"Speech"
'Thought'
(Language the current character does not know or is not fluent in)
A small note before beginning. I am purposely being vague and leaving out details for scenes that don't involve Ranma or Demona, since Ranma is the lens the Gargoyles world will be viewed through. I am including the other scenes to fill in the backstory and help explain their motivations.
X x x x x x
"We'll be landing in five minutes." Ranma jerked awake from his nap.
"Finally." Demona remarked as their travel upon a private jet drew to a close. Ranma marveled at just how much cash she had to throw around. She had literally walked into an airport and outright bought a plane. She had then cleared up all the mess of passports and paperwork, he didn't even think it was possible for something like that to go through so fast. However poor she was at surviving in the wilderness as a human, she certainly knew how to manipulate people.
After a brief layover in California, they had set off for New York City. He had kept his face plastered to the small window, taking in the sights as they passed. However little the amount he could see from so high up or during the night. That thought brought him back to how they had gotten here.
The trip back to civilization had ended the night after getting stuck in the storm. It had ceased shortly before sunrise and he hadn't been able to get hot water before turning to stone. When he had awoke, he found that Demona had been able to get some during the day, and had resumed her true form. Which was easy to figure out, because she was bursting out of stone just as he was.
He detested the idea of being frozen in place during the day, unable to move or defend himself. Over the years of training, he had honed his skills, until he could defend himself in his sleep. Explaining how much he hated losing his defenses, Demona had actually seemed to agree but had turned it around on him, saying that she found becoming a human just as crippling.
Glancing over at Demona, he could see her point of view. Even though he was back in his real body, what he should always have, he found himself wanting to find some water to be able to fly again. It was the most liberating and exciting feeling that he had ever felt.
"What?" Demona asked, catching his glance.
"Nothing." His English over the past couple days was now at the point where simple conversation was possible.
He was also thankful to Demona for giving him some money for clothes. This was after he had explained that people would not look favorably on him and his torn up gi, or her and her stone age wear. So now Demona was wearing a simple dark red Chinese dress down to her knees, with slits going up both sides to her hip, and some matching red high heeled shoes.
While he on the other hand, had picked up some black silk pants, and carefully cut a tail hole in one. For his upper body, he picked several navy blue tai chi shirts that came down to his knees in the front and back, which he had tied with a belt around his waist. In the end it came out looking like Demona's loin cloth, so if he changed back to a human while wearing the shirt, he'd still be covered. In the back of the shirt he had cut two slits, and then pleated some material to cover them when not needed to let wings through.
X x x x x x
Shoving the shoes he had gotten from the Musk into his pack. Ranma upended a bottle of water over his head, and changed form. Taking a moment to stretch his arms, legs, and wings, he wanted to be sure his clothing modifications would hold up. Tucked away in a dark alley, the plan was to change forms, and then fly to her home across the water and most of the city. From there, she would summon up the one who started this named Puck, and then he would be cured.
Scaling the three story build that made up one side of the alley, he perched himself on the edge and waited for Demona. "Follow behind me and copy what I do. The air currents in the city can be hard to navigate and I don't want you to plunging to your doom, now that I'm so close." She explained and jumped off the edge towards the city. Hesitating, he still felt weird jumping off a perfectly good building, but followed after a moment.
Coming in from the ocean was a decent strength breeze, but gaining height was still difficult, and by the time he was high enough to not be spotted by the people below, his wings were dead tired. Demona didn't wait at all, glancing back briefly before heading towards a large suspension bridge. Once on the island they turned south.
It seemed like Demona knew some of the best spots to get updrafts and would occasionally go out of her way to get them. They certainly made flight easier, that was for sure. Whatever muscles worked the wings on his back, were not designed for heavy use.
"DEMONA!" Someone roared from a building below, and his guide veered away.
"I can't let them find my home." She called back to him before dipping down between building. Repeating the act, the wind rushed past him due to his increasing speed and the wind tunnel effect of the buildings. "Here!" Catching himself at the last moment, he flared his wings, and swung himself up to land on a ledge next to Demona.
Passing by second later, were a trio of gargoyles, in various colors and shapes. There was a green overweight one, a small khaki colored one with wings not on his back but spread from his arms to his legs like a flying squirrel, and a red skinny one with a beak like face. As soon as they passed, Demona peeked out around the corner, before laughing. "Fools."
"So what was up with that?" He asked, wondering why she had wanted to hide.
"Some of my former clan who turned on me." She explained. "If they found my home, their detective friend would start asking too many questions, and I really hate moving." Peeking out, he saw three forms take off in separate directions. "We'll have to find some place to lose them."
"Uh, why not just turn human and walk past them?" Demona looked surprised for a moment.
"No, I have a better idea, this will cause problems for Xanatos."
"Who?"
"A scheming human with too much time and money on his hands. He's closer and it will draw their attention to him. Getting up to the castle may not be easy, so follow me closely."
"Uh- alright." Following her off the side of the building, he noticed immediately that the small gargoyle had noticed them. 'Ah man I really don't want to get in a fight with this body yet.'
Immediately Demona started catching every updraft she could, until she found one that never seemed to end. The word 'castle' suddenly seemed very fitting, when he saw one sitting on top of the tallest building he could see. A large glass section below showed off the underside of the castle, and turned into a forested atrium before becoming a normal skyscraper. Taking a moment to glance back, two of the trio were following, but as they drew closer to the tall building, they suddenly cut away and headed off in a different direction.
Demona didn't seem to care, instead she continued to use the currents of air to rise up just high enough to land on the lowest battlements. Shortly after, he did so as well, immediately he had to fold his wings to avoid being blown off from a sudden gust of wind.
"They stopped you know." He told the gargoyle as she walked down a flight of stairs that came down from the battlements into a large courtyard. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he hopped down from the ledge after her.
"They went to tell Goliath and the rest of the clan. I doubt they'll come here though, and it gives us an opportunity to rest."
"What is this place?"
"My former home, the castle Wyvern."
"Why is it on top of this building?"
"You're full of questions."
"Hey, when someone puts a castle on top of something like this, the normal reaction is to wonder why."
"It was to break a spell and leave it at that." He was going to press for details on the spell, he was sure that she knew a way to fix him, but he honestly wanted to know more on how they were broken. Just so he could lord it over his old man's head of course.
"Ah, Demona, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" A man in his late thirties with a goatee and ponytail exited from a large door in the stone wall to walk towards them. He was dressed in a business suit, but lacking a tie, all done in shades of black and gray. Following behind him was an uptight looking man with blond hair and a dark blue business suit. "And who's your new friend?"
