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This wasn't supposed to happen. Elisa had warned Derek, her younger, stubborn brother, not to join Xanatos as his bodyguard. She knew something bad would happen, and he hadn't listened to her. Now Derek's body was mutated, changed into a jungle cat with wings and electricity shot from his hands…paws…talons…whatever. She couldn't wrap her head around it. It all happened so fast, and it was too much. On top of it all, her brother thought Goliath, who had become her best friend over the past year, was to blame for his condition.
Goliath set Elisa down gently on the balcony of the clock tower. They had just left Castle Wyvern after running into Derek…Talon, he now called himself…and, of course, David Xanatos. Elisa knew it was his fault for what happened to her brother. She had tried to explain to Derek that it wasn't Goliath's fault, but he would not listen to her. Out of anger and denial, he used his newfound ability to shock Elisa with electricity from his body. She felt betrayed by her brother for getting involved with Xanatos, a man who could not be trusted and whom she thought did not care about anyone in this world but himself.
Elisa walked through the door of the clock tower, her arms wrapped around her torso to try to comfort herself, but it was no use. She bit her lip to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. She knew that if she let herself cry, she wouldn't be able to stop. She walked down the stairs into the gargoyles' living area, only to stop at a corner of the wall and fall to her knees.
She couldn't hold back anymore. One tear escaped and rolled down her cheek, and the dam broke. Elisa's breathing began to quicken along with her heart rate as she sobbed. She normally would never have shown so much emotion in front of the gargoyle clan. Elisa was not one to cry very often at all. Perhaps this was one of her flaws, she told herself. She tended to squash her emotions and let her feelings bottle up, only to unleash them alone in her home.
But this.
It was too much.
Xanatos had taken her own flesh and blood. Taken him to be his minion, and then turned him into a monster. Elisa folded forward and sobbed into her arms. She ran her hands through her hair as she sat back up. The tears wouldn't stop…
Goliath looked around at his clan. Brooklyn stood near the door, saddened by his loss of a girl he tried to help. She refused his help…rejected him completely. Lexington stood by his side, hand resting on his shoulder, as Brooklyn stared at the hands of the clock, solemn and hurt.
Hudson and Broadway stood with Goliath across the room from both of their grieving friends. They all watched Elisa slumped over and sobbing. Hudson and Broadway looked to Goliath, then back at Elisa, full of heartache for their friend. Goliath wanted to go to her, to comfort her in her time of sorrow. He wished he could've protected her from the anguish she felt. He had an urge to pull her into his arms and wipe her tears away. His friend had experienced a great deal this day, a pain he understood all too well; the loss of family.
After a few minutes of watching over Elisa from afar, Goliath couldn't keep himself from her any longer. He hesitantly moved towards her. He looked at Hudson who had grabbed his arm to stop him, but Hudson saw the look in his leader's eyes and let him go. He nudged Broadway with his elbow, and they walked toward Brooklyn, patted him on the shoulder and led him outside. Goliath walked over to Elisa and bent down on one knee next to her. Tears still streamed down her face, her eyes were puffy and red, but it seemed she had been able to calm herself a bit. She had slowed her breathing and her heart rate, but she could not stop the tears from flowing.
"Elisa," Goliath said in his low, soothing voice. "I…I'm sorry." He couldn't think of what else to say.
Elisa didn't look at him. "It's…not your fault," she managed to say between quick, stuttering breaths. "I'm sorry…you had to…see me like this." Her face fell into her hands. Goliath placed a hand on her shoulder.
"You do not have to be ashamed of your grief," Goliath assured her. He moved to sit next to her, his back against the wall. "You have been through a great deal tonight."
Elisa turned to him and looked into his eyes. She flung herself at him and began to sob all over again. Goliath lifted his hands in surprise, then slowly gathered her in his arms and pulled her to him. He went to stroke her hair, but stopped himself. Instead, he gently began to rub her back while his other hand held her. She laid there a while, slowly beginning to catch her breath again. Then she lifted her head and looked at him.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I…"
"Do not apologize," Goliath stopped her. "I'm here for you, as I know you are always here for me."
She laid her head back down against his chest. She focused on his steady breathing, calming herself as she listened to his heartbeat. He continued to gently stroke her back until she finally sat up next to him and crossed her legs.
"Thank you," she said, a twinge of a smile on her lips. "I don't usually cry in front of others."
"It is alright for you to release your sadness here. You are among friends who care about you," Goliath replied.
She looked down for a moment, then took a deep breath before she said, "A part of me feels like I lost my brother. We were so close before he left his job as a cop. Dinners with Mom and Dad on Sundays, getting a hot dog at a local stand, comparing stories on the job. When he took this new job with Xanatos, I didn't like it…but I left him alone. I thought he knew what he was getting into after Xanatos told him about you guys. I…I told him to be careful. I tried to tell him! He wouldn't listen to me! Why didn't he listen to me?" She squeezed her hands into fists before defeatedly wrapping them around her torso again.
Goliath looked at her, his eyes softening as he listened to her speak about her brother. Finally, he spoke. "Sometimes, one has to, as you say, 'learn the hard way' in order to truly understand their mistake. Unfortunately…" his eyes moved down to the floor, "I'm afraid your brother has learned a great deal about Xanatos in a way that may not be reversible."
They sat in silence for a moment before Elisa spoke again, "Another part of me wants to take Xanatos down for good." Elisa balled her hands into fists. "He took my brother from me. Took away his normal life. What will my parents think when they see him? Will they ever see him again…" Elisa's voice trailed off.
