Estevan placed the last of his items in his bag. It was a picture of his family. It was slightly burned at the sides, but for the most part was in tact. It had been given to him after his parents funeral and he has held for the most part had it ever since. He parted with it for more than a month, leaving it behind at a motel he stayed at when he first came to Manhattan. The events of the past month and a half kept him from going to retrieve it.

That is until yesterday when he went to get it back after realizing it was still there. The building had since been condemned, but luckily the photo was still there. He and his friends, a police detective, a billionaire, who's skyscraper he was currently in, and a clan of gargoyles were wrapped up with problems that keept Estevan from going back to the motel. Luckily, they took care of the problem a half a week ago.

Since then, Estevan had been thinking about what to do next. He decided two days ago that the right move to make next was to go back home. Then he would put what was left of his family back together.

Now here he was packing up what little possessions he had with a plane ticket provided by his friend, David Xanatos and was now ready to leave. Well, almost; he had a few goodbyes to say first. He was about to get the chance to say one or two, as a knock came on the door.

"Come in," Estevan called out.

The door to what had been his room for the duration of his stay at the Eyrie Building opened up to allow David and his wife, Fox to enter.

"David, Fox, hi, how you doing? Here to see me off before I say goodbye to the others and head for the airport?" asked Estevan.

"Something like that," Fox replied.

"I see," said Estevan.

He looked around for a moment when he realized someone was missing.

"Where's Owen?" asked Estevan.

"He is on his way to London to give our son, Alex...special instruction," said David.

"He's going across the globe?" asked Estevan giving a little whistle.

He added, "Now that's dedication."

"Well, let's just say, Owen and Alex have a..." David let his sentence pause, to which Fox provided the finish.

"Special Relationship."

"More than an assistant serving his boss's son? Hmm... Well, I wont question it. I'm sure it has some sort of complicated back story. Ordinarily, I'd care to hear it, but now it's time for me to settle my own."

"As well you should, Estevan. And I see you've already packed," said David.

"Well, like I said. I wanted to say goodbye to the guys before I left and also wanted to be ready to head out when the final goodbye is said. So, I got myself ready to go and now, here I am," said Estevan.

"Here you are indeed," said David.

Estevan's upbeat smile shifted into a look of uncertainty.

"What's wrong, Estevan?" asked David.

"Well..." Estevan couldn't help but chuckle a little. "...You know what? Since I was four years old, I've seen my parents' dead bodies, the monster that killed them, and my childhood home burn down. I ran away from an orphanage and lived life on the road jumping from state to state, living on the street, barely survivng, and learning to fight and having to actually do it on several occasions. This included fighting a clan of gargoyles who are now my friends and a pack of werewolves, one of which is now also my friend.

"But none of that has scared me as much as me going off to find my sister."

"You traveled the world, Estevan. Surely traveling to Washington isn't going to be a big thing," said Fox.

"It's not that," said Estevan.

"Are you afraid of not finding your sister, Estevan?" asked David.

"No. ...Well, sort of, but that's not the thing that's bothering me."

"Well then, what is it, my friend?" asked David.

"Yeah, Estevan, let us in on it. What has you scared going forward?" asked Fox.

"Isn't it obvious? ...I haven't seen my sister in several years. And part of the reason is because I ran away and left her behind. I left her alone."

Estevan felt tears starting to build up in his eyes before slowly flowing down his face.

"When I find her, what will I say? What will she say? How do I explain to her who I am and what I've been through? Will she even believe I'm her brother? And even if she does, will she be able to forgive me for all I have done? Or will she hate me and despise the very sight of me? Maybe she shouldn't forgive me. I wouldn't forgive me. Not after being the spiteful, heartless, revenge seeking shell of a person I had become!"

"Estevan, calm yourself!" said David.

"Calm down and listen, Estevan!" said Fox.

Estevan sucked in a deep breath and then let it out. The calming technique seemed to do it's job, so Fox spoke on.

"It's true that your reunion with your sister is an unsure event."

"But it is an event that must come nonetheless," David Xanatos broke in.

"You may not have seen each other in many years, but I'm confident that once you tell her who you are, she'll believe it."

"What makes you think that?" asked Estevan.

"I have a gut for certain things," replied David.

"Okay, so say she believes me, there's still no guarantee she'll want anything to do with me."

"Yes, but there's no guarantee she wont want anything to do with you either. Who knows? Maybe she'll completely absolve you of all your past doings and just love you a great deal to make up for lost sibling hood. No one knows. It could be positive or it could be negative, maybe even both in some way. But my point is, isn't it worth it to find out, or if nothing else than to set your mind at ease and actually see your sister and see how she's doing and what person she might've become?"