"Shove it Xanatos, I am NOT in the mood for your games."
"I'm just trying to be hospitable. After all, It's not everyday that someone gets to meet a gargoyle." The man Xanatos said without missing a beat and extending a hand to him. "My name is David Xanatos, welcome to my humble abode."
"Saotome Ranma." He took the mans hand carefully and shook it. Right now he was out of his league in terms of what was going on, so until he figured out where he stood, he'd let the man think he was a gargoyle.
"Sounds Japanese."
"Cause it is." He let the mans hand go, mindful of his claws, and the damage they could inflict.
"You still haven't said why you are here Demona. I doubt it's just a social call." Xanatos' eyes lingered on him a moment longer before switching to said woman.
"Goliath's flunkies spotted us traveling and I do not want them to find my home."
"Fine by me, please, I'm just about to have lunch, you're free to join me if you like." Immediately he perked up at the mention of food. This guy could call him gargoyle all day long, so long as he got food out of the deal. He just flew in from Teterboro airport and boy were his wings tired. "Owen, could you have more food sent up?"
"Of course Mr. Xanatos. Do you wish anything in particular?" The blond asked him.
"Uh no, whatever is good."
"And you Miss Demona?"
"You know what I want." She said sharply and with more venom than he thought you should ever respond with, when someone offers you food.
"The usual then." Owen replied without being fazed.
X x x x x x
"This is great." Ranma said through a mouth half full of food.
Demona watched as Xanatos grilled the fake gargoyle for information. She had to give the human credit, he was a master at manipulating people, not that she thought Ranma could have figured it out anyways. He seemed bright enough, but was far too trusting, and Xanatos usually was able to manipulate people disposed not to trust him. Though she did agree with Ranma, the food was excellent.
"So what clan are you from?" Xanatos asked smoothly from his place at the head of the long wooden table. In the fireplace, a large fire was roaring, and that along with several large candles were the only light sources. It was cozy and felt like a throwback to the days when this castle was still in Scotland. Though the red carpet and paintings were a new touch.
"He's from one in Japan." She interrupted before the boy could say something no gargoyle would. Ranma had already screwed up and included a surname when introducing himself. Who knew what else he would say next?
"You've been traveling." Xanatos smiled at the idea. "I heard you were involved in some altercation with Goliath several nights ago."
"It was unexpected." She answered and tore some meat from a bone. That was encouraging, Xanatos was on the island at the time of Puck's spell, which meant he had been changed along with everyone else, but he had no recollection of it. Otherwise she knew he would be mentioning it.
"Surprises make life worth living." Xanatos boasted.
"I prefer to have goals." She shot back. 'Like getting rid of all of you.'
"But what happens when those goals are done? I say you should take life as it comes and enjoy yourself. Goals are nice, but they shouldn't be the why."
"I agree with him." Ranma butted in.
"Do you?" Xanatos leaned forward on the table.
"Well yea, it's funner that way." Ranma shrugged.
"Ah, a gargoyle after my own heart. Do you plan to be in town long? I may have some work if you're interested."
"I don't really plan to be here long, just until- me and Demona get something over with." She almost smiled, pleased that he didn't blurt out any information about the curse.
"That's too bad, if you change your mind though, I can offer significant incentives."
"I do have one question."
"Ask away."
"Why is there a castle on top of this building? Demona said something about a curse."
"Some gargoyles were trapped in a spell that kept them in stone until this castle rose above the clouds. So I did the literal, put it on top of the world, and voila the curse was broken." She gave Ranma a glance, this time pleased with how he had gotten information out of the sneaky human. The simplicity was almost devious in nature, certainly such an innocent question couldn't have any harm in answering.
If he was a mage in training, he would have just learned one of the first lessons, that all spells had to have something to negate their effect. Once cured, she may have to keep him around, just as a servant during the day of course. His personality seemed malleable enough to work towards her goals, so long as she could rationalize it in a way he understood.
"As fun as it is to converse with you. We really should be going, things to do, places to be." She stood up and gave Owen a sideways glance. 'Oh yes, I'll be seeing you later.'
"We'll be in touch." Xanatos smiled and stood up, clearly intent on seeing them out.
"Thanks for the food." Ranma bowed his head to the man.
"You're very welcome, feel free to visit anytime." Strangely Xanatos returned the bow for some reason. 'Some human custom no doubt.'
Snorting, she stormed out of the room, Xanatos could play with Ranma later. Now she had to get her cure, and if her former clan got in the way she would simply deal with them this time. That and being in this place only made her mood more foul. Jumping up on top of the castle battlements some twenty five feet above the courtyard, she prepared to take off.
"Are you coming?" She asked just as he came up next to her and look over the side, only to freeze up and stare with wide eyes downwards. Giving off a startled cry he jumped off the edge to clutch at the stone walkway in fear. "What is wrong with you?" She demanded.
"Too- high." He shivered and dug his talons into the stone.
"You got up here just fine." She growled.
"That's up, not down!" He squeezed his eyes shut tightly.
"What's the difference when you have wings fool."
"Too high, don't wanna." Gritting her teeth, she noticed that Xanatos was watching this with amusement.
"Quit acting like a stupid human." She growled to lowly for Xanatos to hear. Grabbing his tail she tried to pull him backwards and over the ledge. This only caused him to grip the stone with his talons harder.
"Having troubles Demona?" Xanatos asked now coming up to stand nearby, like a shark sensing blood in the water. "We have an elevator if you want to start off lower."
"He's just being difficult." Giving one last tug, Ranma remained firmly locked in place. 'Stronger than I expected him to be.' Releasing his tail, she grabbed him by the waist and pulled. This time due to the force of her pull and him ripping into the stone, his holds tore out, allowing him to be thrown over the side. "You didn't see that." She gave Xanatos a glare before following after Ranma.
X x x x x x
"Did any of that seem strange to you Owen?" David Xanatos asked his eternal assistant as he retired to his office.
"Stranger than a gargoyle who's scared of heights, Sir?"
"That too." Strumming his fingers on his desk, he pondered the absurdity.
"I'm not sure what you mean Sir."
"Have any of our winged friends ever introduced themselves with a surname?"
"No I can't say that they have. They seem to have an aversion to naming conventions."
"Indeed." Taking a moment to work through what he knew, there was simply too little information to work with. "If he returns make sure you accommodate his every whim. No reason to alienate the boy like Demona surely will."
