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One of the things one needs in order to be the best is to be protected from ones enemies. Wealth and connections

are ruined if you end up being killed by an enemy or a rival, or even, an act of nature.

• To Be the Very Best, Unknown

Eric Talon is a man of many talents. The sciences, the arts, the occult, he's quite well versed in the knowledge he has

accumulated. This, of course, is not enough. He is wealthy, powerful, influential, but it's never enough. He knows of things

that would help him in his plans, but first, he needs a protector, a loyal protector who follows without question. While he's

looking at the cash he made from a recent sale of a statue, he looks at a stone grey flower in a display case, and

then an idea hit him.

"Perfect." He said with a twisted grin. "This needs some experiments." He said as he takes the stone flower with his

gloved hands and heads off to his basement laboratory.

Barrett Carver is busy reading his favorite book one late afternoon when his phone begins to ring. Irritated at the interruption

of a rather peaceful day, he picks it up.

"Hello, who is this?" He asked as he places a bookmark on the page he ended up.

"It's me Eric!" His friend shouted at the phone in an enthusiastic and childish voice.

"What is it?" Barrett asked as he closes his ear from the noise, "I doubt it's just for a chat."

"Well, are you busy now? I need you for something."

Barrett looks at his book and sighs, "No," He answered, "Where'd you want me to go? And what is this something exactly?"

"Just come to my place and I'll ex-" Then the sound of an explosion cuts the phone line.

When met with the beeping of the phone, Barrett can only feel tired. "What on earth is he planning?" He muttered to himself

as he puts the phone down. He then rubs his temples as he remembers who he is dealing with. "Eric has always been a

rich eccentric." He said as he fixes himself. He then heads towards Eric's large home, which itself is far away from the city.

The sun is already setting when he reached the front gate. He lets himself in as he walks up the circular road towards the

porch. "He definitely needs to hire a guard or two around here." He commented as he notices an empty pedestal right in front

of the gate. As he reaches the main door, he knocks on the door using the brass knocker. "Hello?" He called, "Anyone home?"

"I'm here! I'm here!" Eric shouted as he then opens the door, greeting his friend while covered in soot.

"What happened to you?" Barrett rhetorically asked, "Isn't it a little early to play as Santa's little black helper?"

"Shut up, I just put fire on a bottle of oil."

"Was that oil mixed with dynamite?" Barrett said as he enters the house and goes to the living room. "So," He said as he turns

to face his friend, "What is it you want me to do?"

"Just you wait," Eric whispered before he turns to his friend with a smile on his face. "I need you for an experiment."

"Ok," Barrett muttered, "I feel like you'll just continue with it anyway, with or without my consent." He then turns away, "Or my

lawyers." He muttered before turning back to Eric, "What sort of experiment?"

"Oh, just medicine. It works well on animals, but I haven't tested it out on humans you see." He said with a mischievous tone that

Barrett failed to notice.

"There's such thing as advertising you know."

"Oh no, I haven't even patented it yet. If someone find out about it, I might lose the trademark." This only makes Barrett sigh with defeat.

"Medicine?" He said, "What is it? Pill? S-syringe? You know how much I'm afraid of needles." He nervously asked as he quickly looks

around for any hidden needles.

"No, just some pills." Eric chuckled at sight, "But before that, what do you know about gargoyles?" He asked.

"Gargoyle, a decorative and functional design on Gothic architecture, used as a functioning waterspout, its non functioning counterpart

is called a Grotesque. In earlier times, its frightening appearance was used as a way to scare away evil and to protect scared locations.

Nowadays, due to the same frightening appearance, popular culture has made the silent sentinel of holy places into a stereotypical

demon made out of rock." Barrett answered as he raises a brow, "Does that answer your question?"

"Well," Eric snorted, "More of an answer I expected. Okay then!" He then gives him a pill. "Now, swallow it up." He also gives him

a cup of water. Barrett looks at the pill on one hand and the cup of water on the other.

"Here goes nothing." He said as he swallows the pill and drinks some water.