The room was silent, if only for a moment as Estevan was deep in thought pondering the possibility suggested by David. Then a smile crossed his face, indicating a favorably opinion of his friend's words.

"You know something? You're right. It could go either way. And even if she doesn't accept me, at least I'll know she's okay," said Estevan.

"That's the spirit. Just remember that and nothing can go wrong," said Fox.

The room was silent again, but this time the faces were all smiles. Estevan smiled to his two friends that gave him such encouraging words, who both smiled back.

"Well, I'd better go say goodbye to the guys before they turned to stone and I lose my chance," said Estevan.

"You go on and do that," said David.

"I intend to. Oh, what of Isabella?" asked Estevan.

"Our labs are working as hard as they can to help absolve her of the werewolf curse. If there's anyway scientifically to cure it, we'll find out. She's gonna be fine, Estevan," said David.

Estevan nodded his approval.

"Cool, thanks for being so willing to help that little girl. Now I must go and see if I can help another."

"Take care of yourself, Estevan," said Fox.

"I will. You guys do the same. Thank you both for everything you've done for me. Especially being my friends."

"It was our pleasure getting to know you and befriend you, Estevan," said David.

And with one final goodbye smile, Estevan left the room that had become so familiar to him and made his way to the roof. Once he got there, he saw that the sky was slowly, but surely starting to light up. He made his way to the top of the tower where Goliath usually slept during the day. It was here that he found the whole clan and Elisa waiting for him.

"Well there you are," said Lexington.

"Yeah, we were starting to wonder if you were gonna just leave without saying goodbye," said Broadway.

"I would never do that to you guys. Not after all we've been through together and what you've come to mean to me," said Estevan.

"Such great words are most appreciated," said Goliath.

"As is the friendship you've shared with all of us," said Angela.

"Well, you know what they say, friendship is magic. Besides, you guys shared it with me first," said Estevan.

Everyone looked to Brooklyn, who stared back defensively.

"Well, most of you," said Estevan.

Everyone shared a laugh, even Brooklyn, who then walked up to Estevan, followed by the rest of the clan.

"I know I was wrong to hate you at first. I was blinded by rage," said Brooklyn.

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to?" asked Estevan.

This got another laugh from the group.

"Okay, fair enough. I guess we both learned that anger and hatred shouldn't be a controlling factor in life," said Brooklyn.

"Yeah, totally. It may seriously end up ruining your life, just like it almost ruined mine. But now you all have given me a second chance and for that I thank you all so very much," said Estevan.

"Thank you too, Estevan, for being a good enough friend to help us get rid of a very bad stray dog problem," said Hudson.

"That's what friends are for," said Estevan.

Bronx let out several barks as he pushed through the crowd and ran up to Estevan.

"Hey, boy!" said Estevan as he knelt down and placed a hand on the head of the heavily panting gargoyle dog.

"I'm gonna miss you, Bronx. Thank you for being such a good boy the whole time I was here."

Bronx let out a few sad whines as a frown came over his face.

"Don't be sad, Bronx, old boy. You got to stay tough and remember to treat the next fool who tries to break in here the same way you treated me that first time. Okay?" said Estevan.

Bronx reached his head up and licked Estevan across the face.

"Awe, you're a good boy, Bronx," said Estevan before he gave the dog's head a final pet and then standing up.

Estevan spotted Angela walking up to him. Without saying anything, the both of them knew what the other wanted to do. Estevan and Angela reached out and hugged each other tightly. They softened their hug so they could look each other in the face.

"Good luck to you, Estevan. You will find your sister and things will go well between you. I know they will," said Angela.

"Thank you, Angela. I hope you take good care of yourself," said Estevan.

"If I don't, then they will," said Angela as she pointed her thumb to her clan.

"That's what you do when you're a clan, you take care of each other. Elisa found that out and now so have you, I hope."

A single tear escaped Estevan's eye, which he quickly wiped away before nodding his head.

"Thank you," was all he was able to say.

With a smile as sweet as can be, Angela leaned in and kissed Estevan on the cheek before she stepped back to the side of the clan. Brooklyn came up and hugged Estevan next. Once they finished, Brooklyn gave Estevan a stern look as he said, "I'm not kissing ya."

This got a small chuckle from both of them. Broadway came up next and said, "I am."

Then the overweight gargoyle leaned in and kissed Estevan on the cheek like he said he would. Everyone busted out laughing at Broadway's little quirk, even Estevan himself. Lexington came up next. Estevan bent down and hugged the smallest gargoyle, who after Angela had probably shown him the most kindness. The two exchanged quick smiles before Lexington walked away.