"As you wish Sir."
"And Owen, more tea please."
"Yes Sir." Spinning his chair around, he gazed out the glass wall towards the southern end of Manhattan.
X x x x x x
"You threw me off a building."
"So?"
"The tallest building in the city."
"I don't know why you are making such a big deal out of it. You're not dead or injured."
"That's beside the point!"
"Before we get to my home." Demona shifted the conversation away from his wounded pride. "I want your word that you will not tell a soul of it's location."
"You what?" He asked.
"Promise that this remains a secret. You will tell no one."
"Sure sure."
"I said promise!"
"Alright, I promise."
Demona snorted and didn't say anything else. Instead she circled down to a five story building nestled in a large plot of land with trees, grass, a fountain, and large two car garage. The entire area was surrounded by a two meter high wall and looked incredibly expensive to have such a place in the middle of the city. Following, they landed on the roof next to a triangular skylight that ran across the roof, and a meter wide satellite dish.
"This all yours?" He asked, assuming that with all the money she could throw around, that she had bought this place for private area away from the humans she seemed so angry with.
"Yes, and do not forget your promise." Entering the building from a roof access door, he leaned over the railing to look down the center of a stair well going down all five stories. They only went down one floor though, coming into a room with a very high ceiling, and one wall slanted inwards towards the skylight above. Strangely enough all three windows had metal shutters over them. Arrayed around the room and the walls were dozens of stone figures and antique items.
"Stay put and don't touch anything." Demona commanded and left the room, dropping off his pack, he started to look around. Sitting in the center of the room, facing a high backed chair on one end, was a tall mirror. Walking over he examined himself in the reflection, getting to see for the first time, exactly what he looked like from the outside.
He was definitely more muscled, but not as bulky as he had imagined, since his frame hadn't grown that much. His brow had also become more pronounced, looking like a less pointy version of Demona's gold tiara. Reaching a hand up to feel it, he found that it wasn't really hard, and felt more like the cartilage of his nose. Like Demona, his ears were fin like, and opening his mouth slightly, he realized just how pronounced his upper and lower canines had become.
A metal clanking announced Demona returning to the room, in her hands was a long iron chain. When he looked away, he failed to notice how his reflection remained in position. "Stand to the side and don't interfere." She once again commanded and started to wrap the chain around the mirror. Once she had wrapped it around the mirror several times, she connected the two free ends with a padlock.
"Do not talk to Puck when I summon him. He will twist and turn anything you say." Demona explained and retrieved a silver hand bell and a gold ring from a table next to the wall. In a small plastic dish were several feathers, which she grabbed one of. "Do you understand?"
"Yea, I got it."
"Good." Standing in front of the mirror, Demona took a deep breath, and then held up the bell. Using the gold ring, she rung it four times.
"Cum aescerat argentum, et aurum involare." She spoke before blowing the feather towards the mirror. Magically the surface of the mirror started to waver and distort, the feather twisted and flipped in mid air, until it came into contact with the mirror, only to slip through the surface. "Postea Puck ad speculum Titania penetrare!"
A bright green light grew in intensity until it bathed the entire room in it's light. Closing his eyes and having to cover them with a hand to shut it out, a strange humming noise grew and grew until it vanished, leaving only the soft clinking of chains. Blinking, he rubbed his eyes, and opened them to find a short human looking man with the chains wrapped tightly around him kneeling on the floor.
"Did you really need the chains?" He asked and tried to wiggle out of them. That's when Ranma noticed the elven ears peaking out from Pucks long white hair.
"I should kill you right now!" Demona's eyes glowed bright red and she grabbed the front of the chains and started to shake Puck violently.
"Ah but you won't will you?" Puck giggled.
"Not till after you fix what you've done." Demona released the strange man, who floated away, now floating in the air. "Make me a full gargoyle again."
"But wasn't it your fondest wish, other than getting rid of all the humans, not to turn to stone during the day?"
"That did not mean I wanted you to turn me into a human!" Demona spat.
"But hasn't it proven the least bit useful?" Puck slowly floated around the room on his back. "Think about it, you no longer have to work behind the cloak, you can be up front and deal with humans, deceive humans, play with humans, maybe even love humans? Why the possibilities are endless don't you know?" Demona continued to growl before she finished with a snort and crossed her arms.
"It has proved marginally useful, if only because you put me in that situation."
"And you?" The strange man suddenly zoomed up close to him, sticking his angular face directly into his own. "Aren't you enjoying yourself, just a little bit? You're not that hard to figure out, you've always trained to be strong." Puck flexed his thin arms like a body builder. "You have that plus a little extra. How is the flying by the way?" Puck flapped his arms like a bird and floated away.
"I summoned you Puck." Demona trapped to grab him from the air but missed with a hand. "He is none of your concern except to give back the other half of me."
"Other half? My dear didn't you at least stop to ask the Jusenkyo Guide as to the nature of the springs? That half of you is gone for good."
"What are you talking about?" Demona finally was able to grab Puck.
"The pools work by making you take the form of whatever drowned in them. You my dear became a human female because that is what drowned in that spring. Give and take really, normally the excess magic containing the other form is spread out and dissipated by the spring, lost forever." Puck gave off a heavy sigh. "But when there are two bodies, it goes into the nearest container, acting as the template for the curse instead of the spring itself."
"You mean I've been dragging him all the way back here from China when I never needed to!" She screeched.
"You never had to leave China, those springs all work like Titania's mirror, you could have summoned me there." Puck's disturbingly wide smile was not the best idea. With an roar, Demona threw him into towards a wall, instead of impacting, Puck flew off at the last second unharmed. "That wasn't very nice."
"Get rid of this curse immediately! Make me a full gargoyle at once!"
"But what about your new friend? Hmm? Do you still want to go back to being all human?" Puck asked him, heedless of Demona's snarling. "Or maybe I'll just fix that little water problem of yours. Think about it, human during the day, and you don't have to worry about turning to stone anymore. You get all the benefits and none of the drawbacks. Including some benefits that you don't even know about yet." Looking at Puck, his mind started to work out the possibilities.
"What are you suggesting Puck?" Demona still looked primed to rip the man's head off.
"Why just changing the trigger, that's all. Something to let you move freely through the human world without having to worry about an accidental splash of water revealing your true form. No longer vulnerable during the day and still your gargoyle self at night."
"No more accidentally becoming human? I wouldn't have to worry about falling from the sky?" Demona seemed to be warming up to the idea.