"Well," Eric said as he slowly claps, "I sure am surprised by your bravery." He said as he drops the childishness.

Before Barrett can ask, he drops the cup as he is hit with a great amount of pain in his stomach. He grips his belly with both of his

arms as he fell to his knees. He looks up at Eric as the pain slowly begins to become unbearable. "What did you make me take!?"

Eric simply walks back and forth while chuckling, admiring the results of his experiments. He then goes to a display case and picks

up a grey stone flower. "I found a special flower."

Barrett looks at it for a moment until the pain causes him to face the floor; he uses his right arm as a support to prevent him from

hitting the floor face first. "What's that suppose to be?" He asked as he closes his eyes due to the pain.

"Listen to me," Eric said in a serious tone, "And listen closely. This flower, the Medusa Rose, can turn living beings into stone. Took

me a while to find it, but it was worth taking the risk."

"WHAT!" Barrett shouted as he opens his eyes and tries to stand up, only for his legs to stay completely still. He then places his left

arm in the same supporting stance just like his right arm. He can feel his arms getting stiff. He also notices his pose, looking like he's

begging or about to do a kowtow. "Are," He said with difficulty, "You mad?"

"Yes," Eric chuckled madly, "I may be. But listen to this." He said as he goes closer to Barrett's ear, "Unlike my previous tests, I made

the pill weaker for you so you will be turned into stone, but alive. And not only had I made some bucks by selling the statues, those

welfare workers would be less pressured in their jobs. Aren't I a genius?!" He said with a mad smile.

"That, doesn't help, at all." Barrett said as he looks down and sees his hands changing into grey granite and developing sharp talons.

He then notices that he can't move his neck anymore. "Don't tell me," He said with greater difficulty as it becomes harder to breath.

"You have a pedestal with my name on it."

"Well, maybe not your name, and it does help. Do you know why I even took the effort to let you live, unlike the ones before you?

Because I need a gargoyle slave! A protector that doesn't complain or tire about anything." He then begins to laugh madly.

"What's next?" Barrett said as he hears his shoes rip apart. If he can look back, he would have seen his feet changing to have

three talons and a back talon and made entirely out of grey granite. "Hypnotize me?" He sarcastically said before he stops breathing.

"Hmm," Eric thought, "Well, I almost forgot about that, thanks." He said as he goes off and returns with a round monitor.

'Me and my big mouth.' Barrett thought as he feels his arms and legs expanding, looking more sculpted and perfect for the future

gargoyle slave. His clothes continue to be ripped apart as a strange feeling appeared at the end of his spine. A long tail that ends

in a spaded tip grows out.

"Now," Eric said as he fingers down Barrett's back with the mad grin on his face. "Now, for the most fun part!" He exclaimed as

he turns on the monitor and it begins to show a hypnotizing signal.

Barrett can feel Eric moving his finger at his back as two bumps grow out of his back, ripping his shirt into pieces. His chest has

become similarly sculpted and smooth by the change into a grey granite gargoyle as Eric place the monitor right in front of his face.

His eyes has changed into chiseled orbs, any detail has disappeared. He can't close them, he can't look away, he can't even focus

on his peripheral vision, to try and look away is an excise in futility.

As his new gargoyle wings finish growing, he can feel his mind getting weaker, getting more malleable, more easily to be controlled

and manipulated. The only thing left human about him is his head, and even that has turned into grey granite.

"Yes, yes, don't resist, give in. You don't need a free will anyway. Just give yourself to me." Eric said as he once again chuckles with

delight and sits on his back while turning off his friend's phone and puts it away to be dealt with later.

'No...' Barrett thought as his ears turn long and pointy and two great horns grow out of his forehead. His hair simply vanish, molded

away into baldness as his horns turn out and front, like the horns of a bull. His face becomes chiseled and similarly sculpted and as

frightening as his teeth change into fangs and grew tusks, his tongue becomes forked, and his face develops a short muzzle. Now,

no one can tell that the gargoyle statue was once a human being. 'Must...resist...' Barrett thought as he continues to fight the losing battle.