Next, Hudson walked up to Estevan. The two stared at each other, not sure of what to do. It was then that Hudson extended his hand to his young friend. Estevan excepted the hand and shook it with a strong grip. Then the two pulled each other into a half hug before releasing their embrace.

Then Estevan stood face to face with Goliath. The two smiled at each other, full of respect. They too shook hands before they hugged each other.

"You did good, Estevan. I am proud to call you a friend," said Goliath.

"Thank you for letting me be that friend even after the way I acted at first," said Estevan.

The two released their hug and gave each other one more smile of appreciation. Then Estevan looked to Elisa Maza.

"You need a ride to the airport?" asked Elisa.

"I would appreciate that very much, thank you, Elisa," said Estevan.

Before either of them had a chance to do anything else, the gargoyle clan hurried to the side of the tower. Goliath perched himself on the edge while the rest of the clan glided down to their perches below, Broadway carrying Bronx down with him. As they stood in their positions, striking their poses, Estevan ran up to Goliath's side, keeping his eyes on the clan as the sun rose into the sky. And then, everyone of the gargoyles turned to stone right before Estevan's eyes.

If he hadn't have seen them moving around earlier and they hadn't have been talking to him, Estevan would swear they were normal statues. Estevan looked to the now solid stone Goliath resting next to him on a perch. He reached out his hand and rubbed it across the cold rock that had seconds ago been scaly skin. With a smile on his face, Estevan said with all sincerity, "Thank you all, so very much."

Then he turned to see Elisa standing next to him with a smile on her face.

"I guess you've seen this quite a few times before, huh?" asked Estevan.

Elisa let out a short laugh before answering.

"More times than I can count."

And then without wasting any other words, the two left the castle tower, made their way inside the skyscraper, and then used the elevator to ride down to the bottom floor. Then they entered Elisa's car, which drove them to the airport. As they drove around the city streets trying to find the airport, Estevan couldn't help but think about what had happened to him his whole life. From his first happy memory with his family, to the night his life was changed almost forever when his parents were killed in the fire and he saw his first gargoyle. Then his mind jumped through his short life in an orphanage before hitting the road which eventually led to all that had happened to him in Manhattan.

It all seemed to flash before his eyes like some say happens when someone dies. Could this be because the last bits of the person Estevan was had died off and he was now a truly renewed person? All this going on in his head made the drive seem to go by fast, because before Estevan knew it, he was looking at his gate.

"Well, I guess this is it," said Estevan.

"I guess so," said Elisa.

"Say, Elisa, have you and the guys ever come across people...sort of like me who end up becoming your friend?"

"Several times."

"And...how many times do you see those friends again?"

Elisa smiled and chuckled.

"We see them again very rarely. ...But we do see them again. I'm sure we'll probably end up seeing you again too, Estevan."

"You really think so?"

"Absolutely, characters like you don't just come into the lives of characters like me and the guys once in a lifetime. After seeing so many people we've met over the years again when I didn't think we would, I can almost guarantee we'll see each other again someday."

Estevan smiled a smile which matched Elisa's.

"I hope we do."

"Me too, Estevan."

"I'll be waiting for the day."

The two gave each other a quick hug before Estevan exited the car and made his way into the airport. He was now taking one of the final steps that could reunite him with his family and shape what the rest of his life would be like, what his destiny would be like.

I'm not even going to try and say anything about this chapter. I'm just gonna let it speak for itself. I can and will say however a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who's followed and enjoyed this story. I'd especially like to thank the 2 main reviewers of this story. Well technically 3.

The first I'd like to thank is Princess Unikitty, who was going by a different user name when she was reviewing this story. At some point she stopped, which made me sad. I liked her reviews. I'm assuming you're a she because of the whole "Princess" thing. Thank you for reviewing the story as long as you did and thank you if you've read it up to this point as well. I hope you continued to enjoy it.

And I'd also like to thank my first brother and sister reviewing team, Melissa and Alejandra. Thank you for taking the time you did to review my story as individuals and for enjoying it as much as you did. You guys are awesome! I even appreciate you going back to review old chapters you had not previously reviewed. You two touched my heart greatly, I hope you realize that.

Special thanks to one, JacksonMW for all your support of this story and actually getting inspiration from it to write your own. BTW, I've read it and I loved it!

And to all the others who read, reviewed, and enjoyed, THANK YOU ALL! You don't know how much I appreciate this.

Don't stop reviewing though! I always welcome reviews, positive or negative. Feel free to review this chapter and all the ones before it and don't be afraid to let me know of somethings you'd rather have had done with the story or what not. Also, if you do review, please be sure to let me know of any mistakes I may have missed, spelling wise, grammar wise, or so on so that I may correct them. Until next time, I'm The Guy Who Likes To Write Stuff, signing off. =)