"I'll do it." He broke in and crossed his arms. "I- I want control." Turning his head away, he felt ashamed over admitting that he liked this form, even a little. He liked flying, he liked the innate strength, and if he had control over the change, then it was as good as any cure right? It would be nothing then to go back to his normal life if he didn't have to worry about water. He could go out flying when he wanted, sort of a vacation from himself.
"How about you?" Puck shifted towards Demona.
"So long as I am not bound to another human. As disgusting as that form is, there are some uses for it, and it is better than being helpless during the day."
"One change of trigger coming up!" Puck rose up into the middle of the room and then immediately dropped down to the floor. "But before I do I want to be freed of these chains."
"And how would I know you'd keep your word." Demona barked.
"Puck keeps his promises, you know that, and if this is all you wanted me for- though I could try getting rid of all the humans on the isle again if you wanted?"
"Fine, fix the trigger and then I hope never to see you again." She reached up and crushed the steel padlock holding the chains together, allowing them to fall to the floor.
"Deal, changing the control for never seeing me again." Puck shot up into the air again and his eyes started to glow the same green color as the mirror before. "Controlled before by waters pour, however worry not about such anymore, for when the sun rises and sets, it shalt now your form reset!" Around Puck, green light exploded, blinding both of them, and when it vanished, Puck was gone.
"That didn't sound like control to me." He said glancing around worriedly.
"That's because it isn't." Demona looked ready to break the first thing that offended her. "There is no control, he just changed it so we change at sun rise and set." Giving off a roar, Demona smashed the mirror, and crushed more glass underfoot as she moved to sit down on the high backed chair.
"How can you be sure about that? Maybe water still works." He suggested quickly, staring at the broken mirror, with the implications of the incantation started to set in. "Where's your hot water?" Demona pointed towards a door. Rushing out, he found a large kitchen, and continued to sit at the sink for a full hour splashing his face. But no matter how hot, or how much he used, he remained in his cursed form.
X x x x x x
Elisa Maza stepped up the last step into the clock tower above the Civic Center. Pulling the stair cord, she hauled the steps up after her, just to be sure no one would accidentally wander up. It was always a risk that someone might find the gargoyles during the night or day, but the clock itself had been broken and abandoned for years. The funds simply weren't there, so for the time being her special friends were safe from prying eyes.
"Uh, what's up?" She asked, finding the entire clan in a circle discussing something. All five plus Bronx greeted her warmly and started to explain about a new gargoyle who was seen flying with Demona up to the castle. "So what are we going to do?" She look at Goliath for an answer.
"I do not know." The large heavily muscled purple gargoyle replied. "We assumed that we were the last."
"Aye, but that has been proven false once before with Coldstone." The older Hudson pointed out while stroking his beard.
"But that was with gargoyles we knew, this one was new." Lexington chimed in, the small tan gargoyle sitting on the steps leading up to the door in a clock face.
"So maybe there's another clan that you don't know about." She suggested. "You could try asking."
"It's too close to morning to risk going out in search. Tomorrow night we'll go out and find out what's going on. Demona cannot be allowed to do as she pleases." Goliath gave his order.
"I'd love to help you guys, but I'm on duty for the second half of the day, and that's coming off my shift tonight. If I don't get some sleep I'm going to crash on my feet."
"It's alright Elisa." Brooklyn smacked a fist into an open palm. "We can take care of Demona."
"Agreed, Demona isn't one to be underestimated, but together there's no way she can defeat us." Goliath gave her a toothy grin.
"That's great, but do you mind if I steal the chair? I need to get a nap, and it looks like the suns about to come up anyways." There was agreement from the clan, who filed out the clock face to take their positions outside to spend the day guarding the tower. Flopping on to the chair, she yawned loudly, and curled up to get some rest.
X x x x x x
The water in her kitchen hadn't stopped running for over an hour. Glancing down at the chair arm, she realized she had been shredding both of them. Forcibly stopping her hands, she rose from the chair to go shut the annoyance off. Puck had tricked her once again. Strangely, she was so angry that she wasn't feeling violent, and Demona always felt violent.
She had never felt a need to prepare food in the way a human would. This room had been included with the building, at first she had left it to collect dust, but had since grown fond of the refrigerator. Shutting off the hot water tap and turning on the cool, just to satisfy her curiosity, she was happy to find that it no longer caused her to become human. That done, she turned her attention to the next matter, and that was the human turned gargoyle laying crumpled, face down, on the floor.
"You should be happy, you've moved up the food chain." She remarked and turned to walk away.
"I didn't want this, I wanted control, I said control." Ranma choked out and shifted slightly, drawing his limply spread out wings in towards his body, before letting them fall back to the floor again. "What have I done to myself?"
"No, what has Puck done to us." She reworded his statement.
"Puck did?" Ranma asked slowly.
"It's all his fault, he knew what you wanted, and he chose to do the wrong spell." Yes that was it, this wasn't her fault at all, Puck was the manipulator here.
"What good does that do me huh? You broke the mirror! And now I'm stuck like this every night!" He exclaimed in a strained voice, briefly rising up to glare at her, before falling back down.
Taking a good long look at the human who, as distasteful as it was, was now technically as much a gargoyle as her. It would be almost ironic if he could come to accept the truth about humans, it was tempting enough that she would have to think on it some more. Demona didn't say anymore, choosing instead to walk away, pity was something she had long grown out of, and he would get over it.
X x x x x x
Dawn, he could feel it even in the dark kitchen, sitting with his back pressed up against the refrigerator, having remained in the room to wallow in self pity. It was like the coming and going of the sun was hard wired into this body. A tremor ran through his body, signaling the start of the change. Moaning from discomfort, it felt like some intangible force was pushing in on him from all sides. The pain wasn't unbearable, like a full body muscle cramp, but compared to the nearly instant change before, it was very noticeable.
When it passed after fifteen seconds, he stared down at his human hands, and gulped. What had he done that was bad enough to warrant the mistake he had made? Had he done something to screw up his karma this badly? Standing, he wavered unsteadily on his feet, before adjusting to the drastically altered sense of balance.
What would he do now? His first thoughts had been towards finding another way to cure himself. But how? This was all he had thought up to, even how he would get back to Japan or China was an unknown. Demona would know, she seemed really knowledgeable about everything, well except for how to survive in the wilderness as a human, but considering the circumstances that could be forgiven. She even knew magic, surely she would figure out something.
He returned to the sky light room and found Demona looking out one of the large windows in the slanted wall, the shutters having been raised up and out of the way, bathing the room in a soft light. "Hey um."
