Darkness into Light

Part 16

At sunset, there was great relief among the clan. Elisa and Sato were in the room to greet the clan as they awoke for the night. The injured second in command awoke from his sleep too, but weakly. Brooklyn had been lacking solar energy from not having seen the sun in stone sleep for a long time.

When Brooklyn opened his eyes for the first time that night, he saw he was in a bed but not tied down to it. Then he looked around and saw what looked like his clan in front of him. His eyes widened in fear.

"Are you guys for real, or are you figments of my imagination?" Brooklyn backed into the bed.

"We're real, Brooklyn. It's me, Angela." Angela replied first.

When the female came towards him, he cried out, "Get away from me!" Brooklyn only saw Demona in her place.

Angela was ultimately hurt when Brooklyn had ordered her to stay away from him.

"It's alright, Brooklyn. We won't hurt you." Lex said next. He tried getting near the bed.

"Lad, do you remember us?" Hudson asked in concern. He was close to the bed.

"You... look like... my clan... but how do I know you're real?" Brook demanded fearfully.

"Brooklyn, it is really us." Goliath spoke up gently.

Brooklyn tried to move but then, he felt some pain in his right wing's arm and his leg. He yelped in pain.

"Don't move too much, lad. The lass and I found you last night on the Brooklyn Bridge, about to be tossed into the East River. Ye were really beaten up." Hudson explained.

Brooklyn could feel something on his wing and leg. He looked at his wing first, seeing the splint on it, holding it in place. Then he raised the blanket, seeing the brace on his leg.

"Your leg was ultimately shattered last night. I did what I could to fix it and your wing up." Sato then spoke up.

"Stay away from me!" Brooklyn cried out in fear of seeing another human. "Please don't hurt me!"

"We aren't going to hurt you, Brooklyn. Please, we just want to help you." Elisa spoke up.

"No, you all can't be real! You never found me!" Brooklyn laid down and sobbed hysterically.

"Let me try." Hudson declared. He went over to the red male. "Lad, it's really me, Hudson. Come here, lad." He gently pried the blanket away from him and pulled him into his arms, hugging him gently.

Brooklyn tried to resist a little but when he was in Hudson's arms, he smelled Hudson's scent and it made him relax more, but the tears kept on coming. "It'll be alright, Laddie. Let the pain go." The elder coaxed him, rocking him like a hatchling. Brook clung to him.

After watching for a bit, Broadway stepped forward. "Hey, bro. Are you hungry at all? I could whip you up something." He spoke gently.

Brooklyn sniffled. "No! I don't ever want to see food again!"

"Lad, it's alright. You don't need to eat right now if you don't feel like it, but you will need to eat eventually." Hudson told him.

"I just need you to hold me." Brooklyn sobbed.

To the clan, Brooklyn was a pale version of his former self. What had his captors done to him? He was usually never so sad like this. But then, he was still in pain, and he was incredibly thin, like he hadn't been fed in weeks.

Goliath whispered to Broadway, "Go ahead and make some soup for him for when he's ready so all you have to do is warm it up for him."

"I'll get right on it." Broadway replied softly. He left the room. The aqua male sure hated seeing his brother like this. He wasn't like the way he remembered him to be. But from he had seen and heard, he had been through a lot. The clan just needed to know all of what happened to him to be able to help him get through his pain as much as possible.