Jump 10 - Gargoyles Chapter 1: Not So Human Anymore One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles. [Insert epic music] Stone by day, warriors by night. We travel the worlds that are and might not be. Now here in Manhattan … The light of the sun did not dramatically set with the last vestiges reaching out in defiance. The light just darkened behind the clouds as a light rain started. But even in the year of alternate reality 1994 the lights of the New York nightlife shown bright. Bright enough to see by. High atop a privately owned skyscraper a set of large humanoid statues cracked and shuttered. Shards of stone shrapnel flew in all directions. And so it was that the group of travelers awoke and Wanderer landed flat on his face. The … only thing that saved him from falling off the building was the fact that he was in the middle of a large patio. “My legs! What happened to my legs?!” Then he saw his hands. “What the fuck!” That was when Wanderer’s tail and wings started to spasm wildly. All of his senses were heightened. He now had new appendages and no idea of where he was. Someone moved nearby. No, something moved with a familiar aura. Red clawed feet appeared in his sight. Then the clawed hands reached out to roll him over. “Quit being such a drama queen. Your legs are just fine. You’re not human now. You’re a gargoyle. “Tanny,” she wore a warm smile as her eyes tried to memorize his face, “Why are you naked?” That was just before Tanthia moved even closer to get a good, long sniff of him. “She isn’t the only one baring it all.” Medusa who was now tannish orange with white hair didn’t hide that she got her own eyeful combined with her own long sniff. It was polite of her not to get as close. “Why is everyone naked?!” They weren’t even acting ashamed, but Medusa’s wings folded around herself in some kind of cloak. In the background Dr Krieger was ecstatically playing with his tail and wings. And as such he wasn’t paying much attention. “We have much to discuss, my mate. Come in out of the rain, dry off and we can get dressed.” It was a very nice penthouse. Lavish in every way with a line of chests near the door. Medusa and Tanthia had to carry him inside as Wanderer’s tail was throwing off his balance. Granted that the tail was there to grant him balance, but if you give a human a new set of legs and a tail their balance will be off. Inside they found that even Wanderer had a new chest. Inside there they found an altered version of his aura guardian outfit, hat, crown, and even a strange crystal on a string. Now with everyone clothed in various outfits. Tanthia is more of a flowing white robe, Medusa in some leather armor, and Dr Krieger in a lab coat. It was about now a human woman in a maid outfit appeared with a bow. “Not now, Rachel. Cancel all my appointments. I have so much to discuss with mate.” The woman bowed before leaving without a word. “Where do we begin?” “I’m going to say with that. What the fuck, Tanthia? I know you were rich in the last world, but again?” “Honey, I’m still rich. Except this time I own my own company. Centuries of our clan hoarding treasure and as it was just the three of us now, we just had to use it. So I started a small business that quickly took off. The thing practically runs itself.” “And that lady doesn’t care that you three are ” … “Monsters,” Medusa finished. “Rachel is a good girl. Pay a person enough and they’ll do anything.” Dr. Krieger sat across from him. “Alright, I think I’ve adapted to the memories. Now, Wanderer, what about Mitsuko? Did she make it?” The sudden new form had driven thoughts of Krieger’s plaything out of his mind. “Oh, right.” A thought was all it took to open up a portal. Out shot Mitsuko in her anime holographic mini wedding dress. And screamed about demons. Wanderer thought it would take time to calm her down but she was actually okay with Krieger looking like a demon. Thinking about how Krieger must of programmed her Wanderer didn’t even want to … ask. “Now, you said ‘our clan’ meaning more. Why are there only ” Wanderer didn’t have to finish. … The sorrow in the room was palpable. Medusa looked down. “They were smashed in their sleep. We only survived because we were away at the time. We found them shattered.” They talked for hours. Talked about the physiology of this new race. Of how gargoyles turned to stone during the day to absorb sunlight and how their personal possessions would also turn to stone. Except for this one particular clan. Something about this clan was different from all the other clans. Any clothing or items held would not petrify with the gargoyles. And when waking up at sunset clothing would become ripped and tattered by the stone shrapnel while items would be heavily damaged. It just became easier to have foot lockers to store their personal items. The story of the clan’s destruction was saddening. Krieger was of the older generation while the girls were something called rookery sisters. The explanation was that they hatched in the same group of eggs and how gargoyles never know their parents as they are raised by the entire clan. It just caused more questions on his part. But the story went that the trio had seen out scouting when a blizzard hit, forcing them to shelter in a cave for the day. By the time they returned nothing but rubble remained of their friends and family. What eggs had been in the rookery were broken open. None had survived. After that they had performed the proper funeral rites before leaving for New York. Why New York? Apparently it was a big place with an active nightlife. A place that three gargoyles could go mostly unnoticed if they kept their heads down. Then they used the gold and artifacts they had saved to start a business. Rare books and artifacts. That simple start lead them into rare coins and ancient lore. While most people only saw the front as items others saw the more secretive side of dealing in more mystical information. Medusa draped herself across a couch. “So, what now, Wandy? Are we going to pretend to be gods again? Because we all remember how well that worked out.” “Absolutely not. I just want a decade of peace and quiet. Unlike you lot I didn’t get any new memories of how to control his body. So I think ” but Wanderer wasn’t allowed to finish as a ball of fire … burst into flames for the briefest of moment. With the fires dissipated Wanderer and a new female gargoyle stood. “Don’t think about it.” The new Wanderer said dropping a rather large metallic chest. As for the new woman, she held an egg. It was enough to get everyone to their feet. Tensions rose. “Time is cyclical here. What was has always been and don’t bother trying to change things. It won’t work.” A sniff of the newcomer was enough set Tanthia’s eyes glowing, but not at the newcomers. Her rage was directed towards Medusa. Fang Face’s part was purest confusion. Wanderer pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright. I don’t have the experience with this body to know what you two are sniffing, but cut it out. You ” … “I think the correct term is ‘other me.’” “Stop being an asshole and start talking.” Wanderer had to pull Tanthia in his lap to stop the growling and posturing. It helped her become much more affectionate as she started stroking his brow ridges. It gave Wanderer the feeling that it was highly inappropriate. “If you say so, dipshit.” The older him held up a small amulet. “Phoenix Gate. Garneted paradox time travel. It creates only stable time loops. Pretty self explanatory.” That was enough to get the scientist’s attention. “Paradox time travel? But how? I have so many questions!” “Yeah, don’t ask me,” new Wanderer said putting the Gate back into a pouch. “The ass-hat that that stated this time loop didn’t care to explain it and so I don’t know it.” A glance at a watch and, “3 … 2 1 ” … … The flash of light and another Dr. Krieger appeared. “I know what you are going to say, but I had to give myself these samples. Otherwise I wouldn’t have had them for my research.” After the newcomer dropped his even larger case the ball of phoenix fire engulfed him and it was just the original crew and the two others. “Yeah, like I said, you can’t change the past, because it already happened. Pain in the ass. You remember season 3, episode 52 of Red vs. Blue? It was just as big a cluster fuck as that. It might have taken a while, but this chest has everything you need to complete all of your plans for the next decade. It doesn’t explain anything, but then the asshole that gave me my chest didn’t explain anything either.