Through the rest of the night, by 1:00 am, Brooklyn kept up his gliding as much as possible to make up for the loss of time to make it home. He still smiled when remembering how Mark had healed his gunshot wound but felt worried that Anthony would eventually track him down.

I have to get far away, into the next state as fast as possible, then maybe Anthony will give up looking for me. Can't go into many towns if I want him to easily trace me in them.

He held up his travel bag that Mark gave him, which had non refrigerated foods and bottles of water, hoping that they would last him the entire way. But knew that if it came to it, he would have to either hunt for his food or get it from a store.

The red male soared over the grassy desert fields in Butte. Mark had told him where he was in Montana during his stay there. Brooklyn then decided that he needed to sleep during the day from this point if he had to, to keep his sleeping pattern balanced and healthy on his travels.

I'm on my way, guys. I will come home, I will, he thought, frowning as Brooklyn hoped his clan hadn't stopped or forgot to look for him, upset that he made them worried for him.

The moonlight here in the desert fields was surprisingly bright, lighting up Brooklyn's vision which made him grateful for it and appreciated seeing the pretty stars up there again, making him smile just a bit.

After a time, his belly began to feel sore, and his wing muscles cramped since he hadn't done proper gliding in so long. Using his sharp eyesight, Brooklyn spotted a cave near one of the close rock towers. He made his way to it, already exhausted and ready to fuel himself and sleep, now 5:30 in the morning.

Brook landed near the rock tower, his eyes drooped in tiredness, yawning, but first made sure there were no animals inside before going in.

He settled in against the sides of the cave, rubbing his belly to soothe the cramping of the tissues. "I hope you won't keep me grounded too long. You gotta heal faster," Brook muttered to his belly, resting his head back, pulling out a sandwich to eat and getting a drink before going to sleep. The red gargoyle had only just begun his travels and already was exhausted, and some PTSD from memories of Anthony began to eat at him.

Brooklyn felt shaky, hugging his arms after finishing his dinner, tears falling, wondering if he still really had it in him to make it all the way. He had never made a really big journey like this since his clan never traveled far outside the city, not counting Goliath's magic tour since magic was involved. He wished he had company, already feeling lonely after leaving Mark and Nora behind.

He pulled the photo of them out, tears making his heart ache, smiling tearfully at the kids in it.

"Thank you again," Brooklyn sniffled, tracing his hand along the photograph, putting it away again, then gazing at his brand. Brooklyn didn't want his clan to see this, wondering if there would be a way to fix it. But that would mean getting another human's help, and he didn't want too many human interactions.

A wolf howl sounded, making him jumpy, hairs on his neck standing up, hoping wolves wouldn't discover him here if this was a wolf den. But there weren't any signs at all that showed it in here. Eventually, sleep began to win him over, covering his body with his wings, curling on the ground, beginning to slowly fall asleep, wishing for the comfort of his clan around him.

....

Back in New York, the clan was already stone for the day.

Elisa and Matt were in her car, looking around the city for signs of the lost Brooklyn, but it had been like this for weeks. There was still no sign of him. Whoever had him sure was hiding him good.

Matt and Elisa knew the clan was worried about their Second in Command. Elisa knew that Goliath felt guilty for yelling at him that night before he took off for making one mistake. But it had probably also seemed like the clan had been taking the red male for granted a lot lately too before he had run away and gotten sold to a dealer of some sort.

They were beginning to think about checking the airports for kinds of cargo to be transported elsewhere. It would be a step closer to finding him hopefully. It should have been done weeks ago.

They would check out all the local airports.

At the castle, even the Xanatos family and Owen were seeing the results of Brooklyn being gone. The clan just wasn't the same without him. They wouldn't stop looking for him. Even Hudson and Bronx were joining them a lot more on their searches when they should be at home, but right now, every member being out there to find the red male mattered.

The clan was barely home at all except for stone sleep time. They barely ate and didn't have time for entertainment. Goliath was constantly keeping them busy searching for them. Even the Labyrinth Clan continued helping in their search for Brooklyn. The more eyes and ears they had on the lookout for him, the better.

As much as the clan wanted to keep looking for Brooklyn, it had been well over a month now and there had been no traces of him. There was nothing to go on right now other than Radar's interrogation and he wouldn't talk, neither would his men.

The truth was that Radar didn't know where Anthony had taken the red gargoyle, and he didn't care. Neither did his men. But some of them also joined the Quarrymen too, wanting to get rid of those monsters that flew in the night.

Matt and Elisa checked all the airports and on that particular night so long ago, there was nothing found about it. Brooklyn must have been a secret cargo. But the two humans could only look so much before they had to come home to get some sleep before their next shifts.

Everyone was beaten down and weary trying to find the red male. Some weight had been lost among the clan that didn't need to be lost. This situation was getting out of hand.

Later on, Elisa stopped by the castle, and she talked to Goliath.

"Goliath, I know you are concerned about Brooklyn being missing, and you have all searched long and hard for him, but don't you see what this is doing to the clan? They are all exhausted looking for him. It's been over a month." Elisa explained.

"I will not give up on Brooklyn, Elisa." Goliath retorted. "Not after what happened that made him run away..."

"I'm not saying anything of the sort, Goliath, we will keep on hoping that he will return to us. But until then, Big Guy, the clan needs a break from all this searching. We all need to go back to trying to live our lives as normally as possible, and when Brooklyn is sighted or if there's any leads, I promise we will go get him." Elisa proclaimed.

Goliath knew she had a point. "You're right. They are looking distressed more and more, despite their stone sleep. I know that his rookery brothers are stressed too, especially Lexington. We will go on with our lives as much as we can for now, Elisa."

"What are you going to do about having a Second in Command?" she asked.

"I'm still going to wait at least six months, now five to see if he comes home on his own first before I think about naming the new one." Goliath replied.

"That's good. At least ensure you still know for your choice in who to give the honor to. But don't give up hope."

"I won't. We won't. Brooklyn is strong willed and will return to us. I'm sure of it." Goliath smiled at his love before giving her a hug.

....

Brooklyn had slept most of the day away he had been so exhausted. When he awoke, it was nightfall again. It was shortly after sunset. It was so weird not waking up from stone sleep. He was one tired gargoyle though to have slept from just before sunrise to just after sunset, like what his internal biological clock was telling him.

He hoped that when he returned home that Owen/Puck and Alex could give him back his stone sleep. He was just always a lot more tired without it. But he had to get moving again.

He took out a sandwich and an apple out of the pack. He also opened a bottle of water. He needed the calories to be turned into energy to give him strength enough for another long night of gliding home. Then he put his pack back on and he picked a rock face and climbed it to the top, then spread his wings and took off for what he thought was east.

I sure hope this is the right way, don't want to get lost, Brooklyn thought while he glided, the wind blowing in his hair. He saw cactus everywhere down in the desert, glad to not be traveling in the hot daytime. How Brooklyn remembered when the sun scorched him, making him frown softly.

The red gargoyle decided then that he wouldn't enter towns unless his supplies ran short and he needed new ones, and only help others when it was necessary, for this wasn't New York. Who knew what sorts of other undesirables would want to make money off of him too. It made him feel sick but Brooklyn shook his head, keeping his mind focused on his getting home, and to his clan.