"He he he," Eric chuckled as he drops off from Barrett's back and goes right in front of his friend. "It's not my fault." He said in a

deceptively innocent and childish tone. "I just needed someone to keep me company, to protect me, to be my friend." He said as

he rubs Barrett's stone head. "Now, whether you want it or not, you'll be my company forever!" He laughs in an insane manner.

'Fight...it...' Barrett's thoughts are slowly becoming as slow as the stone he became. 'Don't...let...him...win...' Only a few more

hypnotic suggestions would cause his mental resistance to completely shatter.

"Now, don't feel bad that your friend has betrayed you. Don't think of it like that." Eric said with a mad laugh or two, "No, think of it

as a way to make our friendship even deeper. To strengthen the bonds of friendship between us, to make it even harder! Give in

to my WILL!" He then busted into insane laughter and pets Barrett's head like a dog.

"Give...in?" Barrett said as his mouth moves on its own. 'N-no...' His last human thought disappears as his mind is completely

overwhelmed by the hypnotic signal. He subtly smiled as he petting makes him feel nice.

"Yes," Eric said in a merry tune, "Give in! You have nothing to lose! I'll be your best friend and master!"

"Fre-ends..." The hypnotic suggestions begin to dig deeply into Barrett's mind, altering it to suit his master's desires. How can

someone fight something if it's buried deep within their mind?

Eric smiles and sits next to his new gargoyle. "Yes," He said in a childish tone, "Friends!"

Barrett's mouth move into a smile, "Friends." He said as the last vestige of resistance and humanity vanishes from his mind.

Eric hugs the large gargoyle like a child with a smile while laughing with glee at the success of the experiment.

Barrett also smile, knowing that his friend and master is happy, knowing that he's safe, knowing that the strange nagging feeling

is now gone. He knows his purpose in life, to be the loyal guardian of his master until the time he turns into dust.

Eric simply giggles. He's happy at the thought of having a friend that will stay with him no matter what, until he dies, and even

that will be dealt with one of these days. "Now," He said as he lets go of the hug, "What do you want to now, 'friend'?" He asked.

"Whatever you desire." Barrett replied as he smiles with an open mouth, showing his fanged teeth and tusks. He stands up to

stretch his wings but unfortunately reach the ceiling due to his added height.

Eric chuckles and leads his friend outside, to an open field under the night sky. "Do you want to fly?" He asked.

"Yes." Barrett simply replied as he spread out his bat like wings. He looks at his friend and master and asks, "Do you want

a ride?" He then begins to flap his wings.

Eric smiles and hops onto the gargoyle. "Does this answer your question?"

"Yes." Barrett said as he soars up into the night sky. It is fun as they fly in the air all the way to the time before the sun rises up. It is

when a strange feeling of weariness slowly overwhelms the gargoyle, and so he lands right in front of the house near the circular road.

"I feel...tired." He said with a feeling of curiosity. Gargoyles, beings of living stone, can't feel tired.

Eric sighed at the end of the fun and looks at his gargoyle. "Do you want to sleep? Follow me, I know the perfect place." He said

as he drags his large granite friend to a large stone pedestal. "I put your name on it and everything." On the pedestal is a plaque

that says 'Greystone the Guardian, Donated by Barrett Carver'.

'Greystone...' The gargoyle thought as he reads the plaque. 'Yes...that's my name...Greystone...' He then moves into position, as if

he's just a traditional gargoyle statue. The appearance is very convincing, as if he's really just a statue. The pedestal itself seems

to change, turning into the same grey granite as the gargoyle. Greystone simply lets his body rest, but he's still awake, still observing

his surroundings. To protect his friend and master, that is his job. Those who dare to harm him will answer to him. And Eric simply

smiles, as the sunlight of the rising sun shines down upon them, for a job well done.

And thus end the day of Barrett's mortal human life and the start of Greystone's eternal gargoyle servitude.