"I propose a trade." Demona didn't turn away from the window but shifted her weight to one leg and crossed her arms. "You fill in my knowledge on humans when I require it, and I'll explain gargoyles to you."
"You're not going to look for a way to fix this?"
"I've been through worse and I have time to find a solution. Being free of the stone sleep is- for the moment more bearable than the stone sleep itself." Turning, she stepped around the still broken glass on the floor. "There's an empty room on the second floor next to the stairs that you can leave your things in. If you break anything it'll be your head."
"Wait." He called after her just before she left the room. "Don't you have something to clean this up?" Leaving all this glass on the floor was just asking to step on it, sighing, it was his inner clean freak coming out.
"First floor in the closet next to the entrance, and don't bother me, I want to be alone." She answered without stopping.
X x x x x x
Compared to the night before, the day was uneventful, and boring. Demona remained in a room with the door closed, letting him roam freely around the mansion. That had grown boring quickly and he had wandered outside into the large fenced in area. If it wasn't for the sounds of people and vehicles outside, it would feel like a place in the country. So long as you didn't look at the tall buildings that surrounded everything.
The temptation to go out and explore was hard to ignore, but he knew from soaring overhead last night that without knowing your way, all the tall buildings could blur everything together. He needed landmarks and directions otherwise he would get lost. And his reading of English skills were not nearly as good as his speaking English skills. Which now that he thought about it, had become fluent very quickly. 'Obviously it's cause I'm so awesome.'
As the day wore on, he ended up taking a nap that turned into several hours worth of sleep. Grumbling over how screwed up his sleep schedule was, he wandered around the mansion until he found Demona in the big skylight room. She was sitting down on the tall chair, which he noticed now had shredded arms, and was reading through several pieces of old parchment.
"I noticed before that humans did not have to sleep as much, it's convenient." She said while smirking. "I can be up all night and with six hours of sleep I am able to operate again."
"Yea it's better than being stuck asleep in stone." He replied without much enthusiasm. "What are you reading?"
"These are pages from the grimorum arcanorum." She said without hesitation and then paused, before giving him calculating look. "I lost the book itself and the spells it contained."
"Like something that could control the change?"
"Possibly, it will take something of considerable power to change a spell crafted by one of Oberon's children, and mixing magics is very dangerous."
"Oberon's what?"
"The Third Race, what Puck is part of, creatures of pure magic. Enough questions though, it is nearly sunset and I wish to finish reading this page before then. Go wait for me on the roof, you need to learn more of the city, and how to navigate it quickly."
"Sure, I guess." Shuffling out of the room, he would ask later about these magic people, maybe if he found one they could fix the spell. Stepping out out of the roof access door, he was able to catch the last rays of sunshine reflecting off the buildings, before it went dark.
"Oh no! My shoes!" Scrambling he pulled them off just before the change swept over him. Equally as uncomfortable as before, the difference being that it felt like something inside of him was pushing outwards in all directions. Snarling briefly, he stretched to get the kinks out. Wrapping his wings around his shoulders, he crossed his arms, and looked down at the people moving on the street below.
He had never been interested in a normal life before. Traveling the countryside, learning martial arts, and living off the land. That was normal to him for the past year, and for a long time before that when he and Genma would go traveling whenever possible. Since that kind of thing was out of reach for the moment, he would have to make the best of it, and enjoy what little pleasures he could get.
"If you're done watching the humans." Shaking his head, Demona was waiting on another side of the roof, and gave him only enough time to see her before she took off. 'Wonder if she would get pissed if I told her she's just like the old man, follow or get left behind.' Grimacing, he hoped she didn't like cats.
X x x x x x
"Are you still wasting time with your pathetic human fear of heights?"
"Hey, it's just- high, alright?" Gulping he looked straight down from the top of one of the World Trade Center towers. Demona seemed to enjoy leading him to great heights and then gloating over him. The worst thing about it was that he wouldn't realize just how high he was getting, until he had already reached the top of a building and looked down.
Heights hadn't bothered him before, but then again he had never been hundreds of meters above the ground before. Once he was in the air, he would be fine, it was that first step off, and the thought of falling a long way down that made him pause. Taking a deep breath, he spread his wings, and pushed himself off. Even before he had left the top of the protective fence, the wind had caught the wing material and helped lift him upwards. Demona who had been waiting for him to go first, followed shortly there after.
"It's getting late, you mind getting something to eat?" He asked, noticing that Demona sped up to take the lead, like she always seemed to do. Certainly he wasn't that bad a flier that he needed someone to constantly hold his hand. In fact it was starting to bug him. She glanced back to give him a calculating look.
"You are correct."
"How bout that place?" He suggested, his enhanced vision allowing him to pick out a place on a street with several other Chinese ones. It wasn't Japanese but it was familiar if nothing else.
"If you wish." Demona landed on a nearby rooftop, and he did the same. Immediately digging into his pocket he tried to remember if he had any money with him. Demona had shoved some money into his hands while waiting for their plane to refuel in California to get food, and she hadn't asked for any of it back. 'Seventy three dollars, doesn't seem like a lot.'
"Want anything?"
"No." Demona replied with a strange little smile spread across her face.
"Suit yourself." Dropping down into an alley, he caped his wings and walked out into the sidewalk to take a right and into the shop. It was later at night and mostly empty, so no one noticed him right away, and he was free to walk up to the counter and examine the menu printed on the wall behind. 'Bleh I can't read that I'll have to ask.'
"I'll be with you in a moment." The guy behind the counter said from where he was preparing something. Shifting irritably over his lack of reading skills, his tail whacked a nearby chair, startling a woman who was eating her food.
"Oops sorry bout that." He apologized. "It's kinda new."
"That's alright." She started and turned to look at him. The high pitched scream she emitted, made him wince and move to cover his ears. Instantly the other six patrons turned to look at him and the man running the counter.
"It's one of those gargoyle things like on tv!" "You idiot that's just an urban legend." "That's standing right there!" "What's it doing here?" "Someone call the cops!" "Someone call animal control."
"Hey I just want some food." He protested as tables were overturned and a couple brandished chairs. "This is just a curse, I'm really human." When more foul comments went his way, he started to leave. "Jerks." He muttered just before something wet bounced off the back of his head. Grumbling he looked back to see a fountain drink cup had been thrown.
