Author: Wyrd Sister
Fandom: Gargoyles
Disclaimer: I know you know, so I keep it brief: I own nothing apart from Chris and the characters I make up on the way.
Unfortunately I´m not making money with this story. But presents and cheques (and most of all: reviews) will be gratefully accepted… grin

Rating: Suitable for all ages
Summary: Dimension travels are possible after all! Join Chris on her second adventure in the Gargoyle world.

You are about to hear the story of a traveller between worlds, between dimensions that have only one thing in common: All of them had been created by people of this world – my home world, the world you´re living in. My name is Christine, I´m 20 years old and live in Germany. And not long ago I had an experience most people dream of all their lives…

Chris´ Chronicles

Journal of a Dimension traveller

Part 2 - Discovering the Secret

I sat in front of the book and stared at it intensly.
It didn´t help.

I opened it and read the text.
No blue sparkles, not even a shimmer.

What was the secret of this book?

A growl came from the living room and, sighing, I stood up to see what Bronx was destroying now. The gargoyle was just too big for my small apartment.

I entered the room quickly, but the hanging ears and the quiet wailing indicated I was too late already. Yep, the second chair was broken – IKEA-chairs are just too light to withstand a gargoyle´s attempt to use them for examining objects on a high shelf.

I patted his head.
"It´s okay, Bronx, it´s not your fault. I try to get the two of us back into your dimension as soon as possible. Why don´t you lay down for a minute while I check something else?"

He trotted over to a corner where I had put a few blankets for him and dropped himself onto them. I took the book from the bedroom and sat beside him, studying the cover of the "Guide for the Dimension Traveller".

I had flipped through the whole book so far, but it was just…weird. The beginning seemed to be a fiction story (not a good one, by the way), then everything changed and I found receipes for things like "Gewplics" and "Hjeewnkm" if I got that right. Some passages were written in different languages (apart from German I recognized French, English, Latin, Russian and an Asian language, probably Chinese), others looked like they had been written upside down. When I stared at them for a while my head was beginning to spin.

Frustrated I threw the book onto the TV table. It hit the glass of orange juice I had placed there earlier and its content spilled over the "Guide".

When the liquid hit the cover, it vanished.
There was a shimmer of blue light when it happened.

I reached for the book and examined it.
No traces of liquid.

I went to the sink and poured some water over the book. Suddenly it buzzed and a blue circle opened on the cover.
Of course! I had completely forgotten about the water-connection I´d already figured out! Even the very first leap made sense now for I always kept a glass of water on my nightstand.

I watched the blue circle growing till it was as high as the ceiling.
Bronx had jumped up and stood beside me, showing no signs of fear.

"Okay," I thought, "next stop gargoyle dimension."

Then we were both pulled into the blue circle.

-----ooooo-----

This time I didn´t pass out.

We were sucked through a blue…tunnel, that vaguely looked like in the sliders-TV-series and landed in a few bushes.
"Ouch!"

Bronx hopped away from me when he heard me groaning. His paw had hit the bruise on my belly, not a very pleasant feeling. I got up and recognized the suroundings almost immediately: This was the park, just around the corner from the 23rd precinct. And it was evening, just after sundown, no one around.

I waved Bronx and together we headed for the exit. The huge gate was locked, of course, but with a little help from the gargoyle I managed to climb the wall. Turning around on top I told him I would get Goliath and the others to pick him up.
"Stay here, okay? Don´t move away from this place!"

He barked once and wagged his tail. Okay, so he´d probably understood. I jumped from the wall onto the dark, empty street and broke into a run. Soon I could see the familiar clock tower.

-----ooooo-----

I entered the precinct and nearly ran into Elisa on her way out.
"Hi there." I smiled and she just stood there, glaring at me.
"Oh no, don´t tell me we´ve lept too far into the past and she didn´t remember me or…"

But suddenly Elisa broke into a smile as well and grabbed my arm.
"You´re alright!" she cried out, and then, with a worried expression, "But where´s Bronx?"
"He´s fine, he came with me. I left him in the park around the corner. You want me to go and tell the others where to find him?"

She nodded and quickly handed me the keys for the clock tower.
"Okay, you know the way. I´ve got a case and won´t be here tonight, but Goliath will tell me the story when I´m back."

I waved her goodbye and hurried up the stairs to meet the gargoyles. They had just woken up. I heard their cries and the braking of stone skins when I came in. Taking two steps at a time I raced up the stairs and through the little door leading outside.
I nearly ran into Goliath.

His eyes grew wide.
"You are alive!" he exclaimed surprised.
"Yes", I grinned, "and Bronx is fine, too. He´s waiting in the park with the fish-fountain, near the front gate."

Goliath nodded in Brooklyn´s direction and with a little smile the red gargoyle hopped from the platform and disappeared.
Then I felt the huge hand of Goliath on my shoulder leading me back inside.

"I can´t wait to hear your story."

