Twisted Wonderland: Glorious Masquerade - Let the Bell of Solace Ring

Chapter 5-8: He's Breaking Character

Soon enough, Briar and the others walk down the stairs with Rollo in tow who is tied up at the moment.

Tired, Idia says, "Yeah, keep walkin', bub!...Whee hee hee, I've always wanted to talk like that."

"Do try to behave," Azul says to Rollo.

"I gave you my word I wouldn't resist. Was tying me up really necessary? Have you no trust in your fellow man?" Rollo questions calmly.

"BRUH. How many times have we taken your word and got burned?" Idia responds.

Malleus looks around, "Now, he should be somewhere around here..."

"One of your associates, I presume?" Rollo asks.

"Not exactly, though I suppose Malleus was worried about him all the same," Azul says.

"I guess TECHNICALLY he's an associate..." Idia says.

"And I'm sure it's also someone you're kind of familiar with," Briar says.

"Familiar with?" Rollo questions.

Soon, a familiar voice calls out, "Heeey!"

Malleus reacts in surprise, "Ah!"

There, they see the Gargoyle from before. With the flowers gone and the bell rings, the gargoyle's magic has returned and is revived.

"Looks like you kids are all okay!" The Gargoyle says.

Malleus calls out in relief, "Gargoyle! The Bell of Solace restored your magic, I trust."

"Yup, I'm back to my regular ol' talkin', walkin', special gargoyle self," The gargoyle says.

"We're glad to see that you're okay," Briar says.

"Thank you, young lady. Thank you for checking on me," The gargoyle says.

Rollo recognizes the gargoyle, "Ah, you're one of the bell tower gargoyles. I wondered who Malleus was looking for. Though I cannot fathom why he came to check on you."

"Well, see... It's kind of a fandom thing for Malleus..." Idia says.

"Fandom? I don't follow," Rollo says.

Then Azul explains, "Malleus is such a big fan of gargoyles that he founded the Gargoyle Studies Club at Night Raven College."

"The...Gargoyle Studies Club? What in the world?" Rollo questions, shocked.

"It's just as much of a mystery to me," Azul says.

Malleus says to the Gargoyle, "I'm glad you're safe. Are your fellow gargoyles unharmed as well?"

"You betcha! The whole gang went right back to normal after you guys rang the bell. See for yourself!" The gargoyle says.

Soon, more gargoyle statues come forward.

The second gargoyle says, "You're the ones who saved us? Thanks a lot."

"Oh yes, I'm quite grateful. I was afraid I'd be stuck as a stone statue forever," The third gargoyle says.

Malleus smiles, "More moving gargoyles, and all so unique... There are so many of them!"

"Uhhh... Unique?" Idia questions.

"They all look identical to me," Azul says.

Then the Gargoyle says, "Thanks for savin' us, Malleus. And you too, uh... Yeah... You guys...with the burning hair and the glasses... and of course the nice lady."

Briar giggles, "I guess we didn't have much time to introduce ourselves. I'm Briar. The burning hair boy is Idia, and the one with the glasses is Azul."

Idia softly says, "Idia."

"Azul. I suppose we didn't introduce ourselves before," Azul says.

"Ooh, gotcha. In that case..." The gargoyle says, "I'm gonna call you Mal, Bri, Id, and Az!"

"Mal? Is...that me?" Malleus questions, and smiles, "Looks like someone else has liken that nickname. "

"You're giving us nicknames?" Azul questions.

"Dude, is that your idea of being chummy...?" Idia asks.

Then the Gargoyle says, "We're all back to normal because you guys stepped up. And thanks for stoppin' Rollo before he could do something totally irredeemable."

"Me...?" Rollo questions.

The gargoyle turns to Rollo, "Hey, Rollo. Y'know, we're always up here. You can talk to us if something's botherin' ya."

Rollo is not very interested, "Hmph... You'd ask me to talk to a rock? Ridiculous."

Malleus gives Rollo a menacing glare in response.

Seeing it, Rollo says, "...I'll think about it."

Then the gargoyle heads to Malleus, "Seriously, thanks again, Mal."

"Think nothing of it. As long as all of you are happy. 'Mal' is as well. Of course, you're not the first to give me that name, right Briar," Malleus says.

Briar giggles, "You're right, Mal. Of course, you don't mind me calling you, Tsunotaro either?" and giggles with a smile on her face.

"MAL?!" The three boys react in shock.

"Did he just refer to himself as MAL? He's so happy he's breaking character!" Idia says, shocked.

"Gracious, I've never seen him smile like that before..." Azul says, shocked.

Then sighs, "Then again, he never minded when Briar called him Mal or Tsunotaro."

"I cannot believe I lost to this misfit..." Rollo says in disbelief.

Then Malleus says, "As much as I hate to part ways, we must check on the others now. Let us leave this tower."

"Yeah. We should get going. The others are probably worried about us," Briar says.