Snorting, he gave the one who threw it an annoyed look, and left the building. Apparently his presence had alerted the few people nearby outside, who were now acting like he was some kind of wild animal that had wandered into the city. Giving them a passing glance, he padded into the alley, and with a single leap cleared three stories to start bouncing back and forth between buildings. There were gasps from the quickly growing group of people at the alley's entrance, but he ignored them to finish climbing the six story building.
"What's there problem?" He asked Demona, the blue gargoyle was looking down at the people below with disgust. "Sure I don't exactly look normal now but- all I was trying to do was buy some food. And I'm really human." Something about how they looked at him, struck one of the few fears he had, and ruined whatever good mood he had been getting in.
"Are you?" She asked and stepped away from the side. "Perhaps you should go down and explain that, I'm sure it would be really easy to prove to them."
"I could if water still worked."
"Oh yes, I'm sure that would set their minds at ease, a gargoyle turning into a human in front of them. You would send them into a panic."
"But if they saw that I was human."
"They would see you as a monster who turned into one of them, it would be even worse than simply being seen as a beast. Just like how your father did."
"Pop? What did he do?" Now he was confused, the last time he had seen the old man, was when he was chasing after him.
"I didn't want to say anything at the time, but before we left those pools, I saw him watch us leave."
"What do you mean?"
"He didn't even ask where you were going, doesn't that tell you everything you need to know?"
"But Pop's would never, he-." Bowing his head he didn't know what to think. "I don't know."
"We should leave, someone will come to investigate." Demona took her time going to the far side of the roof, away from where he had come up. "Gargoyles are the only ones who can accept you now, humans will only hate and fear you. You've been given a gift to rise above their nature. Come, we'll return home and eat there."
He moved mechanically to follow, maybe she was right, or maybe not fully right. People could be stupid, spend five minutes with his old man, and you could realize that. But they weren't as bad as she made them out to be, they just couldn't be.
X x x x x x
"Quickly this way!" Demona commanded and veered sharply to the side, hoping that Goliath hadn't spotted them, glancing back, she cursed because he had. On any normal night she would be happy to take a shot at destroying him. But she had plans for the night, plans that his presence may interfere with, and she couldn't have that.
Weaving through several buildings, Ranma followed without much enthusiasm. 'Damn, this is no time for this.' Raising up, she pushed off from the ledge of a building, to gain some height. Giving another look back, she found that they had continued to follow, even with her weaving through buildings and getting objects in the way. With a quick flare of her wings, she came down to rest on the top of a large roof.
"I take it they're not friendly?" Ranma asked.
"You're a trained warrior correct?"
"I'm a martial artist."
"Whatever, take the other two while I handle Goliath. While dangerous, they are bumbling fools, and should be easy to defeat. When you get an opportunity to leave freely, take it, I'll meet you near the castle building."
"Who's Goliath?" He asked just as the large heavily muscled lavender gargoyle landed heavily on the roof. "Oh, I guess that's Goliath." Following him were Brooklyn and the heavy set Broadway. "Maybe you should let me take the big guy."
"Goliath, how nice to see you." She said conversationally, it wasn't, but he was a sentimental sap and who knew where a little pleasantry would get. "Brooklyn, Broadway, long time no see."
"What are you up to?" Brooklyn demanded and took an aggressive step forward, only to be stopped by Goliath.
"Demona, I do not know what you are up to, but surely dragging another gargoyle into it, isn't what you want."
"All I'm up to Goliath, is going to get a bite to eat, so if that's all you wanted to say, ta ta." Waving, she could see that Brooklyn was close to losing his temper. "Let's go." She said to Ranma, purposely avoiding use of a name, the less information they had the better.
"Wait." Goliath protested and she turned to give him an annoyed look. "We cannot simply let you do as you please, you're too dangerous, and unstable."
"Oh Goliath, I could say the same thing about you, but we can argue the semantics some other time. This island is big enough for both our clans."
"Both?" The two accompanying Goliath asked.
"Of course, yours." She pointed a talon towards Goliath. "And mine." She finished and placed the palm of the same hand to her breast.
Goliath growled and narrowed his eyes. "I do not know what game you are playing Demona, but you and I both know that I will not stand for your manipulations after all that you've done."
"What exactly am I doing? Aside from- enjoying the night." She asked, knowing full well that they were only tracking her at the moment, to find out more information about Ranma. Looking into Goliath's eyes, she knew that she was going to get away from this rooftop without raising a talon. The old fool still looked at her with hope in his eyes. Even after everything she almost and would do to him. All it would take was not being hostile.
"You are right."
"Goliath you can't be serious!" Brooklyn pleaded. "She's obviously up to something, we can't just let her do what she wants!"
"As much as I am in agreement, Demona is not at fault tonight, and we have no cause to fight." Goliath took in a deep breath through his nose and then blew out. "We can only hope that she is turning over a new leaf. However I would like to know."
"I don't believe it!" Brooklyn interrupted Goliath and ran forward, intent on attacking her, and she prepared to defend yourself. "I won't let you trick him like you did me!"
Demona barely registered Ranma's movement, but in a single fluid movement, he had stepped in front of her. Grabbing Brooklyn's left hand, Ranma let him pass before twisting it downwards and behind the red gargoyles back. Applying pressure, Ranma redirected all of Brooklyn's moment to smash face first into the roof. "Sorry bout that." Ranma smirked and pulled away from the dazed gargoyle. "But we were just leaving."
"Indeed." She gave the recovering Brooklyn a menacingly sneer before she left the rooftop with Ranma in tow. A glance back, let her know that they weren't following, though they were watching. Laughing to herself, she couldn't believe what a fool Goliath was.
Still, Goliath was not an opponent to be taken lightly, without a weapon of some kind, she could only hope to delay him. There was also the matter of Ranma, she didn't know if it had just been a fluke on Ranma's part, or a true indication of his skill. Certainly he was fast and agile as a human, she had seen that while watching him chase his father, it was whether or not he could handle himself as a gargoyle that she wondered. But there would be other nights, or other days should she find their home, to deal with them.
X x x x x x
Almost purring with satisfaction, Ranma felt immeasurably better now that he was full, and able to relax in a plush reclining chair. Demona's pantry wasn't varied, consisting mostly of meats, breads, and some potatoes. But it was plentiful and seemed to appeal to the taste buds of this form. Closing his eyes, he stretching out all his limbs, and then fell limp.
