UMY (Urban Magic Yogs) AU

A/N: This has taken me forever to write, and although it's not meant to be scary, I'm gonna probably dub this as my Halloween fic, if I don't have time to write a proper one.

Also, first try at this. Um... halp?

Hope you enjoy! I'm really loving this AU... :)

"Why are here again, Smith?" Trott asks nervously, fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.

"I already told you mate, this old church has been abandoned for decades. Everyone reckons its haunted, so everyone's too scared to knock it down. We're here to find out once and for all!" The ginger replied enthusiastically.

"Is that why we're here at bloody midnight, Smith?" The brunette asked, ducking under the chain on the large ornate iron gate.

"Yes, of course it is! Best time to hunt ghosts!" Was all he had to offer in reply, squeezing himself through the gap as well.

The two friends walked up the moss ridden cobble path towards the condemned building in silence, their torches and the bright glow of the full moon as their only guide. As they approached the old Gothic church, Trott frowned.

"Smith, how come there aren't any gargoyles? Weren't these things famous for how bloody many there were?"

Smith paused and looked up at the old towering spires, eyes searching for any sign of the vaguely humanoid lumps of carved stone.

"Huh. Maybe they just were really old and crumbled away. I mean, this building's so old, I'm surprised it hasn't imploded yet."

They continued walking, looking around in nervous awe. As they approached the large and mostly rotted oak doors, Smith stopped suddenly, his head swiveling around. His ears straining for a sound he thought he'd heard, before shrugging it off and carefully pushing one side of the grand door open. The door made a long and loud creak that echoed through the empty space of the church.

Smith and Trott padded inside, a sudden unease making the hair on their necks stick up. Suddenly, there was a long scraping sound, something like stone on stone, but almost not at the same time. They both jumped, flicking their torches around the room looking for any signs of life.

"Hello...?" Smith called, his voice sounding strange as it hit the slightly damp walls. After waiting a few more moments, they shared a glance with each and ventured further through the large space, dodging old pews and looking around at the decorated pillars that lined every wall, and they could only imagine how they looked when they were first built.

Trott wandered off somewhere to the left while Smith went right, both unintentionally splitting up. The ginger haired boy examined what remained of a large stained glass window. Some of the glass remained in tact, but other pieces had long since cracked and fallen away into shattered shards on the ground below.

Branching off through an arch that served as a door to another part of the church, he saw a set of stairs and began to climb them. The spiral staircase took him up into the higher level of the church, the wooden and stone rafters clearly visible and accessible from up there.

He saw something move out of the corner of his eye. He quickly turned, barely catching the shadow that dashed into yet another off shoot of the main room. He took off after it, bursting through the small door and spinning around.

The room was empty and there was no other way out other then the way he came in. There was another stained glass window, a clear and light blue pattern that cast a strange glow into the otherwise dark room.

Smith scratched his head in confusion. He was sure he saw something run in here.

He did another survey of the room, his gaze landing upon a lone gargoyle. He approached it cautiously. Out of all the gargoyles Smith had ever seen, this was the first to almost look like a real human, in its own way, and the first he'd seen in the entire church.

Its stone carved body was slightly old, chipped away in some places. It had two small horns protruding from its forehead and a long tail with a circle leading into a point carved into it. It even had what looked like could have been wings, once upon a time, but they were cracked and broken, barely recognisable as what they were anymore.

He leaned closer to it, inspecting its face. He turned away, looking briefly back at the window. But before he could do much else, the door he had come in slammed shut. He let out a startled yelp and spun back around.

Only to find the gargoyle had moved. And it just happened to be sitting in front of the only way out.

The ginger gulped, keeping his torch trained on the stone figure at all times, slowly backing away against the wall opposite.

He nearly screamed when it tilted its head at him. Slowly, Smith watched as the stone shifted and broke away from itself, allowing the gargoyle to move freely. What Smith had assumed were wings earlier, spread out to their full span. The thing would never be able to fly with them, as they were beyond repair, but the added intimidation that they provided was clear enough.

Smith tried to push himself further against the wall, sliding down it slightly. If it were any other situation, he would have used his abilities to save himself, but there was nothing in the room he could use that would harm living stone.

The gargoyle crept closer, its head still tilted at him curiously. Smith tried to twist his head away, when its face was right up against his own. Its eyes studied his face with curious interest. Just when Smith thought it was about to end him, it did the unexpected. The gargoyle sat back on its vaguely dog like haunches, flicking its tail around expectantly and tucking its wings flat against its back, it looked kind of like an expectant puppy then. An extremely deformed puppy, but one none the less.

Smith blinked, relaxing his tense posture. Staring at the stone creature in pure and utter confusion.

"Umm... hi?" He tried, giving a small wave with a flick of his hand. The gargoyle nodded back at him in acknowledgement.

Standing up properly, the ginger man glanced around the room once more. He knew if he tried to run, the gargoyle would probably be on him before he made it more than a few steps.

"My name's Smith." He introduced, when he received no reply he continued as a prompt. "And you are...?"