"Xanatos does not care about the well-being of others. He only does what he wants for his own personal gain. He will pay for what he has done to Derek," Goliath said, placing a hand on Elisa's shoulder.
She looked up into his eyes. She could see the vengeful nature in them, but there was something else. Fear maybe? No. Sorrow? Perhaps. They sat in silence, gazing at one another with sadness radiating off of them. He removed his hand from her shoulder, breaking their gaze from one another. He sat back against the wall, folding his wings over his shoulders and feeling a bit defeated. He could almost feel the grief Elisa had, as if they were connected in some way.
"I too know the pain of losing a loved one," Goliath said finally. "Many loved ones, at that. Perhaps there is hope for Derek. He's still alive after all. We won't give up."
"We have to get through to him," Elisa said determinedly. "He has to know Xanatos did this to him."
"We will," Goliath said. "He must know that Xanatos is using him as a pawn in his twisted game of life."
Elisa sighed. They were quiet again. Goliath watched her expression go from defeat to a bit of contentment. Finally, she spoke.
"Thank you for being here with me. I'm not sure I needed to be by myself tonight." She took his hand in her own and squeezed it.
Goliath placed his other hand over hers and smiled. "I will always be here for you, Elisa. You have shown kindness and loyalty to our clan, and I cannot begin to repay you for how you have helped us." Then his smile fell into something more serious. "I will find a way to mend this. Xanatos will not get away with this."
Elisa moved closer to him. He opened his arm for her to sit close to him, and he wrapped it around her. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "For now, I just want to sit here a bit longer. You don't have to stay," she said looking up at him.
"I will stay here with you, if that is what you wish," Goliath replied. His instincts told him to stay with her and comfort her as much as he could. He felt an urge to pull her into his lap and hold her, but suppressed the strange feeling instead.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Finally, Elisa asked Goliath to take her home. They walked outside, and Goliath scooped her up. He hopped onto the parapet and dropped down into the wind, carrying her to her apartment.
Once they arrived, he set her down gently on her balcony.
"Will you be alright?" he asked gently.
"I will be," she replied. "This will..take some time."
"Of course."
Elisa looked up into his dark, onyx eyes. She saw the hurt in them, and she wondered why he seemed unsettled.
"What is it?" she asked, sensing his feelings of sadness and confusion.
"I…I do not like to see you this way," he looked down away from her gaze. His wings folded gently over his shoulders like a cape.
"Red and puffy?" she asked with a grin.
"Hurt…distressed…heartbroken," he replied, only lifting his head after he'd spoken. He lifted his hand as if to touch her cheek, but he pulled back.
Elisa reached for him and pulled him in for a hug. He returned the hug, one hand wrapped around her back, the other cupping the back of her head. He felt…he didn't know what he felt. All he knew was that he would do whatever it took to protect Elisa. He felt drawn to her, but he couldn't understand why. He continued to hold her for another minute, then finally she pulled away, only slightly, moving her hands to his chest. He kept his arms wrapped around her, his hands resting on her lower back.
"Elisa…" Goliath began, "Again, I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing again? This wasn't your fault," Elisa said soothingly.
"I feel…somewhat responsible for what has happened. My involvement in your life has put you and now your loved ones in danger. Demona has tried to kill you, your brother has been taken from you and mutated against his will, you were shot by one of my own clan…"
Elisa lifted her hand and put it over his lips to gently quiet him. "Nothing that has happened to me since we met has been your fault, Goliath, nor would I ever blame you. My life has been much more adventurous lately," she said with a grin as she slid her hands down his arms, stopping on his forearms, "but even if we hadn't met, I would still be doing everything I could to take down Xanatos. He still would have found a way to hold something over my head. I'm not sure what my life would be like if I hadn't met you, but I'm sure glad you guys are on the good side." Elisa smiled up at him, doing her best to sound cheerful.
Goliath grinned down at her. "There is hope, Elisa. Your brother may not look like himself, but he is not gone."
"I don't know what I'm going to tell my parents," Elisa sighed, pulling herself away from Goliath. She stroked her chin while she imagined her parents screaming at the sight of Derek in his current state. "They need to know, but…I don't think I can tell them. Not yet."
"We will figure this out," Goliath said confidently, "Together." Elisa smiled and ran into his arms for one last embrace.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, secretly not wanting him to leave. She felt safe in his arms and wanted his comfort more than he knew.
"Yes," he replied softly. "I will see you tomorrow."
Goliath looked into her eyes, searching for the thoughts she wouldn't tell him. She looked back into his, a soft smile on her lips. Reluctantly, his hands fell away from her sides, and Elisa's hands slid softly down his chest and down to her sides. Goliath stepped back and hopped onto the balcony wall. He looked over at her one last time.
"I'll be okay," she reassured him. "Thank you."
One corner of Goliath's lips turned up in a small smile, and he gave a little nod before he opened his wings and glided off back to the clock tower.
Elisa's hair flew back gently as his wings opened. She watched him go, longing for his touch again. In his absence, she suddenly felt a chill as the cool air swept through the night. She wrapped her arms around herself as another tear fell down her face. Her thoughts drifted to her brother again and the awful predicament he was in. She already missed spending time with her brother when he joined Xanatos, and now she felt that she would see even less of him now. He may never want to see her again. Elisa would have to find a way to show Derek that Xanatos was not on his side, and that all she wanted was to laugh by his side again.
Elisa wiped away a tear before she climbed inside her apartment and walked straight to her bedroom. She grabbed her pillow as she lay down on her bed. The sobs started again as the loss and betrayal she felt took over. Her cat, Cagney, jumped on the bed next to her, nuzzling against her as she cried herself to sleep.