Best guess he had, was that this was a converted apartment building, with all floors but the ground being a former unit. The ground floor was more open and struck him as a lobby type area. Each floor had a living room, four bedrooms, a self contained bathroom and toilet, and a kitchen. Most however were all used as storage for the countless items that Demona had collected. The only ones that seemed used were on the fifth floor, where this room with several expensive lounge chairs and a couch resided, along with a gigantic flat screen television connected to the satellite dish on the roof. A single elevator next to the main entrance gave access to every floor.
The television seemed kind of weird to him, since she really did like people, so why would she have something that showed only human programming. Shrugging, he grabbed the remote, and tried to find a decent program to watch. 'Infomercial, infomercial, infomercial, oh, there's my problem, it's four thirty in the morning.'
"How long have you been training to be a warrior?" Demona asked, appearing at the doorway.
"Martial artist, and ever since I could remember, it's just been me and Pop living together, and training." He replied and sat up. As soon as they had gotten something to eat, she had disappeared to go do whatever it was she did.
"You did well in taking out Brooklyn, while not the best fighter, he can be dangerous."
"That was nothing, he looked pretty fast, but he didn't have any skill. I mean, blindly charging at someone?" Well now he had a name to go with the red gangly gargoyle. Compared to the others he had seen, this Brooklyn, had looked the least human, having a pronounced beak like mouth. "What was that clan thing anyways? You mentioned it before and they seemed to get worked up over it."
"It is like a gargoyles extended family, commanded by a single leader who decides the clans actions. For my former clan, that leader is Goliath."
"Why is it your former clan, if it's your family?"
"Goliath sided with the humans who wiped out our clan." Demona's eyes glowed red briefly, before she closed them. "That's enough questions for now, besides, clan business is for gargoyles only, humans are not allowed." Without waiting for a response, she left the doorway, and he was alone again.
'Not that interesting.' He thought snidely and went back to finding a good channel.
X x x x x x
"I still can't believe we just let them go." Brooklyn continued to berate him as they landed at the clock tower. Goliath didn't immediately give his clan mate a response, too engrossed in his own thoughts.
"Yea Goliath, I don't know why we didn't follow em." Broadway added.
"Because past actions or not, we were the aggressors tonight, and we gain nothing from attacking Demona."
"You're back." Elisa spoke happily from the doorway into the clock tower. "Have any luck?"
"We did indeed find them." He started.
"But we let them get away." Brooklyn finished for him and he looked crossly down at him.
"Brooklyn, Broadway, go find and tell the others to return to the clock tower." He commanded and the two left, albeit reluctantly.
"I take it things didn't go as expected." Elisa remarked as they watched the two go.
"Not at all."
"Want to tell me about it?"
"Demona seems to want peace, at least temporarily, between our clan, and one she seems to be starting." He finished slowly, almost tasting out using those words to describe something with Demona.
"She's bad enough on her own, I don't want to think about what she could do if she had help."
"I know." He took a deep breath and brushed some stone fragments off the railing around the clock tower. "But I can't help but think that this may very well be what she needs in order to cease her vendetta."
"How so?"
"One of the harshest punishments for a gargoyle who has betrayed the clan is banishment. To be clan-less, alone, and with nothing to protect is nearly unbearable. Demona's misplaced rage may stem from this anguish."
"Seems kind of farfetched to me. She didn't change her attitude when she was reunited with you."
"I know." He remarked sadly.
"And what's to stop her from twisting him around her little finger?"
"Nothing, nothing at all, but forcibly splitting them apart will not endear him to us. We will just have to wait and hope that if she doesn't change, that he'll come to us on his own. Before any harm comes to him or anyone else."
"I don't like it, but there's not much I can do to change your mind now is there?"
"For now, but tell me, how was your night?"
"Uneventful, but I have one more shift and then three nights off. After that I get put back on nights so I can spend more time with all of you." Elisa gave him a smile and sidled up next to him.
"When you are away, your presence is always missed."
"Likewise."
X x x x x x
It was October twelfth and David Xanatos was admiring the city stretched out below him from high atop the highest tower of castle Wyvern. He had always found being on top of the world an invigorating experience. It wasn't the warmest of days, made worse by the extreme height, and so he quickly retired to his office. While slightly less impressive, the view from his office window was still taller than all but the tallest of buildings, and was far more comfortable.
"Mr. Xanatos." Drawn from his inspection of the city, he turned to find Owen holding a folder. "I have the information that we got from the investigation in Japan."
"Ah, good, anything worth noting?"
"Nothing conclusive, though there are some sightings of winged creatures around a small city named." Owen took a moment to search for the information. "Ishimura."
"Anything else?"
"We checked the registries and no Saotome's exist in the area. There are many dispersed around the country and curiously enough we did find one with a member matching the new gargoyles name."
"Really?" That had been something Owen had suggested, maybe a clan of gargoyles were using legitimate means to acquire wealth and property. Which wasn't unheard of, Demona certainly fit that bill, and if one monkey could do it the others could too.
"Yes, from Nerima, a ward of Tokyo. Not many listed relatives and searching deeper, we found that they are actually human."
"Ah, a dead end then."
"Apparently."
"No bother, at least we know about this Ishimura place now, and we can investigate it at our leisure. How goes my acquisition of the Cauldron of Life?" He changed gears, the cauldron was one of his more long term projects that was hopefully going to come to fruition soon.
"The movers are placing it in its room as we speak. We've also gotten word from the stone mason on the progress of the Hudson statue."
"And?"
"There were problems with the stone and will have to make another, he is reporting that it will be ready by the second week of December, barring any more problems of course."
"Unfortunate, but I'll just have to wait, and I do still have to find a replica for his sword."
"Is there any reason for that Sir? We know that it is surrounded by stone during the day. Wouldn't it be easier to simply have it carved?"
"Oh it would be much easier, but anything worth doing, is worth doing right."
"Of course Sir."
X x x x x x
Swooping in, Ranma came to rest on top of a roof access door to take a break. He really had to let his wings recover from the workout he was giving them. Not that he was being all that successful, the muscles that worked them were very strong, but only for angling and support, not the flapping motion needed for flight. Or he could just be doing it wrong, either way it wasn't working.
This was of course after he realized that life as a human in Manhattan was very limiting compared to his usual life. He had started off trying to spend most of his time awake as a human, since that was his preferred form. However it didn't take long for him to realize just how little he could do as an illiterate, illegal alien, with no way to make the money everything seemed to require. Demona was giving him a place to stay and food in exchange for the odd request now and then, but she couldn't care less about him wanting to explore the city during the day.