The gargoyle seemed to flinch at this, casting it's gaze downward slightly. When it looked back up, it opened its mouth to speak, but nothing more than a gravely grating growling sound filled the room. It gave a light cough, before trying again.

"Rrr... Ro- Ross." It replied, its voice still more of a rough growl than anything, like rubbing two pieces of stone against each other.

Smith couldn't help but smile. It was obvious this creature- Ross, it's name was Ross- hadn't spoken in a very long time.

"Ross. I like that name. My friend downstairs is Trott. He's probably freaking out by now." Smith chuckled fondly, suddenly more comfortable around the newly dubbed Ross. He couldn't quiet figure out why, though.

"Umm, do you wanna meet him?" Smith asked hopefully. Ross started and seemed to give him an apologetic look, before turning and walking over to the door on all fours and nudging it open. He looked back at the ginger, waiting for him to follow, which Smith did without any further complaint.

Once out of the darker room, and out into the main walkway of the top floor, Smith saw Ross flick his tail towards the stairs, looking directly at the man in front of him. Before Smith could ask what he meant, Ross turned and leaped up onto the somehow sturdy rafters and stone support beams. He pressed himself down, head laying on top of the claw like hands, stone grey eyes boring into the ginger man.

Taking a few cautious steps towards the stairs, keeping his eyes on the gargoyle. When Ross made no move to object, he turned back and descended the spiral stairs quickly.

He'd barely landed on the bottom floor before he was shoved into the brick wall, grunting as he did so. His field of vision was suddenly filled with Trott.

"Smith! Where the hell did you go, you jerk! My torch ran out of battery, it's almost pitch black down in here!" The short brunette complained. Smith just couldn't help but grin at the other man, causing him to groan in frustration.

Smith playfully shoved Trott off him and wandered back into the main area of the church once again. He titled his head up to look at the rafters again, searching for his new friend. Friend. When did that happen?

Trott was basically shouting at him for leaving him alone in a haunted church, but Smith wasn't paying attention. He grinned when he caught sight of a face leaning over slightly to look on at the scene below him. He was snapped out of his trance when he felt someone slap his shoulder in an attempt to gain his attention.

"Smith! What the bloody hell is wrong with you, mate?"

"I found the ghost, mate." Trott looked as if he were about to retort when he realised what his friend had just said.

"You- you what?"

"I found the ghost." He confirmed, enjoying Trotts' reaction, before he continued. "Well, turns out, that it's not actually a ghost, per say, its actually a gargoyle. Scared the bloody life out of me when he trapped me in one of the rooms." He chuckled.

"A gargoyle? I don't know if you haven't noticed, Smith, but we haven't seen a single gargoyle since we got here." He patronized.

Smith was about to say more, when he saw something fall out of the corner of his eye. He stopped himself from smiling as Ross quietly crept up behind the short man, his tail poised above his head, ready to strike.

Smith burst out into hysterical laughter at the way Trott screamed and ran away to hide behind Smith when Ross tapped him on the shoulder with the tip of his tail. He was holding his pained sides and balancing himself against one of the pews with a wobbly arm. He could have sworn that the light strange grating noise was Ross' own laughter.

"What the fuck, Smith!" Trott shouted, still recovering from the initial shock. Smith waved a hand at him, no longer able to make any noise he was laughing so hard. He attempted to compose himself and catch his breathe, but one look at Trotts furious face set him off again.

It took a few minutes for him to finally calm down, and by that time Trott also had an amused smile of his own.

"Alright, alright. I'm fine, I'm fine now." Smith breathed, standing himself up straight again. He looked between the two of them with a grin from ear to ear.

"Trott, this is Ross. Ross, Trott."

"Uhh, hi." Trott greeted awkwardly. Ross once again nodded his head in acknowledgement.

For the next few hours the three of them just sat around talking about random things. Ross didn't talk very much, as his voice wasn't the most appealing thing in the world. But managed to contribute none the less. After a long while, they pair had fallen asleep on the floor, leaning against each other, the events of the night having finally caught up to them.

Ross watched them as they slept. Not in the creepy way, more of a jealousy than anything else. He was jealous because he couldn't do what they could do. He knew that they would leave soon, and he'd be left alone again. Left alone to suffer the same fate as his late brothers and sisters than had crumbled away protecting the church from evil.

Ross mentally sighed, slumping back onto his haunches, hanging his head. The sun was slowly rising, its orangey golden light just peeking through the broken stained glass window. Giving a quick glance at the two sleeping men, he leaped up onto one of the pillars and skillfully climbed over to the window, sitting on an exposed ledge where glass was sat.

Just as the suns light was casting a warm glow through the window, Ross turning his eyes downwards, having heard movement.

"Whatcha doin' up there, Ross?" Smith asked with a yawn, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Instead of answering, Ross slid down the wall, using his claws to keep himself steady. Extending his long tail, he wrapped it securely around the gingers waist and heaved them both back onto the ledge. Ross set Smith down beside him, glad that there was no glass that would create a problem for him.

They sat in silence, just enjoying each others company. It wasn't too long before Trott had wandered over and was also lifted up to the window to sit by Smith and enjoy the early morning view. But unfortunately, not everything can last.