-----ooooo-----

Again they settled around the old, comfortable couch and I filled them in.
"…and then we were in the park again." I finished and looked around. "So, what happened after we disappeared? Did you win the battle against the robots?"

Hudson grinned broadly.
"What kind of question is that?! Of course we won!"

Broadway chuckled.
"Yeah, Lex found a way to confuse these robots, he used a device he´d built himself."
"It was nothing, just a little experiment. Fortunately it worked." the little gargoyle remarked humbly.
"Nonsense." Goliath growled, "if it hadn´t been for Lexington we´d all be dead now. He did great."

Lex grew a few inches after this laudation from the Clan leader.

Just then Brooklyn returned with Bronx in his arm who immediately began to struggle when he saw the others.
"Hang on, Bronx...I let you go in a second..."
Everyone stood around the blue gargoyle who didn´t know whom of his friends to lick first. I grinned at the scene.
"A family united again."

With a rare smile Goliath left the others and returned to the couch.
"Apparently you know how to handle the dimension portal now."

I shook my head.
"Not really. I mean, I think I know how to use the book and travel here, but I still haven´t got any idea why I got back last time. It seems to have something to do with water, but I´m not sure yet how it works."

He nodded.
"Bronx was right behind you when you hit the water…" he paused, "at least it looked like you fell into it. He followed you and both of you disappeared. We searched nearly 3 hours, but when the sun was about to rise…"
"I´m sorry," I mumbled, and stared down at the floor, "I didn´t want to cause..."
"Nobody is accusing you," he said gently, "You didn´t know how this portal worked. But I´d be glad if you found out as soon as possible, just in case there is another situation where you might need to go back."

I stared into the serious face of the gargoyle leader, then at the others, still playing around in the middle of the room.
"You´re right. I´ve got to figure this out now."

Jumping up from the couch I headed for the small kitchen area.
"What are you doing?" Lexington called after me.

"Just get some water. I may need it soon."

-----ooooo-----

"What was the last thing I did before I got back home?" I asked myself, "well, I hit a robot and fell about 500 metres into water."
Actually I didn´t want to do this again. But hopefully I only had to repeat part of this scene.

I reached for the glass, closed my eyes and poured the liquid over my head.

When I opened my eyes again, Broadway and Brookly sat in front of the couch and could hardly control their expressions.
"So…" Brooklyn remarked, "you´re still here."
He grinned broadly and I threw the empty glass after him, which he caught easily, while Broadway was laughing out loud.

Hudson heard him and came back into the tower.
"How´s it going?"
"Still no progress." I groaned, stood up and streched. "Looks like I´ll have to jump from a bridge."
"You already crossed the dimensional border in both direction. Be patient, you´ll find out how."

I nodded moodily and accepted the refilled glass from Brooklyn´s claws.
"Thanks."

Maybe it was not enough.
Maybe I needed a lake.
Or it had to be sea water, like in the harbour.
"No, there certainly was no salt in the orange juice. It has to be something else. And it was enough in the glass of juice…"

I wished my brother was here. He had the best analytic mind of the family.
Suddenly there was a circle of blue sparkles in the glass I held. It vanished a second later.

I heard a surprised cough and saw Lexington coming towards the table holding a small electronic device he was working at. He had seen it, too, so I probably wasn´t freaking out.
"What was that?" he exclaimed.
"The opening." I replied, trying to sound calm, "but I did neither touch the water, nor the glass. So what…"

And suddenly I knew it: For the second time I had thought strongly about a member of my family – could this be the key? Like "thinking a happy thought" in "Peter Pan"?
You just had to concentrate on your real life and jump through the portal?
Could it be that easy?

The last thing coming to my mind when I fell the other day had been a party in my appartment – and I had landed just there.
"Okay, I´m game." I thought and grabbed the glass, "Let´s try to get home again!"

And while I pictured the details of every room in my mind, I watched the blue circle appear again, growing around the water glass and up to the ceiling.
I heard a hissing sound when the portal began to suck the air around me and threw a last glance at Lexington, who hadn´t closed his mouth yet.

"See ya later, Lex!"

Then I jumped into the blue circle.

-----ooooo-----

"YES!" I thought triumphantly when the portal closed again.
I was standing in the living room of my appartment again, still holding a glass.
It was empty.
"Okay, what now? Go back again? Or try if I can get into another dimension the same way?"

Yes, I wanted to try this portal out, see as much as possible – now!

A glance at my calender/clock-mix told me it was Sunday morning – again it had only taken one night to return.
I would learn from experience that it always took one night for me – no matter how long I spent abroad.

Anyway, I wasn´t sure at this point, of course, but just assumed I would have time for another leap. Quickly I put together a few things I would need for work the next morning and grabbed the book from the table.

Just when I was about to put it into the kitchen sink I hesitated.
"There are thousands of possibilities – where do I start?"

Finally I made a decision, grinned to myself and let the water pour over the book. The blue circle grew and I prepared myself to be sucked into a new adventure.

-----ooooo-----

End (of Part 2)