Living with Demona was different than traveling with Demona. There were long stretches of time where she would avoid him. Then out of nowhere she would ask a strange question on something, for some inexplicable reason, and then it would be silence again. At night, she seemed determined that he would become a good flier, an activity that he did look forward to. However, for every jump in skill he acquired, she always seemed one step ahead of him, and he looked forward to the challenge.
He did find her commanding attitude grating, but living at her house, and eating her food left him little room to complain. He knew it was putting off making a decision, finding his father was what he should be doing. At the same time, it was also the last thing he wanted to do, because what if Demona was right? Not knowing that answer made his life easier, simpler, and he liked simple.
Water wasn't a problem any longer, no, now he had to deal with turning into a gargoyle every night, likely for the rest of his life. He couldn't stop it through sheer force of will, or even delay it, sun up and sun down, it happened regardless of what he wanted. Without finding Puck, and he didn't know if he wanted to, there was nothing he could do about it.
"Hold it!" Someone shouted from a nearby rooftop. Investigating, he found that a man and woman in gold costumes with patches of fur at their shoulders, were running from several security guards, by bounding over the duct work like acrobats.
"This looks interesting." Launching himself off the roof he followed from above. 'Wish I had brought some snacks.' Now the problem became if he should help or stay out of it. The two apparent robbers looked very skilled at tumbling, while the eight security guards were barely able to keep up. 'Might as well only step in if someone's going to get hurt.'
The five story building they were running on ended soon enough, which meant the duo had to turn and face the guards. Circling, he landed on a nearby rooftop, and sat down on the edge to watch. The guards all carried clubs, while the two, had sharp metal clawed gloves on each hands. Watching the duo take guards out, he had to revise their skill level, they were definitely better than he had expected. Nothing he couldn't do blindfolded, but skilled none the less.
All in all, he thought they were doing pretty good, that was until the woman got tangled up on something on the roof, and taking a hit from a guard, fell over the edge. 'And here we go.' The building was five stories high, which meant she would be falling too far, and would get hurt. Planting his feet, he pushed off, and rocketed towards the falling woman.
His momentum struck her hard, and she gave a pained yelp. Grabbing her around the waist, he planted a hand into the wall, which wasn't enough to stop him as his talons ripped through it like paper, so he had to plant his feet as well, creating a long run of tracks nearly to the ground. Sighing in relief, he checked to see if she was alright.
"You okay?" He asked as she regained her senses. His hands and toes hurt slightly but they would be fine in a moment. Her short brown hair was brushed back, except for two tails that extended down from her temples, when her eyes found him, he was taken back by how wild they looked.
"What the hell? A gargoyle?" She exclaimed angrily and pushed away from him before realizing that she was still in the air.
"Hang on a sec." Releasing his holds and dropping to the ground, he let her step away.
"What? You want to take me in yourself?"
"Me? No, just didn't want to see you go splat."
"Hmm." She looked him up and down before putting a metal claw to her lips in contemplation. Sauntering up to him, she ran a clawed hand down his chest."Ya know- you're kinda cute for an overgrown bat."
"What?" He asked in Japanese, forgetting to use English for a second. Was this woman saying what he thought she was saying?
"Ooh, a pet name already, I like it, but the real name is Hyena." He backed up several steps when she tried to rub up against him.
"Huh, no, that was." a metal scraping noise, made him look up as the other half of the duo dragged his claws while sliding down the wall. About halfway down he pushed off with his legs to slow his descent and back flipped down to the ground. Without missing a beat, the man ran past him, grabbing Hyena's hand as he passed.
"Come on Sis, time to leave."
"Oh alright." She groaned and took off with him out into the street, but not before calling back to him. "Seeya lover bat!" Staring dumbly at the street, he didn't know if he should be flattered, uncomfortable, or what he was leaning towards, completely freaked out.
X x x x x x
Author Notes:
Translation of the spell used to summon Puck.
With fire, silver, and gold combined,
Summon Puck to pass through Titania's mirror!
Pucks spell on Ranma/Demona is specifically worked so that there is a work around without breaking. Since all spells must have an "out" but the Third Race is able to get around this so long as it can be bent. It's effect only triggers the change at sunrise and sunset. If only Ranma had something that could go around that.
Why the iron chains? They're needed to keep Puck under control, it's the only weakness Oberon's children have. Hint hint.
I usually find it a detractor from a story when there is magic capable of negating or modifying a Jusenkyo curse, but Jusenkyo is suddenly put above manipulation for some reason, in order to keep Ranma locked or with curse. Ah My Goddess crossovers I'm looking at you. Puck was just playing the long con the entire time, he could have broken the curse and turned them back to normal with a thought, but where's the fun in that?
Sorry about the little plot induced stupidity on Ranma's part, but if you'll notice his attitude towards Demona from the start. He viewed her as different and got over it nearly right away. So why couldn't other people do the same? And now he knows better.
Location Information
Demona's Mansion – Located close to Gramercy Park and is her own private residence under an alias.
Clock Tower – In Midtown and incorporates an entire city block to serve as a civic center. It has a public library, police station, city hall, and even a local power station.
Eyrie Building – Located on the southern end of Central Park, castle Wyvern sits atop facing towards the park, and is the tallest building in the world. Serves as Xanatos' personal residence and center of business.
Ishimura – Last clan of gargoyles in Japan and they have strong ties with the village around their temple where they taught bushido. While no kanji is shown in the show, Ishimura can mean "stone village", fitting ne? Too bad it won't be for a while until I can have characters visit.
Timeline
September 28th, 1995– Ranma is training at Jusenkyo when Puck transports Demona at the last second to intercept him before hitting the pool.
Oct 1st – Xanatos' proposal to Fox is accepted and the engagement gift of the Eye of Odin is given to her. Alexander Fox Xanatos is conceived on this night.
Oct 3rd – Ranma and Demona arrive at Teterboro airport, Ranma meets Xanatos and Puck is summoned. Puck misleads the pair into accepting a change of trigger for the curse, now making it so the change is activated by the rising and setting of the sun. At the same time Fox begins transforming into a werefox after wearing the Eye of Odin for two days.
Oct 4th – First contact between Ranma and the Manhattan clan, Demona introduces the idea of having a second clan in the city, leading to an implied truce between her and Goliath.
Oct 12th – Xanatos finds out about gargoyle rumors in Ishimura, Japan and acquires the Cauldron of Life. He plans to use Hudson as a primary ingredient and test subject.
Oct 19th – Ranma saves Hyena from falling off a building, she takes a liking to him.