"We should get going soon..." Trott announced sadly. Smith turned to look at him, giving a deep regretful sigh, he turned to look at Ross.

"Yeah, we probably should... people are gonna start to worry if we're not back soon..." When Ross gave no response, Smith frowned.

"Ross? You okay, mate?" He asked, but the gargoyle just kept his head down, refusing to meet either of their gazes. "Ross?"

"You won't come back, will you?" The gargoyle finally asked. He lifted his head just enough so he could cast a sideways look at his new friends.

"Of course we will-" Trott started but a shallow growl cut him off.

"Don't lie. I know you won't. Been alive long enough to know that." He said sadly, flicking his tail hard against the stone wall, causing it to dent from the impact and making both men jump.

"Well, I mean you could come with us if you wanted too. We'd just have to put a glamour on you." Smith tried, growing increasingly confused when Ross just shook his head.

"I can't leave. Tried already, more than once. But I can't leave."

"Why not?" The brunette and ginger asked in unison.

Ross looked up fully, pushing himself into a crouch and spinning on the spot, now facing the inside of the church.

"I can't leave the church."

"But no-one's used this placed in decades, so there's no point for you to still be here." Trott chimed in.

"Doesn't matter. I was created to protect it from evil until I die. As long as the church still stands, I can't leave."

"Oh." They both said, realisation dawning on both their faces.

They sat in silence for what seemed like an age, before Smith perked up with a mischievous grin.

"So..." He started capturing the other twos' attention. "Say, if someone were to burn down the church... you'd be able to leave?" He asked innocently. Ross just blinked at him, nodding his head slowly.

Trotts' eyes widened. "You're not going to-"

"You bet I am!" He cheered, turning around. "Can you help us down, Ross?"

Ross nodded and complied, using his tail to lower them both back down to the ground safely.

"Right. There's plenty of wood built into this church's foundations, so this should be easy. Trott, go wait outside and stay safe, 'kay?" Trott nodded and hurried out of the building.

Ross tilted his head to the side. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm setting you free, mate. That alright with you?" He asked, hands spread out in front of him at the ready. Ross nodded excitedly at him, desperate for an escape.

"Alright, be ready to make a break for it." Smith grinned at him like a mad man. He spread his fingers out in front of himself, closing his eyes he began muttering something under his breathe. Somewhere in the upper rooms of the church, the cracking of burning wood was heard. And soon enough, anything that could be set on fire, was alight, filling everything with smoke.

Smith dropped his arms. He quickly turned to Ross, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the door. Smith raced through the wood before it started to catch alight, turning around waiting for Ross to follow him.

The gargoyle looked at him uncertainly.

"Come on Ross! You're almost free!" He called out over the vicious roar of flames. He flinched as one of the previously in tact stained glass windows exploded outwards, leaking more black smoke into the air.

Ross hesitated, taking one last glance back at the church before turning back to look at Smith. He held his breath, figuratively, that is, he's never actually had to breathe.

He looked down as he took a step forward. As soon as he had completely left the boundary of the church, the was a blue flash that rippled around the entire building. Ross stumbled forward in shock.

Smith and Trott cheered at the success. Ross grinned back at them, before his face contorted, as much as it could being made of stone, into that of pain. He grunted and fell forward. The two men instantly stopped cheering.

"Ross? Ross what's wrong? Are you okay?" Smith asked hurriedly, trying to figure out what could be wrong.

They could only stare in mild horror as the stone that was Ross began to crack and split all across his body. He grunted in pain, stretching his broken wings out, feeling as the joints that connected them to his back split, letting the large chunks of stone fall on the floor at his sides.

The stone kept cracking and crumbling, gathering in a messy pile of dust around his body. Smith and Trott could do nothing but stand and stare at the horrific spectacle in front of them. The stone around his tail finally gave way and added itself to the rubble, but they hadn't expected a bright blue tail to appear.

Finally, after many long and pain filled minutes, Ross was left panting into the ground. His gargoyle form now gone, all that was left was the blue tail and two small horns. He now had short and scruffy black hair matted against his pale skin.

He pushed himself up with his arms shakily. He blinked with wide, icy blue eyes at his hands.

"Wha- What the hell?!" He panted, eyes still locked on his now pale skin and shocked by how normal his voice was now. Smith and Trott were at a loss for words.

"I have no bloody clue, mate. But I do know that you're stark naked." Trott then pulled off his hoodie and walked over to dark haired man, throwing it over is lower half and awkwardly trying to tie it around his waist.

Smith walked over, helping Trott to lift the tall lanky man to his feet.

"So, you ready to see the world, Ross?" Smith asked with a smile. Ross, now walking on his own, grinned at the two of them.

"Are you kidding? This has gotta be the best day I've had in hundreds of years!" He exclaimed in delight.

"I think we better get you some clothes first, mate." The three friends shared a laugh, loving the way Ross gave a small blush.

"And a glamour." Trott added

"Nah, he's already got one. Anyone that he doesn't trust won't be able to see nothin' but the human part."

"Well then. We'd better get started!"

And that, was the start of a long and love filled friendship no-one could even try to compete with.