix Gate resting atop of it. The iridescent mist was rising from the ground around the two figures. He eyes lit on the Gate, his duty and his only ticket home. His lip peeled back, snarling silently as his eyes started to flare. He crept forward, picking up speed as he rushed the last few feet. One of the figures said in a woman's voice, "Look out!" The two figures blinked out of the way, one of them carrying the Gate with him. At first Brooklyn thought that he had miscalculated, or blacked out, or something. Because they literally were there one second, and in another place the next. He drew up short and twisted about, just as one of them said tauntingly, "Ah, Timedancer, so good of you to join us!" Brooklyn narrowed his eyes and snarled, "You!" **** The sisters raced up the stairs, Piper huffing behind as she said, "Why can't we ever need to get to the top of someplace with an elevator?" Phoebe reached the roof access and yanked on the door, "It's locked!" she said in alarm. Beyond the door, they could hear the sounds of fighting; explosions and Brooklyn's snarling roars. Prue ordered, "Get back." and then glared at the door as soon as Phoebe stepped away. It blew off of its hinges and the sisters ran out to the roof top. "Woah." Phoebe said quietly, as the three sisters stopped to view the battle. The red gargoyle was almost sinuous in motion, transitioning from two legs and four as he danced around the roof, using wings and tail as balance points and aids in his twists and turns. He was facing two warlocks, who were obscured in robes, the two blinking here and there. It was a deadly ballet, as Brooklyn seemed intent on chasing one of the warlocks, always getting just barely close, but never close enough. The red gargoyle seemed to almost anticipate where the warlock holding the gate was going to appear next, which accounted for a good part of his sudden twisting motions as he tried to reach the place before the warlock appeared. Complicating this was the other warlock, who was blinking in close to slash at the gargoyle with fingers that seemed more clawlike than fingerlike and blinking away before the enraged gargoyle could return the attack. As if that wasn't enough, the dodging warlock was gesturing with a second object, a scepter with a winking red gem at the end. Whenever he gestured, a miniature explosion would erupt, presaged very briefly by a small twinkling light. Brooklyn also seemed somewhat adept at dodging these attacks, leaping over or dodging aside. His eyes were glowing an incandescent white, similar to but brighter than his eyes at his awakening. Those few times he could not avoid the small explosions caused him to crash to the ground, though he recovered swiftly. "Quick Piper, freeze them!" Prue shouted. Piper stepped forward and lifted her hands, fingers flicking. And nothing happened. The three continued to dance in that deadly combat. Piper made the gesture again and then turned her head stiffly, eyes still glued on the battle. "It isn't working. Why isn't it working!" Piper exclaimed, her voice raised in alarm. Phoebe face settled into a determined almost angry expression. "I don't know, but we have to help him." she said before she rushed out to try to intercept one of the warlocks. "Phoebe, wait!" Piper called in alarm, then grabbing Prue's arm, she started out onto the roof after her sister. The two warlocks blinked to the edge of the roof with the appearance of the witches, and Brooklyn paused, crouched and watching them. As Phoebe rushed out of the doorway, the warlock with the wand gestured at her and the explosion erupted under her feet, sending the woman tumbling over the nearby edge of the roof with a scream. "No!" Brooklyn roared, racing towards the edge of the roof. Prue and Piper also ran forward, "Phoebe!" Piper yelled. Both sisters were knocked aside as Brooklyn dove past them off the side of the building. Piper shoved her long hair back over her ears as she leaned forward, her face set in tense lines. Prue also leaned forward, dread etched onto her own features. Below them, Brooklyn dove, wings tucked in tight to his sides, his arms extended forward towards the falling woman. |