The former gargoyle walked slowly back into the building. He enjoyed being able to move so freely again. While he was able to move and animate stone, he had been able to move even as a gargoyle, but as such his body was still stiff and heavy. It was so much work, and for what? He had nothing to do. Oh, he had made sure his surroundings looked clean, but why would he need to move for that? Everything that had fallen down onto the ground could be swallowed by the stone, and either vanish into it or move underneath the stone, leaving the ground clear of anything. And sometimes he just let the stone move to form a picture or a figure, watch it for some time, and then let it vanish again.
But now, he had something to do, and even gain something from it. His curse could be burdened on the kids that trespassed into the manor, and with some luck, he could regain his freedom in exchange for theirs. He knew it was wrong to do so, as he doomed even more humans to the curses of the manor, but he had been trapped for too long to care for anyone but himself. He had no real memories of his own life anymore, only knowing he had been a human himself, had entered this manor, and somehow got cursed. Had he been a trespasser, too? Had he worked or maybe even lived here? Had he been alone or with someone else? But he couldn´t remember anything, not even his old name. The only thing he was sure of, beside being a human before, was that he had been male. Not that it mattered, he was male now. And after some thinking, he decided to take the name of George as his.
As he entered the manor, he used his control over the stone to sense where the other three teens were. Sensing one was alone while the other two were together, he decided to go to that one first. It would be easier that way. Also, he had already seen the other two, and he thought of them as low creatures. Maybe the single teen could be somewhat the keeper of the other two. He would see.
Around five minutes of following his senses George found Eric just as he left yet another dusty room. Deciding on being friendly, but most likely scaring the human anyway, George cleared his throat. And just as expected, Eric jumped. “Good evening, young man. What are you doing here?” he asked, sounding like an older person than what he looked like right now, and far more noble.
Eric was shocked to see someone other than his friends in this manor. He had thought nobody lived here anymore. After calming down from the scare for a few seconds, he finally answered: “I´m sorry, we didn´t know someone still lived here. We just walked in to escape the storm, and split up to explore while waiting.”
George raised an eyebrow at that. What storm? But then he remembered that the garden was protected from harsher weather. It had just the right number of sunny days and rainy ones. There was a light breeze most of the time. And rarely, there was a day or two with snow. But it is not the same as outside the manor. A glance at the window, looking out front, showed really bad weather, while in the garden it was cloudy, but dry.
Now smirking, partly for Eric´s fearful face, he replied: “Well, I won´t send you out, then. But you should have waited at the entrance, and at least call to see if someone lives here. Let´s collect your friends than, and we will see what to do.”
Eric, still fearing they would get punished, nodded, before following the young man. While they walked in silence, he mustered the man, something bothered him. But he couldn´t figure out what it was.
George sensed the other two and avoided them, soon reaching the door to the garden. Now Eric asked confused: “Where are we going?”
“I saw some movement outside in the garden as we passed the windows. As the garden is protected from the weather, we won´t see the storm you mentioned. So, we will search there.” George said, grinning when Eric nodded, accepting that reason. Ha, what a fool.
George walked in the direction of Johnny and Ryan in their gargoyle-prisons, while looking around as if to spot something moving. Eric followed, also looking around, and, noticing that the man wouldn´t know their names, started to call for them. But he got no answers.
Soon, they reached the gargoyles, and as George walked past them, he commanded Johnny: “Grab him like you did with your brother at first.” Eric was confused for a second, until the big fierce looking gargoyle moved and had grabbed him by his arms, quickly pulling them up above Eric´s head and then lifting him off the ground. Before Eric could kick out, his legs were wrapped by the gargoyles tail, immobilizing him mostly. Eric was too shocked to even scream.
George turned around just as Johnny grabbed Eric´s arms, and grinned at him. He waited for any reaction, but nothing came about for a minute or two, and he lost his patience. “What, no reaction? No screaming? Even the twerp was more vocal before he was silenced. Kiddo, jump over and make sure he stays silent when we start.”
Eric was finally able to speak: What have you done with Johnny, you asshole? Ryan will kick your ass if I can´t for hurting his little brother. You won´t … what does that thing do, stop. I´m not a ladder, you dumb little stone pest. You … mmmpf.”
Eric was silenced when Ryan reached his head. He had jumped over and climbed up Eric´s body, before settling on his shoulders. The small legs framed Eric´s neck, knees pressing his chin up. At the same time, Ryan leaned forward onto the top of Eric´s head, pressing down. Eric couldn´t open his mouth anymore. Beside his eyes, he couldn´t move anything on it anymore.
Johnny had cried at the command, not wanting to trap Eric like he did with his brother, but couldn´t stop his body from following the command. Quickly restraining Eric, Johnny cried even more, fearing what would happen next. He was touched Eric at least wanted him unhurt, he was a better friend to Ryan and him than Mike and Sei.
Ryan was shocked as he jumped over to Eric, climbed him and then silenced him the way he did. But unlike Johnny´s new form, his little body couldn´t really silence him any other way as using it whole. He pleaded mentally for the former gargoyle to just let them go.
George laughed at Eric. With a grin, he explained: “What I did to the twerp? Well, he is just the one holding you. He has taken my place as the big gargoyle he found so ugly. And his brother will do nothing but do as I command him, just like now. Isn´t it cute how he is silencing you, the now small kiddo, using his whole body?” He laughed even more, seeing Eric´s eyes widen in realization.
Eric had just realized what was bugging him. That stranger looked like an older Johnny in Ryan´s clothes. That were Ryan´s clothes, and if Johnny was now in the place of the gargoyle, who was the stranger in front of him, maybe he was a replica of Johnny, just aged up?
“You know, if the older brother hadn´t been so insistent that his little brother doesn´t run around naked, I wouldn´t have bothered taking his clothes for myself. Just his age, size and muscles would have been enough to make the twerps body better. But well, here I am, complaining about nothing important.” George said, still laughing at Eric. “But we don´t need a third gargoyle here, and definitively not a second kiddo one. Give me a second to think what we can do with you.”
While Johnny and Ryan pleaded again for mercy and freedom, Eric was hanging there in Johnny´s grip, his weight mostly pulling on his arms, with little relief from his wrapped legs in the tail. And adding to that was the weight of Ryan´s form on his shoulders. And all he could do was hoping he didn´t end up as another stone creature, but that was most likely to happen.